《Crossdressing To Survive An Apocalypse [BL]》


 Chapter 1 - 1 Harsh Life During A Zombie Apocalypse

    In a small human settlement, humans were bustling in the night market. Loud haggling sounds can be heard. A small dark figure dashed into one of the dark alleyways completely hiding his presence from others.


    Zou Yue carefully scurried into the abandoned alleyways.


    At nights like this it was quite a risk to take these passageways, but he was not that bothered. He came across an alley cutting into three. Standing in the intersection, he keenly watched all directions. "Coast is all clear,"


    He dashed into the left alley way as fast as he could. His legs moved so fast that they only left a vague white shadow. Laughing a little, Zou Yue happily held the small piece of bread in triumph. ''I don''t have to worry about food for two days, he-he.''


    All of a sudden, something caught his legs, and he tripped. His whole world was tilting. With the speed he was running this could cause substantial damage to his face or even cause death. He moved quickly and protected his face with his hands.


    He fell down with a loud thud. Small gavel scarped through his wrist and his hands, leaving behind gruesome red gashes all over. "hisss...." he sat up and patted the small sand particles off of his bleeding wound. "What the hell did I trip on?" he glanced back to find a huge wire rope being hammered to either side of the wall.


    "Shit," he tried standing up, but his leg took the most damage from the fall.


    "Oh ho, it''s our little rat. He is back people," a small group of people climbed down from above the roofs, their clothes all torn up and their faces dirty; they were the absolute image of a homeless hooligans.


    Zou Yue subtly glanced back and checked up on his shin. It was bleeding profusely because of the ragged edges of the metal rope they had used. With his leg in that stage, running was not an option. ''It''s better to talk cordially with them,'' sighing he glanced up at their leader. "Guys, you didn''t have to do that. If you had asked I would have given all my food," Zou Yue whispered.


    "But it''s fun watching you fall, eh mighty Zou." The taller man snickered. "Now what food did you have to make you smirk like that." he squatted down and rummaged though Zou''s shirt pockets and his small duffle bag. "ah, looks like you hit the jackpot, it''s a loaf of bread!"


    The other hooligans cheered loudly and pushed and pulled at the bread, tearing it to pieces.


    Zou Yue silently watched this. His eyes went cold from the sight. After working hard for days he got this as a reward, but it was so easily stolen away by others. ''Strength..... I need to become strong. Stronger than these annoying pests.''


    His loose hand clenched tightly into a fist.


    All of this was a vain wish of his.


    This world was much crueller than that. Because the world they were familiar with had long ended, leaving behind a huge hoard of Zombies, mutated beasts and a small surviving group of humans.


    Ten years ago the end of the world as we knew it came to an end unexpectedly. A meteor struck the earth, bringing out a strange virus from outer space. The virus not only killed almost half the population of humans, it also mutated them into Zombies monsters that crave flesh.


    It was a complete blood bath. The streets were filled with screams and wails as the surviving humans struggled to escape the gasps of the Zombies.


    After a month the remaining human population went into hiding. May it be bunkers, secret rooms. Anywhere they can find, they all had from them with any food they could stockpile.


    It was the calm before the storm. Living in these safe spaces, the humans learned how to fight against the Zombies. A bullet or a strong blow to the brain did the job. Little by little human population fought back, gaining back their strength.


    But another catastrophe hit. Another meteor hit earth on may 2020 brings about another deadly virus. This time the entire human population was infected, making burn a fever for three days. Some survived, but some succumbed to the fever.


    Even Animals were not spared. Some died immediately from the virus, while the others mutated into powerful beasts. This tipped the fine balance between humans and animals.


    From then on, both the Zombies and the mutated beasts started hunting the remaining humans.


    The plus side of this new virus was that the surviving humans got strange abilities. Ice, fire, wind, water, earth, speed, and rarer ones like thunder, space and other abilities.


    With these newly gained powers they were able to fight back the Zombies.


    Thinking about all this, Zou Yue sighed loudly. He glanced at the dirty ground with his eyes hooded. He had gained the power of speed.


    Back then it was a valued ability to be able to run away from Zombies easily. But later on, humans evolved and their abilities evolved as well, making them stronger and faster, making his speed ability obsolete.


    A strong kick to his chin woke him up from his day dream.


    "What are you dazing about, huh? Is that all the food you''ve got? I thought your client paid you well this time?" the burly man scowled at him.


    Zou Yue calmly glanced up. "Information running does not bring too many benefits," he mumbled softly.


    "Hump, lies. Next time you better bring about more food, I have more mouths to feed now," the man arrogantly said and walked out of the dark alleyway.


    Zou Yue slowly stood up and hobbled over to his resting place. He pushed the huge bushed away and crawled through the small space inside a hidden spot.


    There was a small mushroom shaped structure that is usually found in children''s playground with various holes in its sides. He crawled through one of these holes and tiredly leaned against the rugged plastic surface.


    A small squeak greeted him.


    "La Trexa, baba is back," he whispered, and gently held the little rat in his palm. It was just a common grey rat that lives it the sewers, but this little rat was Zou Yue''s only friend. "I saved you some food." he pulled out a small crumble of bread that he sneaked inside his sleeve.


    The little rat happily squeaked and chewed on it loudly.


    "Baby Trexa, baba is starving. I wish I had awoken a stronger ability." he pushed the small plastic tarp away and peered out the huge hole in his mushroom house. The huge city walls stood mightily in the distance. He could even see small human figures walking on top if the wall. "Don''t want to go out too La Trexa?"


    The little rat tilted its head, confusedly.


    "Don''t overthink it, your little brain can''t handle so much information." he hugged the little creature to his chest and tiredly closed his eyes.


    It was just a year ago that he found La Trexa crawling through the mud. She was just a little pink blob then.


    He kissed her little dirty head.. "Good night, my little munchkin. Wish me luck that I could earn some food tomorrow,"

 Chapter 2 - 2 InformationRunner

    The next morning, he went to the small market and stood in the corner. This was the place he would usually find work. People come to him to find information and he would happily find it for them. Even if the information was illegal, he would easily find it using different means.


    He stood and stood for a long time, but he was not getting any gigs. Sighing, he climbed over to a nearby terrace and pulled out his phone. "Hmm, let''s see if this solar charger works." he plugged his phone in and waited patiently.


    In just second he heard a small chime of the phone charging. "Whoa, two packets of noodles are so worth it." he switched it on and opened his gallery. There was nothing spectacular there. Just a few selfies of his and his parents'' pictures, but what he wanted was not these.


    He thoroughly searched until he found the folder he wanted. The small hidden folder was named AOT. "Finally I get to see some action," he clicked on a random episode. "Oh my god, I can finally watch my darling Eren,"


    As he watching he slowly spoke out each of the dialogues in tune with the characters. "Eren Jaeger!" he loudly shouted.


    "Hump childish." A small voice whispered.


    Zou Yue felt a long shadow on his face, hiding the sun completely. He carelessly looked up.


    A pretty lady in blood red dress stood in front of him. Her beautifully styled hair fluttered behind her as she peered down at him.


    "What do you need, young miss?"


    "I want you to find information on someone," she said, and handed him her phone. It was the newest model iPhone. He carefully held it and glanced at the photo. "His name is Fan Xui,"


    "You want me to find to about our leader?" he confusedly whispered. He had gotten many requests, but this was the weirdest of them all. "All his information is widely know n to the public," he said and gave her back the phone.


    "No, I want deeper information on him. Make sure to find out what he likes and dislikes. What he likes to eat, what he does when he wakes up? I need them all," she said, with her eyes narrowed.


    Somehow Zou Yue felt a weird vibe from her. ''Should I accept it or not?'' while he was contemplating it the lady threw out a few packets of bread and instant noodles. He nervously held them in his hand.


    "This is just an advance. If you finish the job well, I will give you twenty loaves of bread and ten packets of instant ramen," she said with a wide smile.


    "Deal, come collect the information three days from now," he whispered, and hugged the food tight to his chest.


    When the girl finally left, he tore a packet of bread and scoffed down a handful. "So much food for just this simple task? Darn La Trexa might have wished me luck,"


    After having some more of bread he carefully hid the food inside his clothes. He crushed the noodle packet and made sure it was easy to store. As for the bread, he sat on it so that it was deflated and stuffed it inside the holes of his old torn padded jacket.


    "Let''s get to work, shall we," he stood up and stretched his tight muscles. The wound on his leg had already healed and the scratches on his hand scabbed over. He scratched them off to reveal milk white skin underneath.


    Zou Yue panicked at this. "No, no, no, But I took so much effort to suntan." he bent down and smeared black dirt all over his white hands. Even so, the newly healed skin remained pink and flawless. "Fuck,"


    Being weak and beautiful is the greatest danger in this new world. He poured some water into the dirt and continued smearing it on his hands until he was almost muddy. He then took out a small prosthetic clay box from his duffle bag and carved out a huge scar that ran from the top of his left eyebrow to the end of his chin.


    "Where is the glue," he pulled out all the contents of the bag and took out a small almost dried up bottle of glue. He squeezed out a dollop, smeared it on the scar he made and stuck it on his face. After doing so, he proceeded to mask his beautiful face with the muddy mixture he made earlier.


    He pulled out a broken shard of mirror and glanced at his wretched reflection. "Now that''s perfect,"


    He happily packed it all up and rushed out to do his job.


    Zou Yue peaked through his binoculars at the back haired figure on the other building opposite to him. "Toast with peanut butter, hmm, that''s noted," he scribbled messily on a small tissue.


    The young man on the other side of the lens was the most powerful ability user amongst the humans Fan Xui. Ten years ago, when the mutated beasts and undead causing the population to decrease drastically. This young hero arose amongst the masses and built this safe ground, the G city base.


    There are other human bases that operated around the world but their G base was worldwide known only because of this young ability user.


    "Fan Xui seems normal till now,"


    He watched the young man leave the room. He swiftly jumped down from the terrace of the building and ran closer to the headquarters to get a better view of his subject.


    He saw a stylish Off-road drove out of the headquarters. Since the glass was tinted, he was not able to see inside but with the Porsche logo on the top, he knew who exactly was in this vehicle.


    "Drives a costly Porsche car in an apocalypse." He mumbled as he scribbled down his observing. He silently chewed on a piece of bread as he kept writing more observation notes.


    The car that went past slowed down a little, and the windows lowered. Fan Xui glanced at the homeless man scribbling something with a happy smile on his face. "Search who he is and what his purpose is."


    The young man next to him glanced out curiously. "What is it Fan-ah? Is he bothering you? Shall I have someone dispose of him?" he placed a hand gently next to the Fan''s hand, but he dared not touch.


    Fan Xui frowned and moved his hand away. "Just check on him. Don''t go overboard,"


    The beautiful young man hummed with a dazzling smile on his face. "Fan-ah, do you know that the western frontiers are doing well? It must be because of Hui''s presence."


    "Liwei, stop talking." Fan Xui massaged his forehead and laid against the headrest.


    After the off-road vehicle drove away, Zou Yue glanced up with his eyes wide open. "Can''t believe he spotted me. Goodness, I really shouldn''t have taken up this job," he mumbled, holding his pounding heart. But he had already eaten the payment, so he had to finish it.


    He stood up and patted the crumbs off of his shirt. "Nothing to worry, I can still be undetected."


    The work for the day was over he happily rushed home to his small mushroom house and to his little la Trexa.


    The next day Zou Yue got up early and went to spy on his target. "Peanut butter toast again... hmm I am seeing a pattern here." This guy Fan Xui was actually repeating the same routine. He would eat peanut butter toast in the morning, a small bowl of rice with sauteed vegetables for lunch, and a simple roasted potato and a glass of wine for dinner.


    He noted it all of this down vigorously while happily swaying his legs in the wind.


    Fan Xui gazed into the distance at the small figure on top of a roof top happily scribbling something. "he is scribbling so much, I wonder what he writes about?"


    "Fan -ah," a soft voice whispered from the doorframe.


    Fan Xui did not bother looking back. His eyes were all on the curious young lad.


    "Fan -ah, what are you looking at?" Liwei curiously peered out the window, but before he could see anything Fan Xui closed the drapes.


    "There is nothing to see. How is the situation in our agriculture plant?" he went straight to business.


    Liwei''s doe-like eyes watered a little from his inattentiveness. "They are doing well," he said sadly.


    "Hmm, tell Qian in." He said and waved him off, not noticing the young man''s dejected appearance.


    Soon, a bulky man rushed in. His beard shook in the wind as he smirked at him. "Brother Fan! I heard you brushed off Liwei''s advances again."


    "I don''t need to meddle with unwanted feelings," Fan Xui whispered while he was reading though a butt load of documents. "Sit,"


    Qian sat down unceremoniously. "If you want to know about the research facility, it has been doing great the newest drug testing is going flawless,"


    "I guess it from that smile on your face," Fan said without looking up. "Is it effective?"


    "As per the reports I got, it has been working wonders with the beasts we have captured, but it''s too soon for human trials," Qian said with a pout.


    "Don''t rush it. Research takes time,"


    "But humanity can''t afford to lose any,"

 Chapter 3 - 3 Seeking Solace

    The third day as per promised, he waited near the market to give her the report.


    The young lady drove over in her fancy BMW. "Where is it?"


    "I can''t give it to you here. Lets meet at the spot you met me initially," Zou Yue said and dashed away.


    The young lady frowned and took off her shades. "So annoying. Butler, get the payment ready!" she stomped away into the distinct place she met him.


    Zou was already waiting there with a small file in hand. It had four leaves of dirty yellow paper, but the handwriting on it was clear and pristine.


    She happily took it from him and tossed the promised payment. "We shall see again." without even a word of gratitude the young lady left.


    Zou Yue watched her leave his familiar area with a smile. "This is so good; I hope I get gigs like this every day. But I really can''t find a man like Fan Xui everywhere can we,"


    After his through overseeing, he had confirmed three things. Fan Xui usually only ate per schedules meal and on a particular time. Secondly, the man preferred to make a small vigilant round around the premises of the settlement every day at noon. And last and not the least, Fan Xui seems to hate men.


    He frowns away from any kind of touches from of young males. He seemed normal with his other lady friend Bai xi, but when he was conversing with his beautiful male friend Liwei, he always kept his distance. Even his trusted warrior Qian was kept at a hand''s distance.


    He laid on the cold ground, hugging La Trexa to his chest. "Trexa, Fan Xui is pretty I think he might have been traumatised by men after the end of the world. No wonder he keeps his distance."


    The rat squeaked and slid into his sleeve right to the hole where he had hidden a flattened loaf of bread. "Ah-ah, no, baba needs that. I want to take a break from work." he gently pulled the scurrying rat from his sleeve and pinched its fluffy cheeks.


    The rat squealed and rushed away to another corner.


    "Sleep now, let''s dream of a better tomorrow," he whispered and slowly let sleep take over his body.


    Deep in sleep he heard small crisp sound of a branch snapping. His blood-shot eyes opened immediately. ''They found my spot so soon.'' he silently packed all his belonging and put the sleeping la Trexa into one of his undamaged pockets. Without even wearing shoes on he crawled through the hidden door in the back.


    Zou Yue slowly crawled out of the bush and away into the dark streets. He did not stop, nor did he look back. He ran lie his life depended on it, because it did. He had been hiding away from the hooligans for almost three days now; if they found him, they would skin him alive.


    The rubble on the ground tore on his delicate feet, but he did not bother at all. He just ran... ran until he stooped in a corner with a small restaurant.


    He slowly walked over to the side of the restaurant and leaned on the wall tiredly. The little rat peaked out and squeaked. "I know, I hate running too... I just wish I was powerful enough to fight my enemies. Powerful enough to carve out my destiny."


    The darkness was unnerving; he walked though the familiar road and ended up in front of a small house. He stood hesitantly outside, pondering whether he should knock or not.


    Before he could decide, the door opened on its own and a grey haired old man glanced at him. His blank white eyes met his terrified one calmly. "You finally threw away your prestige and came here,"


    "Geez, you didn''t have to smear it on my face," Zou Yue walked past him onto the house. "I''ll pay you rent. One loaf of bread for a place to sleep."


    "I don''t need your pity," the old man scoffed and slowly walked shakily over with his crutches. "It''s me who pities you,"


    Zou Yue rolled eyes with a groan. "Got it. You pity me and let me stay here. Let''s keep it like that," he mumbled and laid on the cold floor.


    The dl man walked closer and hit him with his crutches. "Get up. Don''t catch a cold and die in my house,"


    Zou Yue pushed his crutches away and rolled himself tightly. "I won''t get sick nor would I die."


    There was a loud sigh in the room.


    The old man squatted down with difficulty and caressed his small head. His eyes immediately turned slight blue as he saw vision after vision of Zou running. "Who did you offend? Those people did not look happy to see your empty mushroom,"


    He pushed his hands away. "Don''t meddle, old man."


    "Youngsters these days, tsk, tsk, There is no respect for the old," he silently continued caressing Zou''s head. He saw through all of what Zou did in this past week. "That was stupid accepting an assignment to spy on Fan Xui."


    "I said stop looking in," Zou sat up and glared at him. "My life is pitiful as is; don''t make me feel worse."


    The old man smacked his head loudly. "Everyone''s life is messed up, not only yours."


    "Huh really, then what about the perfect Fan Xui, I bet he did not even face difficulty a single day in his life?" He shouted. After doing so, all the rage left his body. Panting, he held the old man''s shoulders. "I know that everyone is suffering but.... but I only wished that I would suffer tighter with my family,"


    He held back his tears and moved away from the prying old man. "Don''t look into my life. Let me be. I shall leave early in the morning,"


    He heard a soft sigh from behind.


    "Even the great Fan Xui has suffered a lot, little kid. I once met him eight years ago, back then he was just a budding hero. I got the chance to read his life and let me tell you o saw nothing but darkness."


    Zou turned over and glanced at him. "Let me guess, his parents were going through a divorce scenario, or oh I know he was the popular kid that everyone loved but he was cold to everyone around him."


    Crutches flew towards him. Zou immediately sat up with a glare. "Old man! I could have died from that attack!"


    "Fan Xui''s life was dark because he was blind almost all his twenty years of his life,"

 Chapter 4 - 4 Cold Body And A Warm Hug

    "Fan Xui''s life was dark because he was blind almost all his twenty years of life,"


    "What!!" Zou Yue sat up straight and glanced intently at the old man. "You are not playing with me, right?"


    "Why would I be? Fan Xui was blind almost a year into the apocalypse. After which he found a spiritual rich fruit. It helped him gain back his vision. And he also found a small pure white lotus there. I heard that it was the reason that he gained a second ability."


    Zou Yue was thoroughly stunned. He had never heard of this story before because he had only moved into this G city settlement only after three years or so. By then Fan Xui was a famous name.


    "But why don''t many people know about this?"


    "Because it is a well hid secret amongst his comrades... this old man came to know of this by mistake." He said with a small sigh. "It''s all thanks to him that I am alive and well."


    Zou Yue laid back down and thought back to all the new information he got. ''If I got that lotus whet powers would I have awoken.'' He absentmindedly caressed the little rat in his pocket. ''It would probably be some shitty ability.''


    He closed his eyes and stopped thinking about the impossible.


    The next morning he woke up silently before the sun even rose. The only blanket in the house was draped over him while the old man snored away loudly on the couch.


    "Stupid old man." he gently pulled the covers over his shoulders. "Thank you for taking pity on me. At least I have you to pity me."


    Zou Yue pulled out a few flattened bread packets and left it n the table with a note saying, ''rent.''


    With renewed energy, he walked out of the house and into the silent streets. It was too early for the humans to be out and about.


    He stretched out his hand, felling the first rays of sun shine hitting his skin.


    "If there is a heaven what would it be like?" he mumbled as he slow danced though the street. Suddenly eh a small scuffle.


    Zou Yue hid himself immediately in a corner.


    "You useless trash!! I ordered you to kill a fucking homeless rat yet you let him slip through your hands," a man''s voice screeched loudly.


    Zou perked his ear up to listen to the gossip.


    He then heard another voice whispering, "He was not there, young master. Someone must have warned him about our arrival."


    "Stupid! He must have heard your stomping steps!" the young man dressed in white threw something to the ground.


    Zou peaked out and took a look. It was the young man who was near Fan Xui in the car. ''Hm was he planning on assassinating someone? But who?''


    "Find me that dirty man and kill him. Kill him on the spot. That dirty rat, how dare he try to get into my Fan-ah''s sights. Just incinerate him!!" the man cried loudly.


    ''Wow, his personality differs so much. Maybe he is what they call a green tea bitch?''


    The young man named Liwei calmed down finally. "Did you ask the other homeless where he could be?"


    "The locals said that he usually lived inside that plastic mushroom... no one else knows where he might go,"


    Zou''s heart stopped a moment. ''They are searching for me. They wanted to kill me!! Oh shit, they are the ones who came over last night. Fuck, I''m screwed. When did I try to get Fan Xui''s attention? This green teat bitch is too much.'' he bit his nails anxiously.


    Soon the entourage left in a fancy car. Zou Yue ran out to his mushroom house immediately. He hurriedly packed what was left of his things. "I need to leave.... leave this settlement. But fuck I love it here." He pulled the duffle bag over his shoulder and crawled out.


    But three burly men stood in his way.


    "Oh, the rat crawled out."


    Zou immediately took off, but one of the men easily caught him. "How shall we kill him?" he asked one of his friends.


    "Do something I''m hungry," the other replied.


    The burly man glanced at Zou''s terrified eyes with an apologetic gaze. "Sorry kid, you shouldn''t have offended higher officials like that," he immediately stabbed him.


    Zou gasped, holding the dagger that was protruding out of him. It was burning.... his skin was burning so much....


    He pulled it out with difficulty.


    Warm blood gushed out, dying his white hands red. With a trembling hand he put pressure on his wound. ''This is not the way I want to die.... I don''t want to die...''


    His body became cold soon, but the warm blood on the ground gave him the feeling that was warmly hugged.


    Zou Yue tiredly closed his eyes. ''Maybe death is a good thing.....'' he saw the little rat squeak loudly. With the rest of his energy he pulled out the flattened bread packet from his torn jacket. "Eat..... live..." he shoved it at the rat.


    After which his eyes closed forever, plunging his consciousness into darkness.

 Chapter 5 - 5 Back In Time

    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.''

 Chapter 6 - 6 A Successful Shoot

    Soon their car stopped in front of a small studio.


    Zou Yue got down immediately and followed after his manager and his makeup artist. All along the way he felt many eyes on him, which freaked him out. After the apocalypse he started hating human contact very much. Just these looks got him shivering a little.


    "Yue?" Peng Qui gripped his hand. "Why are you shivering? Darn, you are nervous? I think it''s going to rain today," he mumbled with a slight chuckle.


    Zou Yue glanced at him without any word. In fact, his words might have been apt to describe him before the apocalypse. Because his job demanded for him to be confident and sexy.


    "The costume change is ready," a studio staff whispered with a blush.


    Zou Yue followed after her throwing anxious expression at Peng Peng.


    Peng Qui sighed and moved closer to manager Mu. "Is it just me or does Yue seem to tame?"


    "I guess heartbreak can also do a lot of good for a person," he casually whispered. The younger makeup artist smacked him with a glare. "What? That''s the truth. That crazy guy has finally tamed down. I reckon he will become more famous than before. Because his face was the best amongst the newcomers."


    Inside the small changing room, the woman brought him a small nude colour shirt with a wide neckline. It sat freely on his body, but even so, it created a delicate kind of silhouette.


    down,The stylish was helping him wear his clothes. But the little model''s eyes were always out the door with an anxious look in his eyes. She patted his back and whispered, "Calm down little one. This crew is very friendly. We won''t eat you up,"


    Zou Yue glanced at her with his brows raised. "I am not nervous. It''s just that...," he stopped halfway, glancing at the buffet that was placed opposite the dressing room.


    More people were crowding over, taking a small lunch box along with a pack of fries. The delicious scent of fried rice spread throughout his room. He gulped, holding back his instinct to run to it.


    The stylist noticed what he was looking for as well. "Shall I bring you something to eat? You can eat while we do your hair."


    "Really?" he glanced at her with a huge smile on his face.


    Seeing this reaction, the stylist frowned. ''Does his management feed him properly? I guess I should have a talk with his manager.'' With a slight frown she walked out of the room, leaving her assistants to take care of him. "Manager Mu, can we have a talk?"


    "Yes," the manager hesitantly followed her to a corner. "Is our little Yue being troublesome? Please excuse him, he is still in his rebellious stage.."


    "No, I would like to know what your model''s diet consists of. This is quiet embarrassing to say, but I heard his stomach growl loudly five times in just an hour. Did he eat his lunch? This is an irresponsible behaviour on your management, sir."


    "Wait, wait, miss, I think you misunderstood. Little Yue had his lunch just an hour before driving here." He was the one who cooked for him. Zou''s lunch usually consists of green juice, salad and strawberry yogurt. Usually after this small lunch, the young model would always eat a small snack at four or so. "It''s physically not possible for him to get hungry so soon."


    As he was saying this, he watched Zou Yue walk out of the dressing rooms and slowly head towards the buffet area. Anyone could see the blatant intent in his eyes.


    "Shit, if he eats more, he would have an upset stomach. Sorry miss, I will manage my model well," manager Mu ran to him and stood in front of the food table. "Kid, you just had your lunch."


    "But I''m hungry," Zou Yue innocently said. The sight of food was tantalizing. Just smelling the stir-fried noodle and rice, His salivary glands started oozing. "Manager?"


    "Yue, you can''t have this. The last time you ate at shooting sight and ended up with a bad stomach for a week. After going back I will make your favourite ribs."


    "but..." he was dragged back to the dressing room and the young girl who was doing his hair guiltily nodded his way.


    "Please make sure you get him ready. Yue be good, I will bring you some fruits."


    "Yes!" Zou Yue''s eyes shimmered brightly.


    Even his manager was stunned by this look. "Goodness," he walked over to the food area and only saw unhealthy foods there. In a corner there was a bowl of mixed fruits. He took a bowl for Zou Yue.


    Seeing the fresh fruits, Zou Yue smiled cheerfully. "Thank you, manager!" he started stuffing his face with the fresh juicy fruits. In first bite he got a small apple and the second bite he got a sweet pineapple. Shaking his legs excitedly, he ate with gusto.


    When he finished his fruit bowl, his look was complete. He glanced at the reflection. A young pale looking man looked back. Makeup on his face was minimum, only his brows and his lashes were take care of. His lips were naturally red and plump. Just some lip oil made his lips look delicious.


    Zou Yue sighed. His face of his was an advantage as a model, but in the apocalypse this exact face became a liability. Many men started chasing after him with impure intent. He almost got kidnapped twice.


    From then on, he always hid his beauty. He smoked to blacken his lips, sun tanned to change the white shade of his skin, even had to use prosthetic makeup to hide his outstanding features.


    The photographer was ready for him. He glanced at Zou Yue and frowned slightly.


    Zou Yue bit his nails and glanced at the rose set. Coming back in time and being in the spotlight made his heart pound loudly.


    If he remembered correctly, this photographer was a very famous guy. He always been hired by many high end fashion brands but the thing is he liked to photograph only natural looking people.


    His unnaturally tall and delicate appearance was looked down by him only because he assumed that he had done cosmetic surgery.


    In his previous birth, Zou Yue noticed his discrete look and stormed out of this shoot. Later on he lost the brand deal and even got cut off by his own modeling agency because of this blunder.


    Zou Yue bowed to him respectfully and went over to the setup. I was a huge set filled with bright red roses. It was for a perfume for women and men, but since they were advertising for both genders, they wanted someone androgynous to do the shoot.


    The photographer tossed a huge red rose at him. "Pose however you want, but if you don''t satisfy me. I would leave this set," he grumbled a bit.


    Zou Yue nodded to him. He started posing stiffly. As time went on, the photographer''s frown became prominent.


    "Let''s take a five," he frustratingly shouted.


    Zou Yue nervously looked around. Everyone started moving around, changing the light settings.


    He just sat silently in the middle of thousands of roses. The fresh smell of roses invaded his senses. He glanced at the rose in his hand and licked his lips. ''Can I eat this? No one will notice, right?'' he took a small chomp on the side of it.


    Fresh sweet scent of rose dripped inside his mouth. I was slightly bitter and sweet, just the way he remembered. Smirking, he bit a petal off and ate it with relish.


    The photographer who was arranging his camera was stunned. He silently gestured for the other personal to move out of the way and started taking photos after another. His shutter clicking was the only sound heard in the silent room.


    Zou Yue closed his eyes and enjoyed the taste in his mouth. Suddenly he felt a small petal getting caught in the gums of his canine teeth. He unceremoniously licked it off.


    The entire set gulped loudly. Even Peng Qui slightly turned red. "Was he always this seductive?" he whispered to manager Mu.


    "His true potential is coming out," the manager whispered with a proud smile.


    Photographer moved side by side and took as many shots as he could.


    Zou Yue ate the final petal and glanced up. Only then did he notice the entire focus of the set was on him. He guiltily smiled at them with only the branch in his hand.


    The photographer nodded. "Good, that''s a wrap,"


    Zou Yue confusedly looked around. ''Am fired? Wait, even this is good. I can go home and prepare for the upcoming apocalypse.''


    The old photographer walked up to him and whispered, "I have another brand deal with Guci, is it possible to be my model?"


    "Huh!"

 Chapter 7 - 7 Call To Remember

    The old photographer walked up to him and whispered, "I have another brand deal with Guci, is it possible to be my model?"


    Zou Yue confusedly looked up at him. ''So I''m not fired? Hmm....but I really want to stop modelling though. If this guy talks to my manager then things will get complicated.'' he secretly hid the rose stem behind his back. "um, I''ll talk to my manager and let you know."


    "Good." the photographer held his hand out and helped him stand up. "If you would like, I can talk to your agency,"


    "No! I will talk to them myself," Zou Yue bowed to him and ran up to his manager and his makeup artist and started pushing them out the door. "Let''s go fast,"


    Peng Qui glared back at him. "Why are we running away? Zou Yue, what trouble did you get into this time?"


    "umm... I''ll tell you in the car." He glanced back at the expectant look of the photographer and ran faster. He swiftly changed out of his outfit and rushed out the changing room to find his manger cordially talking with the photographer.


    "Manager Mu!" he rushed to him swiftly and held his hand. "Aren''t we on the way?"


    "Yes, thank you for tolerating our little Yue." his manager bowed and left alongside him. While leaving the studio, he secretly peered at him. "What did you do to make that man so smitten?"


    "What? What do you mean?" Peng Qui whispered from his side.


    His manager proudly patted his head and laughed out loud. "Oh, you are going to famous soon! That man is the best of the best in photography and he is very interesting in having you as his personal model. Our little Yue as the award winner photographer Miles''s Personal model!! How great is that!"


    "I didn''t even do the photo shoot properly," Zou rolled his eyes. He pushed them both into the nanny car and climbed in after.


    Peng Qui knocked on his head slightly. "You did amazing. The entire room was silent for a second when you licked your teeth. Who did you learn your seduction technique from, huh? Tell me their name. Even I need to learn how to charm people," he kept rambling on, not noticing Zou''s red face.


    ''Fuck! People saw that!! I really should have held back my impulsive eating habit.'' Zou Yue leaned against the car window, hiding his embarrassment.


    The car smoothly drove through a small residential area and stopped in front of a small private villa.


    "You both go in; I will buy some ingredients for dinner. Oh, do you guys want any snacks?" manager my glanced back.


    "Really, you will buy me anything?"


    "yeah..... you did good today and should be rewarded,"


    With shimmering eyes, Zou Yue named all the snacks he could remember. "Corn nuts, dried strawberries, Bingtanghulu, Rose cake. Please buy me some Pringles as well. I like the green onion flavour. And a whole can of soda will do wonders for my mood." He finished with a wide smile on his face.


    "Um, dries strawberry it is," he whispered and gestured for them to get off.


    "But I want my rose cake, corn nuts..."


    "Not happening buddy. I''m pretty sure you will eat it all in a day and end up in the bathroom with an upset stomach," his manager scoffed and unshed them out the car.


    Zou Yue dejectedly watched the car drive away. "I want rose cake,"


    "Get in." Peng Qui pulled him by the back of his sweater inside the gate. It was a small and compact but at the same time it was very clean. "Go wipe your makeup off, I will make some fresh mask for you,"


    Zou Yue cheerfully hopped over to his room. "It.... looks the same as I remember." He gently caressed the anime posters on the walls. Even his small collection was manga was neatly arranged according to the series and volumes. "I really am back..." he plopped down on the bed and glanced up at his beautifully painted ceiling.


    "I miss la Trexa..." suddenly he sat up. "My parents... they will still be alive." He took his phone out in haste. His trembling hands almost dropped it down a few times. The phone call record showed a recent missed call from his mother. It was just an hour ago.


    Taking a deep breath, he dialed the familiar number. The call connected with a beep and a soft woman''s voice answered, "Zou, are you back from work?"


    "m¡ªmum....."


    "Yes, baby, what''s wrong? Your voice sounds different? Are you sick? Is your manager not talking good care of you? Wait, let me call him up," she hastily whispered. Suddenly a loud manly voice shouted in the background. "Quit your useless career and came back!! Hump, who would like your face on a magazine cover,"


    "Old man, aren''t you the one who keeps collecting cut outs of his photos. Why are you complaining now, huh?" his mother chided.


    His father''s voice became high pitched. "I¡ªI don''t collect any photos. Who would want them? So ugly, so ugly!" he shouted, and the receiver became silent.


    Zou Yue finally found his voice. "Dad... dad? Are you there? I miss you. I miss you a lot. I will listen to you. I will quit my modelling and come back." Tears rolled down his cheeks.


    "Baby, are you crying? Oh my god, you stupid old man, you made my baby cry!"


    A loud smacking sound was heard from the other end of the phone. "Don''t worry Zou, I will beat you father up for you. As for your modelling job, it is for you to decide. Because it''s your life, don''t let your father''s harsh words bring you down. He is just being cynical," she urgently said.


    Sniffing softly, Zou nodded. "I know, I know he means well."


    His father had always been stern with him but on the inside there was no person who loved him more than he did. When his parents passed away during the apocalypse, he had the chance to collect his father''s belongings. All of which were photos of him from various magazines.


    ''They are alive...'' Zou whimpered. "I''ve missed you guys so much."


    "Oh baby, mommy misses you too."


    "Mum..... It won''t be long but I will come to you. Just wait for me a bit....." his phone beeped loudly and switched off on its own. He swiftly plugged in the charger and called back. "Sorry mum, my charging is low,"


    "Are you talking while charging?! Zou Yue, how many times do I have to warn you, it''s risky! Get off the phone right now. And... We would love to have you back. Come back any time, because this is your home. See you soon, darling."


    His mother disconnected the phone.


    Zou Yue hugged the phone tight to his body. "Yes... I''ll see you soon."


    Authors note - wow, I''ve been reading all your reviews and it makes me so so soooo happy.. I''ve never received so much overwhelming love before. Thank you all so much!

 Chapter 8 - 8 Contract Renewal

    [Surprise Double Update!!!]


    "Zou Yue, dinner is ready." Peng Qui walked into the dark room. He heard little dripping sounds from inside the bathroom. "Zou? Are you finished?"


    "I''ll be out in a minute." Zou swiftly wiped down his body and wore the slightly damp towel around his waist. "Is the braised pork ready?"


    His hair was still dripping wet, and the droplets rolled down his pale body.


    Peng Qui''s eyes went wide as he saw the slim, yet seductive body. He swiftly turned back. "Wow, when did little Zou become big Zou? Anyway dry you hair and come out," he said and ran out leaving behind a confuse Zou.


    He walked over to his mirror and took out the hair drier from the drawers. "wah, bath felt so good" his shirt fell onto his face. He swept it up and glanced at his reflection. His skin had become slightly pink from the hot bath. "I look like a cooked peeled shrimp,"


    "Little Yue!"


    "Coming." he pulled on a black shirt and a pair of trousers exposing his thighs. Just as he walked out the room a tantalising sect hit his nose. "Oh my god, that smells wonderful!!" he jumped onto the seat and glanced at the smoking hot meal. "Is that all for me?"


    "yes! Eat up," manager Mu gave him a pair of chopsticks.


    Zou Yue happily ate a bite of rice. It was slightly sticky and chewy, with a tinge of sweetness to it. He paired it with the spicy sour pork piece. "It''s heavenly!! This is what heaven tastes like!!" he shouted, and ate with gusto.


    Seeing him eat so well, the other two''s appetites increased.


    All three of them ate so well, leaving behind only empty plates on the table.


    Zou Yue caressed his bulging stomach and burped. ''That was the most satisfied meal I''ve had in years~'' he glanced at his busy manager and smiled. "Thank you so much, brother Mu. Your cooking is always is the best."


    "Of course, I have a picky model like you. You should thank Aunty Helen for all the training," manger Mu chuckled with a fond smile on his face.


    Aunty Helen was manager Mu''s wife. They have been married for almost ten years, but they were not blessed with a child. So they both treated him as their own child.


    Smiling, Zou Yue took out a few packs of dried strawberry from his pockets. "Manager, give this to aunty." He shoved the packets to him.


    Manger Mu happily took it. "Oh Yue, I have something to talk to you about."


    They both sat down comfortably on the couch. Manager even gave him a small cup of milk. "Zou, about your contract renewal. The agency is planning to....."


    "I do not want to renew my contract." Zou stopped him mid-sentence.


    "What!" he shot up. "Little Yue, did you get in contact with other agencies? How dare they contact you without my authority," his manager raged.


    Zou Yue waited until he called down a little. "Manager Mu, I do not want to be a model anymore."


    "What!!" his manager glanced at him with his mouth wide open. "Little Yue, if you are in any kind of difficulty I am willing to help you."


    Zou understood the implied meaning of those words. "I am not taking any drugs, nor am I drunkard," he said with a cold look.


    His manger silently peered at him. "Then why did you take this decision. Right when you career is about to peak,"


    Zou Yue dwindled with his thumb. He can''t obviously say that the world would end in just six months and that he had to learn some life skills for that. "um.. my father disapproves of my job,"


    "bullshit, I know you don''t listen to anyone. Don''t give me this shitty reason. Tell me if you want more compensation the company is willing to give it to you."


    "I really don''t care about compensation anymore. I¡ªI am a lonely uncle. I really want to be with my family. My dad is going to retire next month even they will probably move to our hometown. I am going to go back with them," Zou said softly.


    In fact, in his previous life, the same thing happened. But he did not voluntarily go along with his parents. He went along because he lost his job.


    On That fateful day, He got annoyed of his father''s nagging and left the house to party all night.


    When he returned drunk in the morning, he came back to a dark town. The electric wires had snapped, and they lost electricity on the day of the meteor''s impact.


    The next day was normal, but on that night. His father got sick. Everyone thought it was just a common cold, but his situation got progressively worse.


    Just a Day after the end of the world, his father passed away.


    Heartbroken, his mother followed along three days later.


    Thinking back to this, his eye started tearing up immediately. "Manager Mu, I just want to be with my family. I miss them so much," he started sobbing loudly.


    Even manager was stunned. He rushed to him and hugged him tight. "Oh, my child, why did you hold back so much grief in your heart? If you had told me earlier, I would have cleared your schedule and taken you back home." he gently patted his trembling back.


    "No, I want to go back. I want to be with them." He sobbed loudly. ''With them when they pass.'' He silently swallowed these words.


    Even though he had knowledge about the future, he still could not stop the fever from claiming his parents.


    He hugged manager Mu tightly. "Manager, you should leave this city. Go to a remote area far, far away. Better yet, don''t stay in any cities."


    "Because six months from now, the world we came to know of will end."

 Chapter 9 - 9 Late Night Hunger

    Zou Yue hugged manager Mu tightly. "Manager, you should leave this city. Go to a remote area far far away. Better yet, don''t stay in any cities."


    "Because six months from now, the world we came to know of will end."


    "Okay, okay," manger urgently whispered.


    Zou glanced up with hope. ''He believed me.. I didn''t even have to explain myself, but he believed me.'' his eyes sparked unintended.


    "Sigh, this is going to be troublesome but I can ask for six months break for you. The company might allow it thanks to your recent popularity with miller. But before your new ad is being showcased, I can''t assure you of anything," he said with a small smile.


    Manager mu gently wiped his tears away. "Stop crying like a kid. If you want to see your mother you should have said so earlier.... I should have noticed it earlier as well. I''m sorry for letting you suffer for so long."


    Zou Yue''s bright eyes dulled a little. ''What was I expecting? No one would believe me even if I shout it out loud or broadcast it to the world.'' He sighed and nodded. "Yes, I would like six months break. I wish to be with my parents."


    "I shall arrange for it then," manger mu stood up and cleared his throat a little. "Don''t cry, it doesn''t suit you. Next time if you need something just ask for it okay?"


    "hmm, thank you so much manager Mu,"


    Zou Yue sent his manger and his stylist off for the night and firmly locked the doors after him. It was just a small latch on top foot eh door. He pulled the door a little and it actually moved. "This can''t even hold a level one zombie. I guess I should get new locks," he mumbled to himself, and went to the kitchen.


    His manager had already cleaned up everything, even washed the dished for him. There was slight pang in his heart. "If no one believes about the apocalypse, how can I help them prepare?"


    That entire night he stayed up thinking of ideas to save the world.


    It''s not about saving them from the virus but how to survive against the level one zombie.


    When the apocalypse hit, his parents passed on way earlier, before it became worse. After their passing he was devastated and heartbroken and even thought of dying a little.


    But fate didn''t allow him, and so didn''t his guilty consciousness. He once again thought of his beautiful mother, who always coddled him and gave up on killing himself. Instead he survived.


    It was tough, but he managed.


    With only three rules, he was able to make it out of the zombie apocalypse before he reached any safe human settlement.


    Zou Yue swiftly noted everything down in a small diary of his.


    "How to survive the initial stages of zombie apocalypse:


    Topic: Comrades


    One, don''t trust weak people, especially ones who cry and wail. Not trust them and don''t even get close to them. They are the one who are most likely to push or pull you back when chased as a group.


    Two, stay away from strong people. Especially the newly manifested ability user. Stay away from them as much as you can. It is a benefit to have them in your team but the team would consider that person as their strength and would do anything to get in their good graces. Even kill you or push you to a horde of zombies."


    Three, travel solo or as a small group with humans you trust. Don''t trust new faces, don''t trust selfish old faces. They are only a liability and a potential risk for your survival."


    His stomach started growling loudly again. He went to his kitchen and rummaged through the fridge, but he was not able to find anything he wanted to eat.


    "I really want to eat some rose cake....."


    Just the thought of the jam like sweet tart rose filing and the crunchy but flaky out later made him salivate.


    "Fine, I''m going to get some! Who cares about diets when an apocalypse is upcoming. I need to bulk up like a bear to survive this harsh starvation." he wore his coat and ran out the house.


    It was almost ten now and the nearby convenient stores would close by ten thirty. "I only have twenty minutes, shit," he dashed into the empty roads.


    Since he lived in a smaller part of the residential area almost all the convenient stores were at least thirty minutes away from his place.


    He took off like a wind and ran cheerfully. The fresh and chilly night air slightly froze his lips, but he welcomed this happily.


    After just a few minutes of running, he started panting. His legs burned from over working. Walking over to the side path, he squatted down tiredly. "ah... what... the....hell.... my stamina....is bullshit,"


    Suddenly his eyes started going black, the most common sign of losing consciousness. ''Just a few kilometers and I''m panting and fainting! What kind of physical routine did I maintain!!'' then he remembered that he did not even have a physical routine or any kind of workout.


    His body''s metabolism was awesome, leading to him having a lanky body without any effort.


    "I... really..... Should have worked... out," he mumbled and leaned his head against the cold ground. Suddenly, he felt a small tap on his shoulder.


    He pushed it away, but the tapping returned.


    "Excuse me? Are you okay? Why are you on the ground?" a magnetic voice said softly.


    Through his blurry eyes he saw a man in black shades looking at him intently. He was wearing a face mask and a hat as well.


    "kid....napper~!!!" he lost his consciousness.

 Chapter 10 - 10 The Mysterious Death

    Fan Xui just silently stood there. "I am not a kidnapper, sir." There was not an answer to his whisper. "Sir?" he tapped the lump on the ground with his stick.


    The person remained unmoving and was slightly panting.


    "Sir." he knelt down and randomly touched him. He found a wrist and checked his pulse. His heart was beating too fast. "Sir, I will call you an ambulance. Please hold on." he patted his right pocket and reached out to his phone.


    "Siri, call 119,"


    "Gladly, Mister Fan," the mechanical voice whispered. Soon his call connected. "Hello, yes, there is an unconscious person on the road. Wait a minute, I will share you my location,"


    His phone automatically shared his location with the ambulance service.


    "A dispatch is arriving at your locations shortly but can you please stay online and explain the patient''s symptoms to us,"


    "Wait a moment." Fan Xui felt around and found the face. His hand could trace a smooth butter like skin and a soft lip. But as he went down, he felt the subtle stubble of a shaved face. "It''s a young man. Probably around 18 to 25. He seems to be panting softly. His heart rate is very fast as well,"


    "Good sire, please make sure the patient is in a well-ventilated area and is laying comfortably on their side. Do you see any kind of Id card on him or in his wallet?"


    "Let me check." he just rolled the unconscious man to his side and made sure to check his pockets. He only had some money and didn''t even carry a phone. "He doesn''t have a wallet or a phone."


    "Oh, that''s all, sir. Please wait for a while the dispatch is just five minutes from you."


    As soon as he said this, he heard a sharp ambulance wailing sound in the distance up ahead. He stood up and waved to them.


    The van stopped in front, and someone disembarked. "Bring the stretcher. Quick." the lead emergency medical responder order.


    "Sir, thank you for calling us. Do you know this person, or do you know anyone we can contact?"


    Fan Xui shook his head. "I don''t know him. Which hospital are you going to be taking him?"


    "To the S hospital, it''s nearby."


    "Then can I come as well," Fan Xui whispered with a frown.


    "Yes, sure, if you wish to." the medical responders swiftly pushed the stretcher inside the van and called for him.


    Fan Xui unwound his guide stick and walked in the general direction.


    "Sir, let me help you," the responder reached out to him, but Fan evaded his touch.


    "Thank you for the offer but I can go by myself." he got into the ambulance and sat on an uncomfortable plastic seat.


    He touched his suit pants to find a small cringle near his knees. He proceeded to pat the dusk away and tried to fix it much as he could.


    "Its nice of you to accompany him." the responder whispered softly. "At least there are caring strangers in this world,"


    Fan Xui looked towards the direction of his voice. "But I was on the way to S hospital myself."


    "Oh, mind if I ask, are there any of your relatives there," the man whispered in a hesitant tone.


    "No, my surgery is scheduled for tonight." He remained silent after that. His phone chimed again and again. "Siri, silence my phone,"


    "Silenced, mister Fan, may I be of any assistance," the mechanical voice said.


    "No, nothing as of now." he easily placed his phone inside his right coat pocket and folded his hand over his lap.


    Only silent beeping and soft panting filed the small ambulance. He frowned a little and sniffed his hand. It smelt slightly like roses. Not the artificial one, but of fresh roses. The scent was very subtle, but his superior senses picked it up instantly. As well as a slightly sweet and sour scent of pork. ''He had pork and roses?''


    His mind worked a little, thinking about the possibilities. He could only come up with a logical reasoning. ''He must work with roses. Is he a delivery guy or was he taking flowers for his loved ones? Must be one of the two. His jacket was poorly made too.''


    Zou Yue, who was wearing manager Mu''s jacket, was gravely mistaken for a flower delivery guy.


    The ambulance reached the hospital swiftly, and the stretcher was lowered carefully. Fan Xui expanded his stick and jumped down. "Thank you so much for taking me here. As for this man''s hospital bill, I shall take care of it," he coolly entered the hospital, leaving the baffled medical responder behind.


    A familiar nurse saw him and helped him find his operation room. While he was following after her, he felt someone walk closer. It was a familiar musky and citric scent. He instantly moved away.


    "Brother, didn''t expect you to come here," he said to the person who was silently walking next to him.


    "Of course I should be here for you when you need me." the man said softly.


    But Fan Xui could pick up his cynical tone. "I am thankful for your support but his operating is a very long one. Brother might not be able to handle waiting around."


    "Um, but I would. Little Fan, why did you come in an ambulance is everything okay? I already arranged for a driver for you."


    Fan Xui turned towards the general direction of the voice and coldly whispered, "My assistant had an emergency work to attend to in the office so I let him take the car."


    The nurse interrupted them. "We are here. Relatives of the patient please wait outside while the patient talks with the doctor," she kindly whispered.


    "Gladly miss," his brother Bai Xiaolin said.


    Fan walked inside the consultation room and sat down on the familiar chair. "Doctor K, how are my reports?"


    "They are good; we shall have your surgery today." But he hesitated a bit. "Do you know that someone tried to tamper with your health reports but thankfully one of our janitors noticed this and informed us."


    "It''s good then. Thank you so much for everything doctor." He stood up and bowed deeply.


    He heard a soft sigh. "Whoever you offended is going to come for your life, aren''t you afraid, young man?"


    "Life is too short to be afraid of death." He said and left to the designated room arranged before surgery.


    As he was waiting, he got a call from an unknown number. His phone connected automatically. "Sir, is this mister Fan Xui?"


    "Yes, who might this be?"


    "We are calling from S hospital, do you know of a Hai Gu?"


    Just as he heard the soft voice, his heart almost stopped. "Yes," he whispered, waiting for her reply.


    "I''m sorry to inform you sir, he has passed away."


    His grip on his phone tightened. "May I know how?"


    "Car accident. The authorities informed us that the brakes failed unexpectedly,"

 Chapter 11 - 11 The Surgery And The Recovered

    Without a word, Fan Xui left the hospital.


    Bai Xiaolin, who was waiting in the waiting area, laughed out loud when he got to hear of this. "It worked perfectly. Taking out his assistant was perfect indeed. I really should consider giving Liwei a bonus." he pulled out his phone and made a call. "Liwei, it worked perfectly. He is going over to see dead assistant. How did you even anticipate that," he laughed in glee.


    "I just know. Every time he wants to get a surgery kill someone close to him," the gentle voice on the other side chuckled. "Make sure he remains blind."


    "Definitely definitely." he manically laughed out loud. ''A blind man can never inherit his fortune and his position. And when he gets kicked out I will be in his place and my darling Liwei will be my king.'' he thought happily as he left the hospital.


    Mean while Fan Xui was in the doctor''s consultation room getting prepped for surgery.


    "You can cheat him now, but can''t cheat him forever. I have seen it, the greed in his eyes. One day or another he will make sure to kill you," the old doctor kindly remained.


    Fan Xui''s blind eyes went cold for a second. "I won''t let him hurt any more of my loved ones. Can you..... can you helparrange my assistants funeral."


    "Hmm I will," the doctor silently looked into his blank eyes.


    "How long is the recovery?"


    "Six months," the doctor said, checking his vitals once more.


    "That''s all the time I need." he hesitated a bit. "Until I regain my vision, I am going to act as a blind man. Can you make sure to tamper with the documents, doctor?"


    The old man chuckled. "Just for you, kid, just for you."


    As he was getting wheeled into surgery a frantic manager Mu rushed with a middle aged lady with him.


    "Dear, what room did the nurse say he was?" the lady anxiously glanced around. All she could see were unending corridors.


    "Room 210, it''s this way," manager Mu rushed to the admission room. This was the corridor''s only private room were present. He noticed 210 immediately. "Darling, it''s this way." he rushed into the room to find a stunned young man chewing on an orange.


    "Aunty Helen!!" he jumped off the bed and hugged her tightly. "Oh, missed you so much,"


    She laughed and patted his back. "We just saw each other yesterday. Aw, look at you. Your cheeks have sunken in. How did you lose so much weight? Is my husband not feeding you properly?" she glared at her husband.


    "I am cooking for him every day! And this is the looks modelling agencies go for. Slim yet lithe figure." he hugged Zou Yue tightly. "Get back on bed,"


    Zou Yue ran back and hopped onto the soft, fluffy bed. "Manager Mu, you didn''t have to splurge company''s money on a private room like this. It''s such a waste of money," he said that, but his expression said otherwise.


    "I didn''t book this. I heard from the nurse that someone took care of your bills." he placed the bag of fruits onto the bedside table and tapped his head. "What were you thinking, running so late at night?"


    Zou guiltily glanced up at him. "I just wanted rose cakes,"


    Aunty Helen glared at her husband again. "If only you had bought it for him, this could have been avoided,"


    "But he need to watch his weight darling," he hugged his wife''s shoulders. But she pushed him away coldly.


    "How can you say that? Look at his cute face; he doesn''t need to lose any more kilograms. He is perfect as is,"


    Zou nodded. "In fact, I''m planning on gaining weight after quitting. It''s good to have some extra pounds just in case of emergencies,"


    The couple did not understand the implied meaning, they just laughed it off. "I''ll go talk to the doctor," the manger rushed out, leaving only the kind lady behind.


    Zou Yue held her hand softly. "Did you get my dried strawberries?"


    "Hmm, it was so sweet of you. You have to eat healthy little Yue it''s not good to always eat junk food." she worriedly caressed his cheeks.


    "I kind of ate a lot and ran. I think it might just be indigestion." He caressed his tummy.


    Manager Mu came back soon with the report. "Good news you are not dying. I was just the unhealthy amount of snacks you have been eating that caused ulcer. Eating spicy food just made it worse. The doctor said you can get discharged immediately."


    Zou sat up straight. "Really!! Cool. Wait, who was the one who admitted me. Can I thank him personally? If not for him I might have been a lump on the sidewalk,"


    "That one remains a secret. But I think it''s for the good. Little Yue should not get involved with rich men. Who knows what kind of weird taste they might have," manager helped pack all the fruits.


    Zou obediently nodded and got ready to leave. He glanced out the beautiful view of the sky scrapers and smiled.. ''Whomever you are, sir, you helped me. I wish that in the future I can help you too,''

 Chapter 12 - 12 Leaving S City

    10 days.


    That''s how long that Zou Yue had not been replying. After that hospital incident, he dropped him off at his apartment and got to work.


    Zou''s leave applications the toughest job he had ever faced. The company usually does not give six months leave for a growing model but after a long period of begging and praising Zou Yue''s talents the higher management agreed with a few terms.


    Frowning manager Mu drove faster. ''What if he has fainted again? Or... what if he is sick and is bed ridden? Shit. I never should have accepted the company''s arrangement,'' he silently cussed in his mind.


    During those six months, he was assigned another new model to take care of. This way it would be easier to introduce this new model to the photographer Miller if in case Zou Yue really did not want to sign the new contract.


    The new model was also not a no-named one either. He had been in this profession for over ten years, he had more experience and backing to get moderate gigs. As his personal manager, he had been driving him around and taking care of his schedule.


    All along he did not forget to contact Zou Yue now and then.


    But the model never replied though.


    He rushed out of his car and ran to the closed door. He loudly knocked, but he did not get any reply. ''I knew it! Something has happened!'' he took out a spare key to his apartment and opened it up.


    The inside was dark and gloomy. Something crinkled under his footstep.


    He swiftly switched the lights on and glanced down at his feet. It was a chocolate cover. He flicked it off his foot and walked forward. Another cover stuck to his foot. Frowning, he tossed it to a corner as well. ''Darn, this kid is eating too many chocolates!''


    As he turned the corner to his room, he saw something that terrified him.


    The entire floor of the room was filled with Ferrero Rocher chocolate covers and rose cake covers carelessly tossed about. In the middle, a dark figure sat scribbling something in his book. He had a few crumbled up paper next to him.


    "Zou?"


    The dark figure scratched his head and continued with the scribbling.


    Frustrated by this, the manger ran and switched on the lights.


    "Ow, too bright," Zou Yue mumbled from inside his duvet that was rolled around him like a cocoon.


    "What are you doing?" manger Mu walked on his tippy toes closer, avoiding stepping on any more covers. "Did you eat all of this? Oh my god, Zou, what is wrong with you?!"


    Zou Yue innocently looked up at him. "I didn''t mean to. It was just one at first and then... I kind of forgot how many I shoved inside my mouth." He mumbled and stood up. The duvet rolled down to his sheet, revealing he was half naked and in only his trousers.


    Unexpectedly, the model''s body had lost weight rather than gain any.


    Manager Mu frowned. "Did you eat any actual food these ten days?"


    "Yeah, had bread and Nutella,"


    "Bread!! Nutella! Oh dear god, my heart is quaking." He pulled Zou Yue out of his room and sat him down on the couch in the hallway. "I really shouldn''t have left like that. Don''t worry, I''ll arrange a cook for you. Aunty Helen even suggested a few to me just last week," he mumbled, as he scrambled some eggs and bacon.


    "No need. I am going home on 18th," Zou casually whispered to him. His nails were filled with ink and colour pencil shavings. He sat down and chipped them off.


    Manager mu glanced back at him. "Why haven''t you been replying?"


    "Oh, my phone died a few days ago and I kind of forgot to charge it. I was busy, you see."


    "Busy doing what might I ask?" Mu arranged the sizzling hot egg and bacon in a neat plate and held it out to him.


    With shimmering eyes, Zou took it from him and ate with gusto.


    "If you were so hungry you should have ordered take out." manager mu sat opposite him and watched him eat with a sad smile. He had been managing this kid ever since he was ten years old and suddenly he had to manger some other cocky model. It frustrated him a bit, but he knew that his model needed a break. "Charge your phone? And what time is your flight leaving, Peng Peng and I''ll come drop you off."


    Zou Yue paused. "Why?"


    "You said your flight was on the 18th, right? That''s today" mu confusedly looked at him.


    "Oh shit, my flight is at noon!!! I totally forgot!" Zou stood up with the egg still hanging from his mouth and rushed to his room. He found a small duffel bag and stuffed all of his essentials inside.


    Manager mu walked over to his room and watched him shuffle through his cupboards and shelves. "You should at least have an alarm, for goodness sake if I haven''t come around toady you might have even forgotten about your flight,"


    Zou Yue smiled at him dazzlingly. "Sorry, I''m not usually like this. Just I have been preoccupied with something else for a while now," he subtly tossed in a few books inside his bag and rushed to his manger.


    "It''s eight now. If we hurry we can catch your plane. Did you take your passport and ticket?"


    "Yes!" Zou happily held up his passport. "What about Peng Peng?"


    "I can call him there directly." Mange mu pushed him out the door and took him over to the nanny car. While driving he made a call and informed Peng Peng to come for his send of. The makeup artist was more than happy to.


    "Did you pack everything you might need?" he glanced back.


    Zou nodded. "I''ve got everything." he hugged the duffel bag close to his chest.


    "That doesn''t look much,"


    "it''s more than enough." he glanced at the busy street with a small smile. "Uncle Mu, I am really happy that you are a part of my life and I''m grateful for all that you''ve done to me. Thank you so much," he whispered with a nostalgic look.


    Today is the last day he is going to see this kind uncle after that he was not sure if he would survive the virus outbreak and the zombie outbreak. He silently bit his lips and hugged him from behind. "I''m truly grateful."


    Mu chuckled. "Hey why are you getting emotional for? You will be coming back in six months and we shall see each other then." he patted his hands.


    They reached the airport sooner than expected. Peng Peng was already waiting for him near the gates.


    Saying goodbye was the hardest part.


    Zou Yue hugged him tight. "I''ll miss you so much."


    "I''ll miss you brat." Peng Peng softly kissed his cheek. "Oh, how is your skin so soft," he pinched his cheeks gently.


    "They are always soft," Zou went over and hugged mister Mu again tightly.


    Right then, the brooding call for his flight started. He sadly let go of him.


    Mu flicked his forehead gently. "Don''t eat too much. I would like to have you start working as soon as you return got it,"


    "hmm," Zou Yue agreed. But he knew that he was never coming back to this city again. "Oh I forgot," he took out two book from his bag and handed one each to them both. "Read it carefully. I know all of this might sound crazy but..., please. I want you to believe in me."


    Peng Peng was about to open it, but Zou stopped him. "Read it after I leave,"


    "Okay? Bye weirdo," he gently pushed him towards the check in counter.


    Zou Yue waved at them with tears in his eyes. "I hope you all survive," he whispered to himself.


    After his figure disappeared, Peng Peng curiously opened the book. "I think it might be a love confession. I''m pretty sure that he has a crush on me."


    "Don''t over exaggerate," mu mumbled and opened his book as well. The first page read. {''Survive an apocalypse volume 1,''}


    "Wow, this kid is creative. He even wrote that in six months we are going to face a zombie apocalypse." Peng peg mumbled as he flipped through the pages.


    At the end of book he had written only a single line.


    "Fight with might and with the information in this book.


    Survive!"

 Chapter 13 - 13 Accidental Meeting

    Zou Yue sat in the waiting area while the first-class passengers all boarded. After a few minutes, his numbers were called and he boarded the flight with his duffel bag in hand.


    He was on urgency yesterday so he booked the economy class. His seat was right in front of the compartment but still it was not that comfortable. His long legs barely fit in the small leg space. He shrunk himself to fit in.


    "Um, that''s my seat," a soft voice whispered right then gesturing to the window seat next to him.


    A kind-looking lady carrying a baby stood next to him.


    Zou Yue kindly got up and let her get to the window seat.


    The lady kept throwing curious glances at him. He just nodded towards her.


    "Have I seen you anywhere?" she whispered after a minute or so.


    "I¡ªI don''t think so," Zou Yue mumbled nervously. His sight was always been at the kid. Back in the apocalypse time kids were a rarity. What he was afraid of was the fact that baby zombies were fucking scary as hell? They can crawl, jump and even swim. He got traumatised after meeting them just once.


    He scooted little away from her.


    The baby looked at him with her eyes wide open. She smiled and reached out to him a little.


    He jumped back from those grabby arms.


    "Sorry, sorry, she is usually not like this," the lady apologised awkwardly.


    Zou nodded to her without any word. But he still he had a vigilant eye at this child. ''How can such a small child become such a dangerous zombie? How can they even jump ah! It''s against physics!!''


    Noticing his line of sight, the kid went to grab his shirt.


    Zou Yue swiftly moved away until he was leaning on the aisle way.


    The kid noticed her repulsion and started sobbing loudly.


    ''Fuck! The baby is crying! What to do! What to do! I made the child cry!'' he anxiously took out a piece of dried strawberry and gave it to her.


    The kid took it with her sticky fingers. The curious kid took a few licks out of it, but she did not seem to like the taste. She tossed it at him and started wailing again.


    The child''s mother apologised again and again, Zou Yue did not blame her. Kids are usually like this. That''s why most of the babies did not survive in the zombie apocalypse. Even if they survived the virus, most of them did not survive the zombies.


    It''s all because they were loud as heck! Any kid of unwanted noise is a danger in those times. Most people heartlessly ditched them.


    Zou Yue glanced at the wailing child and smiled. "Hey, it''s okay. Everything is okay," he whispered.


    The child stopped crying and held her hands out.


    Zou took it. The kid secretly placed something is his palm and chuckled loudly. He opened his tight fist to see a piece of half eaten grape. "Do you want to give this to me?"


    The child nodded.


    "Oh, how cute," he chuckled.


    The child''s mother awkwardly helped him clean his hands and apologized once again.


    "It''s okay,"


    The air hostess informed that the flight would take off in few minutes.


    Zou Yue strapped in. After ten years, he was finally flying. This made him quite anxious. He gripped the belt tightly.


    The child next to him started wailing again for his attention.


    Few of the other passengers noticed this. A middle-aged lady glanced back and saw Zou Yue''s amazing visual.


    She swiftly called the air hostess and informed her to stop this situation.


    Zou Yue frowned at her. ''You can''t possible to stop a kid from crying? The child is just feeling uncomfortable. What is this lady''s problem?'' he glared at her slightly. This posh looking lady was wearing a Gucci pink dress that came to her knees. Her hair was fully styled with a small bow on top. She noticed his sight and waved at him with a small, innocent smile.


    Zou Yue swiftly looked away.


