“I know many classmates don’t understand why the school has suddenly put so much effort into mental health education this year, right? Since it’s not tested in the college entrance exam, why are we going out of our way to expand the psychological counseling room and hire professional psychologists?”
After returning to the podium, the class teacher resumed his usual serious demeanor.
“This morning’s self-study class, I’ll take ten minutes to briefly explain the reasons. All of you, listen up! There will be a quiz later, so don’t be clueless by Friday’s class meeting!”
Hearing “Friday class meeting quiz,” those who were previously absent-minded immediately sat up straight.
“First of all, one thing that distinguishes Heijiang No.3 Middle School from other high schools is that we allow students to bring phones onto campus.”
The class teacher looked toward the back of the classroom.
“Although school rules explicitly forbid bringing phones into the classroom, I know many of you ignore this rule and like to play on your phones during self-study or even during class… especially you few in the back, right?”
“Uh…”
Under the teacher’s gaze, the boys in the back lowered their heads, looking ashamed.
“Let me be clear: if I catch any of you playing on your phones during class, it won’t be as simple as confiscating the phone.”
The teacher gave a cold laugh.
“I won’t discuss phone use during class for now… All of you bring phones to school. Not everyone uses them for games, right? There should also be those who just chat. You go to various game groups, game forums, etc., to boast and quarrel with others, correct?”
“For example, arguing with netizens about which game is the best, which hero has the coolest moves, which phone has the best value for money… Or you quarrel with teammates in a game, add them as friends to continue arguing outside; you watch a novel, short video, anime, and argue with other netizens over some characters or plot—this is common, right?”
“Some students engage in virtual streaming, write novels, dance otaku dances, do abstract content, make game videos… Don’t think the teacher doesn’t know. I have the social media IDs of most of you.”
“In short, this is a world of rapid information development. Every one of us is inseparable from the internet, but you all know the current internet environment is full of sarcasm and cyberbullying. At the slightest disagreement, they’ll call out someone and rally their friends to cyberbully them, even insult their parents…”
Hearing this, a few boys in the back couldn’t help but laugh, either because they were hit by the truth or because they found it surprising that the usually stiff teacher would talk about the internet.
“Still laughing! Do you think insulting others and their parents online is something fun?”
The teacher said irritably, “You might think it doesn’t matter. What about those who are cyberbullied? Have you considered their feelings? Some people’s families are already struggling, and their parents may have died from illness or accidents. Their loved ones are a lifelong pain for them.”
The boys in the back immediately stopped smiling.
“Some people think it’s none of their business if someone’s parents died, and they can curse freely. But in others’ eyes, the games you cherish, the characters you truly love in the game, the people you care about in real life—they also don’t care about them, and they will use the same cyberbullying to attack the things you love.”
“Because someone played a game poorly or had an opinion different from yours, you directly insult their parents. You think that since your own parents are alive, a few insults don’t matter, so you assume that insulting others’ parents is also no big deal to them, right?”
“I’m saying all this mainly because I want everyone to understand that this world, this society, is complex and diverse. Everyone’s living environment and growth experiences are different, so their psychological tolerance for the same thing varies.”
“Things you think are trivial might be the hope and courage to live for some people.”
“The purpose of the school setting up this psychological counseling room is to hope that when you encounter similar situations, if cyberbullying affects your life, you can seek help from a psychological teacher or doctor. Don’t let it develop into depression and then impulsively jump out of a window. I won’t revive you like in an ad!”
“Of course, do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself. Although our school has psychologists as a safety net, I absolutely do not approve of anyone becoming a bully in any sense. If later someone comes to the school because you were cursing online… Heh.”
After that, the class teacher briefly discussed the school’s notifications about “mental health” and how to apply for “Bad Mood Leave.”
Then we continued with morning self-study.
‘I could feel that everyone in the class was only slightly interested in the “Bad Mood Leave” and didn’t seem to pay much attention to the so-called “mental health” issue.’
‘As for me, while everyone’s loud reading started, my mind still lingered on the “cyberbullying” the teacher mentioned.’
‘Because I remembered that Tang Xiaolu’s former magical girl friend “Jia Jia” turned into a witch because she couldn’t withstand cyberbullying.’
‘According to Tang Xiaolu, the reason magical girls become witches is that after countless disappointments, sorrow flows like a river, or they constantly deny themselves, self-deplete, repeatedly worry, and eventually fall into despair, causing the Soul Gem to become tainted.’
‘The teacher just mentioned that “Heijiang No.3 Middle School is going to vigorously promote student psychological counseling recently.” That habitually made me connect it with “magical girl darkening.”’
‘If back then, Tang Xiaolu’s friend “Jia Jia” had attended a school like Heijiang No.3 Middle School now, which valued student psychological counseling, and had been comforted and encouraged in time when Jia Jia suffered cyberbullying, could her “witch transformation” have been avoided?’
‘In a sense, the school’s action is saving magical girls—for every additional magical girl saved, there is one less witch in this world.’
‘Also, “the school’s emphasis on student psychological counseling” doesn’t only affect magical girls; it also has a certain “suppressive” effect on the witch ecosystem.’
‘Witches feed on “negative emotions.” The more they eat, the stronger they become. Adolescence is the period of the most intense emotional fluctuations. It can be said that the “negative emotions” of students in various schools in Heijiang City are the main food source for witches.’
‘Now that the school is trying to cut off the witches’ food source and slow down the rate of magical girls becoming witches, it essentially weakens all witches in the city.’
‘I again thought of what the strange magical girl said last night—’
-[In one month, the most powerful witch ‘Koutili’ will arrive in this city. Her main target is your Black River City No.3 High School.]
‘It seems…’
‘Everything is connected.’