Chapter 628 - Face to face with the past after many years: I love you vs. I loved you (Part4)
Chapter 628 – Face to face with the past after many years: I love you vs. I loved you (Part4)
Soon the sun fell and the moon rose high in the clear sky welcoming the night.
Because electricity was no longer a luxury that mankind could rely on, a curfew had been put in place whereby after 20:00 survivors were strictly forbidden to leave their homes unless it was for a serious and verifiable emergency. After all, while several mutant-seeded streetlights had been erected on the main streets of the settlement, there were many uncovered areas due to the colossal size of the entire base.
Without light, the criminals could carry out their activities with greater ease and tranquility, so to avoid major problems, a curfew was the only plausible solution until a proper and real solution could be found in this matter.
However, while 90% of the base was almost completely silent with the only sound being that of patrols using bicycles in an attempt to save valuable fuel or on foot, that small remaining 10% of the establishment was glowing brightly.
Separated from the rest like gods in the sky away from the mortal world, the residents of the privileged area not only enjoyed privileges during the day but also at night.
Most of the young people went to nightclubs to enjoy the nightlife and some went for walks under the moonlight. Streetlights that were automatically recharged during the day and turned on during the night illuminated the sidewalks such that even the most fearful would dare to go out at midnight.
Tonight, however, the most powerful kept a firm grip on the belts around their children and ignoring any sign of protest dragged them with them straight to the Wu Family villa.
When the spoiled young masters learned that the daughter of the highest leader of the entire establishment had appeared and a welcome party would be held for her, all grumbling disappeared without a trace and they eagerly began to fix their costumes and meticulously brush their hair.
Time passed and in an instant it was past 21:00 at night.
At the banquet site, countless crystal chandeliers illuminated the huge hall. As dignified looking men and women proceeded to mingle with red wine in their hands while discussing the news in town, several soft waiters and beautiful waitresses walked around serving the people.
On the sides of the banquet hall located in the backyard of the villa were 2 long tables of food from all sorts of places and not just natives; seafood dishes, mutated vegetables, and even mutant beast meat, all laid out in plain sight and for anyone to taste by simply approaching one of the tables. It gave the distinct impression that there was no apocalypse to worry about in the outside world as if it had all been a bad dream or a passing evil that had already come to an end.
The decorations were truly extravagant, so much so that even a single curtain in the place would easily amount to two months’ salary of a normal employee before the Soul Record came to Earth.
While the adults mingled among themselves trying to create connections and friendships that would serve to boost their positions a bit or firm up their current seats, the beautiful young women dressed in lovely evening dresses chatted and giggled softly while the younger men neatly dressed in expensive suits stole glances secretly or not, trying to get a glimpse of which target they would be aiming at tonight.
Just then, a group of four people walked into the hall. Two of them were men and the other two women; two young men, the second one clearly older, although one of them looked much younger in comparison.
At first, no one paid too much attention, however, when the eager young men noticed that all the young ladies suddenly froze and stared toward the entrance they also turned to see what was going on; many of them froze immediately.
Like a chain reaction, the adults who were secretly controlling their children to keep them from raising problems in a place where they could not afford to raise them also looked toward the entrance and immediately realized what was going on.
The youngest woman was clearly not yet in her twenties but her beauty was undoubtedly number one when compared to any other young woman in the room and only a handful of adult women could match her barely using their mature charm.
She was wearing a one-piece, calf-length, french blue dress that clung tenderly to her sweet body and ended with light ruffles at the bottom. She was wearing high heel shoes, approximately 5 centimeters high, exposing her beautiful pearl-like fingers and toes. Her hair, as black as night, was pulled back in an elegant bun with a few strands that were clearly purposely disheveled to add charm and beauty to her overwhelmingly over-the-top face compared to any woman present.
However, as surprising as it might seem, the beautiful young woman was not the one who really stole the spotlight this time as would happen in 99% of situations.
It was the younger man.
Dressed in a black suit with a white shirt underneath and black leather shoes on his feet, Bai Zemin stepped forward confidently as he followed his family into the hall.
Standing six feet tall, Bai Zemin could only be considered normal in European or American countries. However, in Asia, he was definitely well above average for normal men. Moreover, his body that seemed to have been perfectly sculpted by divine hands did not go unnoticed even with clothes covering it while his practically transcendental face enhanced by the purity of the records that made up his soul was too attractive to be ignored.
Bai Zemin’s actual charm had long ago surpassed even that of famous supermodels or actors who captured the hearts of countless women. Therefore, it was no surprise that he now attracted attention in such a way; but since he was already used to it and didn’t mind it either, he ignored all the female stares and walked forward with unhurried and unworried steps.
“Big brother, it looks like touching up your hair a bit was right after all.” Meng Qi whispered softly beside him and said with a playful smile that captivated not a few young men in the place, “Look at all those women about to drool over you. How does it feel to be popular?”