    Somehow this posh lady annoyed the air hostess so much that she decided to move his seat next to her.


    The man sitting next to this posh lady immediately rushed and took Zou Yue''s seat.


    Zou Yue awkwardly stood in the middle of the aisle. He really did not want to sit next to this lady. He gripped his duffel bag.


    Feeling his awkwardness, the air hostess silently whispered to him, "sir would you like to sit in the business class,"


    "Are there any seats remaining here?"


    "No sir, we are fully booked in economy, but we do have a seat in business. Why don''t you sit there?" she smiled at him.


    Zou nodded. Anything is better than sitting next to a self-absorbed person.


    "Hey wait, I thought he was going to sit next to me," the posh looking lady glared at her.


    "Sorry miss, this customer is feeling uncomfortable sitting next to you," the air hostess coldly said to her. This woman had been causing trouble since the moment she walked in. she kept whining that seats were not spacious and that the water was not hot enough.


    "hey I am definitely complain about this!" the middle-aged lady shrieked.


    "please do miss, we shall let them know of our side of the story," The air hostess scoffed at her a bit and guided Zou Yue to the business class.


    Zou tossed his bag under the seat in front of him and settled down.


    Only then did he notice the person next to him was looking his way. He glanced at him and nodded. But the familiar face startled him a bit.


    "!!!" he swiftly retracted his gaze. ''Why is Fan Xui here!!! On my god, why was he even in S city? He a business mogul in G city maybe he came here for business.'' He nodded to himself. He took out a rose cake and chewed on it slowly.


    Fan Xui was typing swiftly his laptop. Zou curiously glanced at it, then at him. Each of those keys had a special small dotted sticker stuck to them. ''Wait, isn''t that brail! my lord he really is blind!!''


    He really wanted to wave his hand in front of him to check this information but he knew that it was a rude behaviour. He nervously dwindled with his thumb and occasionally took a look at him.


    Fan Xui, who was working seriously, could not concentrate at all. The kid next to him was looking at him too intently. He subtly glanced at his blurry figure. Hs surgery was a success, and the bandage was removed just yesterday. His sight was still slightly blurry, but he was able to see little by little as time went on.


    He saw the blurry figure of the person next to him and smiled slightly. He switched his laptop off and placed it in the bag under his seat.


    He closed his eyes tiredly. ''Soon, I will see the world clearer.''


    Zou Yue silently gestured for the air hostess and got a blanket. He draped it on him gently. ''He looks young...'' he held back the urge to pinch his cheeks.


    ''Ah, I am a stranger ah, I can''t just get handy with him,'' he took out his book and stared drawing the vigorously. In the second volume he planned to include a basic guide to all the different types of zombies and evolved beasts and how to defeat them.


    Fan Xui''s calm eyes turned turbulent for a second. He gripped the blanket tightly and glanced at the young man, who was scribbling something. He only noticed the huge words apocalypse guide volume two on the cover. ''Is he a writer? Why is he being so kind to me?'' he touched his chin. He had heard multiple times from his assistant that he was handsome, but he had never seen his own reflection from a young age.


    ''Maybe..... Maybe...'' he slowly nodded and looked his way. The young man was shading a gruesome looking cat like monster with red colour pencil. He moved closer and took a look.


    Suddenly, a small memory emerged. It was the same beast in the drawing and he was fighting against it with a weird power. His head started to ache immensely. He closed his eyes tightly and took a deep breath. ''What was that?!''


    P.s - This book has entered a competition. please vote and comment all you can.. love you all.

 Chapter 14 - 14 Proof Of Murder

    Zou Yue silently followed Fan Xui out the plane, even near the luggage conveyor belt he stood silently next to him waiting to help pick his luggage out. "You can tell me the colour of your luggage," he whispered to him.


    The taller man glanced down and hesitantly shook his head. "I¡ªI..." he didn''t finish himself before walking away.


    Zou duffel bag tightly to his back and awkwardly followed after him. "You don''t have any check in luggage, do you?"


    "No, I only have carry-on," he gestured to the small laptop bag in his hand.


    Zou slightly frowned. ''Do business men travel so light? He probably doesn''t even have a pair of spare in that little bag.''


    As they were silently walking to the door, there was a loud scoff near the side.


    "Brat knows to come back home," an old gruff voice grumbled loudly.


    Eyes wide open, Zou glanced in that direction. "Baba.... mommy," he ran to them hesitantly. His mother immediately hugged his stiff body tightly.


    "Oh, my baby has grown so much. Look at him, he is taller than my shoulders now," she cooed as she kissed his cheeks.


    Zou''s eyes started tearing up. His limp hand gently hugged her delicate body. "Mommy.... mommy," he nuzzled against the crook of her neck, smelling her familiar, comforting scent. "I miss you"


    When they finally separated he noticed something very awkward. His tears had soaked though the shoulder of her dress leaving a small wet patch there. He gently wiped at it. "Sorry for running your dress, mommy,"


    "My munchkin, I missed you, too. So did your baba, right?" she pulled the hesitantly old man from behind.


    "Who said I missed this brat? All he knows is to cause trouble and..."


    Zou Yue hugged him tight. "I missed you, baba. I missed you so much," he loudly cried. His hands tightened around his stiff body.


    "y¡ªyou, why are you crying, huh? It''s nothing worth crying about." he awkwardly patted his back.


    Zou cried even more at this. In his last life he never understood his father''s behaviour and associated all his rude talks with hatred. But if you analyse his talks a bit one could feel the underlying love. Right from the stiff back to the slight tremor in his voice, said that this old man missed him more than anything it the world.


    He lifted his face and glanced at his wrinkling face. "Baba, have I told you I love you so much,"


    The old man''s eyes became wet a bit. "Now, stop crying. Look at you acting like a kid." He swiftly knocked his head and wiped Zou''s cheeks roughly. "Zou mama, let''s go before our son decides to cry a storm here." he gently held his wife''s hand.


    They lovingly could nudge their son towards the exit with a wide smirk on their faces.


    Fan Xui, who was standing in the corner, saw all of this with a small sigh. He tapped his right pocket instinctively and took out his phone. "Siri, message Qian to drop by to my place,"


    His car was waiting out there without any prior notice. He simply glared at it and hailed a taxi from nearby to his home.


    The driver silently made a phone call to inform of Fan''s actions.


    "Let him be. One day or another, I will kill that blind bastard that my aunt left behind." The screechy vive said before the line went silent.


    Slowly his car winded up to his home. His butler happily invited him in and helped settle him down. All the while Fan acted as if he was blind to everyone.


    Soon his rowdy friend came in with a loud laugher accompanying him.


    With his specks still on, he glanced at his childhood friends. He had grown tall and even had small stubble on his chin.


    "oi, oi, Fan, why did you call me here so urgently. Do you know I had to throw all of my work to come all the way here," Qian grumbled pulling at his id card. "Come on, make it fast. Oh, your shadow is missing. Where did he go? I guess he most likely left to go potty." he chuckled naughtily.


    "He is here." Fan gently opened his bag and pulled out an urn. "Can you help me find a place for him to rest?"


    His friend had a slightly stunned look on his face. "This is a bad joke, my friend."


    "it''s not a joke. Hai Gu was killed by Bai Xiaolin," Fan blankly whispered. But his heart ached a lot just looking at the urn. Even at the final moment he was not there for him, which made him sadder than ever.


    Qian sat silently with his head down. "H¡ªhow did this happen?"


    "This.... it was one of Bai''s traps. I should have knows something was wrong..... I should have...but by mistake I loaned my car to my assistant that day. They said that break wires were messed up and he rammed into a truck," Fan Xui dejectedly whispered, holding his aching head.


    "Fuck that shit. I will find enough proof to send him into prison for all his life! That bastard''s whole family is rotten to the core. How did Liwei even come from his family?" Qian grumbled as he pranced around anxiously.


    "Liwei is adopted by the Bai family did you forget," Fan coldly whispered.


    Unlike his friend, he was not fond of Liwei either. He appeared soft and kind on the outside, but he hid a treacherous heart inside. It was just his intuiting not to get close to him.


    "Those Bai family might even kill you for your fortune," his friends silently whispered with an enraged look.


    His family was quiet complicated, his parents passed away a long time ago in an accident. That was when he lost his sight as well. The car crash might seem like an accident but it was a well-planed murder done by none other than the Bai family.


    Bai family was his mother''s side family and that bastard Bai Xiaolin was his cousin who was only just a year older. Bai Liwei is their families adopted son who they cared for a lot.


    Their family''s status was quiet different. His father was just a small businessman when he met his mother and fell in love instantly. Since their social standings were different from his mother''s family, the Bai''s, apposed of their marriage. So his parents eloped and had a simple wedding. After marriage they started their own bio technology lab together with their limited resources from his mother.


    But unexpectedly the business became huge in just a few years.


    From then on, the Bai family''s eyes had been trained on them. They came knocking on their door with a cordial smile. His kind father was happy that the family was finally willing to accept their marriage, but sadly he was only inviting a fox in the house.


    Just a few years they became a huge shareholder of their company, almost changing all the control over to their hand.


    Fan Xui frowned slightly. He took out a worn out pen drive from his bag and handed it to him. "Make sure all newspapers and police are aware of this,"


    "What is this?" Qian confusedly whispered.


    "Proof of tax evasion, illegal business and..... proof of murder,"

 Chapter 15 - 15 The Escapee Rat

    The next day scandalous news speared through tabloid and social media that the Bai family elders had caused the tragic deaths of the Fan family husband and wife.


    The video clip was so clear that miss fan was still alive when the car overturned and she was suffocated to death by the Bai Xiaolin''s father.


    The police immediately arrested the old couple. Even Bai Xiaolin was not spared.


    Fan Xui stood out their door and watched how they got dragged like a dog.


    "You bloody blind basted, it was you!! You did this to us," old Bai shouted as he charged at him, but the police restrained him tightly.


    Fan looked in his general direction. "You reap what you sow. you should have known this day would come when you strangled my mother to death. Sadly, my poor mum still loved and even in her last moments she begged me to forgive you. Only for her words have I been quiet all along. But since you can''t stay still, It''s better for you to dance in a jail cell," he said with a wide smirk.


    Bai Xiaolin was dragged behind them. He glared at him silently as he struggled from the policeman''s hold. "Mark my words; I''ll make sure you pay for this Fan."


    Fan Xui silently extended his walking stick and waved at him. "We''ll see how you manage to do that."


    As she was getting in his car, he heard a person calling his name from behind. "Fan-ah, fan-ah," the sobbing person ran to his arm.


    Fan swiftly sidestepped to avoid the collision.


    The young man was stunned for a second. Wiping at his red eyes, he glanced pitifully at him. "Fan-ah, I didn''t know. I didn''t know that they had done this to you~ I''m so sorry," he sobbed slightly.


    Fan coldly looked at him, shedding his tears. "You are not responsible for what your adoptive parents did."


    "But they are my parents. I should have known about this. I should have. If so, I would have stopped it. Then¡­ then you would have still had your vision," Liwei beautifully cried. He subtly moved a little closer trying to lean on him but fan Xui stepped back.


    "It''s not your fault. Don''t cry." he coldly whispered.


    "But fan-ah, it''s all my fault. It''s entirely fault. I¡ªI wish to repay you. I would like to repay you," he cried, wiping gently at his red cheeks.


    If a normal person saw this, they would have gone soft already, but Fan coldly stood like a brick in front of him. Through his shades he can see the deceptive smile the young man had when he lowered his head. ''a snake will always raise a snake,'' he thought silently. "You don''t have to."


    Without a word, he coldly got into his car and drove away.


    Qian, who was driving, glanced at him with a questionable look. "Your heart is really made of stone," he sighed.


    "Might be," fan Xui lowered the window and gently placed his head nearby, steeling the cold wind on his face. "I have something to tell you."


    "Go on,"


    "Let''s talk at my house," he mumbled softly. Qian was his trustworthy friend, but he was not that perceptive of people''s characters as he was. It''s better not to tell him about him regaining vision. But this bulky man was also a medical researcher. He might have a clue why he was getting headaches and weird visions.


    They soon reached his private villa and got in.


    Sitting calmly on his sofa, he glanced up at him. "I need you to do a checkup on me."


    Frowning, Qian sat opposite him. "You usually got your eyes checked with doctor Murthy. Why are asking me now? Did that Bai Xiaolin do anything?" he suspiciously whispered, and got close.


    Fan took off his specks and showed him his eyes.


    "Wow, why do your eyes look so awesome? I wish I had those dark, broody looks," he enviously whispered.


    "I know, I saw them. They look good," fan mumbled silently.


    His friends froze. "What do you mean you saw? Fan¡­." Fan intently glanced into his eyes. "Oh, my god¡­.. Oh my god," Qian jumped over and hugged him tight. "I am so happy. Do you see me? Do I look as you had expected," he said wiping his tears away.


    Fan coolly pushed his hands off him. "You look fat,"


    "F¡ªfat!!! You could have lied," Qian pouted, touching his small potbelly. "This is because I drank beer last night."


    "You looked fat yesterday as well," fan coldly said and moved over to the kitchen. "Tell me, is it normal to have weird visions after having a cornea donation?" he mumbled casually as he took out a pan from the cupboard.


    "Vision? What kind," Qian picked out an apple from the basket on the kitchen table and loudly munched on it.


    "Bloody¡­. It felt like I was fighting against something." Fan cracked an egg in a bowl and added the condiments to it. "Is it normal?"


    "There have been cases where patients have experienced adverse memories or visions of the donor''s life. But it''s unproven and unscientific. So I don''t believe in it." he threw the pit in the bin and got close to the pan. "Egg looks good,"


    "Don''t poke your nose so close," fan pushed his face away.


    "Boo hoo so cold." Qian silently watched his friend move inside the kitchen. Unlike when he was blind, he was moving more smoothly and casually. This brought a weird joy to my heart. "I''m happy you are back."


    After having their lunch they both casually sat around doing few tests.


    Qian held up a small 2 inch sized picture a little further away. "Can you see now?"


    "It''s blurry,"


    "Oh, it will get better in time." he plopped down next to him. "Gosh, it''s too tiring,"


    "You''re working too much,"


    Qian scoffed at him. "Says the guy who works 24/7," he leaned a little forward and whispered, "Do you know our government is so fucked up. Last year they got a small sample of a virus from a meteor piece and are obsessed over it."


    "What''s new about it," fan flipped through some of the documents and silently read the brail.


    "No, no, listen, this virus is said to slow our aging. It''s a fucking immortality elixir!"


    Fan skeptically glanced up at him. "And you believe that,"


    "I have to. The results were spectacular. The rat we tested on lived for more than ten years!!"


    Fan Xui frowned a little. The concept of immortality had been a rage amongst the ancient kings and kingdoms. It had caused many wars and loss of innocent lives. Just the thought of it raged him a bit.


    "Sadly, the rat escaped our facility, and we lost track of the final living virus. I don''t even know how that rat skillfully unlocked itself and escaped such a tightly secure research facility. That by itself is a fascinating indeed. But now, we don''t have any more virus strands to test on." He mumbled and tiredly leaned his head onto the headrest.


    "You know what the government decided? They are planning to bring down the meteor back to earth." Qian gave him a tablet that showed him the news about the meteor that would be passing earth.


    "They plan to bomb it while its near our atmosphere. When it rains down in pieces, they plan to retrieve the virus for further research,"

 Chapter 16 - 16 Bitten

    Zou Yue keenly gazed at the target. His arms were aching, but he held his position until he was clearly sure that he would hit the target. With a smooth sliding motion, he released the taunt arrow room from his bow.


    It whooshed loudly and hit the target right in its centre.


    He lowered his bow with a wide smirk on his face. "Bull''s eye!"


    "You are doing better than expected," an old man behind him who was tending to the arrows whispered.


    "That was my only bull''s-eye," he mumbled awkwardly, and went over to pick out his arrows. In a consecutive order of ten arrows, he was only able to hit the bulls-eye once. "With practice I can do much better," he whispered to himself and pushed the arrowed into his quiver.


    For the next hour and a half he patiently practiced until at least three of his arrows out of ten hit the bullseye.


    As he was knocking his final arrow, a hand tapped his shoulders. "Don''t strain yourself, kid. Go home and come back tomorrow," the young man whispered.


    "But just another arrow," Zou Yue pouted.


    The man relented and let him do his thing.


    Zou closed his eyes and concentrated solely on the target in front of him. His eyes narrowed and his target aligned right with his arrow''s tip. He gently released it from its taunt string.


    This time his arrows whooshed and plunged right into the centre of another arrow. Just like in that movie ''brave''.


    "Wow, double bullseye," he cheerfully chuckled.


    Seeing Zou Yue jump around in glee, the old man behind him smirked slightly.


    This man was the owner of this training hall. Usually school student come here to practice, but it was a surprise to him when a young man came running with an exited look in his eyes. He let him have a go at it. The young man had a good talent in it.


    "You should buy some good arrows, young man. Wood arrows snaps easily I suggest you get metal ones," the training hall owner mumbled.


    "Please have a set ready for me!!" Zou Yue happily held his hand and shook it. "Thank you for giving me a chance."


    "Good, good, youngsters these days are good," he chuckled, and sent him out.


    Zou Yue happily pulled the arrow bag over his shoulders and ran in the unfamiliar road. His parents live in a slightly popular metropolitan city in G city, their residential area was quiet close to retirement housing, so its residents were mostly old aged people. Now and then he would wave at a few old people who were crossing by.


    "Little Yue, where are you hopping around," an old man shouted from across the road.


    "Planning on getting ice cream, grandpa Shu," he shouted and waved at him.


    "Good, don''t eat too many or you will have rotten teeth like mine," the old man showed him his teeth, which were black and broken down.


    Zou chuckled and nodded. "Definitely will not follow your footsteps." As the old man walked past him, he sadly sighed. This old man also became a zombie at the end of the world. Old people did not have that much immunity to fight against the virus. Simply to say all the members of the pension residential area either died from the sickness or turned on the first day itself.


    It was quiet chaotic.


    Zou remembered the time when this same jovial grandpa ran to him with a bloodthirsty look and tried to bite him. Thankfully, the old man did not have teeth, so he was not able to break skin. It was the first time he knew that cruelty of the apocalyptic world.


    Just thinking about it brought a shiver down his spine.


    "agh, let''s not think about it." he ran into the convenient store and brought a few cake rolls, dried strawberries, Goji berries for his father and some sweet peaches for his mother. Only after buying those did he pick out a grape flavoured ice cream from the box and happily hopped out the door.


    He speared his hands out and gently felt the breeze. It was fresh and devoid of any rotting smell he was used to. "I still can''t believe I''m back here," he mumbled, and bit into the cold treat.


    For a second it made his teeth ache, but he decided to ignore it and enjoy it thoroughly.


    He hummed a small tune and walked over into the alleyway. The Popsicle was soon eaten off with only the stick remaining. A trashcan was just nearby a crossing. He tossed it. But the stick did not end up in the box. "Che, my aim is still bad." he stumblingly walked over and leaned down to pick it up.


    But before his hands could even touch it, a small dark figure swiftly took it and dashed under the trash can.


    "What the hell," he stumbled back in fear. The creature that took it was fast. Just as fast as any mutated beast he had met in the apocalyptic time. Calming his pounding heart, he slowly leaned down and glanced into the dark space under the trash bin.


    Only two mug bean size eyes shimmered blue.


    "A rat? How come it''s so fast," he mumbled and gently snapped his finger at it. "That is just the stick, little one. Do you need food?"


    The rat threw the stick down and glanced at him with its gleaming eyes.


    "Guess someone is hungry. You should be thankful that I am partial to rats like you. I even had a cute daughter called la Trexa. She was just a bread hoarder, Always stealing my bread," he whispered as he opened a packet of cake rolls and placed it on the clean road.


    The rat hesitantly scurried out with his whiskers shaking slightly


    "Don''t have to be wary. I won''t do anything to you," he whispered with a soft smirk.


    The rat confidently walked out and started chewing on the cake roll loudly.


    "Aww, I miss my rat child. I hope she ate her share of bread. Or at least take it from my corpse and hit it somewhere where she can eat later," he mumbled softly and glanced down. The grey rat also peered up at him. "she looked so much like you, Grey, and normal. I guess most rats do....but my girl is special alight, she loved to bathe in gutter that nasty fellow," he nostalgically had a one-way conversation.


    The rat occasionally glanced up at him and continued chewing until it reached the part where the cover was unwrapped.


    "Oh, let me help you with that little Girl." he pulled at the plastic wrapping but the cake itself seemed to be sticking to the inside.


    The rat that was happily eating its food got annoyed by him. She stood on his hind limbs and bit his finger.


    "ow!" Zou dropped the cake and accusingly glanced at it. "Rude! I was just helping you." the rat turned its face and continued eating.


    "I am talking to you, young rat. See, it''s blending," he showed it his bleeding wound and grumbled.


    The rat squeaked in annoyance and stood on its hind limbs again. It waved its paws vigorously, with a strange expression of frustration on its face.


    Zou secretly chuckled. "You cutie," he poked it belly. Right then, something strange caught his eyes. He gently held the rat''s forepaws and glanced at its chubby belly.. A small white mark in the shape of a heart stood out to him. "Oh my god, even your marking is similar to la Trexa!!!"

 Chapter 17 - 17 GreatGrandparent?

    "Oh my god, even your marking is similar to la Trexa!!!" he gently tugged the rat closer and took it in his arm. Nibbling on a piece of cake, the rat easily allowed his prodding. "My lord, is this a coincidence!!! Is it you, my baby la Trexa? Did you come back in time as well!!!"


    The rat confusedly looked up at him, licking the cream left over on its lips.


    Zou''s expectation lowered a bit. If it was were his own la Trexa, she would have crawled all over his body with the piece of cake making a total mess out of him. This little one seemed tamer and calm then his baby child. "Maybe¡­.. Maybe you are la Trexa''s great-grandmother or something."


    With a sigh, he glanced at it. "Hey little fellow, do you have an owner," he searched for any signs and he noticed a small metal ring on its leg. It said subject 0. "Subject!!! Were they testing on you? My poor little rat." he gently caressed its head.


    The rat nudged against his finger and smeared some cream on it.


    Chuckling, Zou Yue wiped the cream off. "You are surprisingly similar to me la Trexa, all right. You know what? Why don''t you come with me? I can provide you with all the food you would ever want."


    The rat''s ears perked. It dropped the piece of cake on his palm and excitedly looked at him with its shimmering black eyes.


    "You willing?"


    The rat nodded.


    "Did you just nod!!!" Zou Yue exclaimed all of a sudden. This was not a normal behaviour for a rat. He knew that rats were intelligent and very kind, but this little rat seems smarter than any normal ones he had ever met before the apocalypse.


    "Even my la Trexa was smart. She used to nod like that. Now I''m pretty sure of it you are my la Trexa''s ancestor."


    The rat tilted its head.


    Zou shook the thought of his beloved. "It''s getting late. Let''s go to our new home." he picked her up and placed her insides in the pocked of his hoodie.


    The rat peaked out and held tightly onto the corner of the pocket.


    Zou placed a gentle hand on the opening with just a right space of the rat to enjoy the view. "don''t worry, I won''t let you fall,"


    The rat nuzzled against his hand and licked the spot it bit previously.


    "You would make a great companion for my baby Trexa in the future...." But he suddenly remembered that rat''s only live for maximum of two years. He sighed. "Sorry, kid, I hyped up la Trexa so much but you won''t get the chance to meet her. Because she isn''t supposed to be born for at least eight years later,"


    He happily backtracked his way over to a pet store to get to the enclosure for the rat.


    "Which one do you like," Zou gently caressed its chin.


    The rat sneezed and scratched her nose a little. Its beady eyes then focused on the small enclosures and large enclosures in front of it.


    "You can choose whatever you like,"


    The store assistant ran to him with a broad smile on her face. "Welcome young lad, if you are searching for an enclosure for your feeding rat you should choose this." she handed him a small cage the size of a watermelon. Its bars were made crudely and it was not that spacious.


    Zou gave it back to her. "She is not a feeding rat, nor is she my pet. This little one is my new friend."


    The rat cheerfully nuzzled against his cheeks.


    The shop assistant nodded and showed him bigger enclosure.


    The little grey ran got down from his shoulders and climbed over each of the enclosures. It walked in and tested the hanging hammock inside. It jumped and jumped and ran out with a disappointed look.


    "Didn''t like it? Why don''t you check this one out," Zou gestured to the huge bird enclosure. It was as tall as him and spacious, too. He cupped the rat in his palm and let her inside.


    The rat completely checked it and nodded to him with an excited expression.


    "We shall be taking this," he said with a cheerful smile to the shop assistant.


    The young girl blushed and nodded. "I shall send it to your address in a day''s time." she dashed to the counter and brought back a small tissue. "umm..... Here is my number. Please message me if you need any more products, I shall give you a discount,"


    Zou nodded and pocketed the number. As he was walking out he picked out the shop''s card and number on it. After leaving the shop, he subtly crumbled the paper. "Did you see that, she was flirting with me, little rat,"


    The rat nodded, wiping at her whiskers.


    "Sadly, I won''t have time for a relationship." He gave the paper to the rat to play. "Meanwhile, we have to get this tag off of you. I hope dad has his old pliers and drills with him.


    He ran back home before the sun went down, swinging his plastic bag around. Even the little rat loved the wind gushing through its little fur.


    "Isn''t this awesome? Sadly all of this will come to an end...." he mumbled as he entered his house.


    His mother ran up to him and took the heavy arrow bag from his shoulders and took the plastic bag as well. "You are back so late. I will reheat the food." she chided, and pulled him in.


    "Where is that brat?" his father loudly shouted from the dining table.


    "Brat is here," Zou happily ran in and stop opposite him. "Oh I smell chicken!!"


    "Yes, I made some braised chicken breast and your favourite fried chicken," his mum happily gave him a bowl full of hot rice.


    "Thank you mum, love you so much," he cheerfully took it and kissed her cheeks.


    "Oh you silly boy, eat.. eat," she subtly wiped her tears away and placed a plate full of fried chicken in front of him. "Put on some weight. Look at how bony you are."


    "I am right? I am definitely going to eat and gain as much weight as I can," he cheerfully chuckled and took a bite out of the fried chicken. "mnnn it so good,"


    "Boy, stop talking and eat," his father glared at him.


    With an apologetic smile, he ate it with gusto.


    After the scrumptious meal, he went over to take a bath with the little rat with him. He feared that his mother would not like the dirty rat, so he tried to make her as presentable as possible before introducing her to his parents.


    While he was bathing he noticed a small black oozing mark on his finger tip.


    It was the place the rat had bitten.

 Chapter 18 - 18 Scabs And Wounds

    Zou Yue worriedly put soap on it, but the wound remained black as if someone had dropped ink over it. This kind of wound he was very familiar with. "Zombie bite!" he whispered with a deep frown.


    The bite was not that deep, but it seems to have already transmitted the virus into his body, leaving behind the black cast of crusty white blood cells near the wound.


    His hands started to shiver. He gently placed his little rat on the counter and gripped his hair. "This is bad.... very bad.... I should leave." Staying here with his parents might put them at a greater risk if he changed back into a zombie.


    "How did I even come in contact with it," he ran back to his room in just his towels and searched for the news of the meteor. It was still a few months away from earth and the news even said that it was far from earth''s collision course. "Then how... how is the virus here already!!" he panicked.


    Zou pulled out his duffel bag and started filling it up with clothes and essentials.


    Hearing the loud scattering sounds, his mother worriedly poked her head in. "Zou, you should drink your warm milk." she stepped in.


    "no!! Don''t come close!!"


    His mother froze by the doorway. Her sight went over to the scattered clothes totally disarray her son was in. "what is going on? Are you.... leaving again? If.... if it was your father''s gruff words, I can apologise, but please don''t leave. Please," she begged, with tears in her eyes.


    "mum... I have to, mum I have to. Or else you might as well..." he did not finish his sentence. He coldly zipped up his bag and took the rat with him, just in case this was the reason for the zombie virus. "I will be back.. by a few days."


    His mother stepped close, but Zou ran and stood near the walls. "Don''t come close, mum. Please don''t," at the initial stages the virus was so contagious that being in the same room with an infected person would make them sick. "I''ll be back, I promise. Just stand far."


    "What is this ruckus about?" his father gruffly shouted with a glare.


    "Dad..."


    "Why are you packing your bags? You got bored of us so soon? Che, I should have known, you would not like this kind of life. You have always liked being in the spot light, anyway. Go back.. go back and don''t come back," he waved with a dejected look. His little wrinkles became much more prominent as he frowned slightly.


    "Dad, it''s not like that. Please just understand. I have to be away for a while. Just a while and..." his head started becoming fussy... "no... It''s too soon. I have to leave..." he stumbled forward.


    His legs lost control, and he tiredly leaned against the bed side.


    "''Zou!!" his mum ran in and hugged him tight. "What is wrong, my child? Are you hurt?" she cried, but as she held his hand she felt the scotching heat of his skin. "Zou baba, he is burning up!!"


    His father ran in and helped her lift him to the bed.


    "No.. Don''t touch me... don''t touch me,"


    His mother was stunned. This kind of adverse reaction to touch was only seen in persons who forced to provide sexual favors. As a psychologist, she had seen many such children in her sessions.


    "Oh my baby," she cried loudly. "You don''t think.... our little Zou what kind of treatment did you get in your modeling caressed? My poor baby was tortured by someone." she hugged her husband.


    Zou''s father''s hand gripped tightly in a fist. "Tell me who. I shall take care of that man.. I will fucking kill him for touching my baby son!!!"


    Zou Yue was already in a dazed state.. He just tried to push his mother and father out the room but his hands just tiredly waved. ''Who are they talking about? Do they know that I am researching about fan Xui.... lets come clean so that they leave the room.'' he gulped and mumbled, "fan.. fan...."


    "You want a fan. Is it too hot? Wait, let me bring one in," his mother ran out wiping her sad tears away.


    On the other hand, his father stayed in the room with an unknown expression on his face. He gently caressed his forehead. "I will not let them hurt you anymore.. sleep. Sleep my baby,"


    "Fan Xui¡­" Zou shed a small tear just before he lost consciousness.


    Zou''s father eyes went sharp for a second. "His name is Fan Xui huh? I''ll see to him myself,"


    "Zou baba shall we call the doctor or should we call the ambulance,"


    "Wait, my friend''s son is a doctor," he ran back to the landline and dialled the number he was more than familiar with.


    "Hey, Zou Wei, you have the audacity to call!" a loud voice screeched from the other side.


    "Old man, listen, my son is sick. Can you send your son over," he said hurriedly. His friend silenced immediately.


    "I''ll send my useless son over. Take good care of him until then."


    Just fifteen minutes later, Zou regained a tinge of his consciousness. Through his blurry eyes he saw his mother sitting next to him. ''She is still close.... mum might get infected...'' he opened his dry mouth and whispered, "water..."


    "Here." she immediately handed a glass of warm water.


    "No need it hot,"


    "Oh I''ll heat it up for you." she ran out the room.


    He tiredly sat up and walked over to his door. He closed it from inside and bolted it. "I might have infected my parents.... god, why am I so useless," he sobbed.


    The little rat gently squeaked in front of him.


    "Little one, how did you even come in contract this stupid virus," he gently held it in his hand. The rat nudged his finger close and touched it with its paws. The black festering wound immediately disappeared.


    Zou was more than stunned. "How...."


    After a few years in apocalypse all the surviving humans developed a small amount of healing ability. Small scratched and bruises got healed over leaving behind scab.


    But when this rat healed him, there were no scabs on it.


    "It''s not healing... don''t tell me! Little one, you can manipulate time!!"


    Author''s note:- Surprise surprise, yes from now on I shall be publishing 2 chapters per day.

 Chapter 19 - 19 Barricade

    "It''s not healing... don''t tell me! Little one, you can manipulate time!!" Zou Yue shouted in shock.


    The rat just tilted her head and nodded at him.


    "Darn, who knew that beasts could get abilities too¡­.. This is definitely new information." he tiredly leaned against the door and closed his eyes. "Hey you can understand me right?"


    The rat nodded once more.


    "Then how did you get infested? Where did you get infected," he whispered as his eyes were drooping a little. He slapped his cheeks to stay awake.


    The little rat scratched at its whiskers with its mung bean sized eyes narrowed. It turned back and showed him its bum.


    "It''s okay if you don''t want to say¡­.. I just want to know how the zombie virus spread before the apocalypse." he stood up but he felt a small tug to his pants but he decided to ignore that.


    While he was conscious, he wanted to barricade the door to keep his parents out as long as possible.


    His heavy metal wardrobe was to his right side, just next to his door. With difficulty, he pushed it to the door and made sure it was leaning heavily on the door.


    As for the window, he decided to close the glass windows and firmly latched. He jammed a piece of cloth on the nudge so that it won''t be easy to open.


    The rat pulled at him and showed him its bum again.


    "umm¡­, do you want a scratch?"


    He squatted down and gently scratched the coarse fur. When he touched the lower back, the rat''s hind legs twitched softly. "Do you like that little rat?"


    The rat turned over and glared at him. It then proceeded to spread the fur from its back and showed him multiple needle marks on her.


    Dazedly, Zou Yue took her in his hands and gently caressed the needle marks. "So the virus was .... Created in a lab? The meteor was not blame¡­.." he plopped back into bed. "Then this world is fucked up. Me coming here must have caused a butterfly effect. sigh¡­."


    The rat climbed onto the bed with some difficulty and scurried into his chest.


    Zou Yue heart beat rapidly as if it was about to push out of his chest. "I wasted so much time¡­..if only I knew... I would have collected supplies"


    "Little one, I don''t even prepare food and other necessities. How can we survive this¡­ my parents¡­ how will they survive this." he panted softly. His head and muscled started to ache so badly that he lost conciseness again.


    The rat squeaked a little and ran to his nose. It touched his nose, trying to take back the virus, but it was not able to do anything. "Squeak¡­.. squeak.." he nuzzled against his neck and watched his every breath.


    Outside the room, the things were not as peaceful. Zou''s mother returned with a cup of hot water to find the door locked. "Zou! Zou, did you lock the door? Oh, my god Wei! Something is wrong!!" she ran to her husband.


    "What''s wrong?"


    "Come check out his room. It doesn''t seem to budge. I think our son might have collapsed just near the doorway,"'' she cried and hugged her husband tremblingly.


    "Don''t panic Nui, Zou must have locked it by accident," he whispered, but his steps hasted towards the door. "Zou¡­ Zou open the door,"


    "I''m telling you, he is definitely unconscious by the door," Zou Nui roared loudly. "Zou Wei¡­ I''m scared."


    "It''s okay, don''t panic. I''ll¡­." He squatted down and gently knocked on the lower part of the door. "See, the knock sounds hollow if Zou was near the door it must have sounded deep," he said with a smile. "I think he might have locked it by mistake. We might have to break the door to enter."


    "Yes, yes, I''ll ask the next-door neighbors. They recently had a repair done in their house. They might have the repairman''s number." She ran to the kitchen.


    Meanwhile, Zou Wei stood next to the closed door with an unknown look. His hands started to shiver uncontrollably. "Zou¡­ please be okay," he whispered, with tears rolling down his cheeks.


    From his previous observation, his son seems to be bullied by this man named Fan Xui and was stressed out.


    It looked like his precious son was in a desperate situation. During these vulnerable moments Kids like that tend to be impulse.


    "Zou Yue, don''t you dare try to hurt yourself? You have your dad and mum here, please, so let us help," he cried softly.


    Mother Nui hurried over to her neighbors'' and called the repair man while her husband went around the house to check if the window was opened.


    "Is it open?"


    "no¡­. he seems to have barricaded the room.." he tiredly wiped the sweat away. "Nui, shall I just to break the door¡­.. What if he is¡­."


    "Zou baba, nothing bad would have happened. Don''t worry. Our Yue will not make hasty decisions. As for the door, I think we should wait for the repairman to open the door. You already have shoulder pain,"


    She tried her best to calm her husband because in her heart she knew that Zou was in a bad state, but not in a state where he would think of killing himself. "Our son is strong, dear. He will survive through this as well."


    Four hours later the repair man came and unbolted hinges of the door and he easily shattered the door lock as well. "Lady, kids should not hav'' locks inside their room. Donncha know that." He mumbled as he pulled the door apart.


    Zou Wei and Nui just glanced at each other helplessly because they didn''t know how to explain it to this man that their son was not a kid.


    "oy'' what''s this!!" the repair man shouted aloud. "Your kid playing fort inside?" he showed them the huge wardrobe that was pushing out the door. "Shall I remove it, man?"


    Zou Wei could not understand his accent most of the time; he just nodded and told him to remove the barricade his son had placed n the door.


    With just a single push, the heavy wardrobe topples inside the room.


    Without any delay, Zou Wei rushed into the room. "Yue! Yue!" he ran to the bed and gently hugged the sleeping figure. He was slightly hot, but his situation seemed much better than before. "Zou mama, bring in a towel. Let''s wipe him off,"


    "Yes, yes." Zou Nui came back with a towel and both of them gently gave him a towel bath.


    "Shall we take him to a hospital?"


    "No¡­ I don''t think he would want that. Besides, his temperature has gone down." she tucked Yue''s hands inside the comforter and gently caressed his wallow cheeks. "Why does he look thinner than before?"


    "He looks good." Zou Wei gently held his wife''s hands. He contemplated telling her about Zou Yue''s situation, but decided not to share the intimate detail. ''It would be better for Zou Yue to open up about his trauma himself,''


    He nodded and gently laid next to him on the bed.


    A sleepless night later, their son woke up.

 Chapter 20 - 20 Trexa Gran

    The first thing Zou Yue saw when he opened his eyes was his father''s wrinkled face. He moved back, and he hit another warm body. He glanced back in shock to find his mother sleeping with her arms around him. ''Shit, when did they get here!! What if they are infected!!'' he sat up in a hurry.


    His father''s eyes opened immediately. "Yue! Yue, thank the lord you are okay." he hugged him tight.


    Zou Yue froze slightly. He tried to wiggle his way out from the hug, but his father''s grip tightened around him. "Dad, let go¡­ I''m contagious....you might sick as well."


    "Stupid kid. I''ll just take the sickness away from you then." he gently patted his back.


    Zou Yue''s placed his head on his father''s slouched shoulders and gently breathed in his scent. His eyes teared up involuntarily. "Don''t say that dad, Hick, don''t say that¡­.. never say that. Be healthy and well live long for hundred years, I''ll take care of you," he roared.


    A pair of warm hands hugged him from behind. His mother gently kissed his cheeks. "Baby, we should be the ones taking care of you¡­.. so¡­. You should share your troubles with us, okay. We''ll try our best to help you out with anything you want."


    Zou Yue shook his head sobbing, "I just want you both to live. Just live. I''ll take care of everything else. I don''t want you to die because of me¡­ ahhhh daddy," he sobbed loudly with snot and tears soaking into his father''s shirt.


    "Silly boy, who told we are going to die, huh? We shall live until we are hundreds," Zou''s father chuckled dryly. "You don''t worry about anything, okay. Don''t let anything weigh your heart¡­" his father started crying as well.


    Zou Yue sobbed even louder, hugging them both tightly. His heart ached sharply. ''This time¡­ I don''t want to be alone anymore. If my parents leave me¡­ I shall go with them¡­. I shall leave this world with them,''


    The little rat peaked from under the table with a confused look. It cleaned its whiskers and glanced at the two old people hugging the nice guy. "Squeak,"


    "What was that?" Zou father wiped his tears away and desperately tried to change the subject. "Zou mama, I think we might have a rat here. Why don''t we keep the rat trap?"


    "no! no, I¡­.. I brought home a pet," Zou Yue whispered hesitantly.


    "Oh, that''s nice. It''s nice to raise a pet." His father, who was always rigid with the house rules, easily agreed.


    "Really! You guys are okay with it~" he glanced back at his mother. She nodded with a gentle smile. "Cool, I even brought her enclosure. I think they will deliver it by today." he happily hopped off the bed and searched around the room.


    The rat hesitantly peaked out, with his nose twitching cutely. "Little one, come meet my parents." he carefully held her in his arms and showed her proudly to his parents. "This is Trexa gran,"


    His father''s lisp twitched. "aa¡­. How about father buy you a hamster? I heard they are popular amongst young people now."


    "No, Trexa gran is more than enough. I am anxiously waiting for her children." He happily caressed her coarse fur.


    The rat who was named Trexa gran glared back at him. But still she let him scratch her itchy back with a small sigh.


    "Yue¡­. How about a dog? I''ll buy you a dog," his father smiled with difficulty.


    "You don''t like my Trexa gran¡­.. oh.." Zou Yue pouted slightly.


    "No, no!! We love her!! Welcome to the family, little Trexa gran." his father touched her with his shaking hands. He glanced at his wife with a troubled expression. "Why don''t you let mother prepare other pet stuff." he swiftly leaned close and whispered, "honey is this really okay,"


    "Yue can handle it." his mother patted his shoulder slightly. "Oh by the way, you asked for fan right I shall bring it in."


    Zou Yue awkwardly chuckled. "Yeah, I asked for fan¡­.. a table fan," he glanced back, hiding his sweaty forehead. ''Fuck, I mumbled Fan Xui''s name¡­ thank god my parents didn''t hear it clearly otherwise they might think I''m a stalker,''


    For the next few days he was continuously anxious and panicky. His parents did not show any visible symptoms of contamination, but his heart could not calm down.


    Thankfully, his parents decided to sleep with him daily. Late at night, Zou Yue opened his eyes and peered at his father. His father loudly snored right at that time. ''Dad''s okay.'' he turned back and now checked up on his mother. She was not visibly snoring or moving much, but the subtle rise and fall of her chest showed him that she was sleeping peacefully.


    ''Thank god¡­. They are okay¡­'' he closed his eyes. But what he did not notice was that the rat too checked up on his parent''s breath after they slept.


    Trexa gran sighed and went over to her open cage and nibbled on the uneaten piece of cake.

 Chapter 21 - 21 Healthy Meals

    "Yue, another spoon full,"


    "no.. Mum, I don''t want anymore," Zou Yue whined loudly as he rolled in bed. It had been two days since he contracted the virus and his parents have been extremely protective of him.


    They never left his side, which he liked a lot.


    But the only problem is that his mother kept making ''healthy'' meals and guilt tripped him into eating them.


    "Come on, ginger soup is good for your cold," she grumbled and plucked a spoon full of hot soup into his mouth.


    With a sour face, he swallowed it. "I''m not even sick mommy!! And I''m full!!" he whined with a cute pout.


    "Nope, you just ate two spoon full''s," she chided and pushed the bowl towards him. "Drink it baby, it''s good for your health,"


    "I don''t want to though.." Zou Yue glanced at the half full soup bowl with a frown. "I already drank half a bowl, mommy. I don''t want to anymore." He placed the bowl on the table.


    "Yue baby, come on..."


    "It''s okay. Don''t force him." His father, who entered the room just then, stopped his nagging wife.


    "But Zou baba, this kid looks as lanky as a stick now. We have to feed him good food."


    "Yeah, in moderation." Zou Yue chuckled at her. "Mommy, I love you so much but I can''t handle another bowl of ginger soup. Pease...."


    "Fine." his mother pouted and glared at them both. "You know how much effort I put into making this. I woke up early in the morning to cook the ginger until it''s soft and mushy and I had to simmer this for three hours to get that consistency."


    "OKAY, I''ll drink. I''ll drink it. Geez," Zou Yue drowned the horrendous liquid down his throat in one gulp. The bitter liquid rolled down his throat, leaving a very bad after taste. "agh..."


    "Good boy." she happily took the bowl and left the room.


    His father sat beside him with his laptop in hand. "Don''t mind her... next time I''ll secretly bring you some ramen."


    "Aww thanks dada," he leaned onto his shoulders and side glanced into his laptop. "What are you working on?"


    "My resignation," his father slowly said.


    "What!! You are resigning.... but you still have a month of service before you retire. If you resign now, you might not get your pension benefits," he whispered with a frown.


    "I don''t care about that." he removed his reading glasses and glanced at him. "I missed almost half of your growth because of my work. I wish to spend some time with you."


    Zou Yue''s eyes started to water uncontrollably. His father was a research professor who dedicated almost all his life to his research. At his young age, he never saw his father much because he used to spend most of his time in college. As years went in their relationship became stiff.


    Eventually they became almost like enemies, shouting at each other whenever they met.


    "Daddy..... I love you," he cried and hugged him tight. "You did everything for your family, and I really respect you for that. Please don''t put yourself down like that. You are my hero," he whispered with a soft smile.


    "Silly kid, stop crying for everything, hmm." his father wiped his own eyes subtly. "Come on, shall we escape from here to get some fried chicken?,"


    "deal!!"


    They both sneaked out the house without their mother''s knowledge to go to the nearby fried chicken shop.


    After a hearty meal, they both lazily walked down the road toward their home...


    Zou Yue looked at each of the bustling stores, but one store caught his eyes in particular. It was a real estate agency..


    ''Oh, I forgot.. we should leave this area.'' He thought, biting his lips.


    His father was very fond of this neighbourhood and he refused to move even when his college was far away. "Dad, if you resign now, can we move to another place. I can find work there and we can make do with what we have," he hesitantly whispered.


    His father''s expression changed minutely.


    ''Shit, I''m not sure he will agree. Should I just buy another house secretly and move us there when the world comes to an end,'' he nodded to himself.


    "We can. Do you have any place in particular," he suddenly said.


    "What!! Do you really mean that?" he jumped onto his shoulders and peered at him with exited eyes


    His father chuckled and slightly swatted his forehead. "When am I not serious, huh?"


    Zou Yue peered at him intently. "You really do mean it? I mean, you love this area so much. If you don''t want, we shall not move.."


    "Silly kid, if you want, we should move anywhere you want. But not abroad. You mum can''t speak English properly," his father jovially whispered.


    "Ha-ha, sure."


    Getting the green light from his father made him super happy. He glanced around the neighbourhood, and his smile melted away. ''In six months this place will be swarming with zombies.... and all these people will pass away...''


    He knew that he can''t save everyone but the thought that so many people will die made his heart ache badly.


    "Dad, can I ask you something. If you knew that one day the earth is going to end would you tell everyone?"


    His father hummed a bit. "Complicated. Even if I tell everyone, people might not believe me."


    Zou Yue''s face fell. He kicked a pebble on the ground with a pout.


    "But, some might take the advice and prepare for the worse."


    Zou glanced up with shimmering eyes. "So you suggest I tell everyone?"


    "Silly, if you tell everyone they are gonna call you crazy."


    "But you said...."


    "YOU shouldn''t say it, but make it seem like SOMEONE said it. Make it anonymous. That way you can covey your information as well as keep your identity safe." His father chuckled and walked ahead.


    "That sounds great."

 Chapter 22 - 22 House Hunting

    The next day Zou Yue left his house without informing anyone of the direction he was more than familiar with, to the place where the human settlement will be located in the future.


    He boarded a cab and hurried in the direction. The place was different from he had expected. It was on the outskirts of the town and had less population than cities.


    Most of the residents are villagers and farmers. There was also a huge clothing company in the middle of the village.


    "New to this place?" the cab driver glanced back with a smile.


    "No. This is home..." he smirked with a nostalgic look in his eyes.


    Looking at his spectacular appearance, the driver slightly blushed. "I know everyone in this town. I haven''t seen you here, so that''s why..."


    "Oh, it''s okay. I''m planning on moving here with my family. My father is retiring and we want to move to a place with less pollution," he happily said to him.


    "Oh really. I can suggest to you some places. My brother-in-law is a real estate agent; if you want I can connect you with him...."


    Zou Yue silently took a minute to think over.


    "I''m not forcing you or anything."


    "No, no uncle. I would love to meet your relative. In fact, I have been thinking about choosing real estate agency for a long time now. Thank you for suggesting one," he said with a small smile.


    "No thanks needed, kid, and I''m not an uncle. I''m just thirty you see." the driver glanced back with a wide smirk.


    The driver directly drove him over to his brother-in-law''s agency.


    The agent was a kind middle age man who welcomed him happily. After checking his budgets, he requested him to follow him to the sights. Their cab driver also decided to drive them over to the sight for convenience.


    The first house they visited was an apartment complex.


    "This house is very close to the nearby city. So many people prefer this area because it has many shops nearby," the agent said. He opened the door.


    The house was a 2 bed room and kitchen apartment. Apt for bachelors and newly married couple but for his family of three it was too small and his mother preferred bigger kitchens.


    Even so, he listened to everything the agent was explaining. He looked out the window. This place was too crowded, with an apartment complex every ten feet.


    "Uncle, this is not what I''m looking for... can we look at something else?"


    "Oh, I thought you might like it," the kind agent whispered doubtfully.


    "No, it''s because this place is in the ten floors, no elevator available. My father has back problems, so it is not a right fit for us. I am looking for a remote, independent house, maybe with a small yard,"


    The cab driver whispered something to his brother-in-law.


    "Ah, how can I forget? There is that place too. Young lad, I have exactly what you are looking for."


    They left to the next sight. It was quite interior of the town and it was in a remote location. There was a lorry blocking the road, so the cab stopped in front of a small intersection road.


    "This place is nearby is it okay if we walk?"


    "Yeah sure,"


    Walking for five minutes, they reached a small house. It looked a little old. The paint was chipping off.


    "It''s like this on the outside but its better on the inside," the agent anxiously whispered to him. But the young lad was looking at something else intently. "Oh, I forgot to mention the army camp is nearby so the resident in the area are mostly veteran soldiers. There is no problem with any theft or any security issues there." the man happily boasted to him.


    Zou Yue smirked slightly. "Army camp, that''s nice.... shall we have a look inside?,"


    Unexpectedly, the inside was much better than the exterior. It was a long rectangular house with three rooms in total and a huge kitchen. The windows and doors all had security railing and a Teflon glass window. The house itself was shaped in a way that it covered a huge rectangular area with the garden and a pond is the centre. There was a small moss covered pond in the middle with few carps swimming around.


    "This house was built back in the sixties and the couple who built there was mixed race so they combined both cultures when they built this place."


    The agent moved to the right and showed him a small brown patch.


    "The lake area has a small flower patch beside it. But the only problem with the garden inside the house is that there are a lot of problems with insects. But it can easily be solved with some insect repellent,"


    Zou Yue glanced above the pond; it was completely bare exposing the blue sky above. "But this doesn''t look secure enough," he mumbled softly.


    "Oh, if you want you can secure this place with an extra railing. The walls are securely built in so they can handle the extra weight."


    "Oh I see, can I take a look around by myself,"


    The agent agreed happily. Zou Yue happily walked around. ''I can raise fish inside this pond as for the flower patch, it can act as a small vegetable patch for fresh vegetables. But the only problem is the storage. But where do I store things?.''


    "Is there no storage area available here?"


    "There is, there is," he excitedly ran over to the master bed room. "There is an attic," he pulled down a flight of stairs that led directly to the attic. This place was very spacious as well and well built.


    Zou nodded. "Can we discuss the rate?"


    "Definitely!!"

 Chapter 23 - 23 House Hunting Ended In Failure

    "Fifty thousand dollars!! Oh... that sounds a little out of my budget," Zou Yue awkwardly mumbled. As of now he had almost fifty-seven thousand in his bank account. He silently bit his lips and glanced at the realtor. "Is it possible to reduce the price?"


    "I don''t think it''s possible, young man... the old couple who own this place urgently need this money for their son''s educational expenses so the price cannot be reduced,"


    "oh.." Zou Yue sadly glanced at the bank account in hand.


    ''Fuck, why was I such an irresponsible adult ah!! If I had saved all my salary for all the ten years I worked I could have been a millionaire now... boo hoo, I have only myself to blame.''


    "Don''t worry, young man. You can take a loan easily. Nowadays the banks are more than willing to lend," the realtor tried convincing him.


    But Zou Yue shook his head.


    ''if I take a loan now, I can easily escape without paying the interest when the world ends but.... if my dad comes to know of this he will beat my ass.''


    He sulked in the corner. ''But he won''t have to know, right? Yeah... I can do that. I can keep it a secret from him,''


    He stood up and patted his back. "Uncle, is it possible to keep this property on hold for me. I can see what I can arrange."


    He awkwardly smiled. "I''m not sure we can do that."


    Zou Yue nodded. "It''s okay..... I''ll come back later when I have the appropriate budget," he thanked them both and took the same cab out of town.


    The driver glanced back occasionally. "I''ll make sure to hold on to it for ten days....."


    "Thank you brother,"


    With the building plan and other brochures in hand, he sadly went over to his house. He placed them on the table and plopped back onto the bed. "I guess I can''t afford a house now. It''s okay, as of now I''ll concentrate on buying other things for ours survival,"


    He took out his phone and started ordering some vitals for the house, especially solar power sheets. Because the first thing the humans lost was electricity. At nights it will be so dark that one can''t even see their own body.


    He wanted to change that, especially for his parents.


    "But how do I set it up," he sat up and downloaded all videos and information he could find regarding mechanical work of the appliances.


    Night came, he ate his dinner and went to sleep without any problem.


    Zou Wei opened the door a slither and glanced in. "he''s sleeping,"


    "Do we sleep with him? He seems to like that a lot," Zou Nui whispered to her husband.


    "no... he looks to be deep in sleep. Let''s not disturb him,"


    Hearing this, his wife went over to their room to get ready to sleep. He was about to close the door but something caught his eyes.


    He slowly went in and took the papers from the table.


    It was property and housing layouts. There were multiple but only one of it was marked in red. His son had even made a few notes on the brochure.


    Silently he took this paper out and showed it to his wife. "Honey, I think our son was trying to buy this property,"


    Zou Nui carefully looked at it. "It looks old, but I think the interior is very interesting. It''s a mixture of western and eastern culture. And I love the pond." She mumbled to herself. She took the paper and read the small note at the end corner. "Can''t afford it. What does he mean can''t afford it? Do you think our baby is broke?"


    Zou Wei nodded. "I think he must be very interested in this property.... shall we buy it for him?"


    "Of course we should. We haven''t given him any kind of property since his birth. Now that we are both retiring, it''s better to give our assets to him in the form of property,"


    The two secretly plotted in secret to buy the house for him.


    The next day,


    Zou went running around the town getting loan in whichever bank that provided him.


    In total, he was able to get a loan of twenty thousand dollars, which brought up his total account balance to seventy-seven thousand dollars.


    He cheerfully looked at his bank book. "Now I can afford it and as well as I can buy food and other necessities,"


    Humming a song, he took a cab to the familiar town.


    "Uncle, I have come for that house," he said with a wide smile.


    But the uncle just awkwardly looked at him. "Young man, you are just a few minutes late. That house was brought over by an old couple,"


    "Oh...." his mood dropped, and he sadly sat on the chair. The realtor took him to visit other properties, but nothing stood out to him like that house.


    Sighing, he left the town with a very sad heart. "Since the house is out of the agenda, it''s better to buy other stuffs. He ran to the nearby farmer''s market and bought few vegetable seeds with him.


    He had no clue how to grow plants or any kind of vegetable, but this life he planned to rectify that.. He had six more months until the outbreak before that he wanted to be good at every skill that is necessary for survival.

 Chapter 24 - 24 Nightmares

    Red.....


    The entire world was filled with the colour red as the monsters ran rampage...


    Fan Xui silently watched as the human shaped monsters as they neared him. But as they came close, he moved swiftly and bought about a lightning bolt to kill them all off. The charred bodies in front of him gave off a disgusting smell.


    {''When will this end?''} He uttered.


    "When you wake up, it will," a small voice whispered.


    Started Fan Xui opened his eyes wide open.


    "Ah, you are finally awake. Do you know how long I had to call out to you? Darn you sleep like the dead," Qian muttered as he pulled the sheets off his body. His worried eyes still lingered on him as he moved around the room. "Are you sure you are okay?"


    Fan Xui sat up, holding his aching head. "What if I said I''m not?.."


    "Then I''ll most likely nag until you tell me the details." Qian sat down near the corner and patted his shoulders. "Xui, you have to talk to me. I can sense that you are completely disturbed by something. Can''t you tell me? I can help,"


    "I''m not sure you can help though," he groaned and sat up. His body was weirdly hot and clammy.


    "Fan Xui, please...."


    "I''m having nightmares, okay. Every day I dream of burning people to death. It continued until the monsters disappeared. In the end only I stand in the barren world filled with corpses." he took a sip of water.


    Qian nodded to himself. "You know dreams are cognitive symptoms that means..."


    "It''s not a dream.... it was real. I can feel it. The warm blood on my hands, the heat of the lightening, everything. I could feel every single thing." Fan Xui shouted aloud. The dreams had continued from the day he saw that weird dairy from that kid. The weird monster he drew was the reason for all this.


    "I need your help." He finally mumbled.


    "What is it? I can hook you up with a psychiatrist, I know. Trust me, he is good," Qian happily chimed in.


    "No, I need your help to find someone. It''s a boy... he sat next to me on my flight back. Can you find him?"


    "I¡ªI can try. But why are you searching for him?" his friend murmured.


    "You don''t have to know." Fan Xui walked out the room into the bathroom trying to clear his mind out.


    Qian, who was left outside, sighed loudly. "God, he has become eccentric after his surgery. Maybe something might have gone wrong," he mumbled and left his friend''s house.


    Right out the door, he slammed into someone. "''sorry, sorry, didn''t see you there,"


    "Brother Qian!!" a loud voice screeched, and the person ran after him ad clung to his arm.


    "Liwei?!! What are you doing out here?"


    "Brother~~" he cried loudly, hugging him tight. "I¡ªI came to apologise for my mistakes. I just wish that Fan ah will forgive me for my sins as well," he pitifully shed a few tears.


    "It''s not our fault." Qian gently patted his back. He glanced back at the closed door with a sigh. "He is not feeling good right now. It''s better not to disturb him,"


    "What! Fan-ah is sick?! I want to see him. Brother Qian, please. Please let me repay him back by helping him out," he cried whilst hiding his face on his chest. A small smile rose on his face. ''He is sick, huh? That''s good. I can easily manipulate him into liking me.''


    He pulled away from the hug, wiping his tears away. "Brother, please. Just this once. Just this once, can you let me in? I will take good care of him."


    Qian sighed loudly. "yeah.... its better he is with someone..." he mumbled and opened the door. "Liwei, try your best to stay out of the way. He already has too much on his plate."


    Liwei smiled dazzlingly. "Thank you so much, brother. I don''t know how to repay you," he cried and ran into the house.


    He closed the door behind him with a wide smirk. ''It''s really easy cheating that big fool. As for that blind fool, I have to stick close to him. He is my one ticket out of hell in apocalypse.....'' he giggled and ran freely around the house.


    Fan Xui turned down the shower to listen to the thudding footsteps outside. It was irregular and chirpy, unlike Qian''s footsteps. ''Who is in my house?''


    He swiftly tied a towel around his hips and walked out.


    Water dripped down his hair onto the hardwood floor, slightly brig about dripping sounds as he went.


    Fan Xui slowly followed the footsteps over to the kitchen. A small figure n white shirt was moving around leisurely, taking out pots and pans.


    "What are you doing here?"


    "Gasp! Fan-ah, why didn''t you make a sound?" Liwei mumbled, holding his chest. It had always been this way. This blind fool was very good at silencing himself. "I was making you some porridge," he said, smilingly. The blind man was looking his way, but his gaze was focused on something behind him.


    This reassured him a lot.


    ''Yeah, that''s right. You only have to depend on me now. Later on you have to pay it all back with interest.'' Liwei smiled widely and wiped his hand clean. "Fan-ah, is sea food porridge okay with you?"


    "I asked what are you doing here?" Fan Xui repeated with a frown. This guy barged into his house and acts like he owns it. And the expression just now... he knew that this person does not have any good intention.


    "I¡ªI wanted to repay you for my famili''s mistakes. Brother Qian let me in, but please don''t blame him. It was I who begged him to. Please, just let me help you out."


    "No need, get out," Fan Xui snapped.


    Startled, Liwei froze in place. His grip tightened on his towel. ''Fucking blind bitch,... how dare he tell me to leave. I am prostrating myself to get on your good terms, yet you are chasing me away!''


    He softly sniffed as if he was crying and moved to the door.


    As he got close, he opened the door and made stepping noises and closed it again.


    Grinning, he stood silently by the door. ''You think chaise me out that easy, huh? You stupid fool, you can''t even see me here,''


    "I said get out," Fan Xui repeated, this time with a stern expression.


    Liwei''s face changed swiftly. ''How... how does he know I''m still here.... can he see!!!!''

 Chapter 25 - 25 Gift He Wanted

    ''Can he see!!'' Liwei froze gripping his pants tightly.


    "I can still hear you breathing. Next time you are trying to play hide and with me you better hold your breath. As long as you can breathe I can sense you," Fan Xui said and walked into the kitchen. He switched off the stove and carefully took the pot down.


    "I don''t need your pity Liwei. I don''t need your help either. So you better go home and think of a way to save your family."


    Liwei gritted his teeth loudly and ran out.


    Only after the door way firmly closed did Fan Xui let out a breath. "What does he want?"


    He glanced at the porridge which had an unusual colour and frowned. "Apple doesn''t fall far from the tree.... he is just as rotten as his family,"


    With a cup of warm tea, he started his day.


    By evening his assonant ran to him with an enclosed envelop. "Mister Qian asked me to give this to you."


    "hmm..." he took it from him and felt the brail on the pages.


    A young man he was searching for was described in detail.


    Name: Zou Yue


    Parents: Zou Wei, Zou Nui,


    Occupation: model


    "So he is a model, huh?" he whispered softly as he felt the brail further. The young man''s features were described very clearly.


    Height: 5''7


    Weight: 56


    Facial features: small doe-like eyes with a small mole on his right ear.


    "Why did that Qian include this?" he sighed and read further down.


    But the last detail surprised him a lot.


    The assistant who was silently watching this smirked a bit. ''oh my god, is my boss finally experiencing spring? I''m so happy... I just wish he would take a break for once and take care of himself,''


    "Hui, find me, his agent, and his makeup artist. They have something I want,"


    He closed the file and stored it safely in his locked drawer. "Zou Yue.... hmmm...." he glanced out the window with a soft smile. In his hand, he secretly held the magazine. It had a small photo in the centre of a young man dressed in a suit. His hair was slicked back with pomade, and his lips was smeared with lipstick.


    Just one look at him was enough to mesmerize him.


    Having met countless beauties, even Fan Xui was slightly stunned by his stunning visuals. "Zou Yue.." he repeated again and again until the name felt familiar.


    ****


    "achoo!!" Zou Yue wiped at his nose with a kerchief.


    "Baby are you still not feeling well?" his mother gave him a cup of hot water. "Um.... Yue... we....."


    "I''m fine now mum," he sat up and glanced at his parents intently. "What did you guys want to say to me?"


    His mother and father looked at each other and smiled widely. "We have a surprise for you,"


    "What is it?" he excitedly looked at them.


    His father handed him a brown envelop.


    Zou Yue slowly pulled out the papers inside. It was a land document in his name. "You brought me a house?"


    "We wanted to get you something that you liked. Don''t think too much of it. Keep it with you. After marriage it will be of use,"


    "But.... but..."


    "No buts kid. Just keep it." his father shoved it to him and silently hugged his wife.


    With a small smile, Yue nodded. "Thank you.... I like it a lot,"


    "Aren''t you going to check where it is? Brat, is that how I taught you to check documents,"


    "Yes, yes,"


    Smirking, Zou Yue opened the document and read the address. It was a very familiar one. "This one... I know this place. Isn''t that the house out of city?.."


    "I saw this." his father showed him the brochure and the notes he had taken from when he had visited the house. "I thought you might like to have it."


    "Dad~~ oh my god I love it," he jumped onto him and hugged him tight. "It''s going to be our home now,"


    "Silly kid, I brought it for you to live with your wife." His father gently caressed his head.


    "What wife. I don''t want a wife.. I just want you both with me forever."

 Chapter 26 - 26 House Renovations

    Zou Yue contacted the realtor and informed him that he was in need of a renovator for his new house. The realtor was quick and hooked him up with a local renovator and mason.


