Afterlife Department

Normal World, S City, Tianxing Entertainment.

"Have you heard of Film Emperor Lei's new movie?!"

"Yes! That movie of director Hu!"

"Ah ah ah! I wanna see Film Emperor Lei! I wanna see Film Emperor Lei!!!"

"Stop it! The movie has started shooting! Our chance of meeting Film Emperor Lei is lessened now!"

"Wuwwuwuwu… Film Emperor Lei, I wish you a happy shooting!"

"Yes. Let's hope those paparazzi won't know their film location and bother the cast."

Huo Ling listened to the staff talking about Lei Shan – the newest film emperor. He had received his award last month, and then immediately picked up a movie to act instead of a drama.

Speaking of drama…

"Tch.. This set is bland compared to Film Emperor Lei's set."

"What do you expect? Of course, for an idol drama, the actors are all just pretty face while their acting skill is empty."

"Yeah. I heard the male lead kicked out another assistant again?"

"Shh. He's a rich second-generation young master. Don't let him hear you, or you'll be the next one to be fired."

"Hah. Not only him, though. There's the female lead who has her sugar daddy to back her. Her sugar daddy also invested in this movie, like the male lead. Thus, the male lead can't do anything against her. Now, these two self-important people are tearing at each other."

"Hehehehe. You're all so outdated. Haven't you heard that the male lead and female lead are real-life couple before?"

"What?!"

"Where did you hear that?"

"A paparazzi broke the news just now. Check the Weibo."

Huo Ling heard it and he also opened his Weibo. Meanwhile, he continued to listen to them gossip.

"The paparazzi caught them last night kissing before they argued. It seems that the male lead had introduced the female lead before to his parents. However, how can the parents accept a small artist like her? Disregarding her poor background, her as an artist will bring more trouble to their family in case she'd have a scandal. Thus, the two broke up. And it seems their fear happened. The female lead really hugged a golden thigh to have resources. This drama is one she snatched from other artists."

"Oh, my god… she's so horrible!"

"Yeah. And this male lead followed her here. However, whether to make up with her or just to revenge against her… it's pretty obvious."

Huo Ling nodded as he read the Weibo post of the paparazzi. Indeed, the male lead hated her for what she had done. Not only she replaced him with an old man, she also tied his family to her reputation.

"Huo Ling. It's your turn!" his agent told him.

Finished with his makeup, Huo Ling immediately went to the director. "You're here." The director said when he saw him.

Huo Ling smiled. "Is it my turn?" he asked.

"Yes." the director nodded.

Huo Ling then walked to the scene and waited for the signal to start acting.

"Hey! Look at the supporting male lead. He's handsome. His hair and eyes are brown. Do you think he's half-blood?"

"Idiot! Haven't you heard? He's a Jackson!"

"What?! That Jackson family?!"

"Yes."

"Wait… you don't mean… to Film Emperor Lei…"

"Yeah. The Lei family is friends with the Jackson family. Naturally, Huo Ling is Film Emperor's friend. Also, didn't you see the director's attitude towards him? That female lead even once tried to climb onto Huo Ling's bed. Her backer wanted to punish Huo Ling, but how can he act against the giant Jackson family? Even the male lead didn't dare try putting airs in front of Huo Ling."

"He's so rich! Then, why is he here?"

"Who knows? Maybe like the rich second-generation, he wants to play?"

Huo Ling who had just finish his scene. "…" I can hear you clearly. "Director. Am I done with my scenes today?" he asked.

"Yes." the director answered.

"Then, I'm going." Huo Ling told him and then left.

"Huo Ling!" his agent called as he ran after him. "Film Emperor Lei called just now." he said as he handed the phone to Huo Ling.

Huo Ling then saw an incoming call from Lei Shan. "Ge." He answered.

"Are you done with your scenes today?" Lei Shan asked. His voice soft as he talked to him.

"Yes. I'm on my way to the restaurant." Huo Ling said as he entered the car while his agent placed his luggage on the trunk.

"Alright. We'll be waiting for you." Lei Shan said.

