It happened on a Tuesday morning. When Han Mei arrived at school, she found that the whole building had no internet signal. 'How can we study without WiFi?' she cried. Some students seemed to have lost their minds; they walked around with their phones held high, searching for a single bar of signal. Jack laughed at them, but half an hour later, he was doing exactly the same thing. It was a funny and sad scene at the same time.
By noon, the students had no choice but to talk to each other. To their surprise, they enjoyed it. Lily and her deskmate discussed a novel they had both read. Li Lei taught Jack a card game, and Han Mei sang a song she had written last week. 'I cannot remember the last time we chatted like this,' Lily said. 'Actually, I seem to have forgotten how interesting real conversations can be.' The classroom, usually quiet and screen-lit, was filled with laughter.
In the afternoon, Cozy turned the accident into a lesson. 'According to a recent survey, the average student spends more than six hours a day online,' he said. 'Nobody wants to admit it, but many of us are becoming addicts of our own phones.' He asked the class to write down what they had gained and lost from the internet. 'Please be honest. You do not need to publish your answers; this is only for yourself.' The students wrote slowly, thinking deeply.
The discussion became heated. Some students argued that online learning was convenient and necessary. Others admitted that they had wasted too much time chatting and playing games. Jack even confessed that he had once argued with a stranger online for two hours. 'What a waste!' he said, shaking his head. Finally, the class made a plan: they would exchange one hour of screen time for physical exercise every day, and they would keep their online relationships real and kind.
The next morning, the WiFi came back, but something had changed. When the bell rang, fewer students reached for their phones. Han Mei and Lily walked to the classroom together, talking about the book they were reading. 'I used to think the internet was the whole world,' Han Mei said. 'Now I know it is only a window. The real world, with its warm conversations and sunny afternoons, is so much bigger.' Li Lei nodded. 'Let us not forget what we learned yesterday.'