    The house was to be painted interior and exterior, and there were slight modifications to be done.


    He made a brief call and gave him the details of the plan. The contacted person was talented and was able to arrange everything according to his wants.


    A few days later he made a visit with a picnic basket full of sandwich for everyone. The man who drove him to this place and introduced the realtors was working on his electrical circuits. "You must be multi-talented, uncle?"


    "Call me Bohai, I''m not that old." He grumbled as he soldered some wires to the electrical circuit.


    Zou Yue handed him a sandwich.


    The pond in the middle of the house was emptied out and as per his instruction the cemented layers were plastered with tiles so that it would be easier to clean in the future.


    There was still a small pool of water at the bottom. But it was crystal clean. He did not think much of it. Usually when an area is being cemented they soak it up with water to solidify the cement and to strengthen it.


    "This is good. What of the railing," he glanced up at the open ceiling. There were a lot of huge steel rods popping up from the side and it was nailed to the sides of the building.


    "Would it be possible to attach solar panels to the part of this roof?"


    "It''s possible." Bohai mumbled while chewing on the sandwich.


    "Can it be attached to the inside of the railings?"


    "It can be, but we have to do the wirings on the inside to protect it from the weather,"


    "Okay then, let the wiring be inside. By the way, when you are fixing the solar panels can I come and watch. I would like to learn how to fix it." Zou Yue glanced at him with a small smile.


    Bohai glanced at him curiously and nodded. "You are weird young man; nowadays people are not interested in these things. They hire us and let us do the job. But why are you so invested in this?"


    "Because this is my house. I want to know how everything in here operates." Zou Yue shrugged. But the reason was because he wanted to be able to handle any problems that might arise in the future.


    "Hmm... planning to make our jobs obsolete huh?" Bohai chuckled and patted his back "anyway, the solar sheets wild arrive in a month right? I''ll give you a call when we are doing the job. Get back home."


    "Am I being chased out now?" Zou Yue laughed and waved at him.


    The rural area was really far from the place he was staying, so it took almost four hours travel to and fro.


    Zou Yue took a cab and reached home by evening. By then, he was tired as hell.


    "Yue baby, come eat your dinner," his mother lovingly called him.


    Zou Yue just nodded and ate the food robotically. After a few mouthfuls, he went back to his room.


    The soft bed beckoned him, but he had other words to do.


    "stocking... I need to stock up on non perishables."


    He sat down in his chair and wrote down a list of things they might need.


    "Rice, oil, canned meat, noodles, dries peas, soya beans, lentils... all of those will last longer, right? Should I ask my mum for more suggestions," he ran out of the room to his mother, who was cleaning up the table. "Mum, what non-perishable foods do you use for cooking?"


    Surprised by the sudden question, she fell silent. After two minutes she pulled herself together and whispered, "rice, pickled vegetables, pickled eggs, noodles, what more do I use...."


    "Pickled goods!! How could I forget that!! Thank you, mum," he hugged, kissed her and ran back to his room, leaving behind his stunned mother.


    "This sweet kid, he is reverting back to time he used to be as sweet as candy," she mumbled as she cleaned up with a wide smile.


    Zou Yue wrote down the things he was going to buy in bulk and the amount he would have to buy and stored it in his shelf.


    He obviously could not buy it now. If he did, he would have no place to store them out of his parent''s sight. "Wait I can book a warehouse to keep my stuff and late on when the construction work is finished I can move it back to my attic,"


    The brown diary caught his sight.


    "I should send this to Mu manager and peng peng," he mumbled and flipped through the book. It had a detailed illustration of all the zombies and mutated beast he had witnessed in his life as well as the beast he had heard about from others.


    The illustrations were not clean, but it was at least identifiable.


    "Maybe I should convert it into a Pdf and upload it to Amazon,"


    Right then his phone rang loudly, startling him a bit. He picked it up. "Manager Mu?"


    "Yue! Thank god, why didn''t you attend my call before?" he shouted.


    "You called?" he took the phone and checked the notification. In fact, there were twenty call notifications on his phone. "Sorry manger Mu I was out on an errand so the take your call,"


    "That''s all right. Listen, Zou Yue you have stumbled upon a gold mine ah!!" the manger happily laughed on the other side.


    "I don''t understand thing," Yue arranged the noted for the things he needs to order tomorrow.


    "You silly kid, where did you get that book you gave us?"


    He paused "why do you ask?"


    "Someone got to know of it and is willing to buy the copyright for almost fifty thousand dollars!! Fifty thousand!! How amazing is that," manger Mu happily went on ranting to him.


    Zou Yue frowned slightly. "How did they get to know of it?"


    "Donno, they are willing to be anonymous, and they are willing to buy it and any other books you have written. Isn''t that crazy?"


    "I don''t wish to sell it though," he bluntly whispered, and plopped onto the bed.


    "WHAT! Yue, this is a chance of a lifetime. I''ve never even seen a successful author sell his book such a high price."


    "I don''t wish to sell the copyright because I want to make it a free book." Zou Yue pulled the covers over his chest and closed his eyes. "If that''s all. I will talk to you later."


    "Wait, wait, do you have any demands? These people are insistent on buying Yue. Just name your price,"


    He thought for a while and whispered, "I want my book to be printed and freely distributed to everyone. I want it to be marketed in social media and any kind of media attention they could afford. If they are willing, I am willing to see. Both the volumes of my book,"


    "Huh!!!"


    "Good night manager mu. See you later." Zou Yue disconnected the call and switched his phone off.


    He rolled over and glanced out the window. "Who might this mysterious person be?"

 Chapter 27 - 27 Something Weird

    Fan Xui changed his clothes and leisurely sat on his couch and started sorting through his emails. One email in particular was what he had been waiting for anxiously.


    "He rejected to sell the copyright? Should I quote a higher number," he mumbled as he glanced at the small brown dairy on the coffee table.


    This was not the same book the young man was drawing in; in fact this book had a detailed record of survivals. The tips were mostly accurate and up to point. Including how to filter water, how to fix a busted pipe and the most unbelievable of all how to survive a close contact with a zombie.


    "The kid is more imaginative than I had expected." He flipped through the book once more, gently caressing the neat handwriting. "But what of the drawings,"


    The head ache came back with a vengeance. "Ugh...."


    He gulped down the coffee, but even that didn''t do any help.


    These days he had been plagued with nightmares every night. His sleep schedule was almost non excited because of this.


    "Only that drawing can help me find a solution. I need to get hold of it."


    The headache finally settled down.


    Sighing, Fan Xui glanced at the ceiling thinking about the things written in the book. "What if the zombie apocalypse is real... what if I am seeing a premonition?...."


    "Gosh, I sound crazy even to myself,"


    He pulled his phone over his head and checked the mail again. The new one popped out from the kid''s manager.


    Fan Xui sat up and peered at the message. "What... he wants me to publish and sell this fro free.... what is this Zou Yue thinking?"


    His initial plan was just to buy the copyright and to own the book.


    But now things were getting interesting.


    Smirking, he glanced at the message. "I am curious what this kid wants."


    He replied it to confirm the deal and to talk the deal with his assistant.


    Finally he felt the weight lifted from his chest.


    The diary became his new curious project. He read through each of those pages with keen interest.


    The narrative made it seem like the writer had experienced this personally and the loneliness that the words expressed can be blatantly felt.


    "Zou Yue... what kind of life did you live. What made you write these books?"


    He mumbled to himself as he read the book again. Nothing was new, but still the words captivated him into reading it through again.


    His wrist watch chimed, indicating it was ten pm already. He placed the book on the coffee table and took on the office files that need to be sorted out.


    The house bell rang. The display showed a pale faced youth standing out in the cold.


    "Fan -ah, please let me apologize. Let me take care of you. It was my fault last time. Please let me in,"


    "I''m tired Liwei, go home,"


    "I¡ªI don''t have a home anymore.... ahhhh brother I don''t have a home."


    Fan Xui''s eyebrows twitched. This man alone had at least ten villas in the city. When they were apprehending the properties of his cousin''s family, Fan Xui made sure to leave all of Liwei''s properties untouched. Yet he was claiming that he does not have a home.


    "Tsk, my head hurts."


    "Uh, I can make you some soup. It helps with your headache." He said, wiping at his red eyes.


    ''If I reject him anymore, that stupid Qian will get upset. Tsk.''


    Sighing, he opened the locks and let him in. "don''t bother with anything. Crash on the sofa."


    Fan Xui went back to his room and locked his doors.


    His cousin had not been still. He had been arranging some problems at each step of his way, even from prison. Especially the person named Liwei was the annoying of them all.


    Every day he kept approaching his house with a kind smile, thinking he could not see the poisonous snake that lurked within.


    Fan Xui wiped at his blurry eyes and placed the brail documents on the table. There was another document that was placed in the further corner. He leaned over and took a look.


    This document was not in brail rather it was a further detailed report of Zou Yue.


    The young man was a model and his friend had brought the past modelling campaigns he had participated in according to date.


    He flipped through them one by one. The model''s face was little different from he had remembered. Zou Yue was beautiful for sure but he did not have the correct expressions.


    But the look in his eyes made his cheeks heat up.


    "Ahem Nothing spectacular."


    Soon he reached the last page.


    His eyes started to trouble him, going in and out of focus. The pages were blurry, so he brought it close to his face.


    A stunning sight of the young man licking his teeth came into vision.


    Startled, he dropped the folder.


    His heart pounded loudly into his ear. "W¡ªwhat was that?"


    He picked it up swiftly and looked at it again. The young man on the photo was wearing a broad necked shirt which showed his ample collar bone. His neck was delicate and decorated with a single golden chain.


    But what caught his eyes were the half bitten rose and the pink tongue that peaked out of his mouth to lick his teeth like a lazy cat.


    His body heated up weirdly. Stunned, he slammed the folder on the table.


    "Something is really weird with me...." he patted his chest in effort to calm his beating heart.


    His eyes inadvertently moved to the document and to the photo in it.


    With shaking hand he picked it up and peered at it. His throat went dry and his body stiffened up in places he had never before.


    In the heat of the moment, he made a decision. He called up his assistant swiftly.


    "Hans, make sure to block the newest campaign pictures of the model Zou Yue immediately. Make sure to acquire it at any cost."


    "..... but why?"


    "Don''t ask any questions! Just.... just do as I say," he mumbled, hiding his flushed face with the document.


    "O¡ªokay.... just so you know you are requests are getting weirder and weirder," His assistant reluctantly agreed to his request.


    "I know....." Fan Xui glanced at the blown up image of the young man and licked his dry lips. Unknown to him, a small smile rose on the corner of his lips.


    "Why are you blocking a shining model? I''m asking as a friend not as an assistant,"


    "I don''t think I want anyone else to see such a sight."


    His own words hit him hard.


    "Goodness..... am I attracted to men now?"

 Chapter 28 - 28 Attracted To Male Species?!

    The next day Fan Xui walked out of his room with a really dark circle around his eyes. Last night he was not plagued by nightmares, rather he was filled with thoughts of a certain model.


    Sighing, he combed through his messy hair. ''I can''t be attracted to men, right?'' his heart was still in denial and it did not let him accept the fact.


    "Fan-ah~" a sickly sweet voice whispered next to him.


    Stunned, Fan Xui glanced his way. "Don''t startle me like that,"


    ''I knew it he was still blind or else he would not have let me so close,'' Liwei thought, smiling widely. "Fan-ah, I''m sorry I moved silently. I have made some nourishing bone soup. Lets drink it while it''s hot~"


    Fan Xui clenched his jaw. ''I have to solve this issue or else I might not be able to concentrate on anything else.'' he peered at him. Qian had mentioned once that even Liwei was considered a beauty.


    When he first met him, he had already lost his sight so he never actually took a good look at him.


    Fan Xui wore his black shades and intently peered at him.


    Liwei had a small upturned eyes, more fox like. His nose was straight and his lips were arched up in a naturally. His eyes were sparkling and looked as innocent as a newborn dove.


    ''but...this kid is not innocent at all.'' his eyes went sharp for a second. Because he knew that Liwei was using a fake sweet voice on him. He tries his best to make his voice seem melodious, but there was a subtle rasp from the back of his throat.


    And there was also the fact that Liwei always carried a subtle scent of smoke, even if he tried to hide it with cologne or by taking a bath. The scent lingered always.


    Glancing at the pale young man, he did not see any kind of beauty.


    His heart did not pound like it did before.


    ''See I am not attracted to men at all.....'' he nodded to himself.


    "Come on, shall I lead you to the dining room~," Liwei held his hand, but Fan Xui flicked his hands away.


    "I have operating legs. I can walk on my own," he coldly said.


    After getting to the dining room, he sat opposite him looking at the muddy bone soup. It was probably not prepared properly by cleaning the gunk that collected above.


    Just the smell alone made him queasy. "It''s smells not good,"


    Liwei flinched. "It...its I tried my best to replicate the recipe I saw...."


    "I don''t think my stomach can handle this." he stood up and cleaned his hands. "And Liwei, go home."


    "Brother Fan~ I have no place to go back," he chased after him continuously giving a heart broken look.


    Finally near the door, Fan Xui glanced back in annoyance. "Don''t utter nonsense. Qian told me you have a villa nearby. It was not taken. So why are you acting like you don''t have a place to stay?"


    The young man''s expression distorted into an ugly frown. "n¡ªno it feels to lonely there... I just can''t live with myself knowing all the atrocious things my family has done to you. I want to somehow pay you back or else my heart won''t rest," he said, tugging gently at his sleeve.


    "Make sure to wire fifty thousand dollars as repayment. I think that would be enough for what your family has done." Fan Xui smiled at him.


    He made sure that Liwei was out the door before he swiftly locked it. "You don''t have to come running here anymore."


    With a cheerful mood, Fan Xui climbed in. His assistant, Hans, picked him up as usual.


    "What''s with the cheerful mood, sir?"


    "I just confirmed something," he said, smiling to himself.


    "oh... by the way, I have talked with Zou Yue''s manager about the copyright. They are okay with it."


    Fan Xui nodded. "Good. I want other copies of the book as well. Any other copies you could find."


    Hans glanced back with a sceptical look. "Can I ask why you are doing this? It will cause a whole lot of loss for us."


    Right then he got a notification. Siri read out the message saying that fifty thousand was paid. "Charge my personal account," Fan Xui smirked widely.


    His assistant gave him a dirty look.


    "I bet you are questioning my motives."


    "I think you might have gone crazy," Hans sighed loudly. "It''s your money anyway I have no say in how you spend but throwing it away so easily like this..... Lives of the rich, sigh,"


    Fan Xui smirked and shrugged. Their car passed by a self-care shop and a certain cover photo caught his eyes. He flinched back and laid flat on the seat. His heart was pounding loudly into his ears. ''what... what is this??''


    "Hey, mister Fan, what''s wrong? You okay back there?"


    "I¡ªI don''t think I am....." Fan Xui touched his pounding heart with a deep frown.


    Soon their car rolled by their office. Fan Xui ran out the door as if he was being chased by a dog. He ran to his office and sat down. With a random file he fanned his hot face. "Something is definitely wrong."


    Hans walked in right at that time. "I brought you some tablets. You were whining about headaches right? It''s better to get...." suddenly his sight was filled by a face. "Mister Fan, you are too close,"


    Fan Xui peered at him with his eyes narrowed. Even at this short distance from a male species, his heart did not pound.


    "Ahem....mister Fan,"


    With an awkward cough, he retreated. "Your cologne smells good,"


    "Really~ my girl friend gifted me this," Hans happily whispered.


    Fan Xui''s frown deepened. "Bring me any document that needs my approval and my signature. Postpone any meeting I have today." His assistant nodded and left.


    His heart was even more confused. ''Do I like men or not. I have to test it out with someone else...''


    As if the gods had heard his thoughts, his best friend Qian sauntered in. "Brother, I hate my work," he whined.


    Fan Xui intently looked at him. "Really? What happened?"


    Doubtfully, Qian glanced his way. "Hmm... suspicious.....,"


    "What?"


    "You never ask me anything voluntarily."


    "I do, when I want to," Fan Xui secretly walked closer and sat next to him.


    His friend gave him a weird look.


    "I''m a good friend too, you know..." he moved even closer. His heart rate was still normal.


    Qian peered at him for a while and smirked widely. "My friend. I love you too~" he held his hand out for a hug. Fan Xui ran away to his chair.


    "Che, I thought I had the opportunity to hug my darling,"


    "Shut it!"


    "Darling~"


    "Shut your mouth!!" his friend''s words only made him disgusted.


    Seeing his flushed appearance, Qian ran to him. "Brother? Are you blushing? Wait a minute, are you thinking about a certain someone?!"


    "No, get lost,"


    "No, no, I think you are. Look at your cheeks, they are flushed. Who is it? Is it a girl you met in the office? No, there are more men here than women. Even your janitor is a man, for goodnes''s sake,"


    "It''s because all the women have a separate branch. It really increases productivity," Fan Xui explained she he started typing in his brail keyboard.


    "Something is fishy here. I bet its someone you knew for long. Your cold heart won''t melt for some random beauty.... oh lord, is it Liwei. I heard he stayed at your place. Don''t tell me you both.."


    "No!! Of course not!" Fan Xui looked at him in disgust.


    "Okay, not him... then.. Is it... Zou.. Yue?"


    He filched visibly.


    "ah ha!!! Its Zou Yue! Its him!!"


    "Stop shouting," Fan Xui tossed a document at him.


    Qian caught it with a beaming smirk. "My dear Fan, I never thought I would see you smitten. Your spring is finally here. With flowers blossoming everywhere...."


    "Get out!" he shoot up and literally pushed him out the door. "Hans, don''t let him in,"


    His assistant nodded, throwing a weird glance at mister Qian.


    "Hans my darling, do you know your boss is experiencing his first spring." He said and left with a slight hop on his steps.


    Hans''s confusedly glanced at the door and at the guy who was walking away. ''They both are acting weird. Boss having a lover? Not possible at all.....''

 Chapter 29 - 29 Banned Photoshoot

    Zou Yue got up the next day to the annoying ringtone. Groaning, he picked up his phone and glanced at the display through his hazy eyes.


    "Manager Mu, why is he calling so early?"


    Mumbling, he picked up the call.


    "YUE!!! YOU LUCKY SWINE!"


    The loud shout almost turned him deaf. Zou Yue pulled the phone away with a grimace and put it on speaker. "What''s going on?"


    "I told you about your book copyright, right? The mysterious buyer agreed to ALL YOUR TERMS. All of them!!!! Oh my god, I think I am floating in heaven. How the hell did you get so lucky, first it was the photographer mark, now this. Tell me, tell me," he kept yapping on and on.


    Zou Yue only heard the first few words. "Wait, they agreed to the terms? Like all of them?"


    "YES!! They even sent in the contract themselves. It looks ironclad Yue. You have definitely stuck rich," his manger started laughing in glee on the other side of the receiver.


    Zou Yue, on the other hand, frowned slightly. ''Why is this person interested in my book? Does he know something about the upcoming zombie apocalypse?'' he thought, scratching his chin.


    "Are you listening... hello? Yue?"


    "Yes, yes, I''m here,"


    "I have sent you the contract. Just sign and send it back along with the second copy of this book."


    "hmm....."


    Zou Yue checked the mail, as his manager said the contract did look real and it mentioned every one of his requests to publish the paperback books for free. "Why would anyone take on such a loss?"


    He was quiet puzzled by this but he decided to ignore it as of now.


    He sat up and a sudden soft thing jumped onto his shoulders. "Trexa gran, you awake so early?"


    The rat squeaked loudly and wiped at his whiskers.


    "I know. I wish to sleep as well. But I have got a lot of things to do. I have to train, but supplies and weapons.... I wish I could get a gun," he mumbled as he got up from the bed.


    He made his bed and walked into his bathroom with the rat in two. They both took a small bath and ran back to the kitchen.


    His mother was humming a famous song as she was cooking something. The divine smell alone made him salivate.


    "What are you making, mum?"


    "Oh, curry. Here, see how it tastes." She held out a spoon full of bubbling orange sauce.


    Licking his lips, Zou Yue tasted it. The sauce was a perfect blend of spices and tang. "Mum, you make the best curry in the world!"


    "Tsk, go play with your father. I''ll bring you some when it''s ready." she pushed him out of the kitchen.


    Zou Yue walked over to his father''s study and entered without knocking. The whole room was filled with books. Some were even littered on the ground randomly.


    "Wow, you really need to clean your place, dad," he whistled loudly.


    His father sat up from under the table with a frown. "I know, but I don''t know which books to keep and which one to donate." he scratched his head, confused.


    Zou really wanted to say that the books were worthless after the end of the world, but he did not want to hurt his father. He just nodded and helped him pack up everything in cardboard boxes.


    "Why is that on you?" his father pointed to his shoulder with a frown.


    Trexa gran glanced around, confused.


    "She''s just clingy,"


    The rat bit his collar bone slightly without breaking skin.


    "Ow. Okay, she wanted to eat delicious food," Zou Yue corrected himself swiftly. The little rat was feistier than his little daughter, la Trexa. ''I knew it, this is my la Trexa''s grandma for sure.''


    Soon his mother called them all for breakfast.


    At the table, Yue placed the rat on the table. She curiously roamed around, peeking into the dishes.


    "Whoa, no pets at the table," his mother chased the rat away from the curry.


    "But she is family," Yue pouted slightly.


    "No use pouting, young man."


    With a sad pout, Zou Yue placed the rat onto his shoulders. "You know, she is going to have kids soon and one of her kids is going to sire my daughter la Trexa, so you can''t be prejudiced against her."


    His mother glanced at his father helplessly. "I don''t know what to say anymore."


    And so Zou Yue won the right for Trexa gran on the table.


    The food was delicious. Zou Yue scoffed down bowls of rice in one sitting.


    "Slow down," his father warned him with a frown.


    "Let him eat, honey. Look at how thin he looks. Every day he travels to our house and takes care of the repairs,"


    "Who told him to? We have hired some men far that exact reason." his father glared at him. "Don''t strain yourself, brat. Next time you get sick I will just chuck you to the hospital."


    "I won''t get sick," Zou Yue smirked at him and placed an egg roll in his father''s bowl. "You guys are the ones who should eat and increase your immunity,"


    Right after breakfast he got another call from his manager this time he was extremely panicky.


    "Yue, they have cancelled your photo shoot for this brand. It looks like higher ups have something to do with it,"


    "Oh okay,"


    "OKAY? Nothing is okay!!! That was your shoot!! How are they cancel it!!" he range down for a while until he calmed down. "Yue, tell me honestly. Did you offend anyone these recent days?"


    "No, I did not even meet anymore. I just silently resting in my home," Zou Yue mumbled whilst playing with Trexa gran. He tugged at the apple chew toy from her mouth and tossed it a little over a foot.


    The rat squealed and ran after it.


    "I swear she is like a dog somehow,"


    "Hello? Who is a dog? Yue you are not making sense," his manger shouted from the other side of the line.


    "Sorry mu uncle, I was playing with my Trexa gran," he apologetically whispered.


    "Oh, it''s okay.... but Yue.... the shoot. Even our company is being overpowered." He said apologetically.


    "It''s okay, uncle Mu, it''s just a shoot, anyway." Yue shrugged this matter off.


    The phone line went silent. Yue placed it on the table and held his chin. "Everything is weird..... did it change because I''m here? I hope the change is for the good."

 Chapter 30 - 30 Peanut Butter Cake

    Zou Yue sat in a meditative positive and silently breathed in. His muscles slowly stretched and contracted to the rhythm.


    It had been almost a month, and it was already the end of December. The zombie virus had affected his body, but somehow the ability he was supposed to awaken was nowhere to be seen.


    Initially he got super speed, an ability which was super useless in the last days of the apocalypse where super mutated zombies existed.


    Well, at least he had a power back then. Some civilians did not even posses a single ability and struggled to make ends meet. He did not want to be the same case as them.


    He did every method he could to awaken his powers.


    ''At least speed ability is good. It can protect my parents that way...,''


    He held his breath, waiting for the familiar rush of blood and the super speed to appear whilst cultivating but....


    "Nothing... absolutely nothing. Oh, my god! Am I destined to be a powerless person in this life? Is it a price for travelling back in time," he grabbed his shoulder length hair and rolled around in bed.


    Nothing could consol his wounded heart.


    "I need to cake...." he sadly sat up and rolled out of the bed. His parents were away to resign from their job so no one was home. He locked the doors and took Trexa gran with him in his pocket.


    The little rat enjoyed the small travels and lot and always clung to him whenever he left the door.


    His feet expectedly led him towards the familiar desert shop but much to his dismay the shop was closed because it was festive season.


    Everyone had gone home for Christmas and the new year right around the corner.


    Sighing, he sat down the curb. "Only cake can sooth my acing heart. Chocolate cake~ where can I find you....." he mumbled, then he suddenly remembered social media.


    He took out his phone and researched the famous bakers around the area.


    The really popular one was at least an hour away into the city.


    He hesitated a bit because the traffic would be horrendous around this time of the year but.....


    "I want my cake!! I''ve decided, I''m gonna struggle through all that traffic and get myself a chocolate cake!!"


    He ran to the corner and caught a taxi.


    The way to the bakery was very crowded, and the traffic was hell, but he would much prefer this over the zombies which horded this city.


    The cab soon reached the bakers.


    Paying off, Zou Yue stood outside the famous cafe. The pink neon sign ''death by chocolate'' blinked at him.


    "My cake, here I come," he walked in and the door bell chimes softly.


    "Welcome," a cute worker received him.


    He nodded to her and browsed through the selection of cakes on display. Almost all of it was empty. Only a few fruit cakes remained.


    "Do you have chocolate cakes?"


    "Yes sir, it''s in this corner," she gestured to him with a smile.


    Zou Yue excitedly glanced at the single chocolate cake that was next to a small brown cake.


    Before he could even order, someone beat him to it.


    "I''ll take this one, please," a melodious voice whispered above him.


    Gasping, Zou Yue glanced up to meet his sharp eyes. "Ah, you... what are you doing here?" he stumbled around trying to find words. Because the person standing in front of him was the one and only Fan Xui himself.


    Fan Xui stiffened up visibly. "I feel like I''ve heard your voice somewhere.... but I can''t see," he gestured to his black specks in his hands.


    "Oh, that''s fine. We meet on the plane." Zou Yue said with a wide smirk. ''Oh my god, this is a double treat!! Never expected to meet the legendary Fan Xui like this again!!''


    "Your order, sir," the girl whispered and handed a bag. She kept throwing confused looks towards Fan Xui and towards Zou Yue.


    Looking at the bag, Zou Yue''s expression fell.


    ''My chocolate cake.....''


    As if sensing his mood, Fan Xui leaned close and whispered, "do you want to... ahem.... share?"


    "Really?" Yue excitedly jumped high.


    "Yeah.. I mean. I can''t eat this all by myself."


    "Sure!"


    They both sat down and opened the cake box to find a brown cake inside.


    Zou Yue glanced behind him to the display to see the chocolate cake still there. ''Oh.... he did not buy the chocolate one...''


    "Is there a problem?" Fan Xui mumbled as he chewed into the soft cake.


    "N¡ªnothing, what flavour is this?" he took the spoon that was offered to him and dug into the creamy deliciousness.


    "It''s peanut butter flavoured," Fan Xui whispered softly.


    Zou Yue chuckled. "Yeah, that sounds really good." he ate the new flavoured cake happily.


    The cake was completely devoured before they both could even realise it.


    Licking the frosting, Zou Yue glanced at him.


    Fan Xui stumbled back and almost slipped off his chair.


    "Oh my god, you okay?" he ran to him and held his hand.


    "I¡ªI think I am... oh look at the time. I shall be taking my leave. It was nice meting you," Fan Xui literally ran out the door.


    "What happened to him? Is he perhaps sick?" he mumbled as he glanced at the small cake leftovers.


    Trexa gran ran out the pocket and started eating away at the leftovers.


    "Peanut butter, I knew it was his favourite.... he-he," he giggled happily.

 Chapter 31 - 31 Surprise!

    That night itself he got a call saying that the constructions were almost over and the solar sheets were being installed tomorrow.


    "I''ll come over early. Oh, what do you want for breakfast?" Zou Yue excitedly whispered.


    "Boa bun." the other side of the line went blank.


    Zou Yue excitedly rolled around in his bed. Today he got to meet Fan Xui as well as have a cake with him. "Wow, he is really friendly. Who named him the cold ice of apocalypse?,"


    In the apocalypse time, this legendary fan Xui was called the cold is of the ability users, not because he could wield ice powers, it was because he was very cold to everyone. Including his best friend Qian and that white lotus Liwei.


    He was known for being stoic and expressionless.


    Even through his personal observation these rumours did not differ, but now that he met Fan Xui before the apocalypse all of these rumours seem to have shattered. The man was friendly, kind and kinda shy with strangers.


    "Maybe his shyness was dubbed as cold attitude... that''s sad," he mumbled. A soft think nuzzled against his cheeks. "Trexa gran!!" he giggled as he kissed its head.


    The rat pushed his face away with her cute paws.


    "Aww look at your paws~ they look so darn cute!!" he held her paws with his finger and gently squeezed them.


    The rat let him do whatever, just silently watched him.


    "Trexa gran.... when are you going to have a child. I wish to see the predecessors of my little La Trexa."


    The rat kicked his face and screeched loudly.


    "My little shy maiden. You are going to find a man soon, anyway. Ohhh wait, maybe I can find you one in the store. I can buy a male rat so that you can get busy and...."


    The rat slapped his face with his huge tail and ran back to its cage, squeaking loudly.


    "Ow.." Zou Yue quizzically glanced at her dark cage. "Looks like she is too shy..."


    The rat who was named as the shy one glanced at him with its beady eyes from inside its cage, planning a grand plan to punish him for all the humiliation.


    The next day Zou Yue woke up to find something like black flecks on his face. Confused, he flicked it off.


    He dazedly stumbled to the bathroom.


    "ahhhh!!! What is this!!!" his mother''s loud scream came from inside his room.


    "Mum!!!"'' hurriedly tying the towel around his waist Zou Yue ran out. "Mum! What''s wrong!!!"


    His mother glared his way and then at the cage in the corner. "Yue... look at this. This rat pooped everywhere on your bed." She showed him the black flecks.


    "poo....."


    Only then did he remember that this black flecks were all on his face. "Trexa gran... did you poo on my face?"


    The rat proudly walked on top of his bed.


    "Oh dear lord, Zou Yue, it''s not too late let''s get a dog or a cat at least they can be trained," his mother urged him with a wronged expression.


    Hearing this, the rat''s expression went wide eyed. It slowly got closer to him and hugged his thumb cutely and glanced up whist blinking its eyes.


    "sigh.... it''s okay, mum. I can clean up," he placated his mum and sent her out of the room and only then did he look at the little rat. "Trexa gran..."


    The rat anxiously shook its limbs as it sat down on the bed.


    "Why did you do that?"


    Trexa gran stood up and started to gesturing something with its arms. It kept moving and pointed at the picture of a male idol on his calendar. She the crossed her hand in a no sign.


    "You.... don''t need a male rat?"


    Trexa gran nodded swiftly.


    "oh.. is that why?"


    The rat nodded once more.


    "I see... I won''t force you to mate anymore," he said, gently caressing its grey fur. "But you can''t poo on me like that. It''s so unsanitary.."


    Trexa nuzzled against his hand and scurried into the bed. It started to pick up the small pebbles of poo and tossed it into the litter box in its own cage.


    Proudly, she pointed to the now clean bed.


    "Good girl." Zou Yue gently kissed her head.


    The rat jumped onto his shoulder and nuzzled against his wet hair.


    "Do you want a bath as well?"


    Trexa froze and ran away into her cage.


    "I''ll take that as a no."


    Zou Yue swiftly finished up his bath and got ready for the day. His mother had made some fresh porridge. He ate a bowl and left to see his house.


    On the way there in the cab, he did some online shopping. Now that the house constriction work is finished, it was time to start collecting materials.


    Online shopping was the easiest source to buy all the good she needed, but some items he needs in bulk.


    "I heard there is a farmers market nearby. I''ll ask to uncle if I can buy some rice in bulk," he mumbled to himself.


    Soon his cab reached his new house. Just from the look on the outside he was very satisfied. The exterior was painted in pleasant beige. He paid off the cab and happily ran in and saw the middle aged man bending near the pond.


    "Uncle~"


    "I have a name kid, its Bohai, BOHAI!!" he grunted in annoyance.


    "Yes yes, uncle Bo,"


    Bohai sighed loudly. "Let''s take a look around first."


    Zou Yue happily hopped over to the now cleaned pond. They had dug the pond deeper that he had expected. "It looks deep,"


    "Its ten feet. it took a lot of effort to clean it up." Bohai grumbled.


    The pond was cleaned. The bottom was cemented, and tiles were stuck on. At least knee level water was filled up. "Wow you guys filled it up as well,"


    "Actually, we didn''t. This place has a natural spring from under." Bohai climbed down the small ladder that they had installed and gestured to the small spot in the corner. Water was seeping through the tiles and it filling the pond up naturally.


    Zou Yue''s eyes started to shimmer. ''Fresh water!!! Oh my god this house is a treasure trove!!!!'' exited he climbed down and jumped over to the area it was leaking. With his hands cupped, he caught a handful. "It looks clean,"


    "It tastes good as well.. But you should get it tested with the water authority before drinking it," Bohai mumbled and climbed up. "Come on kid, we have a lot more ground to cover,"

 Chapter 32 - 31 Solar Panels Installed

    Excited Zou Yue climbed down and ran over to the area it was leaking. With his hands cupped, he caught a handful. The water smelt very fresh with a small tinge of earthy scent to it. "It looks clean,"


    "It tastes good as well. But you should get it tested with the water authority before drinking it," Bohai mumbled and climbed up.


    Zou Yue still stood there thinking about what to do with this pond. His initial plan was to raise some edible carp but now that he knew of the existence of the natural spring, he had to change the plan. ''What can I raise here? Lotus for sure, but what else? If I add fishes they will make the water dirty....''


    "Come on kid, we have a lot more ground to cover," Bohai shouted from above.


    Zou Yue waded through the knee-length water and climbed up the ladder. "Uncle Bo, do you know of any kind of edible aquatic being that doesn''t make the water dirty? I was planning on raising fishes but they made so much mess..."


    "Then you can raise some fresh water shrimp along with the carp. They will clean out all the gunk after which you can clean out the water and make it drinkable. But you have to make sure that the fishes don''t eat your shrimp or else you will end up with dirt water all over," he mumbled to himself. The person walking next to him was missing.


    "Yue?"


    He glanced back to see the young lad with a mystical smirk on his face. "What''s with that face?"


    "Huh? Sorry, I was just thinking about your idea. It could work very well. I just have to arrange some filtration tank and a small tank in which I can raise prawns. They will eat of all the gunk and after another level of filtration the water will be crystal clean and perfectly drinkable."


    "Yeah, that could work. I can build a smaller tank near the flower patch, but I suggest you use a plastic ten gallons tank. It costs less,"


    "Yes!!!" Zou Yue happily followed after him. "Uncle Bo you are so smart~"


    The middle aged man blushed slightly. "Keep up, we have lot to see,"


    They cruised through the rooms. All of them were painted a pleasant shade of yellow.


    "Attic is the one with the most changes," Bohai whispered as he pulled down the stairwell to reach the attic. They both climbed up into a dark room.


    "Wait a bit," Bohai fiddled with something and the light went on instantly. "The electrical are connected to a battery now. But after the solar sheets are connected, it will be fully operated with solar energy. I will make sure to connect it to a generator as well in case of emergencies."


    Zou Yue carefully listed to hi but the sight in front of him shocked him. "This is awesome!!!"


    The entire attic was completely restructured. Since he wanted to load a bunch of heavy stuff, he had asked Bohai to reinforce the flooring. Bohai had outdone himself by changing the whole flooring into iron boards.


    "This can hold up to ten tones. Thankfully, this house was built so well with supporting beams everywhere otherwise it would have been impossible." Bohai mumbled as he stomped on the ground. "What are you going to store here?"


    "I plan on importing some items," Yue vaguely answered his questions. If he had mentioned that he was going to store bags of rice, this man would think he was a lunatic.


    Zou Yue glanced up. This attic initially had a slopping roof with tons of those brown slanted tiles plastered on it. He was not happy with it so he had requested for it to be changed to a cemented ceiling.


    "This place is wonderful... but where are the solar sheets going to be installed,"


    Bohai gestured to the corner of the room, which had a small staircase. "Up there,"


    They both walked on top of the house. It did not even have a guarding rail around. Stunned, Zou Yue stopped at the edge of the stairwell.


    "You scared?"


    "It''s too high...."


    "Just come here." Bohai held out his hand and led him around. The solar sheets were already spread out. "I''ll do the electrical you just take a look. If you don''t understand anything, let me know. I''ll teach you again,"


    "hmm..."


    Zou Yue carefully watched whatever he was doing and made sure to even write down everything.


    "You could take a video for reference.." Bohai whispered.


    "No, technology is not reliable."


    Bohai''s eyebrows twitched "says the kid who has a shit ton of technology installed in his house,"


    Zou Yue grimaced. Bohai was actually talking about the motion sensors he had installed in every window of his house. This was to make sure that he gets notified if there were any intruders.


    "I am just a paranoid person."

 Chapter 33 - 33 Infected Or Not?!

    After the solar sheets were installed and every other work was completed in his house, he decided to visit the farmers'' market to buy things in bulk but much to his disappointment they only had a few perishable vegetables and other stuff that he did not need at all.


    Sighing, he started to wander around the small village searching for things he needed. As he passed by one corner, he came across a huge wall that separated the military compound from this village.


    This would be the core point of this country''s base. A stronghold that will then be ruled by the strongest and bravest of them all, Fan Xui.


    "That peanut butter lover is strong alright... I have become strong as him...."


    Then reality hit him hard.


    He did not posses any kind of powers in this life!!!


    Zou Yue glanced at his finger tip intently. "Maybe that bite did not have the zombie virus..."


    He knew in his heart that it was indeed the zombie virus and he was complexly immune to its effects. May it be evoking a mystical ability in him or killing him. It did neither. And it also did not spread to his parents, which made him doubt his previous conviction.


    "Was it a zombie bite or not?....,"


    His rat Trexa grab had the ability to reverse the time on the wound. It was not something a ''normal rat'' could have done.


    Only an ability works like that.


    "Sigh. But who am I kidding that was a zombie bite. I did get infected, but I didn''t gain any kind of powers from it. It sucks!!!"


    But even this had a bright side. The zombie virus did not spread to his parents. They were completely fine the day later and even now, they were healthy and active.


    Only meant they were immune to the virus.


    "Maybe it''s because Trexa gran had the initial zombie virus. Maybe it is a special strand of virus. Maybe it was a variant of the zombie virus. I don''t know..."


    He was not a scientist. In fact, this zombie virus could not even be explained by a scientist. It was more alien like because it came from space.


    "Fuck this! I hate being so powerless, should I go train myself to become a samurai or something."


    His marksmanship was good. But using a bow and arrow came with its own weakness. There were a limited number of arrows.


    But if he learned to use a sword, he could just slash at the zombies in his path.


    This kind of close combat came with its risk, but he was willing to take that risk in order to survive.


    Because being an ability less human is very very hard.


    At the initial staged of the non ability user a.k.a normal human mostly got exterminated by the zombie kind or used as bait for the escaping team. Only the ones with the ability are valued by that twisted society.


    Some did survive the initial two years of the apocalypse, but their lives got even worse afterwards. They were either extorted by the other powerful ability users or if it was a woman they were kept as house pets.


    Being powerless was a weakness.


    Weakness that was exploited thoroughly by the ones with powers.


    In the initial stages of zombie apocalypse, he made the mistake if exposing his own face once and that got him into major trouble. A well known ability user in the S city took a liking to his face and wanted to keep him as a ''pet''


    Scared for his life, he ran to the Q city human settlement. But this time he rectified his faults. He wore makeup to make him look as ugly as fuck. He sun tanned every day to ruin his milky white complexion.


    He created a scar with special effects makeup.


    All this suffering to survive and to live peacefully.


    Even so, he had to suffer for years by those extorters who would follow him around and steal his food any chance he got.


    His fists clenched at these thoughts.


    "I don''t wish to live that way again and I don''t wish to cling to a powerful ability user to survive."


    Sighing, he kept walking around.


    Zou Yue wandered around near the nearby village aimlessly. The sky was starting to get dark, and he was completely lost. Even his Google maps were not of help in this rural area.


    "sigh.. I should have taken up Uncle Bo''s offer."


    The almighty Bohai had invited him to his home, which was in this same village, but Zou Yue rejected it because it felt quiet weird to stay with a person he barely knew.


    But that decision backfired now.


    "I am pitifully lost without any way of going home. Agh," he sat on the cobblestone pathway of some random house and glance up at the full moon glowing.


    "But my heart is firm.. I shall survive this apocalypse through my sheer talent."

 Chapter 34 - 33 Grounded

    "What is a little kitten doing out front," a soft voice came from behind.


    Zou Yue glanced back at the dark figure approaching him with a small bowl in hand. Bohai waved at him.


    "What are you doing here Uncle Bo?"


    Familiar uncle walked out of the house from behind him that could only mean that he had unknowingly walked over to uncle''s house. "Sorry I didn''t realize I was on your yard," he mumbled with an awkward look. His eyes went towards the small bowl in uncle''s hand.


    "I heard some movement in the lawn I thought it was our neighbour''s cat," Bohai showed him the minced meat on the bowl.


    Zou Yue nodded.


    "What are you doing here, kid?"


    "I¡ªI got lost," he grimaced when he noticed uncle''s raised brows. "I know I know. I should have taken up your offer to show me around,"


    "Yes, should have. You probably would not have ended up here in front of my porch," the uncle chuckled loudly.


    Suddenly, there was a small shuffling from the bush behind him.


    Zou Yue snapped up and stepped back a little. "Uncle come here. It might be a snake." he gestured for him urgently.


    Bohai laughed out loud.


    Still Zou Yue did not lose his vigilance.


    To his surprise a small white cat jumped out from the bush and gently brushed against uncle''s legs.


    "I feed her snacks every night so she sneaks out of her house," he whispered, gently caressing her soft fur. The cat immediately jumped onto his lap and started to eat the minced meat with relish.


    "Oh," Zou Yue sat down next to him, yet he maintained a small distance from him. His eyes vigilantly noted the cat''s behaviour.


    "Are you scared of cats?"


    "No.... But I''m not fond of them either," he mumbled with an awkward smile. Of course he can''t explain that he got scared because of the number of mutated cat beasts he had fought in the apocalyptic period. Those incidents really left a mental scar in him.


    He gulped slightly. "Uncle. Can you help me catch a cab or to a bus station?"


    "Why? Its late, stay here. I have a free room you can crash for the night," he casually mumbled.


    "My mum will worry." Zou Yue pouted.


    Bohai intently peered at him. "You still don''t trust me?"


    "It''s not like that. It''s just my parents are fiercely protective of me. So it''s very likely they might even drive this far in search of me," he mumbled, dwindling with his thumb.


    "Only child?"


    "Yes,"


    "No wonder, I have two more brothers, so it was a completely different experience." Bohai stood up and stretched like a lazy cat. "Come in; at least eat something to fill your stomach."


    He walked in without a word.


    Zou Yue had no other option but to follow him. Uncle had a smaller house, but it had everything neatly arranged.


    "It''s not much,"


    "But I love it. It''s very clean. Trust me, if you see my room you might scream," Yue mumbled as he sat down at the dining table.


    "Why? You don''t look like a person who is untidy." Uncle placed a hot cup of tea.


    "No, I have a rat that loves to scare people with its poo,"


    Bohai laughed out loud. "Funny kid,"


    Dinner went without any hitch and after which uncle helped him get a night bus. Thankfully, the sleeper busses were still running that late.


    Waving goodbye, Zou Yue got into his bed. His eyes dropped on its own.


    Two hours later the bus lurched a little, waking him up. He sat up, wiping at his eyes. His familiar street was seen out the window.


    He got down and ran to his house excitedly.


    The lights in his house were still on.


    "Mum..." he mumbled as he opened the door.


    His parents were waiting for him in the main hall.


    "Young man, you are in so much trouble," his mother growled.


    "Um... hi, my bus ran late."


    "That is no excuse to come so late. Look at the time." She gestured to the clock. It was 2 A.M already. "You know how unsafe it is to be roaming around so late. And why didn''t you pick up our calls!!"


    "There was no signal there mum.... I was only at the house with the familiar uncle. I was safe." He whispered with a pout.


    "I can''t accept this. You are grounded for two days."


    "Mum!"


    "Three days,"


    "Dad, aren''t you going to help me," he threw a pitiful looked at his father.


    "Sorry kid, I can''t help you out," his father shrugged.


    "Four days, you are grounded for four days, get back to your room," she shouted.


    Zou Yue tottered back to his room with a pout.


    Seeing his down turned expression, his father sighed a bit. "You don''t have to be so harsh on him,"


    "But we have to. He is not a kid anymore yet he still doesn''t know how to act. Worrying his parents so much," she mumbled, wiping at her forehead. "It''s totally dark out there. What if my precious baby got mugged? I only have one son Zou baba, I can''t stand and watch if anything happened to him."


    Zou Wei sighed, holding his forehead. If his wife came to know of the injustice that had happened to his son, she might even faint from shock. ''That Fan Xui.... I have to find him and exact revenge for assaulting my son,''

 Chapter 35 - 34 Sourcing Materials

    Since Zou Yue was grounded, he could not even step out of the house without his mother''s supervision. He had to bite his lips and order the things he wanted online. The prices were doubles of course with the delivery charge and such. But he had no other way.


    The new house was not completely secure yet, so he was reluctant to keep the stock in it. As per his previous plan, he booked a small warehouse nearby the house. It was just a few kilometres away.


    "Now all I have to do is order stuff." he plopped onto his bed with a piece of orange in his mouth. Even Trexa gran was enjoying her mandarin orange with relish. He gently caressed her head and continued shopping.


    The stuff he wanted to buy this time was non perishables like legumes, chilli powder and other spices they would use day to day.


    Each of these he ordered in bulk amount like two hundred packages or something. Thankfully, this was a bulk order buying website so his payment was slightly lower than regular shopping app.


    As for ginger and garlic, he made the decision to buy them in powdered form.


    "We can grow some at the house. Maybe I should plant some when I go there next time." He mumbled to himself as he rolled around onto his chest.


    Soya sauce and other kind of sauces he did not want to buy before he could arrange a refrigerated space for them....


    "wait why don''t I ask uncle to make the whole attic into a freezer. Can it be done?"


    The temperature in that village was not that hot, so it was completely possible. He just needed to do some more construction work on it.


    He made a swift call.


    Uncle informed him that it was possible. The room he had prepared was already insulated with iron sheets all over so only the temperature regulator had to be installed there and that attic will be converted into a walk-in refrigerator.


    Just listening to this, Zou Yue got exited. "That''s good news. Please make sure to start that construction. About the previous construction, I will make the payment today. How much is it?"


    "Ten thousand dollars, but you only have to give me eight."


    "Ei, I won''t do that. Send me your account number. I''ll send it right away,"


    After paying the uncle ten thousand he was left with sixty-seven thousand dollars but the recent online orders came up to the amount, two thousand leaving him with just sixty-five thousand dollars.


    "I have to buy rice..." he silently walked out the door to his mother who was sitting with a cup of tea in hand. "mum..."


    "Yue come sit. Have some tea." she handed him a small cup.


    "Mum, I have a question,"


    "if it''s about you being grounded, it''s no use asking about anything,"


    "No, no, I want to know where we buy our rice..."


    "From the supermarket, Yue is everything alright." She gently touched his forehead.


    "Everything is good mum, it''s just that.. You know manger Mu right, his wife aunty Ling wants to start a convenient store. For that she needs to source raw materials and other products... if you can ask old uncle Wen he might be able to tell us right?"


    "Yeah, your uncle Wen definitely has connections. I will ask him for you."


    Old uncle Wen was their family friend to be precise he was his father''s best friend from childhood. They always go fishing or even go on single trips together. But as time went on, they became distant.


    "Last time your father contacted him when you were sick. I heard his son is a doctor or a scientist or something..... Much better idea, why don''t we go meet uncle Wen and talk to him in detail,"


    "yes~~"


    The next day they three got ready, his father through reluctantly came along with them.


    "Honey, don''t have that sour expression. He is your only friend. It''s high time you talk with him,"


    "Who said he my only friend," his father mumbled with a pout.


    "Okay, you are his only friend, okay. Talk your problems out okay," his mother patted his father''s shoulders.


    Watching their exchange, Zou Yue slightly regretted his decision to stay single. ''Maybe if I find someone I really love I might have a family too.... but what am I thinking!''


    ''It''s going to rain zombies and I can''t afford to take care of another person. My powers...... It''s nonexistent. I can only take care of my parents,''

 Chapter 36 - 35 Meeting Uncle Wen

    The car drove through the city and into the outskirts of the town. This area was actually the other side of the military residence he got the house in. So this area also became the human settlement in the future.


    They stopped in front of a flashy mansion. After verifying their identity through the camera, the gates opened automatically.


    "Che, look at him not hiring any guards. How can technology be reliable," his father grumbled as he watched the gate close after them slow. "So slow any thief can sneak in."


    Zou Yue glanced back in fact his father was very correct. These kinds of gate were a potential danger in zombie apocalypse. Especially one which is slow like this one. "Then tell uncle Wen to change it dad,"


    "Hump, why would I? If he had brains he would change it himself," he mumbled as he took a small turn and entered the gardens. The pathway went on and on until a huge fountain was seen in the distance.


    Zou Yue watched in awe. The garden was filled with beautiful flowers but not only that uncle Wen preferred having organic food so there was a huge space set up for growing vegetable and other grains necessary.


    In fact, this huge mansion became the first place to supply all the necessary food like grains and wheat after the zombie apocalypse. The first base of G city.


    ''no wonder this place was thriving after the apocalypse.'' He thought to himself with a small smile.


    His mother glanced back from the front seat. "Yue likes gardens, right? Let''s raise our own in our house. We even have a small patch,"


    "Yeah mum I was planning on planting some spinach and some lettuce after the constructions are over. Maybe carrots will do as well," Zou Yue mumbled.


    "Why is it taking so long to finish, though? Are there some difficulties?" his father worriedly looked back.


    "Nope, not at all," he actually count say that the construction was delayed because of his new plan to convert the attic into a walk-in freezer. ''I should tell my parents about the dire news someday.....I don''t know how they are going to react though''


    "Dad, can I ask you something?"


    "hmm."


    "What are your thoughts about the end of the world?" he tried fishing for opinions.


    His father scoffed. "It''s bogus. It''s like telling the world is flat. But who knows when the time for humanity comes the world might shatter on its own," he whispered with a small sigh.


    Zou Yue leaned back into his seat. ''The time for humanity is nearing. In just five months we are gong to go into an all out war with the undead and we are in the losing side.''


    Ten years after the zombie apocalypse, the human population was so less. Only a few thousand survived living in human settlements. There were only four major settlement had survived. NC settlement in America, P city settlement in Europe, m city Settlement in Russia, and g city settlement.


    Thankfully Zou Yue moved to G settlement just two years into the zombie apocalypse. The previous human settlement in S city collapsed just after a year of his departure.


    "Yue, we are here." his mother patted his arms a bit.


    Zou Yue blankly nodded and got off the car.


    There was a huge white door standing in front of them. "Wow, uncle Wen likes to big things,"


    His father chuckled and patted his shoulders. "My son is growing to be just like me,"


    "shh, both of you. We are guests we can''t joke about uncle Wen like that," his mother chided, glaring at her husband.


    Without any remorse, his father laughed even more.


    "What the duck are you laughing about? I didn''t want to hear your ugly laughter so early in the morning," a gruff voice came from the doorway.


    A short grey-haired man walked out with a walking stick towards his father. Without any warning, he started caning him.


    "Hey!! Stop that, you stupid three leg." his father caught the cane and they both kind of started having a tug of war.


    Zou Yue moved towards his mother with a grimace. "Should I intervene?"


    "No, this is how they show love. Trust me years of experience here," mommy calmly mumbled with a small smile. "It''s good that they are talking again though."


    Uncle Wen and his father stopped their friendly bout after a while.


    "It''s good to see your young Nue. Why did you even marry this snappy man? I can''t deal with him even for a minute," uncle Wen mumbled, hugging his mom softly.


    "Well, he was handsome," his mother laughed in glee.


    His father''s face became sour, but there was a stare of pride in his look.


    Zou Yue silently watched their exchange.


    "Ah, you must be Yue. You look like the carbon copy of your father," uncle Wen laughed and hugged him tight. "How is your heath now?"


    "its good uncle."


    "Yes, it better be. I don''t want your father calling and sobbing on me. I think my ears bled a little from his hoarse voice,"


    Zou Yue smiled a bit. He never knew his father cried when he was sick... he moved closer to his dad with a wide smirk.


    "W¡ªwhat are you looking at me for?"


    "Daddy, I love you," he hugged his waist tight.


    "Aaah, ahem," his father awkwardly hugged him back.


    Uncle Wen laughed at seeing this scene. "You should be thankful you have such a sweet kid all I have is a grandson who is unruly and gruff. I should have urged my wife to have a girl when she was alive." He mumbled.


    Zou Yue just smiled at him and followed him into his house.


    Silently, his mother got close. "Uncle Wen''s wife was such a sweet woman, but she passed away,"


    "How much age difference is there between father and uncle Wen?" Zou Yue curiously whispered as they were being escorted into their house.


    "Almost fifteen years. They were neighbours before?"


    Zou Yue glanced at her with his brows raised.


    "Don''t think too much about it. Your uncle Wen lived in the downtown area next to your father''s house in the past. Later on he started an organic business which became famous and now he is here,"


    "That''s great," Zou Yue happily glanced around.


    Uncle Wen looked back with a wide smirk. "Yue, come here. Come sit next to me." he beckoned him close.


    Zou Yue tottered close and sat gingerly next to him.


    "Tell me, how is your life going? I heard you are a model. Do you want uncle to get you some brand deals?"


    "No, uncle, I was actually planning on quitting. Modelling just wasn''t for me,"


    "Oh... that''s bad... I think you would make a great model." Uncle Wen handed him a plate full of cookies.


    "Wen we actually came here because Yue had something to talk to you about." His mother injected with a small smile.


    "What is it? Do you need my help? Tell me?" he gently patted his hands.


    "Actually, a friend of mine wanted to start a convenient store....."


    "Does she need funding? Store space? I can arrange for that."


    "No no, she just needs to know where to source various materials for her store."


    "Oh, that''s all. It''s as easy as pie. Wait," uncle Wen hobbled over to the table nearby and took out a card form the drawer. "Tell her to contact this person. He has every connection you want when it comes to exporting and importing goods. I''ll personally talk to him about your friend. You can just ask him to do anything for you."


    "Is he trustworthy?" Zou Yue whispers doubtfully. "I don''t mean it in an offending to uncle Wen it''s just that I....."


    ''How can I explain this? If this person knows that I have so much good and spread the news after the apocalypse it will end of being disastrous,''


    He dwindled with his thumb....


    Uncle Wen gently patted his shoulders. "Don''t worry so much, kid. This person had his mouth sealed. He is a good man, I can personally assure it."


    Zou Yue smiled at him. "Thank you so much, uncle Wen~"


    "Oh my sweet, sweet boy, I wish you were my child, not that unruly one. Research, research, research, it''s all he ever does. He rarely even comes home," he grumbled, holding Yue''s hand.


    Zou Yue smiled at him. "Your son is in research?"


    "Yeah, I don''t what that kind of research. Its confidential he says," he sarcastically waved the subject off.


    "ohh...."


    They had a very good time chatting with each other. Soon it was time to leave.


    Zou Yue waved at him goodbye as he was walking out the door. Suddenly he heard a soft voice talking with someone.


    This voice was something he was very familiar with.


    The voice he heard before he was killed.

 Chapter 37 - 36 Running

    Zou Yue swiftly hid behind another door. In the slither of gap, he peered out.


    ''It really is him...'' he peered at the young man out the door. It was the white lotus bitch Liwei. That one who ordered for the thugs to kill him.


    ''Why is he here? What is he here for?'' he anxiously bit his nails.


    He watched his parent greet that annoying person and sweetly smile at him. There was another person next to Liwei though but from his angle he was not able to see anything.


    "Yue? Where is he?" his mother searched for him confusedly.


    "He might have gone to wash his hands," his father reminded her kindly.


    Soon he watched Liwei and that other person go inside uncle Wen''s office. Only then did Zou Yue ran out of the room.


    "Mum.... who was that?"


    "Oh, that was uncle Wen''s son and his friend?"


    "Who was the son? The short pale one or the taller one?" Zou yue anxiously mumbled.


    "It was the taller tanned one. He is a military researcher, it seems. He really has his mother''s eyes." his mother gently held his hands. Her eyes slightly went over him in worry. "Is everything okay, dear?"


    "hmm...." Zou Yue sighed in relief. ''So it was not Liwei. Thank god. If it was Liwei, I would have shot myself I the head.''


    "Mum dad, lest go quickly. I think my stomach is upset," he urged his parents to hurry and leave before uncle Wen comes out.


    They left the Manson but in the hindsight he could see uncle Wen come out with two people next to him.


    One was Liwei and the other was someone he was familiar with as well.


    It was Qian, Fan Xui''s trusted comrade.


    "Mum, what is uncle Wen''s son''s name?"


    "It''s Qian Wen. He is older that you but five years I think,"


    "oh..." Zou Yue took another look behind him as the car went out the gate. This person was the one who was very close to Fan Xui and the one who created the testing method for the zombie virus.


    The young researcher was so well known, just as well as Fan Xui was.


    "To think they were so close to us...." he mumbled to himself softly.


    Soon they reached home and Zou Yue made the call to the person uncle Wen suggested.


    "Hello? Is this..." he glanced at the card. "Liang Dingxiang?"


    "Yes, who might this be?"


    "Ah, uncle Wen gave me your number..."


    "Oh, is it young Yue? I heard you are searching for supplies for your friend''s shop, right?"


    "Yes yes,"


    "Very well, can you ask your friend to meet me up tomorrow we can talk about everything," the man calmly whispered.


    But Zou Yue froze. "You want to meet her?"


    "Yes... we have to talk about what things she might need. It''s best to talk in person."


    "Why can''t I come in her stead?"


    The other side of the line went silent for a second. "Are you a business partner?"


    "n¡ªno..."


    "Then I would have to meet with her, young man. If she is the one who needs it, she needs to come see me." the man apologetically mumbled.


    Zou Yue bit his lips. ''I really should have lied. Darn it!''


    His plans to acquire goods had come to another pit stop. ''How can aunty ling come here? She is in S city. I really shouldn''t have lied like that...''


    "Okay, I''ll let you know by tomorrow morning." he disconnected the call and pranced around.


    "What to do now....." he plopped back onto his bed and groaned. "Where can I find a girl to act as aunty ling!!" he flayed around in bed.


    ''Maybe I can hire someone else...'' he sat up. But even that plan had a major flaw. If this person he hired is not trustworthy it will cause a potential risk to his stocks as well as his family.....


    During apocalypse people would not hesitate to plunder and murder....


    "What can I do..." he glanced at the mirror opposite him.


    It reflected his scrunched-up face clearly.


    But suddenly an idea popped up.


    He ran to the mirror and took a good look at him. His face was small and his eyes were soft and delicate looking. His chin was devoid of any beard because he shaved every day.


    "No way... I can do that right?" he pulled at his shoulder length hair and pulled it up in a ponytail. Small wispy baby hairs fell onto his face, making him look even more delicate. "If I add a pony tail clip-on, then I''ll look exactly like a girl!!!"


    Exited by the sinew idea, he ran to the store instantly. Extension hair was very easy to find, but women''s clothing was quite embarrassing to buy. Some girls peered at him while giggling to themselves.


    Zou Yue swiftly picked out a frilly white top and loose baggy black formal pant and ran out the store.


    With everything in hand, his plan was coming through perfectly.


    "I just have to dress up one day and I will have my goods.." he happily hopped over to his house.

 Chapter 38 - 38 Orders Orders.....

    Next day Zou Yue woke up with a mission in mind. He swiftly took a shower and changed into his underwear. With a single towel on, he walked out and locked the door tightly.


    "That dreadful thing on the bed, I''m gonna conquer you."


    Trexa gran, who was sitting on the pillow, glanced at him weirdly. "Squeak?" she pointed to herself.


    "Not you Trexa gran. It''s THAT." he pointed to the small pile of clothed neatly folded on it. With trembling hands he picked the white frilly top. It had neat frills ironed near the collar and even the sleeves were flared out in the end, giving an elegant look.


    "It''s going to be okay. I''m a model I can rock anything, right?" he chuckled awkwardly and wore the frilly top.


    It fit him perfectly. The chiffon even hid his lack of boobs.


    "I can''t delay any longer. I have an important meeting.." he mumbled and swiftly threw on the black flared pant. It hugged his curves tightly and flared out at the bottom.


    "It looks good, right?"


    Trexa gran, who was chewing on a piece of cashew, just froze. The nut dropped from its claws.


    "Don''t litter my bed, baby,"


    The rat scurried over to him and climbed onto his shoulders with shimmering eyes.


    "You like?"


    It nodded.


    "Aww, my baby is the best." he kissed its cute little head and ran to the mirror. The outfit actually fitted him much better than a loose t-shirt. The blouse was loose and flowy creating a delicate ambiance around him.


    The pants were cute but gave off a business woman vibe.


    "I really should thank Peng Peng. If not for his fashion tips I would not be able to pull this off," he mumbled, fiddling with the frills.


    Trexa gran excitedly jumped around.


    Zou Yue next pulled out a small package. It had the thing he needed the most. A pony tail extension. He tied his shoulder length hair up in a half up pony tail and tied up the surrounding extension firmly.


    The straight back hair flowed down to his waist and moved side by side every time he took a step.


    "Wow, I look seductive, don''t I?" Zou Yue was really feeling himself. As a modal he was used to dressing up in male clothing and female clothing, but that was all for the shoot.


    This felt more exciting that those times.


    "I really convinced myself." he rolled up his ponytail and pulled it up in a bun. He wore a barrette to hide it in.


    With a huge, fluffy coat, he hid his full outfit from sight.


    "I look convincing enough."


    Zou Yue wore huge black shades on his face and walked out confidently.


    "Yue baby where are you off to dressing like that," his mother suddenly yelled from the kitchen.


    Zou Yue froze. "I¡ªI am not doing anything weird. Just...."


    "Wear your mask. The news has reported about increasing fine dust level. Come here." she handed him a small black face mask from the drawer. "Wear it,"


    Zou Yue happily wore it ad showed it off to her. "Do I look handsome?"


    "Of course my baby looks like those kpop idols." she pinched his cheeks. "But why do you still have your hair long, though? Do you want me to trim it?"


    "No, no, I plan on growing it out."


    "Oh.. Okay, stay safe and come home before dark. I mean it kid," she waved at him with a playful glare.


    Zou Yue happily ran out of the house with a huge bag in hand. "She did not even doubt it. He he," he ran to the nearby coffee shop''s restroom and wore down hair extension. Finally, his look was complete.


    Along with shade and mask, no one was able to clearly see his face. Which made it even more awesome. ''Even if I buy an entire warehouse full of rice bags, no one would know it was me~''


    Giggling, he walked down the road.


    They bit agree on meeting in a cafe down in the centre of the city. It was quite close to the small bakery he went during Christmas.


    Because it was holiday season, the roads were still jammed and slow moving. Yet he enjoyed it all thoroughly.


    Soon the cafe came into view. He paid the cab off and walked in calmly.


    "You must be Mrs. Ling?" a middle-aged man whispered from behind him.


    "Yes, it is me," he whispered, lowering his voice a bit even, so it sounded slightly hoarse. "Ignore my voice I''ve got a sore throat."


    "Nice to meet you, I''m Liang dingxiang, just call me Mister Liang."


    "Nice to meet you, Mister Liang." Zou Yue shook his hands firmly.


