Deep In a Galaxy Chapter 1

Chloe Liu would never have dreamed that the opening of her painting exhibition would attract so many people.

He lay half dead on the hospital bed, with one arm and one leg hanging, extremely excited and tears in his eyes.

Blake Bai stood in front of the bed, holding his mobile phone expressionlessly. On the screen was the crowded exhibition hall, with tourists, students, reporters, and a cleaning lady running around collecting empty water bottles. Security guards were holding loudspeakers to maintain order. It was even more lively than the Monet exhibition in the next door venue.

"Have you seen enough?" Blake asked, "I'm going to pick someone up."

"Five more minutes." Chloe was reluctant to leave.

Blake said coldly: "Call me daddy."

Chloe has no moral integrity: "Dad."

Blake's icy expression finally softened, and he cursed with a smile: "Get lost!"

After a while, Chloe asked again in confusion: "Why are all my audiences old ladies?"

Blake remained calm and said, "This shows that in the city where we live, the artistic accomplishment of the old ladies is far higher than those internet celebrities you like."

Chloe slapped the bed with one hand and made a great decision: "I will only love old aunts in the future."

"Okay, go to sleep." Blake put away his phone. "The third brother and his friends will come to see you tonight, so I won't come over."

"Okay, Brother Bai, just do your thing and don't worry about me." Chloe sat up a little and said sincerely, "Also, thank you for this art exhibition."

Blake smiled, patted him, and turned to leave the ward.

"Boss Bai." Just as we arrived at the parking lot, the secretary called again, "Can we evacuate the exhibition? I want to pay the team leader. They still have to queue up at a popular fried dough sticks shop."

"Let's leave." Blake answered casually and threw the phone to the passenger seat.

The secretary was relieved and quickly waved to the team leader. Nowadays, you can find a dedicated person to line up for a milk tea shop. It is even easier to attract a group of visitors to see Chloe's unknown painting exhibition. Moreover, the old ladies like this kind of work. After all, they don't have to be exposed to the sun, they can drink free mineral water, and the air conditioning in the venue is comfortable. So they asked if there would be a next time, and said from the bottom of their hearts that this painter is good and we all like him.

The silver sports car turned right through the city, drawing a beautiful arc, and then was stuck in the sea of   private cars, taxis and buses. September was the peak time for college freshmen to return to school, and the subway was being built nearby, with blue fences everywhere, making the road even more blocked, making it difficult to move.

Blake glanced at the watch on his wrist. The two hands swayed left and right like little ghosts, and finally floated towards three forty - there were still ten minutes until the agreed time. Looking at the traffic in front of him that looked like a static painting, Blake felt a dull pain in his temples, so he had to dial the reserved mobile phone number.

Power off.

Hit again.

Still powered off.

...

Time passed by minute by minute, and when Blake finally arrived at the exit, it was already a full hour past 3:50. He happened to meet a large group of people pouring out of the station, some carrying luggage, some catching live chickens, and some holding fruits. The air was filled with all kinds of sour smells, which were evaporated by the hot and humid afternoon sun, like a fermented club, making people dizzy and swollen.

Blake had to take two steps back and find a ventilated place. His originally crisp grey shirt was now soaked with sweat, his shoes had been stepped on countless times, and his trouser legs were stained with ice cream from some kid. It was really difficult for him to maintain a good mood, so he impatiently unbut.toned his shirt and dialed the phone again.

Not surprisingly, it shut down.

There was really no other way. Although Blake was extremely reluctant, he still had to call the old man who was on vacation.

"The number you dialed is powered off."

Blake began to wonder if today was World Power Off Day, a day when everyone is responsible for environmental protection. Just as he was thinking about what to do next, there was a sudden commotion at the other end of the train station.

"Catch the thief!" someone shouted.

Blake looked up and just in time saw a tall man pushing through the crowd, nimbly picking up a person, and throwing him into the sky at a 45-degree "whoosh".

The onlookers were in an uproar and scattered in all directions, consciously leaving a large open space for the thief to land. Blake was shocked when he saw this, and hurriedly rushed forward in two steps. When the thief's head was about to come into close contact with the tiles, he rolled over and hugged him, acting as a cushion.

A dull crash was heard, and the crowd gasped in unison.

pain.

"Don't move!" The police quickly came over and handcuffed the two people on the ground.

Blake: ...

Blake quickly issued himself a card and said, "Comrade police officer, I am a good person."

However, no one believed it. After all, if someone rushed to save the thief in public, he was either an accomplice or a mentally ill person.

Blake pointed at the burly man who had done something righteous and said frankly, "I'm afraid he will beat the thief to death."

According to the angle of the landing, the thief may have broken his neck, or at least suffered a concussion, so the police asked Blake: "Do you know each other?"

"I know him." Blake said, "I'm here to pick him up. His name is Harper."

The police took the ID card from the hero, Zhou Jinshan.

...

Until he was detained in the police car, Blake was still deeply trapped in the cruelty of reality and unable to extricate himself. He really did not want to admit that he had bravely performed a good deed and risked his life to save an unknown thief in full view of everyone.

This matter is a bit complicated. He didn't know Harper Zhuo and had never even seen his photo. He only received instructions from the old man to pick him up at the train station in person. Apart from that, the only clue was that he heard from his mother that Harper fought every day in his hometown and went to the police station more frequently than to the convenience store.

