I really don't want to date a girl addicted to the internet!

"Wow, you're quite observant."

"There's no need to observe this kind of thing so closely, is there?"

Standing next to the device was a petite girl wearing a lead-gray wide-brimmed hat or wizard's hat, so large it seemed to cover her entire body. She wore a robe of the same color, and her hair was blue. Perhaps because she wore that hat all the time, her skin was whiter than most ordinary people in this world.

The girl stood still, silently watching the two approach, and nodded softly to them, "Nice to meet you, strangers."

"Hello, are you a local?" Cheng Fei greeted him tentatively.

Shen Xi followed silently beside him.

“Yes, I live in town.” The girl glanced at Glowing Town not far away.

"What do you want?" Cheng Fei asked directly.

“My name is Rosie, and as you can see, I am an astrologer.” The blue-haired girl made a gesture of pulling up the brim of her hat.

"So?" The boy raised an eyebrow.

"You made this, right?" The girl named Rosie pointed to the device on the ground, and after the boy nodded, she continued, "You're observing the movement of the sun?"

That's exactly right.

“I’ve been looking for people like you.”

"What do you mean?" Cheng Fei asked, puzzled.

“If you’re willing, I’d like to hire you as assistants to conduct research with me.” Rosie looked at the two of them with a calm gaze.

Cheng Fei and Shen Xi exchanged a glance, and it was the boy who spoke first, "It's not that it's impossible, but I want to know the reason first."

Loshi pondered for a moment, "The reason is that you outsiders are all very intelligent. Although some of you are quite crazy, the two of you seem to be rational. In addition, my research may be somewhat heretical and not suitable for locals to participate in, so you are the best candidates."

"What do you study?" the boy asked, looking at her.

“I study the sun and stars, and in my research, they may very well be the same thing,” the blue-haired girl said, glancing at the two with a strange look, as if observing their reactions.

"You think the sun and stars are the same thing? Are you sure?" the boy asked, feigning doubt.

“You may think this is heresy, just like most people in the church, but I’m sure of it.” Losi nodded with a calm and certain air.

Cheng Fei leaned close to Shen Xi's ear and whispered, "Teacher Shen, it seems like we've run into Copernicus."

“It was Diggs who proposed that the sun is not the center of the universe.” The girl whispered in his ear in the same low voice, her small face showing no disdain.

"That's not important. The key question is, what do we do now? Should we go with her?"

"Heh, I'm warning you, even a rat has its principles. Don't just follow anyone around just because they wave at you."

"Teacher Shen, you're really something. The only thing that makes me follow you is your feet. Can't you stop treating every person of the same sex as an enemy?" the boy said helplessly.

"Disgusting. Besides, it was just a casual remark. You can decide for yourself." The girl glared at him.

"Does she just want to hear me say that I'll only follow you around? Sigh, the Protoss Queen's controlling nature."

"Shut up."

As the two whispered to each other, Rose stood still and observed them, saying softly, "How about it? If you agree, you can also access my accumulated observation records, without having to stand under the sun to record shadows."

"By the way, is there any compensation for being your assistant? How much is it per month?" Cheng Fei looked up and thought about it seriously.

"Moon?" Luo Xi blinked, seemingly unable to understand the meaning of the word.

Cheng Fei realized that this world might not have a moon, and therefore no concept of months.

Before the boy could ask further, Shen Xi raised her chin and said coldly, "That kind of thing is not important. We agree to be your assistant, so show us your observation records now."

"Teacher Shen, you were so reluctant just now, but you sold yourself out with just a piece of data?" Cheng Fei was stunned.

"If you don't understand the value in this, then shut up. It's obvious that this is a great opportunity for the two of us to figure out the sun's patterns by recording how long it takes us every day." Shen Xi made no attempt to hide her disdain.

"Teacher Shen, you're too materialistic." The boy looked at her, hesitant to speak.

"Cheng Feiyu, who only gets things done for personal gain, has the nerve to call me opportunistic? Don't be so ridiculous by turning the tables on me." The girl kicked him.

Looking at the two who seemed to easily get lost in their own conversation and ignore her, Luo Xi opened her mouth, but then, thinking of the rumors about the strange behavior of strangers, she felt there was no need to make a fuss. She raised her voice slightly, "Since you've decided, let's go. I'll take you to my house."

The two then turned around.

"Okay, lead the way." Cheng Fei nodded seriously.

Led by Rosie, the three arrived at a corner of Glowing Town, where a small wooden building with a round roof stood.

"This is my home, and also my observatory, located in the attic," Rose explained as she led the two up the narrow, steep wooden stairs.

Cheng Fei followed behind, looking at her large hat, feeling as if he were following a walking lead-gray mushroom.

823. The two people who made initial discoveries

"Teacher Shen, I suddenly feel that this mage hat is quite interesting. How about I make your equipment look like this sometime?" The boy rubbed his chin.

Shen Xi turned her head to look at him, her brows furrowed, and her small face showed a visible chill.

"What kind of cute expression is this? Don't you like it?" the boy wondered.

"Cheng Fei, please don't try to copy other people's stylish outfits onto me. It's really disgusting." The silver-haired girl covered her chest with her hands, her face full of disgust.