    The man slightly raised his brow for a second. "You must be a hard-working woman Mrs. ling; I could feel the calluses."


    He flinched. "Ah, I used to do a lot of housework before I married my husband."


    "Oh I see, come let''s have a talk." he gestured to the empty seat near the window.


    Zou Yue gracefully walked over and sat down, removing his coat. "Mister Liang, let''s talk business. I would like to source a few kilograms of rice and other non perishables for my store."


    "What, and how much? Uncle Wen told me to keep it a secret I don''t know why but we can sign a nondisclosure agreement of you want."


    Initially Zou Yue just wanted to name fifty bags in fear someone might find out about his stock pile but now he changed his mind drastically since this man was trustworthy.


    "How much rice do a family of four consume per month?" Zou Yue mumbled to himself, mentally calculating the amount.


    "Usually in a healthy household a single person consumes about a cup of rice each day ignoring the amount of other dishes we eat this is the bare minimum. If you calculate that you need at least half a bag to feed a family of four," Mister Liang answered for him.


    Zou Yue nodded. "I need at least five hundred bags of rice,"


    "Good, what type of rice?"


    "umm...normal ones. What other types are there?"


    "There is sticky rice, basmati rice, brown rice,"


    Zou Yue got super overwhelmed by these choices. "Can I take a moment please?" he walked away regally over to the corner and called his mum. "Mum, what type of rice do we eat?"


    "Huh? Why?"


    "Aunty Liang needs to know." He urged her further.


    "Oh, we use parboiled rice. Sometime sticky rice too,"


    "What par.. something?"


    "Kid, that''s why you should enter the kitchen now and then. Sigh, it''s double boiled rice. It''s boiled, dried and sold. It tends to have the least stickiness and you and your father prefer it." His mother started chiding him for not even knowing the type of rice they eat every day.


    "O¡ªokay mum I''ll call you back later yeah,"


    Zou Yue walked back and sat down. "Parboiled rice."


    Mister Liang noted it down in his notepad. "Next?"


    "Noodles, instant noodles. I need at least a thousand. Topramen. I would also like to have a huge stock of legumes and dried vegetables."


    "Instant noodles come in different sizes...."


    The meeting went longer than he had expected but Mister Liang was able to source everything he ever needed. He even helped him order a small mill to grind his own flour.


    "hmm.. the orders will arrive in ten days approx. I will send them directly over to your warehouse. Happy business."


    "Thank you so much mister Liang,"


    "The pleasure is all mine, Mrs. Ling. Oh, look at the time, it''s already twelve pm. I have another meeting with a client here. Sorry Mrs. Ling I won''t be able to send you to the door."


    "It''s okay,"


    Zou Yue excitedly left the coffee shop. He had spent almost forty thousand dollars on just his orders, but he was left satisfied and happy. "I really must thank uncle Wen. He-he I got food, I got my fooddddd..."


    He watched Liwei walk into the cafe right in front of him. His pleasant mood deteriorated. ''What is this white lotus doing here?''


    He sneaked in and watched him meet Mister Liang with a sweet smile.


    "Oh my god, he.... why are they meeting?!"

 Chapter 39 - 39 Close Encounter

    "Oh my god, he... why are they meeting?!"


    He watched them talk cheerfully. Something about this meeting felt off.


    Truth be honest everything has been going so weirdly after his rebirth.


    "They must be meeting casually..." he shook his head.


    This road was a one way, and it was not possible to catch a cab from there, especially during the peak time so he decided to cross the road.


    Zou Yue stood patiently at the crosswalk after pressing the button. His mother''s mask was quite tight around his ears. He simply pulled both his shades and his mask off and placed it in his sling bag.


    "pretty.."


    A little kid stood next to him, peering with a gappy toothed smile.


    "You too.." he whispered with a small smile. He was still traumatised by kids so he stayed at least feet away.


    The kid just smiled at him whist fidgeting with a small bag full of kinder surprise egg. Her mother was on call, busy chatting with a deep frown.


    The kid smirked at him and waved. "Happy holiday,"


    "Happy holidays to you too," he whispered to her and stood calmly. The sign was still red.


    His phone vibrated.


    "Mum?"


    "Yue baby can you buy some braised lotus root on the way." Her gently voice whispered in his ear.


    "Yeah, I will get some. Is there any shop you prefer?"


    He was busy talking to his mother when suddenly in hindsight he saw the kid ruining into the street.


    A car was speeding her way.


    "Wait!!!"


    Without any hesitation He ran after her and hugged her tightly. The cold wind gushed close to his face, indicating the speeding car.


    He did not have time...


    He simply closed his eye in fear.


    Loud horn and smelt of burning plastic from the screeching tires filled his senses.


    Zou Yue slowly opened his eyes a sliver.


    The car''s name plate was right in front of his face.


    "agh," he stumbled back with the kid securely in his arm. "Hey you okay," he pulled her close. She was slightly scared, but uninjured, nonetheless. "You should not run into the road like that!!"


    The kid sobbingly handed him a small crushed up kinder ball. "For you.."


    With trembling hands, he took the offered candy. "Oh my goodness,"


    Might be the close shave with death or the little girl''s kindness. Something reduced him to tears. He silently sobbed.


    His eyes teared up like a darn waterfall. "Thank you." he hugged her tight. "Thank you for the sweets,"


    Her mother took her from him with a panicky expression.


    A gentle hand helped him up.


    Zou Yue was too busy wiping his face to notice who this saviour was.


    "Here, use this," a melodious voice whispered and a white kerchief was held out to his face.


    He took it and wiped away the tears. Small scrapes on his hand burned. He swiftly patted the dust away from his open wound. "thank you... I..."


    "Don''t cry...." a hand gently wiped his cheeks. Zou Yue finally looked up. A pair of warm brown eyes looked down at him with worry written in them. "Are you okay now?"


    ''Fan..... Xui!''Zou Yue watched him unblinkingly.


    Those eyes.


    Those deep dark eyes really made him sink in deep, like a death trap they pulled him in not letting him look away.


    A sudden loud horn woke him up.


    "I¡ªI''m good, thank you." Zou Yue pushed his hand away gently.


    "Sorry... I didn''t mean to do that. It''s just...." Fan Xui tapped his walking stick.


    "Oh... it''s okay," Zou Yue embarrassingly looked at the ground. This legendary hero did not recognise his voice this time as well.


    ''Well, I am dressed up as a woman and speaking like one....'' he created excused just to keep his heart from breaking.


    ''But why did I have to meet him now.... so embarrassing. But¡­.. he did not see me. He cannot''


    "Thank you so much." Zou Yue handed the kerchief to him and ran to the other side of the road. A cab was thankfully available. He hopped in and left.


    Fan Xui blankly walked back to the door, slightly tapping his stick on the ground. He got into his car. His eyes still lingered on the car that went the opposite way.


    He swiftly called Qian.


    "Is dressing up as a girl a trend in modeling?"


    "What the hell are you talking about, my ancestor? I''m trying to do my final testing!!" suddenly there was a loud sound of glass shattering. "fuck!!!!! You!! you ruined it!!"


    "Oh sorry, but answer me. Is it a trend?" Fan Xui waited for his answer.


    The other side of the phone went silent and subtle sound of gritting teeth was heard.


    "No it''s not! Wait, I think it might be. I mean harry styles did it and everyone loved it." Qian mumbled.


    "I see...." he cut the call without warning and placed it back in so coat pocket. "I think I''m getting older. I need to keep up with the trend. Hua, subscribe to all modelling magazines you can find,"


    The assistant who was sitting up front just weirdly smiled at him. "How did you know he was dressed up as a woman, sir? Don''t mind me asking,"


    "I felt know his face. He usually doesn''t wear perfume but his clothes had a tinge of perfume scent you smell in stores. It is usually used in the woman''s section especially." Fan Xui lied confidently.


    The gullible assistant believed him completely.

 Chapter 40 - 40 Sexuality?

    Zou Yue panted softly as he glanced back at the black car. "Sir, can you go faster..."


    The drive glanced back at him weirdly.


    Only then did he realise that he used his manly voice. He swiftly removed the pony tail attachments and tossed it in his bag. He did not have makeup or anything on his face.


    Even so, he could feel the weird gaze of the driver from the front seat.


    ''Fan Xui did not notice, right?'' he sniffed himself.


    He still had a soft scent of the clothes still lingering. This was the scent from the store. ''I smell feminine. I''m sure he did not even realise it.''


    ''Is that why..'' he touched his tingling cheeks. He could still remember the feeling of his rough finger gliding over them. ''He touched me..... only because he thought I was a woman....''


    His happy mood slightly went low. He pouted. ''Why did he have to hate men? This sucks...'' he leaned against the seat and glanced out at the sky.


    ''It''s okay. ... it''s not like he is my lover or anything...''


    He broodingly went back home. His mother called to him again and again, but he was like a puppet slowly walking back to his room.


    "Baby, why are you so dull," she gently touched his head.


    Zou Yue hugged her waist. "Nothing..... I was just not feeling so good,"


    "You sick? Is anything hurting?"


    "no..... I think my heart just broke.... a little,"


    Hearing this, his mother frowned even more. She gently caressed his head until he laid on the bed. Distinctly, she could make out a white shirt under his coat. It was all frilly and cute..


    ''Can''t be.....''


    She gently pulled up his sleeve of the coat to see the top peaking out underneath. ''I see....''


    She closed the door behind her and hurriedly ran over to her husband''s room.


    "Darling, darling we need to talk now!!"


    Zou Wei, who was arranging his books, glanced at her questionably. "Can''t it wait?"


    "No! Now!" she ran over to him and pulled him over to their room.


    "Okay, okay lady, stop pulling me," his wife pushed him into bed. He hugged her. "naughty,"


    "Not that." she smacked his hands away. "Darling our son... I think he might be into men or its highly likely that he liked women''s clothe better than men''s..."


    "What?" he frowned. "What do you mean? He has never..."


    "Listen to me, I saw him wearing a white frilly girly top under his coat... he even wants his hair longer!!!! Do you know what that means?" she sat next to him and held his hands.


    Zou Wei sighed. "He might be going through a phase."


    "It''s never a phase. I''ve seen many kids like him in my works. They hide their real sexuality and identity so much that they sometimes get depressed. They even get suicidal. Honey We should be accepting of whatever he wants to be. Whoever he wants to be with..."


    Zou Wei sighed and leaned down with his head low. "Maybe it''s because of his modelling career maybe..he got used to wearing clothes like that.... I mean,"


    "Husband. Accept it." she hugged him tight. "We might not have grandchildren, but it''s okay. We have our son. I just want our son to be happy,"


    "yes.... it''s our child that matters." He whispered in defeat. "Where do you think he went dressed like that?,"


    "I''m not sure. He went out happy and bubbly but He came back very depressed. Do you think someone bullied him," she whispered, dwindling with her thumb worriedly.


    "Who dares!! I will beak their bones," Zou Wei raged. "let''s go see who bullied our son."


    "Wait wait, we can''t just ask him that."


    "Why not," he confusedly looked at her.


    "Let him ''come out'' on his own. We can''t force him out," she whispered, gently patted his back. "As for his bullies, I will ask him subtly. If he had friends his age, we could have asked them about our child.....," she shook her head sadly.


    Their only child grew up to be an introvert. He never talked to others openly or even started a conversation with others freely. There was always a wall between him and the children his age. So he never got close to any.


    After he grew up, he simply just wanted to leave his parents as well. He wanted to become a model so badly. It was the first time he wanted something so badly.


    But that industry is very risky and quite out of control. Zou Wei feared that he might get bullied and hurt.


    The inevitable did end up happening. His son returned home sick and in tears.


    ''That fan Xui! I will break his every bone if I see him!!!''


    But what they didn''t know is that Zou Yue was sick because he was infected with the zombie virus and he was crying because he did not want them to be infected.


    Without knowing the full truth, the misunderstanding kept piling up.

 Chapter 41 - 41 Sword

    After his afternoon nap, Zou Yue regained his energy. He got up just to realise that he was still wearing those clothes.


    "Shit!!! Did my mum see?" he checked himself. Thankfully, he still was wearing his fluffy coat. It hid even his feat. "Good, good," he jumped into the shower and changed into comfortable t-shirt and trousers.


    "Mum! Mum!" he happily hopped into the kitchen.


    His mother was blankly standing there. Hearing his calls, she swiftly wiped her cheeks. "Baby, you woke up. Come have something to eat."


    "What''s cooking," he leaned over her shoulders to see a small wok filled with green gram.


    "I¡ªI''m making sweet coconut green gram. Wait a bit it is yet to be cooked thoroughly," she whispered, gently caressing his cheeks.


    Zou Yue smirked and kissed her cheeks. "Sweet~"


    He ran to his father''s study next. He seemed to be immersed in reading something on the internet. "Daddy~"


    His father swiftly closed the browser and awkwardly glanced back. "W¡ªwhat is it, my son?"


    "Nothing, just wanted to come check up on you. Dad I called uncle Bo, the work in our house will finish in just another twenty days. We shall move there after that." he cheerfully hugged his neck.


    His father glanced at him with an unknown smile on his face. "That''s good my Yue. That''s good." He gently patted his head and hugged him as well.


    Zou Yue was stunned for a second. His after had never been the one to initiate a hug before. "dad.... is everything alright?"


    "Everything..... is great. You know that I love you, right?"


    "Yeah~" Yue kissed his cheeks. "My dad loves me more than anything in the world, I know that."


    "Yes, I''ll love you however you are. Whatever you chose in your life...."


    "Oh what if I want to be a model again," Zou Yue teasingly whispered to him.


    He pulled away from the hug. "You are still thinking about that wretched job!"


    Zou Yue chuckled. "Okay, okay, I was just joking geez. I won''t think about it. But what do you expect me to do? I am unemployed and I don''t think I have any the extraordinary talents. Only my beauty is my key feature"


    "Nonsense, you are intelligent... you won second grade mathematical competition, remember.... then you also..." his father stuttered visibly.


    Zou Yue laughed out loud. "There are no accomplishments, dad. I am not that great of a person. I have no talent in education, no talent in anything, well even modelling. Even that I glide through it because of my face,"


    His father sighed loudly. "I''ll get you a job..."


    "no! I don''t want to. Not for six months!! Think of it as a sick leave. I wish to just be free for these six months. Ohhh five months. It''s already December right?" he counted with his finger.


    Time was running out.


    But he was not idle, he was doing his best to collect all the materials he could. The house construction will be finished so and the goods can be moved little by little.


    ''Now all I have to do is learn to use a sword... and to get a sword.....''


    "Dad, can I ask you one help?" he whispered excitedly.


    His father pulled him to his office and made him sit down. "What''s it?"


    "I want to learn how to use a sword!" with shimmering eyes, he glanced at his dad.


    "Well... aren''t you already learning archery? Why..."


    "Archery is just a hobby, I wish to learn sword art until I can just slice through thing like a fruit ninja," he mumbled waving his hands around.


    His father''s eyebrows twitched. ''Anything is better than him going to model again,''


    "Okay, I''ll ask around for classes nearby.... as for your sword... you have to ask uncle Wen. Swords are not that easy to acquire." His father patted his back softly.


    "Yeah~" Zou Yue jumped on him and hugged him tight. "Thank you dad,"


    "This is nothing." his father gently pushed him into the kitchen. "Go eat some snacks."


    "Okay, okay, dad come out soon. Your have really become a book worm nowadays," Zou Yue mumbled and waved at his father.


    Zou Wei closed the door behind him and ran back to his computer. "History.... history..." he opened the browser from his history tab and started reading through it again.


    "How to be more accepting of your child''s gender and sexual orientation?" he read out loud. The article mentioned how many people are mis-allocated a gender due to their birth gender.


    "So men can be women and women can be men but there is a possibility that they are not gay...." he scratched his head. "Darn this is confusing...I''ll ask Nui later. She might know more about this."


    He mumbled and closed his computer. Before leaving the room, he made a call.


    "What the hell are you calling for?" a loud voice shouted from the other side.


    "Shut up Wen, my ears are bleeding from your ugly voice!!!" he shouted back.


    Wen scoffed. "My voice is melodious."


    "Like heck it is. Listen, I need a favour." Zou Wei whispered whist he anxiously touched the door knob.


    "What?"


    "Umm.....  I need a sword." He whispered softly.


    "What? I did not hear you!"


    "I said I need a sword!!" Zou Wei gritted his teeth and sat down in his chair.


    His best friend Wen went silent for a moment. "What is up with your weird requests? You know my son''s friend also asked for the same thing, much worse he asked where he can find firearms. What the hell is going on? Are these young people planning on starting a mafia group on their own or what?"


    Zou Wei did not think much about his words. "Can you do it or not?"


    "Of course I can. I have a friend in Osaka. It will be ready in a month but you need to have a talk to him about your ''sword'' preference."


    Zou Wei chuckled. "You make it sound like I''m talking dirty,"


    "Hump as if... I''ll send you the contact," he mumbled, and the line went silent.


    Only beeping sounds were heard.

 Chapter 42 - 42 Inconvenience

    The next few days, Zou Yue was busy preparing for the arrival goods. The warehouse he had rented was just a few minutes away from houses new house but for safety reason he usually dressed as a woman to check on it.


    The fewer people who knew of his face, the lesser the risk of his goods being exposed to others.


    He opened the warehouse. The spices he had brought were neatly stacked in the corner. He started to count and check on his list if he had missed any. As of now he had all kinds of spices in at least a few kilograms. It will last for a long time.


    But even if it does not last long, he had prepared seedling and seeds to help with fresh produce. The area around his pond was not that large but if the seeds were utilised properly he can get a seasonal cultivation of spices and other vegetables.


    To gain more knowledge of these crops, He consulted a local farmer who raises them. As per his suggestion green like spinach lettuce and others can he raise in smaller pots.


    But root vegetables like carrot and radish need to be raised on land.


    Zou Yue brought a lot of seeds from him to last a long time. He stored it on a small shelf in the corner of his warehouse.


    The rest of the space was left for the upcoming stock.


    He moved the small mint plan to other side and sighed loudly. "That''s it." He glanced at the almost empty warehouse. "This place will be filled up in ten days and little by little I have to move it back home."


    He closed the door after him and wore his mask.


    The neighbouring house was at least a few yards away. They sometimes curiously looked at him whenever he came by.


    Today they came out of their house and greeted him.


    Zou Yue bowed to them.


    "I heard this is your business warehouse. It''s good that young girls are doing business now," the old lady praised him. "Why don''t you come in? I was making some soup dumplings,"


    "Oh no it''s okay... I am feeling under the weather...." but his stomach decided to deceive him by growling loudly right at that moment.


    "Eh come on kid. I''ll make sure to put a lot of pepper to solve that sore throat of yours. Oh call be Buni grandma," she gestured for him inside.


    Zou Yue obediently followed after her. Even in her house, he did not remove his mask. Instead, he glanced around the small house.


    "It''s a moderate house. My grandson brought it for me. Lately he travels a lot, so he prefers to live alone. That kid...." she tsked loudly whist spooning some hot dumplings into his bowl. Her hands were slightly trembling as she was doing so.


    Zou Yue silently waited for the hood. "Let me help grandma," he took the heavy bowl from her hand and swiftly spooned some dumplings for her as well.


    "Come sit." she pulled him down on an old couch. "Tell me, are you married?"


    Zou Yue blinked. "eh..I¡ªI...."


    "You see, my grandson is still unmarried. He was a military higher official. He was deployed in Sudan for a very long time. Now he is on a break...."


    The old lady kept praising her grandson. Zou Yue silently listened.


    "Do you have someone you like? Do you want to meet my grandson?" she enthusiastically held his hands.


    "Someone I like?"


    A familiar face came into mind. His deep dark eyes and his well kept hair.


    That melodiously deep voice.....


    "I don''t like!!!" Zou Yue shouted all of a sudden. He swiftly calmed himself down. "Ahem, I don''t have anyone I like. But grandma, I have no wish to meet anyone as if now."


    "oh..." the old lady looked sad for a second but she bubbled up quickly. "Eat well, look how thin you are. You city girls have to be strong," she kept chiding him.


    Zou Yue smiled and talked about random stuff. The old lady was really knowledgeable. She even let him know everything about the military barracks behind her house.


    Surprisingly so this old lady even knew where the arsenal was. she shared it with him openly.


    "Wow. Grandma, shouldn''t it be a secret?"


    "It should," a slightly gruff voice whispered from the door. Bohai walked in with a deep frown. "Grandma, you can''t just go telling stranger about our army arsenal. That won''t do,"


    "Yeah, it''s okay. Does this frail young girl look like a thief to you?" she got up and gently patted his back. "Come on, meet this young lady. Oh, what was your name, by the way?"


    "You told her all that without even asking for a name?! Grandma!!!"


    Zou Yue swiftly stood up. "Sorry I''ll come by later," he literally ran out.


    Bohai glanced in his direction weirdly. "Where have I heard that voice before?"


    His mind was coming to a vague conclusion, but suddenly a sharp pain from his arms stopped him.


    "Grandma!!" his grandma was carrying cane around.


    "I took so much effort to find you a girl, yet you chase them away like flies!" she kept chasing him around.


    Bohai laughing dodged all of her blows.


    Zou Yue, on the other hand, left for his house with a lot of thought occupying his mind. ''So the arsenal is in there....'' he swiftly took out a tissue paper and drew the map of the bunker he saw in her house.


    ''In worst-case scenario if the military bunker is overrun by zombies or being abandoned I can use this.''


    In his last life the military did last but after the ability users came about their authority and power was gradually reduced. Until fan Xui took charge of all of the military officials and the rations.


    The G city settlement became fair and easy for humans to life in.


    In this life he was not sure how it was going too processed. Because there have been a lot of changes. Especially his parents. They survived the initial stages of zombie apocalypse.


    He clenched the paper tightly. ''They have to survive!!!''


    He glanced out the window at the small farms that passed by. He placed his head on the window and slowly closed his eyes.


    A small jerk woke him up.


    "sorry." the driver apologetically whispered, glancing back.


    "It''s okay..." Zou Yue adjusted his coat well. He was nearing his house, so he swiftly pulled his hair off and wore his mask as well.


    "Thank you for the ride.." he whispered and paid him.


    The whole ride back made him tired as heck. He cranked his neck loudly. ''Gosh, I wish I had space ability. I could have stored my stock with me all the time.''


    Space ability is super rare. In the initial stages of apocalypse, the ones with space abilities did not even know of this miraculous power. They were always assumed to be powerless and thus ignored. But a few years later the settlement found out about it and started recruiting them.


    But by then almost all the space abilities went extinct.


    Ten years into the apocalypse only three survived and their identity was kept a well-kept secret.

 Chapter 43 - 43 Time For The Talk

    "Yue wait!" his mother ran to him as soon as he walked in.


    "What is it mum?" Zou Yue gently held her hand.


    "umm.... can we.... talk?" she anxiously glanced at his father, who seem to be waiting in the hallway.


    Zou Yue glanced at them both worriedly. "okay... but is something wrong? Why doo both of you seem so anxious?" he mumbled as his mother led him to the chair.


    She sat him down and both his parents sat opposite him.


    Zou Yue innocently sat there waiting for them to start talking.


    "Yue...." his father hesitantly glanced at his mother.


    "Yes dad,"


    "ummm.... we know..." he whispered softly.


    "Know what?" Zou Yue froze. ''Do they know that I''ve been stocking food? Shit looks like I have to start talking...''


    He dwindled with his thumb as he glanced at them. "Yue we kind of..."


    "Dad, I''m sorry I hid it from you. I was worried that you would panic, so I hid it. In fact, I have been very well prepared for a reason..." Zou Yue hurriedly whispered.


    His dad held his hand gently, patting it gently. "We accept you as you are. You are our precious child and we would not want you any different." he smiled fondly.


    Zou Yue blinked. "okayyyyyy?"


    His mother immediately jumped in. "We did not mean to startle you or anything but we just want you to know that we are okay with whomever you chose...."


    "....."


    By this point Zou Yue lost track of the conversation. ''What about choosing? Who am I going to choose? What are they eve talking about?'' he saw how his parents were so relieved after saying this. ''What the hell is going on?''


    His mother sat next to him and hugged him tight. "Soo, it''s okay... it''s okay for you to dress as you want..."


    Zou Yue froze. He was still wearing that same white blouse and pants underneath. ''How did she know? Fuck!!!''


    He hurriedly held her hand. "Mum, you see that is not what you think.."


    ''I do not have any perverted intensions'' is what he wanted to say.


    But the words did not come out. His mother cupped his mouth close before he could deny any claims.


    "Yue baby, we love you. We love YOU. Clothes does not define you, and we will no be prejudiced against you for what you wear, and who you love. That''s all that matters.." she gently poked his chest. "So don''t be afraid o is who you are. Don''t be afraid to express yourself in any way you want. If anyone makes fun of you let me know. I will make sure that they won''t even see the light of the day."


    "Yes Yue, don''t be afraid dad also accepts you," his dad immediately followed his wife.


    Zou Yue slumped back. ''Okay, where is this conversation going? I think they might have misunderstood me even more. I do not have the interest to dress as a woman... I am not gay either....''


    Suddenly fan Xui''s face came into mind.


    ''Wait, am I gay? I mean... I am attracted to six packs and muscles...'' he glanced at his own tummy. ''Fuck!!!!!''


    His mother hugged him tighter. "don''t worry baby all is fine," his father also joined the group hug.


    All the while, poor Zou Yue was going through an identity crisis.


    He blankly went back to his room, changed out of his clothes and laid on the bed.


    Little Trexa gran jumped on his face excitedly.


    He gently lifted her off and placed her on his chest. "Tell me Trexa am I gay? Really am I?"


    Trexa gran glanced at him with her head tilted.


    The ten years he lived in the apocalypse he never had a partner, never had a comrade or a friend. All alone, he survived. Even though gay marriages and being homosexual was widely popular during that time, he was never that interested.


    "Or maybe I never met anyone interesting." He sat up stiffly. "ummm.. I need to check this."


    He ran to his computer and searched ''gay test''


    A website popped up, and he started to answer the questionnaire. He paused in the second question. "What does lady gaga do?"


    "How the fuck am I supposed to know? What is this test? Is this legitimate?.."


    It only had trashy questions like who is lady gaga, do you know a gay celebrity?


    He boringly tapped the answers randomly.


    Suddenly his whole screen was filled with an image of a naked man.


    "FUCK!!!!" he swiftly closed the browser, erased the history and closed the laptop for good. "Okay I am officially disgusted....."


    The little rat scurried over to his feet with a nut in its mouth.


    "Trexa gran, I think my eyes have been tainted....."


    The little rat gave him the nut and ran back to its cage. It came back with a small paper magazine cutting of a topless anime character Eren Jaeger.


    He had actually pestered this to his walls, but somehow this rat had torn it and hid it in its cage.


    "Even you are driving me ''nuts''" he glanced at the anime once more. "Maybe I am a little gay. Who cares I''m not hurting anyone."


    He shrugged it off and happily went to take a nap.

 Chapter 44 - 44 A Stalker Is Born

    Daye went by and finally the moving day was near. The constriction was completed at last and everything was packed and moved to the new house. Only a few personal items and valuable items were left for them to move.


    Zou Yue glanced at the empty house with a small smile. "I had good memories here,"


    "We are not selling this place, you know that, right?" his dad mumbled from behind carrying a heavy ornate looking black box.


    "Selling it will be the most profitable. I''ll tell you why when we settle down in our new house," he whispered. He ran to him and pulled the heavy box from him. "Why don''t you and mum just get in the car, I''ll bring the rest out."


    "No, no, I am not a disabled person I can do it," his dad adamantly took the box from him.


    Zou Yue plucked it from him. "Well, I am not the one who will be crying all night with a backache," he chuckled and walked out.


    "Wait, you brat! Who has back ache, huh? Ask your mum I am healthy as a horse," he chided, as he followed behind him.


    "Yeah right, I have to massage his back every day." his mum gently kissed his father''s cheeks. "Come on, darling let our son help."


    "Hump, who needs help!"


    Zou Yue loaded the last box into the trunk and closed it firmly. "Come on, guys get in."


    His father was secretly fiddling with something by the walls. It looked like he was pasting something there.


    "Dad?"


    "yes yes.. Stop shouting for me," His father hopped in the driver''s seat and his mother rode shot gun.


    She glanced back with a small smile. "Our Yue is eighteen already maybe we you should teach him how to drive, darling," she playfully nudged her husband.


    "Hmm later..." his father seriously drove. "After settling down I''ll teach you."


    "Okay~" Zou Yue casually whispered. In fact, he did know how to drive but that was ''apocalyptic driving'' which is not suitable for normal situations like this. If he drove like that now, it would most likely cause a huge road accident.


    He sighed, thinking about his old days when he ran for his life. It was hectic but his father''s car helped him a lot in moving from S city to G city.


    He gently caressed the leather seats. ''Maybe I should fortify the windows and doors. It will take some time though,''


    The stress was balling up; the apocalypse will destroy half of the world is fast approaching.


    He glanced out the window. The English New Year was already over and it was mid-January, yet still the houses still lit beautiful lights and hung red lamps outside preparing for the upcoming Chinese New Year.


    ''In five months none of these will exist. the streets will be filed with stench of blood and decay....''


    ''But I was given a precious second change. I cant afford to waste it,'' he caressed the little rat who was sleeping peacefully on his lap.


    "Mum, dad can we fold dumpling this year?" he mumbled softly.


    "Hmm, what filling do you want? I was planning on making pork, but your father did not like it much last year," his mother whispered back.


    "It was too oily," his father grumbled.


    "How oily can a dumpling be? I liked it, Yue liked it. It is only you who is so picky with your food. Thank god Yue did not learn that from you," she mumbled, nudging him even more.


    "Stop it honey, I''m driving!" his father frowned slightly. "And I am not picky,"


    "Yeah right," his mother rolled her eyes.


    Zou Yue leaned front watching them both bicker. ''This life I hope they survive. I hope they live with me for at least until they are ninety. God it is all I wish for....''


    "Yue here." his mother handed him a small orange. "It''s from our neighbour''s yard, its sweet isn''t it?"


    Zou Yue gently rolled it in his hand. "It''s very sweet..."


    ******


    Right after they left, a black car rolled in front of their house. it did not completely stop instead it slowed down a lot.


    "Sir?" Hua glanced back at him questionably. "We are at his house again..."


    "oh..." Fan Xui acted casual as he glanced out the window. But his anxious eyes behind his black specks searched for a familiar figure. But he could not even see a shadow. "Do you see them?"


    "Sir it looks like they might have moved," Hua whispered sadly.


    "Moved!! Where?" Fan Xui anxiously leaned forward. The small board that said ''up for sale'' was hidden from sight. For the front seat it was clearly visible, though.


    "They moved...." Fan Xui sadly sat back. "Hua, go check where they might have moved. I still have a contract with Mister Zou Yue," he coldly mumbled.


    Hua glanced back with a confused gaze.. ''First, he bought his book copyright for an astronomical price, now he wants to stalk him. Is Zou Yue so special to him? Is our boss really in love like mister Qian said?''

 Chapter 45 - 45 Settling Down

    After two hours of ride, they reached their new home. His dad parked the car in the nearby empty lot and got down. "The movers are already here." He whispered, looking at the van parked right in the intersection.


    Zou Yue got down to instruct them.


    Huge boxes of their stuff were moved in efficiently, and only the boxes in his car were left to move.


    He paid the movers and thanked them all.


    "You need help?" a voice whispered from behind.


    Startled, Zou Yue threw a punch at this mysterious person. A hand caught his fist with ease.


    "Whoa, not the welcome I was expecting," Bohai smirked widely.


    "Uncle Bo, don''t sneak up on me." Zou Yue slapped his shoulders playfully.


    "You have some boxes to move, right?" he whispered, looking at the open trunk.


    "Yeah, I''ll cover the heavy ones how about you take those," he pointed to the ones which weighed less. It mostly had his mother''s valuables and other precious photo albums of hers.


    Bohai shrugged and picked a few up.


    Zou Wei and Zou Nui watched their exchange with their eyes wide open.


    "Darling do you think...."


    "Maybe.... but let''s not assume anything," Yue''s father warned his wife softy.


    "But they are so cute together."


    "No, I see a big age gap..." he whispered with a deep frown.


    "Darling~ how can you say that. We have an age gap of ten years, no?"


    Zou wei cleared his throat. "That is different. Our son''s situation is different," he mumbled and hastily walked into their house.


    "Its all the same..." she followed after him.


    Inside, Zou Yue moved his mother''s stuff inside the master bedroom. It had a lot of storage space and a walk-in closet. "Uncle Bo, keep them there. My mum will unpack it all."


    "hmm... which is your room?" he whispered curiously.


    "It''s the one with the access to the storage attic," he mumbled, sorting through a few of the photo albums.


    Their family had a photo album for each of the year. Few years before, when he was just ten, he developed an interest in modelling. At first his father allowed him to attend his modelling gigs, escorting him everywhere.


    But when he hit fifteen, things changed. His father grew sceptical about this as a job prospectus. He grounded him from attending any work.


    So Zou Yue made the most reckless decision to run away from home.


    Those three years there were no photos of them together as a family in the albums. But at the last few pages he noticed some magazine cut outs.


    It was all the ad campaigns and runway photographs.


    He gently caressed them. "My old man really does love me," he mumbled to himself.


    "Yeah, I can see that." Uncle Bo peaked at it form over his shoulders. "Were you a model?"


    "yes, I retired." Zou Yue closed the photo album and placed it securely with the others albums. "Do you know uncle I was such a rebellious child, I ran away from home to become a model. I was good at it too. But... my father was against it."


    "So you stopped?"


    "I''m tired of it too..." Zou Yue glanced at him. "Why don''t have some refreshments, I''m growing increasingly thirsty,"


    His mother prepared for all by bringing a huge thermos filled with cold lemon tea.


    "Mum~ go sit down. I''ll serve the tea." he took things from her hand and gently nudged her towards the couch that was moved in. It was placed in the hallway.


    His father was already sitting there, half snoozing.


    "Ha-ha, I''ll set up the bed next. Both of you rest there." he said pouring four cups of cold lemon tea.


    He handed one to Bohai and one to his mother.


    "Yue, um.... you never introduced him.." she whispered with a slight hopeful look.


    "Oh shit, sorry, I forgot. Mum, this is Bohai. He is the one who remodelled our house. Uncle Bo, this is my mother and that sleeping panda is my father," Zou Yue chuckled, gesturing to his father.


    Bohai bowed slightly. "Nice to meet you ma''am"


    "U¡ªuncle... Yue calls you uncle?"


    "um yes, he has been calling me like that since day one,'' Bohai awkwardly glanced at her.


    "oh.. OH I see... that''s nice.." she gulped down the tea. "Oh Yue, I wanted to ask that pool looks like it''s going to overflow," she gestured to the small pond in the middle of the house.


    Zou Yue ran to it. The pond was overflowing, but the nearby patch of land soaked it all up. "It will not overflow too much, right?"


    Bohai squatted next to it. "It won''t be much of a problem after you start using from it. Did you get it tested?"


    "N¡ªno I kind of forgot," Zou Yue mumbled.


    "You should before using it for drinking purposes." Bohai stood up. "Let''s get moving fast." He walked to the car again.


    Only a few boxes were left, along with the mysterious black box.


    Zou Yue picked it up curiously. "Wonder what''s in it?" he placed it in his father''s study along with his numerous books. His father did reduce his book collection exponentially, yet his study was full.


    They both started to set up the bed that was dissembled in the main bedroom first.


    His mother tried to help him out, but the wood was too heavy for her to handle.


    "Mum set up the curtains. Uncle Bo and I will deal with it," he mumbled.


    His mother nodded and started to drape the curtains in the rod that existed already. Since it was an old house, it already has a few nails and curtain rods. After handing the curtains, his mother started to hang their family photos.


    Bohai glanced at one in particular. "You look cute." he pointed to the picture frame with him as a baby.


    Zou Yue grimaced.


    He was biting into a small rattle, with a huge grimace on his face. It was his ugliest picture, but his parents really, really liked it. So much so that they framed it and hung it on the bedroom walls.


    He shook his head.. "Gosh, I wish I could burn that picture."

 Chapter 46 - 46 Secrets Out Of The Bag

    "Yue, are you done," his father walked into the room wiping at his eyes.


    "Dad, the bed is done. You can sleep now. I will take care of other things as well just get some rest." Zou Yue stood up and pulled his dad towards the bed.


    His dad paused midway, glancing at the black box. "Wait, a bit." he tottered over to it and picked it up with difficulty. "Here yours,"


    "Mine? What is it?" Zou Yue curiously glanced up at his dad but his father refused to give him any hints. "Surprise, huh? I like it,"


    The wooden box was well made, with a golden latch to its side. He snapped it opened and glanced inside. It was lined with foam and a long stick shaped thing wrapped in silk cloth was neatly nestled in between the foam beads. He gently lifted it up.


    "Open it," his father urged him. Even Bohai was curious about what it was.


    Zou Yue unrolled the cloth and pulled out a sword. "Oh, my god. Don''t tell me.. dad~~~~ he carefully placed it down and jumped onto him. "Thank you so much dad!! Thank you!!!"


    "Open it fully, ah!" his father patted his back gently.


    Zou Yue ran back to it and pulled it out of its sheath. Inside was a shinning samurai sword. Its top was slightly curved, looking more like a katana. The sword grip was longer than his palm, meaning that it was a two-handed sword.


    He weighed it by juggling it a bit. It was slender but heavy at the same time.


    "Why would you need this?" Bohai glance at it confusedly. "Is it a collectable?"


    "No, it''s a necessity." Zou Yue held it in his hand. It put a considerable amount of pressure on his wrist. He decided to hold it with both hands. He turned it to its side, and the sword shone brightly. "Goodness, this is so good,"


    He swung it around a little. It created a small swishing sound as it cut through the air. "So awesome~`~~"


    But just a few swings later, his shoulders started to ache badly. He sheathed the sword and placed it in the box. "Looks like I need practice,"


    "Why do you even need that for?" Bohai mumbled softly.


    "It really is a necessity," he repeated once more, unconsciously.


    Zou Yue gently caressed the sheath. ''I need to learn how to use it, or else I might sustain some bad injury....''


    The sword hilt was neatly bound with a thick cloth but at the end if the sword he noticed a small mark. ''This was definitely used by someone.....''


    "Dad, where did you get this from?"


    "Your uncle Wen helped me out. It''s from some guy in Osaka." He shrugged.


    "Osaka? Japan? Oh, do you have his phone number?" He excitedly jumped on the bed.


    "Why?" his father laid on the end and covered himself.


    "Cuz I want to learn how to use it."


    His father sat up stiffly. "Why do you need to learn that, kid? What''s going on, huh? Are young kids really planning on forming a group like mafia or what?"


    "Dad, don''t joke around, huh? Why would I even form a terrorist group?" Zou Yue sat next to him, carefully placing the sword on his lap.


    Zou Wei shook his head. "Your uncle Wen said something weird as well. He said some young kid asked on how to import weapons to our country. And the next thing I know, you are asking for a sword. What is going on?"


    Zou Yue stuttered.... he hesitantly glanced at Bohai.


    Bohai took this as a sign to leave. "I''ll see you later. Call me when you need any help."


    "Thank you and sorry uncle bo. I''ll welcome you for dinner some other time."


    "Dont mention it." he patted Yue''s shoulders and left the room.


    Zou Yue sighed and sat back on the bed. "Dad, you see, I know something very important. That news will shake the world."


    "What is it?"


    "I know when our world is going to end," Zou Yue gulped. His throat was suddenly dry and his tongue stuck to the top of his mouth. He nervously dwindled with his thumb.


    His father peered at him, unblinking. "Yue?"


    "dad.. you have to believe me... world is going to end in five months. On may 2nd a huge meteor will hit earth bringing about a deadly virus. This virus will kill almost half the population in just a few days."


    His eyes roamed over to his father''s. He was listening carefully without any expression. "The ones who died end up rising again. Just like the zombies we are familiar with in movies, they come and hunt for the remaining, living humans. The gnaw bite and eat anything that is human."


    His father''s brows frowned.


    "The worst part is, the humans who are bitten by these infected ones also become infected. They turn into a zombie in a few days'' time."


    His father''s hand slightly trembled.


    Zou Yue swiftly held him. "Don''t worry, I''ll help us survive. I won''t let anything happen to you both."


    "Yue.... I¡ªI..."


    "I know it''s unbelievable, but you have to trust me. I have seen it all. I have...lived it all,"


    His father paused, glancing at him intently. "What do you mean?"


    "Dad..... I lived in the zombie apocalypse for almost ten years."

 Chapter 47 - 47 Substantial Proof

    "Dad.... I lived in the zombie apocalypse for almost ten years," Zou Yue dropped the bomb waiting for it to explode. He carefully analysed his father''s expression. As of now there was no exceptional reaction at all, so he continued.


    "I¡ªI lived twice. This is my god given second chance." He twindled with his thumb anxiously. "I managed to survive the apocalypse for almost ten years but sadly I was..... killed by a group of thugs,"


    His father''s hand clenched tightly.


    Zou Yue shrunk back. He glanced at his trembling hands, unsure how to continue the conversation... "I am telling the truth. I don''t wish to deceive you and mother any longer. i..."


    Suddenly, he was pulled into a warm hug. "Yue... I believe in you. So stop trembling. It hurts me so badly so see you afraid to share things with me." He cupped his face tenderly. "Dad believes you. Even if you say the earth is flat, I will believe you."


    "The earth is flat?" Zou Yue said immediately.


    His father slapped the back of his head. "How many times have I told you earth is round?"


    "But you said you will believe anything I say."


    "Tell me something factual, you idiotic kid," his father grumbled even more.


    Zou Yue sniffed. "You want proof right. Wait here." he ran over to his room where Trexa''s carrier was. He bent over to glance in. She was sleeping soundly on her back with her limbs all flayed out.


    "Trexa gran?"


    The rat squeaked softly and rolled over in her sleep.


    "Sorry baby, I will pick you up now." he picked her up gently and placed her in the centre of his cupped palm. He then ran back to his father''s room.


    "See, this is proof," he held out the little rat to his face.


    His father adjusted his glasses and peered at her. "That''s a rat?"


    "Yes, a zombie virus infected rat," he sat next to him and swept through her fur. The needle marks had disappeared, but the bald spot created by the repeated injections still remained. "She was a test subject called subject 0. I believe she escaped from the labs,"


    His father sighed loudly and leaned back. "Now I am thoroughly confused. You said world will get destroyed because of a virus a meteor brings to earth, now you are saying that a rat has this virus.. Yue what''s going on? I need a clear narration. Tell me everything from the beginning,"


    "y¡ªyes.... you see the meteor falls, and that brings about the pandemic virus. It makes humans into zombies. But I firmly believe that a sample of it was retrieved and tested on Trexa gran."


    His father''s gaze became even more sceptical. He wore his glasses and peered at her. "I see no proof to this theory you have just motioned."


    "dad~ switch off your professor mode and listen. This is the truth. And I can prove it more easily," he picked up the teacup and dropped in. It shattered into the pieces.


    "Yue. Careful, get up here. I''ll clean it... what are you doing!!"


    Zou Yue picked up a sharp shard in hand and sliced his palm.


    "Yue!!!" his father ran to him and held his hand carefully. "bandage.. We need to stop the blood. Oh my god it''s not stopping," he pressed it down with his hand.


    "Dad it''s okay. Just watch. Trexa gran, can you heal me?"


    The little rat excitedly ran into his palm and touched it with its cute paws.


    The wounds instantly disappeared, leaving behind no scars or marks.


    "Do you believe me now?" he intently looked at his father.


    Zou Wei''s glasses slipped down his nose. "The rat.. its.. what... how.... WHY?"


    "Dad, I think you are glitching," Zou Yue chuckled loudly.


    "n¡ªno I am just trying to piece together what I saw just now. What was that? How is a rat able to heal a wound that severe? Why a rat, though?"


    Zou Yue pulled his father back to the bed and sat him down. "I told you right, she was a test subject. Most of the scientist use rats to test drugs efficiency and potency. I believe she was used to testing this virus''s potency."


    "That doesn''t explain how it can heal?" his father''s eyes went wider.


    "Oh, did I forget to mention? When some humans survive the virus they get super human powers. Some have water, thunder, lightening, telekinesis, earth, metal.... speed...."


    "...."


    Feeling his father''s dazed state, he decided to explain everything in detail once more.


    After hearing his side of the story, his father went stiff. He gently pulled him close and hugged him tight. "Do you know who killed you? Can you identify them at least?"


    "I¡ªI don''t..." Zou Yue said a white lie. As of now he did not know why Liwei decided to kill him, but he wanted to keep his family away from him.


    His father went into professor mode once again. He took out his tab and started to note down everything he said. "You said human who survive the infection turn into an ''ability'' user? What if they survive and don''t possess an ability?,"


    "Oh, they exist too... some humans developed an immunity to the virus. They neither got infected by the virus or by the zombie bites but.....They are the ones who suffered the most."


    "What powers did you have," he mumbled, scribbling something in his tab.


    "Speed..."


    "Speed, that sounds cool." his father smiled softly.


    In all his explanations, his father never asked about what had happened to them or why he never mentioned them in his stories. Somehow his father might have guessed it.


    Zou Yue clenched the sword tightly. "Dad, I won''t let anything happen to you and mum.."


    "Silly if there was such virus you can''t control it. It''s all in god''s hands,"


    "No! It''s not! I can control it! I think you might be immune to the virus too," Zou Yue urgently corrected him.


    "hmmm.." his father did not reply after that.


    Zou Yue continued explaining about the food stock he had brought and about the warehouse.


    "What of the attic now?" his father removed the glasses and massaged his brows.


    "I kind of made it into a walk-in refrigerator, I''ll show you," he excitedly pulled his father to his room.


    "Here." he handed him a warm woollen jacket. "it gets cold up there,"


    He pulled down the stairs and walked up after his father.


    Zou Wei stooped right near the entrance. "Yue..... is this really for storage? You are not planning on stashing some dead body here, eight?" he worriedly mumbled.


    Zou Yue glanced at him peculiarly. "Why would I? I''m not a serial killer. Wow, I''m super offended."


    "Just asking, you know. You purchased a new sword I thought you would use it against someone,"


    "It''s for protecting us from the zombies." Zou Yue pouted and followed as his father explored the enormous space.


    Hs father paused, wiping his glasses. "So how do you plan to slice a zombie. You can barely swing it ten times."


    "I can train!!"


    "Yes how,"


    Zou Yue had no words.... "I have to find a master,"


    "I''ll ask wen... he''ll definitely give me shot about this but if it''s for you..."


    "Dad~~" Zou Yue hugged his stiff shoulders. "Have I told you, you are the best~~~"


    "Stop it," his father laughed softly.

 Chapter 48 - 48 Searching For A Specialist

    Zou Yue decided to call uncle Wen for help but his mother firmly rejected this idea.


    "Yue, you have to go in person. When you need someone''s help, you have to be courteous."


    "But...." Zou Yue hesitated a bit. ''I don''t want to see that poisonous white lotus...'' he pouted.


    "Why don''t I accompany you?" his father added from the side.


    "No! I will go on my own." Zou Yue immediately shot down this idea.


    Going alone is much better than exposing his parents to an unknown danger called Bai Liwei.


    His father sighed loudly.


    "Come, I''ll drive you,"


    "No, I will call a cab," Zou Yue denied that idea instantly as well.


    His father''s frown deepened. "What are you hiding? Yue perhaps..." he moved closer and whispered, "does I have something to do with your death.."


    Zou Yue looked up in shock. His father''s eyes were dark. There was a furious storm brewing inside. He gulped. "N¡ªnothing at all. I just don''t want you to strain yourself. I will talk to uncle Wen myself,"


    He swiftly called up a cab in fear his father might take out the car.. Uncle''s Wen''s place was very nearby because it was on the other side of the military bunker.


    The ride was swift and smooth and he reached the huge mansion.


    He anxiously stood out the door.


    "Sir.... you have been standing out there for a while," a security guard came out of nowhere to him.


    "I¡ªI''m here to see uncle Wen."


    "Who might I say is here?"


    "Say Zou Yue is here," Yue nervously kicked few pebbles on the ground.


    The security guard went over to his post and made a swift call. The doors opened instantly.


    "Sorry for the delay, sir. Transport has been arranged for you," he kindly bowed to him.


    "Transport.. ohh.."


    There, in front of him, stood a shiny Maserati. Zou Yue blankly looked at it. "When did you guys even have the time to bring it out of the garage?"


    From his previous visit he noticed that the car garage was close to the main house rather than the gates. It will usually take almost ten minutes to get here.


    "Our cars have been stationed near the gate to welcome special guests such as you..." the guard kindly opened the door for him.


    Zou Yue hoped in. ''special.....hmmm''


    While he was immersed in his thoughts, they already reached the mansion''s main gates.


    Zou Yue stepped closer to the huge door. Suddenly, a person tapped on him from behind.


    "Little Yue, welcome back,"


    "Uncle Wen!" Yue happily ran to him, but restrained himself from touching him.


    "Where is my hug, boy?"


    "Here it is," he hugged him tight. "How have you been, uncle?"


    "I''ve been great, kid. Come in. Its getting cold out here," he whispered, pulling him in.


    But Zou Yue awkwardly paused. "Are there any other guests here... your son''s friend, your son...."


    "No silly, I am an old lonely man. I don''t get many visitors." He gestured for him to follow.


    ''No white lotus, lucky day!!'' Zou Yue happily ran after him.


    "Did you like your surprise?"


    "I loved it so much! I personally have to thank you, uncle. If not for you, I might have not gotten the best gif of my life," Zou Yue kept chattering excitedly.


    "You liked it so much. I guess young people nowadays are different. Back in my days, I was so happy getting a stretchy Armstrong," he mumbled opened the study door for him. "Come in,"


    Zou Yue sat down comfortably opposite him. "Uncle, do you know what I came here for?"


    "What? You didn''t come here to see me? I''m super hurt," he mumbled with a side-wise smirk.


    "Uncle~ I did come to see you but I also came to ask about the sword''s owner." Zou Yue smiled at him fondly.


    "I don''t know who that is..." uncle Wen calmly sipped his tea.


    "I saw the hilt; it was definitely used by someone."


    "Are you unhappy that its used?" his uncle glanced at him for the cup''s rim.


    "No! I want to meet that person!! I want to learn sword arts!!" Zou Yue said firmly.


    Uncle Wen hummed. "I see... you want to learn. What for? I heard a crazy story from your father just a few minutes ago. Are you going to tell me the same?"


    Zou Yue flinched, but he swiftly calmed himself down. "Do you believe it?"


    "No,"


    Yue''s excitement wilted a bit.


    "But I trust my friend. He won''t talk shit," he mumbled.


    Zou Yue smirked softly. "Uncle, thank you for believing me."


    "I said I believed your father, kid,"


    "It''s all the same. You believed it. That''s all that matters,"


    Uncle Wen smiled knowingly. "You are a smart kid. You must have already prepared a lot for this apocalypse you talked about. I believe your friend Mrs. Ling is not a real person at all."


    "She is real. She stays in S city. But you are right, the stock are all for me and my family. I suggest you stock up as well, uncle. It''s getting unpredictable,"


    Zou Yue warned him a bit. S of now he had no way of telling how the future might work out. Last life he had powers, now he did not. It was completely okay because he believed it was the price he paid to come back to his loving family. But being unprepared is not his style.


    "Can you tell me about the previous owner? I heard he is in Osaka,"


    "He is. He is an old friend of mine. That cranky old man won''t even let you in his house. Even I can''t talk to him properly,"


    "Can you tell me his address," Zou Yue sat up straight.


    "hmm.... for the valuable information you have given, its right that I pay you back with this favour,"


    "You are stingy, uncle. When did we start owing each other? Besides, I''m planning on spreading this information out wide for free."


    Uncle Wen placed the cup on the table. "Won''t it cause a widespread panic?"


    "It will, but at least people will prepare a bit. Because I''ve seen it happen before. We were hit when we were all unprepared. It came as a surprise, taking almost half of our population in the first wave. Many starved to death in just a month."


    "I want to give others a change just like I was given one,"

 Chapter 49 - 49 Akio Mitsubishi

    Zou Yue left uncle Wen''s house with an address and a phone number. He tried calling the number, but the receiver was not available.


    He left for his home.


    His father was waiting at the door.


    "I got it!" he excitedly ran to him with the paper previously held in hand. "He lives in Osaka his name is Akio Mitsubishi,"


    "Who is that..." his mother walked out of the kitchen with a bowl of popcorn. "What''s going on? What''s with those excited faces?"


    Zou Yue unsurely glanced at his dad. "Shall we tell her?" he whispered.


    "Not now, let''s tell her ten days before," he whispered back.


    "Why not?"


    "She will panic," his dad patted his back gently. "Ah, Yue wanted to go meet a special person."


    "Who? What for?" she said again with a slight frown. "You both are hiding something from me..... "


    She swiftly dragged them both by hand to the couch and sat them down. "Spill it,"


    Zou Yue and his father kept glancing at each other unsurely.


    "I said spill it," she glared at them both.


    Yue could not handle the overwhelming power of his mother''s glare. "Dad got me a sword!!!!"


    "Yue! I said not to tell her," he slightly slapped his shoulders.


    "Sorry dad..." Zou Yue gave him a small guilty smirk.


    Not noticing his mother''s glare, he kept playing around with his father.


    "I heard a sword.. is it a real sword that cuts? Honey, did you just buy our child a potentially risky weapon?" his mother pulled his father up by his collar.


    Zou Wei smirked widely. "He wanted it!!"


    "Dad!!" Zou Yue shot up, glaring at his father. "Mum, I can explain. I did want it but I won''t use it carelessly... I swear,"


    "But accidents happen darling," she gave him a creepy smirk. "Where is this sword of yours?"


    "I¡ªit''s not here yet," Zou Yue quickly lied to her. If in case his mother finds it, she will definitely confiscate it.


    "Yeah, it was just shipped," his father played along with him.


    "Oh..." his mother calmed down a bit and let them both go. She calmly sat opposite them. "Then what is that black box in our room, darling? Are you both trying to fool me?"


    "No! That is a book!!! A book!!" Zou Yue quickly ran into another room and picked out the box. He ran back to his room and kept it securely in the closet.


    His mother still followed him back to his room with a grim expression. "Yue baby, why do you need a sword? Is it important to you?"


    "Yes, mum it''s very important. You will not know now but in the future it''s going to help us survive," Zou Yue hugged her softly.


    She gently caressed his head. "Is it a collectable or something?"


    "Yes, something like that,"


    "You young kids like to collect so many weird things...." she gently pinched his cheeks.


    He nuzzled against her hand. "Mum, don''t be angry at dad, he just got me something I wanted,"


    "I know. He spoils you too much. Even when you were young, he used to buy you everything you wanted," she whispered with a sweet smile. "Come, I prepared some popcorn lets watch a movie together in our new house,"


    Zou Yue happily ran after her.


    His father had already chosen a movie. "It''s starting..." he said, chewing the popcorn loudly.


    "Honey, don''t eat like a pig. Look how much you are littering on the ground," his mum cleaned up stray popcorn that was lying on the ground.


    "Come here," he pulled his wife up and hugged her to his sides. "Stop working for one minute and enjoy this."


    "Squeak!!" Trexa gran had somehow sniffed out the popcorn and was eating the popcorn from the ground.


    Zou Yue hugged her to his tummy and gave her a hand full.


    The three sat down and enjoyed a chick flick, accompanied by popcorn.


    Soon, evening came about. Zou Yue secretly sneaked into his father''s study. "Dad..."


    "hmmm..." he hummed whist flipping a thought page of his book.


    "I am going to book a plane to Osaka," he mumbled hesitantly.


    His father put down his book. "How long will you be gone?"


    "Donno, I''ll let you know after meeting master Akio," Zou Yue sat on the sofa''s hand rest. "I''ll make sure to call you every day and let you know what I''m doing. I will eat properly and sleep well. I promise,"


    "Don''t... strain yourself too much; I''ll handle your mum." His father gently touched his head. "Take good care of yourself."


    "Hmm, I will," Zou Yue smiled dazzlingly. He hugged his shoulders tightly. "I will come back as soon as possible,"


    "Hmm my good child,"


    Zou Yue sat on the floor next to him, laying his head on his lap. "Dad, can you tell me why you disapproved of me as a model. I mean, you were okay with it when I was a kid, what changed,"


    His warm finger gently raked through his hair. "You changed. You became so dazzling that people wanted to get you,"


    "What!" Zou Yue glanced up in shock. "When was this?"


    "When you were fifteen. I had to bite down on my pride and ask Wen for help for the first time. He has been protecting you like a shadow in all your endeavours. I guess I owe him a lot."


    He did not know any of these. There had been instances in the shoots where photographers or directors approached him with ill intent but somehow all of his problems disappeared on its own.


    "I owe uncle Wen too..." he mumbled, thinking about how to repay him.


    "Don''t worry too much about what you owe. He is a good man he did it without thinking of anything in return. Besides, I shared the information you gave me I bet that will be enough," his father smirked widely.


    "Yes, he still has five months he can easily sort out all the materials he needs to stock up on," Zou Yue fiddled with his phone and swiftly booked the flight. He had just one hour to fly.


    He ran back to his room and packed only two pairs of t-shirt and the sword in small luggage.


    His father joined him in his room. "Pack your sword in a separate check in luggage."


    "Yes~~~ I bet they allow it. If they won''t, I''ll just send it back to you,"


    "Hmm, have a safe trip," his father said, and they both left the room.


    Trexa gran came out of the shadows, scratching his nostrils. The corn pieces still stuck to his hair. Without any thoughts, it followed behind Zou Yue silently.


    In the end, Zou Yue left for the airport with just a few shirts, pants and a sword.

 Chapter 50 - 50 Begging

    Early in the morning, his plane landed in Osaka international airport. With a small black box and a backpack on his shoulders, he exited.


    Near the cab area, he carefully took out the small paper from his pockets and read the address again.


    Google maps directed that this place was just twenty minutes from there. He jumped into a cab and gave him the address.


    The car rode past many beautiful streets will colourfully dressed people. Zou Yue enjoyed the view much more than he had expected. Soon they passed though a small park and right behind it was a traditional Japanese style house.


    The cab stopped here.


    Zou Yue paid the driver and got down with the black box in tow. "It''s here...."


    He pressed the call button and waited for an answer.


    ["Who is it?"]


    A heavily accented gruff voice said through the speaker.


    "I¡ªI am here to see mister Akira Mitsubishi," Zou Yue mumbled in simple Japanese.


    ["I asked who you were.'']


    "My name is.. Zou Yue.. I came here to see you regarding my sword..."


    The line went silent for a while. ["I don''t do repairs. Go,"]


    This part, Zou Yue did not understand at all. "I... um... I didn''t get you..."


    ["I said get lost"]


    An angry voice shouted again.


    Zou Yue dejected stood by the door. "I really came here to ask for help...."


    He just stood there.


    "Squeak," he felt a small tug on his pant legs.


    Zou Yue glanced down to see a little grey rat clinging to him. "Do I attract rats or something?" he picked it up. "Wait a minute.."


    The rat had the same white heart-shaped mark on its belly.


    "Trexa gran?!!!!!"


    "Squeak," the rat happily circled in his palm.


    "How did you even get here? Oh my god, did you fly that plane with me?" he gently caressed her tussled up fur.


    The rat tilted her head, glancing at him with her eyes wide open.


    "Never mind, I asked. He is going to think I''m a lunatic talking to a rat," he whispered peered at the com, which was still active.


    "sir..... are you there?.."


    "....."


    His mood went low.


    ''If I don''t get a master soon, I won''t be able to handle the apocalypse.... beside I have to protect my parents as well. I can''t afford to be powerless.'' his grip on the small wooden box tightened.


    "Squeak! Squeak..." Trexa gran continuously signalled to him.


    He glanced down blankly by then her little ass had already disappeared into the gates.


    "The fuck! Trexa gran, come out here. You can''t just..... sigh... I need to teach my kid some manners,"


    Zou Yue glanced around. ''I have no other way.'' He swiftly climbed over the walls and into the flourishing green yard.


    "Trexa gran..." he whispered as he searched through the grass patch. Soon he saw an end of the tail peaking from inside a bush. "My baby, you can''t be here," he pulled her out and hugged her to his chest.


    The little rat nuzzled against him.


    He let out a sigh of relief. "Now let''s get out..."


    ["I don''t let you in so you intrude now?!"] a shot old man walked over to him.


    Zou Yue froze. "ummm.... hi sorry.. Sorry I just came here for her.." he pointed to Trexa in his hands.


    She too, waved happily at the old man.


    The grandpa peculiarly looked at this miniscule creature. "This is private property you can''t be here,"


    Zou Yue glanced at him, surprised. "I thought we don''t speak the same language,"


    The old man''s glare shut his blabbering mouth instantly.


    "sorry I really should not have intruded like this. Please forgive me." he bowed and walked slowly towards the gate.


    Suddenly, he heard a small noise. It was the sound of wind being sliced. ''Someone is practicing their sword... oh my god.'' He glanced behind him, wanting to take a peek at this person.


    "What are you still doing in my yard?"


    "Can you teach me sword art?" Zou Yue uttered with shimmering eyes.


    He stood on his tippy toes, trying to peak into the room. All he could see was the shimmering tip of the sword that was swinging in the room behind the old man, but even that was captivating his soul.


    "What?"


    "Can you teach me?" Zou Yue finally looked at him. "Please...."


    The old man frowned. "No," he walked back in and closed the sliding door behind him.


    "Wait, I....."


    Zou Yue sighed loudly. "Trexa gran, we are here on a mission today. We are going to make that grandpa accept us as his disciples,"


    Trexa, who was cleaning her whiskers, glanced at him with her eyes wide open.


    "I know it''s easier said than done. But there is no harm I trying," he stood there glancing at the door.


    Trexa gran just tugged at his pants and pointed at the gate.


    "We can''t go yet."


    "I don''t accept disciples!!" the grandpa said, but this time it was not that insistent.


    ''I''m so close. I can''t give up now¡­. I can''t,'' Zou Yue swiftly knelt down facing towards the room. "Please accept me as your student master." He shouted, bowing in the direction.


    Trexa squeaked, pulling him up.


    But Zou Yue gently pushed her away.


    ''Sometimes we have to throw away our pride to beg....'' he told himself repeatedly, but it did not sit well.


    His heart felt heavy and his shoulders felt weighted.


    He stayed in that position a long time, listening to the swishing sounds of the sword.


    Soon, the sound stopped. The sliding door opened.. He hopefully glanced up, but the old man did not even take one look at him.

 Chapter 51 - 51 Predator Or Prey

    Trexa gran angrily ran towards the old man, but Zou Yue cupped her in his hands. "Let''s wait. Everything comes to a man who is patient," he whispered with a small smile.


    He knelt down again, with his back straight this time.


    Time went by and it was already the evening..... The person inside the room was still practicing after taking short breaks.


    He listened to the mesmerising sound of sword whist closing his eyes.


    The sound stopped late in the evening.


    He remained still in the meditative pose with his eyes closed.


    "You know there is a snake in this yard," a husky voice said above him.


    Zou Yue opened his eyes and glanced up to see a young man in traditional Japanese clothes. "I am not a snake," he whispered.


    The young man squatted down in front of him, grunting softly. "You know something. There is a food chain that exists in the wild. The predators eat the prey."


    Zou Yue gritted his teeth. "What are you implying?"


    "What else? You are the prey here, and I am the predator. You are the rat whist I am the snake," he said with a sarcastic smile. "So know your place before you get eaten,"


    Zou Yue tightly clenched his fists. He silently sat there, unmoving.


    "So your really won''t leave. Fine, we shall do it the hard way." The man stood up and walked back to the room. He came back out with a snake in hand.


    Yue glanced at him with a deep frown.


    "This is Freya, she''s a black mamba... she stayed in this yard for a long time before I accepted her as my pet..." he whispered caressing the snake''s black shimmering scales. The cobra raised its head, ready to bite into anything in its sight.


