“All right, everyone quiet down. Next up is a new notice from the school.”
“Watching the transfer student ‘Huang Quan’ sit down in the last row of the classroom, the homeroom teacher on the podium cleared her throat.”
“Yesterday evening, the Municipal Education Bureau sent a team of professional psychologists to our school. The psychological counseling room on the first floor of the teaching building has also been expanded.”
“Now it’s a very professional psychological counseling clinic. Every day, at least two teachers and one psychologist are on duty.”
“If any of you suspect you have a psychological condition, or feel frustrated or uncomfortable in your studies and daily life, don’t put it off, and don’t be shy. Just go to the psychological counseling room and find a teacher or doctor.”
“As the homeroom teacher’s voice faded, the large classroom fell silent.”
“Teacher.”
“After a few seconds, a male student sitting in the back row weakly raised his hand.”
“How can I tell if I have a psychological condition?”
“If you feel suffocated inside, or if you can’t stop thinking about something, thinking about it while in class, after class, eating, even showering, to the point it seriously affects your daily studies and life, then just go.”
“Maybe hoping to leave a deeper impression, the homeroom teacher deliberately used a playful tone, different from her usual serious demeanor.”
“I’ll tell you in the most straightforward, easiest to understand, no-nonsense way—mental illness just means you’re not feeling right.”
“If you always feel something off inside, just go to a psychologist or the psychological committee member.”
“Having said this, the homeroom teacher seemed to realize something. She turned her gaze to Class Monitor Luo Zhiyin.”
“Oh, that’s right. It seems our class doesn’t have a psychological committee member yet, does it?”
“Luo Zhiyin nodded.”
“Yes, teacher.”
“Class Monitor, choose one now.”
“The homeroom teacher returned to her usual brisk manner.”
“Choose now. I’ll give you ten seconds. Quick, quick, quick!”
“Huh?”
“Luo Zhiyin was stunned.”
“Obviously, she seemed not to have expected the homeroom teacher to suddenly assign this task to her. For a moment, she was at a loss.”
“T-Teacher, you suddenly ask me to choose, I, um…”
“Stop talking nonsense. Choose the person you think is most suitable and has the most stable emotions.”
“The homeroom teacher urged.”
“Hurry up, don’t hesitate. Whoever comes to mind first is the one.”
“Um…”
“After only two seconds of simple thought, Class Monitor Luo Zhiyin cast her gaze toward me.”
“Then I recommend Huang Yao.”
“Alright.”
“The homeroom teacher didn’t waste words and gestured for me to come up.”
“Classmate Huang Yao, come up.”
“Huh?”
“I pointed at myself in disbelief.”
‘I… I’m emotionally stable?’
‘Shouldn’t I be the one who most needs guidance from a psychological committee member and care from a psychologist?’
‘When I took leave to go back for my mother’s funeral, it was teacher you who personally approved the leave!’
“Right, don’t make that face. From now on, classmate Huang Yao, you are our class’s psychological committee member.”
“The homeroom teacher waved at me again.”
“Come up and say a few words as your inaugural speech. Just go through the motions. Quick, quick.”
“Oh…”
“Although I didn’t know what the homeroom teacher was up to, I walked up in a daze.”
“Um… I’m Huang Yao. I… I haven’t really been a class officer before, so…”
“Everyone remember, Huang Yao is the psychological committee member of Class 11, Grade 10.”
“Probably guessing that I wasn’t prepared, the homeroom teacher took over the conversation.”
“If you encounter any psychological issues in daily life, or just want someone to talk to, you can go to classmate Huang Yao as long as you don’t disturb others—note that I said without disturbing others.”
“For some reason, standing on the podium, I subconsciously looked toward Huang Quan at the back of the classroom.”
“This new classmate didn’t seem to be listening to the homeroom teacher at all. She kept her head down the whole time, fiddling with something under her desk.”
‘Something’s off.’
‘This person is very off.’
“I quietly thought to myself.”
“During the self-introduction earlier, classmate Huang Quan said her birthday is December 23rd, the same as mine. Combined with the later act of revealing her identity as a magical girl, it instantly sparked a strong interest in her.”
“Although my intuition tells me this transfer student’s identity is not simple, so far, aside from feeling that her behavior and manner of speaking are strange everywhere, I can’t pinpoint exactly what’s weird about her.”
“Teacher, I still don’t quite understand.”
“As soon as the homeroom teacher’s voice faded on the podium, a male student raised his hand.”
“Doesn’t our school already have a psychological counseling room? Why was it expanded? Is this psychological counseling very important?”
“What do you think?”
“The homeroom teacher asked back.”
“This classmate, what do you think ‘Colorful Bird Experimental School’ means?”
“I don’t know.”
“That student shrugged.”
“I’m not interested in these things. I just think the school is making a big fuss over mental health. Isn’t that a bit too much? The college entrance exam doesn’t test mental health.”
“Alright, I’ll tell you why.”
“The homeroom teacher walked down.”
“First of all, do you know why we are ‘Colorful Bird Experimental High School’ and not ‘Black Bird’ or ‘White Bird’?”
“Because this world is colorful, not just black and white.”
“Our class has a total of 42 students, of course now it’s 43. With so many of us… some are locals from Heijiang City, some come from neighboring Shangjing, and some even transferred here from other provinces.”
“Each of us has different cultural customs and family environments, so our interests and psychological resilience also differ.”
“Some things may seem trivial in your eyes, but in the eyes of other classmates, they are completely unbearable—the last straw that breaks the camel’s back. You may think it’s nothing, but please don’t assume that those who need psychological counseling or are naturally sensitive think it’s nothing, and that the school is making a mountain out of a molehill, okay?”
“The homeroom teacher walked to the side of that male student.”
“Just like the school cafeteria. Our school cafeteria is directly managed by the Education Bureau; the food is clean and hygienic, the prices are transparent. But why does the school still open the gates at breakfast, lunch, and dinner times to let everyone choose whether to eat out?”
“Uh…”
“That student was clearly convinced.”
“I understand. I’m sorry, teacher, I shouldn’t have spoken out of turn.”
“It’s okay. It’s good to raise questions anytime.”
“The homeroom teacher turned around.”
“Surveys indicate that various mental health problems have become very prevalent in primary and secondary schools now. The vast majority of schools only blindly push students to study, completely ignoring students’ mental health education.”
“So the Education Bureau plans to make the only ‘Colorful Bird Experimental High School’ in Heijiang City, which is our Heijiang No.3 Middle School, a pilot school to fully promote mental health counseling, to see if it can have a positive effect on everyone’s learning efficiency.”
“Oh, right. There’s one more benefit I forgot to tell you.”
“Under the curious gazes of the classmates, the homeroom teacher returned to the podium.”
“Starting next week, every student in the school can apply for one day of ‘Bad Mood Leave’ per month without any reason.”
“As long as you feel you’re in a bad mood, or have some special reason—for example, a female classmate has a stomachache and doesn’t want to attend class, a male classmate is depressed and wants to play games all day long—you can take leave from the school.”
“The leave is unconditional. You can take one day off each month as you wish, and there will be no punishment. Of course, for those who don’t take the bad mood leave, the school will also issue corresponding mental health prizes as encouragement.”