Deep In a Galaxy Chapter 2

No. 36-8, Mojin Hutong, Yangliu Street, East District 2, is not a noodle shop at all. It is just a shabby shanty house. Half-dried clothes are hung at the door, swaying in the moonlight and wind, like many colorful broken flags. A thin man squatted by the alley, picking up the dried vegetables in front of him and preparing to put them back into a bamboo basket.

He turned the pages very attentively and seriously, looking as if he wanted to find a handful of diamonds from those shriveled cowpeas. The man stopped his work only when two pairs of feet appeared in front of him. He raised his head unwillingly, his facial features were a little crowded, and a dark light flashed in his rat-like eyes.

It was at this moment that Blake felt what it meant to be creepy.

It was a kind of panic that came suddenly and without reason, but it was real. Tiny goosebumps appeared on his tense skin, and his heart suddenly trembled. He instinctively wanted to run away, to escape from this strange feeling of suffocation. However, before he could take a step, Harper had already asked: "What time does the midnight snack start selling?"

Blake: ...

The thin man patted the crushed cowpeas in his hands and answered, "Eight thirty."

Contrary to Blake's expectations, the other party's voice was extremely inconsistent with his appearance. It was loud and deep, and his pronunciation was also very standard. If one closed his eyes, people would believe that he was a political news anchor.

"It's eight twenty-nine now." Harper glanced at the time.

The man agreed, stood up and pulled it casually. Suddenly, three huge light bulbs lit up around him, making the alley as bright as day.

Harper squinted his eyes because of the dazzle: "Are you not afraid of paying the electricity bill now?"

"No worries." The man spread out the table and answered in a clear and melodious voice, "I stole the electricity from the street lamp."

Blake: ...

You're pretty proud.

"What do you want to eat?" Harper asked.

"Me?" Blake quickly declined, "I'm not hungry, you can eat it yourself."

"Aren't you hungry?" Harper poured him some tea, "But you probably didn't have dinner either."

Missing dinner was one thing, but looking at the dark liquid in the disposable teacup, Blake once again firmly stated his position: "Thank you, I'm really not hungry."

"Okay." Harper smiled and didn't force him. He just asked for a bowl of noodles and a bowl of soup for himself.

The bright lights, the aroma of food, and the quarrels and barking of dogs coming from the surrounding neighbors made the alley suddenly filled with worldly vitality and vigor. The previous eerie feeling disappeared, so that Blake had to think seriously about why he had that strange...illusion just now.

The noodles were cooked and served quickly. Harper ate them slowly and elegantly, as if he was enjoying a French meal. Blake sat opposite him, dozing off with one hand supporting his head. Just as he was about to be swallowed by one vague dream after another, Harper finished the last mouthful of soup and put the bowl back on the table: "Boss, pay the bill."

Blake woke up from her sleep and looked at the man in front of her in confusion.

Harper smiled kindly and reminded quietly: "Well, I don't have any money."

"Sorry, I fell asleep." Blake patted his dizzy head and asked casually, "Do you have mineral water?"

"No." the boss replied.

"Okay, then pay the bill." Blake pulled out a large bill from his wallet, "No need for change."

The boss glanced at it and said, "Not enough."

Blake was puzzled when he heard this. He pointed at the empty bowl on the table and said, "Fifty is not enough for this bowl of braised noodles?"

The boss replied: "Two hundred and eighty-eight per bowl."

Blake was in a mixed mood: "Does the Price Bureau know about this?"

"I don't know." The boss picked up the empty bowl, "So I only set up the stall at night."

...

Blake looked at Harper silently, with a myriad of words in his eyes. Why did you have to cross half the city to eat noodles in this black shop that has no business license, no health certificate, evades taxes and electricity, and charges exorbitant prices?

Harper had a good attitude: "Consider it as a loan from you first, and I'll pay it back later."

Blake had nothing to say. He slammed three hundred yuan on the table and considered himself unlucky.

"You must have never been here before." As they walked out, Harper pulled him, "Be careful, don't step on the garbage."

Blake said absentmindedly, "Hmm," and then asked, "Is it a slum?"

Harper smiled and did not answer the question.

The taxi crossed the city again, and when the two finally got home, it was almost dawn. Blake handed Harper over to his aunt, and gave her a few conscientious instructions before dragging her aching body back to the bedroom.

"Mr. Han, this is where you will be staying from now on." Aunt Li stood at the door of the guest room and introduced, "There are new clothes in the closet and toiletries in the bathroom. If you need anything else, you can always come to me."

"Thank you, that's great." Harper nodded, "Please."

The night was deep, Blake fell on the bed with the dampness of a bath, exhausted, and didn't even have the energy to have a dream. Downstairs, Harper was leaning against the window, looking thoughtfully into the distance - where his sight fell was a magnificent Milky Way that stretched across the sky, brilliant and dazzling.

The next morning, when Blake yawned and went downstairs, a small-scale fight was taking place in the kitchen. Aunt Li was very dissatisfied with the fact that this new bodyguard and driver dared to intrude into her territory without permission. She looked at the fried eggs and bacon on the white porcelain plate and tried to find some flaws.

"What are you doing?" Blake leaned against the door with his arms folded. "Robbing the oil bottle?"

"It's Mr. Han," Aunt Li said, "When I got up this morning, he had already cooked breakfast. What kind of nonsense is that? The young master never eats soft-boiled eggs."

Harper held the plate and said, "Good morning."

"Good morning." Blake replied, holding Aunt Li's shoulders with both hands, pushing her into the living room, and half coaxing and half perfunctorily saying, "It's not good to have someone to help you cook. Come on, continue knitting a sweater for Xiaotian."