    "hisss!!!!!"


    And as expected, its beady black eyes focused on Trexa gran.


    Zou Yue swiftly pulled Trexa back protectively.


    "This is your last chance. Get lost,"


    He remained unmoving.


    "sigh I admire your cowering self a bit more now," he placed the snake on the ground.


    It swiftly slithered over to him.


    Zou yue readily held his suitcase to hit it if it attacked her but to his surprise Trexa gran jumped onto it.


    "Trexa!! Oh my god!!" he rushed to her.


    But his rat had everything under control. It clawed the snake''s face and swiftly threw kicks and punches.


    The snake spread its hood but the rat kicked it right in between its eyes.


    The snake tried its best to fight back, but Trexa gran overpowered it by a large scale.


    "Squeak!!!" Trexa gran gripped the snake''s slimy body and slammed it down on the ground like a pro wrestler.


    Zou Yue mentally clapped for her. ''The time you spent watched WWF with dad paid off my dear daughter!!!''


    The snake hit its head on a random piece of rock and lost consciousness and his baby Trexa stood on top of it victoriously.


    "H¡ªhow....." the man stuttered with a look of disbelief.


    Zou Yue glanced at him intently. "Food chain? Predator?? Let me tell you something. A cornered rat can fight much better than a cocky snake. When in emergency, food chain crumbles, only fight-or-flight instincts remain."


    He moved closer and stood tall in front of him.


    "For a powerful predator that fight or flight will always tell it to run because it can always find another prey. But for that the rat only fighting can save its life."


    "Do you understand the difference now?" Zou Yue unblinkingly peered into his deep black eyes.


    The man looked surprised for a second, but soon his lips rose up. "Well done. Uncle Rain, can you arrange a room and hot soup for our guest," he smilingly patted his back.


    A servant instantly ran to him and picked up his baggage. "Please come this way, master,"


    Zou Yue''s eyes only focused on the young man in training clothes.


    The man had been hostile to him just minutes ago, but now he was laughing and smiling like nothing happened.


    "Why?" he whispered, the only question in his mind.


    The man picked his snake up and gently caressed it. "I hate ones who grovel. Because down on the ground they can easily pull the carpet under you,"


    "So keep your knees clean, kid. No one is worth throwing away your pride,"


    Zou Yue finally understood.


    The old man had accepted him and his disciple of his was testing him further.


    If for a second he had shown weakness or begged to him, he would have been thrown out of the house instantly.


    All his memories of his apocalypse days resurfaced. Days of him grovelling in front of those thugs. Days of him picking up scraps, eating mud...


    ''Power..... this is the difference in power.''


    He picked up Trexa, who was squeaking in joy, and caressed her. "Trexa gran... I wish to be this powerful... powerful enough to keep my knees clean.." he glanced at his stained pants with renewed passion.

 Chapter 52 - 52 The Search

    "We are expecting growing sales in one year and our newest product is top notch."


    Fan Xui closed the file. He adjusted his black glasses and gently tapped his fingers on the table.


    The presenter passed with swat dripped down his face. "I¡ªis anything wrong, sir?"


    He gestured for him to continue with his finger.


    "Yes, as I was saying, our newest product has gone through the testing phase and it came out very successfully,"


    "What is your scope? Target audience? Age group? What about your topological surveys?" Fan Xui stood up and unfurled his guiding stick. "Call me for the meeting when you can answer all of these," he walked out unhesitatingly.


    The presenter slouched down and the entire meeting room started to chat amongst themselves.


    Hans stepped up. "The next meeting shall be scheduled later on. Please prepare well." He bowed to them all and left as well.


    The meeting room got loud. "Don''t you think our ceo''s have been quite snappy nowadays?"


    Another female manager leaned close. "I heard he broke his typewriter, and he even broke his glasses,"


    "That bad?"


    "Yes, so don''t get on his nerves," she warned them one last them before leaving the room.


    Fan Xui, on the other hand, swiftly walked to the elevator and Hans followed after him.


    He pulled off his tie in frustration. "Did you find anything?"


    "Not of yet, sir. Zou Yue seems to have disappeared...."


    "How can a living person just disappear?" he pulled his glasses off. Just the force of his fist snapped the sides of it. He carelessly tossed the broken shades to the side and wiped his fingertips. "Have you tried searching for the local documents? They must have some registered record even if they had moved,"


    "sir I searched but.... he seems to have a powerful figure protecting him from behind. All the information that was freely available till now is all blocked. Even his phone number has been hidden," Hans frustratingly whispered.


    He had been searching for days now, but he was not able to find anything of importance.


    "Who is powerful enough to shield his info?" Fan Xui gently tapped his stick on the ground.


    "Don''t know. Must be someone very powerful,"


    Fan Xui clenched his fists, breaking his walking stick as well. "What if he got kidnapped, and this person is trying to hide him. Hans, get me info on this person. I don''t care if you bribe someone, but get it done by tonight,"


    He walked out as soon as the doors opened.


    Hans sighed and followed after him. As soon as they reached his office, he noticed a cheerful person talking to their desk secretary.


    "Mister Qian,"


    "Oh, Hans, why is it so tense in here?" he casually mumbled as he bit into an apple.


    "I can''t gossip, sir," Hans said with a business smile.


    "Oh, come on," Qian nudged his shoulders. "Tell me, eh, why won''t your loving boss see me?"


    Hans sighed. He glanced around and motioned for him to follow. They went to a secluded corner. "sir what does mister Zou Yue mean to muster Fan,"


    "Hmm, I think he has a crush."''


    "I beg to disagree. I think he is in love as you had predicted. Every day he takes on a longer route so he can just pass by his house."


    "He searched all the roads even though he can''t see. You know what he does. He sniffs. He literally sniffs, putting his head out!!!! I feel like our boss has been replaced by a hound. A hungry one searching for a rabbit,"


    Qian listened for a while but lost it in the end. "Ha-ha hound!! Ha-ha he does look it doesn''t he! With his expressionless face and that frown." He mimicked the frown on Fan''s forehead by scrunching up his face. {"Where is my rabbit? Assistant bring him to me,"}


    Hans giggled. {''Now where is my rabbit? Why can''t I find him I have to give him peanut butter cakes, ha-ha-ha."}


    They both mimicked his tone and laughed secretly.


    "Looks like you both are having your shits and giggles," a stern voice whispered from behind.


    Both of them froze.


    Hans swiftly turned to him and bowed. "Oh, the project file I completely forgot it!"


    Qian stayed behind with a side-wise smile. "Oh wait, that is not the face of someone in love. What did you break up before you could even date?"


    "Shut up, follow me I need your help,"


    "Whoa buddy, that is not the tone you use to ask for help," Qian happily followed after him to his office. "Tell me what''s going on?"


    "He is gone. I can''t find him. Someone powerful must have hidden him somewhere. Who knows what kind of danger he might be in," he pranced around in the office.


    Qian watched him in awe. This was the first time his friend had ever lost his cool. Even when he lost his parents, he was cold and composed.


    But now he...


    "Has really become the hound."


    "What?"


    "Nothing... how can I be of help?"


    "Can you use your position to search for him?" Fan Xui anxiously whispered.


    "Nada can''t do my friend. I am just a researcher if you wanted someone with a powerful connection, I can take you to my father. He is retired, but man, that old man has so many strings he can pull,"


    "Take me now," Fan Xui held his shoulders.


    Qian pulled away with a weird smile. "Even though you are handsome, I still prefer girls,"


    "Not funny," Fan Xui said with a dull look.


    "Fine fine, can''t a man joke,"

 Chapter 53 - 53 Surprise And Shock

    As promised, Qian took him over to his father''s place, but to his surprise, he noticed a few changes.


    "Why is the gate not automatic?" he mumbled, tapping the steering wheel.


    Soon a guard came running toward him. "Sir we can''t allow your cars inside."


    "Huh? But this is my house." Qian whispered in disbelief.


    "Sorry sir, we can''t allow that. It was mister Wen''s order." The poor gate keeper glanced at him awkwardly.


    Qian felt even more embarrassed about this situation because he had invited his friend over. he glanced at the back seat with a small guilty smile. "Fan Xui It looks like I''m prohibited from entering."


    "It''s okay. Only cars are not allowed lets walk," Fan Xui said and got off. He unravelled his walking stick and confidently moved to the gate.


    The gatekeeper opened it with a kind smile.


    "Wait, can''t you get a car to come here from the mansion?" Qian expectantly glanced at him, but the guard shook his head.


    "Sorry sir, rules are rules. We can''t break it,"


    "gaaddd," Qian pouted. "Why is my old man so mean? I didn''t meet up with him for ten days now he is barring me from entering. This is so unfair," he grumbled, kicking the pebbles on the ground.


    Their main house was quite far in the gardens, so it took them almost twenty minutes to get to the door.


    Qian panted softly. "I decided! I''m going to disown myself from my family,"


    "Don''t say stupid things," Fan Xui calmly knocked on the door.


    Old Wen opened it with a small smile. "Looks like young ones got some exercise,"


    "Dad, I hate you," Qian grumbled, slouching all the way.


    "The feelings mutual, kid," Old Wen gently tapped his back with his stick. "Straighten your back,"


    "yes yes, ex-army commander," Qian joked with him, yet still he complied with his father''s request.


    Inside the mansion, so many servants were roaming around with lists in hand. Some were moving huge boxes in to their basement.


    "Are you planning on moving, dad? Without even telling me? How sad. How could you treat your son like this," he exaggeratedly acted like cried.


    "No, I am just preparing," old Wen slapped his back straight once more.


    "For what?"


    "None of your concern." He said and walked straight to the study. "Since you are here with a friend, I''m going to assume it''s to talk business,"


    "yes yes," Qian jumped onto the sofa and helped himself to the cookies on the table. "Fan Xui try this it''s awesome,"


    Fan Xui reservedly took one and ate.


    "such a promising young man. Why are you friends with a slug like him," old Wen mumbled, pouring him some tea.


    "hey! I am not a slug! That is an insult to my handsome face," he grumbled, spitting cookie crumbles everywhere.


    Old Wen just wiped the table with a cloth and handed the tea to Fan Xui. "What brings you here?"


    "I need your help, sir." Fan Xui anxiously glanced at him. "My friend, I think he might be in danger."


    Old Wen sat up. "Tell me more,"


    "he... he moved and I am not able to get a hold of him."


    Old Wen slightly leaned back. "Oh, then you just lost contact,"


    "No, I did not just lose contact. They moved and out their old house for sale. I contacted the number but could not get a hold of them. My company has a contact with him I tried contacting his manger. Even he does not know where he is." He took a deep breath.


    "I tried searching for his information up in the government documents to see if he had just moved, but now. I could not access it. It seems like someone powerful had locked it all up! He might be in grave danger!!!"


    Qian looked at him with a weird look. "This is the most you have spoken in ten years. Pops, you have got to help him out," he mumbled, placing his legs on the table.


    Old Wen slapped it down. "What is this kid''s name? I''ll ask my friends if they know anything." He picked up the tea cup and took a sip.


    "Zou Yue, his name is Zou Yue,"


    Old Wen spat out his tea. "What did you say his name was?"


    "Zou Yue, he is about 5.5 feet tall, wait... I think I have a photo," he said, searched through his pockets he held out a magazine cut out. "See, he is very beautiful. What if he was captured by someone with weird hobbies?,"


    Old Wen sighed loudly. He then proceeded to clean the table with the cloth. "hmmmm...hmmmmm..."


    "Can you please help me?" Fan Xui anxiously glanced at him.


    "I can try, but can you tell me what your relation is with him?"


    "he... he....


    "He has a major crush on him." Qian nudged him. "Come on, Fan, don''t be shy tell my pops. He will help reunite young love,"


    Fan Xui silently looked at the old man for answers.


    Old Wen''s fist tightened on the paper towel. "I''ll see what I can do.... but I can''t assure you of anything,"


    "Thank you! Thank you so much." Fan Xui bowed deeply.


    They both left after a short talk.


    As soon as they left, old Wen called up a familiar number but only busy tone was heard. "What''s wrong? Why is he not picking his phone?"


    His heart became unsettled. He swiftly drove over to the new house.


    "Wen, why are you here unannounced? Did you get bored with your mansion?" Zou Wei mumbled, opening the door.


    "Why aren''t you picking the call you idiot!!"


    "Call? Oh... the signal here is not strong. I am planning on changing my network." He said casually and led him to the hallway.


    Old Wen sighed loudly. "Thank god nothing happened."


    "Okay.... you are being very weird..."


    "Where is Yue?"


    "He Went to Osaka to find a sword master." He said casually as he watered the small spinach sapling.


    Only then did old Wen''s heart calm down. "I see...." he walked closer and checked the whole garden. It was filled with vegetables and green instead of the usual flowers. "Are you trying your hand at agriculture? Because of that.."


    "Yeah, we need to be self sufficient. Stocks won''t last long,"


    "Good plan. Yue kid is very intelligent.. I wish I had him as my son. What I got was a slug who spits every time he chews,"

 Chapter 54 - 54 Meeting The Father

    Fan Xui waited and waited and waited but he did not get an answer from Wen uncle. He lost hope. Every day dragged on agonisingly painful. He held his aching head. "Bring me Advil."


    "You need sleep."


    Fan Xui glanced up. His assistant stood there with a deep frown on his face. Even he had dark circles all around his eyes sockets. "Looks like you are the one who needs rest,"


    "I''m serious. I''m talking to you as a friend, not as your assistant. Get some sleep. I will try my best to find him."


    "Try contacting his manger again. Ask him for updates,"


    "hmm.." Hans threw one last worried glance before he left the office room. Outside, at least ten people waited anxiously for him.


    "Is our boss calm?"


    Hans shook his head and walked back to his seat.


    The ten managers dispersed, but along the way they started to gossip.


    "Shit, I have so many documents that need his signature. This can''t be delayed. What is going on with mister Fan? Why is our boss like this? Is he really heartbroken?" a manager whispered.


    "Did he really get dumped by his girlfriend because he is blind? That sounds cruel,"


    One rumour morphed into ten different versions.


    "No, I heard he was pursuing her and the girl ran away,"


    "Gasp. Do you think she might be pregnant? Just like in the novels, the beautiful damsel sleeps with the overpowering CEO and runs away in the morning.. five years later they meet because of a beautiful child. How romantic~"


    As rumours passed from one ear to another, it became so bizarre that in the end Fan Xui had to personally put a stop to it all. He called up a company video meeting with all ten mangers and sector mangers.


    "I am not heartbroken," he said with a grim face. "Nor have I fathered a child with a runaway woman. These rumours have to stop right now!" he removed his glasses and glared at them coldly.


    All trembled. Suddenly the manger near him dropped the coffee in his hand, dripping it all over himself.


    It slashed at him as well. Fan Xui calmly wiped it off his sleeves.


    "Do you all understand the severity of your words?"


    "Y¡ªyes boss..."


    "Then put a stop to it." Fan Xui waved them all out of the room and laid his head on the table.


    "Where is he..." he played with the phone in hand. Suddenly, an urge hit him to call the number. "Siri, call Yue''s dad"


    "Yes Fan Xui right on it,"


    He placed it on his ear, waiting to hear the same busy tone, but to his surprise, the phone rang.


    "hello? Who is this?"


    He sat up. "um.... is this Zou Wei?"


    "yes who is calling?"


    "I¡ªI am calling regarding your house. You um... recently put it up for sale, right?" Fan xi anxiously tapped the table with his clean finger tips.


    "Oh yes, yes. Do you want to come for a house visit? I can arrange with my friend nearby and let you know..."


    "No, can I see you in person. I¡ªI would like to talk about the property in detail,"


    "O-okay... I will send you my address. I have to warn you though it is out of city borders."


    "It''s okay, sir. Just hit me up, sir." He glanced at the huge clock in the meeting room. It was currently 12.30 pm. "I will meet you today by 2 pm is that okay with you?"


    "Yeah sure."


    "Great, my name is Fan Xui, by the way. Thank you so much," Fan Xui cut the call and placed the phone previously on the table. "Thank god. Now I can check on them.."


    He later got the message with the address.


    "Wait.. 5pm is not far.." his eyes focused on the small coffee stain on his sleeve. "I need to get ready." He ran out of the meeting room. "Hans!! Hans!!''


    "Sir, what''s wrong?"


    "Oh, nothing, I just need to get ready. Buy me a new suit and a presentable tie," he mumbled softly.


    "Okay.... but is everything alright?" hand worriedly glanced back.


    "Everything is splendid," he chuckled happily.


    Everyone gave him a weird look but he did not care at all.


    He was going to meet Zou Yue''s father and first impressions matter.


    On the other end, Zou Wei sat up straight. His brows frowned up and his hands clenched tightly. "So you have finally come to me, Fan Xui. Let me rip you to pieces."


    "Whoa darling, what kind of language are you using!" his wife slapped his shoulders. "Who is this man that you have so much anger on?"


    "Fan Xui. He..... Nothing. Darling, a guest is going to be here. Why don''t you cook up a meal?"


    "hmm okay~ I have some leeks and mushrooms maybe I can make a...."


    Zou Wei fidgeted with his fingers. ''I have to send my wife away from all this mess.'' He interrupted her banter. "Do you have ginseng?"


    "no.... why do I need ginseng for leek soup?"


    "Cough I wanted to drink some ginseng soup." he pretended to cough loudly.


    She gently tapped his back. "Did you catch a cold? Wait, let me go buy some. I''ll take the car, yes?"


    "Yeah, take your time shopping," he sent his worried wife off to the distant farmers'' market. It will take almost one and a half hours to get back to the house.


    "My poor wife.... I don''t want her to see me in my worst,"

 Chapter 55 - 55 Meeting Gone Wrong

    The phone''s alarm rang, letting him know it was four fifty pm.


    Fan Xui''s body stiffened. He swiftly gulped down mouthfuls of water and swallowed with difficulty.


    "sir?" Hans glanced at the back seat with a dull look. "How long do you plan to just sit here?"


    "umm.... it''s not five yet." Fan Xui mumbled, fiddling with his tie.


    "Yes, but we are already here. Sir, we have been waiting for two hours!" Hans glanced at the house in the corner with a loud sigh. "Sir, I''ll give you free advice,"


    The person from behind leaned forward eagerly. "what?"


    "Try your best to impress them."


    "I''m trying!! See, I''m wearing a new suit. I even slicked my hair back," Fan Xui adjusted the stray hair from his forehead.


    "Not what I meant," Hans glanced at him intently. "sweet talk them. Compliment them and at the end of the day ask for permission."


    "marriage!! Ohh.... doesn''t Zou Yue need to accept me first,"


    Hans sighed loudly, nagging his head on the wheels. "Not marriage, for dating!! Ask them for permission to date their son!! If you ask for his hand in marriage now, I am pretty sure that you will be chased out of the house with a broom,"


    "That severe?!!!"


    "Yes!!!! So tone your excitement down." Hans warned him.


    "Okay... toning it down. Wait, do I compliment them or not. I am trying to tone it down, right?"


    Hans just blankly smiled at him. "Try your best. If they don''t accept you, then try to seduce your man."


    "Seduce Zou Yue....." Fan Xui''s ears turned bright red.


    Hans saw this from the reflection if the rear-view mirror and subtly giggled. "Now go get the boss!! Fighting!"


    Fan Xui took a deep breath and got out of the car. The house was just past the intersection the roads were narrow so there was no option to park his car nearby. He let Hans wait in the car near the intersection in case it causes any traffic.


    He adjusted his tie once more and confidently raised his chest.


    His shades were still broken, so he decided to use a new one as for his walking stick he ditched it. He did not want to seem like a total invalid in front of his parents.


    Reaching the house, he rang the door bell.


    "Coming!" the door opened and a middle age man stood there at the doorway peering at him intently.


    Fan Xui looked at him as well. This man had a head full of hair with small slashes of white hair in between his eyes were quite similar to Zou Yue''s, but the wrinkles on the corner told him of his age. But his face shape and everything else looked different.


    "Good morn... no good evening, sir. Shall I come in?" he held out a gift basket.


    Zou Yue''s father opened the door without any expressions and gestured for him to follow.


    Sensing the cold reception fen Xui gulped. ''I am an owner, CEO of a multibillionaire company I can''t show any signs of weakness.'' He told himself as he stepped in.


    "No shoes!" he glared at him.


    "Y¡ªyes.." he croaked and swiftly removed them. ''Shit, did I just croak!!'' he cleared his throat loudly and followed after him inside.


    The house looked way different on the inside. It was designed like a rectangle with a huge pond and garden in the centre. There were so many plants flourishing there. The plants did not look like any flowering plant he had seen before.


    He intently glanced at them and then at the railing on the top that looked like thick iron poles. ''Maybe the house was built this way.....''


    "Stop gawking."


    "Sorry sir, I can''t help but admiring the wonderful smell coming from your garden," Fan Xui smiled at him. ''It''s a compliment, right?''


    But Zou Yue''s father''s expression went even worse after that. "We used pesticide. It smells like trash,"


    ''Maybe that was not a good compliment.''


    He awkwardly followed after him in silence.


    He led him to a room that looked like a study. There were so many books scattered all across their room. His keen eyes noticed all of this. ''Geography.... I heard he was a lecturer and a researcher for a long time.''


    "sit," Zou Wei gestured to the seat in front of him.


    Fan Xui courteously sat down and placed the gift fruit basket on the ground. "Umm.... about your house... it smells like home. I especially like the smell of the small pond in the middle. Is it a fountain?"


    "Pond, it''s for functional purposes, not for decoration." He dully whispered.


    Fan Xui noticed that his hands were tightly clenched on the hand rest. ''He seems angrier... what''s going on? I guess I should stop my flattery and get to business. Let''s change subject''


    "The place you have put up for sale I would like to....."


    "What did you do to my precious Yue?" he suddenly said with a dark look on his face.


    "Pardon? I didn''t get you sir..." Fan Xui looked at him confusedly.


    "I asked what did you do to my darling son!" he shot up, pushing the chair behind.


    Fan Xui flinched back! "n-nothing I presume!!!"


    "Nothing?! You bastard!!!" he ran around the table with a huge cane.


    ''Oh shit, I really should not have complimented the garden''s smell!! Hans you idiot!!!!''

 Chapter 56 - 56 What Did He Say?!

    That stupid bastard dodged his swings with ease. His shades slipped down his nose, revealing his wide-open eyes.


    "You bloody bastard! Stand still!!!" Zou Wei shouted, swinging the cane around. "For what you did to my son you have to get a beating!! How dare you!! You nasty vermin!!!"


    That bastard glanced at him, still in shock. "Sir, I have done nothing to your son!!!"


    His shoulders started to ache a lot. "Liar! How dare you lie to me! If you didn''t do something, why did my darling son.... sob so much that day.. why...." his eyes started to fill up with tears.. "Why did you have to do that? My precious child is so innocent why.... you monster..." he continued swinging at him.


    Fan Xui caught the cane and peered at him right in his eyes. "What happened, sir? What happened to Yue?"


    "You have to the audacity to ask! After what you did, my poor child was devastated.... he.... he even tried to kill himself...." he sobbed loudly, pulling at the cane.


    Fan Xui was even more alarmed. ''Zou Yue tried to kill himself!! Why... what happened? Who hurt him!!'' He helped the sobbing man sit down and gently massaged his back. "Sir, please explain to me clearly."


    Zou Wei glanced back with a deadly glare.


    "You can beat me all you want after that. So please at least let me know my fault. If..... if I did hurt Yue, I will definitely take any punishment you put me through."


    He finally calmed down, or at least he seemed to be. His stiff shoulders slouched as he sobbed into his hand. "My child.... was sexually abused. He locked himself up in his room, sobbing and crying. He lost his will to live!"


    "What!!!" Fan Xui stumbled back with a look of shock. "Yue... someone hurt him.... that fucking bastard!! I will fucking kill him," with trembling hands, he picked up his phone from his jacket pocket. "Siri contact Hans now!!"


    "Yes mister Fan,"


    The phone rang and Hans picked up instantly. "How is it going? You compliment their interior? Did you smile?"


    "Enough. I want you to search what happened to Zou Yue on... sir, what date was it..." he muted the phone and placed it on the table. He held his shoulders reassuringly. "Please sir, let me help Yue get justice. I will...."


    "How can you act like so innocent! How... after what you did to my son... how...." Zou Wei glanced up with tears rolling down his cheeks.


    "w¡ªwhat? Sir.. I¡ªI have never hurt him. Ever."


    Zou Wei stood up. "you! you beast!! You fucking beast!!!" he swung his cane.


    It hit him right on his shoulders.


    Fan Xui took the pain and let the old man hit him. "I never hurt him. I swear on my honour. Please believe me....."


    "He said your name..." Zou Wei stopped dropping the cane loudly to the ground.


    Fan Xui looked that him intently. "I have never hurt him and I will never hurt him. Not now, not even in the future... he.... he is too precious...."


    "Then why.. why did he say your name?" Zou Wei sat back down, holding his head.


    "I don''t know, sir. It''s better to ask him yourself. No, wait don''t...it might trigger him even more."


    But Zou Wei did not listen to him. He took out his phone and swiftly called up his son.


    After just two rings, a cheery voice answered.


    "Daddy~ Japan is awesome!! I never knew sword art was so amazing. You know I can slice a leaf when it''s falling. It''s just great!!!"


    Listening to his happy voice, his eyes teared up even more. "Son...."


    "yes daddy... did you have your lunch? I heard from mum that you have a cold. You kicked off your sheets again, didn''t you? I knew it. You always do that. I think we should buy you a weighted blanket. That would work right," he mumbled on and on filling up the silence his father created.


    "Baby..."


    "Dad... what''s wrong...is your back or head aching..."


    Zou Wei placed the phone down. By accident, his finger tapped on the speaker button.


    "Dad, please don''t worry about me. I am doing just fine. I eat and sleep and train. I even got a few muscles growing on my flabby body. I will send you pictures later..."


    Fan Xui listened to this and his heart thudded loudly. ''My poor Yue, he is trying so hard to cope with what happened...'' without his awareness he picked up the phone.


    "Fan Xui," Zou Wei warned him.


    "Fan Xui? Dad, how do you know him..." Yue whispered from the other side. "Oh, my god did you see my search history!! I can explain okay!!!"


    Zou Wei frowned deeply. "Explain what?" he really wanted to ask what it was about, but his voice came out harsher than he had expected.


    "I''m sorry~~ I''m sorry for being a bad son. You taught me to be a good citizen but I... I admit my mistake!! I stalked Fan Xui!!!"


    Fan Xui dropped the phone and the call cut on its own. "w¡ªwhat?"


    "what did my son say?!"

 Chapter 57 - 57 Personality

    "What did my son say?!" Zou Wei sat back with a look of confusion. "Why would he want to stalk you? I mean, why?" he glanced at the frozen man in front of him. His shades were off, revealing his slightly brown eyes. They were dazed and glistening.


    ''I can see why Yue stalked him. This man is good looking. Wait! This is wrong! What if my son stalked him to seek revenge?''


    Suddenly, his phone rang. Without hesitation, he picked it up.


    "Dad~ I''m sorry, okay. Please don''t cut the call. I will not do that again," his son''s voice sounded so pitiful.


    "Why did you stalk him?" he whispered, hiding his mouth.


    The young man glanced at him eagerly. He mouthed, "speaker... please..."


    He shook his head and waited for his son''s answer.


    "Didn''t he hurt you?"


    "He has never hurt me! Ever," Zou Yue unwaveringly said to him.


    Zou Wei bit his lips tightly. ''I guess it was a misunderstanding on my part. He just uttered his name and wrongly assumed bad things about him'' he silently glanced at tee well-behaved young man.


    "Then why....." he needed to know.... he was itching to know the reason why his son even went to the extreme to stalk this man.


    "He... well, he is awesome, isn''t he?" after a small second break Zou Yue continued, "besides he is very good to look at yeah? his eyes are so....so brown..."


    His view on his son was completely overturned. ''he is Good looking,'' he peered at Fan Xui. ''but character is what matters the most,'' he glared intently at the man opposite him.


    ''Maybe it won''t be a bad thing. My son does like men now.. If they both are together... no no, I can''t think of it!! I am not giving my son away to this random douche!!''


    "What about his character.... it seems questionable?" he gritted his teeth at Fan Xui


    His son did not answer for a long time.


    Zou Wei cupped his mouth and silently whispered, "personality matters son." Just like before, his pinkie accidentally touched the speaker button.


    "You know, even when he did not have his sight, he was always so confident and brave. How can you doubt his personality? And besides, He is dashingly handsome and very kind man. I mean it. He is kind enough to share a cake with a stranger,"


    Zou Wei peered up at him to find him blushing deep red. He was sitting stiffly there with a small smile on the corner of his mouth.


    ''Shit, what am I doing? This is not a match making session!!!''


    "Did you know dad he really likes peanut butter? Like seriously, he likes It so much..."


    ''Okay, that''s enough,'' Zou Wei cut the call and cleared his throat loudly. "Now that the misunderstanding is cleared up, get out,"


    Fan Xui glanced at him dazedly. "huh?"


    "I said leave. we have talked about everything we have to..." he stood up and opened the door.


    Fan Xui still remained seated. "I still have to ask you one thing...."


    "What?"


    "Can I have permission to date your son please?.."


    "No!! Get out!!" he pushed him out his room.


    Fan Xui gripped the sides of the door. "But sir, you heard your son he thinks I''m kind and sweet~,"


    "Get lost!! I will not give my son to you!! No! Never!! He is my precious child!!!"


    Right then, the main door opened and his wife walked in with a huge basket. "Ho, I''m sorry I''m so late. Umm honey... what are you doing?"


    Zou Wei swiftly let go of him and cleared his throat. "Did you get ginseng, my dear?"


    "yes... who is this handsome man?" she walked over to Fan Xui with a wide smile.


    Fan Xui peered at her. She looked almost 70 percent similar to Zou Yue. "I¡ªI am Fan Xui. its great to meet you," he held his hands out waiting for her to take it.


    "oh its nice to meet you too. Oh, look at the time I will get lunch ready. Young Fan, stay," she said, pointing a finger at him. "You better not run while I''m cooking,"


    "I won''t, ma''am!!" Fan Xui stood at attention.


    Zou Wei pushed past him out of the room. "Hump, get lost after eating. You better not set foot in here."


    "But I might have to start courting..."


    Zou Wei glared at him. "I don''t approve,"


    "Sir, I am a reputed person. You can definitely do an investigation on me I''m sure it will come out clean. I have never been in a relationship and I have never slept with anyone. I am as pure as it can get,"


    "Ew stop it! I don''t want to hear about your life,"


    "I want to tell you though, sir...." Fan Xui excitedly followed him back to the kitchen.


    Zou Wei helped chop vegetables for his wife. Fan Xui followed him in and tried to help out as well.


    "You stay at the table. Don''t hurt yourself," he whispered, glancing worriedly at his eyes.


    Suddenly, his wife slapped his forearm hard.


    "Honey! That was rude. Come here Fan, her help me wash these vegetables," she guided him to the sink by his hand. "please don''t mind my husband''s words he might seem rude, but he said it with good intensions,"


    "I know. Ma''am actually my eyes..."


    But before he could finish, Zou Wei intervened. "I don''t want to hear your sob story, just wash the vegetables. I''m starving." He glanced at him and gently patted his back.


    "Sir, I actually can..."


    "shh I prefer silence."


    "Okay..." Fan Xui guiltily looked at him. Just now he was going to reveal the secret about his eyes, but since the conversation stopped, he could not bring it up again.


    Lunch was surprisingly peaceful. Zou Wei and Zou Nui happily enjoyed it with him.


    Fan Xui softly slimed at this. After a long time, he felt like he was with family again..


    After lunch was over, he helped them clean up.


    Right after he was chased out the door.


    "Go home!" Zou Wei closed the door after him. Through the window he saw the man still with a wide smirk.


    "We''ll meet again, sir," Fan Xui bowed and walked away calmly. Just out the gate, he happily jumped up high.


    Zou Wei watched this with a small smile on his face.


    "What are you looking at honey?" Zou Nui peaked out to see the awkwardly jumping young man. "He seems like a good man."


    "He is. Ahem! But I still don''t like him at all,"

 Chapter 58 - 58 Nails

    Zou Yue anxiously bit into his nails as he glanced at his phone. He had never cut him off mid call before. Either something was very wrong or his father was enraged by his disgusting stalking habit.


    "What''s wrong?"


    Chisato-san tossed him a bottle of water and sat next to him. "What''s making you eat your nails,"


    "I am not eating it." Zou Yue pouted.


    "Then don''t tell me you are spitting it out in my dojo?"


    Yue subtly picked up the small piece of fingernail from the ground. "I did not,"


    "I have eyes you know." Chisato grumbled. "Anyway, what''s bothering you?"


    "My dad... he found out one of my secrets," he played with the wooden sword in his hand.


    "Which is?"


    "I was stalking someone, Chisato san," he said with a soft blush.


    "Wow, was not expecting that. Stalking is a bad behaviour. It makes the other person uncomfortable. You should not do that,"


    "I won''t!! Not anymore, at least. Bet my dad is very disappointed in me." he tried calling him but once again got only a busy tone. "See, he is not even picking the phone,"


    "Don''t worry when he picks up, just apologise to him and to the person you were stalking." Chisato san whispered and stood up. "Now get up and practice,"


    Suddenly, the phone rang. Zou Yue nervously picked it up. "Dad, please listen to my explanation,"


    "It''s okay son... did fan xui ever hurt you, be truthful to dad,"


    "Never," Zou Yue firmly whispered.


    "okay...then just answer me this... will fan xui survive after this five months,"


    Zou Yue excused himself to Chisato san and moved over to the corner of the room. "Of course he does. He is the most powerful person in the entire world. Most literally that man single-handedly destroyed so many of those ''Undead.'' you can say he is the reason that most humans survived even after ten years," he whispered softly.


    "Good good."


    "Why did you ask that suddenly?" he frowned slightly.


    "Nothing, just wanted to know. Now go and practice your sword. I''ll call you by night."


    "Dad, wait," Zou Yue hurriedly stopped him.


    "Yes?"


    "I''m sorry for being a bad person,"


    "It''s okay Yue, I don''t blame you. But don''t do that again. It''s a bad habit," his father''s gentle voice whispered in his ears.


    "Okay~ I won''t~" he happily giggled.


    His father humped and cut the call.


    Zou Yue hopped back to Chisato san and giggled even more. "My father forgave me!!"


    "Good, now let''s practice for real,"


    "Yes~" he picked up his wooden sword and started to swinging it straight down. He alternated his swings with each if his leg positions hereby created a coordinated move.


    "Your legwork needs to be finessed and you swing it....." Chisato san suddenly stood up straight. He peered into the corner of the room with a deep frown. "What the hell," he ran to the small glass tank. The snake inside was belly up with its mouth wide open. "He is not moving,"


    "What?" Zou Yue rushed there and glanced inside the terrarium. There were small black scratch marks all over the snake''s body. ''No.... don''t tell me....''


    Chisato san sighed and put his hands in.


    "No!" Zou Yue pushed him away and stood in front of it. "It.... it''s dead. I will deal with its body,"


    "It''s my pet.. I will..." Chisato san stood up and walked close.


    Zou Yue kept him at an arm''s distance in fear that the air bone virus might affect him. "He is your pet, so it must be devastating for you. Let me do it." he ran to his room and brought back a clean towel. He rolled the dead snake up and took it out of the terrarium.


    "Here. Place him in." Chisato san handed him a small ornate wooden box.


    "You plan to bury him?" Zou Yue placed the snake in and closed the box swiftly.


    "Yes," Chisato san sadly sighed.


    "You can''t!!" he hurriedly stopped him.


    Chisato curiously looked at him. "Why?"


    "umm... haven''t you heard of ''Antyesti?''. In Sanskrit, it translates to last sacrifice. Hindus believe that a life born in water should return to water,"


    Chisato san frowned even deeply. "You want me to toss his body in water?"


    "No! Not his body, but his ashes. You see, every life is born in water. In mother''s womb, we live for almost nine months in amniotic fluid. So the Hindu''s believed that after death the body should return to water again to complete the cycle of life."


    Zou Yue desperately spewed all the history lessons his father had once taught him. Because burying a virus infected body will only contaminate the surrounding land. He did not want that risk at all.


    After a year of the end of world, the scientist discovered that burning the infected body was the best-case scenario. The virus dies in hotter temperatures and the ashes do not contaminate the land or the water source.


    "Fine, let''s take him to a pet funeral hall," Chisato san whispered.


    Little Trexa gran watched this from the corner of the room. She glanced at her paws with a confused look.


    Zou Yue smiled and walked ahead with the box in hand.


    Only after the snake''s body was cremated did he let out a breath of relief.


    The terrarium back in the house was left untouched. He cleaned it out himself by soaking it in bleach and other cleansers. This can kill any kind of residue virus off of it.


    After doing so, he left the dojo and walked back to his room. It was dark inside. He tiredly stumbled in and plopped onto the bed. "Ahhh so tiresome..."


    Suddenly, he heard a small scratching sound.


    He sat up and switched on the light. In the corner of the room, Trexa gran was scratching at the wood vigorously.


    "What is it Trexa? What''s wrong?" he squatted down and gently touched her head


    She flung his hands away and continued to scratch. A small snap was heard. Only after that, she jumped into his palm happily.


    "Baby, what were you doing? You are damaging the property..." he whispered, touching the scratches gently. He felt something wet there. His finger tips were stained red and there were small pieces of red things on the ground.


    "Blood?" he glanced at Trexa gran questionably.


    She held up her paws and showed him her nails. All of them were ripped off, leaving behind bloody flesh.


    "oh my god!! Baby!! It''s bleeding!!!" he hurriedly applied some medicine, and a bandaged to her small paws.


    "Why did you do that? Why..."


    Trexa gran gently scratched her palm; it only left a bloody trail rather than a scratch. She excitedly looked at him for praises.


    "Oh, my baby... you hurt yourself because you did not want to hurt others." his eyes filled up with tears automatically. He gently sobbed, nuzzling against her. "I''m so sorry... I''m so sorry that I could not find you before... if I had you would not have surfed from that cruel men''s medical testing."


    Trexa just silently squeaked and patted his forehead, as if she was trying to console him.

 Chapter 59 - 59 Returning Home

    After a lot of preparations and training, his time in Japan regretfully had to come to an end. He had finished his training with Chisato-san and Akira-san. Both of them shared all the knowledge they could and Zou Yue soaked it all up like a wet sponge.


    "You have everything? Oh, don''t forget these" Chisato-san handed him a bag full of snacks and sweets.


    Zou Yue poked his head in. Inside there were varieties of mochi and other snacks. "I will get fat after eating all these,"


    "Hey It''s not for you, it''s for your parents," Chisato gently smacked his forearm.


    "So mean, you didn''t even get me a parting gift," Yue grumbled as he placed all these inside his carry on.


    "Who said so?"


    Suddenly, a small wooden box was shoved to his face. "Here it''s for you,"


    "What''s in it?" Yue curiously opened it. Inside there were ten sharp swords, all with their decorated sheaths. "Oh, my god!!!! This is too much," he gave it back to him.


    Akira-san''s family was the only known samurai descendant who was knowledgeable in sword art and in forging authentic japans Katana. They were sharp n both sides and can slice though things as if they were butter.


    Some of these swords were the ones Akira-san had treasured so much. It was placed on a display shelf in their dojo. Every day during training, he would look at them and awe at their beauty.


    But he did not expect Chisato-san to gift to all to him so easily.


    "Oi, don''t be a stranger. Take it, it''s my parting gift," Chisato gently smiled. "All the bottom ones were forged by me as for the top five, my grandpa specially made it for you. It fits your arms'' strength much better that that sword you carry. It won''t cause you arm pain even if you swing it thousand times."


    Zou Yue carefully closed the box and placed it on the trolley. Immediately after, he jumped on Chisato-san, giving him a tight hug. "Thank you, so much... for everything."


    "Ah, you are like my little brother kid, I will do anything for you," he pulled away from the hug and gently caressed Yue''s long shoulder length hair. "Well, I guess little sister might fit the bill,"


    Zou Yue smacked him once more.


    "ow¡­. easy on the punches,"


    Chisato goofed around for a bit, but afterwards an expression set on his face. "It''s been a pleasure meeting you, Yue-san. I hope we can meet again," he slowly moved back.


    "Wait," Zou Yue pulled him to a corner. "I have to tell you something,"


    "okaaaay?... is it about the time you broke the wooden sword and super glued it. It''s okay, Grandpa found out earlier, but he did not say much."


    "What?!!! he found out... shit I did a good job... wait don''t distract me. I have something else to say. But Chisato-san you have to believe every word I say," he peered up at him.


    "Hmmm now you have intrigued me,"


    "In a month, the world we came to know is going to end. Countless humans will die and rise as undead, who in turn will carve Human flesh,"


    "Is this a plot to the new zombie movie? What was it train to Busan something...." Chisato-san confusedly glanced at him.


    "No, no, it is the truth. In a month, all this is going to happen," Yue explained with a dire expression on his face.


    "You have to stock up. Anything that is sustainable should be kept close. Minimise human contact as much as you can. Fortify your house; I mean, make the doors out of iron or something because sliding doors are going to be very unsafe. And....quarantine your family... stay away from any unrelated person that includes mister rain."


    "Whoa wait, you are talking smack here. Why do we have to quarantine ourselves?" he looked really confused by the dump of information.


    "In just a month, there is going to be a meteor shower. This will bring about a deadly virus that will infect all. Everyone gets sick. Some scrape though but some... they turn.. they turn into nasty flesh devouring undead. So it''s better to stay in separate rooms that day. Please.... trust me."


    Zou Yue desperately glanced at him. He really wanted him to believe this information. "Chisato-san..."


    "Just give a minute let me take all that in." He leaned back against the wall behind him and sighed loudly. "How do I prevent it?"


    "There is no prevention, no cure.... nothing.... it''s incurable. Please... please make sure to stay safe because once they turn there is no bringing them back. Even our loving family member can become our greatest enemy."


    Chisato-san nodded. He gently patted his shoulders. "I believe you, brother. I will make all the predations but I will not be sending rain-san away he is family,"


    "Good, quarantine yourselves. Make sure that you stock up on adequate water and food." He hugged him once again.


    "Tell me, when will it end?"


    Zou Yue let go of him and glanced at him with a sad smile. "There is no end to this....."


    Chisato trembled a bit. "o¡ªokay.....you take care as well. Take good care of your family. Survive."


    "I will," Zou Yue walked back to his trolley and rolled it close to the gates. He took one last glance back. "I hope you and family will survive."


    "yes.... I hope so too..."


    Zou Yue waved at him and walked in. One hand he was pushing his trolley and on the other hand he gently caressed Trexa gran who was sleeping in his pocket.


    Telling the truth to Chisato-san made him extremely nervous. ''He believed me, right? I hope he did. I hope they all will survive,''


    He got his boarding pass. "Oh wait, I have a pet." He took out Trexa gran.


    "You need a pet carrier, sir,"


    "I have one," he placed Trexa inside of it. The little rat instantly woke up. She tried getting out. "Baby, it''s just for a while.,"


    "Squeak!!!" she protested, squeaking loudly at him.


    "You can''t travel like you did, that was illegal,"''


    The little rat rolled her eyes.


    "Don''t roll your eyes missy; you have to travel like this. It''s just for a while and you will be free later on,"


    To appease her, Zou Yue handed her a small choco chip cookie.


    Trexa gran reluctantly accepted the cookie he passed into the cage and laid on the small bed.


    "Good girl," Zou Yue handed the health check documents to the counter. "Can I take her in the cabin?"


    "Yes, sir, it is allowed. Please place your pet on the weighing machine. Only five kg is allowed and only one pet per person is allowed to travel in a cabin."


    The pet carrier came up to 0.5 kg. Trexa gran was okayed for flight.


    They both got in and their journey to G city began.

 Chapter 60 - 60 New Neighbour?

    It was by night he reached g city airport safely. He gently picked up Trexa gran, who was sleeping in the carrier, and placed her inside his warm pocket carefully. She was chunky and filled with a lot of peanuts and chunks of cookies.


    "I need to control your diet baby, you are getting a handful.... I''m scared you might get obese," he mumbled to himself


    Back in Japan, mister rain the butler in the house, was a great fan of her. He usually sneaked in a lot of food secretly making her chunky baby.


    "When I picked you up, you were just a scrawny baby, now you quite a handful," he whispered, palming her gently. She literally felt like those toy fluff balls in his hands.


    A small paw now and then hit his playful fingers. Seeing her broken nails made his heart hurt a bit, but she seemed happier about it. The nails never grew back they remained broken and the small area for her nail healed, eventually. This gave him a fear that Trexa gran might not have the power to reverse her own time.


    He poked her bulging tummy. She turned to her side, nuzzling against his fingers.


    "Aww so cute..."


    Zou Yue both exited the airport with huge luggage in hand. He placed them in a trolley nearby and pushed it out the door.


    "Baby Yue!!!" a shout startled him.


    His mother and father stood by the car waving at him vigorously.


    "Mum! Dad!!" he rolled his trolley fast and hugged them tightly. "Oh, how I missed you both,"


    "We missed you too," his dad whispered softly. Letting him go, he gently patted his head. "How was your stay at Mister Akira''s. Was it pleasant? Did the weather suit you?"


    "It was awesome. Japan is just a wonderful place. Akira san lives in a secluded place so it was even more magical," Zou Yue got in the car along with his parents.


    Suddenly, his mother glanced back with a guilty expression. "I have something to tell you, son,"


    "What is it?" Zou Yue was stunned. Both his parents had a very sad look on their faces. ''Did something happen without my knowledge....'' his heart thudded loudly. "Is anyone sick?"


    "I¡ªwe... kind of lost your rat. I know that you loved Trexa, but... we were careless and she escaped. I''m so sorry, baby," she said with a small pout.


    Zou Yue laughed out loud. "ha-ha mum are you talking about this little girl?" he picked her up and showed them. Her round body fit his palm exactly. "She ran away to follow me. She even illegally got into the plane."


    "What? Are you serious," his mother curiously glanced at the rat. "She does look well fed."


    "She likes Japanese treats," he mumbled, placing Trexa gran in his pocket once more. "And dad, let me properly apologize for my bad behaviour. I know you might be disappointed in me....."


    "What bad behaviour?" his mother looked at them both in shock. "What are you both hiding from me?"


    Zou Yue peered at his father. ''He did not tell mum... that''s good... mum might even beat me with a ladle if she found out I was a stalker....''


    "Nothing darling, your son was being naughty," Zou Wei patted his wife''s hands.


    She calmed down a bit, yet still she gave them a frowning face. "You boys always keep secrets from me,"


    Zou Yue leaned forward in the gap of the seat and hugged her. "Sorry mommy, I will tell you all on due time,"


    "Yes, I hope so... by the way, I have a surprise for you," she kissed his cheeks softly.


    "Really~~ I can''t wait,"


    Back in their house, Zou Wei parked his car next to their house. It was an empty lot before, but now there was a construction going on. The building was almost finished. Only the exterior was not painted.


    "Why are we parking here? Won''t our car get damaged from the constructions?" Zou Yue frowned deeply. When he bought the house, he did not calculate this mishap. Last life, this plot was always an empty land. No one occupied it or constructed on it.


    "We have permission from the owner. He is a handsomely charming man," his mother said with a wide smirk.


    "Stop talking about him. Let''s go I''m hungry," his father got out of the car and swiftly moved to their house.


    Zou Yue peered at him. "What''s wrong with dad?"


    "He secretly adores this kid, but he does not let it show," she whispered and got down as well.


    ''Dad rarely approves of anyone. This man must be a great person....'' Zou Yue carried his bag while his mother helped carry the pet carrier.


    "So you know this man came to us to buy our old house but your father was reluctant to sell to him, so the man brought the nearby plot and is constructing on it. A good neighbour is nice to have," she mumbled softly.


    "Oh I see..." Zou Yue did not think much about this. All he cared about was the parking issue now. If the car was parked in someone else''s house, it will someday spark a problem. He did not want that at all.


    They even had another neighbouring house which was some space away. The rest of the plots on the other sides of their house were filled with thorny plants and other wild life.


    Zou Yue passed next to the forest like land. "We can clear out this land and use it for a while."


    "We don''t have to. We already have our wonderful neighbour''s permission. Don''t worry, we are paying rent for that. It''s a small amount but we can spare that much for comfort." She patted his back and walked in.


    Inside, his father had already set up the table. "I''ll take those in." he took the luggage from him and placed it inside his room. "Go clean up, we''ll wait,"


    "Okay~"


    Zou Yue ran to the bathroom and freshened up. It felt good to be back.


    Because home was home, nothing can beat the comfort and happiness it gave him.

 Chapter 61 - 61 Mothers Panic

    Zou Yue got out of the bathroom and walked closer to his window. It was directly facing the window of his new neighbours. ''I hope this new neighbour is cool... or else it will lead to a lot of trouble,''


    The attic stairs were located right on top of his room. And from this window, this stranger can look inside. He did not like this idea at all, but now that he was invested in this place, he had no option but to go along with it.


    He dried his hair off and walked out to the table. His mother had prepared all of his favourite dishes. Braised meat, chicken fry and for dessert she had brought his favourite rose cake. "Thank you for the meal,"


    "Oh, tomorrow we shall have the ice cream mochi your master sent to us. They taste so good," she whispered excitedly with a wide smile.


    "Wait, why don''t we have it now. I will go place it in the freezer it will be in the right temperature when we eat," she ran to the kitchen wither chopsticks still in hand.


    Zou Yue chuckled. "If I had known she would enjoy it so much I would have bought more."


    In fact, he was thinking of ordering a bulk order of this brand of mochi for his mum. She seemed to like it a lot.


    His father nudged him, bringing him out of his deep thought. "Don''t even think of it."


    "What? I didn''t think of it,"


    "You were thinking of it. It was clearly written on your face," he whispered softly, placing a chicken leg on his bowl. "Eat,"


    "Hmm... I was thinking it might be nice to gift mum.. She might enjoy it..." he mumbled, chewing on the tender piece of fried chicken.


    "We have no space up there to store anything. And already your mother is questioning me about your purchases..." Zou Wei nudged him once more.


    Zou Yue pouted. "I did not buy much,"


    "You brought a whole set of arrows." He glanced at him wide eyed. "She is getting sacred that you might be into weird hobbies,"


    Zou Yue exaggeratedly gasped. "It''s for survival!!!."


    "I know that and you know that but she doesn''t." His father shut his wide open mouth with a piece of braised meat.


    Zou Yue chewed on it with a small pout. "Shall we tell her?"


    "Let''s open the news up ten days before ''the day''" his father nodded at him.


    Zou Yue accepted this plan. His mother was known to get anxious. He did not want to stress her out with the impeding news.


    "I like what you''ve done to the pond," he nodded in the direction. The garden was filled with herbs and other edible greens. The pond, on the other hand, was flourishing with white lotuses and pink lotuses poking their head out shyly. "Did you add prawn on the cleaning tank?"


    His father gave him a disgusted look. "That tank is for filtering, not for fish farming. If you put prawns in there, they will make the water even funkier. I chemically process it. Oh, by the way, I brought all those chemicals too. It''s up there. Storing it in a cold storage is overkill, but I don''t know where to keep it."


    "It''s okay. We still have our storage unit. You can store it there. I still have to buy some medicines.."


    "What medicines!!" his mother ran to him and gently touched his forehead. "Are you sick? Why do you need medicines," she glanced at her son and then at her husband. "Are you both hiding anything from me?"


    "N¡ªnothing mom. We were just talking about.... about medicine prices...." he nudged his father.


    Zou Wei awkwardly coughed. "Do you have ginseng soup?"


    Zou Yue glanced at him with a constrained smile. "What my dad wants to say is that the climate is changing we might need some cold medicines..."


    All of a sudden, His mother''s eyes started to tear up.


    "Mum! What''s wrong?" he gently caressed her trembling shoulders.


    "Baby... Yue baby." She hugged him tightly. "Are you terminally ill? Is that why you went to Japan? To get it treated." She looked up at him with tears dripping down her flushed cheeks.


    "Huh!!! No!"


    Zou Wei rushed to his wife and comforted her. "Darling, he went to Japan for sword training. I''m telling you the truth,"


    "Lies!!! But you both keep whispering and... now you were talking about buying medicines!!"


    His father sighed loudly. "How did you even come to that conclusion?"


    His mother wiped her tears. "I watched a drama..."


    "Drama is not real life, mum. I am not sick," he patiently comforted his mother.. After a long time she calmed down by that time, the dinner had gone cold.

 Chapter 62 - 62 Unknown Sibling

    After eating their cold dinner, all of them went to sleep. His father doted on his mother a lot that day just to console her wounded heart.


    Zou Yue on the hand slept peacefully. The next morning, his mother ran in and handed him a tray of freshly scrambled egg and a glass of soy milk. "Mum, you did not have to do that.." he took it from her hands and gently kissed her cheeks.


    "It''s all for my baby Yue," she kissed him back. "I missed you so much. How can you leave for so long?.."


    "I was away for my modelling gigs for years." Zou Yue chuckled at this.


    She slapped his forehead. "I missed you back them as well. It''s all because of your father. Let''s not give him breakfast today," she fiercely glared at the door.


    "Mum! Let the old man eat," Zou Yue spooned the tasty butter scrambled egg and ate it with relish. "Hmm, so good. Don''t deprive dad of this deliciousness,"


    "Okay okay... I will let him eat," she relented softly. "Wait, a bit I have a gift for you," she ran out the room and came back with a huge shopping back.


    "What is it?" he placed the tray on the bedside table and picked the bag up. It was quite heavy. "What''s in it?"


    "open it," she excitedly looked at him.


    Inside of the bag looked to contain some clothes so Zou Yue carelessly dumped it on the bed. The whole bed was filled with colourful clothes.


    He picked one red shirt up.. in fact, it was a blouse. The sleeve was long and fluffy and the neckline was quite low.


    "umm mum,"


    "Do you like it?" she smiled at him widely. "I noticed that you only had one pair of clothes so I got you more,"


    She went to his closet and took out at first pair of women''s clothing he bought. His mother had neatly folded it and placed it in a box. "You should not be shy regarding this. If the clothes I bought did not match your ''aesthetics'' we can go shopping together~~"


    She looked so excitedly talking about this.


    Zou Yue could not tell her the truth. He just went along, looking at his mother''s dazzling smile. "Mum.....are you happy that I wear clothes like these?"


    "Of course~" she sat next to him and gently hugged him close.


    Suddenly he felt wet patched on his shoulders. "Mum! Are you crying! Why?"


    "It''s... nothing," she smilingly wiped her eyes clean. Her lips were trembling. She silently glanced at her lap and sobbed loudly.


    "Do you like it so much," Zou Yue held up the red frilly shirt to his body.


    "I love it." she giggled softly. "Yue... you don''t know this but.... I... I gave birth to a baby girl before you,"


    Zou Yue froze. This was a story he had never heard before. He pushed all the clothes out of the way and got as physically close to her as possible. "Really?"


    "yeah... she was born before I married your dad. I¡ªwas just thirteen. I did not know what to do. Your grandfather was embarrassed by me," she sobbed loudly. Even her shoulders started to tremble violently.


    He picked up the tissue box from his drawer and hander her one. He then gently hugged her close. "Where is she?"


    "My father... he gave her up for adoption without my permission. I was devastated. She is my baby..... But I did not even have the chance to hold her before she was stolen from me,"


    She sat up and sniffed loudly into the tissue. "I left the house when I reached eighteen. I went searching for her but by then she was already adopted by a family abroad. I lost contact after that."


    "How old would she be?" he smilingly whispered.


    "She must be twenty-five. Her name is Tian Ai. That''s the name the orphanage had given her. I did not even get to give her a name!!!!" she started to sob even more.


    "Don''t worry, mum I will find her for you," Zou Yue engraved this name in his heart.


    This person was his sibling.


    A sibling he never knew existed....until now.


    If it was a normal situation, he would have approached her slowly and got to know her. But... apocalypse was approaching. If this person was his sister, he wanted her to be safe and sound.


    "Will you?" she gave him the cutest puppy dog eyes he had ever seen.


    "I will. I promise. But what about dad? Does he know?"


    "yes.... he asked your uncle Wen to find information about her but.... they could not find her. She must have changed her name to English or maybe.... maybe she is no more." his mother genuinely looked heart broken about this. She hugged him tightly.


    Her finger gently glided over the girly tops littered on the bed. "I would have loved to go shopping with her. Paint nails... do our makeup together...."


    "You can do it with me. What''s stopping you?" he kissed her head softly.


    "I can?" she looked up at him.


    "Yeah, you know what. Let''s do our nails together."


    His mother gave him the most dazzling smile. "Okay... I''ll bring the nail polish," she left the room happily.


    Zou Yue tightly clenched his fists. "I only have a month, I have to find her soon......"

 Chapter 63 - 63 Hidden In Red Rose [14+]

    "Oh, oh try the green one." Zou Nui tossed the green top at him.


    Zou Yue caught it perfectly. "They are all beautiful but.... I don''t think my body can handle any more try on sessions," he mumbled, removing his red tank top.


    "Come on, you are a model. You are not supposed to whine about outfit change." She nudged him back into the bathroom.


    He swiftly changed into the green top. This one was what they call a peplum top. It fit perfectly right below his chest and from there it flared out like a flower. "What pants can I even wear for this?"


    "Jeans, of course," his mother picked out a pair of jeans from his closet. "This will go so well with this. Oh, my gods, you look so pretty, my son."


    "Pretty is not the word I''m looking for. Call me handsome." Zou Yue winked at her and changed into the skinny fit jean. It tightly hugged his bottom, giving him a wonderful shape.


    He glanced at the mirror with a wide smile. "It really looks good. Nice one mum you are really god at styling clothes. Maybe you should have become a stylist." he gave her a thumbs up.


    "Oh, you flatter me," she kissed his cheeks softly. "Tell me Yue, do you want me to comb your hair?,"


    Zou Yue tugged at his long hair. It came right below his shoulder bone. His hair rarely tangled up, so it was easier for him to manage. "Yeah, I guess."


    "I will make it all pretty." She excitedly ran to her room to get supplies.


    Seeing her so jubilant, Zou Yue was very satisfied. ''All along, she must have missed her daughter so much. Maybe this would console her a bit.''


    He glanced at his refection. He no longer looked like a man rather, he looked like a pretty lady.


    His long hair made him even more ambiguous. Initially, he planned on growing his hair out because long hair is easier to tie up. But as an unexpected surprise, it also made his mother happy.


    Zou Yue unwound his hair and sat on the bed with a long sigh.


    His mother came back and helped comb his hair. Her face always had a smile as she gently combed through his hair.


    He smiled as well. ''What makes her happy makes me happy too.. Growing out my hair turned out to be the best decision in the world and wearing woman''s clothes. It''s not bad after all.''


    Most of the clothes his mother bought were comfy and warm. He did not have any discomfort with its material or with the stitching.


    ''Besides, during apocalypse people don''t care about what clothes they were as long as it''s relatively clean.''


    In his past life, he only had one t-shit, torn jumper and a single ripped jean. When he fled the S city base he was ambushed in the middle, he had no other option but to abandon his belongings.


    ''Now I get to wear all these pretty clothes. But won''t I attract a lot of attention dressed like this?,''


    Apocalypse was not a safe time. People get lost and killed any time. That''s why he hid his pale skin as much as he could. He even went to the lengths to smear it with mud to hide his smooth skin.


    Dressing like a woman is going to attract even more attention.


    ''Who cares? I will just kill them all if they even look at me differently.'' He thought to himself, closing his eyes.


    His mother''s fingers gently caressed his scalp, lulling him to a deep sleep.


    The next time he woke up he was in his bed and it was afternoon already. His door was closed, and the things were neatly arranged in his closet.


    "Yawn..." he scratched his tummy as he got up. He was still wearing that green peplum top and his favourite jeans.


    Zou Yue went to his wardrobe and searched for his night suits. While searching though the shelves, he found a small red rose tucked in between his t-shirts. It was the fake one but was so beautiful. It had a tag attached to it saying that it was a free sample.


    "Rose as a free sample? Where did my mum get this?"


    His curiosity was piqued by this. He placed it on his bed and started to strip.


    He changed into his long white t-shirt that came below his butt. It was his usual night suit, just that, and his trusty underwear.


    He stripped off his pants and jumped onto the bed.


    "Finally, my legs can breathe!!!" he mumbled, kicking them in the air.


    The bed shook violently, and the rose fell down.


    "oops." he rolled on to his side and picked it up. But besides the rose, there was a red ball like thing. "What is this," as soon as he knew what that was, he threw it away in horror.


    "What the hell!!" he picked it back up and stretched it. It was a red lacy thong. "Why is a thong in a rose?!!!"


    Now he understood why it was tagged as a sample. His mother most likely got this rose thong as a sample from the shops she went. Thinking that it was a pretty rose, she must have placed it in his closet.


    "a thong..." he turned it around curiously. It was a lacy tie up thong. The front bit was kind of small and the back.. Well, it was non-existent.


    "Why do girls even wear these? Maybe it is comfortable."


    Suddenly hit by the curiosity, he decided to wear it. He swiftly threw his white underwear away and wore it. The front was quite tight but the elastic part hugged his third leg comfortably and the back was.... it was hiding nothing to imagination.


    His ass cheeks were out and about, enjoying the cold wind. It felt weird and exhilarating at the same time.


    But on the plus side, it was very soft and felt like velvet on his balls.


    "No wonder girls wear this." he turned back to glance at the mirror, but to his horror he saw a person standing on the opposite side of his window.


    "!!!!!!" he froze.


    ''Fan Xui!!!!! Why.....''


    He swiftly jumped down and laid low on the floor. ''Why is he here? What is situation god..... Why did he have to see me in my most embarrassing moment.''


    ''Wait... he can''t see..'' he slowly poked his head out. Fan Xui stood so still with his mouth slightly open. He waved at him; Fan Xui did not have any sudden reactions. ''Ah thank god!! Thank the lords!!'' he sighed loudly.


    ''It looks like he is enjoying the fresh air.''


    ''He is our new neighbour? That''s so cool!!!''

 Chapter 64 - 64 Everything Is Red

    Red... all Fan Xui could think about was the small amount of red clothing he saw.... he closed his eyes tightly and stood still.


    Even with his eyes closed, he could still remember the shape of his butt. It was shaped like a cute bubble but with a small dimple on his right side.


    ''dimple..... he has a dimple..ahhh!!!!!!''


    He could image thousand ways of how he could grab his butt.


    ''No! Don''t think like that!!!'' but it was already too late. His body burned up and his ears flushed red. He lowered his head and let his uncombed hair fall all over his forehead.


    Outside, his body looked composed and poise while on the inside it was a complete mess. His whole body was going out of control. His heart was on the verge of jumping out of his rib cage... as for his other appendage... it was very excited and jumping.


    He noticed Zou Yue peaking out shyly from his window.


    ''Oh, what a test for my manhood.'' He chanted the national anthem to calm himself down. But nothing too could calm his raging blood. ''Do I really have to think about my old grandma at this age to calm myself? This is such an embarrassment,''


    He drifted away from the window and stood with his head on the walls. From this angle, he saw his tight pants. "No control what so ever. You are supposed to be twenty-five. You are not in your teens, you know..."


    The raging boner was not listening to his commands. He groaned softly, leaned his whole body on the icy wall.


    Right then he knew... living at this house was going to be a relish to his eyes but a torture to his manhood.


    "ugh.... end me..."


    "Sir, we have checked the other rooms we can decorate it according to your preference," the contacted interior designer said as he entered the doorway.


    Fan Xui pulled him out the door and closed it tightly behind him.


    "You listen to me well. That window should remain closed all the while you are working here. Even if anyone of your men opens it, I will have your head got it!" he gripped his collar tightly.


    The interior designer gulped. "g¡ªgot it, sir...."


    "Good," Fan Xui regained his composure. "Let me have some alone time." he closed the door and leaned against it. ''This is dangerous....''