"En." Huo Ling answered as he ended the call. However, just as he was about to call his agent, he heard something ticking. As someone from a wealthy family, he immediately realized it's a bomb. Before he could react, the car exploded.

"Ugh!" the agent cried when his body flew because of the impact. "Argh…" he groaned in pain when he fell on his back. "Huo Ling…" he called when he saw the car was aflame. "HUO LING!!!" he screamed.

"Uh…" Huo Ling groaned, disoriented, when he heard his agent's voice. "I can hear you… no need to shout…" he muttered before he opened his eyes, only for him to widen them in shock. "Wh-wh-wh… why is it burning around me?!" he asked as he immediately moved away from the fire. However, he felt his body was lighter.

"Your car exploded." A voice answered.

"What?! 'exploded'?!" Huo Ling exclaimed before he froze. "Right… I heard a bomb and was too late to escape. Then, the car exploded…" he said, his voice trailed off. He slowly turned to the owner of the voice and saw a tall and handsome man wearing a black suit with a blue necktie. "Who are you?" he asked.

Yi Bing's brows raised seeing the calm Huo Ling. He's surprisingly calm. It seems that his mental ability is high for him to remain calm after his death. He thought as his lips curled up. "I am 0001, a grim reaper of the Afterlife Department." He answered. "You can call me Yi Bing." He added.

"Looks like it." Huo Ling muttered and sighed as he floated out of the car and saw his charred corpse. Meanwhile, the agent was crying as he dialed the police and ambulance before he called Lei Shan, detailing what had just happened.

"'looks like it'?" Yi Bing asked as he watched Huo Ling went to his agent.

"I've heard of grim reapers from my father's country." Huo Ling said. "They appear when someone is dying or that someone has died. In this case, you appeared after I died. Since you talked to me, it means that my agent isn't dying." He said as he listened to his agent frantically talking to Lei Shan on the phone.

At this time, the security guards in the parking lot as well as the employees and the artists who heard the explosion and was near had arrived.

"Oh, my god!" a female employee exclaimed as she gasped.

"Why is there…"

"Whose car is it?!" someone asked.

"Look! It's the agent!"

"Isn't he Huo Ling's agent?!"

"Then, it's Huo Ling's car that exploded?!"

"I didn't see Huo Ling… you don't mean that he…"

"No way…"

"Tianxing is finished. The Jackson family will – "

"Stop with your crow's mouth!"

Huo Ling heard them talk and sighed. Then, he turned to Yi Bing. "Are we leaving now?" he asked.

Yi Bing looked at Huo Ling's serene expression. With this expression and the question, he'd think Huo Ling doesn't have any attachments. However, souls that doesn't have attachments goes to reincarnation. Thus, Huo Ling definitely has an attachment despite his expression.

Or else, why would he, a grim reaper, be here if there's no soul that has an attachment? "No." he answered.

Huo Ling was surprised. "We aren't leaving? Then, what are we going to do?" he asked.

"What do you want to do?" Yi Bing asked back.

"What?" Huo Ling was confused. "What do you mean?"

"Exactly as I asked." Yi Bing said as he hides his smile.

"You – " Huo Ling was speechless. What's with this strange grim reaper? He thought as he furrowed his brows. Or, is he really a grim reaper? He said he came from Afterlife Department. What is that? An organization of grim reapers? Does it really exist? Or…

He looked at Yi Bing, his eyes casting a suspicious gaze on the man in black. Is he a mentally deranged person that just happened to have an ability to see ghosts? Thinking this, his eyes widened as he immediately moved his soul away from Yi Bing.

Seeing Huo Ling's reaction, Yi Bing's eyes narrowed in amusement. He might be surprisingly calm, but he's actually also an over thinker. He thought and almost laughed. "What's wrong?" he asked as he tried to soften his voice and made his expression gentler. "You looked pale…" he said.

"Ghosts are naturally pale." Huo Ling tried to make his voice calm.

Yi Bing. "…" darling, has anyone told you your acting sucks? It seemed like he had discovered something important.