7月24日这天，万萨斯大学迎来新的学期。
几天前麦蓝曾悄悄去过一次校园，被学校安保人员发现了。今天光明正大地去，恰好又遇见了他。“It’s you,I remember you,Millie.”梅森冲麦蓝远远挥手，麦蓝只感慨这大叔眼神太好了，戴着口罩都能认出来，或者正是因为戴口罩才认出来的。
麦蓝隔着口罩，紧张不安地抠了抠鼻子：“Hello,Mason,how are you？”
“Good.”梅森挥挥手，嘴唇抿出一个倒挂彩虹的弧度，忽然看见了一旁的夏洛蒂和杰西卡，眼睛亮起：“Hey! Jessica·Taylor and Charlotte·Zimmer！”
……
真没想到，梅森竟然能够精准地叫出每一个学生的名字，对没叫出名字的新面孔，他都要拿出笔记本记清楚，甚至在旁边出他们五官的简笔画。
“Does he know everyone?”
“Almost.”杰西卡耸耸肩，“Very few students.”
杰西卡说，因为战争，大部分年轻人去了东部军事基地，留在城里的年轻人也都参加工作养家糊口，极少数还能有来上大学，因此万萨斯大学城里的学生非富即贵，至于夏洛蒂……根据杰西卡悄悄透露，学费是她垫付的。
“Hurry up boys and girls, the headmaster\''s speech is about to begin！”梅森拍了拍手，示意大家尽快前往大礼堂。
The Great Hall，万萨斯大学著名的旅游打卡地，麦蓝前几天来过一次，不过没有进去细看。这次她终于能够仔细欣赏：抬头仰望高大的穹顶，可见墙面上雕刻着姿态优雅的神明和繁复神秘的图腾，暖黄色的水晶吊灯落在光洁的大理石地板上，光芒交相辉映，将这里变成金子做的瑰丽宫殿。
万萨斯大学校长叫Henry·Whitman，如果麦蓝没有记错的话，是个六十岁的胡子花白的老爷爷，他写过书比她看过的书都要多。威特曼校长杵着拐杖，静待所有学生陆续入座后开始演讲。起初麦蓝并没有仔细听，后来逐渐入了迷：
“……I know this is an incredibly challenging and disheartening time, so disheartening that every night before we sleep, we find ourselves asking：Can we truly see the sun rise tomorrow? Can we endure one more fifteen-minute interval, waiting for them to recover their physical and mental health, to break free from the heartbreaking symptoms? Can we keep our minds clear, avoiding harm to our loved ones through these excruciating days? Can we? Our path is fraught with uncertainty, filled with thorns, yet many of our fellow citizens march forward, willingly shedding their blood among those thorns, in search of a brighter future for us all. Our brothers and sisters, are they safe now on the distant Eastasian battlefield? Do they receive the letters we send, and do tears fill their eyes when they read them? I have a son and a daughter, both of whom enlisted in the recruitment two and one year ago, respectively. Last month, I received a letter from my daughter, Virginia. She wrote that she had been injured in a battle, and the ship was split in ha