    He walked back to the window once again, but Zou Yue had disappeared. ''He really should not do stuff like that with his window opened. It''s dangerous.''


    But he was secretly glad that he got this land. Or else he would not have seen that delicious view. He licked his dry lips.


    ''Too tempting. Should I pay my future father-in-law a visit?''


    He smiled dubiously.


    Without a second delay, he walked over to their house with his walking stick enthusiastically tapping the ground. He pressed the calling bell and waited.


    The door opened instantly. "ah it''s Little Fan. Come on in," Zou Nui happily welcomed in. "this is awesome. My son just came back yesterday. Wait, I''ll call him. Wei!! Yue!!! Come here Fan Xui''s here!!'' she excitedly shouted for her husband.


    Zou Wei rushed out of the study with a glare pointed his way.


    Fan Xui happily smiled in his direction. ''Even my father-in-law is so cute!! He is like a little hamster making a fierce expression!!''


    Suddenly, he felt a small tug at the bottom of his pants. He glanced down to see a little grey rat peering at him intently. Its paws were stained with unknown stuff and it was smearing it on him.


    "Uncle!! You have a rodent in the house!! I¡ªI can smell it!!" he had no other excuse on how he knew of the rat''s existence. He swiftly moved his stick. The rodent scurried skilfully, jumping it like a skipping rope. ''So athletic. What does this rat eat?''


    "Wait wait!! Don''t! That''s my son''s pet!!" Zou Wei gripped his walking stick and carefully picked up Trexa gran from the ground. He checked her completely. Only after making sure that she was healthy did he let go of her.


    "ohh... wait what? Why a rat?" he curiously looked at his hands. His dark shaded hid his weird look.


    The rat too, glanced at him. This time it gave him a weird smile with his front tooth exposed. It even waved at him. ''Weird... very weird.. Is it mimicking human expressions?''


    Zou Yue ran out of the room halfway through wearing his pants. "What''s up, dad? Why did you shout!!" only then did he notice Fan Xui standing there stiffly.


    His body froze instantly. ''Uh oh!! Dad... he is going to kill me. But this is an opportunity. I need to apologise to Fan Xui for stalking him.'' he hesitantly walked over with his head lowered.


    Fan Xui, on the other hand, became extremely nervous. ''He is coming this way.... oh no. Don''t react to this temptation, my stupid body. My future father-in-law is here!!!''


    He instantly thought of any other distracting things to keep his mind occupied.


    "Mister Fan Xui," a sweet voice whispered, waking him from his concentrated stage.


    "y¡ªyes..." he croaked.


    "I''m sorry..."


    "Don''t be. I''m not scared of rats and beside I should be the one to apologise. I almost hurt your pet," he chuckled nervously.


    "No, not that... I.." his father swiftly cupped his mouth and gestured to his pants.


    Zou Yue frowned. ''What do you mean?'' he mouthed.


    His father glared at him, gesturing to his pants once again.


    Completely confused by this, Zou Yue glanced down. His fly was wide open and partially that red thing was seen. He swiftly zipped his pants up. Thankfully, his long shirt hid most of it.


    "My son seems exhausted. Why don''t you go back to your room?"


    "But...." Zou Yue''s shimmering eyes peered at Fan Xui, the apocalyptic life hero in front of him.


    "It''s okay son, go sleep, you don''t have to greet any guests," Zou Wei nudged him towards his room.


    Zou Yue pouted at him. "Okay.." he dejectedly walked back slowly. All the way he kept throwing looks at Fan Xui.


    Zou Wei mouthed at him to go in.


    Zou Yue nodded and closed his door.

 Chapter 65 - 65 Visiting [fatherinlaw] Uncle

    "What do you want?" Zou Wei scowled deeply.


    "I was near the area and I wanted to say hi fath.. uncle." Fan Xui smiled at him dazzlingly.


    "Don''t point your smirk at me young man, it''s not working. I know your intensions," he grumbled, walking over to the kitchen. He went past his fussing wife and took the tray of tea and biscuits she had prepared.


    "Gasp, I''m an innocent person, uncle," Fan Xui whispered when he came out of there.


    Zou Wei gave him an annoyed look. "You barely look innocent. I saw that look you had..."


    "what look?" Fan Xui still maintained an innocent smile on his face. He was smiling so much that his cheeks hurt. Though his smile was not a fake one. He was genuinely happy to meet Zou Yue and his family again.


    Zou Wei glared at him hard. "That barely restrained look. You looked like a beast that was about to pounce on my child," he placed the tray on the table carefully. "You better keep away from my child,"


    Fan Xui gulped. "I did not intend to be indecent with your son. It was just... I was hearing his voice after so long..."


    "Don''t, I don''t wish to hear your reasons in detail. Drink your tea and go," he handed the cup of hot tea in his hands and sat him down on the sofa. "Why did you even have to buy a plot next to us? It''s such a hassle. Now I have to deal with a pervert who runs after my son''s ass."


    Fan Xui coughed out the tea. He swiftly wiped it with his sleeve. "I''m not a pervert sir." But in his mind, he remembered the delightful view he saw just minutes ago.


    "you are. I saw that to too!!" Zou Wei sat down next to him and sighed loudly. "I understand it. When I was your age I was chasing after Yue''s mum dedicatedly."


    "And here you are. You both make such a loving couple," Fan Xui praised him immensely.


    "yes..."


    "But fath.. uncle... my parents...were like you both, too. They were always lovey-dovey with each other. God, they kissed so much. When I was young, I used to think it was so gross," he whispered with a soft sigh.


    Zou Wei placed his cup down and gently patted his shoulders. "I''m sorry about your parents."


    "No, it''s okay. I bet they are in a better place... maybe they reincarnated in another world, living happily as a couple. That''s what a like to believe..." Fan Xui carefully placed the porcelain cup on the table.


    "Your uncle... did you see him after that? If I''m not intruding too much.. I read it in the news." Zou Wei curiously glanced at him.


    Fan Xui shook his head. "I don''t wish to face him. This unfamiliar rage rises up every time I see his face. From such a young age, I had to control myself, keep my expression under check to live under the shadows of those snakes. But now... I''m somehow freed,"


    "That Bai family deserves to rot in prison. I heard one of them escaped trial? Was it the younger kid..." Zou Wei handed him a plate filled with mochi.


    "Hmm... I don''t know his intent too. He is good at masking himself, but in fact, he is a bad person, just like his family,"


    "I see... you did with that?" he took the plate from him.


    "Yes?" Fan Xui placed the empty teacup down.


    "Great lest get you out of here,"


    He glanced at him with a fake, pitiful look. "I was sharing my most painful memory,"


    "Yeah, and your story is over, right? I can''t confine my rebellious son in his room for a long time," he glanced to the door where Zou Yue was poking his head out.


    Fan Xui chuckled softly.


    Zou Wei stood up. "And I don''t wish for him to meet you. So get going,"


    "This is so unfair. I just want to hear his voice," he whispered back to him.


    "You heard him say one sentence and got hard. Get lost!!" Zou Wei whispered to him secretly and opened the front door open.


    He pushed him gently out the door. "Safe journey," he slammed it shut. Right then his wife walked out of the kitchen. "Where is little Fan I got him some more ice cream mochi?,"


    "He had diarrhea and had to go home," Zou Wei pulled his wife away from the door.


    Fan Xui, who was right out the door heard this and cringed. ''He really has creative ways to chase me away. But.... now that we are neighbors I will have more stupid reasons to drop by too,'' he happily hopped back to his car.


    Hans was waiting there as usual. "Sir, we should hire a driver for you,"


    "Why?"


    "I am your assistant. I have work..." Hans glanced back with a dull look on his face.


    "Don''t worry, next time I will take you along to meet Yue''s parents."


    "That was not what I asked for.. but please do take me in next time. I can smell green tea mochi on you." Hans mumbled, licking his lips.


    "Sorry for the inconvenience. Ask the accounts manger to give you a hefty raise,"


    "Yay!!!" Hans happily drove the car back to the city.


    Along the way, Fan Xui suddenly leaned forward. "What about the books? Has the printing process over?"


    "The final editing is done. All we have to do is decide on the number of copies. I suggest we print just hundred copies to reduce the cost. Our contract does not mention the number, anyway. And rest we can send a free kindle edition to all the people. This way.."


    "No! Print ten thousand... no, fifty thousand copies. Send those copies to colleges and schools. Let them get a copy of it."


    The car veered a bit. Hans safely parked it in the parking area and glanced back. "Can I go back to friend mode?"


    "?"


    "Okay, I''ll take your silence as a yes. What the hell are you thinking!!! Fifty thousand copies?!!!! That''s too much. Those books don''t even make sense."


    "My Yue wrote it." Fan Xui glared at him.


    "God, you are beyond saving," Hans sighed loudly.

 Chapter 66 - 66 Abilities~~

    Zou Yue watched his father lock out Fan Xui and walked out of the room. "Did he just leave? Why did you send me to my room, dad? It was so mean of you. I could have said hi at least."


    "No reason," his father scoffed and went back to his room.


    As for his mother, she was looking at him with shimmering eyes. "You guys already know each other! That''s awesome," she jumped over and hugged him.


    "Yeah, he is awesome." He whispered with a small smile.


    "Tell me all about it,"


    "Well, where do I start, we met in the plane." they both had a deep conversation on how he got to know Fan Xui while eating the left over mochi.


    His mother squealed loudly.


    "You met him while you were travelling from G city? Oh, my god, that kind of coincidence only happens in novels. Then, then... you guys kept meeting. It''s like destiny," she squealed like a little girl.


    Zou Yue did not think much about this destiny part. He ate the mochi with relish.


    "Much like a stalker." His father mumbled from inside his room.


    "Honey, no, you can''t discredit another man like that. He is such a sweet person how can he be a stalker huh?" his mother stormed over to his lurking form and pinched his arms.


    "ow..." Zou Wei stormed out of the room and plopped on the sofa next to him. "Tell me, did you guys bump into each other accidentally all the time?"


    "yes... but it was most likely because his company is close to the bakery and cafe I go to. He is not a stalker father. He is a good man, don''t you think so too?"


    Zou Wei frowned deeply. Both his son and wife were giving him an innocent puppy look, as if waiting for his confirmation.


    "he is okay..."


    "yay!! Dad, he is so nice, you know. That guy is the most powerful person I''ve ever met. I''ve never once seen him in action but overheard his ability is top notch,"


    His mother spat out her tea, coughing loudly. "Yue" she slapped his forearm. "You can''t talk about something sexual when I''m drinking something,"


    "Sexual? Huh?" this time both his father and he gave his mother a questioning look.


    She blushingly wiped herself clean. "You can''t judge a man''s qualities in bedroom form just rumours. Yue I know you want to share everything with me but...you can''t just casually talk about it sexual stuff so suddenly with mother. Give me a warning next time,"


    "Huh!!!" Zou Yue''s eyes went wide in realisation. ''Shit, she doesn''t know about the apocalypse and abilities. She wrongly thought that I was talking about Fan''s abilities in bed....'' he mentally slapped himself for the blunder. "I will warn you mum..." he said with a red face.


    His father nudged him to stay silent. "Our child is still ignorant about a lot of things."


    "Yeah, but Yue, what do you think of little Fan? Isn''t he cute?"


    "He is cute," Zou Yue admitted whist chewing on a juicy piece if mochi. This was the type that needs to be heated up before eating. The bite warmed his mouth instantly. He licked his lips. "So hot too...,"


    When he opened his eyes, both his mother and father were looking at him with an unknown expression. His father had a lost look while his mother looked likes she found something interesting.


    "Is there something on my face?" he wiped at his mouth and his cheeks.


    "No silly, I only see a cute little face here," she pinched his cheeks with a dubious grin. "you know we can contact Fan Xui for dinner this Friday. I feel like the young man will like that idea as well,"


    "No, but I disapprove of that," his father shouted all of a sudden.


    "Why?" both Yue and his mother glanced at him simultaneously.


    "It''s just dinner dad, Fan Xui does not have a family. Last time when we met in the bakery, he did not want to eat alone. Poor guy must so lonely. He will most definitely appreciate dinners like this." Yue mumbled, placing the half eaten mochi on the plate.


    He was still not sure if Fan Xui will be comfortable with the diner idea. But from the vibe he got when he was talking to his father, he knew that Fan Xui kind of adored it.


    "Poor young man, he lost them at such a young age," his mother sighed loudly. "I hope you can be kind to him, honey. Last time you made the blunder on pointing out his disability," she glared at him.


    "I was only telling him to stay out of the kitchen to stay safe. What if he gets burned or... worse, cuts himself."


    Zou Yue glanced at his father with a small smile. "Dad, he is used to not having his vision. As far as I''ve seen, he can easily operate as a normal person, but he just needs some time to get used to the environment."


    "So don''t be too cautious with him. Let him do whatever he wants to. Because if he offered to help, he must have been confident in his abilities,"


    While they were having the talks, the plate got empty so soon.


    "I''ll refill it," his mother happily ran to the kitchen.


    "And dad Fan Xui will not stay blind for long,"


    "What do you mean?" his father peered at him.


    "He will find a magical spiritual plant and regain his vision in the future."


    His father suddenly smiled. "Oh, I see.. that''s good then," he left without a word and went back to his room.


    Zou Yue confusedly looked at his back. His father seemed so happy to receive the news. ''he must really adore Fan Xui a lot huh..... my daddy is so cute!''

 Chapter 67 - 67 Dinner Plans

    "Ring... ring...." the dial tone rang as Zou Yue waited for the person to pick up.


    "Fan Xui," the person answered in a stern tone.


    "!!!!" Zou Yue tightly gripped his phone. ''Oh, my god his voice sounds so cold. Did I disturb him? shit What do I say....''


    "Who is this?" the person on the other side seemed annoyed by his silence.


    "It''s Zou.. Zou Yue. I.. I was just calling to see if you were free this Friday, if so.... are you free for dinner?" it took a lot of courage to say those words.


    All of a sudden, there was a loud noise on the other side of the receiver.


    "Is everything okay? Fan Xui?"


    "e¡ªverything is fine," the voice sounded hoarse and panting. "My hand slipped, that''s all,"


    "Oh... can we meet up?" he anxiously waited for his reply. His mother was sitting right next to him, giving him a thumbs up.


    "I would love to meet up. Do.. do you want me to make the reservations? There is a new restaurant near my place that serves very good steak."


    "That sounds good, but I was calling to ask if you would like to have dinner at my place." Zou Yue tightly griped his sheets.


    "Your.... your place? Oh, that sounds great. Your parents are lovely, might I add,"


    "Yeah, they seem to like you a lot. You know my mum is readying herself to prepare the feast of the year." He rolled over onto his tummy and slammed his face onto the pillow.


    "That sounds great. She cooks very well. The last time I had her meals, I was left with nostalgia for homemade food." he let out a breathy chuckle.


    "I know, right? I missed her meal so much when I was in S city." He mumbled, flaying his legs up in the air. He could hear the subtle sound of fluttering paper from the other side. "Sorry, did I disturb your work?"


    "No, I was taking a break." Fan Xui softly whispered.


    Just hearing his soft voice, Zou Yue shuddered. "o¡ªokay... I''ll see you on Friday then." Without waiting for his reply, he cut the call.


    "How was it? Did he agree?" his mother whispered anxiously.


    "Yes..." his muffled voice came from the pillow.


    "That''s awesome!! Baby, don''t sleep like that dear, you might suffocate," she caressed his hair and left the room.


    Only after that did Zou Yue lift his head. His face was completely pink and flushed and his body was hot. "I should remind myself never to call him again. That voice is dangerous indeed."


    He glanced down at his crotch. Well.. he was standing for attention.


    "My mother was here.... goodness this is so embarrassing." he cried hugging the pillow to his face.


    The phone rang again. He flinched back a little. But with trembling hands, he picked it up.


    "hello?"


    "Hey little punk! What took you so long to answer!" a high-pitched voice shouted from the other side.


    "Peng Peng!" he sat with a wide smile on his face. "Peng Peng, I miss you so much~~"


    "Shut up brat, don''t sprout lies. If you had missed me, you would have called." Peng Peng sounded cheery, as always.


    Just hearing his voice gave him a boost of serotonin. As an added bonus, the weird heat in his body disappeared instantly.


    "You free today?"


    "Yeah, I am always free. Don''t you know that I''m jobless," Yue rolled the sheets around him tightly to fight away the cold.


    "As far as I remember, you were on a break. You still got to do your job after this month, yeah?" he grumbled softly.


    "Yeah, yeah," Zou Yue rolled his eyes. The world is going to change after that. Modelling job? Those are going to go extinct.


    "Tonight come to ''Midnight blast'' at 10. It''s been too long since we partied," Peng Peng chuckled.


    Zou Yue frowned. Midnight blast was a bar that was quite close to fan Xui''s office; he had passed by it sometimes when he went to that bakery. "Wait, a minute! Are you in G city?"


    "Yeah bitch!!! Are you happy now? You won''t have to miss me every day."


    "Oh, my god! That''s awesome!!" Zou Yue jumped around happily. "Now that you are here, what about manager mu, is he moving too?"


    "He has to." He scoffed.


    "Why do you say that?" Zou Yue frowned as he opened the closet. His clothes were neatly arranged. He started to pick a neutral outfit for his night out.


    "Because our whole company is moving to G city. Oh kid, you don''t know most of it. A month after you took your break, this big ass corporation brought our company over and now we are also part of it. Hurray, hurray, but the sad part is the company headquarters are quite close to the border of the city. Now we all have to stay out of the city in the rural areas. No night life boohoo,"


    "Wait Peng Peng, you guys are all moving here!! Oh my god, I''ll help you rent a place!!!!"


    "Yeah, of course you have to. Who else can I rely on? Either way, come soon, okay I''ll be waiting out the door,"


    "Got it," Zou Yue happily pulled out a black shirt and a black form fitting pants. While looking at himself in the mirror, he called someone again. "Uncle Bo? Yeah, this is Zou Yue do you remember?"


    "Yeah kid, what''s up?"


    "I need a help. My friends might be moving here can you let me know if there are any vacancies near my place. The house should be close to the military compound," he mumbled, placing all his clothes on the bed.


    "I''ll ask my cousin and let you know by tomorrow morning. Is that okay?''"


    "That''s more than okay. Thank you so much uncle,"


    "Geez, I am not an uncle kid."


    "But you are compared to my age, though," he giggled. Uncle Bohai cut the call on his side. "He-he, it''s fun messing with him."


    He ran out of the room to his parents. "Mum, dad, I might come home late today. Is that okay?"


    "Where are you going? Are you going to meet that Fan Xui?" his father frowned slightly.


    "Really, are you going with little fan," his mother excitedly glanced at him.


    "No, I am going to meet Peng Peng. He is moving here this month. It''s so good," he squealed.


    His mother pouted. "Fine, drink responsibly. I don''t want your puke all over the nice floorboard,"


    "Yes yes~~~"

 Chapter 68 - 68 Gay Bar

    Late at night, the cab stopped in front of a neon lit door of the bar. "That will be twenty," the driver glanced back. But the sight behind him stunned him.


    The young man was wearing all black from top to bottom his hair was combed back, revealing his fresh and clear forehead. His black eyes, deep as the night, watched him with a small glimmer in them.


    When he picked him up, he did not bother looking back, but now... he was frozen in shock.


    "Thank you so much," the young man handed him the twenty.


    "Ah... yes...." the driver stuttered, holding the dollar bill preciously. "You look like a model, sir,"


    "Me? I am a model," Zou Yue chuckled and got down.


    "Yue!! You brat!!!" Peng Peng ran to him. His loose sequin crop top swayed side to side with each step, displaying his belly button. He had paired it with a skimpy jean that was low riding.


    "Peng Peng!!!" Zou Yue hugged him tight. "Wow, you are going all out huh?" he pulled at his pants playfully. It was so loose that one tug can remove it so easily..


    "I plan to get laid tonight," he smirked and pulled him in.


    "Wait, didn''t you say that you had a boyfriend?"


    "That guy? That bastard was two-timing me. I threw a fist at him and walked out the door. He is old news now," Peng Peng confidently walked in. So many guys gave him the look.


    Zou Yue confusedly looked around. This place was filled to the rim with men. Not many women were in sight. "This place is weird somehow...."


    "Yeah? Cuz it''s a gay bar," Peng Peng chuckled and sat down on the bat stool.


    "gay bar? Oh... I see. I''ve never visited one before." He glanced around. So many men were looking their way with a smirk. One even gave him an air kiss.


    Frowning, he turned away. "I don''t think I like this,"


    "Ignore them. Those thirst men will do anything to get some ass. Tonight we are here to drink and have fun till our fullest," Peng Peng handed him a shot.


    "I''m supposed to drink responsibly as per my mother''s command," Zou Yue took it for him and drowned it in a gulp. The shot of an unknown drink burned his way down his throat. "aghh... still can''t get used to that,"


    "Says the guy who dinks every day." Peng Peng chuckled. "Yue, you have changed a lot. I have to say I love this change."


    "Change is good."


    They casually talked about Radom stuff for a long time. Even the loud music did not break their conversation.


    By chance Zou Yue uttered, "Hey did you read that book I send you?"


    "Book? Oh I read it. It didn''t make any sense, but it was a good read." He mumbled, sipping on a glass of cocktail. "you need to work on your grammar though,"


    Zou Yue groaned loudly. "It was supposed to be a private diary. Who cares about grammar when you are writing those? By the way, how did my book get the attention of the publishers? I only gave copies to you and manager mu,"


    "Donno, manager mu one day came running that someone asked for those books. And here we are here, our author Yue''s sitting in front of me. How is the publishing going?"


    "I got a mail sail that fifty thousand coped are being printed. They will be distributed in two days." Zou Yue gulped down another shot. "Gosh, this is strong,"


    "Of course you are drinking straight vodka," Peng Peng took the shot from him. "Can you handle it?"


    "I don''t think I can," his eyes sight was already getting blurry and his speech was becoming slurry. "I think I''m already drunk,"


    "Goodness, you are already trashed. Let''s get you home,"


    "Don''t wann..." Zou Yue clung to the table.


    "Brat, come on, don''t give me trouble," Peng Peng pulled at his waist, but the guy was not budging. "Did you gain some weight... no way! Did you put some muscles," he groped his arms. They were not as soft as before. "Gasp Yue, did you work out!!"


    "Yeah see.." Yue pulled his shirt up, showing him his six-pack. "Got this in five months. Hehe~"


    The whole bar started to peer at him with interest.


    Peng Peng pulled down his shirt. "Brat, you really know how to attract trouble" he paid the tab and started to drag him out. Yue kept crying that he did not want to.


    Out of the pub he waited for the cab he had booked.


    "What''s talking him so long." He anxiously whispered, holding the drunk guy up. Suddenly, a random car stopped in front of them.


    "Hey cuties, want a ride? Get in uncle will take you home," the older looking guy lewdly glanced at them both.


    "Get lost, can''t you see we are busy," Peng Peng glared at him.


    "Wow, you look pretty even when you scowl. Give me your number let''s keep in touch," the man kept on insisting.


    "I said leave us be, old man. If you don''t go away, I will have to call the cops,"


    The old man frowned deeply. "Why are you being a bitch," the man rushed out the car and gripped his shoulders tightly. "Come on in!" He dragged him towards the car.


    "Let go you fucker!!!" Yue, who was in his arms, slipped and staggered to a corner.


    The old man leered at him as well. "You both look so delicious."


    Suddenly a fist hit him right on his flat ass nose.


    Peng Peng watched him collapse unconscious on the ground with his mouth wide open. ''What just...''


    By his side stood a young, buff looking guy. He had a strong jaw line and upturned eyes similar to that of a hawk. "Are you hurt?"


    His melodious voice combined with his worried looking eyes, Peng Peng was already flat down impressed.


    "I... I don''t think so..." suddenly on hind sight he saw Yue collapsed on the ground. "Yue!!"


    The buff man helped him pull Yue up.


    "It''s not safe to stay out this late," the man whispered softly. "I''ll help you get a cab," he started to walk towards the road.


    Peng Peng instantly caught his hands. "What''s your name?"


    "Qian, Qian Wen,"


    "I''m Peng Tia. You can call me Peng Peng,"

 Chapter 69 - 69 Date~

    "I''m Peng Tia. You can call me Peng Peng," the young guy whispered with a shy smile.


    Qian smirked at this. He was on the way out of the office after teasing Fan Xui when he saw this assault. He instantly ran to help. It turns out the drunk guy was Fan''s beloved crush.


    His eyes then turned towards the little guy in a shiny black crop top. He was juggling Yue with a strained look on his face. ''He''s cute... but what is Fan''s crush doing with him?'' he glanced at Zou Yue and then at him. "You guys dating?"


    "No, no, NO! Never! He is a kid I saw growing up." he chuckled lightly whist jostling Yue in his hold. "Goodness, how much did you drink,"


    Zou Yue giggled and mumbled something.


    "Is he too heavy do you want me to hold him?" Qian offered kindly.


    Peng Peng became quite defensive at this offer. His hand tightly held Yue''s waist. "You are not into him or anything, right?"


    "no...." Qian shook his head. ''If Fan gets to hear that, he will definitely burst out in anger. Why should I be after my friend''s crush?''


    "Then okay," he happily handed Yue over to him.


    Qian Wen pulled his arms over his shoulders and kept him balanced on his feet. This guy was surprisingly heavy. He gripped his waist and stand him up steady.


    Unknowingly, this action pulled Yue'' shirt up a bit.


    Peng Peng vigilantly watched his hands.


    "I''m not going to do anything to your friend. Chill," Qian pulled down Yue''s shirt and adjusted his clothes.


    "No, it''s just... in our field, things are bound to get risky. So I am used to keeping an eye on him," Peng Peng guiltily whispered.


    "oh.. You are a great friend then," Qian impression on him increased exponentially. ''this guy is a good one. Maybe that why Zou Yue survived in his felid so long without being tainted,''


    "I guess so," Peng Peng shyly whispered.


    The cab he had booked in stopped in front of them right then. "This is us,"


    "Let me," Qian placed Yue gently into the back seat of the cab. "Can you get to your place safely? Do you need me to come?" he worriedly looked at the cab driver and then at Yue. If anything happened to Fan''s beloved, he will definitely have his head.


    "I think its better I come along," he decidedly hopped into the front seat.


    "yes...." Peng Peng smiled and got in the back seat. Yue''s legs were over his lap and his head was hanging on the sides. "Jeez you are such a troublesome drunk,"


    "Does he always drink so much?" Qian glanced back with a slight frown. Fan Xui is not a Fan of drunkards. ''Wonder what he will think when he finds out his beloved is drunk to the brim,''


    ''Wait a minute, why don''t I text my dear friend Fan,'' he pulled out his phone and swiftly texted. [''your beloved is drunk on the back of the car with a cute stranger,'']


    ''He will reply when he sees it later,'' he plugged his phone into his small pocket. But all of a sudden, it vibrated.


    ''he is calling me? What a response,''


    He picked the call with a dubious smirk.


    "Where, who, and why? Tell me now!" Fan said sternly.


    "Whoa buddy, calm down," he whispered, taking a look behind him. "I can''t talk right now. I''ll send you a text," he cut the call and typed the message out swiftly. [''Yue is with his friend and they are going home.'']


    [''Oh I''ll go near his house and check on him then,'']


    [''Jeez, look how fast you responded to that message.''] He scoffed lightly. [''Why can''t you do that on a regular basis?'']


    There was no reply after that.


    [''Hello Fan darling?'']


    [Are you going to leave me hanging?]


    [So cruel boohoooo ~8~]


    "Is everything okay," Peng Peng leaned forward in the gap of the seat and peered at him.


    "no... my friend is being cold-hearted." He whimpered.


    "so... do you have a boyfriend?" Peng Peng smiled at him.


    Qian Wen blinked at this sudden question. "I don''t. What makes you think I''m interested in men?"


    "My instincts tell me so." He raised a brow at him.


    Qian chuckled. "I don''t have a boyfriend... do you?"


    "Nope, you free this Friday, let''s have dinner,"


    His cheeks heated up all of a sudden. He scratched his head awkwardly and glanced into his smiling eyes. "Yeah... that sounds nice,"


    "It''s a date then," Peng Peng leaned back with a slight giggle.


    "Yeah... a date..." Qian Wen''s lips rose up in a wide smirk. He swiftly messaged Fan Xui.


    [Fan ah I am dating your crush''s friend? When are you going to ask him out? You are too old school and slow. Look how I asked mine out in just my first meeting,]


    [Shut up, don''t make me beat you up] was the only reply he got.


    [You ruffian. How could you be so mean to your only friend?]


    After that, he did not get any reply at all.


    Soon the cab came to a stop in front of some random house. Peng Peng jumped out and dragged Yue out.


    Qian ran back to help him out.


    Right then, the door opened. "Peng Peng, That''s my son right?" a middle age woman whispered, wiping her eyes. "Gosh, I told him to drink responsibly. If his dad finds out, he is going to shout angrily." She came out and helped as well.


    "It''s okay, aunty, he drank only three shots. Never knew that he was such a lightweight, though," he mumbled, patting Yue''s cheeks.


    He deliriously giggled. "Fan..."


    "Fan? Hey brat I am Peng Peng, you forgot my name after drinking, huh?"


    "no... Fan," Yue giggled, pointed to something in the corner. A figure walked out from the dark. "Fan Xui~~" he stumbled to him and hugged him tight. "Smells so good.."


    Fan Xui froze. ''oh my god.... oh my goddd...''


    Suddenly, Yue puked all over his suit.


    "Shit..." Qian handed him a tissue.


    Fan Xui gently picked Yue up carefully in his arms. "Aunty, can you lead me inside? I''ll leave him in his room."


    He used a petty reason to enter Yue''s house again. Somehow, he felt a small sense of accomplishment from this.

 Chapter 70 - 70 Unreasonable Jealousy

    "Come this way," Zou Nui gently held Fan''s shoulders and led him inside. "Do you know the layout of our house or do you want me to guide you to Yue''s room?,"


    "No, I can do that," Fan Xui jostled Yue a little and comfortably held him in his arms. Qian ran ahead and opened the room for him. He walked in and placed Yue in the soft bed.


    His body sunk in a bit on the soft mattress.


    "Aunty, can you change Yue''s clothes?" There were some puke stains on his clothes as well.


    "I''ll change him," Peng Peng walked to the closet and picked out Yue''s favourite long white shirt and a pair of briefs. "This will do," he smirked at him.


    Fan Xui frowned deeply. "No, can aunty change him,"


    "It''s okay. I''ve helped him change for ten years. I''m his personal stylish plus makeup artist, you see." Peng Peng pulled Yue''s shirt off skilfully. "I''ll wipe him down and change him. You guys can wait outside."


    Qian and Zou''s mum walked out, but Fan remained standing with an unknown look on his face.


    "Can I have some privacy, please?" Peng Peng intensely gazed at him.


    "It''s just.... can I change him? I can''t see, so it won''t be a breach of privacy for him,"


    Peng Peng raised his brow with a look of contempt. "That would be worse than this. You would have to touch him completely to change him. Sorry sir, whoever you are, I''m not allowing you to touch him inappropriately like that,"


    "Peng Peng ah.. That''s little Fan we know him." Yue''s mom said from the door.


    "Irrespective, I can''t allow that," Peng Peng folded his arms over and glared at him. he was from in his stance to let not any men touch his precious model.


    Fan Xui slowly moved towards the door. After closing it behind him, he frowned deeply. ''Who is he?''


    "Little Fan, I''ll bring you change of clothes. Wait a here," Zou Nui worriedly glanced at the puke stains on the expensive suit. "I''ll pay for the dry cleaning,"


    "No it''s okay. This was an old suit,"


    Qian rolled his eyes at this statement. ''Old suit my ass. That is a new one he bought for his share holders meeting,''


    Regardless, this helped Mrs Zou calm down. "I''ll bring you my husband''s shirts. I think they might fit," she left to her room, leaving them both standing out the door awkwardly.


    Fan Xui silently grit his teeth glancing at the door.


    "Fan ah." Qian tugged at the clean part of his suit. "That guy is my date, don''t get jealous."


    He nodded. After a minute of thinking, his anger subsided a bit. Peng Peng was his makeup artist. He must be used to changing Yue every day during shoots.


    But even so, knowing that someone is touching his Yue made him enraged. "Tell your guy to keep away from him."


    "Come on don''t be unreasonable. They are friends. He even glared at me for touching your beloved,"


    Fan''s glare was pointed at him this time. "You touched him?"


    "Helped him stand up. Otherwise your beloved would be covered in random trash and spit from the roadside," Qian patted his back appeasing him a bit. "Stop being so jealous. If you had asked him out, this won''t be an issue at all,"


    "It''s too soon." Fan walked over to the couch and sat down.


    "Nothing is too soon," Qian shrugged and plopped next to him. "You know, even in our research, we used to think that it was too soon to test the virus strand, but when we actullay did the testing it gave us a surprise. That virus can cure cancer heal instantly. It''s miraculous."


    "Don''t change the subject,"


    "I thought you wanted me to," Qian en smirked with a funny look on his face.


    Fan Xui nodded slightly. "You guys are going according to plan? Is the government really shooting it down?"


    "Yeah, but the higher officials rescheduled it a few days earlier. So we will be shooting down that asteroid in about twenty days. Man, That specimen is going to be humanity saviour."


    Fan Xui sceptically listened to all this. There is no saving human kind. We are destructive by nature. Even of nature corrects its ways, we find a way to destroy it.


    But he did not wish to put down his friend''s ideals.


    Soon Yue''s mum came back with a pair of pants and white t-shirt. "This is the loosest clothes I could find here,"


    "Thank you,"


    "Here you can bath in Yue''s room after Peng Peng is done by changing him," she sat opposite to them. Suddenly, she tilted her head and peered at Qian with interest. "You are Wen''s son, right?"


    "Yes I remember meeting you four months ago. How are you, Mrs Zou?" Qian bowed to her respectfully.


    "What a wonderful coincidence. How did you get to know my son?" Yue''s mom looked elated by this news.


    "oh I just accidentally met him by the road." Qian en smiled at her dazzlingly. "What a coincidence, eh? I never knew that we were so close" he nudged Fan Xui, who was frozen next to him.


    Right then Yue''s door opened and Peng Peng walked out, wiping his forehead. "I''m gonna need water," he freely walked over to the kitchen.


    Zou Nui followed him in.


    Taking this chance, Qian nudged Fan Xui again. "He-he now I know why your darling''s details were hidden,"


    "why? Fan glared at him.


    "Because it was my father who did it in the first place. Aha-ha we just went to him stupidly ha-ha oh my god this is hilarious,"


    "How does your father know this family?" Fan Xui rigidly whispered.


    "My old man and your darling''s old man are buddy-buddy. They grew up together or something. Oh my god I realize it only now. I have met Zou Yue when we were young. Back then everyone used to call him little baby so did not know his real name."


    Fan Xui swiftly held his shoulders. "Do you have pictures?"


    "yes~~ but it comes with a price~~"

 Chapter 71 - 71 The Test Of A True Friend

    Peng Peng stood by the kitchen sink, gazing out at the guys happily chatting with each other. The one who saved them named Qian seemed to know this other guy.


    "Aunty, who is that man?" he moved closer to her.


    "Which one? Zou Nui peeked up at him.


    Peng Peng narrowed his eyes and looked at him.


    That guy seemed to sense his gaze. His eyes were hidden by the glasses, but somehow he could feel the glare from within. ''This man is going to be a difficult man to chase away,''


    "The one with ridiculous black shades. He looks shady,"


    "Oh that is little Fan. He moved right next to us just a few months ago. He is no shady man, he is such a sweetheart actually," Yue''s mother cheerfully whispered to him.


    "You do know that man is going after your son, right? Zou Yue is straight. I''m not sure how he would take this news."


    "I know that and Who said that," she looked up at him in surprise.


    Peng Peng frowned. "I mean, I have never seen Yue show interest in men,"


    She chuckled loudly. "Darling, my son has posters of half naked anime man all over his room; you still think he is not gay?"


    "Wow, that is so stereotypical of you. Watching anime does not make one gay. Well, I am a different case of course, regardless Yue''s not gay. He is an AOT fan." Peng Peng washed the glass he used. Yue''s mother stayed close with a small smile. "I see your smile. You know something else, don''t you?"


    "Yes~ he admitted that he might be into men. Yue''s changed.... it''s a good change, actually. He used to be just like his father, loud-mouthed and prideful, but now he is so soft-spoken and sweet as sugar," she giggled with a soft look in her eyes.


    "Goodness, that is impossible to imagine. But Yue did seem different. Today he could not handle alcohol. Usually, he would drink pints of it and remain straight as a pole. But today he just flat out after just one." he placed the washed mug on the cooling rack.


    By then, his eyes roamed over to those two men. They seem still invested in their talk, glancing at the phone now and then.


    "What do you think about that, man? The bulky one?" Peng Peng winked and waved at Qian.


    "Wen''s child? He is sweet. I heard he is a researcher... I don''t know much else rather than that,"


    "Researcher huh..." Peng Peng smirked widely. "That sounds nice. I wish him would research me too. Much preferred without clothes,"


    Zou Yue slightly slapped his forearm. "You young children are so spirited."


    "ho hoo hoo, misses Zou don''t act like you aren''t getting any," he cheerfully nudged her. This lady, although in her thirties, was the sweetest person in the world. They initially got to know when Zou Yue became a model and when he became an official makeup artist for him.


    In fact, he was sent over by a powerful person to protect Yue from ''predators''. That is the only reason he kept in contact with Yue''s mother.


    They initially contacted each other as parent and a spy but later on the relationship developed to be a close confidante.


    She was his emotional support and a guide..... a mother he never had.


    A slight slap on his forearm brought him out of his thoughts.


    "Oh, you silly silly boy." She playfully hit him with a bright flush on her face. "How''s your boyfriend?,"


    "Consider him dead." He rolled his eyes exaggeratedly.


    "That bad?"


    "Yes... but now.... I seem to have found a new one. He is such a looker too," Peng Peng proudly glanced at Zou Nui.


    "When did you both get to know each other?" she playfully raised a brow.


    "Now.. thank your son for that." he noticed the two in the hall standing up. The man named Qian was facing away from him. "Wow look at that ass that would feel great grabbing onto."


    "Darling, this old lady can''t handle more information than this," Yue''s mum patted his shoulders.


    "Aww aren''t you my confidante?"


    "You are like a son to me, silly." She pulled him into a hug and kissed his cheeks softly. "I feel a little aggravated when both my sons get stolen by tall handsome men."


    "He-he what''s that Fan guy''s deal. Why does he wear shades," he peered at Fan Xui with distaste.


    "Shh, he is visual disabled,"


    "Blind?" Peng Peng looked at her in surprise. "Are you sure?"


    Because a moment ago, when he was changing Yue, this guy was definitely glaring at him. His hands were tightly clenched each time he touched Yue''s skin.


    "I''m sure alright," she nodded confidently.


    "You know, for a psychologist, you are not that sharp," Peng Peng shook his head. ''This guy is faking it... or maybe he is really good at masking his blindness. Who knows? Should I test him? would it be rude to?''


    "He did not fall for our Yue for his looks. Hmm... might have fallen for his smell though. I did prescribe Yue some great skin care products." Yue''s mother chattered on.


    He watched the guy walk into Yue''s room with clothes in hand.


    "Aunty, I will be back. Why don''t you check up on uncle?"


    Zou Nui caught his arms tightly. "I know that look. What are you going to do?"


    "No, I am just testing something; it''s just a harmless joke." Peng Peng silently crept into Yue''s room.


    As a small person, his footstep was not that loud to begin with. When he tiptoed, he made no sound at all.


    He watched the taller man stand out the bathroom door.


    ''Suspicious. How can I test him without seeming rude?'' Suddenly his eyes passed over Yue, who was passed out. ''Aha! I got your weakness.''


    Zou Yue was laying n the bed without any sheets. Before, he was in a hurry to change his own puke stained clothes so he kind of neglected Yue a bit.


    Peng Peng glanced at the man, who was now facing his way. He mouthed. ''I don''t know if you can see me.. but if you can, you are a fucking liar.''


    Slowly, he got close to Yue and pulled his top up.


    The man stood still, with no changes.


    He pulled Yue''s top down, covering his delectable six packs.


    Still no reaction.


    ''Maybe he is blind after all.'' Without a word, he left the room.

 Chapter 72 - 72 Lies

    Fan Xui swiftly ran to Yue and covered him with his sheets. He sat by the bed and sighed loudly.


    Right then he started to panic.


    The young man named Peng Peng seemed to be close to Yue and his family. If by any chance he told his family that his eyes have been healed, all his effort will go down the drain.


    He scratched head. ''Why didn''t I come out to Yue''s family in the first place? If so, I wouldn''t have to go through so much trouble,''


    But now it was too late. If he told Yue''s parents that he had been lying all, along they will lose all trust in him.


    Somewhere in the back of his consciousness, a voice was whispering that it was not too late.


    But he knew... one word from this guy and Yue''s father would banish him from visiting him.


    ''I..... I don''t want that,'' he gently caressed Yue''s head. ''Is it okay to lie for just a bit.... maybe after a few a days I will leave town and say that I went through an operation. That will work, right?''


    Just to stay close, he had to lie unconventionally.


    Sighing, he walked into the bathroom. It was a quite a small and simple compared to his own. There was only one towel, one shampoo and body wash, nothing else.


    ''For a model I thought he might use skin care'' he glanced around but found no traces of it. ''I guess his skin is good by its own,''


    He hopped into the shower and peeled off his dirty clothes. He tossed them in the hamper. The warm water washed away all his insecurities. Just being close to Yue made him feel so good.


    Suddenly a sharp pain distracted his thought, the back of his head was aching badly and weird images flashed in front of his eyes.


    {"we found it! Found it..." Qian was shouting something holding a small specimen bottle.


    After which, the sharp pain on the back of his head intensified. He saw Qian''s shocked face in those visions. Then everything went up in flames.}


    "gahhh.." he panted loudly, holding onto the shower walls. The pain dispersed, but it left his body physically tired. He stumblingly wore his clothes and walked out.


    By the time he reached his bed, he could not keep himself awake any longer. He just lost consciousness, falling right next to Yue.


    Outside, Peng Peng joined Qian on the sofa. "So how long do you know, mister fan?"


    "Him? for a long time. We got to know each other in middle school." Qian shyly whispered. Their legs were touching and so were their arms.


    Peng Peng noticed this and smirked widely. ''Hm seems like an innocent lamb.'' He moved his legs closer and nudged his feet.


    Qian swiftly moved away, shrinking his legs tighter.


    He glanced at him in surprise. ''What was that reaction? it''s like that of a pure maiden.'' His eyes narrowed at him.


    "w¡ªwhy are you looking at me like that?" Qian Wen mumbled, fidgeting with his fingers.


    "Looking at you like what?"


    "Like you are... to eat." he mumbled something else with his head lowered.


    Without having to explain, Peng pen understood. "hahaha I see.... you have a great body." his hands gently touched his thighs. He could feel the muscle constrict to his touch. He squeezed him.


    "eekk."


    "...." Peng Peng was even more surprised by his pure reaction. ''Wait, am I dealing with a virgin here.. oh my god this is bad.''


    He usually never dated virgins or straight people because they were rarely able to satisfy him in bed. ''Do I have to give up this delicious piece of steak? Mommy.... I want him....''


    Qian Wen peaked at him from under his lashes. "Is something wrong?"


    "Nothing.. hey what is your size down there?"


    Qian choked on his spit. He stood up straight and ran to the kitchen hurriedly.


    "oh Jesus... I am screwed..." he blushed slightly watching Qian panicky run to the sink and wash his face.


    Yue''s mum gazed at him from inside kitchen. ''What did you do?'' she mouthed.


    "I don''t know," he shrugged. ''Well, I know... but it''s a common question I ask all my boyfriend. What''s there to be so surprised over...''


    Qian Wen walked out of the kitchen after a while and sat down at the corner of the sofa. "Seven..." he whispered.


    "What?"


    "I''m seven. Is that.... okay?"


    Peng Peng leaned closer onto his shoulders and whispered. "That''s more than enough to fill me up."


    The guy jolted up. His face was red as a tomato.


    ''Gosh, he is so hot and cute at the same time. What the hell am I going to do? Virgin or not I am so going down on him baby,''

 Chapter 73 - 73 Sandalwood

    Zou Yue rolled over and moaned softly, hugging the sheets. A strong smell of sandalwood filled his senses. ''Did mum change the fabric softener... it smells so good,'' Zou Yue moved closer to this heavenly smelling pillow and nuzzled against it. Its surface felt soft and warm at the same time. ''hmmm so good...''


    Suddenly, the pillow groaned.


    ''Can a pillow groan?'' he opened his eyes confusedly. His sight was still blurry so was only able to see a vague image of a dense set of lashes trembling softly. ''Someone''s sleeping next to me... must be Peng Peng,''


    He threw his legs over him and hugged him tight. ''Poor guy must have dragged me back home..why the hell is he so big though.''


    His friend was slender and shorter than him, but this figure next to him was huge.


    ''Maybe he rolled himself in layers of sheets,''


    His soft breathing warmed his face slightly, bringing about that heavenly sandalwood scent.


    ''hmm.. but why does Peng Peng smell like sandalwood, not Chanel 24,''


    This time he was fully wake. He woke up stunned to Fan Xui sleeping with his head down on his pillow.


    Their faces were so close that their lips almost touched.


    "!!!!!!!" he rolled away swiftly and fell off the bed. Thankfully, the sheets cushioned his fall. ''What is Fan Xui doing here.. Oh my god I touched him. He is definitely going to be revolted.'' He slowly sat up and peered at him.


    He was wearing a casually white shirt and a pair of shorts. ''But why is he here, though?''


    A small tug at the bottom of his pants disrupted his thoughts. Trexa gran pitifully hugged his shin and whined.


    "What is it, baby? Why are you whining?"


    The little rat tried to signal something to him, but he was not able to understand anything. But all he knew was that his baby pet was terrified of something.


    "shh shhh," he cupped Trexa gran carefully in his palm. "I won''t let anything happen to you,"


    Baby Trexa peered at him with round black eyes. "squeak," she squeaked cutely and nuzzled against his thumb.


    "Oh my baby..." he kissed her little snout and placed her on the table. She just jumped into his arms and clung to his shirt. "You want to come with me to the bathroom?"''


    She nodded.


    "okay then,'' he picked her up carefully and but phone next to her pinged. He picked it up. There was a ton of message and missed calls.


    ''Why is there so many messaged from uncle Wen?''


    "Don''t tell me.. Did I drunkenly message him?" He walked into the bathroom with Trexa in one hand and his phone in another.


    Closing the door after him, he placed Trexa gran down on the counter and started reading the messages.


    His first message went out at 11pm after which his phone got overwhelmed by all uncle Wen''s call and text.


    ["I kown I hav sister... tell info.. now."] The message was spelled exactly the same way.


    "Oh, my god what the hell is this? Why did I even message uncle Wen like that?" he could spot almost ten thousand mistakes in the text alone. He was really tempted to bang his head on the walls.


    Following his message he got ten replies from uncle.


    [Sorry I did not say anything. It was my fault. But now that you know I will send you all the information we found all those years back]


    A pdf was attached to the second message.


    [Please don''t think badly of me for hiding this. I''m sorry,]


    He swiftly downloaded it.


    There were only three pages. First was her birth certificate.


    His hands started to shake in anticipating. Sitting down on the toilet seat, he carefully held his phone in his hands. There was a small photo of a baby attached in the corner with all the information included.


    "Tian Ai.... " he whispered, gently touching the baby''s scrunched-up face.


    She must be at least twenty-five given her birth date. When she was just two years old, she was adopted by an American family. Later on, her information was not available.


    His mum speculated that she might have changed her name, but he was more sceptical about this.


    ''Something must have happened.''


    Zou Yue swiftly called his uncle. "Uncle, is that all the information you have on her?"


    "Unfortunately, yes." Uncle Wen sounded very apologetic.


    "It''s okay. I''ll go to H city and check if can get anything more. Maybe she might have come visited the orphanage after growing up, right?"


    "There is a change that could have happened? Do you want me to send my men there?"


    "No, no, I''ll take care of it. If by chance we find her, I don''t want her to meet strangers. It might spook her." Yue smiled softly, glancing at the baby''s photo. "But can you find me an agency which does information check. I need to find anything and everything about her,"


    "hmm.. But Yue Why are you going to H city when the end is so near? It''s a great risk?" uncle Wen whispered softly.


    Zou Yue stood up and walked to the counter, glancing at his reflection. "These twenty-five days is all I''ve got. After the world ends, the information system will collapse and we won''t be able to find anything about her. I can risk it..."


    His eyes gleamed slightly.


    "If you say so..." uncle Wen sighed loudly.


    "It''s okay uncle, don''t forget that I am a good archer and a swordsman. Even if I get caught in the apocalypse, I can easily come back home. But.... if by any chance anything happens to me, please take care of my parents,"


    "I give you my word, little one,"


    "Thank you.... thank you so much," Yue gently caressed Trexa''s coarse hair. He cut the call and placed the phone on the counter. "I have twenty-five days Trexa, just twenty five. I have to find her before that,"


    "Squeak!" Trexa cheerfully jumped into his hands and nuzzled against his thumb.


    "Yes, we can do it. We will survive this,"

 Chapter 74 - 74 Bundle Of Sheets

    Having decided that he was going to leave, he had few things to take care of. He swiftly took a bath and changed into new clothes.


    Fan Xui was still deeply asleep on the bed. He carefully placed the sheet over him and left the room.


    His mother waited right by the door with a dubious grin on her face.


    "Ah, finally you are up," she giggled slightly. "tell me all about it,"


    "About what? My outing with Peng Peng?" Yue hugged her with a doubtful look on his face.


    She gently slapped his arms. "No silly, tell me what happened with you and little fan,"


    "Nothing, he is deeply asleep." he opened the door slightly and gestured for her to look in.


    His mother looked quite disappointed at this.


    "Mum... he is not into men. Don''t do anything silly,"


    Zou Nui pouted. "Who said that? He might be into you. No, I am absolutely sure that he is in love with you,"


    Yue just walked away, shaking his head. ''Mum, oh mum, you don''t even know that man. he absolutely hates being touched by men.''


    On the way to the hallway, he noticed a huge lump of sheets near the pond. "What the hell...who put that there.. they might get wet..."


    As he walked closer, he noticed two pairs of feet sticking out.


    "Mum, who are they?" he softly whispered, leaning down to her.


    "Peng Peng and uncle wen''s son. He-he-he they are dating now," she excitedly giggled, jumping around. "My baby Yue was a cupid yesterday..." she said, slapping his shoulders lightly.


    Zou Yue looked at the sheet weirdly. ''Darn Peng Peng, you move so fast. Didn''t we meet Qian only  yesterday?''


    The last night''s memories were quite vague, but he certainly remembered meeting Qian outside the bar.


    "Why are they in the garden, though?" he glanced around. Few of the spinach shoots were damaged but other than that his garden was intact.


    "oh..... Your father was asleep last night, and it was late. I did not want them to travel so far, so I suggested for them to sleep in..., but who knew why would sleep here. At least they are not cold," she whispered, glancing up.


    Their house''s pond was smack in the middle of the building. Meaning it was surrounded by the rooms and there was only one skylight that gave enough sunlight to grow the plants. Yue had fortified it with temper glass and steel rods, so these two were warm and comfortable sleeping in his garden.


    "Should we wake them up?"


    "Breakfast is almost ready. Let them freshen up," his mum whispered.


    Yue gently tapped Peng Peng''s head. "Wakey Wakey sleepy head."


    Peng Peng groaned and glanced back. "Yue, bring some water," he whispered in a hoarse voice.


    Zou Yue squatted down. "You okay? You sound bad... what did you do?" he narrowed his eyes.


    For which he just gave a mischievous smile. "He-he young kids like you should not be privy of such details."


    "Come one tell me. What did you both did? Did you guys get physical? Oh! Did you both kiss!!" he excitedly whispered.


    Even his mother squatted down, anxious to listen to his story.


    Peng Peng smirked widely. "oh you would never know what else we did."


    Yue chuckled loudly. Suddenly, his jovial smile turned into a small frown. "Wait, do I need to disinfect the sofa or uproot any plants here?"


    "That one," Peng Peng showed him the damaged spinach plant. "You might want to destroy that. It has too much Dna evidence,"


    "Copy that. Mum I need my gloves,"


    Yes~" she happily ran to the kitchen to bring him a disposable gloves.


    "I will just wipe down the sofa just in case." Yue hurriedly cleaned all the surfaces and uprooted the Dna soiled plants. To his surprise, it was not in a very bad condition.


    His apocalyptic frugal mind in him was tempted to just plant it once again, but just thinking about eating Peng Peng''s DNA sent shivers down his spine. "aaghh I don''t want to imagine that,"


    "You naughty naughty boy," Pen Peng smilingly watched this form his rolled up sheets.


    "Aren''t you going to wake up brother Qian?" Yue slapped his face playfully with the soiled plant.


    "he is awake," he nudged him. The taller man shrunk a little into the sheets. "I bet he is just shy."


    "oh I see.." Yue giggled and left the garden area. "hey take your time brother Qian. My parents and I will be in my father''s room. Oh, I shall bring some change of clothes too." He shouted before running away.


    Peng Peng giggled and softly kicked the person next to him. "he just left,"


    "hmm.." Qian popped his head out with a shy blush. "We didn''t even do anything. Why did you lie?"


    "I absolutely can''t say that I got pushed by a shy guy and fell on that plant, right? This is Yue''s father''s garden. He will get super pissed," Peng Peng, whispered gently caressing the taller man''s chin.


    "oh then, why did we sleep out here?" Qian pulled down the sheets to reveal a fully clothed torso.


    "I wanted our first sleepover to be under the stars," Peng Peng gently kissed his cheeks. "And I also know that you want to take things slow. Sooo... I will follow your phase,''


    "Thanks...." Qian whispered, kissing his chin gently. "I will try my best to not get shy and push you off next time,"


    "Next time you can push me on a firm bed and o all your research on me."


    Peng Peng got up and walked away with a swagger on his steps, leaving a bright red Qian still wrapped in the sheets.


    "I am so done for," Qian wen mumbled.


    All his life he had spent researching virus strands and what not... but now... he had to learn how to date..


    He pulled his phone out and searched. "How not to get shy when your boyfriend approaches you?"

 Chapter 75 - 75 Secrets Out The Bag

    Zou Yue pulled his mum to his parent''s room. His father had already freshened up.


    "You got up so soon? Come here... why did that Fan Xui stay back? Did he do something to you? If so, tell dad I will punish him myself," he said with a terrifying glare.


    "Actually, he is just asleep. He did nothing of those sorts. stop misjudging that poor man. He has nothing but pure intensions towards me,"


    Both his mother and father glanced at him with their brows raised.


    Clearing his throat, Yue whispered hesitantly. "Before I forget, I came here to tell you both something. I will be leaving for H city tonight."


    His father sat up straight instantly. "Come here," he pulled him to the corner of the room. "you said that next month was the ''end of the world''... so why?....."


    "I am going to find Tian Ai," he glanced at him with an excited smirk. "Uncle Wen sent me all the information. If I can just go check the orphanage, maybe I might find some clues as to where she is,"


    His father froze. "If it was any normal situation, I would have let you go, but Yue, the world is going to end. I won''t allow you,"


    "Dad, she is my sister." His hands started to tremble a bit. "I just want to see her and if possible bring her here,"


    "What if she has a new family? What will you do then?" he just raised a brow sceptically.


    "T¡ªthen... then I will let them know about the upcoming apocalypse and leave. dad please, you have to let me,"


    "No..." he stood firm in his stance.


    "Dad.... is it because she is not your child?" tears started to fill his eyes up. He glanced at the ceiling, controlling his overwhelming emotions. "Because if that is the case, I will be so disappointed in you...."


    His father glanced at him in shock. "You... you silly child. That baby was mine too.. Even thought I have not fathered her, even thought I have never met her, she is my daughter," he placed a trembling hand over his shoulders.


    "Then why aren''t you letting me go search for her."


    His dad wiped his eyes swiftly. "I can''t let go of the only child I have. It''s.... it''s too risky,"


    "What''s too risky? Why is Yue crying? what are you both hiding? you both better tell me right now," his mother glared at them both.


    Seeing her husband and her child remain silent, she slowly became enraged.


    "I let you both go last time thinking that you would eventually tell me that secret you have been hiding, but no! I can''t handle it anymore! You both better tell me tight now or I will ground you both!!!!"


    She folded her arms and stood there tapping her right foot.


    "foot tapping.. Shit, your mum is going to explode," his father slowly whispered with a fearful look. "Honey, you see..."


    "I ''see'' your trembling asses, now I wish to ''hear'' your so called secret!!" she was slightly panting, holding back her anger.


    Zou Yue nudged his dad. "It''s time. Let us,"


    "She won''t let you go to H city too.."


    "I am an independent adult..."


    "Any minute now!!!" she pinched both their ears and pulled them to the bed. "Sit down and start talking!!!"


    Zou Yue hesitantly glanced up. "mum... first you have to sit down as well. What I''m about to tell you is going to sound very scary,"


    She looked at him intently for a second before sitting in a small chair. "Now start talking,"


    Taking a deep breath, Yue whispered. "the world is going to end in twenty-five days,"


    She simply nodded for him to continue. From her folded legs to her calm posture, it felt like she was back to her psyche professor mode.


    "In twenty-five days a meteor is going to hit the earth bringing about a deadly virus. That virus will kill half of population. The dead... they don''t stay dead, rather they become zombies and start to attack the other living creatures,"


    She calmly nodded.


    "That''s why it is vital that I go to H city to start a search for Tian Ai before the world ends," Zou Yue gave her the cutest puppy eyes he could muster.


    Her lashes trembled slightly. "I see.."


    Yet still she remained very calm. ''Shit, she does not believe me.''


    "Mum, I know all of this seems unbelievable but it is the truth. I have lived in that world once I was reborn,"


    "With your memories intact?" she leaned forward with interest.


    "Yes. My memories are intact. I am not sure how I came back, but I assume Trexa might be the reason why,"


    He ran out of the room and brought back Trexa Gran who was hiding in the corner of the kitchen eating corn nuts. Her small limbs were trembling slightly. "I can prove this,"


    He first scratched his hands with his nails to create a small bleeding wound. "Look carefully," Trexa gently placed a paw on it. The wound disappeared instantly. "Do you believe us now?"


    Zou Nui nodded as calmly as she could. "I see..."


    ''oh god this is going to be tougher than I expected.''


    "Mum.... it''s the truth," he knelt down and hugged the waist. "Please believe me. That is the reason I have so much food stuff stocked in our attic."


    "I believe you Yue," she gently kissed his forehead.


    Much to his expectation, she reacted calmly. He worriedly glanced at his dad.


    His father nodded at him and gently caressed his wife''s cheeks. "Honey. What he is saying is the truth. You have to believe it,"


    "I said I believe it," she shrugged and hugged Yue''s head.


    "In fact, I already knew most of which you just said," she mumbled softly.


    "How!!!" Zou Yue looked up at her in complete shock. ''How did she know? Did she also retain her past memories.... oh my god...was a reborn just like me?!!''


    "I read your rough draft. It was well written but the grammar can be improved."


    "oh.. that explains a lot,"


    She smiled softly. "I believe you, my baby Yue," she gently kissed his forehead. "So that is why I won''t allow you to go to h city,"


    "Mom!!!"


    "No means no!!!" she said with a scary smile on her face. "Who''s ready for breakfast?"

 Chapter 76 - 76 The Red Panties Strike Again!!

    "Mum..." Yue followed his mum around like a lost puppy. "Just this once can I just go and come back. We might get a good lead on her whereabouts"


    "As I said, no means no," she continued wiping down the kitchen counters. "Don''t even ask me anymore Yue I can''t afford to put you at risk."


    "I will not be at risk. I am fully trained!!!!"


    "Who is fully trained?" Peng Peng entered the kitchen with a curious look on his face.


    "Peng Peng, convince my mum that I can go to H city," he clung onto his arms like a leech.


    Peng Peng just gently patted his head. "Why don''t you let him go? H city is relatively close. Only two hours from here,"


    "Still, it''s a no for me," his mum calmly whispered. but ever so slightly, her hands were trembling.


    "if you want, I can go with him. I''m free for a few days," noticing her weird behaviour. Peng Peng even tried offering this.


    Zou Nui glanced back with a small smile. "That''s so sweet of you Peng Peng, but I still won''t allow him to go. Same goes for you, both of you are not allowed to travel,"


    "mom!!! This is our only chance to find out about her!" Zou Yue shouted with a deep frown. "if we miss this then...."


    "I can''t afford to lose you too!!!!" she screamed all of a sudden. "You are grounded until further notice. Go back to your room."


    Yue swiftly wiped his tears and ran back to his room.


    Peng Peng watched him with a small frown. "You are not usually that harsh on him. What happened?"


    "Something unexpected. It.... it almost feels like a Fantasy. Peng Peng, settle down quickly. Things are going to get rough around here," she mumbled whist roughly chopping some veggies.


    Peng Peng froze. Yue''s mother had always been meticulous in what she did. From the smallest vegetables she used to chop them into small cubes or dice them evenly, but today the potato looked so jagged and uneven. ''Something really is wrong...''


    He curiously walked close. "Why? is something going on?" he casually took the rough potatoes and evenly chopped them.


    She suddenly turned around and gripped his shoulders softly. "Just... just get a house close by and but a lot of non perishable food got it?"


    "yeah okay.... still that request is weird,"


    Clearing her throat, she went back to chopping uneven chops of cucumber. "It sounds weird even to me. But a close friend of mine suspected that there is going to be a civil unrest in the country. It''s better to be prepared. Buy at least a few years'' worth of food,"


    Peng Peng carefully took the knife from her hands and placed it on the counter. "Got it. um it is okay if I share this with Qian?"


    She shook her head whist biting her bottom lip. "No, his father has already prepared everything for it. Don''t worry about him,"


    "hmm..." Peng Peng helped her chop the vegetable while she cooked everything.


    Yue, on the other hand, furiously ran into his room and banged the door close. "I can''t believe I''m grounded!! Ugh!!!!..." he pranced around anxiously.


    "is everything okay...." a hesitant voice whispered from the bathroom.


    Fan stood there half naked with only a towel around his waist.


    "eekkk..." he backed away, leaning against the door. ''Oh, my god, I completely forgot he is still here..... But darn look at those abs...'' his eyes focused on a single stray drop of water that dipped down his abs toward his mermaid line.


    He the glanced at his own tummy. It was not as defined as his was. ''I wonder how he much he works out,''


    "y¡ªYue?" Fan Xui just blinked at him.


    "oh sorry... I was just startled to see you there. I''ll get you some spare clothes to change." he ran to his wardrobe, which was quite close to the bathroom door, and started to rummage though it frantically.


    Only lose big shirt he had was his night wear and it was in the washer.


    As he was searching though few clothes fell down and a small red thing dropped down along with them. He did not even notice that.


    But Fan Xui, who was standing right behind him, spotted it instantly. Seeing the red lace panties, he started to blush red. ''Shit!! Shit!!! This is bad. I am just in my towel. Little Fan, don''t you dare stand up please....,'' he tied his hands in front of his waist trying his best to hide his ''ahem'' hard parts.


    "I swear that shirt was somewhere here." Yue bent down and started to search the lower shelves as well.


    "Oh dear lord..."


    "What is it?" Yue glanced up at him curiously. "Are you cold? Do you want me to increase the temperature?"


    His room had a small draft from the cold storage above. It left this place slightly colder than the whole house.


    "no.... yeah maybe..bye," Fan Xui ran back to the bath room and closed the door after him.


    "Oh okay... I''ll just get my father''s clothes for you," Yue glanced at the door weirdly. ''Maybe he had to pee....''


    He then arranged all the clothes that had fallen off into the wardrobe, not noticing a particular red thing was missing.


    Fan Xui frantically ran back and open the shower, drenching the cold water for head to toe. "Go down, this is not an appropriate place to stand up," he glanced at his oh so prominent bulge in the towel.


