Chapter 1: Meteor Shower

"At 15:45 Beijing time, our country’s renowned astronomer, Jia Meng, and his leading astronomical team have, for the first time, predicted a phenomenal meteor shower. The scale is expected to reach thousands of meteors. It is reported that this meteor cluster is the closest humanity has ever been able to predict in its approach to Blue Star’s orbit. Current readings indicate the presence of a massive celestial object in the surrounding radiation zone, suspected to be a black hole..."

"Here, here... yes, that’s it, order ending in 7474. That’s the one, thank you!" The girl leaned halfway out, reaching out to grab the takeout from the delivery person.

The delivery driver stood stunned at the door, which had already closed with a slight tremble. The words he had been about to say remained caught in his throat, leaving only the fading echo of a "thank you" in the air.

*Sigh... why are young people these days so impatient?* He really wanted to chat, even just a word or two. This was the fifth time today he had been shut out.

*Is it really that hard to have a little conversation in this modern world? When did the distance between people become so vast?* The driver had a rare moment of philosophical reflection, feeling that this at least justified the sociology elective he had taken in college.

As for why a well-educated university graduate ended up delivering food, that was a subject for another sociological study.

The driver’s mouth drooped in disappointment, and eventually, due to delivery time constraints, he had to leave. He had originally wanted to share the latest news about the meteor shower with her, but as dusk approached, no one was willing to listen.

This was his second-to-last delivery; one more and he would be done for the day. The news said there was a high probability of observing the meteor shower tonight, a scale rarely seen in millions of years. To prepare, he had even rented a high-end camera, hoping to capture images that would stun the world. Perhaps this would be his chance to leap over the dragon gate and achieve a major professional and class advancement.

*Oh well, save the chatter for next time. Delivering food... food! After all, no matter how grand the dream, one must eat.*

*Right, what was that hanging by the girl's door? A pendant? A bell? It was greyish, with a mottled color, looking like steel but not quite, and not plastic either. The carving seemed very rough, like an impressionist piece made on a whim.*

*Normally, such things are everywhere in the modern world. People have long grown accustomed to this abstract style where "the weirder, the better." Not being able to understand it is considered a virtue, which is enough to fool plenty of people—like the driver himself.*

The moment he had turned away, he felt inexplicably that the pendant’s luster was strange. It seemed... to be flashing? It was a light that captured one's gaze in an instant, indescribably iridescent, difficult to describe with current human language, a feeling not commonly defined by people.

But then, in a blink, it appeared to be just an ordinary pendant, grey and mundane, making him suspect that what he had seen a moment ago was an illusion. The driver couldn't help but mock his own wild imagination—a side effect of reading too much, perhaps, or just his own paranormal fantasies. Sadly, there weren't that many anomalies in this world.

He quickened his pace, heading toward the other side of the building.

And what of the girl who had just received her meal and caused the driver so much frustration? Having taken the food, she surely must be eating it by now.

Yes, and no.

She had indeed received the meal. As she opened the lid, the fresh, spicy aroma of the *malatang* hit her. The ingredients looked tender and delicious, and her appetite, which had been lost due to forced overtime, suddenly returned. She impatiently grabbed a small piece of soft, cooked taro.

Disaster struck in the midst of joy. Because she was eating too quickly, the food scalded a large blister inside her mouth as soon as it touched her tongue. The pain was sharp, and in her reflexive reaction, her movements became erratic, accidentally splashing the boiling broth. Then, it truly happened—a chain reaction. Combined with her messy hair dangling at her temples, she tipped the entire bowl over—including the piece she had been holding.

The food spilled all over her, the exposed skin instantly turning red from the heat, and she didn't get a single bite of her "super-deluxe" meal.

The girl immediately wore an expression of impending explosion, which instantly curdled into a mix of frustration and resentment, before she forced herself to suppress her emotions.

*Good heavens, is this what it means to be so unlucky that even drinking water gets stuck in your teeth? Why is even the malatang bullying me?*

However, having been beaten down by society for years, she was no longer the type to break down over minor setbacks. Besides, there was no one to see her misery; she was alone in this large apartment.

Furthermore, it was just a bowl of lousy *malatang*. She hadn't even gotten angry when she was forced to rewrite the same contract forty-three times today. She felt that after today’s ordeal, her temper and patience had improved significantly. She smiled, thanking society and her "client-father" for the opportunity.

She pulled herself together, cleaned up the mess on the floor, grabbed some loungewear, and rushed into the bathroom for a quick "combat shower."

Stepping out, she quickly adjusted her mindset, becoming Jiang Letian once again.

But... dinner was gone. If she ordered another one now, she would have to wait over an hour. Jiang did not have that kind of patience; after all, her "dear" client was still waiting for her to rewrite the contract for the forty-fourth time. *Stay calm!*

She thought for a moment, fished a pack of instant noodles from the kitchen, and decided to settle for that for dinner. She was starving.

Leaving the kitchen, she went to the dining table and boiled a pot of water. The television was still reporting on the meteor shower, with experts using exaggerated terms to describe its rarity and grandeur.

The girl hadn't been very interested initially, but as she waited for the water to boil, the speaker's voice was too distracting. She couldn't help but bite her fork and drift off.

When the water finally boiled, she snapped back to reality, poured the water into the noodles, and returned to her computer to resume her battle.

Instant noodles shouldn't be steeped for too long, but they still required time. The girl rested her chin on one hand, looking at the floor-to-ceiling window next to her computer. Through the relatively spacious balcony, she could see the starry sky outside. Behind her, the person on TV was still shouting excitedly about the "meteor shower."

*Sigh, how boring. I wonder when the meteor shower will come. Could it be... the next moment? Forget it, it wouldn't be that coincidental. Besides, this is the city, not a good spot for observation.*

*So why am I thinking about this? Have I really been influenced by those people? I think filling my stomach is more realistic right now.*

*Oh, the noodles are ready. I'm really starving.*