Chapter 001: Falling from the Sky

“Third brother, come with me to watch the meteor shower!”
At 10 p.m., Chen Xiao stood in the middle of the dormitory, gesturing excitedly.
“Who will go with me to watch the meteor shower? I’ve never seen one in my entire life.”
“I’m busy, really busy.” Qiu Cheng, the third brother in the dormitory, kept his eyes fixed on the computer screen, his hands moving swiftly over the mouse and keyboard to control the hero in the game.
After getting Qiu Cheng’s reply, Chen Xiao turned to look at Jiang Xianxiang, the fourth brother, who was on a long phone call. But Jiang just placed a finger on his lips, shushing him, before continuing to speak sweet nothings to his girlfriend on the other end.
“Xuxu, what about you?” Chen Xiao turned to Liu Xu, the second brother, who was wearing thick glasses and buried in his studies.
“Uh, boss, you go alone. I still need to study.” Liu Xu glanced up at Chen Xiao, adjusted his glasses, and smiled sheepishly.
“Ugh, what a group of heartless people.”
Chen Xiao pouted, feeling helpless, and left the dormitory on his own.
Chen Xiao was a freshman at Jinghua University of Science and Technology. He wasn’t tall—about 1.75 meters—and had an ordinary appearance, the kind that would blend into a crowd.
His family situation was special—he had lost both parents since childhood and was raised by his grandfather. His goal was to find a good job after graduating from university. He had never considered pursuing further studies or postgraduate degrees. On Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, he would work part-time to earn money for living expenses and tuition.
He was also very curious about meteor showers. He had heard many legends about them since he was young but had never seen one. When he heard on the school radio news that a meteor shower would occur that night, his curiosity got the better of him, and he decided to see it for himself.
“The news said the meteor shower starts around 11:30 p.m. It’s 10:30 now—there’s still an hour left.” Chen Xiao walked alone across the campus of Jinghua University of Science and Technology. “Those heartless guys really expect their boss to wander the streets alone?”
Although it was 10 p.m., the campus was still brightly lit. Chen Xiao looked up and could barely see a few stars in the clear night sky.
“No wonder no one wants to come out.” He shook his head. Although Jinghua University of Science and Technology wasn’t located in the city center, it was surrounded by a densely populated area with tall buildings. The bright lights illuminated the night sky so much that even on a clear day, few stars were visible.
“It seems even on the sports field at school, you won’t be able to see much. I’ve never seen a meteor shower in my life—should I just give up?”
After thinking about it, he didn’t want to give up.
“I’ll go to the Chaobai River. There’s still about an hour—there’s time.” He made up his mind.
About ten miles east of Jinghua University of Science and Technology lay an old, dried-up river called the Chaobai River. Chen Xiao had been there many times. Last year, when he first enrolled, he even had a picnic there with his classmates.
Without hesitation, Chen Xiao set off. Having grown up in the countryside, walking at night was nothing new to him.

Chen Xiao returned to the dormitory, borrowed a bicycle from his roommate Liu Xu, and headed in the direction of the Chaobai River. Once outside the school, the lights around became dimmer, and fewer people were out at night. Half an hour later, Chen Xiao rode his bicycle to the suburbs, by the banks of the Chaobai River. The riverbed was over a hundred meters wide; the dried-up riverbed had turned into a vast open area, with a few small puddles that served as spots for people to fish and enjoy themselves. It was 11 p.m., and the spring breeze in April blew against Chen Xiao’s face, slightly cool. The trees of varying heights and the newly sprouted weeds around created a somewhat gloomy atmosphere. But this didn’t bother Chen Xiao. Having grown up in the countryside, he had often spent nights guarding his fields or setting traps in the mountains to catch rabbits and pheasants. “The air here is really good!” Chen Xiao took a deep breath, looked up at the sky. Without the interference of lights, the previously dim starry sky was now much brighter. “It’s 11:30 p.m. A large meteor shower will occur in the north… An estimated 300 meteors per hour…” Chen Xiao muttered to himself, then found a spacious open area, sat down on the ground, and stared blankly at the northern sky. Apart from some trees, there were no other buildings around the Chaobai River. The view here was excellent, and since the river ran from north to south, as long as Chen Xiao faced north, the northern sky would be within his line of sight. About ten minutes later, Chen Xiao’s eyes lit up. In the northwest sky, a not very bright meteor streaked across the sky and disappeared in an instant. A meteor! The appearance of a few meteors was a sign of an impending meteor shower! Chen Xiao couldn’t help but get excited. Boom… At that moment, a dull noise suddenly came from the sky. Within just a few seconds, dark clouds covered the entire sky. After a burst of lightning and thunder, raindrops the size of coins began to fall from the sky instantly. “How come it’s raining?” Chen Xiao was stunned. The weather forecast had clearly said it would be sunny these days with no chance of rain. Why was it raining now? But Chen Xiao didn’t have time to think further. He jumped up from the ground, pushed the bicycle beside him, and headed toward the riverbank. The rain grew heavier. The fierce raindrops hurt as they hit Chen Xiao’s body. Moreover, visibility around him dropped significantly. It was already night, and with such heavy rain, Chen Xiao could barely see more than half a meter ahead. “Hm?” Suddenly, Chen Xiao’s eyelids trembled. Instinctively, he turned his head north and looked up at the sky. A pea-sized blue light broke through the darkness and rain and entered Chen Xiao’s eyes directly. “What is that? A meteor? A blue meteor?” For a moment, Chen Xiao’s mind was confused. Visibility was low, but this blue light was clearly visible to him. For some reason, he forgot to keep running and stared blankly at that blue light, as if all his attention had been drawn to it. Whoosh…