    As he was showering, he noticed something caught up in his toe. It was the most dreaded red lace panties.


    "!!!!!" he swiftly picked it up.


    But it had already gotten wet. ''What to do? If I return this now, Yue will think I''m some cheep pervert,''


    He tried air drying it but it did not work, obviously.


    "Fan Xui, I placed the clothes near the door."


    Fan went to the door and picked up the clothes. "Thanks." the pants he was lent had pockets by god''s grace.


    "Let''s hide the evidence momentarily." he rolled the red panties up and placed it in his pockets.

 Chapter 77 - 77 Approval

    While Zou Nui and Peng Peng were busy setting up the table, Zou Wei walked out of the room with a thoughtful look. "Can we talk for a second?"


    "If you are here to talk about H city, it''s better you don''t start," she mumbled, placing the dishes on the table. She glanced at her husband once more. He looked very serious. ''Seriously... why is he supporting Yue? It will only put our child in danger''s way,''


    "Just give me five minutes...." he literally begged.


    ''My poor husband... I''ve never seen him begging before...'' She glanced up with a pouty look on her face. "Fine..."


    Taking her hand gently, he led them back to their room. He closed the door behind him and sat on the bed comfortably. "Join me,"


    "No, I''d much rather stand," she humped, glancing at the ceiling.


    "Honey, please... look at me. I need you to listen to me," all of a sudden his tone went so low that even she was surprised.


    She sat down next to him. "What is it?"


    "You heard it from Yue, right. The world is going to end." He whispered nervously, holding her hand.


    Zou Nui worriedly massaged his trembling hands. "Are you so worried about it? Don''t be, we can survive this. We are well prepared and we have weapons...."


    "N¡ªno... I don''t think we will..." he hugged her softly. "Yue.... he said he has lived in the future, but he has never once mentioned about us both..."


    She pulled away from him... "You mean...."


    "We might not survive this,"


    Zou Nui froze in shock.. "Then Yue... he..."


    "Yue will be all alone in this world... let him go to H city. At least if he finds his sister he might have a kin to depend on."


    Tears started to drip down uncontrollably.


    Zou Nui gently caressed his wet cheeks. "But what if he does not find her... then he will be even more disappointed.,"


    "We must take this chance. If he does not find her... then I have no other option but to..... approve of that Fan guy. Yue said he will survive this apocalypse and will be the most powerful person." he mumbled with a deep grimace on his face. "oh god, those words felt like pure torture to me,"


    "Really!! Really, you approve! oh my god," she jumped on and kissed his cheeks. "Darling Fan is a good guy."


    "yeah..... so what? I still don''t my child to be married off so soon. He just came back to us," he mumbled with a sad smile. "Am I being too selfish?"


    She shook her head. "you are being a good father.. You always were a good at this parenting stuff. Just if you can control your temper, you are more tolerable,"


    "Geez, that sounds so mean," he kissed her lips softly. "I am not mean though,"


    "Yea, I guess you are what people call a tsundere." She giggled, hugging him softly.


    Felling his sturdy shoulders, her eyes started to tear up. ''So I am going to leave this world, my child and husband, so soon..... I don''t want that though... I want to be with them. I wasn''t to see my baby Yue fall in love with Fan. I want to see my baby girl, Tian Ai... I have too many wishes to be fulfilled...''


    "Honey, are you crying? I fell like shit doing this to you... I have no way of stopping that calamity.. I wish I could.....because I would want to spend an eternity with you...." he mumbled, sobbing softly.


    "oh darling.. I am happy that I can be with you even in death.. That''s all that matters,"


    They both hugged each other and cried until their eyes puffed up


    By the time they came back, Peng Peng had already arranged the table.


    "Whoa who messed up your eye makeup, come here," he ran to her and gently arranged the smudged mascara. He then weirdly looked at Yue''s dad. "Who dares make you cry," but even his eyes wore swollen and puffed up.


    ''Weird.... did they both fight. Is it because Yue wanted to go to H city? No... I fell like there is a deeper story to this,''


    He helped wipe her eye makeup off and retouched it. As for Yue''s dad, he just gave him an ice pack.


    "the breakfast is going to get cold. I''ll call the others,"


    "hmmm let start," Zou Wei mumbled softly. "Peng Peng one second... If you are not able to find a house nearby, just stay here."


    "Thanks for the offer but I prefer my own space."


    Peng Peng went to the garden to find Qian still sitting there scrolling through his phone with a serious look on his face. "Hey what you doing?"


    "eeee!!!" he jumped up high with his eyes wide open.


    Peng Peng got a glance at his Google search question. He smiled softly.


    Qian hid his phone behind him.


    His cheeks were completely stained red at this point. "Peng-Peng.. ahh I just was..."


    "just?" seeing his innocent reaction, he could not help but tease him further, "Were you watching porn? Oh baby, you are growing up," he kissed Qian''s head. "Come on breakfast''s ready,"


    "y¡ªyes..." Qian hesitantly followed him in.


    Peng Peng then went to Yue''s door. "Hey breakfast is ready. Come out!"


    "Yes!" Yue cheerfully ran out. Even though he was still upset with his parents about his travel ban, he was still happy that he had hot food to eat every day.


    "Where is he?" Peng Peng curiously looked inside the room. The sheets were neat and Yue also looked fresh and well sleepy in. ''good nothing bad happened. I can be well assured now,''


    "Hmm, tell him breakfast is ready,"


    "Fan Xui breakfast us ready," Yue shouted. "He will be out in a while. I think he might have a bad stomach. He is still in the bathroom," he mumbled and ran to the dining table.


    Peng Peng glanced inside the room with his brows raised. "Something is fishy,''

 Chapter 78 - 78 Wet Pocket

    "Fan Xui, breakfast us ready," Yue shouted from outside the room.


    Fan was still in panic mode. The underwear was safe in his pocket but.... his body was still heated up and stiff. He had no other option but to wank it off.


    ''But it''s so awkward doing at Yue''s place.'' he glanced at the stiffness inside his new pants. "Goodness, please just go down... please.... If Yue''s father gets I gist of this he will ban me."


    After talking intently to his little brother*, it finally went down.


    Taking a deep breath, he left the bathroom. "I should not look at Yue... if I do I might get hard.. let''s look at the ceiling... it will fit my blind man part very well," he spoke to himself and walked out.


    Everyone was already seated and waiting for him. He hurriedly walked to the empty chair next to Qian. "I sorry for the delay,"


    Yue worriedly looked at him. "Is everything okay now? Do you need any meds?"


    ''Meds for a hard on? No, I don''t think so... just don''t look at me within those eyes. My little brother is not obedient!!'' he blankly glanced at the floor and nodded.


    Qian snickered and nudged him slightly. "Sorry little Yue, he is a ''very'' healthy man, but somehow get very ''sick''...."


    Fan Xui glared at him and mouthed to him to shut up.


    Qian just chuckled loudly and hugged his shoulders.


    From the other side, Peng Peng glanced at his new boyfriend''s hands intently. "so you both were childhood friends?"


    Feeling his intense looks, he just removed his hand off of Fan. "Technically yea...."


    "hmm.... interesting. You both seem awfully close." Peng Peng chomped on a spoon full of peas.


    Zou Yue, on the other hand, was happily enjoying the food. His mum had made his favourite porridge, bakes peas and the braised pork from yesterdays left over. It was the best combo ever! He savoured each bite of it. "This is so good, mum. It tastes divine..."


    "Eat well baby," she gently kissed his head.


    Yue glanced at her in surprise. "You are not mad at me anymore?"


    "No, I guess I love you too much to stay angry," she giggled with tear-filled eyes.


    "I love you too, mum." Yue gave her a full piece of braised pork. "You should also eat well. How else can you handle my father''s temper tantrums?"


    "Hey! I don''t have temper tantrums," Zou Wei glared at him with a playful pout.


    "Whatever you say, daddy..."


    Fan Xui watched their exchange with a wide smile on his face. ''this fells warm... it''s like I have a family once again...'' in his elated mood he had two more bowl of porridge.


    His eyes still lingered in Yue''s direction.


    This caught the hawk-like eyes of Peng Peng. "Mister Fan, do you mind if I ask how did you became blind?"


    "Peng Peng," Yue''s mum tried to nurse him subtly but he just shook his head.


    "It was a car accident. I lost my parents and with it my eyesight," he mumbled, digging into his bowl.


    ''shit did he realise my lies. What to do.. if he exposes me, then Yue''s dad will kill me...''


    "Is it curable?" Yue''s friend uttered whilst eating his meal casually.


    Fan Xui glanced up with his eyes wide open. "It is... I... I was about to get my surgery scheduled."


    "Really! That''s great news!!!" Yue''s mum ran to him and hugged him tight. "Oh my god, why did you hide it from us. This is wonderful news!!"


    "Yes, indeed." Yue smiled from across the table. Somehow this news made him slightly happy, but still a doubt remained in his mind. That old grandpa said that Fan Xui got his vision only after eating that spiritual lotus or something...


    ''Maybe there is a chance that magical lotus does not exist. It might have been a false rumour,'' he ate a spoonful of warn peas with a wide smirk. ''somehow I don''t mind it at all.... this life I''m not going to depend on powers. I am going to depend on my skills.''


    "After which the great Fan Xui can see." Yue mumbled, glancing at him with a wide smirk. ''he is going to become the strongest I''m sure of it.''


    Fan Xui blushed slightly. "yeah...."


    Qian was barely holding back his laughter. "Yeah, your face will be the first he would wish to see..." he mumbled.


    "What?" Yue glanced at them both questionably.


    "Nothing, nothing at all." Qian Wen laughed loudly. "Since it''s a joyous occasion, why don''t we all celebrate till night? I''ll get my assistant to bring us my finest stash of wine,"


    Yue smiled softly. "but... tonight..."


    "Tonight Yue will be leaving to H city though," Yue''s mum whispered gently caressing her son''s face.


    "Really? You are letting me go?" Yue glanced at her expectantly.


    "Go to H city and come back soon," his father mumbled, chewing on a piece of pork.


    "Yes, but you have to call us every ten minutes. Give me updates as well..." his mum whispered with tear filed eyes.


    "yes~!"


    Zou Nui sat back down and glanced around at the dishes. "ah I think I forgot the cucumber salad,"


    "I''ll get it," Fan Xui whispered and stood up.


    Peng Peng peered weirdly at his pants.


    ''Why is he looking at my crotch like that....'' Fan thought as he placed the cutlet down?


    "What is that?" Peng Peng raised a brow.


    "What?"


    "What is that in your pockets?" he pointed at his pocket with his fork.


    Fan Xui swiftly placed a hand over it. "N¡ªnothing.. Why do you ask?"


    "It''s wet..."


    ''Shit I''m done for,''

 Chapter 79 - 79 Upgraded To A Pervert

    Peng Peng narrowed his eyes. "What are you hiding?"


    "n¡ªnothing at all," Fan Xui stuttered, holding his pockets safely.


    Zou Yue, who was eating so busily till now, glanced up. He intently peered at his wet pockets. ''Wait, he might have had an upset stomach, then that is.....''


    He held Peng Peng''s hands. "Don''t embarrass the man even more,"


    Even so Peng Peng kept glaring intently at Fan Xui''s pockets.


    Fan Xui guiltily glanced at Yue. "I''ll bring the cucumber salad," he took this chance to run to the kitchen.


    "But he is hiding something obviously," Peng Peng smashed a pea under his spoon.


    "It''s his personal business. Let''s not intrude," Yue calmed him down by patting his back.


    Zou Nui also nodded as well. "Yes Peng-ah, you should not ask intrusive questions like that. It''s considered rude."


    Peng Peng shrugged. "I ask questions like this all the time,"


    Qian chuckled loudly. "Its better you do. When something is bugging us, it''s better to ask it out loud right," he shyly held his hands.


    Peng Peng smirked and wound their fingers together. "You have that right. I have every right to know what was in his pockets,"


    Yue rolled his eyes, groaning softly. "He has an upset stomach, for goodness'' sake. He must be hiding his washed underwear. You just embarrassed him so much,"


    Zou Nui gasped. "Oh, that was why. I didn''t even think of that. Wait, let me get a bag for him. Poor guy, if he wears that wet pant he might get even sicker,"


    Saying this, she ran to her room.


    Qian Wen broke out in laughter. "ha-ha-ha he really is sick..... that really might be an underwear!!!!! ha-ha-ha-ha,"


    Peng Peng slightly pinched his palm. "What''s so funny?"


    "n¡ªno, I''ve never seen Fan being so embarrassed before." He whispered with a slight blush on his face.


    "You seem to rejoice that."


    "Of course you have to see him at work. He is stoic like a sculptured rock. Even my jokes can''t crack him up. But look at him now. He is cheery like a Christmas carol,"


    "Yeah, that does sound suspicious," Peng Peng whispered, glancing at the kitchen.


    "Enough kids eat.," Zou Wei gestured to the food.


    Qian nodded and started to eat. So did Peng Peng.


    Fan Xui did eventually come out of the kitchen, but this time the thing in his pocket was missing.


    "oh Fan, this is for you...." Yue''s mum subtly handed him a waterproof bag. "For your clothes....oh and it''s better to change out of those wet pants. I have another pant in there as well."


    "t¡ªthank you, Mrs Zou..." Fan Xui sat back down on the chair with a deep blush on his face. His eyes roamed over to Yue to see him smiling his way.


    Yue looked so pretty, just like a freshly bloomed flower.


    ''at least I made him smile...''


    And so eventually the awkward breakfast came to an end.


    Fen Xui left Yue''s house with a bag filed with his clothes and well as the wet red panties. He got in his car, which was parked right in front of the house, and placed the bag on the passenger seat.


    "Goodness, that was so bad.... if they had found the evidence I would have been banned!!!" he moaned under his breath.


    Suddenly, there was a knock on his window.


    Qian stood out there with a wide smirk.


    Fan Xui rolled his window down a little. "What do you want now, traitor?"


    "Mister goody too shoes. Did you forget that you can''t drive? You are blind, right? Let me in now. I''ll cover for you like any good friend will," Qian whispered softly.


    Fan''s eyes went wide. Yue''s family was right behind them and he forgot he was still pretending to be vision impaired.


    "Fan, where is your driver!! Oh my god!! let me drive!!!" he shouted waving at Yue''s family behind him.


    Fan Xui reluctantly got out of the driver''s seat.


    Qian Wen happily jumped in. "jump in!!" he opened the passenger door for him.


    Fan Xui go in placing the paper bag on his lap. "Let''s go..." he lowered the window and said his goodbye''s to Yule''s family that were waiting out the door.


    Right after they took a turn away from the house, he tossed a shirt at Qian. "You almost blew my cover!!"


    "Why the hell do you even need a cover?" Qian tossed the shirt away and drove slowly at the rough road. "I don''t understand you, man. If you said that you can see, Yue''s father would have approved of you by now,"


    "No, it''s the opposite. If I tell him now he will think I''m a lying son of a weasel and will chase me with a broom in hand." Fan Xui sighed, leaning against the window. "I have to stay away for a few days.... I''ll tell them I''m getting a surgery abroad."


    "Oh, okay... but my dear friends.. Lies will come back to bite you in the ass. Are you ready to deal with it?"


    Fan Xui glanced at him with a sharp look. "I am ready for anything,"


    "Shit you are determined. Well, and good my friend." He mumbled, turning on the radio. He happily hummed softly. "You know, thanks to your boyfriend I got a boyfriend now,"


    "Are you even gay?" Fan Xui raised his brow.


    "I might be. I am very well attracted to that man. Besides.... I am embarrassed to admit I have never been so hard in my life," he blushed, softly lowering his head.


    "Trust me, I feel you.... I messed up so much." He glanced at the red panties in the bag. His little brother started to stand up in attention. ''My crotch can''t handle this anymore...''


    Qian curiously kept throwing looks his way. "Curious. But what the hell did you have in your pocket. Is it your wet underwear?"


    "W-what? how did you know!!"


    "so it was an underwear!!!!"


    "No!!!" Fan Xui shouted.


    "But you said..."


    "Not mine!!!!!"


    Only after saying this did Fan Xui realise the blunder he just committed.


    Qian gaped with his mouth wide open like a toad. He swiftly stopped the car. "Did you...."


    "It''s not what you think...."


    "Then please explain my curiosity is killing me,"


    "Let it kill you. Start the car,"


    "I''m not starting it until you affirm this fact. Did you steal Yue''s underwear? Eh eh ehhhhhhh?"


    "y¡ªyes..." Fan Xui slouched down, hugging his legs. "Don''t ask me anymore..."


    Qian whistled loudly. "Congratulations, my friend. You have just upgraded yourself from uptight Fan Xui to perverted Fan Xui."


    "Shut up and drive!!!!"

 Chapter 80 - 80 Unconscious

    The ride back was very silent, with Fan Xui wallowing in his own embarrassment and Qian gloating that he has a blackmail material on his friend.


    Fan Xui silently lifted his head. He glanced at the unfamiliar road ways. "Where are you going?"


    "To my house, of course."


    "Why is that? This is my car, and you are the guest here. Take a cab," Fan coldly glanced at him.


    "My darling friend, we just shared an intimidate secret. We have to finish this off with some quality wine," he mumbled with a wide smirk.


    Fan Xui rolled his eyes. "You just want to know more, don''t you?"


    "Yes, I plan to make you drunk off your ass and get all the secrets out of you," Qian giggled.


    Fan Xui sighed loudly. "I can''t believe I''m friends wit you,"


    "Dude, I''m your only friend,"


    "Details details," Fan Xui tiredly laid his head on the window. Somehow, the headache from last night was relapsing. "aghh...." It was as if a mine exploded in the back of his head.


    He groaned softly, holding his head.


    "What''s wrong? You are not planning on ditching me with a fake reason, are you? This is our bro time..."


    "I have a headache," Fan Xui groaned even more. His head was pounding loudly. Sweat dripped down his forehead and the small hairs on his forearm stood up like they were electrocuted.


    A few flashes appeared... flashes of unfamiliar creatures kept coming on going out of vision.


    "stop...."


    "it''s okay.. Even if you roll unconscious, I''m not letting you go." Qian reached and patted his shoulders. Something zapped him hard. Smell of burning hair filled the small space "Ow!! What the..."


    "S¡ªstop the car.."


    Qian instantly stopped it by the road. "What is wrong?"


    Fan Xui ran out puking his stomach out. The pain was unbearable. He knelt on the ground, unable to keep himself standing.


    "whoa!! Fan!!" Qian held him up.


    But Fan just crumbled down weakly.


    "Hold on to my shoulders... are you sick?...." he touched his forehead.


    Suddenly, a sharp pain hit him every time he touched his bare skin. "Ow bloody Jesus!" he carefully held Fan without touching his skin.


    Fan had already lost consciousness by then. "Shit he really is sick!!"


    He lifted him to the car and swiftly drove to the nearby hospital.


    The admission did not take long. Qian easily found a copy of Fan''s medical records in his car.


    "What''s wrong with him? He said that he was having headaches for a long time. Is it the side effects of the surgery?" he glanced at the doctors for answers.


    "We are not sure. We have prepped him for a CT scan. That can give us some answers." The doctor said, rolling unconscious Fan to the CT scan room.


    Qian held his head, panting softly. This was the second time he had seen his friend so vulnerable. The first was his car accident that took his vision.


    He slowly slid down, sitting on the hospital floor. ''I did not even realise he was that sick.... I was making fun of it.. Oh my god I''m a bad friend..'' he silently sobbed.


    Right then, his phone pinged. It was a message from Liwei saying that he will be dropping by his home.


    With shaking hands, he replied he was busy.


    Fan Xui had warned him not to tell the secret about his eye surgery.. not even to Liwei.


    His friend somehow did not trust Bai Liwei. Maybe it was because he was from that traitorous family of Bai.


    He groaned softly... ''What would I do if he had a terminal illness... will he really die?..''


    During his first accident, Fan Xui had a huge swelling inside his brain and forgot everything. For years, he was like that. But after a while, he suddenly remembered everything.


    ''Is it going to happen again? Is he going to forget everything again?...''


    After a long wait, the doctors ran to him hurriedly.


    "is it a tumour? Is it terminal? Is he dying... oh my god am I going to lose my only friend!!!" he sobbed loudly, holding the doctor''s scrubs.


    "sir... your friend''s condition is unique.. Please come with us. He led him to the office and sat down. "We have got his scans... and something is very peculiar."


    He hung two scans before the lit up board. A human brain was cleanly seen.


    Even though he was a scientist, he did not deal with human anatomy much, so he was very confused.


    "Is there anything wrong with his brain? Did he forget everything again?"


    "Did that happen before?" the doctor frowned.


    "Yes, it did. After his accident, he lost his memory for three years," he anxiously whispered.


    The doctor scribbled something on his notepad.


    "So he will live, right? Call any specialist you can. I will take care of all costs.."


    "Wait, a bit. He is not terminal, and he is not dying," the doctor raised his hand. "As you can see, his brain is... unique." He gestured to the scans.


    "This is what we call brain imaging. We can detect patterns of brain activity with this. See this part, the frontal lobe." he gestured to the dark part of the scan.


    "I don''t see it..." Qian narrowed his eyes and peered at it.


    "It''s because it''s too active. We are not even able to scan it successfully. Every time we tried it glitches," he showed multiple scans that all showed a blackened frontal lobe.


    "What does this mean?" Qian anxiously whispered.


    "This must only mean that your friend has the potential to unlock an infinite amount of memories. It is physically not possible for a human to do so. But.... it''s happening. This is the first time we have ever seen this. My mentors and other study groups will be here. Please give us permission to check up on him."


    "No! Discharge him. We are going to move him to my hospital,"


    "but your friend is a medical miracle. If we can research him, we might find the easiest way to help humans unlock memories."


    "Anyone with short-term memory loss or other similar condition like dementia can greatly benefit from it." the doctor peered at him excitedly.


    "I won''t allow it. You are not making my friend into your lap rat. Process the discharge papers. And you better keep what happened he confidential."


    He picked up the scans. "I will send my lawyers to you. Sign the NDA agreement obediently. Got it?" he intently glared at him.


    "g¡ªgot it.." the doctor gulped and handed every copy of the scans to him.


    Qian Wen walked out of the room even more confused. ''What kind of memory is he accessing... it''s not possible for humans to have such brain activity?...''

 Chapter 81 - 81 Changing Dates

    "Busy?" Liwei gritted his teeth loudly. He was presently standing out the door of Qian''s house. After his falling out with Fan, he was scared to approach him but he kept in touch with that sully buffoon.


    ''How dare he say he is busy... I am being courteous enough to come meet him. Ugh I was even panning on sharing my resources with him. We''ll see what he can do.'' He turned away and got into his zombie proofed car.


    After coming back in time, he had been in a hurry to prepare everything that things had gotten out of hand.


    Fan was ghosting him and Qian was too ''busy''


    ''Those assholes they won''t know what''s coming for them. We''ll see how they will be begging for food when the zombie apocalypse hits'' he tightly clenched the corner of his coat.


    His initial plan was to stick close to Fan Xui and Qian until the cure has been created.


    ''The cure.... that is the only reason I am getting close to them. Those idiots don''t even know how much that cure is worth!! They wanted to give it away for free!''


    In his last life, after ten years of struggling, Qian was able to develop a cure for the deadly zombie virus. It not only reverts the zombified person to a human but it also can help prevent them from getting infected upon further contact with the virus.


    It was a big deal but.... but Fan Xui and Qian were ready to spread the formula of it around for FREE!!!


    He had made secret plans with one of the settlement close to them to sell the secret formula.


    But the other settlement had other plans. They wanted the cure to become an exclusive property of theirs.


    The unpredictable happened. They sent in assassins to kill them.


    Their first target was Fan Xui and Qian. In the middle of a busy afternoon, their office was bombed.


    Hearing the news the next morning, he started to panic. He got ready to skip through the settlement and settle down in another, but the assassins got wind of his activity.


    Since he was close in close contact with the secret formula, he too became their prime target.


    The only other person with the cure was him, so they secretly killed him as well.


    Leaving his carcass to be devoured by the zombies..


    It was the most pitiful ending.


    Liwei clenched his hands so tight that his small nails left behind crescent marks. ''This time I won''t be the one dying. I will make sure I stick close to Qian, take the cure and run away before anyone gets news of it. I can live safely after...''


    He glanced at his empty palm with a long sigh. The last life, he had a water drop shaped sign which acted as a space.


    ''My space ability was not that developed. This time to store all my goods from the warehouse, I need to make sure to expand it as quickly as possible,''


    There was only one way to do that. Devouring the zombie crystals from a space ability zombie.


    But space powered zombies were very rare.


    There was only other way to power up.


    ''It''s by killing and devouring the crystal in the head so other space ability users....'' he resolutely glanced at the road. ''Last life I was weak because I strayed from killing but this life... I am willing to sacrifice anyone''s life just to love. Watch out Fan and Qian. I will not let you live peacefully,''


    Liwei giggled softly.


    On the other side, Qian moved Fan to his private hospital, where he conducted all his research. He also got in contact with one of his friend who was a neurosurgeon to consult about Fan Xui.


    "Great... you will be getting here in a few days, huh. That''s nice. Please do keep it confidential and sign that NDA I sent you," Qian Wen said, cutting the call. Keeping this detail a secret was very tough.


    Fan Xui went into a coma right after that and had not woken up.


    Even the doctors were not sure when he will wake up.


    He left his work to his assistant researcher and walked back to Fan''s room. He placed his trembling hands on the window and peered in.


    Fan Xui was hooked up with many devices.


    "you better wake up soon.. or I will tell your darling Yue.."


    "Mister Qian. We need you," his assistant ran to the hallway.


    Qian sighed. "What is it now? The samples are all safely monitored and they have yet to show signs..."


    "The council is here... there are here to discuss about... Classified things."


    "shit," Qian grumbled and hurried to the meeting room. Everyone important was already seated there anxiously waiting for him.


    "greetings,"


    "Sit down, mister Qian. We got your report about your stunning progress. So.. we as a council have come to a decision that we are going to move up the bombing day,"


    "but you already moved it up five days. We don''t have to hurry, sir. If we strike it when it''s outside out atmosphere, we might not get any samples," Qian Wen frowned deeply.


    One man wearing the nas*a clothes leaned forward. "Don''t have worry about that, mister Qian. The asteroid is moving at a speed much faster than we had initially anticipated. We can definitely move it forward three days more."


    "So...." Qian glanced at the calendar. It was 1St April. "We are going for 22nd April?"


    "Yes. Please be prepared to collect the samples that come our way. We have analysed the blast format. The largest of the pieces is going to strike S city and H city. The smaller ones will be raining in G city. But I''ll have you know none of these pieces pose a threat to the human population."


    Qian Wen gulped. "I''ll have my team ready,"


    "Great, meeting adjoined."

 Chapter 82 - 82 H City

    (We have hit 1M views woohoo.)


    Whist packing his bags, Zou Yue glanced at the calendar. It was April 1st. There was only thirty-one days before the apocalypse. The first asteroid will strike on May 1st.


    His mother worriedly glanced at him from the bed. "Baby, if what you said is true than it''s too risky. You have to take your weapons." she stood up and picked up his bag of arrows from under his bed. "Maybe a sword will work too..."


    she tightly gripped his sleeve refusing to let go.


    Zou Yue gently hugged her


    "Mum, please don''t fret.... I can do this. I will be safe as well. I will find her and bring her back to us." He patted her trembling back gently. "I am confident in my skill. So please... don''t worry about me, mother. I can survive this,"


    After a long time of consoling his sobbing mother, he left the house towards the airport. H city was quite close. It will only take five hours by road and forty-five minutes by flight. For convenience, he booked a flight.


    His mom waved at him with tears in her eyes.


    The cab started.


    Zou Yue glanced at his parents, who were waiting anxiously by the door, with a small frown. ''Don''t cry mum.... don''t make me regret my decision. I don''t want to see you cry. Please smile,''


    He smiled at her widely.


    She gave him a forced smile


    It was the beginning of April now and by the first of May, the first meteor would crash down earth. The second one will follow after this by the end of that same month.


    He tightly gripped the small bag in his hands. ''I have to find her soon... I have to be here.... I have to be there for my parents.. I wish and pray that they will survive. No, I will make them survive... if not, I have no reason to exist. Please god please... let them survive,''


    Somehow, he felt like he was running away. Because a small fear still lingered in his mind that his parents might not survive.


    Soon they reached the airport. He got into his plane and landed in H city in just under an hour. He caught a cab to his booked hotel room.


    He swiftly called up uncle Wen. "Uncle, I''ve reached H city. I will be staying in a small hotel near the airport."


    "I''ll book a Marriott," uncle Wen sternly said.


    "No, those building are too tall and it''s in a crowded location. I much prefer this one. But thank you so much uncle." he hurriedly stopped him.


    "kid... this is an unknown place. How can you find a person you lost twenty-five years ago! and the apocalypse is near, how can you put yourself at risk?"


    "Uncle, I am doing this because I''m confident. Besides the initial stages are not that bad, but people feared them and stayed in. I will deal with it on my own. And I will try my best to finish my work here and leave before it starts."


    "Did you take any weapons?"


    "Yes, I did. I brought my crossbow." Zou Yue clutched the bag tightly. He could feel the cold arrow tip touching his skin through the bag.


    "Why didn''t you take a sword?"


    "Crossbow is compact and I don''t have to deal with the airport guys,"


    This was his contingency plan. In case the apocalypse started way before he could deal with it with this.


    But the arrows amount was less.


    ''I hope the apocalypse never happens but.... I know it is going to.'' He glanced at the peaceful blue skies and sighed.


    "Butterfly effect... I am causing a lot of changes... but i hope a good kind of change." He whispered to himself.


    The cab stopped right in front of a two story building. It looked slightly rundown but still it was a decent place to survive. The top floor was not that easy to access, but it was easy to escape. There was food available in the supermarket right opposite the building.


    If in case anything goes wrong, he can easily survive for a few days in this place.


    He swiftly paid the cab driver and got into his room.


    The first thing he checked was the blinds. At night if there was even a slightest amount of light, the zombies will get attracted to that place. It was better to have thick blinds.


    But sadly, the screen was too thin. He removed the sheets from the bed and draped it over his window and checked its thickness again. This time, his phone light did not flash through.


    "Good... now all I have to do is find Tian Ai." he sat down on the sofa and started to read through the document.


    The orphanage she was abandoned was called ''New hope'' it was just a few streets away from his hotel.


    "I will go check this place out first...." he changed into his white top and pant set his mum brought for him. The shirt fit him like a loose pillow cover, but it was the most comfortable cloth he had put on.


    It gave an impression of ambiguity.


    The steers were busty jam packed with cars and cheerful crowd. Most of them were college students.


    ''Is there a college nearby?''


    A quick search gave him all the answers. Indeed, there was a college nearby and there was also a high school.


    Zou Yue frowned. ''Shit, why didn''t I notice this?''


    A large grouped population always ran the risk of easily spreading the virus.


    "Maybe I should change my hotel..."


    He walked two streets away and reached the spot on his Google maps. ''New hope'' he glanced at the place, but there was only a pizza place there.


    ''umm'' he checked his maps again. It was showing that he had reached his destination.


    "I think I came to the wrong place.."


    Right then, a young pizza delivery person was walked out with his hat lowered.


    "Excuse me; do you know where new hope orphanage is?"


    The person froze. "That place burned down years ago,"


    "W¡ªwhat"


    "I said that place burned down years ago," that person said and got on the bike. "Out of the way, please,"


    Zou Yue kindly moved out with a shocked expression still on his face.


    ''I lost the only lead I have, darn it. This is not an easy task!!''

 Chapter 83 - 83 The Murong Family

    In a dazed state, Zou Yue walked back to his room and just jumped into his bed. The hour flight had already left jetlagged and now... he was depressed.


    He hugged the pillows tight and screamed into it.


    "Now what do I do!!!" he shot up and started to read through the files once again. "Is there any other way to find her?"


    Without the orphanage, it was not possible to find Tian Ai''s original birth certificated or her present location.


    If the building was really burned down, then all the records they had would have been lost.


    And unfortunately twenty-five years ago there was no digital system that kept track of things.


    "Wait, I can check the government register. Even if she was an orphan, she had to be registered right,"


    He jumped and caught a cab to the nearby registry office.


    After an hour of searching, they did not find anything and there was not a person names Tian Ai registered.


    Everything about her birth was destroyed. It was as if she did not exist at all.


    "How is that possible? Why didn''t the orphanage register her.... there is something fishy,"


    He swiftly called up his uncle.


    "Yue, how is it? I can still book the Marriott,"


    "No, uncle, we I called to ask you for a favour. I need to know of any private detective agency nearby. A good one." he whispered, running to the Main Road catch a cab.


    "I know of a retired cop who lives there. What is going on?"


    "The orphanage was burned down." he mumbled, gritting his teeth.


    "Then come back Yue.. You don''t have to put too much effort into this. It''s too risky,"


    "No, the fire seems so suspicious. And I just checked the registers. Tian Ai is not registered but then how could her birth certificate exist?"


    He flagged down few cabs, but they all had passengers in them.


    "You are saying that there could be false play?"


    "Yes. Who is out to hide her existence?" Yue mumbled, biting into his nails.


    "Your maternal grandparents." Uncle Wen softly whispered.


    Yue froze. "y¡ªyes.... they must have done something."


    He had read the files about his mother''s family. They were called the Murongs. They had so much influence in H city and S city. In fact, he had met his cousin when the end of the words started.


    Murong Shao.


    A powerful wind user of S settlement. He was the sole reason that the settlements survived for a long time, but after that last zombie herd he heroically passed away.


    Back then, he did not know about his mother''s family history.


    Now Zou Yue started to get sceptical about the whole family.


    They were heartless enough to throw away a new-born child and now they have erased her traces.


    He silently cussed them in his mind.


    "Yue? You still there?" uncle Wen softly whispered.


    "I am. Will I get an answer if I interrogate them?"


    "You probably won''t."


    "I have to try," an empty cab came his way. He swiftly flagged it, but it went past him. "God, why is getting a cab so hard?"


    "You want me to arrange a private car."


    The signal in front of him went red, and the cars stopped in front of him, but by this time he was busy with his research on that despicable family.


    "Nope, I''ll take care. Thank you so much, uncle. Love you so much," he cut the call and started to research everything he could on the Murong family.


    Everything about their family was known to public because they were a very influential family.


    His grandmother Murong Jia was a well-known jury who has retired.


    His grandfather Murong yang was a politician who was well known for his successful campaign.


    They had two children. Their first son names Murong Delun who passed away, leaving his only son Murong Shao.


    And next was his mother, who ran away from her family.


    There was no news of his mother anywhere, though. It was as if they had erased her.


    He tightly clenched his phone. ''Fuck those Murong. How dare they put my mother and my sister through so much suffering?..''


    ''If it was normal, times would have found them and exacted revenge... but I am in a time crunch. I need to find a way to meet anyone from that family.


    His search gave him an easy answer. The Murong family was arranging a birthday family for their shining member Murong shao in two days.


    ''I need invites. It must be sold somewhere...''


    But what he didn''t realise was that the person he was looking for was right in front of him.


    Murong shao gazed out the window with a slight frown on his forehead. He swiftly took a picture of this persona and sent it to his grandfather.


    "Doesn''t she look like our aunt?"


    His grandpa called him instantly. "Where are you?"


    "Why?" Shao glanced at the young girl clenching her phone. "Are you going to make her disappear once again?"


    "like I said shao I did not destroy her certificated for any other reason. It''s just..... your grandma.... she wanted to see her desperately," a stern voice whispered from the other side.


    Shao scoffed. ''is that why you still haven''t ''found'' her after so long?''


    This young girl was his cousin. Because of his grandfather''s prestige issue, he threw her away the day she was born.. But this girl found a good family.


    She was adopted by a kind couple abroad. But things didn''t go well. Her new family got into an accident and they too passed away. After that she was passed through many foster systems until she was deported back.


    His grandpa gave him a ridiculous reason that his grandmother wanted to see her, but he knew...


    He knew that his grandpa was trying to make this girl disappear just because of his campaign was getting close.


    To him, this girl born out of wedlock was a stain on his name.


    Murong shao looked at the petite little girl trying to flag down a cab.


    He cut the call instantly.


    "I have to at least do something.... she is my family after all," Murong shao got down and started to walk to the other side. But as he got close, the young girl caught a cab.


    "Wait!" the lights turned green, and the cab zoomed past him.

 Chapter 84 - 84 Information On Murong Family Part 1

    [Surprise!!! I am doing a mass release today. the following chapters will be free as well]


    Zou Yue went back to his hotel and just laid on the bed thinking of a plan. As of now, he suspected Murong family for Tian Ai somewhere.


    ''But where and why did they do it? Why did they hate her so much? She was just a baby...'' he closed his eyes tightly.


    "Those mean people... just for prestige they tossed a little baby away." He grumbled, prancing around..


    His stomach growled loudly from all the stress.


    "Fuck! Being angry makes me hungry!" he ordered pizza from the nearby place. In fact, it was the pizza shop that was situated where the old orphanage was in.


    He was busily reading though any information he could find about that family when the doorbell rang.


    "My pizza is here~" he ran to the door and threw it opened. A person in a big baseball hat and a jean jacket stood there holding his pizza.


    "4.50.."


    "Oh okay..." he handed him the cash, and that person handed him the pizza. Without any other word, the pizza guy just left.


    "Weird..." he closed the door and started to munch on his pizza busily.


    Uncle Wen sent him information about the private investigator. He tossed the half-eaten pizza slice into the box and called him up instantly.


    "Is this mister Cai Zheng?"


    "Yes, who might this be?"


    "I am Zou Yue; my uncle gave me your number."


    "Oh yes, Wen said that you will call. What might I help you with?"


    "I need to find out anything you can about the Murong family. Get me the dirt and.... investigate the fire that happened in ''new hope'' orphanage. I suspect they are somehow related to that family,"


    "Hmm will do." A small scratching sound was heard, indicating that he was noting it down. "Anything else?"


    "Oh, I heard the Murong family is gone to hold a birthday party for Murong Shao. I need an invitation. can you do that?"


    "Yes, for a little bit more I can,"


    "Please do then, uncle Cai. Thank you so much,"


    "Welcome kid. I''ll give you your report by tomorrow,"'' he said and cut the call.


    Zou Yue sighed. If he had a little more time, he could have done the information searching himself, but now he was now on a time crunch.


    He glanced at the calendar. April 2nd. "I will leave at least five days before. So that gives me only 23 days to find her."


    He opened his pizza box and continued eating every little crumb of it. Nothing was wasted, not even the little condiment packets. He previously saved them in his bag.


    The thrifty personality he developed during the apocalypse was very hard to break. But to be honest, he liked being thrifty.


    After a satisfying mean he threw himself into his research.


    Murong Shao was easy to keep tabs on. Unlike his grandparents, he was a very successful business man. He had so many companies all across the world. To be honest he was as rich as Fan Xui.


    They both held the tenth richest men under thirty in the Forbes, raking every year.


    Zou Yue peered at Murong Shao''s pictures in which he was smiling jovially.


    Murong Shao inherited his grandfather''s look completely. He had a long face with definite jaws. His lips were a thin line but always smiling. His eyes were slightly wider, similar to his mother. Even his eyebrows somehow looked like his mother''s.


    This Murong Shao was the manly version of his mother.


    "I don''t like you. Fan is much more handsome than you and much cooler as well," he mumbled slightly, poking the pictures.


    The phone screen slightly cracked.


    Zou Yue frowned. "Did I damage the temper glass?" he glanced at it weirdly. He had brought his phone just a few months ago.


    "no... I brought this almost six months ago. Maybe this is a bad brand...." he tossed it on the bed and plopped on it as well.


    "What do I know of my so-called cousin? I don''t know anything other than the media just gave me. Sigh, I need to wait for the report,"


    Night time came sooner than he had expected. His stomach started to growl once again.


    "Goodness, why do I get so hungry all the time,"


    Zou Yue considered calling the nearby pizza place again, but he just had a box of it. "I need to shop," he got up and ran to the opposite supermarket.


    He picked up a basket and started to fill it with non-perishable items.


    He went to the ramen aisle and stood there hesitantly. ''I don''t have an operating kitchen in my hotel.. should I buy it or not?''


    But the colourful packages pulled him in.


    He picked out few cup noodles that only needed hot water to cook. He had a kettle in his room so this can work.


    He also picked out few the brands of ramen.


    ''This is a just in case stock....'' Zou Yue gave a stupid reason to but a lot of flavours. In his house, his mother never allowed him to eat ramen. Besides, all the noodles he bought were for trade only, so he never touched his stock.


    After the apocalypse hits the world, food became the basis of any trade. All currency system was abolished and barter system started to flourish. Food and power were everything.


    So this was an excuse to buy a lot of flavours and eat as much as he can before his mother bans it from the household.


    Suddenly he ran into someone. His basket caught onto the unravelled ends of the person''s blue jean jacket. "Sorry," he apologised, and tried to untangle it.


    But the more he did, the more it got tangled up.


    "Gosh...." he knelt down and started to untangle it gently.


    "Time consuming." The girl just tore it and left.


    Zou Yue, who was kneeling on the ground, just looked at the torn part of the jacket in shock. "Well that is a way to untangle things,"


    His eyes lingered on her back. She had long black hair that draped down her waist and she was wearing a red shirt underneath.


    "Wait, miss, let me pay for your clothes,"


    "Not needed," she waved at him without looking back and left the store.


    Authors note- sorry for not updating regularly. lot of things happened in my life. I almost got married. (@^@). I cancelled the marriage and now I am being scorned by my everyone. I feel sad and dejected.

 Chapter 85 - 85 Information On Murong Family Part 2

    The next day Zou Yue got busy. He dressed up in a small frilly top and a pair of flared jeans and left for the day.


    This morning he got the mail saying that the information he had requested had been received. But had to collect it I person.


    He got a cab easily and went directly to the Private investigator''s office.


    "Little Yue, come come," an older looking man happily welcomed him with a hug.


    "Good morning mister Cai Zheng,"'' Yue smiled softly.


    "Good morning to you to.... forget the formalities but lest cut to the chase shall we? I have found what you requested." The man walked him to his office and handed him the file.


    Yue anxiously opened it. But as he read through it, his frown deepened. "What does this mean? Why is the Murong family searching for her?"


    "I believe it must be to welcome her to the family."


    Yue scoffed. "Why do you even think that? After they tossed her out ruthlessly, they don''t have a right to call her back." He mumbled, reading into the details. The orphanage burned down almost ten years ago. Surprisingly the Murong family was innocent regarding this event. They were not involved in it.


    Rather, it followed a different story.


    The orphanage land was owned by a kind old woman who took in any number of kids she could. She was the one who found Tian Ai by the doorstep and raised her.


    But her son did not share her kind disposure.


    He was a greedy man. He wanted the orphanage to himself. So twelve years ago, he started to send many thugs to threaten his old mum to give up on it.


    The old lady was resolute in her stance and refused to give him even a dime.


    In fact, most of her wealth was written off to the kids she had taken care of.


    "Shit... "


    He read through further.


    After suspicious death ten years ago, the orphanage lost its stronghold. The thugs entered the place and burned it down, chasing the kids away.


    "Wait a minute, Tian Ai was already adopted by a foreign couple. Did she get that inheritance?"


    Cai Zheng sighed. "This is why I called you here... your sister Tian Ai.... she did get adopted by a foreign couple, yes she had a part of the inheritance too. but.. Later on she was deported back here,"


    "What!! Why didn''t uncle Wen get any news of this?" Yue anxiously walked around. "Why was she deported? Did... did her family not want her? Did they abuse her?.."


    So many scenarios ran through his mind.


    "No..... she was an illegal immigrant."


    "I don''t understand." Yue sat down in front of him. "You said she was officially adopted by that couple. Then how did she become an illegal immigrant?"


    The older man handed him another document. "The Murong family is not without fault. They did not cause the fire, but they did cause her to be deported back here. Murong Yang erased all traces of her birth certificate, thereby invalidating her visa."


    Yue tight gripped the paper in his hand. ''Those fuckers..... ''


    He held his aching head. "Is there any way to find her? Did you search for her?"


    "I did... but sadly, I didn''t find anything. She is off the system,"


    "Exactly!! She is off the system. She must not be able to get a proper job or education because legally he does not exist!!" Yue screamed, crumbling the paper in his lap.


    He tried taking a deep breath to calm his tight nerve. "Did you get me an invitation?"


    "What are you going to do?" Cai Zheng carefully whispered, handing him the invite.


    "Show them the taste of their own medicine. No one messes with my family!" Yue got up and reached the door. "Mister Cai... please keep an eye out for her. If you get any word, just let me know,"


    "Sure things,"


    Yue bowed to him and left.


    The ride back was much more solemn. ''I need to finally see that shameless family of mine.''


    He got the report that they have been searching for her.... but not for second did he believe it was out of good intensions.


    They must have some kind of reason to search for her after so many years. But they might have some information that they might have blocked from the outside world. He needed that. Even a small info can bring him closer to finding his sister.


    They might not necessarily answer all his questions.


    ''This is tough...I need to amp up my game.''


    He tapped the driver''s shoulders. "Can you stop me at the nearby designer store?"


    "Yes sir," the man drove him over to Gucci.


    Zou Yue got down and walked in with a stride. ''If I go as Zou Yue they might not answer, but what if I ask the questions as Tian Ai, the person they are desperately searching for, I might find out what I need....''


    He caressed his long hair with a smile. ''Long hair really is convenient.''

 Chapter 86 - 86 The Evening Of The Party

    "We should find my granddaughter... this is the only way I can atone to my sins to my Nui.... bring Tian home to us, please...."'' Murong Jia sobbed, hugging her husband.


    Murong yang sighed loudly. "there have been no traces of that child anywhere....."''


    "No no.. Shao saw her yesterday. Here.." With her trembling hands she picked up her phone and showed her husband the photo of a young girl in casual white t-shirt and baggy pants. "This is our grandchild I''m sure...."


    "Honey....that girl is not our grandchild. It''s not," Murong yang gently held her back, but his wife fought out of his hold.


    "She is our granddaughter!! How can you say that!.."


    Suddenly her hysteric facial expressions changed to calm one.


    "I have so many things I prepared for my granddaughter. She really likes warm milk... I asked the maid to make some. I''ll set the table for dinner. Can you go fetch my dear Tian Ai" she cheerfully hugged him. Her tears still were dripping down her cheeks, but her mood changed drastically.


    "We will... we will..." Murong yang hugged her softly, but his eyes remained steel cold.


    In the corner of the room, Murong Shao saw all this with a long sigh. ''I need to find her soon... to cure my grandmother...''


    Right after his aunt Murong Nui eloped with her husband, things have been rough around the house. His grandma was devastated about this news and overnight she got sick...


    A few years passed, and his grandmother''s health still didn''t improve. Because of the deep guilt she held for her grandchild, she completely lost sanity. Most nights she hysterically called out to her. She even cried and prepared food for her. Only thing she ever speaks about is her granddaughter Tian ai...


    For a while, his grandpa handled it well, but he got fed up.


    After a few years, he decided to search for her. But because of his earlier mistake of erasing her birth certificate, they could not find anything about her.


    She completely vanished.


    His grandmother''s state became worse. She had to be sedated most of the days.


    Some days she her mind was clear. Just like yesterday... but some days...


    He closed the door after him softly and walked to his car. His secretary waited for him and opened the door.


    "Did you find anything?"


    "Yes... and no... we were only able to track her for a while. She easily slipped away,"


    "Incompetent," Shao whispered, closing the door. "Find out where she is staying. I need to set up a meeting with this girl by tonight,"


    "But sir... today it''s your birthday..."


    "I don''t care. Just do as you are asked to."


    Right after the car left the garage, he got a message from his grandpa. "Tonight, all my friends as well as your close business partners will attend. Don''t be silly and miss it,"


    He coolly glanced at it. ''Does my grandpa even care about finding aunt Nui''s daughter?....''


    Somehow his grandpa''s attitude was very lax.. he did not seem to care about her at all. Not one bit.


    It bothered him a lot.


    But he brushed it aside to concentrate on the issue at hand. He glanced at the three photos on his lap. The girl in the photo was frowning slightly, glancing at her phone. ''How much misery did you experience in this life? It''s all my family''s fault. I will rectify it,''


    "I need to find her before she disappears."


    *****


    Zou Yue sat up straight, glancing out at the evening sun.


    Today was the day...


    ''It was the day to get information about Tian Ai, no it was the day to torture the Murong,''


    ''It''s not about revenge, Yue.. Don''t get too ahead of yourself,''


    But thinking back to all the bad things they have done to his sister, his rage went over the top.


    ''Fine, I am going to make a mess out of this birthday party. Just you wait you old snake Murong. I am going to make you into a media spectacle,''


    Zou Yue swiftly changed into the beautiful slip dress. It was wine red and came right above his knees. The dress fit him like a glove, hugging his waist and his slender figure. But the top, was completely rouched. This hid his identity as a man very easily.


    He walked to the mirror and started applying his makeup.


    Previously in Gucci, he had brought all the makeup necessities but.. he did not want to overdo it.


    His sin was flawless and did not need foundation so he hid his dark under eye bag with a small dab of foundation.


    As for his eyes, he simply went with a smoky finish.


    The innocent pink lipstick toed the look together, giving a sweet and innocent vibe.


    Zou Yue glanced at the mirror with a wide smile. He cleared his throat and spoke in a low tone. "This will work..."


    The low tremble of his voice gave him an ambiguous feeling. Just like he was whispering to a lover.


    At last he glanced at the one thing he feared the most. The beautiful red heals.


    "Do I really have to wear that....."


    He really contemplated it. But without this six inch heals the look looked incomplete. The model in him was screaming for him to wear it.


    Zou Yue simply slid his jade like feet inside. The dark red of it contrasted drastically with his pale milky feet. It felt so sensual somehow.


    "I understand why people like foot now..." he mumbled, glancing at it with a satisfactory smile.


    "That''s it... my time has come to shine,"


    He did not style his long hair. Rather, he let it flow behind him, fluttering even in the smallest gust of wind.


    Zou Yue wore his coat, picked up the invite and left the room. ''Today''s plan is the one to get info about Tian Ai two make a spectacle of the party. Ruin any kind of reputation that the Murong''s hold.''


    A car was waiting for him right at the entrance of the hotel. It was a white BMW s5.


    He frowned slightly as the door opened and a young foreign man walked out. "I am your chaperone, ma''am,"


    "I never asked for one," Zou Yue said in a low tone and walked away.


    Suddenly, the blond man ran upfront and stood in his way. "Sorry, I think I made the wrong impression. I am Hary and I was sent by mister Cai Zheng to be your chaperone," he smiled dazzlingly.


    Zou Yue frowned even more. "I never asked for one," he swiftly called him. "Mister Cai, did you send a car and a young man to guide me..."


    "Yes, I did. Wen told me to," he said casually.


    He sighed. "I see... thank you. I''ll call uncle Wen and let him know that I do not need of this service.


    "It''s for your safety!" he worriedly. "Kid, you don''t know what that old Murong is capable of. I don''t want you to walk into a trap. Take the man. He has worked as a bodyguard for a very long time. He can keep you safe,"


    Zou Yue glanced at the young man up and down. He looked burly, but his stance was not that steady. He kept hopping as he stood in front of him. "You are a boxer, right?"


    "Yeah! How did you know?" the young man enthusiastically said.


    "I can see.. wait right here," Yue swiftly got into the elevator back to his room.


    If his uncle feared for his safety to this extent, it might be a huge risk to go there unprepared. He took out the small, foldable crossbow and tied it to his thigh with a ribbon. As for the arrows, he decided to take only two out of the twenty he brought.


    He ran back down in his six-inch heels. "Let''s go,"


    The young man looked at him with clear interest. "Say, how do you know the Murong family. I heard from Cai that you are cross with them,"


    Zou Yue glanced at him with a dangerous smile. "We are cross. They did something unimaginably cruel and I am gong to torture them for it,"


    The young man whistled. "Wow, seeking revenge? That sounds sweet." He glanced at him up and down. "I would not want to offend this young lady."


    "Didn''t uncle Cai tell you?"


    "Tell me what?" he confusedly peered at him.


    "I''m a guy."


    The young man blinked. He glanced at him once again with his eyes wide open. "Don''t lie to me. You are not a guy,"


    "I am." Zou Yue just threw him a glance.


    The young man looked very stunned by his new discovery. "Prove it to me. I won''t believe that you are a dude until you prove it,"


    "I have no obligation to prove it to you. if you think I''m a girl, then that''s your business. Anyway I want you to call me as Tian Ai when you see me got it?"


    "Got it," the man smiled with his teeth all on display.


    "Don''t smile too much. And don''t talk to anyone much. We only have one goal in mind. To capture that old snake. Make a racket make a rumour anything that can bring down that impeccable reputation he built for so long." Yue calmly whispered.


    His plan was only to talk to him. But if things went out of hand or if his anger got the best of him, he might as well do the unthinkable.


    "Roger that!" the young man suddenly glanced at him questionably. "You really are not planning to kill him right"


    "I am.. but I can change my mind according to the way they behave," Zou Yue whispered caressing the arrow''s tied to his thighs.


    The world is going to end in about thirty days anyway. He can easily hide from the police if he had to with uncle wen''s help.


    Zou Yue assembled his crossbow and checked if it was comfortable to use. It was just wide as a small iPad. It was easy to fold it and store it and the arrow it comes with is very strong and sharp. This was one of the best buys in his apocalyptic haul.


    A loud gulping sound was heard in the car.


    Without even looking, Zou Yue knew who that was. ''Is it okay to take this young kid with me... maybe I should just ditch him by the road and carry on with my plan,''

 Chapter 87 - 87 A Scandalous Party

    The car reached the venue without a hitch.


    Zou Yue glanced at the grand mansion with a deep scowl. ''You bloody snake.. I''m coming for you....''


    Hary got out first and opened the door for him.


    Zou Yue took his outstretched hands and walked out with grace.


    "how did you hide that weapon so well..." he whispered softly into his ears.


    Zou Yue glanced up with his brows raised. "Forget what you saw in that car. Forget everything I said. I might do something very bad tonight. I don''t want you to get implicated."


    "I will get implicated. I already know too much," he mumbled, gulping loudly.


    Zou Yue just shook his head. ''This kid... tsk, how will he survive in the zombie apocalypse if he is simply just scared of an arrow?''


    "Welcome miss and mister..." the servant held out his hand, waiting for the invite.


    Zou Yue handed it to him. "Miss Tian Ai and mister Hary,"


    "Oh welcome miss Tian Ai, and mister Hary," he gestured for them to go on inside.


    "Wait a bit," Hary suddenly whispered.


    Zou Yue paused with a frown. ''What now...''


    The young man suddenly went to his back and helped him remove his white, fluffy coat. "There.. I don''t want my darling to get overheated in here.." he smirked.


    "Yes....." Yue handed him the coat with a professional smile. ''He is putting on a show. This kid might not be bad after all,''


    As they walked in, the entire crowd glanced at them. Especially at Zou Yue.


    Some eyes were inquisitive, and some eyes widened in shock.


    Zou Yue smirked widely. ''Ah, the real party is about to begin,''


    *****


    Murong Shao froze. ''It''s her. She is here! Shit...'' he glanced at his grandpa, who was gritting his teeth with a controlled look on his face.


    Since it was his birthday, most of the family was invited. Almost all of them recognised the young lady''s face, because it was similar to his aunt Nui.


    They started to murmur amongst themselves.


    ''I have to get her out of here.''


    He started to push through the crowd to get to her.


    Surprisingly, the young girl was walking directly towards him. Anyone in her way parted like a dead sea did for mosses.


    ''no no.. this is bad..it''s dangerous for you..'' he gestured for her to leave with his eyes.


    But the young girl stopped right in front of him with a small smile. "I presume you are my cousin."


    Shao froze. He could hear the audible gasps all around him.


    "We need to talk." he held her hand, but the girl stood firmly in her position.


    "The one I need to talk to is not you. But with him," she glanced at Murong yang with a playful smirk. "Isn''t that right, my dear darling grandfather?"


    Reporters started to click photos after photos with a wide smirk on their face. Till we know they had not been able to find any dirt on this prestigious family, but all of a sudden and a new granddaughter came into light surprising them all.


    Zou Yue walked casually over to Murong yang and stood in front of him with his hands folded over. "''we have a lot to talk about grandfather~"


    "Yes, we do...." he glared at her visibly but after noticing the camera flashes, his lips rose in a fake smile. "Welcome home my dear granddaughter."


    His strong hands pushed Zou Yue to the side a little and faced the cameras with the same trade mark fake smile. "Today is a special day. Not only is it my cherished grandson''s birthday, but it is also the day I found my granddaughter. Everyone welcome Tian Ai,"


    The Murong family confusedly clapped at his announcement.


    Zou Yue gritted his teeth. ''This shameless man. Fuck him.. fuck this family.. I might as well kill him right her for all the bad things he had done...''


    But he needed information about Tian Ai. He was grasping at straws at this point, but he just wanted to find her.


    Murong Shao, on the other hand, was very much stressed. He swiftly walked close to his grandfather in case he might hurt his newly found cousin.


    But before he could reach her, the young man that came with his cousin walked up front.


    "Sorry, sorry, my darling does not like to be in the spotlight," he hugged Yue close to his chest, showing his broad back to the camera. He swiftly held Yue''s hand, that was going into the slit of his skirt to the crossbow. "Not now... wait when it''s convenient," he whispered softly


    Yue clenched the collars of his suit tightly. He nodded slightly.


    Hary let go and smirked widely at the older man. "Sir it''s an honour to meet you finally. But Tian didn''t tell me that you guys knew each other before. She said that she found her family just tonight," he said, shaking his outstretched hand.


    The press murmured amongst themselves.


    Murong yang''s eyebrows frowned deeply, revelling huge wrinkles in the middle. "Young man, you joke too much. I have already met my granddaughter beforehand. Otherwise, why would I make that announcement?"


    "Oh, is that so....Tian it looks like you met with him without my knowledge how mean." He hugged Yue tightly, holding his hand that was reaching for his weapon once again. "Mister Murong Yang.. I am very great full that you accepted my darling into your family."


    Murong yang nodded slightly. He glanced at Yue intently. "We have been separated for a long time. I would like to catch up with her a little. Why don''t you guys have something to eat," he said to the press that was looking at him with interest.


    "Separated? gasp, why is that, mister? Didn''t you know your granddaughter beforehand?" Hary mumbled, glancing at him innocently.


    The camera men stopped waiting for some juicy gossip.


    Murong yang gritted his teeth. "It''s... my daughter.. she took Tian away from us... she separated us for a long time because of her selfishness." He lowered his head and acted like he was wiping his tears.


    Yue lunged at him, but Hary instantly hugged him close. "Oh I see..my poor darling was separated from her family for all those years because if that."


    "But correct me if I''m wrong, mister Murong, wasn''t it you that opposed to her marrying a lower class man. Isn''t that why my darling''s mum left the house? Isn''t it because of your prejudice? Isn''t it because of your high class mentality? oh I think I might have over spoke."

 Chapter 88 - 88 Counterattack

    Zou Yue glanced at Hary in shock. The timid looking guy had a really sharp tongue. He did not expect the old Murong to be tongue tied by simple questions like this.


    ''Maybe resorting to violence might not be the answer.. Lets act along,'' Zou Yue swiftly sniffed. "i... my mother did not hate you grandpa.. She..... she was so sacred that you might hurt my father..." she sobbed placing her head on Hary''s shoulder.


    Everyone close to their ear shot gasped.


    "is that true, mister Murong? Is that why your daughter ran away?"


    "Answer us please. We have to know. Did your really appose of your daughter''s marriage because of her lover''s social standing."


    "Mister Murong!"


    The reporters caught on and pounded Murong yang with unending question.


    Zou Yue wiped his eyes clean. ''He won''t answer me if I ask anything privately. let''s pressure him even more.''


    Yue ran to him and held his hands, hiding his disgust. "I know you hated mum of her love affair but... why.. why did you abandon my sister?"


    "Sister? there was a sister?" the media started to snap photos vigorously.


    Murong Shao who was watching this, was shocked. "Was there really a sister, grandpa?"


    Reporters gave way for him to come forward.


    "Answer me grandpa, was there a sister or not?" Murong Shao whispered to him with a betrayed look on his face.


    "Yes, there was..." Yue glanced at Murong yang. "Because the real Tian ai is missing. I am her brother who has come in search of her.," he changed his voice back to normal.


    Murong yang scowled. "This is all a ruse. There was no brother. There was only one child. I gave her away silently. This girl is lying, Shao."


    Everyone gasped


    Only then did Murong yang understand his mistake. He unintentionally admitted to his fault.


    His glaring eyes met the slightly watery eyes of that young boy. "You... let''s talk. Everyone, the party is over. Please give us some privacy," he gestured for her to follow.


    Zou Yue nodded to Hary, who worriedly held his hand.


    "Don''t be impulsive," he whispered before sending him away.


    Zou Yue and Murong Shao followed the old Murong to his office.


    "blasphemy! This is complete nonsense! What do you think you are doing!" he charged at Yue.


    But Murong Shao stood in front of him. "Enough grandpa! Enough! he is just a kid!"


    Zou Yue rolled his eyes. ''I am actually 28 mentally...''


    "Now tell me, is he the second child that you threw away. Grandpa why? Why did you do that?" Shao mumbled with tears in his eyes. "Did... did you throw any of my siblings away as well? Grandpa..."


    Murong yang stumbled back. "Shao.. I... I would never hurt your father like that. He was my treasure."


    "Then my aunt wasn''t?"


    "That wrench got pregnant prior to marriage. Do you think I will accept that kind of outrageous behaviour!" he smashed a vase loudly in front of them.


    Murong Shao moved back, pulling Yue away safely.


    Zou Yue walked confidently and punched the old man right in his cocky mouth. "Wrench? you dare call my mother that? You bloody snake! How dare you?!"


    The old man looked up in shock. "You.... your disgusting thing. a man dressed as a woman! this is revolting!"


    "Yeah, I''m a guy, so what?" Yue pulled him up and hit him once again. "Because of you, I lost my sister!"


    "You really are a man," Shao mumbled with a hand over his wide opened mouth.


    "yes.. now get out. I have something intimate I need to talk with my dear darling grandpa," he gestured for him to leave.


    Murong Shao glanced at his grandfather once and left the room.


    "Now you... we have a lot to talk about," Yue pulled him off the floor and pushed him onto the chair. His hands swiftly pulled out the crossbow and assembled it with ease. He placed the arrow in place, ready to shoot.


    He directed it right on the old man''s crotch. A disgusting man like that doesn''t deserve to be a man at all.


    "Tell me, what do you know of my sister?"


    Murong yang just glared at him.


    "So we are doing this the hard way, huh?"


    Zou Yue shot his hands without any hesitation.


    "ahhhhh!!!! I am going to charge you with assault!!"


    He just smirked widely, watching the man squirm. First, he did something very bad to his sister. second this man disrespected his mother''s honour. There is no forgiving. Even if he killed him right here, his consciousness will not hurt.


    "Go ahead do it." Yue placed the crossbow on his sweaty forehead. "Now can we talk my darling grandpa~,"


    "I''ll tell you! I''ll talk.. Please.. Don''t hurt me,"


    "Good decision." Yue swiftly untied the ribbon around his thighs and tied the old man up in his chair. He checked his body and pulled out the phone or any devices he carried.


    "Start talking. Why did you bring her here?"


    The old man glared at him but started to talk. "After we gave her up for adoption, my wife was very regretful. She went on a mad search to find her."


    "Only after she found out that she was adopted by a foreign couple did she calm down. Her sickness got better. But years later she went to visit her but Tian Ai was in an orphanage after losing her adopted family." He hesitated.


    Yue gestured for him to continue by poking his crossbow.


    "My wife wanted to bring her home. If THAT girl came here, the press will have a field day mocking me for my daughter''s mistake. I¡ªI did not want that,"


    "So you destroyed her birth certificate, took her out of the register and made sure she was deported?" Yue glanced at him with his brows raise. Just taking once glance at this man made his blood boil.


