I lay on my desk, scrolling through my phone hidden under the table. Suddenly, someone walked up to me and grabbed my wrist. Qu Yi had a dark expression on her face. Without saying a word, she dragged me to a cubicle in the girls' restroom.
"What are you going to do about those comments?" she whispered in the cubicle. Oh, she was following my account, so she knew about those inflammatory remarks too.
"I'm not sure... I might just close the comment section for now," I said.
"You can't close the comment section!" Her eyes widened. "We need to keep the evidence."
"Those classmates, who are never around on normal days, all showed up to scold you," Qu Yi said resentfully. "What do they know about you! They don't know anything about your family, your academic achievements, or the hardships you've endured. How dare they just start attacking you based on the surface?"
"Take screenshots of all the comments and export them as a file, then send it to me."
I asked, "What for?"
"Hmph, don't think you can hide just because you're behind the internet. I'm taking this to my dad's company to dig up who they are!"
Qu Yi took the afternoon off. Looking at her empty seat, I hoped her dad could comfort her. When I opened my phone, hundreds of private messages from strangers popped up. Among them were a few that made my hair stand on end:
"Does this road look familiar to you?" The photo showed the road I took home from school.
"You're so good - looking. You'd definitely be even more popular if you made some other kinds of videos. Come play with us after school, and we'll help you film."
"Come alone. If you bring anyone else, don't expect to have peace in the future."
Qu Yi told me not to close the comment section to keep the evidence, but in just one afternoon, I received personal threats. I didn't dare to leave my seat during every break. Pretending to review my textbooks, I was trembling inside. I couldn't stay at school all night. And I had no idea how to explain this to my parents.