Lily walked slowly on the way to school, her mind still on what her father had just said and what she planned to do in the future.
She entered the academy just to find the answer, but now that graduation is approaching, she still hasn't found it.
"What will you do in the future? Find a stable job and live like Maya? Then find an ordinary husband like your mother and give birth to your own offspring?"
When Lily thought of this, she shook her head vigorously. This was definitely not the future she wanted.
"Use my power to protect Hope Island? Become everyone's protector? But the sea is calm right now. The biggest disturbance is the friction between the governors, which can be coordinated by the Explorers Association. I am of no use."
Before she knew it, she arrived at the entrance of the college. Lily thought for a moment and then walked in.
If you want to find your life goals, then the knowledge you have learned before will be useless in this regard and you must find solutions from other directions.
Therefore, she went to the library to find the answer. The library of Hope Island had a complete collection of books. Except for some banned books, basically all the books in the world were included.
She believed that there must be one of these books that could help her solve her puzzles.
Lily spent a long time in the library that day. She read many books without sleep or food, but still did not find her answer.
Just as Lily was searching on top of the heavy bookcase on the ladder, a surprised voice came from below.
"Lily? What are you doing here? I've been looking for you all morning."
Lily lowered her head and found her friend Maya looking at her in surprise.
"I'm not doing anything. I'm just looking for my own future." Lily slid down the ladder and told her about her troubles.
"I had never thought about this before. It was Mr. Charles who pulled me onto the boat. He made all the choices for me along the way. He even helped me turn into a human being."
"I don't need to think about anything, just accept the result quietly."
"For nearly ten years, my only goal was to return to my parents, but when I did return to them, I found that there was no one to lead me and I knew exactly what to do next."
"In other words, I can't find the meaning of myself anymore, Maya. I'm really confused now." There was a hint of bitterness on Lily's face.
If she were still the Lily of the past, perhaps the future she wanted was just to be happily with her parents forever, eating well and dressing nicely every day, but she is no longer the Lily with simple ideas.
Knowledge has made her way of thinking no longer childish, and has made her realize that she can no longer rely on her parents when she grows up.
But this still didn't help her find the answer.
Although I didn't quite understand some of the things in Lily's words, such as turning into a human, I could still understand the general meaning.
"Is this what rich people's lives are like? You're good-looking and rich, but you feel like your life is meaningless? I really want to trade places with you, so you can experience how fulfilling the life of a poor person is."
Lily rolled her eyes at her complaining friend and pulled her towards the library entrance. "Can you help me think of a solution? Aren't you my good friend?"
"As a good friend, I remind you that you will soon be finishing your course, and your only goal now is the final exam."
When Lily heard this, her heart tightened. "Yes, there is still the final exam. This is the most important thing for now. Come on, let's go review."
After taking a few steps, Lily felt some movement behind her. She turned around and saw a hunchbacked old man walking slowly towards her with a pile of books in his arms.
Lily knew him. He was a librarian named Sartre. He had a very memorable scar on his forehead.
Lily shook her head and said, "It's nothing. Maybe I had a wrong feeling." Then she left with Maya.
The old man picked up the book that Lily had chosen from the table, "How to Find Your Purpose in Life"
He looked at the title of the book and looked up at Lily's back, then climbed up the ladder and put the book back.
As the graduation time approached, Lily found a short-term goal, which was to pass the test. She no longer had time to think about anything else.
During the days of the exam, all the students were extremely nervous, as everyone knew how talented the first batch of students were.
As long as they can complete the course, the bright future promised by the Governor will be waiting for them.
But in other words, if they fail the test, it will be a stain on their future resume, which will affect their employment, and no one wants to be a stain.
The anxious days of testing were finally over, and after the final collective and public review of each other's papers, the transcript results were finally out.
When they learned that they had successfully passed the test, they hugged each other excitedly.
Facing the cheering students, the officials from the Hope Island Education Department were also very happy.
The Governor's investment has finally paid off. Once these people start working, Hope Island's technology will take another big step forward.
That night, the college held a farewell dinner, and the pressure brought by years of study was released on this day.
Under the influence of alcohol, the dinner scene was in chaos, but no one cared now. There were laughter, cheers, screams, and many people even hugged and kissed each other.
Lily did not attend. She returned to the library again, looking at the chairs she had sat on and the books she had read.
She was about to graduate, and she was afraid she would never come to this place again, so she suddenly felt a little reluctant to leave.
"Child, are you confused now?" An old voice came from behind her, scaring Lily.
When she turned around, she found that it was the librarian. Lily crossed her legs and bent her knees slightly to make a skirt-lifting gesture to him. "Mr. Sartre, didn't you go to the dinner?"
"That's the territory of young people. I still want to live a few more years." Sartre walked to Lily with a peaceful face.
He patted his hand on the scar on his forehead, "Do you know what this is?"
Lily stared at the ugly scar curiously, "Mr. Sutter, have you ever been injured on your forehead?"
Sartre shook his head. "No, there used to be a white inverted triangle here."
Upon hearing this news, Lily opened her eyes wide in surprise, "You used to be a believer of the Church of Light?"
She thought Sister Linda was the only believer in the God of Light, but she didn't expect that there was someone missing.
"It used to be." Sartre sat down slowly on the stool, thinking about the past. "Do you know how desperate I was when I learned that my god had died?"
"I even wanted to commit suicide to follow Him. Although I didn't die with the help of my friends, I fell into deep confusion, just like you."
(End of this chapter)