The sounds of giggles and voices of four little angels having fun together echoed against each other to give birth to a beautiful symphony similar to the singing of a seraphim in the backyard of the villa where Bai Zemin and those closest to him resided.
Wen Yan, Wen Yun, Luo Ning, and Xiang Feng, were all enjoying the pool in swimsuits of all sorts of models; while the Wen sisters were wearing two pretty pink bikinis that made it even more difficult to identify which one was which, Luo Ning was wearing a sky blue one-piece suit and Xiang Feng had opted for an extremely pretty sunshine-yellow trikini.
"Wen Yan, run! The shark is right behind you!" Xiang Feng shouted in a frightened but also amused voice.
Wen Yan, who was wearing two pigtails on both sides of her head in contrast to her twin sister Wen Yun, who had opted for a single ponytail, looked back over her shoulder only to see Luo Ning swimming at full speed towards her while glaring at her with predatory eyes.
"Ah!" The girl screamed and amidst giggles filled with anxiety but also fun began to kick with all her might in an attempt to get away from the shark Luo Ning.
However, even though Luo Ning was trying her best not to use her stats as a soul evolver, she did not have perfect control over her body so no matter how much Wen Yan swam the distance between her and the Luo Ning shark only closed further and further.
The face of Wen Yan was filled with panic and she no longer dared to look back. Beads of sweat mingled with the drops of water that splashed on her face constantly as she swung her arms fiercely trying to flee.
"Yun, Xiang Feng! Help!" The girl screamed for help as she felt one of the Luo Ning shark's hands gently brush one of her legs, which immediately caused the frightened Wen Yan's swimming speed to shoot up by a small margin.
Xiang Feng did not even turn around to look at Wen Yan and swam in the opposite direction for her life while occasionally looking back and laughing loudly, casually throwing out small waves of water that did not hit anyone as they died before reaching their target.
However, Wen Yun did stop her getaway to respond to her twin's call for help.
"Evil shark! Let my sister go!" She grabbed the inflatable duck floating at the edge of the pool and without hesitation threw it at the evil shark Luo Ning.
The yellow duck over five feet long successfully hit Luo Ning's head but she did not ignore her shark-like job and continued her hunt but not before giving Wen Yun a "fierce" look as if warning her that she would be the next one.
"No!" Wen Yan cried out through tears and laughter when she felt one of the shark's hands behind her catching one of her legs.
However, just as her life was in danger, the last member that had been hiding in the deep end of the large pool made its appearance.
Swoosh!
A small pink dolphin swam swiftly like a small submarine passed under the body of the shark Luo and under the victim Wen Yan, overtaking both beings in the blink of an eye before ascending slightly in a way that its dorsal fin emerged on the surface.
"Xiao Xiao!"
Wen Yan cried out in ecstasy when she saw the tiny pink fin appear before her eyes and as if this was her last hope for survival she extended both hands forward, clinging tightly to the small fin that was barely big enough for her two little hands.
Feeling the girl's hands, Xiao Xiao let out a strange high-pitched sound and her speed immediately increased a notch, putting some distance between them and the Luo shark that had narrowly missed her prey.
But the Luo shark did not give up and with new vigor began to chase after the little pink dolphin that was walking away with her food clinging to its back.
Lilith couldn't help but chuckle as she heard the voices of the four girls and her cold heart felt a little warm.
"Children really are wonderful, don't you think?" She said out of nowhere.
"Eh?" Wu Yijun jumped in surprise as she had been secretly looking at Lili while comparing herself to her, discovering to her remorse that she had actually lost confidence in her feminine appeal when it came to Lili.
Lilith seemed not to notice that Wu Yijun had been watching her all this time and said with a refreshing smile, "Those four girls, despite being somewhat different, don't really quarrel with each other and in such a short time they became good friends…. Luo Ning, for example, she is a level 25 soul evolver and despite her age, her position is important within the faction. On the other hand, Xiang Feng goes to school to study and helps her mother with cleaning chores when she feels bored. Meanwhile, the Wen twins have only just arrived and are distrustful of everyone as a result of the cruel past they had to live through, even so, they both became very good friends with Luo Ning and Xiang Feng despite being more mature than both of them in some aspects."
"If the four girls were adults, or even teenagers, do you think they could have become so close and formed such warm relationships with each other?" Lilith asked with a faint smile, still not looking at Wu Yijun and enjoying the sunshine.
"That's…" Wu Yijun looked towards the pool and as she watched the four girls having fun with little Xiao Xiao, she couldn't help but think that what Lili said made a certain amount of sense. However, she was also thinking something different.
"I think… I think the four of them could have been friends independently." Wu Yijun said firmly as she continued to look at the four girls.
"Oh?" Lilith turned her face slightly to look at her and said with some curiosity, "Would you mind giving me your reason why you think so?"