    "yes.. I did."


    "After that, did you get in touch with her?"


    "Hmm, once. She somehow found out about her birthright. She came to the company."


    "She came to you!" Yue held his forehead. "And you chased her away?" his hands holding the crossbow trembled.


    "Y¡ªyes..." Murong yang glanced at the weapon in his hand in fear.


    "What did you talk about?"


    "She said that she was my granddaughter. I denied it. She left... I heard she was working part time in some shop,"


    "What shop?"


    "i..."


    "WHAT SHOP?" Yue glared down at him.


    "a small grocery shop in the outskirts of H city. She said she worked there and told me to find her when we accepted her," the old man gulped audibly.


    Yue pulled a piece of paper from the man''s table. "Write it down."


    The old man wrote down the shop information. "There."


    "That wasn''t difficult, wasn''t it?" Yue pulled out the arrow and wiped it on his shirt. "You can call the cops if you want, but let me tell you, in a month you will have your retribution. Even if the god doesn''t punish you, I will come personally to kill you."


    Yue walked out stiffly, controlling his rage. He just wanted to go back and finish the kill but something in him controlled the anger.


    Murong Shao and an older lady stood there. He was trying to stop the woman from getting in.


    Seeing him come out, the woman paused. "Tian.. Tian!" she ran to him and hugged him to her body. "You came back! You came to grandma!!"


    Feeling her arm hug, Yue''s tense nerves loosed up.


    Zou Yue glanced at the grey hairs on the old lady''s head. ''old lady Murong, you did the big mistake of letting go of my sister coldly... so why are you still riddled with guilt?''


    "Let go," he coldly whispered.


    The lady let him go, instantly wiping her cheeks. "Sorry, sorry, I did not mean to ruin your clothes. Oh my Tian.." she gently caressed his cheeks. "You look so beautiful. Just like your mother.."


    Yue flinched away from her hand. On his hind sight he saw Shao lower his head. "Take care of her. And I have warned your dear grandpa the next time he crosses me his head will not be attached to his body." he walked out in rage.

 Chapter 89 - 89 Renewed Hope

    Hary met him by the entrance of the mansion with a wide smirk. Seeing the small splashes of blood on his hand, he froze. "Am I going to get arrested?"


    "No, I hope not. Let''s get going" he hopped into the car.


    "here.." Hary handed him a tissue box with trembling hands.


    Yue took out one tissue and tore it into four. He used the small piece to wipe off the blood, then he used the other pieces to clean his hands with sanitizer.


    "You... you could have used the whole tissue."


    "I don''t like to waste things." Yue glanced at him. "What happened today remains a secret. As for you, I suggest you go into hiding for a month. Where will you go?"


    The blond man shook his legs anxiously. "Um, I can go to s city. It''s nearby,"


    "No go to G city."


    "But I don''t know anyone there."


    "I am from g city. I can arrange a living for you. Just a month and after that you are on your own."


    "really? that''s so sweet of you,"'' he smiled dazzlingly at him.


    Zou smiled softly. "Thanks for standing up for me."


    "of course, any day. It is my job, you know."


    "I know..." Yue mumbled, glancing out the window at the busy streets. ''I have offended the Murong family completely. What if they find a way to get back at my family for vengence. I need to do something to safeguard them.'' He glanced at the young man, who was humming softly.


    Hary was a fearful man, but he easily got over it.


    Zou Yue took out his phone and swiftly send a message to Cai and uncle Wen asking if Hary is trustworthy.


    Both of them affirmed that he was.


    ''Send me his history,''


    Uncle Cai sent him his full resume.


    Yue read through it carefully. ''Real name Hua Jung born in S city to a foreign couple, lost his family in an accident and retired from the army after a major injury.''


    ''Major injury? Where?'' Yue glance at him up and down. The young man seemed completely healthy, except for his hobbling walks.


    He continued reading. ''Lost his right leg in S*udan.''


    ''Oh, that explains it.'' he nodded to himself.


    All in all, this report only gave positives about this man. He had saved almost fifty lives when he was enlisted. He was a brave and kind person, but after his accident he did not have any way to make use of his talents, so uncle Cai took him in.


    "How good is your marksman ship?"


    Hary glanced at him with his bros raised. "Pretty good. 8 out of ten."


    "Can you handle bows and arrows? What about swords?"


    "I can use them, but why are you asking?" he glanced at him weirdly. "Do you want me to kill someone? If so, I might have to stop you there. I don''t prefer killing even my greater enemy.''


    Yue frowned. ''Soft hearted.'' he noted it down mentally. "What about non-living things? can you shoot at them with ease?"


    "Yes, but why do you ask that?" he confusedly looked at him.


    Zou Yue just rolled his eyes. "Are you free this month?/"


    "My schedule just cleared up thanks to you," he chuckled.


    "Then I will give you a job. You have you go to G city to my family and safeguard them."


    Hary glanced at him with his brows raised. "how much?"


    "How much do you want?"


    "I was already paid for this job. As for the next one you have issued, I will be taking ten thousand dollars,"


    "Deal, but one thing. You have to personally assure me that you will not let them get hurt. if not, you know the consequences."


    Hary stopped the car and gave him his full attention. "I need to know more. Who are after your family? Except for Murongs? Do you have any enemy?"


    "I don''t have other enemies, but in the beginning of next month there are going to be few ''things'' that might try to attack my family. if my any chance I am late or never go back. You have to deal with it. You have to put your life on line can you do that?"


    "Yes, sir!" Hary smirked. "That sounds like a good deal,"


    Yue instructed him to drive to the hotel. On the way, he gave his family''s address and gave all the instructions. The young man even wrote them down.


    It was very professional of him.


    Yue still had a small worry in his heart if this arrangement is going to work or not. In May he might have to kick him out. But if Hary proved to a good addition to the team, he needed to arrange accommodation and food...


    Zou Yue sighed just thinking about all this. ''It''s like picking up a stray puppy.''


    "Hary, I trust you and I believe you will do a good job, but remember my warning clearly in your mind. Call me if you have any doubts."


    "Roger sir~" the young man happily drove away.


    Yue walked back to his hotel room and started to pack up. There is a slight chance the Murong might have gone to the cops, and he did not want to be arrested.


    Being in a jail cell during an apocalypse is the worst. It can keep you safe for a while, but there is no way to break free.


    It would be hell.


    Yue placed his trusty crossbow inside his bag and swiftly. He changed out if his outfit and wore a t-shirt and jean. As for his face, he swiftly smeared it with dark makeup and placed that prosthetic scar that he used during apocalypse.


    His face changed drastically into an appearance of an old man.


    As for his hair, he scratched his head hard until it became a tangled nest.


    He tore few parts of his shirt and his pants.


    Zou Yue looked at his reflection in the mirror with a satisfied smirk.


    He ran out of the room and caught a cab. Tian Ai''s last whereabouts was in the outskirt town. He might be able to find out where she was if he went there.


    ''This is my only hope. I pray that old man didn''t lie. If he did, I swear I going to cut his face up,''

 Chapter 90 - 90 Following The Bread Crumbs Part 1

    Zou Yue caught a train and travelled for an hour or so to reach to that remote village. The whole place looked less populated. There were only few houses scattered here and there. He glanced around.


    ''Now I just have to find that grocery store,''


    He walked down the road that was in between two paddy fields. This whole place looked lush and rustic.


    An old man covered completely in mud came opposite him.


    "sir. sir.. Please can I ask you something?" he stopped him..


    The old man glanced at him up and down. "Darn old man, you really have a young voice for your age,"


    Yue blinked. Only then did he realise that old man was talking about his getup. ''I screwed that up,'' he cleared his throat. "Can you tell me where Grace groceries is?"


    "Grace? like old Gracia''s store?"


    "I guess so..."


    "It''s right that way," he pointed to the unending road. "Just walk ahead. You will find her. Why are you asking about that shop specifically?"


    "I''m searching for someone. I just got a clue that person might be working there," he nervously looked at him.


    "Who?" the man turned slightly vigilant.


    "Tian Ai. Have you heard of her anywhere?"


    The old man suddenly frowned. "Never heard of anyone with that name before," he said and moved away.


    Zou Yue weirdly looked at him. ''Did I say something wrong?''


    He swiftly walked in the direction that man told him to. Soon he ended up in the interior part of the village.


    The shop was easy to find the store that old Murong mentioned. It was right next to the residential area of the village.


    He stepped inside. The small bell tied to the door jingled.


    "oh, Han you can keep the vegetables near the counter? Oh and there is money there, take it. I''ll be out in a minute," a young girl shouted from a separated area of the store.


    It was separated by a small screen. From here, he could see the black pants that girl was wearing.


    His heart started to pound loudly. ''Is that her? Is that Tian Ai? Am I going to see her finally? but...'' he was in an old man cosplay. if she sees this, she might get weirder out.


    There was no going back anymore. He had to face her.


    "Excuse me?"


    The clattering sound paused. A young lady walked out with gloves on. It obviously had kimchi spice stuck to it. "Oh sorry, I''ll be with you in a second,"


    The woman hurriedly took off her gloves and came close.


    Yue peered into her eyes. They were brown, but... her whole face was completely different. She was shorter than him and also had a cute, round face.


    "Do you have anything you want to buy?" the girl awkwardly whispered.


    "Um.." Yue picked out the packet of gum nearby and paced it.


    "That will be a dollar,"''


    Yue gave it to her, yet he stood there. The words in his mind refused to come out.


    "Sir, can I help you?"


    "you see... i.. I might know you." he whispered, taking a deep breath.


    "ohh kay.. but I don''t know you, sir. I know everyone in this village and I have never sen you,"


    "I am your younger brother!" Yue blurted out.


    The girl just looked at him weirdly and backed away.


    "Don''t be scared.. it''s just this is makeup," he pulled off the scar on his face and wiped away the dark makeup off. "I am your younger brother, Tian Ai...."


    The girl just backed away even further. "Wait, Tian Ai? You know her?"


    Yue froze. "You are not her?"


    "yes I am not, I am Gracia"


    "oh.."


    "oh..."


    Both of them awkwardly stood there. "Can you tell me where I can find her?"


    "Tian Ai? she left town years ago. I don''t know where she is though."


    Yue frowned. "When? When did she leave?"


    "Seven years ago," she moved close a bit. "But she never told me she had a brother,"


    "I don''t think she knows that I exist. We... we were separated a long time ago,"


    "oh I see... so.. is there anything else. I am presently making kimchi..."


    "Do you need help?" he awkwardly offered.


    The girl, contrary to his expectation, accepted his offer.


    "Wash your face though you look like a creep," Gracia showed him the bathroom.


    Yue went there and washed his face clean. He flattened out his hair with his best efforts and walked out.


    The young girl was carrying a huge box with difficulty.


    He ran to her to help.


    "You come lift this. I will be paying you ten dollars per hour....." she almost dropped the crate. "Holy shit. Where did you come from?" she whispered under her breath.


    "Um, from the bathroom,"


    The girl suddenly touched his face. "Oh dear lord look at that skin. It''s flawless. You really do resemble her,"


    Zou Yue''s eyes trembled slightly. "d¡ªdoes she look like me?"


    "yeah like 70%, but her eye shape is different in other than that." she placed a hand over his eyes and glanced at his chin and lips. "Definitely alike,"


    Zou Yue smiled widely. "I see... do you have a photo of her?"


    "I do!" she happily ran inside the small room. She reached out to the top shelf of the messy clutter and took out a small sheet. "Here",


    With trembling hands, Yue took it from her. But soon his excitement only came to disappointment.


    The photo was smudged with an unknown substance on it. Only a small part of her chin was seen.


    "Shit, I think that must be my ink.." she mumbled, trying to wipe it, but the ink had already dried over.


    "Do you have any other photo?"


    "No, just this one. I had to pull her to take this one," she said, gesturing to the photo. The young lady''s face was clearly seen. She was happily hugging his elder sister''s shoulders tight.


    Yue gently caressed the ink smudge. "Was she happy?"


    "I believe so.. but Tian Ai was complicated. She rarely expressed her feelings outright. But when you get to know her, you get to see the kindest and sweetest girl you will ever know," the young girl smiled softly.


    Suddenly, she patted his arms. "You said you will help me out, right? Why don''t you start by helping me make Kimichi?"


    "Gladly. but can I have this photo as a payment?"


    "Sure if you want to," she pulled him to the small room and showed him the huge tub filed with Chinese cabbage. "gloves." she tossed a small glove at him.


    Yue swiftly got to it. He rubbed the spices in to the cabbage and smashed it a little to give it a good taste.


    The young girl watched him intently. "Have I seen you before?"


    Yue glanced at the newspaper scattered on the ground. His photo in that party was printed with a bold title saying Murong granddaughter was bullied?!


    He chuckled softly. ''I bet Tian Ai saw this. I hope she did not give up hope on her family,''


    "I have definitely seen you somewhere," she mumbled softly, placing all the spiced up cabbages in another basket.


    "I don''t think you would have," Yue whispered.

 Chapter 91 - 91 Following The Bread Crumbs Part 2

    Zou Yue continued massaging the spices into the cabbages when the girl murmured something to herself. "I did not get that?"


    "I said she left some stuff behind if you want.. I can..."


    "I want it!" Yue urgently shouted.


    "Okay, okay, I''ll take you there."


    Just as this girl promised, she showed him the small basement room Tian used to live in.


    The room was so small that it was smaller than his bathroom.. There was only one rolled-up mattress and some old newspaper scattered in the corner.


    "When Tian left, she left in such a hurry that she left everything behind. After she left, no one wants to stay here. It''s too small you see." the girl murmured, switching on the small light.


    Yue gently touched the dirty, dust covered mattress. It had so many patches on it and some of the bedding was seeping out of some torn edge. He gently sat on it glancing around at the room. ''This must be the place she stayed.... what did she think when she was sleeping here. How lonely it must have been for a young girl to live in solitude,''


    He could not help but think about his time he spent in the apocalypse. He was all alone in the world filled with hostile creatures and humans, constantly hungry, sleepless and lonely...


    ''Was that what she felt when those cold Murong''s rejected her.


    He swiftly wiped away the tears that was pooling in his eyes.


    "Why did she leave in a hurry?" he sniffed softly.


    "I don''t understand what pushed the girl to leave like that. She stayed her for two years after she was deported," the girl mumbled, picking up the newspapers and tidying it up.


    Yue frowned slightly. He had an inkling of a clue what might have happened. Something must have happened with the Murong family. ''Those bastards! fuck them! I will make sure to kill them all after finding her! I swear!''


    He suddenly noticed the old newspaper in her hand. There were a few things marked on it in red. It was job offer in H city. ''She was searching for a job in H city.''


    "Give that,"


    The girl confusedly handed him the paper.


    He hurriedly searched through it. Many job listings were rounded up, but only one of the job offer seems to have been noted as selected in red. "this. Did she ever mention about searching for a job!"


    The young girl scratched her head with a pout. "She did I guess.... I don''t know. She doesn''t like to share much,"


    "oh..Thank you," Yue shot up. "Thank you so much! Thank you for helping me and also for taking care of my sister for so many years!" he bowed low.


    "It''s not a problem. She was well natured and very hard working..."


    "Even so, thank you for giving her a warm place to stay in." He smiled and hurriedly ran out of the horse in search of the next destination.


    He pulled out his trusty phone and searched for the listing.


    The job listing was quite close to the Murong''s mansion. ''She must have moved there after she found out about her family.''


    Zou Yue caught a cab and rushed to the next location.


    To his surprise, it was a preschool. He asked around and found that she used to work there part-time but she quit just a few years ago.


    no one knew where she went.


    But after a few days of questioning around, he found out that she got a job in a nursery.


    Like breadcrumbs, he could find a path she left behind for him. ''Maybe this was accidental, but I believe Tian Ai must have wanted her family to find her...'' that was his belief, of course.


    After days of searching, he found the nursery Tian ai used to work in. It was quite far from the Murong''s mansion. I was called sunshine glory.


    The owner said that Tian Ai quit awhile ago. But she vaguely mentioned that Tian Ai seemed to be anxious about something so she left without a word.


    Walking out the door, Yue bit his lips hard. ''What was she anxious about?..''


    Day by day, his worries grew dire. His search had not come to fruition.


    His days in H city were numbered. It was already 20rd April ten days before the apocalypse.


    ''That means I have only five days to search for her.''


    Yue wanted to make sure that he was with his parents when the apocalypse hit. Because last life... he did not have the luck to be with his parents during their final moments.


    ''This life if they pass.... I will also follow them irrespective.'' he hugged himself tightly lying on the dirty hotel bed.


    Right then, he got a call. It was from uncle Cai.


    "Uncle..." he tiredly mumbled, wiping away his tears.


    "Yue... are you crying?"


    "No... yes. I''m sorry I''m just not In the mood to talk." he whispered slightly.


    "I found out something about your sister,"


    "What!" Yue sat up. "What did you find to tell me everything?"


    "An old colleague of mine said that she spotted someone similar to your stature near a gas station."


    Yue frowned deeply. "How does she know how I look like?"


    "Kid, your face was literally in every newspaper just days ago!"


    "ohh..." Yue sniffed softly, wiping his snot away. "Can you give me the address of that place?"


    "Yeah,"


    Zou Yue got the address. It was close to the first hotel he was staying in. so he checked out of this hotel and booked another room there.


    After settling down, he went on his wild goose chase.


    The gas station had a constant influx of customers and was very busy. He waited until everyone left before starting his questioning.


    But sadly, he found out that Tian Ai quit from this job as well.


    The other workers did mention that she got another job that she was very secretive about.


    "Do you know the reason she quit?"


    They all shook their head no.


    "if you remember anything about her. Please call me," he gave them his number and dejectedly walked away, but a worker stopped him.


    "Wait, I remember something. A young man used to follow her about. He was some big shot conglomerate''s son. Xiao Tian was very annoyed with his constant flirting," one of the gas station employee said softly.


    "Do you know his name? Or... his face."


    "We can check it. Let''s try talking to the manager," he led him to the manager.


    Yue smiled softly at the old aged grandpa. "sir I am here for Tian Ai. Do you have any clue where she might be?"


    "Who are you to her, young man." the old man smiled softly.


    "Her brother,"


    "Oh..." the man looked at him up and down. "I see the resemblance. But sadly, I can''t tell you anything related to her. She does not keep in touch with us."


    "Do you have her number,"


    "I do." the old man gave her number to him.


    Yue thanked him, but he hesitantly stood there.


    "Anything more?"


    "Can... can I see the surveillance video... I heard a creep has been following my sister. I want to see how he looks"


    The old man hesitated for a while. "Well.. I''ll see what I can do about it. Wait a minute please," he slowly typed it into his computer.


    Yue anxiously bit his lips. ''If by chance I can see her face, I will be able to search for her easily. But in five days will I be able to do it....''


    "Here.." the old man turned the screen over to him.


    A pixilated video was shown. A young man dressed flashily in shiny clothes stopped in front of the gas station and walked off towards a young lady. "That is Tian Ai?" he whispered, peering intently. The video quality was so bad that he was not able to see her face, but he did notice her figure her hair length and such.


    She looked about five foot seven. Her black hair hung down to her waist. It was right at the top where she had tied it up in a pony tail and it was slightly curled up at the bottom.


    She was wearing a cap hiding her face almost entirely.


    The flashy young master walked to her and said something with a sleazy smile. She just ignored him, but suddenly he grabbed her hand.


    Yue shot up tensely.


    But to his surprise, his sister punched the man on his face, making him run in fear.


    Zou Yue sat back down, letting out a loud sigh. "Did this happen a lot?"


    "Hmm, that young master was persistent, but Tian hated his advances and always retaliated with force."


    "That''s good. Do you... do you know where she is now?"


    The old man shook his head. "She was a mystery. She came and went like a wind. We barely even talk."


    "Okay thank you...." he mentally noted the car number.


    He left the gas station with renewed hope. She was close. He could feel it in his bones.


    The search was coming to an end...


    He swiftly sent uncle Cai the car plate and told him to find its owner.


    "This stalker might be of help...."


    ''If this guy is her avid stalker, then he might know where she must be now,''


    Two days later, uncle Cai let him know that the young master was from Bai family. He was recently sent to jail and visitor''s right for him has been rejected.


    Yue sighed loudly. He called his mum and relayed everything that has been happening.


    "Come back home." his mum whispered in a soft tone.


    "I''m so close mum..."


    "Yes, the apocalypse is also close. Come home Yue. come home...."


    "Just three more days.. I''ll come home... please..." he begged.


    His mother did not say a word. She cut the call on him.


    Yue hopelessly glanced out the hotel window. ''Where is she now?. Will she survive the apocalypse? Will she be okay?''


    ''I need to clear my mind.'' he left the hotel walking through the familiar yet unfamiliar streets. Somehow his feet led him over to the location of the destroyed orphanage.

 Chapter 92 - 92 It Rained Fire

    Tian Ai gently caressed the worn out photo on the newspaper clipping with a deep frown. This girl in the photo was much similar to her expect her eyes everything was the same. ''Did the Murong''s have anything to do with this? What are they planning now?''


    "Tian, are you still glaring at that newspaper?! The boss is calling for you. Go! Go!" a burly man hurried her along by pushing her slightly to the kitchen.


    She rolled her eyes and walked in. "you called for me?"


    "I have a job for you. A high profile one. Take a seat," a man dressed in a three-piece suit handed her a file. "The bounty is quite high. And you are our best hit of the month, so they personally requested you," the man smiled weirdly.


    Tian Ai just gave him a look.. Her slender hands opened up the file. A photo dropped onto her lap with its back facing up.


    She did not bother with it. She read through the details given. Her next target was a young eighteen-year-old boy names Zou Yue. The person who issued the hit was anonymous. But the pay it was higher than any hit she had ever done.


    "Why is the pay so high? Will there be any complications?"


    "Don''t know. But it''s a good deal, right? Kill a young kid for fifty thousand dollars. With that money, you can take control of this place and start the orphanage once again. Isn''t that what you wanted?" he said with a sideward smirk.


    Tian Ai peered at him intently. "I''ll think about it,"


    "There is no time to think about. The kid is only here for a vacation. Kill him before he leaved h city."


    She frowned deeply.


    "Take it Tian Ai this is a great opportunity." he whispered pushing the file closer to her. "Don''t you want your dear grandmother''s orphanage back?"


    Tian Ai wordlessly picked up the files and walked out of the pizza store.


    The pizza place was just a front, but the regular people did not know that hit a dark organization in its basement. A powerful assassin''s guilt and underground gambling area. The cops were aware of this place, yet they did not have the power to take action against it.


    But this place did serve a good pizza and had constant customers. She picked up the orders that she needed to deliver.


    With the photo of her next hit in hand, she walked over to her bike.


    Suddenly someone ran into her, the photo in her hand slipped away without her realizing it.


    ******


    Yue picked it up. "Hey you dropped...." he glanced at his own photo in his hand in shock. ''Why does this person have my photo? What''s going on....''


    He glanced up. That person was wearing a jean jacket that was torn at the bottom. ''Isn''t that the same person I met in that supermarket?''


    "Excuse me! Is this yours? Why do you have my..." he shouted.


    The person paused and glanced back. Under the baseball cap, he could see the person''s straight nose and plump lips. Jaw line similar to his, chiselled and slim.


    His eyes widened. "No way...."


    "That''s mine," the girl softly whispered, pointing to the photo in his hand.


    Yue gulped softly. "Tian Ai?


    They both stood frozen. It was as if time itself froze around them.


    Tears rolled down his cheeks. Yue smiled softly. "I found you... and you found me..." he held up the photo in his hand.


    Small specks of red dust flew around them, accentuating her beautiful honey-coloured eyes.


    It was raining fire.


    ''It feels like a beautiful daydream, with fireflies flying all around us,'' Yue chuckled wiped the tears off his eyes but even so, the small flecks of fire and ash did not disappear. Frowning, he glanced up.


    His heart almost stopped from the sight he saw.


    A huge ball of flame was seen falling down from the sky.


    "no¡­. no no no¡­.. it''s too soon. It was meant to happen later, not now!" he anxiously gripped his phone. "Tian ai, we need to go." he glanced ahead, but the girl had already disappeared.


    "Tian ai! Shit where did she go now¡­" he hurriedly ran though the road, trying to find at least a glimpse of her. But she was nowhere to be found. "Nothing is going according to plan!"


    Zou Yue hurriedly made a call to his parents. "Mum, close all the windows and openings in the house. Don''t let any draft in. the virus spread by air. Wear the oxygen mask I''ve prepared for you both!"


    "Yue, what''s wrong? Why do you sound like that?"


    "Mum, just listen to me! Close the doors and windows. Don''t let any air get in. Wear a mask i''ve prepared. Use all oxygen if you must, but don''t get off of it."


    He heard some crackling sound of the signal weakening.


    Yue gritted his teeth. "Mum, do you hear me! mum!!"


    "Yes, we can hear you.. But your voice is breaking¡­" his father said from the other side of the line.


    "Dad, I want you both in separate rooms. Use my room. You lock yourself in the bathroom and let mum stay in my bedroom. You will have access to food there directly in the attic. As for Hary, tell him to quarantine in your bed room. Don''t forget Trexa. Keep her very close. Inform as many people as you can before the lines go down." he anxiously whispered, watching the chaotic road.


    The people on the road were panicking and running around. Few cars crashed and few even went off-road. It was complete chaos out here.


    "Yue, come home¡­ yue¡­" he could hear his mum''s cry. "Don''t worry, he will get here. Yue come here as soon as you can. be safe and do take unnecessary risk, got it?" his father said with a slight tremble in his voice.


    "Hmm I will. Don''t come out until I come for you. And dad¡­. if I don''t get there...tell fan Xui"


    "YOU WILL GET HERE! Got it!" his father shouted. "You have to come here. Yue¡­ you have survived this before, don''t lose hope,"


    "hmm¡­ love you mum and dad¡­" he whispered when al of a sudden his phone screeched and switched off.


    Zou Yue glanced at the huge ball of flame and gulped loudly. "Yes.. I have to survive. I have to get to them."


    With renewed passion, he ran back to his hotel.


    Tian ai watched this hiding behind a garbage bin. "It''s that kid. I don''t think he was a guy though."


    Every day, she saw the girl in the photo on the newspaper confused and perplexed.


    Never in thousand years did she expect to meet that said person as her hit target.


    She watched her new target run into the familiar hotel. Stealthily, she followed after him and watched him enter the familiar room.


    In fact, she had met him beforehand when she was delivering pizza as well. Back then, she did not take a good look at his face.


    Tian ai clenched her fist. ''Is it a ploy by the Murong family? Boss said that they personally requested me¡­..'' she removed her baseball cap and wiped the ash off of her face. "I have to conform this before I kill him,"


    Her relationship with that prestigious family was rocky. At first, when she found out that she had a family left, she was ecstatic, but getting a cold reception, she knew that she was not wanted.


    Without a word, she left. Even though they were the reason that she got deported back here, she forgave them.


    But the unforgivable offence was wiping her out of existence.


    Having no identity gave her limited options for jobs and education.


    Tian Ai tried applying for a birth certificate, but she did not have any other proof to prove that it was indeed her. After a while, she just gave up.


    She worked harder than anyone, but made only pennies.


    Pennies were not enough to restart her orphanage. She needed more. Pushed into a hopeless circumstance she started to get close to the owner of the assassin''s guilt. he promised to give away the land if she did some dirty work for him.


    Tian ai snapped out of the dazed state when she smelt something putrid in the air.


    It smelt burnt and rotten at the same time.


    She ignored it and walked over to the door. It was firmly closed from inside.


    ''I can''t do anything now. I just have to wait a bit,''


    But as she was walking back, a weird sense of drowsiness overtook her. She tiredly leaned against one of the door. ''What is this.. why am I¡­ this must be a trap!! I should have known this job was too good to be true.. I should have known,'' she held her head panting softly.


    ''I can''t collapse in the hallway,''


    She smashed one of the locks of the nearby rooms and went in.


    As soon as she locked the door, she collapsed unconscious on the ground.

 Chapter 93 - 93 The World Ended

    A loud bang and the ground shook violently. The buildings trembled upon impact of the huge meteor.


    Zou Yue anxiously looked out the window. He could see so much commotion happening. Fire trucks were trying their best to move to the crash site. The cops were all doing their best to control the panicked mob.


    Thankfully, the hotel he stayed in was not damaged in the slightest.


    ''this is the start. Start of a new era, the zombie world. I am going to miss the fresh smells the most,''


    Because after the apocalypse, all one can smell was rotting flesh.


    He glanced at the crowd with a weird trepidation in his heart. He just saw Tian Ai, but he missed her as quickly as he found her. If he left now, he can find her soon.


    But he did not want to get stuck in this crowd and chances of getting trampled were highest during panic like this.


    Just after a few minutes everyone starts to collapse onto the ground.


    Because he was already infected by Trexa gran, he did not get sleepy of burn a fever like the others.


    His eyes longingly searched for that familiar blue jacket. He could not see Tian Ai anywhere. ''I have to go get her,''


    With a trembling hand, he swiftly geared up. His weapons were not that much. Just his hand held a crossbow and twenty arrows. They won''t be of much help when a horde of zombies surrounds them. He found a butter knife and a fork in the cutleries. He bagged that as well.


    Weapons in hand, he slowly walked out his door. The hotel was not overcrowded, so most of the rooms were empty. He slowly moved towards the stairwell in the corner. During these tough times, it was not good to trust elevators. The electricity will not last long. He knew that.


    He reached the lobby safely. The hotel staffs were all unconscious on the ground. He checked their pulse. They were breathing. He pulled them to a closed door and so that they might at least have a few hours of safety, after which surviving is their own fate.


    He did not want to save everyone. He just wanted to save his own family and friends.


    As he left, he noticed the kitchen right there. Without any hesitation, he strode in. he saw few soup cauldrons on the stove being boiled. He switched the stove off.


    The thing he searched for was right next to the cutting station. He found an assortment of knifes there. He picked out as many as he could and bagged them all. The kitchen even ha d knife sharpener. Which can be very handy.


    Then he proceeded to search for some oil and salt. These two ingredients can make a small DIY candle that can last a very long time. He did not have to worry about light out.


    He took all and stored it carefully in his backpack.


    Zou Yue paused by the hotel entrance. His heart pounded in fear and anticipation. He had faced all this before, but even so, he felt the same amount of fear. He tightly gripped his bag. ''I can''t let fear take over me.''


    He took a deep breath and stepped out into the streets. Many were collapsed on the ground.


    Most of them were twitching weirdly. He went close with the crossbow in hand and peered at them. Their veins were starting to turn black and rot was setting in on their body.


    This was the first stage of turning.


    The second stage their body stiffens up and regained mobility. Like nature''s zombie ants, the virus takes control of the body and it goes on a rampage to find new hosts to multiply in.


    During the apocalypse there was a popular report by Qian wen said that the zombie virus was like a living organism. It tries its best to survive on the host. It fully takes control of the human''s nervous system making them into puppets.


    The terrible blood lust was only a way to gain nourishment for the virus in the host''s body.


    Zou Yue glanced at the thousand of dead bodies twitching creepily. They were mostly dead upon contact with the virus.


    As far as his eyes could see, he saw human arms flaying around and cracking sound were heard. They started to softly growl as they twitched.


    ''The number of infected inside the hotel is exponentially less. I wonder will it work staying indoors.''


    But even so, staying indoors is not a permanent solution. Food will run out and so will hope. Soon humans will start to seek the security of groups.


    ''It''s not the time to be distracted,''


    He shook his head once, clearing his mind of these useless thoughts. He said a small prayer and moved away.


    He did not want to be any closer to them when they''ll wake up as zombies. He swiftly moved through the road, searching for Tian Ai. The last spot he saw her was right in front of that pizza place. He first visited there. Some muscular guy was collapsed right by the entrance.


    Yue jumped over him and entered the restaurant.


    It was sparsely populated with few couples having pizza. Of course, all of them were unconscious. He noticed the door to the kitchen was wide open.


    He walked in, but to his surprise he entered a weird basement. There were at least a twenty or so humans down here. Money was scattered on the table as well as on the ground.


    "This is a gambling den."


    He searched for Tian Ai but she was nowhere in sight. He roamed at least a few streets before he decided to return to his hotel.


    Time was running out, and the zombies were showing signs of waking up.


    He did not want to be anywhere close when they all started to eat through whatever they could.


    He firmly closed the door to his room and started to sharpen the knives he found with the sharpener.

 Chapter 94 - 94 A Different Strand Of Virus

    At the same time in G city a small group of scientist suited up.


    Qian Wen hurriedly wore his hazmat suit and prepared all the equipments needed to reach the crash site.


    "Mister Wen! We have a problem. The N*asa is on call and something is going badly," his assistant Gan came shouting from the hallway.


    Qian paused. "What do you mean?"


    He hurried over to the computer trying to get in contact with the team, but the connection was glitching.


    "Check the connection!" he ordered a few of his technicians.


    Soon he was able to get a feed. The N*asa official who was working with this project appeared on the screen with snot running down his nose.. He was sobbing silently. "We have done a mistake. It was not meant to happen. This was not meant to happen..." he cried, not notching the camera in front of him.


    "Mister Fred, I need you to calm down. Tell me what''s going on." Qian Wen did his best to calm him down.


    "Mister Wen, we have made a huge mistake. It''s my fault. I did not predict this. It was the wrong one...."


    Qian lost patience after this. Time was running out. If the samples got running with his dilly, dallying his superiors will only blame him. "What didn''t you predict?"


    "We hit the wrong one! The wrong meteor!"


    "There was only one..."


    "No, there were two. From our satellite''s we were only able to see one. The other bigger one was hiding right in its shadows." The man sobbed, wiping his snot with a tissue.


    "So what does that mean? Will the samples be compromised?" Qian glanced at his team behind him.


    "No! I don''t care about your samples!! This meteor is too big. It won''t be able to break apart in the atmosphere. It will come down in large chunks." He sent him a video predicting the new pathway the meteor will be travelling.


    The bigger one broke down into five pieces, hitting major countries. The meteor that they were planning on shooting down would deviate from its path route around earth for a while and land in about a month.


    Qian gasped loudly. The meteor chunks were too big. It can damage a lot of properly. He quickly got his emotions under control. "Mister Fred, I need you to contact every government you know of and inform of this upcoming danger. We have to warn them."


    "No use.. no use. It has already set forth its path."


    The screen crackled, and the call went out of focus once again.


    Fred moved closer to the camera and whispered, "we are doomed. Our human kind has done too much damage..."


    The screen went static once again.


    "Get the technicians to work and get me a signal. I need to know when the other meteor chunks will land on other sites. Gan, do a time estimation of their landings now!''


    "on it, mister Qian," his assistant ran about, trying his best.


    Qian removed his oxygen mask and the hazmat suit with a deep form. According to the new calculation, a small part of the meteor must have already landed in some part of their country.


    "Which is the closest crash site to us?"


    "H city and another one is estimated to strike our G city in about an hour or so. After that comes a huge chunk that crashes in S city in about three hours."


    Qian Wen loudly panted. "Shit, that is worse. Can we evacuate everyone? Is it even possible?"


    "We can give orders, but don''t think evacuation would be possible given the time crunch we are in,"


    Legs weak, Qian sat down on the seat holding his head. "Try calling everyone you know of. Tell them to leave G city...maybe try the local new station call then inform them,"


    Gan sat next to him, holding his shoulders. "We lost all connections. We... we don''t have anything,"


    "See if we can send any message to the military through Morse code. They still have that machine."


    "I''ll check if the lines are working sir," Gan ran out the room.


    Qian went tossed his suit down and walked out in complete disbelief. The plan was safe and secure. The meteor was supposed to break down into sand while entering. They only planned to find small segments of the sample that survived the crash.


    But now huge chunks of it were crashing into cities damaging thousand of human''s life.


    He walked out of the facility, taking deep breaths to calm his anxious mind. With a shaking hand, he pulled out his phone from his pocket and called his dad. The line did not connect.


    "I.. I should drive home... maybe one of his friends can help evacuate this city....."


    He mumbled, but suddenly he noticed something. Small flecks of ashes flew down from the sky.


    He swiftly threw a coat over his head and caught one of it with a spare glove he had.


    His original idea to go back home vanished. His curiosity to research this specimen overruled everything.


    Qian ran back into his facility and swiftly placed the ash onto a small petri dish. "At least we have the all virus strand. With this, we can help a lot more people. I''m sure..." he mumbled, as if trying to talk away the guilt he felt.


    He carefully placed the Petri dish under a microscope.


    "Mister Qian.." Gan came in slightly panting. "w¡ªwhat are you doing.." he said, leaning against the walls tiredly.


    "The virus. It could be our only atonement." He whispered, but as he peered into the small microscope, all hope left his face. His skin turned so pale that appeared grey and lifeless.


    "Did it get destroyed upon impact? Sir.. I''m so sorry... I know it was your life''s work.."


    "No..." Qian pushed his rolling chair away from the testing area. "This one is different. It''s not the same strand of life form we have been testing. This is... completely different."


    "That''s great! We can definitely find a great use for it."


    Qian shook his head, glancing at him. "No.... This virus.. I believe it''s air borne."


    "we really are doomed."

 Chapter 95 - 95 Lockdown

    "Anything?" Zou Nui anxiously bit her lips as she pranced in front of her husband.


    Zou Wei shook his head. "I can''t get through. The line must be down as he predicted. Thankfully, we got through to Peng Peng, manager mu and Bohai... Wen must have figured out something was wrong by now. He knows the drill," he said, massaging his temples.


    "But our son!"


    "Nui, have some confidence in him. He has done it once, he can do it again. He will survive and I can assure you that.. When.. When things get slightly better, he will come over here. We have to prepare everything before that. There is not the time to dillydally," he hurriedly ran to the garden area.


    Ten quail chicks chirped loudly, moving towards him in the cage. "Come speared them. Yue told it was risky to keep them together."


    "But he said that animal will only mutate after the second meteor." Nui mumbled, wiping her nose.


    "Things have changed now. We can''t predict what is going to happen any longer." he hurriedly placed each chick in a takeout box and poked a few holes on the top.


    "The plants," his wife whispered, glancing at the small quaint garden.


    "We might have to harvest everything. Let''s not risk it,"


    Their small garden had so many green, from Chinese cabbage, lettuce, celery, green onion, and spinach. It was their first batch of plants and they all grew wonderfully.


    The plants were swiftly harvested and placed in a small cloth bag.


    "What about the lotus?" she frowned deeply, looking at the small pond. Their lotus plant was flourishing. In the next season, they will produce healthy lotus root bulbs.


    "We have to tear them off," he took a broom and tore the roots from under. The plants floated up. He cleaned it out perfectly.


    This took the about half an hour.


    Hary poked his head in from the doorway. "I closed all the windows and sealed them with cling wrap. Anything else you want me to do?"


    "There are oxygen tanks in the kitchen. Wear it and don''t remove it at all cost." Zou Wei mumbled while shouldering the heavy oxygen tank.


    He wore the mask over his face and pulled down the attic stairs. "I''ll seal the top floor. Nui, go check if everything is okay and of god''s sake wear the mask," he helped secure the mask around his wife''s mouth.


    Zou Nui slightly sobbed, nodding her head.


    "Calm down, dear. Trust your son." He kissed her forehead and climbed up into the cold attic. He placed the greens in the corner, where they stored all the seeds and other beans.


    Everything was neatly stored. The rice was in the corner next to the small oil extractor.


    Yue ordered it last before he left for H city because he feared that the oil they have stored might not last long. Oil only had a shelf life for a year or two. After which they can use the extractor to extract oil from sunflower seeds and peanuts.


    Milk power and other stuff were kept in another corner, along with the dehydrator. Other spices and stuff were piling p high to the ceiling. He carefully checked them all.


    Pickled foods were in the other corner in earthen jars.


    Zou Wei moved swiftly towards the small stairwell in the corner.


    Their house only had two entrances. One main door and this other entrance from the roof. This was in case the solar panels malfunctioned.


    He opened the hatch and climbed up. Through the glass window, he saw the ash rained down from the sky.


    Zou Wei worriedly glanced at it. He closed the door tight and locked it with a heavy latch. This door was already made air tight with built in cushions in the sides because the attic was built into a walk-in refrigerator.


    Air had to be contained to maintain the coldness inside.


    He glanced around with a loud sigh. Everything was in place but his son.. he was far away from them.


    His eyes started to tear up. He swiftly wiped them with a tissue and climbed down, securing this door as well.


    "It''s secure..."


    His wife was waiting on Yue''s bed, softly sobbing.. "What now?"


    "We quarantine ourselves." He kissed her cheeks and helped her lay down on the bed. "I''ll be in the bathroom. If there is anything, just call for me yes?"


    "hmm.." she nodded.


    "Now sleep..." he tucked her in. On the way out, he picked out Yue''s books. "Hary."


    The young blond kid glanced at him with his brows raised.


    He handed him the book. "Go to my room and lock yourself inside."


    "sir... I don''t understand.. Why do we have to do any of this?"


    Zou Wei sighed, looking at his inquisitive eyes. "do remember that movie called resident evil?"


    "Yes, I have watched it once.. Why do you ask? That''s not even my favourite movie. I don''t like gore much.."


    "That is happening now." he intervened the kid''s ranting.


    "What is?"


    "Zombies. We are going to be attacked by zombies, Hary. You need to wear your oxygen mask properly and go to that room," he urged him inside and closed the door. "Read that book! You will understand!" he shouted.


    The young man said a soft yes.


    Zou Wei back to Yue''s room and locked himself in the bathroom with a blanket and a pillow. Lying down on the cold bathtub, he sighed loudly.


    Suddenly, he noticed something small in the corner near the towel rack.


    "Trexa gran? Is that you?" he worriedly moved close.


    Trexa gran shook even more, hiding her huge body behind a small face towel.


    "You are not doing a good job at hiding yourself, you know,"


    Trexa peaked out with her small paws holding her whiskers. Her legs were trembling a lot.


    Zou Wei picked her up and placed her on his chest. "You feel that, don''t you? You feel the world changing. I have read that animals are more sensitive to calamities than us. Is that why you are shivering?" he whispered, gently caressing her body.


    Trexa gran glanced at him with fear in her eyes. "Squeak..." her small voice came out.


    "Trexa.... your dad is out there. I don''t know how he is and what he is doing. I kept assuring my wife that he would be fine, but I don''t know myself how our fates will be. Will my soon survive? Or will he come back to the rotten corpses in his house? How heartbroken will he be?,"


    Trexa gran squeaked softly, nuzzling into his neck.


    "You will be with him, right? After we are gone?" he kissed her fur softly.


    "That darn Fan Xui, where is he when we need him? I was ready to give my son away to him," he chuckled dryly. "He said he was going to get his eyes fixed. He must be in the hospital. It will be safe, right? He will survive, I hope..."


    The little rat made weird noises, glancing at the exhaust window. This had also been sealed from the inside.


    Even so, he can see the small flecks of flame fluttering down.


    Suddenly the earth trembled few shampoo bottled fell down from the shelf.


    Trexa gran glanced at it, squeaking loudly.


    "I know, I know little one." Zou Wei hugged it close, humming softy to calm the little rat down.


    As minute passed by an unknown tiredness took over his body.


    He could not control his eyes lids anymore.


    He watched as the little rat squeak loudly, patting his face with her tiny paw.


    "It''s... okay...." he gave it one final pat before his hands dropped off.

 Chapter 96 - 96 One In Disbelief And One In Exhilaration

    Please read author''s note:


    "It''s finally happening..." Liwei glanced out the windows. A strange sense of fear and exhilaration filled his being as he watched the small ashes flutter down.


    He did a quick job of arranging all of his stock and check if all the entrances in his house were secure.


    He was present in a stylish mansion he bought with his own money. It was quite close to the military barrack and was also very close to Qian Wen''s father''s place.


    The place was the most strategic location. Not only was he near safe military officers, but he was also close to the natural farm in Wen''s property.


    In his previous life, the G city military had the least number of zombies only because they were stationed in underground quarters.


    The initial contact with the ash was the first way the virus spread. The few minutes later the virus became airborne.


    After which, the zombies did a great job at spreading it to other surviving population.


    Bai Liwei hummed softly. He had nothing else to do but to watch it all happen. In his last life he was with Fan Xui and Qian Wen enjoying their evening in a restaurant but this time he was all alone.


    He sighed softy. "it''s better to be alone. Humans can''t be trusted." He glanced at his wrist with a small smile. "When I become powerful, everyone will follow me. I don''t have to chase after those two. They treat me worse than trash,"


    Every time he went running to Fan Xui or Qian Wen, they both acted as if they were super busy. It was blatantly obvious that they both were ignoring him.


    "Those losers. That brainless scientist and that blind idiot can just go and die. I can be the apocalyptic king in this life. I have the food supply after all." he proudly glanced at his stock.


    Liwei chuckled as he filed his nails down. With a clean hand, he opened the door and placed it outside, letting the ash land on his skin.


    It was a form of assurance.


    His space ability was very special. The food doesn''t rot in there. It was how he was able to secure a place next to Fan Xui and Qian, but in fact his powers were the most important during missions.


    Without his space powers, those idiots would not have survived that long.


    Few humans started to faint on the road.


    He hurriedly ran back to his bed and laid down comfortably. He touched the ask in-between his fingers. "When I wake up I''m going to have my powers back."


    His eyes focused on his empty wrist.


    ''This life I am going to be the powerful. They have to kneel under my foot,''


    ******


    Peng Qui casually glanced out the door. The serene paddy fields and small houses were seen in the distance.


    Village life really suited him. After moving here, he initially stayed in Yue''s house but after a while he got in contact with Bohai. They both started in search for a house.


    Sadly, most of the houses were filled up. Bohai kindly offered his house for rent. The middle-aged man willingly moved to his mother''s place.


    Suddenly, he heard a small clattering sound. Small rocks were flying down from the sky.


    He hurriedly closed the windows and the door, hugging himself tight.


    Just a few minutes ago, he got a call from Uncle Zou Wei that a huge zombie apocalypse was going to happen today. To be honest he still did not believe it at all.


    Yue''s mum only said that there was going to be a political unrest, but now he just heard an absurd story that there were going to be zombies roaming all around.


    ''Can it be true... would it really happen?'' he glanced at the bookshelf where he had carefully stored Yue''s book. He was not a book person, so he did not read it as of now.


    "Agh, I''m thinking too much. It won''t possible. It can''t... happen...."


    He switched on his computer ready to edit his photos but the PC sparkled and switched off, letting out a small cloud of smoke.


    "You''ve got to be kidding me..." he tiredly leaned on the chair, rolling it side to side. "Agh, it''s all because of that Qian Wen! Why did he ditch me like that!!"


    Just after arranging a date on Friday, that stupid guy decided to bail on him saying that he had an important project in his office.


    He tried to prod but Qian Wen was surprisingly good at keeping secrets. He only sat that it was a national secret, and it wasn''t meant to be shared with civilians.


    ''Whatever kind of secret would that be? That bastard! How could he just ditch me right after we started dating. Ugh...'' he grumbled, rotating his chair around. He felt the worlds twirl around.


    ''Maybe I should not have committed myself to that guy so soon'' he thought, biting into his nails.


    The feeling he felt was real. It was definitely that ''doki doki'' heart beat when One was in love.


    But they just moved so fast. It was the reason that he was in a situation like this.


    ''I should break up. Sadly, he was such an innocent cabbage. I just wanted to pick him up before anyone could eat him. emmmm..." he moaned, hugging his bent knees.


    ''Shit, I can''t change my mind. I can''t stay with a guy who keeps secrets from me and barely spends time with me. It''s not what I want,''


    He furiously started to type his message, but his phone also stopped working.


    Only a black screen faced his way.


    "Ugh, not this too. Why is all my technology going on a strike against me? Is this terminator war? Are the computers going against me now?" he shouted, tapping the phone in his hand.


    Suddenly, the light went out.


    "What the hell is going on? Is it really the end of the world?"


    His mind went woozy for a while.. he leaned back as much as he can in his chair but after one point he lost balance and toppled down unconscious.


    ******

 Chapter 97 - 97 A Messy Reunion

    Loud screams and small growling noise woke Tian Ai up. She instantly shot up vigilantly glancing around in the dark room. ''it''s dark..... how long was I...''


    She swiftly checked her clothes. Everything was intact, including her gun and her knife.


    Tian Ai stood up.. Her legs were trembling slightly. Her eyes widened in fear. She hastily ran into the bathroom to check. Everything was as before. She did not have any signs of assault.


    ''Then why.... why did they dope me? What was their purpose? There is only one way to find out,''


    With nimble fingers she loaded the bullets into her gun. She removed the safety of it and aimed it at the mirror. ''I''ve had enough! That old Murong has done it this time!!,''


    She checked if her knife was still in her arms'' reach and strode over to the nearby room.


    Tian placed her head on the door, listening to the sounds inside. A small scraping sound was heard. ''What is that sound....either way it ends today!''


    Unhesitant, she kicked the door open and shot at him.


    "Whoa! Whoa!!" Zou Yue jumped up in shock. "What the hell?" he too took out his crossbow and swiftly shot at this person.


    In the dark room, he only had one salt/oil lamp. He could not make out the person''s face, but he definitely could feel the killing intent in all their shots. He swiftly hid behind the bed with his knife and crossbow in each hand.


    ''Who is this person? Is he trying to raid the place for food? But there is a supermarket right in front of this hotel!''


    "My backpack is there. You better reserve those bullets for the undead buddy." He said, loading up his crossbow. But accidentally the drawstring broke. ''Shit, what now? This was supposed to be my long-range weapon,''


    He tossed it to the aside, holding only his knife in hand.


    "Hey whatever you want, you can take it. We don''t have to do this," he said calmly, moving behind the screen.


    The room was dark thankfully, so the person who was shooting at him also had limited vision. Just as in his previous life, after the meteor stuck, the electricity just vanished along with usage of all the electrical equipment. His phone was just a block of plastic now, completely useless.


    He sensed the person move towards the bed, holding the gun upright.


    When his back was facing him, he charged and tackled this person to the bed.


    The person below him grunted.


    "Enough! The more noise we create, the more trouble we bring in! Shut up," he muffled his mouth with the sheets.


    His sharp ears heard a small screeching and scrambling noise outside.


    ''They definitely heard that darn shot!''


    He placed his knife on that person''s neck. "shh.. Please shut up," he whispered desperately.


    The person quieted down.


    He glanced out the door, watching a slumped down figure walking in the hallway. The zombie paused slowly by the broken door.


    Yue vigilantly glanced at it.


    He was in greater danger now. If he took his knife off the assailant, he might shoot, but he doesn''t defend himself he would be zombie meal.


    He moved closer and whispered, "Listen to me, that thing out there is going to kill us if we don''t do anything. Just please this once work with me, I''ll give you all the food you need. Nod if you understand,"


    The person nodded.


    Yue took his knife off with his hands raised. Slowly, he moved to the door.


    The zombie turned to him, growling softly. It was the female maid that used to work here. Her outfit was already stained with blood that could only mean that she already had a taste for blood.


    He moved swiftly and slit her throat without a sound.


    The zombie grudged softly, going down to its knees. Even so, it kept on trying to reach him.


    He hacked at her hands and pushed her off in the other direction.


    After which he tried his best to restore the door. Thankfully, only the latch was broke the door was completely intact. He placed it there quietly.


    "stop," a cold barrel hit the back off his head.


    Zou Yue paused. "I am trying to save us.."


    "....." the gun remained firmly on his head.


    "I am serious. If you want to survive, you can stick to me. I''ll help you, but let me tell you will regret killing me,"


    "I don''t regret any of it," a soft voice whispered, pushing him with his gun.


    Yue frowned. it was a girl''s voice. He glanced back with his hands up in the air. The room was dark, but from the faint candle light, he could see the cold, detached brown eyes glaring at him intently.


    "Tian Ai?"


    "Stop saying my name, you don''t deserve to,"


    Zou Yue confusedly looked at her. ''What is going on? Why is she trying to hurt me? Wasn''t she searching for me as well? This is so confusing...''


    "Can you explain why you are trying to kill me?" he asked, raising his brows slightly.


    The girl scoffed. "You know why?"


    "Why?"


    "I said you know why?"


    "Like seriously, I don''t know why. Care to explain? Please," he sweetly smiled at her.


    The girl''s expression distorted to disgust for a second. "You doped me and tried to kill me. Do you think I will spare you?,"


    "I-I what now? I did not do anything to you." he moved close, but she pressed the gun hard on his forehead, pushing him closer to the door.


    "Shut up."


    "okay okay... let me get this situation clear. You think that I doped you and I am trying to kill you. Which part of me looks like a killer?" he looked at her with a sweet smile.


    "You just killed that woman in cold blood!"


    Yue just pointed out the door. "That was not a human,"


    "You are the one who has lost humanity," she cussed out loud. "I should just kill you right here and get it over with, but¡­." she dragged him over to the bed and made him sit down.


    Zou Yue calmly sat there, shaking his legs. "Tian Ai~"


    "Shut up, answer only my questions? Did the Murong family send you here?"


    "No," Yue frowned deeply. ''Is that why she attacked me? Wait, why does she have a gun? Guns are illegal here. Is she a cop? I don''t think so then how...''


    "Then why do you know my name and why did you pretend to be me in that party?"


    Yue calmly gazed into her eyes. "Because I wanted to find you.."


    "Why?"


    "Because.... " Yue smiled softly "you are my sister,"

 Chapter 98 - 98 Zombies Exist

    Tian Ai''s frown deepened even more. She peered at this young man in disgust. ''sister? Who is he trying to fool? This guy definitely must be sent by that disgusting Murong family. How did they find a look alike?'' she pushed his chin up with her gun?


    ''No surgery scars... weird...''


    From his chin down, the guy looked exactly like her. But his eyes were different. They were wide and innocent looking, exactly opposite to his character when he ruthlessly killed an innocent woman.


    She was not innocent either. She had a fair share of her killings, but she had never seen a person kill someone with no expression on their face before. It was bone chilling.


    ''It''s better to kill him before he kills me,''


    Her trigger finger moved tightly.


    "Wait, you still don''t believe me, right? I will prove it to you. Please give me a chance," Yue whispered, holding the gun.


    Tian Ai pulled it away from him, but all of a sudden she heard a strange crunching sound.


    "Oh sorry.." Yue, let go of it.


    Her gun''s barrel was crushed with four finger prints deeply imprinted into them.


    "What the hell are you?"


    Yue looked at his hands in shock. "I don''t know either. Is this super strength? But I did not have any powers when I got infected in the first place. Then why....." he clenched his hands and moved his finger slightly.


    Tian Ai pulled back and placed a knife to his neck. "I don''t care who you are but crossing me as your mistake,"


    "Don''t kill me. I am really your younger brother. I swear,"


    "Prove it,"


    "Wait," he reached for his pocket to his phone. He carefully held it to her. "I have proof here," he removed the phone case and inside was a family photo he carefully stored.


    He removed it and held it to her. "This is your mother, and this is your father,"


    Tian Ai leaned close, peering into the photo. The darkness did not help in her case. She could not see properly. She plucked it from him and held it close to the candle light.


    A young cheerful face was seen and next to her was a grumpy looking middle aged man. Both of them were hugging a bubbly looking boy in their arms who was holding up a lollypop to the camera.


    "That is me," Yue smiled at her. "hi sister. It was really hard to find you,"


    Tian Ai peered at him without a word. ''definitely photoshopped.... definitely....but let''s play along. Let''s see what kind of tricks this guy has up his sleeves.''


    She tossed the photo back and placed the knife in its sheath. "I didn''t need for you to find me. leave me alone,"


    "Wait, I came to take you back," Yue held the sleeve of her blue jacket shyly. "sister,"


    "Stop calling me that. I am not your sister anymore and you are not my brother,"


    Zou Yue froze. His heart hurt just from listening to her harsh words. His eyes started to fill up with unshed tears. "I am your brother.. you are my sister,"


    Tian Ai frowned. "you are a man, stop crying,"


    "I can cry when I want to.. and you are my sister," he clung to her ram. "Don''t deny that..." he sobbed, rubbing his head on her arm.


    Tian Ai flinched back a little. To be honest, she could see the resemblance between the mum and this kid. They both looked almost similar to her. Besides, when she was looking at this kid''s face, he did not have any surgical scars. The face was most likely natural.


    It was undeniable that he was her brother, but she not ready to be a family with him.


    ''So I refuse to believe this. I simply refuse to until you will also give up on me and leave,''


    If he had found her, at least a few years ago, she would have readily accepted him. But now she learned to live alone without anyone. She did not need them.


    "Tian Ai~"


    "ew stop rubbing snot on me, she pushed his head away.


    "Please accept me. I am your brother,"


    "Fine, stop it." she pushed him away and walked to the door.


    "Where are you going?" he held her hand anxiously.


    "to clean up that corpse. Do you think the police will look at you nicely, knowing that you killed her like that? I will clean it up. Just leave," she waved him off. Her eyes subtly followed him. ''What will he do? Will he leave dumping his trash to me? Let''s see,''


    "aww... you do like me," Yue hugged her arms. "But you don''t need to do that. That person was already dead before I kind of dismembered them."


    Tian Ai raised her brow. ''a total psychopath....''


    "you really must be my brother. Look at you being so cold blooded." She removed her hand from his grip.


    "no I am serious. That was a zombie. I did not kill a living person.It was a zombie. Tian Ai I have so much I want to discuss." He said, wiping his nose with his sleeve.


    She looked at his dirty sleeve with a cringe. "use a tissue."


    "I will I will but listen to me..."


    Suddenly, there was a deep grunt in the hallway.


    Yue froze. "shh. Listen to me. When I tell you to run, just run got it. he pulled her behind, facing the door.


    The door fell down easily with just a small weight put on it. Three zombies peered in, sniffing with their heads held high.


    Yue glanced at Tian Ai and gestured her to be silent. He pulled out his sister''s dagger and slowly walked close to the zombie.


    Suddenly, the two zombies up front frantically ran at him.


    He tackled it to the ground and stabbed its head.


    Another one pounced on him from behind.


    He pushed it off him. The zombie rolled over to Tian Ai''s feet and tore into her skin.


    "No, no....!" he pulled it off his sister and stabbed it right in between its eyes.


    "run! Just run!!!"


    Tian Ai just looked at the remaining zombie with a scowl. With one hand, she pulled the zombie''s right arm and tackled it to the ground. Sitting on it she pinned it down with its back facing her. She swiftly pulled at its neck, snapping it off completely.


    "ew what.." she tossed the severed head off, wiping the gooey stiff off her hands on the bed sheets next to her. "That was not human like,"


    "Cuz they are zombies!"


    Zou Yue glanced at her bleeding shin with his mouth wide open..


    "And... y¡ªyou might become one soon...."

 Chapter 99 - 99 The Blackening Wound

    "They are zombies?" Tian Ai went to the bathroom, washing her hands thoroughly. She wetted a towel and placed it on her bleeding wound. The nails marks were not the worst wound she had gotten whist on her hits. This was just a small scratch.


    The young lad named Zou Yue stood by the doorway, trembling softly. His tears spilled down like the Niagara, continuous and unstoppable.


    ''this kid really likes to cry....''


    He suddenly squatted down, scaring her a bit.


    "Get up! Now,"


    He gently touched her shin with trembling hands. "I¡ªI failed you.....I failed you Tian Ai. I could have saved you. I could have..."


    His heart ached so much. Last life, at least he survived for 10 years and had so much experience, but why ....why couldn''t he save his sister?


    Not even a day passed, and she got scratched.


    He placed a clean cloth on the wound. Getting scratched usually will turn any into a zombie but sometime a few survive.


    But the chances are very low.


    "Tian Ai... you have to fight it. Our parents are waiting for you," with tears in his eyes, he held her clean hands. "We''ll wait here for a few days. After you get better, we shall go to them. I swear I will help you get better,"


    He held back his tears and smiled a little.


    Tian Ai just let go if his hand "it''s a fucking scratch," she pulled him up. "It''s not a big deal. A Tetanus shot can deal with it. Why are you talking as if I am dying?,"


    "But you are dying." his wet tears dripped onto their interlocked hands.


    She let go of his hands instantly. "Enough of this. I don''t want to deal with your stupidity." She went over to the bed and started to bandage the wound. "Be a man, why do you cry for everything?"


    Yue did not answer her rather, he glanced at her small bleeding wound, silently sobbing.


    "Goodness'' sake. Are you sure we are related? You sob so much that it''s hurting my ear," she pushed his moping head away.


    "sorry.. sorry. You need to rest. I heard that once scratched will get sick. You need to take ample rest." He helped her stand up.


    She let go of his hand. "I''m not a fucking invalid,"


    "l.. I see." Yue picked up his bag and his sharpened knifes and slowly moved out. "Let''s go stay in a safer place,"


    ''Safer? what does he mean?'' Tian Ai doubtfully followed after him. They both left to the room.


    walking through the blood soaked hallway, Zou Yue pulled himself together.


    As of now, Tian Ai needed a lot of rest and her fever needs to be controlled at all cost. He had heard stories that once a young military soldier was bitten by a zombie badly. He was burning a fever right after. His commanders soaked him in cold and his fever broke through.


    He did not keno how much of the story was true. But he firmly wanted to believe that his sister will survive in this lifetime.


    ''She did once¡­. she will survive again right?''


    Zou Yue recognised her the moment he saw her face. Only thought that hit him was why didn''t I think about that before.


    In fact, he has met in his previous life. She, his sister, was the person who gave him that information run on Fan Xui.


    The world is so small. He was so close to his sister, yet they were worlds apart.


    He glanced back at her. ''that means she will survive, right? Right?''


    A small hope arose in his heart.


    He moved to a corridor he knew was unoccupied. With a small bobby pin, he opened the lock and gestured for her to follow.


    Tian Ai rolled her eyes and walked in, pushing out of the way. "Don''t be a douche. I can open the door myself,"


    He closed the door and locked it after him. He carefully placed the chair next to the door in case someone might break in.


    Yue touched her forehead. It was starting to get hot.


    "We need to work fast, come," he pulled her over to the bathtub.


    "What are you doing?" she firmly stood her ground right outside the bathroom.


    "Helping you,"


    Tian Ai frowned deeply. ''What is this guy doing now.... fuck, did I get caught by a crazy psychopath?''


    "Get off. I don''t want a bath."


    "You need to. Your fever will burn hotter by the minute. Take a bath." He helped fill the tub up.


    Even though the city was under blackout, the hotel must have had reserve water stored in the septic tank.


    He filled it up to the halfway point and gestured for her to hop in.


    Tian Ai just peered at it. "I don''t want to."


    "Please.. please get in,"


    She peered at him. "Look away." she pulled off her coat and stepped in. "satisfied. Jeez I barely know you for an hour and yet here I am doing what''ve you tell me to." She grumbled, slashing water over his tears stained face.


    Yue smiled softly. "We are siblings after all.."


    He gently held her wet legs out. The wound was starting to get a black mark around it, indicating that the virus was infecting her body intensely.


    Tian Ai peered at it with a frown. ''Something is definitely wrong? Did that human have rabies or something? It definitely feels like it,''


    The person who attacked her was not behaving as usual. His back was bent back at an odd angle as he was charging at her. Even a professional gymnast would find it hard to hold that position. Even so, that position will not give any strategic advantage while attacking.


    ''Are they really zombies? Is this a prank...'' she peered at him. Yue seemed so busy cleaning out her wound. His water tap eyes were still dripping rogue tears here and there.


    She chuckled softly. ''Idiot,''


    Her face stiffened. ''Shit, did I just chuckle? No, no no this guy is a fraud! I can''t be duped,''


    She gripped his hands. "Enough, it''s just septic,"


    "m¡ªmust be..." he held that stiff smile on his face while he cleaned that wound again and again with water. But the darkness around it only kept spreading.


    Soon her smaller veins ear that area started to turn black.


    "oh god.." he sat down leaning his head on the tub. "Please god... please... I don''t want to lose her too... please..."