Zou Yue was completely surrounded by darkness. But vaguely he could see a red light flashing from time to time. This annoyed him so much. ‘Is this what heaven looks like? It’s lame.’ He sighed gently.

“Yue, don’t act like you are sleeping. I know you are awake,” a stern voice said in his mind.

‘Why is my old manager in my mind?…. looks like I have joined him in after life. Oh, what a boring afterlife it’s going to be’ he thought as he continues ignoring the annoying voice.. Suddenly he felt a small weight lean on his schedulers. ‘Is that you la Trexa, did you follow baba to heaven as well?’ he leaned to the side and gently nuzzled.

Coarse hair scratched against his cheeks. ‘Baby, why is your hair so… so.. Disgusting. Did you roll in sewer again? Darn, I need to give you a bath.’ he gently sniffed to check her scent, but he smelt a weird artificial fragrance similar to the ones used in hair spray.

“Mu manager, Zou is feigning sleep again,” a childish voice shouted aloud.

“Zou Yue! Why can’t you listen to me once? This is about your career; Your future would depend upon this. How can you do this!” the same stern voice of his long passed manager shouted.

‘Even in death I have no peace.’ He sighed and opened his eyes. Blinding light made his eyes burn. Eh swiftly closed them and moaned.

“Zou your acting sucks, get up now, I saw you watching anime just a moment ago,” the small childish voice said again.

Zou Yue opened his eyes once again. This time he was able to see clearly. Presently he was inside a car. It was surprisingly clean, considering that there was an apocalypse outside.

“Hey! You’re missing the important part!” a small white hand waved in front of his face.

Dazed, Zou glanced to his left to see a beautiful face next to him. “Peng-Peng?” he swiftly caught his small face in his hand and squeezed his ruddy cheeks.

“You are smudging my makeup!!” the young man pushed him away and immediately looked into a small hand-held mirror. “Thank god my makeup is intact or else I would have broken your perfectly carved nose,” he growled at him.

“Peng Peng…..” Zou then glanced at his palm. It was as beautiful and flawless and a white jade. His years of calluses were gone from his finger. He clenched it tightly in a fist. His small well trimmed nails bit into his palms, bringing about sharp pain. “I can feel…. Peng Peng I can feel…”

Peng Qui looked at him weirdly. “Manager, I think he is still drunk,”

“Shit, give him hangover soup.” The manager said from the wheel. “Why did you have to drink right before such an important day? Why! I really don’t understand you.”

Zou Yue leaned over and looked at his chubby face. “Manager Mu? Is that really you? It’s not a dream right?”

His manager peered at him with a look of disappointment. “Yue, be frank with me, did you eat something weird last night? If you confide in me, I can find you help. There are… many celebrities who succumb to the worlds of drugs. Its common, but you should seek help immediately at the initial stage..”

Zou immediately hugged him tight.

The car veered to the left for a second. “ZOU YUE!! Let go now,” he shouted and bonked on his head with a rolled up magazine.

“Even if this is a dream, I am glad I met you,” Zou whispered with tears in his eyes.

Peng Qui pulled him back by his shirt and peered right into his eyes. “Are you secretly planning on killing me, you bozo?,”

Zou blinked. “I missed you to Peng-peng.” he hugged him as well and cried. The tears he had been holding back for years all flowed out of him.

Peng Qui hit his back and pulled his face closer. “Oh my god, what have you done to your makeup! You fucking bozo!!” he swiftly pulled a small black bag from under the seat and started applying foundation and eye shadow all the while Zou kept crying. “Mu manager, I am quitting. I can’t handle this insanity anymore.”

The manager gazed at them through the rear-view mirror’s reflection and chuckled. “Peng Peng, you can’t say that. Our little Yue depends on you!”

“My ass, if he goes out with this makeup it is a shame to my profession.” Peng glared at Zou. “Stop crying.”

Zou Yue immediately stopped crying.

“Now be a good boy and wipe your snot away.” He handed him a packet of tissue.

Zou took one out, tore it into four pieces and used the littlest of them all.

Peng Qui lost his patience completely. “You.. Take a full tissue, for goodness’s sake!” he pulled out two tissues and wiped his tear marks and snot away. “This is worse than babysitting my niece. Worse, I tell you,” he kept grumbling as he retouched his makeup.

Zou carefully analysed everything. The feeling of the makeup brush was real. That warm hug was real. Then…. he glanced out at the busy street. ‘Is this real? Am I reborn like those novel characters?’

His makeup artist gripped his chin and turned his head over. “If you move one more time, I will fucking end you. Got it?”

Zou gulped and nodded. His makeup artist was small but a fierce young lad. He usually is sweet but when it comes to makeup he becomes so serious. But thanks to him, he was able to learn valuable makeup lessons to survive in the zombie apocalypse.

“Peng Peng, tell me this is real? Tell me~”

“It’s gonna get real, very soon when I smash your chin. Stay still, you bozo.” the little man gripped his chin and carefully reapplied a tinge of red lip tint. “All done.”

Zou Yue sat back down in his seta and glanced at the bustling cars. Their nanny car stopped at a traffic light.

“Gosh this traffic is annoying,” manager whispered while wiping his sweaty forehead. “If not for a drunk someone we would have already reached our spot.” he glanced at him through the reflection.

“Me?” Zou pointed to himself with a confused expression.

Peng Peng hugged him sideways and kissed his cheeks. “Don’t blame him, he is just heartbroken. It’s okay, my little Zou, there are lots of fishes in the ocean,”

Zou did not understand a word they both were talking about. He subtly unlocked his phone and peered at the date. It read November 7th year 2019. His heart stopped for a second. “Peng Peng, is it really November 7th?”

“Yeah, did you drink so much that you forgot the date?”

Zou Yue anxiously bit his nails. November 7th, if he remembered correctly, was the day when his goddess Julie got married. It broke his hearts o much that he got drunk ten days continuously until he got alcohol poisoning. It was a silly thing to do but back then it was an unforgettable experience.

His legs started shaking as he started thinking about varies reasons he came back. But he couldn’t even find one. He was just a useless nobody in the zombie apocalypse. Why was he given the chance to be reborn?

“Zou?”

“hmm….”

“Go watch some anime and soothe your heart, here watch this, its epic,” Peng Qui reminded the video a little and stopped it at the part where Erin gets swallowed by a gigantic titan.

Zou blankly looked at the phone that was shoved into his hands. His favourite anime AOT was running.

He switched off the phone and peered at his reflection. His supple face was reflected. The wounds that he had acquired fighting zombies had all dissapeared leaving silky smooth skin. 

His upturned eyes were bright and hsi undereye was devoid of his dark undercircle.

Pink pouty lips, unlike his dark liks he has from malnourishment. 

Everything had changed in just a day…. he watched in awe as teh vehicles zoomed past thiers.

He lowered the window and placed his head out a little, felling the polluted air of S city. Even this air was much better than disgusting rotting smell that prevails in the apocalypse.

The air was humid and filled with smell of gas but even so he couldn’t keep his eyes off of the window.

‘I am back.. I am really back. Maybe my little la Trexa blessed me with all her fortune.’