Blake twitched his lips: "Is this considered an advantage?"

"What do you know? He was just doing something righteous." Mrs. Bai raised her orchid finger while eating the bird's nest with rock sugar. "Your father wanted him to join the company, and I thought it would be a good idea for him to be your bodyguard."

So today, when Blake saw someone catching a thief nimbly, he instinctively thought that it must be Harper. He didn't want this person to be sued for killing a thief on his first day here - the old man would probably strangle him to death if that happened. So he hurried forward to help, but he never expected that he recognized the wrong person.

Thinking of this, he turned his head and glanced at his "accomplice" deeply and resentfully.

The thief dragged the handcuffs and clasped his fists: "We met by chance. Thank you for saving my life, big brother."

Blake felt like swearing.

The young policeman knocked the iron bars with his baton: "You two, be quiet!"

...

Two hours later, the interrogating police officers all sent the young master of Huanchen Group, who had bravely rescued the thief, out the door with looks of disbelief, confusion, horror and awe.

Blake's legs were weak and his stomach was rumbling. He felt that this might be the most unlucky day of his life. What was even more unlucky was that Harper was probably still squatting in the train station, alone and helpless, slurping instant noodles.

He sighed and took out his cell phone from his pocket, but it was out of battery.

It’s World Shutdown Day indeed.

The cool wind blew up the fallen leaves, and Blake shivered as he sat on the long chair. He felt like a has-been big brother who was released from prison alone after ten years in prison, with no cell phone and no younger brothers.

After a while, a person suddenly squatted in front of me: "Hey."

Blake was startled: "Huh?"

"Hello." The other party extended his hand in a friendly manner, "Harper."

Blake: ...

The man in front of me looked very gentle, with a handsome face, thin lips pursed in a slight smile, wearing a pair of rimless glasses, the cuffs of his white shirt were neatly rolled up, and he had an old-fashioned watch on his wrist. His fingers were dry and slender. He looked like the head teacher of the high school next door, or a lawyer who had just come out of the police station, or an accountant or a doctor. In any case, he was definitely not the wild hero described by his mother, who grew up in the countryside, was simple and hardworking, and fought every day to learn from Lei Feng.

Seeing that he had no intention of shaking hands with him, Harper withdrew his right hand and continued to smile: "Sorry, my phone is out of battery today."

Blake held out his hand: "Identity."

Harper raised his eyebrows slightly and cooperated by taking out his ID card from his trouser pocket.

Name, gender, date of birth, place of origin, all correct.

Blake finally believed that this person was really Harper.

"I heard the news at the train station, so I borrowed money and took a taxi here." Before he could ask, Harper took the initiative to answer, "A group of old ladies were expressing their regrets, wondering why a college student would become a thief. After hearing the description of your appearance, I guessed it could be you."

Blake's ears were buzzing. He really didn't want to hear the word "train station" again. He just wanted to go home to eat and sleep. It would be best if he could lose his memory when he woke up tomorrow morning. So he forced himself to smile: "Forget it, let's go back first. My father will be back in half a month."

"This police station is hard to find." Harper looked around and repeated, "The five dollars I borrowed is barely enough to take the subway."

Blake finally heard the point he emphasized again and again this time, and asked in surprise: "You go out without money?"

Harper replied gently: "My wallet was stolen on the train."

Blake: ...

"I'm not asking you to borrow money," Harper said sincerely and modestly, "I just haven't eaten for a day and a night, and I'm hungry."

"...Okay, I'll take you out for a midnight snack." Blake didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"Don't go too far, just be casual." Harper straightened his messy shirt collar for him, "I want to eat braised noodles without chili at No. 36, Mojin Hutong, Yangliu Street, East District 2, No. 8, knife-cut noodles."

Blake was in a mixed mood: "You call this being casual?"

Harper swallowed.

Blake: ...

Blake said: "Take a taxi."

The taxi sped along, and an hour later, the driver stopped the car on the side of the road: "We're here."

Blake yawned. He had been slept all the way and felt a little dizzy when he got off the car. He stood on the side of the road in the wind for a long time before he woke up.

"Where is the noodle shop?" Blake asked.

Harper replied, "Just go through this alley."

"Oh." Blake stretched his muscles and followed him in. The alley was long, deep and dark. The street lights had long been for show. Only the dim lights from the rickety buildings on both sides could barely see the road clearly.

"We collect old cell phones!" In front of us is a broken tricycle, "Old home appliances!"

Harper suddenly grabbed his wrist.

Blake asked: "What's wrong?"

Harper smiled and said, "Nothing, I thought this was a ditch."

Blake frowned slightly, feeling that something seemed to be wrong, but before he could ask more questions, Harper had already pulled him a few steps forward, and at the same time, he raised his right hand imperceptibly and threw a small round piece into the tricycle on the side of the road - it was the eavesdropping device he had just torn off Blake's watch.

The scrap collector was completely unaware of this and, humming an opera tune, he pedaled his tricycle out of the alley with a clang.

At the same time, in another corner of the city, a group of people were carefully listening to the sounds coming from their headphones. It was noisy and chaotic, and it seemed that some people were bargaining.

It took them half an hour to finally confirm the specific content of the mysterious sound waves.

"All broken or damaged mobile phones can be exchanged for stainless steel washbasins."