"This won't work. Master, you need to have a good talk with Mr. Han. Everyone needs to have a clear division of labor." Aunt Li complained, "A clear division of labor is the primary productive force. Marx said that, don't you understand?"

Harper: "Pfft."

"I know, I know." Blake stuffed the wool basket into her hands and went back to the kitchen.

Harper took off his apron: "But I made three servings."

"Don't interfere with cooking in the future." Blake poured the juice by herself. "For more than 20 years, Aunt Li has been busy here. She is used to it."

"I wanted to thank you," Harper said, "for everything that happened yesterday."

"You should forget about yesterday." Blake refused from the bottom of his heart, "From the train station to the police station, to the black-hearted noodle shop, don't mention it again."

"Okay, I promise." Harper raised his hand cooperatively and asked with a smile, "You don't like soft-boiled eggs? Then I'll fry another one."

"Thank you." Blake did not refuse. He stood by the pot with nothing to do. After a while, he became a little confused, "Is your dress not suitable?"

The loose round-neck T-shirt was like a sack, covering Harper's entire body. His pants were also a bit long, and his trouser legs were rolled up in half, revealing his size 48 slippers.

"There's nothing else to wear." Harper took the round sunny-side-up egg out of the pot. "The clothes in the closet are all of this size, and this one is the smallest."

Blake was a little amused.

Aunt Li bought the clothes, but it really can't be considered as her dereliction of duty. Because Mrs. Bai only said that she wanted to buy clothes for the new driver and bodyguard, she gestured to the clothing store clerk based on the body shape of the previous driver: "1.95 meters is over, yes, yes, very sturdy, I want XXXL."

"I'm not short, am I?" Harper smiled and handed him the plate. "Where are you going today?"

"You just arrived, take a rest first." Blake leaned on the kitchen counter and casually rolled up the bacon with a fork. "I'm not going to the company either. I'm going to the hospital to visit a friend."

"You'd better let me follow you." Harper lowered his voice and raised his chin towards the living room, "Yes."

Aunt Li was knitting a sweater with her fingers flying, looking murderous.

Blake laughed and nodded readily: "That's fine."

Mrs. Bai prepared a car for Harper two months ago. It was the BMW that Blake drove when she was in college. After maintenance, it was no different from a new one. Since it was past the morning rush hour, there were not many cars on the road. Blake sat in the passenger seat and played a mobile game for a while, but suddenly raised his head and said, "Turn around at the next intersection."

"Changed the location?" Harper glanced at the navigation.

"Let me buy you two sets of clothes first." Blake pulled his wide sleeves, "They're enough for singing opera."

Harper raised his lips: "Thank you."

"I'll sleep a little longer, you drive directly to the Silver Building." Blake threw the cushion behind the car.

Harper nodded and considerately turned down the music in the car to the lowest setting. The faint singing was indeed very suitable for hypnosis.

Neither of them noticed that an inconspicuous black Audi was turning around in front of them. It drove silently into the side road and finally stopped at the entrance of Mojin Hutong.

The noodle shop owner was squatting on the ground brushing his teeth. When he heard footsteps, he looked up and saw three law enforcement officers in blue uniforms.

"Hello, please show me your business license." The other party said with a stern face.

The boss spit out a mouthful of foam and mumbled: "What business license?"

"Your noodle shop's business license." The other party took off his cap and said, "Someone reported you for operating without a license."

"This is not a noodle shop." The boss put the mouthwash cup on the windowsill, "You have the wrong person."

The man looked around and put his cap back on: "We also received a report from a customer saying you were stealing electricity."

boss:...

The car stopped steadily at the entrance of the Silver Building. Harper was about to wake up Blake when his phone started to buzz. After he pressed the answer but.ton, a loud and rhythmic voice of accusation came from the receiver: "This is really too much!"

"What happened?" Harper glanced at the person beside him.

The other party continued chattering in a very deep and sonorous tone, describing in detail what had just happened. He was very angry and even a little hysterical.

"What's wrong?" Blake sat up wrapped in a blanket.

"Nothing." Harper adjusted his seat for him and smiled, "Good job."

"What did you do well?" Blake asked casually.

"Report the shady shop." Harper unscrewed a bottle of water and said, "Drink slowly."

"Have you reported the shady shop?" Blake was still sleepy. He muttered to himself in a hoarse voice and leaned back in his chair to drink water.

Harper's smile froze slightly: "Didn't you report that noodle shop for operating without a license?"

"I'm not that bored." Blake finally came to his senses at this time, "That black shop was reported by someone? No, how did you know?"

...

Harper pointed at the speakers and said, "The news said that the Industry and Commerce Bureau received a report and raided the shantytown today."

"Just check it out. Not only is that store a rip-off, but the hygiene is also worrying. Don't eat there anymore." Blake didn't care. "Let's go buy some clothes."

"Okay." Harper nodded and smiled at him, "You get off first, I'll find a place to park the car."

There is an office building nearby, so parking spaces are quite scarce. Harper drove around in the underground garage and dialed the number back.

"I'm fine, but they took Lao Zhou away." The person on the other side was still roaring in a clear voice.

Harper hung up the phone and gradually frowned.

The black Audi drove along the elevated road all the way to the suburbs. In addition to the three "law enforcement officers" in the car, there was also a tall and burly man, who was the "Old Zhou" mentioned by the noodle shop owner, and the mighty hero who bravely helped Blake at the train station yesterday, Zhou Jinshan.