In less than two seconds, that glimmer of blue light pierced through the night sky and rain to reach Chen Xiao. The next moment, it rushed straight into his body.
“So beautiful…”
Chen Xiao only managed to exclaim before feeling dizzy and losing consciousness.
……
Chen Xiao felt as if he had had a very long dream. In the dream, it seemed to be a world of water, everywhere blue. A pleasant feeling arose in his heart, as if he had returned to his mother’s embrace.
A gentle voice kept whispering in his ear, as if giving instructions or teachings.
……
The sun rose in the east, its warm rays spreading across the land.
“Ah!”
Chen Xiao instinctively screamed and jumped up from the ground.
“What’s going on? What just happened? Is it already day?” He stared around in shock.
By now, he was standing on the bank of the Chaobai River. The river, which had seemed dead before, seemed to have regained its vitality after the night of rain. The hundred-meter-wide channel was filled with rainwater.
“Was last night just a dream?” Chen Xiao shook his head firmly. “No!”
He tried hard to recall what had happened last night. There was a flash of blue light, and then he lost consciousness. Now, he was standing in the open air, and strangely enough… his clothes were completely dry, without a trace of moisture!
Almost numb, Chen Xiao rode Liu Xu’s bicycle back to school.
It was already 8:30 in the morning. The dormitory was empty; everyone had gone to class. Chen Xiao lay on his bed, trying hard to think about what had happened last night.
There was a flash of blue light, and then he lost consciousness—obviously, he had fainted and spent the night in the rain. But although he didn’t know when the rain stopped, he couldn’t believe that the water on his clothes had dried so quickly.
Moreover, his clothes had no wrinkles, as if nothing had happened, with no signs of having been soaked. Chen Xiao was now certain he had spent the night by the Chaobai River.
Strange, extremely strange!
“Could it be related to that blue light?” Suddenly, an idea struck Chen Xiao.
“What exactly is that blue light?” At this moment, Chen Xiao felt refreshed and energetic, while everything that had happened last night was deeply etched in his mind, as if it had just occurred.
Especially that glimmer of blue light, which was firmly imprinted in his heart.
“Never mind, I won’t think about it.”
No matter how hard he tried, Chen Xiao couldn’t figure out what was going on. He was someone who accepted things as they came; if he couldn’t understand it, he wouldn’t think about it.
“Oh no, linear algebra this morning…” Chen Xiao suddenly slapped his head and quickly took out his phone. He found that there were already a dozen missed calls and messages. The latest one was from Qiu Cheng, the third roommate.
“Boss, roll call! Come quickly!”
Chen Xiao felt helpless again.

“Go wash up and go to bed.” He jumped out of bed and headed straight to the bathroom in the dormitory. Although nothing was wrong with his body, he had been in the rain all night. Chen Xiao quickly took off his clothes and stood naked under the showerhead. “Huh? What’s this?” He looked down and saw a light blue mark on his chest, resembling a diamond-shaped crystal engraved on his skin, with a distinct three-dimensional appearance.