The rain poured down with increasing intensity, large droplets splashing onto the smooth stone pathways and the pond beneath the small bridge, creating a symphony of plinking sounds.
Inside the House:
Chu Muge hummed a tune as she placed the freshly washed blankets into the dryer and pressed the start button. Thanks to the photovoltaic panels on Gu Yao's house, they had a small reserve of electricity. If they used it sparingly, it might last for a while.
As she stepped out of the laundry room, Chu Muge noticed the zombies scurrying around the house, diligently cleaning. Silently, she turned around and went upstairs. The zombies were working so hard, they looked more like overworked employees than bloodthirsty undead. Earlier, when she picked up a broom, one of the zombies immediately snatched it from her. When she grabbed a mop, another zombie beat her to it and eagerly began the task.
Thanks to the eight industrious little workers, the house was spotless. The floors were mopped, the dust wiped away, and the floor gleamed with a polished shine.
Reaching the second floor, Chu Muge spotted a zombie mopping the hallway with great concentration. She silently passed by, heading towards a room with a small nameplate on the door.
The name on the plate was written in elegant script:
Gu Yao.
Chu Muge placed her hand on the doorknob and gently pushed the door open. "Senior, I'm coming in."
Gu Yao, sitting on the freshly cleaned bed, didn't respond. She stared blankly at her reflection in a small mirror. Chu Muge had personally cleaned and tidied Gu Yao's room, and even though she had already inspected every corner earlier, she still felt a surge of curiosity as she re-entered, her eyes wide with interest.
Picking up a photo frame from the desk, Chu Muge pointed at the picture inside and exclaimed, "Senior! Look! It's you when you were little!"
Gu Yao shifted her gaze from the small mirror to the photo Chu Muge was shaking. The little girl in the photo was adorable, with rosy cheeks and big eyes that curved into a smile.
Chu Muge sighed, "When I first met you, Senior, you were just as cute, and you helped me..."
Gu Yao froze. Had Chu Muge known her original self from a long time ago? That couldn’t be possible, right?
"But later, you became distant..." Chu Muge murmured, almost to herself, before quickly moving on to a new topic. Her attention shifted to the small mirror in Gu Yao's hand. "Senior, what are you looking at?"
Gu Yao lowered her gaze back to the mirror, staring into her own grayish-white eyes. “What do you think I am doing? Just looking at myself in the mirror,” she thought.
Chu Muge sat down beside her, "You seem confused."
“The fact that you can tell a zombie is confused is impressive,” Gu Yao thought.
But there was some truth to it. She did feel a sense of confusion, or perhaps it was more accurate to say she felt a growing sense of disorientation.
She stared at the reflection of Gu Yao's pretty face in the mirror, motionless. Although she retained her intelligence after becoming a zombie, she was slowly losing something else. It wasn't a change in her thoughts, but rather a gradual loss.
“It’s difficult to explain,” she mused, “but it’s like I still know how to joke, feel surprised, sad, or cry, yet I’m losing the ability to understand other people’s emotions. My worldview is subtly changing.”
For instance, Gu Yao knew that if she were still her old self, the sight of those disgusting zombie bodies would have repulsed her. But now, when she saw the pile of corpses in the mall's basement, her first thought had been, “Lots of nutrients, enough to incubate.”
"You're beautiful, Senior. No need to keep staring," Chu Muge's voice interrupted her thoughts.
Gu Yao glanced away from the mirror. “And then there’s the fact that I've become a girl,” she thought, “yet I feel nothing about it.”
It wasn’t about getting used to it; she simply didn’t care. Becoming a zombie seemed to have blurred her sense of gender. Whether she was male or female no longer mattered. Even when Chu Muge had touched her chest, she only felt a strange sensation, like an animal’s instinctual response, without any shame.
“What will I become later on?” Gu Yao wondered, glancing at Chu Muge.
Chu Muge, noticing her stillness, puffed out her cheeks and pulled Gu Yao into her arms, holding her tightly.
Gu Yao was startled and instinctively tried to pull away, but Chu Muge's soft voice stopped her. "Don’t move."
Gu Yao paused.
"Senior, we've been walking in the rain all day. We’re all wet and dirty, aren't we? Shouldn't we take a bath?"