"Not at all, this is proof that I like you. I keep you in my heart as my one and only little cutie, and I think of you no matter what I see." The boy said seriously.

"Does he constantly fantasize about me as a filthy, obscene object? That's even more disgusting." The girl even tried to distance herself from him, but the staircase was too narrow, and she bumped into the wall.

"My little cutie just loves to exaggerate. What if one day I really don't want to think about it anymore and you get upset?" The boy shook his head and sighed.

"You don't have to think about it if you don't want to." The girl's face grew even more displeased.

"We're here, this is it." The lead-gray mushroom in front of them, or rather, Rosie, stopped.

The two looked up and saw a circular attic with an arched ceiling, which was probably the same circular roof they had seen from the outside.

The roof has a mechanical structure that seems to be able to open and close at will. In the center of the room is a frame that looks like a telescope. But it's really just a crudely made thin cylinder, a few meters long, mounted on a stand that can obviously be adjusted for orientation.

The room was cluttered with all sorts of strange instruments, piles of yellowed books and papers, and sunlight streamed in through the window, making the dust floating in the air sparkle.

"Very advanced," Cheng Fei couldn't help but exclaim.

Of course, this is in terms of the world's technological level.

“This observatory was left to me by my father.” Loshi looked up and turned a crank, causing the roof to slowly open with a creaking sound.

"Your father?" Shen Xi narrowed her eyes slightly.

“My father used to be the town’s priest and also an astrologer. During one of his travels, he encountered a double sun in the sky. He was observing on a plateau and had nowhere to hide. When people found him, he had died of thirst there, still clutching his observation manuscripts in his arms.” Luo Xi looked at the strong sunlight streaming in through the crack in the roof, her tone calm.

"I see, my condolences." Cheng Fei nodded in understanding. "So you've decided to carry on his legacy and become an astrologer?"

The blue-haired girl nodded. "I want to figure out the sun's movement patterns, predict when the polar night will arrive, when the two suns will be in the sky, and how cold days, warm days, and scorching days alternate, so that everyone can live according to the calendar and not lose their lives in vain."

"Understood, we will assist you." The boy said seriously.

Shen Xi glanced at him but didn't offer any opinion.

“Let’s begin then. Although the daily observations are tedious, only through the accumulation of time can we obtain the correct results. I believe you understand this principle.” Rosie nodded. “So your job is to take turns observing with me. If you know mathematics and can help me with the calculations, that would be even better.”

She paused, then pointed to the books and papers piled up in the room. "There are many observation records here, most of which were left by my father, a few of which I recorded, and some of the results of other astrologers. You can browse through them freely, just don't damage them. If you don't understand anything, feel free to ask me."

"Understood." Cheng Fei nodded to indicate that he understood.

Next, under Roche's guidance, the two learned how to use the instruments in the room, including the telescope. Incidentally, the telescope was, unsurprisingly, primitive, with many bubble streaks on the lenses, severe chromatic and spherical aberration, resulting in a blurry and distorted image, and a very narrow field of view.

“Here are uninterrupted weather records from the past fifty years. They were first observed by my father’s teacher, then taken over by my father, and now passed down to me. Some of the papers are quite old, so please be careful when you look at them.” Rosie placed the heavy, bound manuscript in front of the two of them with gentle movements.

"Wait a minute, a year? Since the sun's movement is chaotic, how do you define a year?" Cheng Fei was taken aback.

"What does the year have to do with the sun? Every rainy season brings crops that bear fruit for a year, and the positions of the stars also change every two years." Rosie looked at it with an expression of complete certainty.

"You mean the seasons and plant growth in this world have fixed cycles, and the movement of stars also has fixed cycles?" Cheng Fei suddenly felt like he had grasped something.

Shen Xi narrowed her eyes, pinched her chin, and frowned as she fell into deep thought.

“Of course, not to mention the rainy season and crops, there are also observation records of the movement of stars here, although it is relatively short, only about twenty years intermittently.” Rosie then placed another stack of manuscripts in front of the two of them.

"What other records are there? Weather, astronomy, anything, show us everything," Cheng Fei said quickly.

“There are some less important ones, since you’re interested…” Luo Xi looked at the two of them with a suspicious expression, thought for a moment, and then continued to bring them piles of manuscripts.

So, under Roche's watchful eye, Cheng Fei and Shen Xi immersed themselves in a massive amount of raw observation records. They didn't know how much time had passed until the sun, which had reached its zenith, suddenly went out, plunging the entire world into darkness.

Loxi lit a candle and looked at the two of them with a strange expression. "I didn't expect you strangers to be so interested in stargazing. Did you see anything?"

"It's hard to say right now. This data is too rough. We need to organize it first. Also, we're a bit tired. Let's call it a day." Cheng Fei rubbed his temples.

Amidst the massive amount of data, the boy felt an even stronger sense of grasping something. However, the old saying that a bad pen is worse than a good memory proved true. Even with an intelligence of 9, he couldn't possibly put so much data in his brain to do analysis.

"There are still empty rooms on the first floor. If you don't mind, we can clean them up for you to stay in," Luo Xi thought for a moment.