Bai Zemin gave her a sidelong glance and silently appreciated his dear sister’s natural beauty as he said quietly, “Don’t be jealous, I’m just experiencing what it means to be popular for the first time in my life.”
Meng Qi covered her little mouth with one hand and her shoulders shook gently as proof that she was giggling quietly. But unlike the brother-sister duo who had already started having fun as soon as they arrived, Ye Linger was not happy.
“I understand that these young ladies are delighted with my son and I commend them for their good taste but… What’s wrong with these old ones looking at my child with those hungry tigress eyes? Don’t they have any sense? She complained under her breath She complained quietly for fear of offending someone and causing trouble for her family.
Bai Delan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as he gently took his wife’s hand and silently tried to appease her. There was no way he was going to tell Ye Linger that while their son was indeed young enough to be the son of several adult women present, the point here was that he was not the son of any of them!
As the family of Bai Zemin settled into a corner and began chatting quietly among themselves, some of the younger girls began to murmur quietly but with astonishment noticeable on their excited faces.
“Who is that young man?”
“I don’t know…”
“There was such a handsome young man in the privileged area?”
“Could he be the rumored Chen He who is said to be powerful enough to take the leadership of team number 7 of the White Tiger guild and so handsome that half of its female members approached him with the intention of smoothing things over?”
“…”
On the other hand, the adults who knew things better and were more informed also began to whisper among themselves.
“So that’s Bai Zemin?”
“Indeed, the son of Major Bai who recently appeared and turned out to be tremendously powerful.”
“From what I heard, this Bai Zemin is the original leader of the team that Mayor Wu’s daughter was a part of and who helped her get here safely.”
“The Bai family will definitely receive privileges in the future.”
“…”
Bai Zemin and his father being high-level soul evolvers naturally heard the whispers and murmurs of the other people but the two of them acted as if they knew nothing. At the end of the day, this kind of thing was completely normal considering that the two of them were quite famous now; this especially applied to Bai Zemin since Bai Delan was known from before.
While Bai Delan was already a man who had seen the world and was too old to worry about such matters, Bai Zemin was the top leader of a faction with over 30,000 survivors so his actual state was far from what anyone inside this hall; worrying about insignificant looks or whispers had long since been put aside by him.
Time passed slowly and little by little more guests began to arrive.
Approximately 30 minutes after Bai Zemin arrived, Zhong De appeared at the entrance with his mother and quickly found the location of Bai Zemin and his family. Seeing Bai Zemin gesturing for him to come closer, Zhong De did not hesitate and took his mother with him to introduce themselves.
Bai Zemin’s parents, especially Ye Linger, was very keen after hearing that Zhong De was one of the comrades who had fought shoulder to shoulder with his son all this time. Bai Zemin’s mother clearly noticed the poor nutrition of Zhong De’s mother so she kindly offered to cook her various mutant vegetables with mutant meat to help in her recovery, forgetting that Zhong De with his strength could give his mother what she needed.
Even so, Zhong De and his mother naturally understood the good intentions of the other party and both immediately felt grateful. Especially Zhong De, who knew who Bai Zemin really was and how prestigious Ye Linger’s identity was without her knowing it.
Not long after the arrival of Zhong De, two beautiful women appeared and again a small commotion was raised that somehow did not lose with the arrival of Bai Zemin; they were Nangong Lingxin and Cai Jingyi.
The hot body of Nangong Lingxin was being hugged by a silver-colored Chinese dress. On both sides were two long slits that tantalizingly revealed her long legs, seducing men every time they appeared after every step forward she took just like a supermodel on parade.
In contrast, Cai Jingyi was much less striking in her beautiful light blue dress. Although she was undoubtedly more beautiful than most of the women present, her body was small when compared to a curvaceous woman like Nangong Lingxin, and walking side by side really overshadowed her. However, only Bai Zemin, Zhong De, and Nangong Lingxn knew that this was actually an effect of Cai Jingyi’s assassin job passively dimming her presence.
It was close to 22:00 hours but Bai Zemin still saw no sign of Wu Yijun or her family. Nor did he see Shangguan Bing Xue or Chen He anywhere.
However, after thinking it over he understood what was happening and a mocking smile appeared on his face automatically. Bai Zemin did not know that this small gesture without him realizing it had stolen the heart of more than one young maiden who was secretly watching him.
Suddenly, the entire hall fell silent and everyone’s gaze was glued to the entrance as if attracted by a strong magnet. There, a family composed of a powerful and burly looking man, a beautiful woman who looked about 30-35 years old, and finally a young woman of about 20 years old.
The eyes of Bai Zemin immediately focused on the young woman as soon as he saw her and froze at the sight of her face.
“… So this is what you call confronting the past after many years.” Bai Zemin whispered in a voice only he could hear.
A couple of hours ago, he said I love you to a woman… But years ago, he loved another girl.
However, the girl in his memories was no longer the girl he loved and even her appearance was no longer the same as he remembered. Even her aura had changed a lot.