Chu Muge continued in a slow, deliberate tone, "But we need to save electricity, and hot water is precious..."
“What are you up to now?” Gu Yao thought.
Sure enough, Chu Muge's real intention came out in the next breath: "So, let's take a bath together?"
Gu Yao: -.-
In the Bathroom:
Outside, the rain continued to pour, soaking the earth and cooling the air. Inside the bathroom, the steam rose, and two pale figures seemed to intertwine in the mist.
But of course, they didn't. It was just Chu Muge helping Gu Yao with her bath.
Gu Yao truly had the aura of a queen. Outside, she had her little zombie minions cleaning the house, and inside, she had her personal attendant washing her. The bubbles from the body wash obscured the more private areas, and despite being a zombie, Gu Yao’s figure was more developed than Chu Muge’s. The close proximity, with nothing left to the imagination, made Chu Muge feel oddly self-conscious.
However, the more innocent something seems, the more it can lead to temptation. Chu Muge, who had a keen interest in music, particularly enjoyed playing the guitar and humming songs. Now, she hummed a cheerful tune as she washed Gu Yao.
Back in the Living Room:
After the zombies had finished cleaning, Gu Yao had ordered them to stay in a room on the first floor, because "concubine" Chu Muge felt that their presence was somewhat unsettling after her bath.
Gu Yao, seeing Chu Muge with her damp hair and loose clothes, could somewhat understand her discomfort. So, the hard-working zombies were unceremoniously sent off to the "dark room."
Chu Muge, now dressed in loose pajamas, dried Gu Yao’s hair but left her own damp. She then took Gu Yao’s hand, grabbed a blow dryer with the other, and eagerly headed downstairs. Reaching the living room, she plopped onto the soft sofa, crossing her legs and shaking out her slightly damp hair. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at the black screen of the TV.
"Senior, let's watch TV!" she exclaimed.
“Is there even a signal?” Gu Yao thought, as she sat down beside Chu Muge.
Given the need to conserve electricity, the dimly lit house had only a single warm, yellow light on, creating a sleepy atmosphere. Chu Muge likely knew there wouldn’t be a signal, but she just wanted to enjoy the cozy feeling of watching TV with someone she liked.
She turned on the TV, and unsurprisingly, there was no signal. Undeterred, she plugged the blow dryer into a nearby socket and said, "No worries, we can play... Snake!"
Gu Yao: -.-
She watched as Chu Muge, like a child, rocked back and forth on the sofa, her body bouncing slightly as she played with the remote. Gu Yao could only think, *How childish.*
As Chu Muge focused on guiding the little snake on the screen, she simultaneously used the blow dryer to dry her hair. Gu Yao sat there, expressionless, watching the pixelated snake move across the screen, while the soft hum of the blow dryer filled the room.
Once Chu Muge finished drying her hair, she gradually inched closer until she ended up leaning against Gu Yao's shoulder. The sweet scent of her shampoo wafted through the air, but Gu Yao...
Gu Yao felt nothing.
Chu Muge sighed contentedly, "It would be perfect if we had a bag of chips."
But there were no chips. She snuggled closer to Gu Yao, eventually nestling into her arms. Gu Yao resigned, letting her do what she wanted.
It was so comfortable that Chu Muge, under the dim light, began to drift off. She murmured a few more words before falling asleep in Gu Yao's lap, while Gu Yao continued to watch the snake game.
One level, two levels, three levels...
In the apocalypse, the two of them played the simple snake game for what felt like hours. It wasn’t until the snake on the screen suddenly crashed into itself, the game over screen flashing, that Gu Yao noticed something was amiss.
She glanced down at the sleeping Chu Muge, who had dozed off while mumbling.
The night grew deeper, the rain continued to pour, but inside the house, there was a quiet sense of peace.
Remembering the need to conserve electricity, Gu Yao gently removed the remote from Chu Muge’s slack hand, turned off the TV, and looked toward the light switch by the sofa.
“It’s late,” she thought, “time to sleep.”
With a soft click, the world plunged into darkness.
Chu Muge was asleep, and Gu Yao was ready to enter her own robotic standby mode.
She gazed down at the sleeping girl in her lap, and in that moment, a vague understanding seemed to flicker in her mind.
"Why haven’t I turned into one of those mindless zombies?" she wondered.