The three-day activity of welcoming new students passed lively, and the first day of class did not seem to be as boring as Bai Xinrui imagined. As an eighth-grader, she chose ballet and astronomy for herself, in addition to a compulsory science, Chinese literature, algebra 2 and a third foreign language, French.

Bai Xinrui chose astronomy in large part because she really likes stars.

As soon as the first class in the afternoon ended, she grabbed her schoolbag and rushed to the direction of the Science Building, there were only three minutes between classes, and the Science Building was no longer in the teaching center area, so she would be late for the first class if she didn't hurry up.

Running up the long corridor leading to the Science Building, she paused for a moment when the tall glass house appeared in front of her. This was the first time she approached the science building that her father had donated for her, and when she saw her father's name shining brightly on the top floor, she couldn't help but feel a sense of pride in her heart.

Pushing open the glass door and entering the hall, she paused for a moment in front of Bai Sensen's whale skeleton before taking the elevator to the astronomy classroom.

The astronomy classroom occupies an entire floor of the top floor of the Science Building, and is a very large semi-open space: a row of astronomical telescopes and various unnamed observation instruments are placed under the hemispherical glass dome, and the classroom is on the other side of the dome, in a relatively closed space.

Astronomy Teacher Dr. Dr. Johnson, a gray-haired, aged gentleman, had deep wrinkles on his face that made him look like he was always thinking deeply and with a touch of sadness.

He didn't say too much to greet and introduce himself in class, but only listened to him cut directly to the topic in an old but loud voice, and began the first new class of the first semester: "Immanuel Kant, the founder of classical German philosophy, in the last chapter of his Critique of Practical Reason, said the following: There are two things, and the deeper and more persistent I think about them, the more the wonder and awe they evoke in my soul will change and grow with each passing day, This is the starry sky above my head and the moral law in my heart. This phrase also became his epitaph......"

Dr. Johnson looked around the classroom with dark blue eyes that shimmered with wisdom, and continued: "I have devoted my life to the study of these two things, and the students of the astronomy course today, even if one day your curiosity about this subject fades, I hope that you will have the way of thinking as an astronomer and a philosopher for the rest of your life. ”

Dr. Johnson's finger touched the electronic whiteboard, and a magnificent picture of the starry sky appeared on it. In order to make the students see more clearly, he also deliberately turned the adjustment lever of the blinds to turn the light in the classroom to the darkest.

Dr. Johnson zoomed in on each part of the sky map through a touchscreen, introducing the names and locations of the constellations to the students, and from time to time using a special whiteboard marker to mark their relationship to the sun.

Bai Xinrui usually likes to read books on divination and constellations, and she can memorize the names of those constellations backwards, but this is the first time she has clearly seen the mysterious pattern composed of stars, and she is completely attracted by what Dr. Johnson said.

The vast starry sky on the electronic whiteboard brought her thoughts back to her childhood.

At that time, she often couldn't see her parents for many years, her father was busy with business, and her mother was busy filming. She has a lot of friends, but few friends are pitiful, and the only ones who often accompany her at home are the nanny Aunt Yun and a Filipino maid.

During the day, Bai Xinrui, who did whatever she wanted at home, was stubborn and abnormal, but at night, when Aunt Yun coaxed her to sleep, she behaved unusually well-behaved.

It was from then on that she learned to pretend to be asleep with her eyes open, and when Aunt Yun left the room, she quietly got up from the princess's bed decorated with lace, satin, and light gauze, climbed up the marble platform of the bay window with a pair of bare feet, secretly opened the heavy velvet curtains, and looked up at the starry sky late at night through the closed large glass window.

This is the most beautiful moment of the day for her, because only in the face of the vast starry sky is she the truest self, and she doesn't have to be the little master of the arrogant in front of Aunt Yun; You don't have to be a cute and obedient girl in front of your mother; You don't have to be a well-behaved but coquettish little cute pet in front of your father; You don't have to be a willful and troublesome princess in front of your friends...... She could talk to the stars freely, tell them what was on her mind, sing them the songs she had learned during the day, and tell them the stories she had heard during the day...... She imagined which star was her father, which star was her mother, which star was herself, and which star was a fairy tale character......

Later, as the line grew older, her mother took fewer and fewer movies, and finally returned to the house to be with her. Suddenly, there were more friends, especially the boys who kept pleasing her.

Bai Xinrui wanted to learn to dance and play the flute, so her father and mother found the best teachers to teach her; She likes designer clothes, shoes and bags, and her parents will search for them all over the world; She loved star-shaped jewelry, so her father and mother bought her all kinds of star-shaped hairpins, necklaces and earrings made of precious stones......

However, no amount of friends or beautiful clothes can drive away that innate sense of loneliness. Her favorite thing is still to look up at the stars in the middle of the night, and in the middle of the night, tell her little secrets to the stars, tell them stories, and sing songs to them......

The moment she looks up at the starry sky, she will clearly see her heart, she will regret those absurd actions during the day, and she will shed tears inexplicably...... She felt that the starry sky could contain everything about her, but it also made her feel terrified, because it was too big, too empty, and she always felt that maybe behind that void, there was another pair of omniscient eyes watching her......

At this time, the starry sky on the classroom screen was no different from what she had seen when she was a child—dark and lofty, infinite mystery, like a bottomless ocean, at a glance, time stood still, troubles stopped, happiness stopped, everything entered a dormant state, and that was an ultimate eternal state in life......

The chapel bell rang, bringing Bai Xinrui back to reality from her childhood memories, and the bell also announced the end of the day's lessons.

She walked out of the classroom and climbed alone to the terrace on the top floor of the Science Building.

Under the clear blue sky, the sun is shining, and in the distance are the rolling mountains, covered with large forests, and the campus is like a pearl, embedded in the vast expanse of lush green. The red brick dormitory buildings covered with green vines, the spired chapel, the stately main building, the white clock tower, the green courts, the open lawns, the neat paths, and the tranquil lake...... Everything is so beautiful, it's a little unreal.

Bai Xinrui lay on her back on the empty terrace, the sky gradually changing from blue to white, from white to pink, then to purple and gray...... And just like that, the day passed.