My abstract plant was exposed by my sister.

Xiao Kui squatted at the gate of the courtyard, staring blankly at the green wall covered with thorns. Da Ju squatted beside her, his eyes warily fixed on the thorns covering the wall.

"Brother, do you think those people who pulled out the thorns will come back to settle scores with you?"

"Settle scores with me? It's not like I deliberately stabbed them, why should I be held accountable?"

Xiao Kui thought about it and realized that what he said made sense.

"So, during final exam week, could we sell thorns? Ten dollars a thorn, guaranteed to make you cry so much you don't want to study anymore—no, I mean, cry so much you just want to study?"

Lin Muyang glanced at her: "Are you a devil?"

"I'm your sister."

Lin Muyang didn't say anything, walked into the courtyard, and closed the door.

Xiao Kui shouted at the door, "Brother! You still haven't said whether this idea is okay or not!"

A single word came from inside the door: "If you don't want to, go get tested first."

Xiao Kui smiled. She opened her phone and sent a message to Cao Lei: "Brother Cao, our research institute needs to test something again. Can you expedite it?"

Not long after, Cao Lei sent a no problem emoji. In fact, he had also watched Xiao Kui's live stream and was very curious about the working principle of the trifoliate orange peel.

Upon receiving a positive reply, Xiao Kui immediately posted on her WeChat Moments: "New business announcement from Mu Kui Research Institute: The ultimate stress reliever for final exam week – the bitter orange thorn. One thorn will double your study efficiency. Pre-sale price: ten yuan per thorn."

The comment section exploded:

"You didn't mention the side effects at all!"

"Just tell me if it's useful or not."

"Xiao Kui, are you serious?"

"I want ten!"

"Can you ship it by courier?"

"I'll pay twenty, give me one to try first."

Xiao Kui was overjoyed to see everyone so eager to try, and then she looked at the thorny branches covering the entire wall.

It's a game where you can make money and make others miserable. I can't wait!

The news that the thorns of the bitter orange could make people question their existence spread much faster on the campus of Chengdu University than Lin Muyang had expected.

For a group of college students with plenty of free time and a knack for risking their lives, what could be more exciting than this?

So someone posted on the forum: "Brothers, Lin's bitter orange thorn is really useful!"

I was pricked and spent a full forty minutes questioning my existence; my eyes were swollen from crying. Now I feel refreshed and like I've been elevated!

The comments section was full of requests for "address", "help me install", and "same model".

Thus, an absurd "thorn challenge" swept across the entire campus within half an hour.

Room 302, Building 7, Male Dormitory.

Li Zhiqiang pulled three thorns from the wall of the research institute and wrapped them in toilet paper, treating them like some precious medicinal material. He placed the thorns on the table, and his roommates gathered around, their expressions varied.

"Does this thing really make people emo?" my roommate asked curiously.

"Why don't you try and see?" Li Zhiqiang picked up a thorn, held it up to his finger, and then put it down. "I'm a little scared."

"Coward! Real men are never afraid!" Another roommate snatched the thorn and lightly pricked his index finger.

A drop of blood oozed from his fingertip, and he stared at it for three seconds.

"It's nothing much—"

Before he could finish speaking, the corners of his mouth began to droop, and endless feelings of weariness, frustration, and despondency instantly enveloped him.

"I... I suddenly feel so sad..." His voice began to tremble.

"What's wrong?" my roommate asked curiously.

"I'm sad... I wasn't very nice when I talked to my mom on the phone yesterday..." He squatted down and buried his head in his hands.

"How could I treat my mother like that... She gave birth to me and raised me... I'm such an ingrate..."

Li Zhiqiang and his roommate exchanged a glance. Before they could say anything, the other roommate started sniffling: "I'm so useless... I cheated on my exam last week... I didn't get caught, but my conscience hurts so much... Why did I cheat... I'm a piece of trash..."

He lay on the table, his shoulders shaking as he cried.

Li Zhiqiang held the last thorn in his hand, hesitated for half a second, and then stabbed himself hard.

Three seconds later, the three of them squatted down on the ground and cried, "Our 302 is the worst dorm room in the whole dormitory..."

"We were the ones who got a negative report during the last hygiene inspection..."

"My socks haven't been washed for two weeks..." "Mine haven't been washed for even longer, three weeks..."

The cries rose and fell, like a sorrowful symphony.

Hearing the commotion, the people in the next dorm room came and knocked on the door: "What's wrong? What happened?"

Li Zhiqiang opened the door, his face streaked with tears, his nose red, and grinned: "Want one too?"

When his roommates saw his bizarre appearance, they slammed the door shut.

The study room on the third floor of the library is usually so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Today was no exception, until someone took out a bitter orange thorn.

Wang Siyu is a top student, and final exams are nothing to her.

But she saw the post on the forum, and curiosity led her to go to the outskirts of the research institute and pull out a thorn.

She didn't dare prick herself, but she thought that if she could cry and release the pressure, it might be good for her studies.

She hid the thorn in her pencil case and hesitated for half an hour. Then she took a deep breath and gently pricked her left index finger.

Five seconds later, she buried her face in her arms and started crying.

The crying wasn't loud, but in a quiet study room, it was enough to make everyone turn their heads.

A classmate next to her nudged her: "What's wrong?"

Wang Siyu raised her head, her face covered in tears, her voice choked with sobs: "I feel... my life has no meaning..."

So what if I got first place in the grade... My parents are divorced... Who cares...?

The classmate next to you panicked: "Don't cry, everyone is watching you."

"Let them see... I'm just a joke anyway..." She buried her face in her arms and cried even harder.

The other people in the study room looked at each other in bewilderment. Suddenly, a boy sitting in the corner stood up and walked towards Wang Siyu.

"Hey kid, where did you get that thorn from?"

Wang Siyu looked up at him with her red and swollen eyes, took a thorn out of her pencil case and handed it to him.

The boy took it and, without hesitation, pricked himself.

Ten seconds later, a sob was heard in the study room.

Then came the third, and the fourth.

Within twenty minutes, the study room was filled with crying.

The librarian rushed over upon hearing the commotion, opened the door, and saw more than twenty students crying on their desks, some squatting on the floor, and others standing and leaning against the bookshelves. The entire study room looked like it had just finished showing a tragic movie.

"What...what's wrong with you?" The administrator's voice trembled.

A girl looked up, her eyes blurry with tears, and said, "Teacher...we're okay...it's just that life feels so tiring..."

The administrator fell silent, quickly ran out, closed the door, and then dialed the security office.

Soon, students were seen crying for no apparent reason in the grove, classrooms, and even the cafeteria.

It has to be said that sometimes, college students' ability to do crazy things is truly astonishing.