"No need, we have our own place to stay. We'll be here on time tomorrow, whether the sun comes out or not," the boy waved his hand.

"Okay then." Luo Xi hesitated for a moment, but nodded nonetheless.

"Teacher Shen, let's go back for dinner. I also have some questions I'd like to discuss with you." Cheng Fei looked at the girl beside him who was still engrossed in her observation records.

Shen Xi looked up and met his gaze, then nodded tentatively.

……

The boy opened his eyes and heard a familiar, gentle voice in his ear, "Good afternoon, Cheng Fei?"

He took off his infiltration helmet and turned his head, meeting the clear, bright eyes of Nagasaki Asuna lying beside him. The girl was staring at him intently, and he didn't know how long it had been.

"What are you doing?" the boy asked, looking at her.

“Watching my master,” the girl said softly, in a tone that seemed perfectly natural.

Cheng Fei was speechless. He rubbed her head and stood up. "Is it already afternoon?"

“Well, you two haven’t logged off yet. Everyone else has had lunch and gone out to play.” Nagasaki Asuna got up and knelt down next to her, like a well-behaved cat.

"Why don't you go out and play?" The boy pinched her soft cheek.

"Cats just want to play with their owners." The sweet girl shook her head, still looking completely matter-of-fact.

At that moment, the shoji door connecting to the next room was pushed open, and Shen Xi walked in expressionlessly, her gaze sweeping over the two of them.

Cheng Fei coughed lightly and looked at her. "Good afternoon, Teacher Shen? Let's talk while we eat."

The aloof girl nodded without saying a word.

They called the hotel to send food, and the three of them sat down in the living room.

"Teacher Shen, I think the most obvious and noteworthy point right now is that, setting aside the times when the sun suddenly appears or goes out, and only looking at the normal sunrise and sunset, the daylight hours in the dual-body world are almost fixed, although there are two different lengths." Cheng Fei said as he devoured his juicy steak.

Thanks to the extensive and detailed observational records in Baloch's possession, this simple pattern is easy to discover.

“That’s right. I was wondering why they had the concept of a day before. It turns out that normal sunlight has a stable cycle, although the fact that it has two lengths is suspicious.” Shen Xi paused, holding a piece of fish belly but not putting it in her mouth. “In addition, the constellations of the dual-body world cycle every two years. There is reason to suspect that this two-year period is one revolution of the dual-body star, which is a true solar year.”

"But how exactly does a binary star revolve? The two different lengths of daylight are really strange. Sunrise and sunset are caused by the rotation of the binary star, and the rotation speed cannot change every day. The two different lengths of daylight are like two suns revolving around the binary star?" Cheng Fei saw that she was only thinking and not eating, so he picked up a shrimp and stuffed it into her stubborn pink mouth.

Caught off guard, Shen Xi first shrank back with an annoyed look and glared at him. Her eyes flickered, and then she opened her mouth to catch the shrimp. Her snow-white cheeks bulged slightly as she chewed, her face expressionless. "But two massive celestial bodies cannot revolve around a small-mass planet. This violates the laws of physics, and there is no sign of super-matter that breaks the laws in a binary world."

Asuna Nagasaki rested her chin on her hand as she watched the two talk, her gaze casually shifting back and forth. When she saw the boy feeding Shen Xi, she secretly puffed out one cheek.

Noticing this, the boy picked up a piece of sweet-smelling cantaloupe from the fruit plate next to him and put it in her mouth.

The sweet girl instinctively opened her mouth to catch it, then paused for a moment before a smile appeared on her lips, and she happily began to eat.

Cheng Fei casually rubbed her head and continued, "There's another point. There's also a connection between the length of daylight and the weather. Cold days correspond to short days, scorching days correspond to long days, and both types of daylight lengths can occur during warm days, just like the sun is shorter in winter and longer in summer. But the significant changes in the length of daylight here have nothing to do with the season; it's more like the result of two suns."

Shen Xi glanced at the interaction between the two, narrowed her eyes, her face turned displeased, and her voice turned cold. "In addition, there are real seasonal changes in the binary world. Although the sun's operation is chaotic, the alternation of rainy season and dry season is stable. I think this strongly proves that the binary star system is stable on a longer time scale. It just has complex randomness in the local area. It is very likely that this randomness is just the result of the operation being too complex."

“Now we can completely rule out the possibility of the Three-Body Problem, which is truly cause for celebration.” Cheng Fei smiled and nodded at her.

Shen Xi turned her face away from him, "So what we need to do now is to organize the data, analyze it using scientific methods, summarize the patterns of the sun's rise and fall, and then crack the secrets of the dual-body world."

“I fully support Teacher Shen’s opinion.” The boy continued to smile and nod at her.

Shen Xi glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, remaining expressionless, "Then I hope some scoundrels know what to do next and are more self-aware."

"Yes, I will try my best to work with Teacher Shen, don't worry." The boy bowed respectfully.

"Hey, it seems like the two of you are getting more and more in sync these days?" Nagasaki Asuna remarked softly from the side.

Shen Xi gave a cold laugh, her meaning unclear.