Spending 200 million yuan to go to space, only to return silent for three days.
Sun Yuchen's experience has been interpreted by many as witnessing some cosmic secret.
But the truth may be simpler, and more awe-inspiring.
Looking at Earth from space isn't about exhilarating excitement, but rather a sudden stillness.
A blue planet hangs in the darkness, without borders, without conflict, its beauty restrained yet fragile.
Astronauts call this experience the "panoptic effect."
It's not an epiphany, but a gentle reset of perception.
Things you thought were important suddenly seem small, while things you overlooked become clear.
Many astronauts experience a brief period of speechlessness upon returning.
It's not pretense of profundity, but rather the inevitable disparity between a perspective stretched to a cosmic scale and returning to everyday life.
Like returning from the wilderness to a room, it takes time to adjust.
Perhaps this is where space truly changes people.
It doesn't make you escape from the world,
but rather makes you cherish the quiet, luminous planet beneath your feet.