NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1 - Meteor Shower
“At 3:45 PM Beijing time, renowned Chinese astronomer Jia Meng and the nation’s top astronomy team have made their first prediction of a phenomenal meteor shower, involving thousands of meteors. This meteor shower is predicted to come the closest to the Blue Planet’s orbit that humanity has ever observed. Current measurements indicate the presence of a massive celestial body in the surrounding radiation area, possibly a black hole…”
“Here, here… Yes, the one with the last digits 7474, this is it. Give it to me, thank you.” The girl leaned halfway out, stretched out her hand, and took the delivery from the other person.
The delivery guy stared blankly at the door, which had already closed and was slightly shaking. The words in his mouth didn’t even have time to come out, leaving only the tail end of a “thank you” echoing in the air.
Sigh, why are today’s young people so impatient? He really wanted to chat a little, just a sentence or two would be nice. This was already the fifth time today he had been shut out like this.
Sigh, these days, has it really become this hard to have a small chat? When did the distance between people grow so vast…? The delivery guy philosophized for a moment, feeling that this was at least somewhat related to the sociology course he had taken in college.
As for why a well-educated college graduate ended up delivering food for a living—that’s a topic for another sociological study.
With a dull expression and sagging lips, the delivery guy had no choice but to leave in disappointment due to the time constraints of his next order.
He originally wanted to keep up with the latest news and tell people about the freshly predicted meteor shower, but as the day was nearing nightfall, not a single person was interested in listening.
This was his second-to-last delivery; after one more, his work for the day would be done. The news had mentioned that there was a high chance of observing the meteor shower tonight, and its scale was a once-in-a-million-year event.
To prepare for it, he had even rented a large camera setup, hoping to capture a series of stunning astronomical images. With these, maybe he could leapfrog into a higher professional and social class.
But… that could wait. Chatting could wait. First, he needed to finish his deliveries. Food deliveries! After all, no matter how grand your dreams are, you still have to eat first.
By the way, what was that thing hanging at the girl’s place earlier? A pendant? A bell? It was gray and smudged, with mixed colors, neither steel nor plastic, and the craftsmanship seemed rough, like an impressionist piece carved casually.
Things like that are everywhere in the modern world. People today are used to the idea that the stranger something looks, the better it is. If you can’t understand it, then it must be good. It certainly managed to confuse quite a few people—like the delivery guy.
The moment he turned around, he had an inexplicable feeling that the pendant’s color was a bit odd. It seemed like… it was glowing? It was a strange kind of light that instantly grabbed one’s attention, indescribably radiant, and difficult to express in any known human language—not a sensation commonly defined by people.
But then, in the blink of an eye, it just appeared to be an ordinary pendant, gray and dull, so plain and unattractive that it made him doubt whether what he saw a moment ago was just an illusion. The delivery guy couldn’t help but laugh at himself for daydreaming. Must be a side effect of reading too much—now he was even having supernatural fantasies. But alas, the world didn’t have that many anomalies.
He hurriedly urged himself to walk faster and headed to the other side of the building.
So, what was the girl, who took the delivery and caused the delivery guy to grumble for a while, doing now? By this point, she was probably eating the meal, right?
Yes, and no.
She had indeed received the delivery. As soon as she opened the lid, the fragrant aroma of spicy hotpot filled the air, and the ingredients looked fresh and delicious. Her appetite, lost due to being forced to work overtime all day, suddenly came back. Eagerly, she picked up a soft piece of taro and couldn’t wait to take a bite.
Her joy quickly turned into disaster. Because she ate too hastily, the food burned her mouth, leaving a large blister. The pain was sharp, and in her sudden reaction, she accidentally splashed the hot broth. Then it all went downhill—a chain reaction followed. With her hair messily hanging by her temples, she managed to spill the entire bowl of spicy hotpot, including the piece she had picked up.
The food splattered all over her, and her exposed skin turned red from the burn. To top it off, she hadn’t even had a single bite of her spicy hotpot.
The girl immediately looked as if she was about to explode, then her expression shifted to a mix of frustration and helplessness, trying to suppress her emotions.
Oh, heavens. Is this what they mean by having bad luck, where even drinking water can make you choke? Even the hotpot was bullying her today!
But after years of facing the harsh realities of life, she was no longer someone who would break down over a minor setback. Besides, there was no one around to witness her frustration. In this big apartment, she was alone—who would she even show her disappointment to?
Besides, it was just a spilled bowl of hotpot. She hadn’t gotten angry even when she was forced to work overtime and revise the same contract 43 times today. After today, she felt like her patience and temper had improved a lot. She could almost thank the world and her clients for giving her this opportunity, smiling through it.
Gathering herself, she cleaned up the mess, grabbed a random set of loungewear, and rushed into the bathroom for a quick, refreshing shower.
She quickly adjusted her mindset after coming out, and was back to being her usual self.
However… dinner was still ruined. Ordering another meal would mean waiting for more than an hour. Jiang Hui wasn’t that patient, especially since her “beloved” client was still waiting for her to revise the contract for the 44th time. Stay calm!
So, after some thought, she grabbed a pack of instant noodles from the kitchen, planning to make do for dinner. She was starving.
After leaving the kitchen, she walked to the dining table and boiled some water. The TV was still broadcasting news about the meteor shower, with experts using the most exaggerated words to describe how rare and grand it would be.
She hadn’t been that interested at first, but since she was waiting for the water to boil, and the commentator’s voice was so captivating, she found herself spacing out a little, nibbling on her fork.
The sound of boiling water snapped her attention back to reality. She quickly poured the water into the instant noodles, then carried them back to her desk to continue working.
The noodles couldn’t steep for too long, but they still needed some time. With one hand propping up her chin, she glanced at the floor-to-ceiling window next to her computer. From the spacious balcony, she could still see the night sky outside. Meanwhile, the person on the TV behind her was still excitedly talking about the meteor shower.
Sigh, so boring. I wonder when the meteor shower will come. Could it be… the next moment? Nah, there’s no way I’d see it by coincidence. Besides, I’m in the city, not exactly the best place for stargazing.
So why was she even thinking about it? Had she really been influenced by what those people were saying? Right now, it seemed more practical to focus on filling her stomach.
Oh, the instant noodles were ready, and she was really starving.