Who would study psychology if they didn't have some kind of problem?

Chapter 378 The Same Feeling

Nan Zhuren naturally encouraged this: "Of course you can—you can even temporarily remove the score."

The students looked relieved.

"Oh, right." Nan Zhuren suddenly turned to look at Lin Junkai, "We were just talking about a five-point scoring system of 1-5, and Junkai, you gave yourself 0 points."

Lin Junkai blinked.

Nan Zhuren then changed the subject: "Of course, that's acceptable, or even better. My rules are just to provide a framework, but I'm more looking forward to seeing what other students have more creative ideas. Let's break through this framework and bring fresher and more meaningful gains to our group counseling."

This was Nan Zhuren's third time using humor during this group counseling session, and this time many students burst out laughing.

Compared to when the experimental video was played and when Wang Rui was mentioned, the atmosphere has now become much more lively.

The students behind continued to chime in—

“I would give myself a 1 out of 1 when I was a ‘prison guard’ and a 4 out of 10 when I was a ‘prisoner’. Because I hate being a prison guard more, while being a prisoner feels… less psychological pressure. But now I feel that without changing my score, I have a new idea: I no longer ‘hate’ being a prison guard, but rather I will ‘require’ myself to stop being a prison guard.”

"Turning an emotional feeling into a proactive self-demand is excellent!" Nan Zhuren gave it a positive review without hesitation.

“I would give myself a 3 out of 10 when I was a ‘prison guard’ and a 3 out of 10 when I was a ‘prisoner’. My thinking hasn’t changed. I just think that instead of hating this thing and avoiding it, perhaps by selectively participating, I can help the people I want to help. So I gave myself a score that’s more or less in the middle.”

“Excellent! We’ve come up with a new idea, a new approach!” In some ways, it’s a more creative idea, but Nan Zhuren felt that focusing too much on this idea would discourage other students, so he kept his focus neutral.

The students in this round transitioned very quickly.

Soon, only Zhang Zihao, Leihao 1, and Leihao 2 remained.

This time, Lei Hao, one of the students, twitched his finger, seemingly wanting to speak first.

"I'll speak next."

Zhang Zihao suddenly said.

Lei Hao, a student, blinked, muttered a couple of words, and sat down again.

"I didn't give myself a score."

Zhang Zihao swallowed hard, and a smile appeared on his face, with one corner of his mouth turned up.

He looked directly into Nan Zhuren's eyes, seemingly expecting a reaction from her.

"Why?" This was Nan Zhuren's reaction.

Zhang Zihao took a deep breath: "I've said it before, the volunteers in this experiment are stupid. The prison guards are stupid, the prisoners are stupid, and that professor is stupid too."

"I don't think the hypothesis you just gave us is valid either. It's like playing house. You yourself said that this experiment has been banned and criticized by various media outlets and colleagues for many years. How could we possibly participate in this experiment?"

"Even if such an experiment existed, and I happened to be there, I wouldn't have the time to participate. So what you said, teacher, about 'what if I became a prison guard' or 'what if I became a prisoner,' is completely unfounded."

"So I didn't give it a score."

He spoke a very long and detailed passage in one breath.

He expressed his inner thoughts very thoroughly.

His eyes remained fixed on Nan Zhuren, anticipating her reaction.

Nan Zhuren's reaction to this was—

“Okay, this is an answer that considers the problem from a more realistic perspective, which is the first time this has appeared in our group counseling.”

"It's also a completely new perspective, very creative."

Zhang Zihao's expression suddenly froze. He blinked, swallowed hard, and unconsciously rubbed his hands together along the sides of his trouser seams.

It's like putting all your strength into a punch, but ending up hitting Baymax from Big Hero 6 instead.

“However, what you mean by ‘not giving a score’ is, in a sense, also a form of ‘scoring’,” Nan Zhuren added. “Can I take your ‘not giving a score’ as your final ‘score’?”

This is a very important point.

Zhang Zihao's original statement of "not wanting to give a score" actually meant "I don't want to participate in your activities."

However, Nan Zhuren's alternative interpretation still considers Zhang Zihao as part of the event, and even regards Zhang Zihao's rebellious and aggressive words as contributing to the event.

This combination of offense and defense caught Zhang Zihao off guard. He pursed his lips and simply said nonchalantly, "Whatever, it's fine with me."

This answer is also crucial, even if it's a passive one.

At this point, Zhang Zihao truly entered the group and began to experience it.

Nan Zhuren smiled with satisfaction.

So far, all the students who felt guilty and anxious, like Lin Junkai and Hou Liuhai, have grown through the group counseling program.

The remaining students are those with cognitive distortions, led by Zhang Zihao.

Actually, the group counseling has reached this stage and is almost over; it's about to enter the final phase.

But the impact on Zhang Zihao will begin from this stage.

By leveraging the influence of the students who have already matured in the group counseling, we can impact Zhang Zihao.

A most powerful and toughest force!

……

After saying "Whatever, it doesn't matter," Zhang Zihao initially felt that nothing had changed.

After he sat down, his two companions also stood up one after the other.

They actually gave scores and then shared their thoughts and feelings.

They are completely different from themselves now.

Zhang Zihao curled his lip in disdain, but suddenly felt that something around him seemed different.

It's as if the shell that has always covered me has been broken, causing my senses, which have been hidden for so long, to suddenly become sharp.

Zhang Zihao suddenly felt a series of familiar yet unfamiliar gazes being cast upon him from all around.

The students looked at each other, but their eyes seemed to be glancing at each other from time to time; Lin Junkai turned his head to look at Teacher Nan, but his attention seemed to be focused on himself.

Even though he was sitting on the edge of the group, Zhang Zihao felt as if he were standing in the very center of the circle of students.

It attracted everyone's attention and comments.

Why do I feel that way?
Is it because I just made a different opinion than everyone else?
Was it because his two partners suddenly became more cooperative?

Or is it because Coach Wang is no longer here?

Wait a minute... why is the way they're looking at me so similar to how they used to look at Xu Pengcheng?

(End of this chapter)