"Over the last two and a half months, I learned many things. While I was not a naive child before, I never believed that mankind could become so, so cruel when the laws of society fell out of existence. Adults especially; they are the worst of all…. Those with power abuse the weak, the one in a good position never looks to see how every step they take actually crushes the bones of all those who sacrificed to build that path." Wu Yijun paused and this time turned to look at Lili with serious eyes.
She looked at her silently for a second or two before culminating, "But, I believe that destiny always has something in store for us. I believe that the fact that we met has a purpose and I believe that every relationship is connected by a spiritual thread beyond what we humans can control, so, no matter how hard we try… that thread will definitely not break if it is destined not to break…. I believe that every relationship meant to be will one day find a way to be."
Lilith blinked in surprise and stared at Wu Yijun silently for several seconds.
How could she not realize that Wu Yijun was not talking about the four girls, but something else?
Perhaps realizing that she was discovered or to cover up not knowing that she had already been discovered, Wu Yijun blushed slightly and looked away as she said, "Then, the four little girls would definitely have gotten together and been good friends just like now."
"Hehehe…" Lilith chuckled sweetly and rested her head on the lounger again as she looked up at the sky. In a calm and peaceful voice, she said, "Sis Yijun, do you mind if we become friends? Ah, I hope you don't mind me calling you sis. It's just that since I'm older than you, I unconsciously did it without realizing it."
"What? Do you want to be my friend?" Wu Yijun almost jumped out of her lounger and turned to look at Lili in shock.
She was not bothered by Lili calling her 'sis' since although Wu Yijun's status was higher within the Transcendent faction when compared to Lili's status, this was officially the case, but no one really knew which of the two was more important in Bai Zemin's heart. Therefore, since Lili was indeed older than her, Wu Yijun did not see this as something bizarre.
Instead, what Wu Yijun felt was surprise. After all, it could be said that this was the first time she and Lili had any kind of real interaction. In the past, the two women simply exchanged brief greetings whenever they crossed paths but nothing too far from normal to express basic politeness. Therefore, Lili's sudden request for friendship came as unexpectedly as a downpour on a sunny day which had been announced as a day with 0% chance of rain.
Lilith still did not look at her and under her sunglasses closed her eyes as her face looked up at the sky. Her voice was as soft as the spring breeze as she said almost in a whisper: "Yep. I like you, sis Yijun. So, if it doesn't bother you and if it doesn't inconvenience you I'd like to be your friend."
While Wu Yijun was extremely naive and even her speech about relationships seemed somewhat laughable from the point of view of Lilith, it was precisely that purity and innocence that Lilith cherished so much since this kind of person would prefer death rather than stabbing the backs of those close to them.
The previous words that Wu Yijun had said sounded quite ridiculous to the ears of someone like Lilith and to her it was as laughable as someone hoping for salvation from the famous God of the bible. However, Lilith did not mock Wu Yijun's thoughts at all as both women had led completely different lives until now.
Lilith only wondered if Wu Yijun's thoughts and soul would continue being so pure once the world became worse than it already was and when she witnessed acts she never imagined to see.
"This…" Wu Yijun didn't quite know what kind of answer she should give.
Imagine one day you're walking down the street and someone you don't know stops you to ask you for friendship…. You would probably also find yourself so confused that you would look around to see if it was some kind of joke; this was precisely Wu Yijun's current feeling.
However, Lilith took Wu Yijun's silence as a rejection so she forced a smile and said calmly: "Don't worry if you don't want to. Forget what I said and let's continue as if nothing."
Her voice contained a tinge of bitterness that Wu Yijun did not manage to understand. Even then, she quickly shook her head and said hurriedly, "N-No… It's not that I don't want to, it's just that you took me unaware. That's all."
Wu Yijun paused before continuing somewhat hesitantly, "If…. If you want to be my friend, then we can get to know each other and see how it goes. At the end of the day, friendships are formed when two people get to know each other better and not just by saying.
"… I really like you, sis Yijun." Lilith smiled slightly and sighed, "In the normal world, it was already hard to find a person who values the word friendship for being more than just a word, let alone in the apocalypse. You really are a nice girl."
Wu Yijun didn't know what to say about it so she simply remained silent. But Lilith didn't expect a response from her as she soon continued speaking:
"I like you more than that insecure princess Shangguan Bing Xue."
"You! How dare you?" Wu Yijun immediately jumped out of her lounger like a cat whose tail was stepped on and looked at Lili with eyes full of anger. "Just a moment ago you request my friendship but the first thing you do is talk bad about my best friend behind her back? You dare to say those words right to her face?"
Wu Yijun would definitely not tolerate badmouthing her best friend who was even more precious than a blood sister to her!
Lilith was impassive and didn't even open her eyes at Wu Yijun's outburst, instead, she kept her eyes softly closed and said unhurriedly, "But, I'm not telling lies, you know… Unlike you and me who are honest with our feelings, she not only lies to others but also lies to herself because of her insecurity."
Wu Yijun's expression froze and her pupils trembled slightly as she looked at the woman in front of her in shock.
Lilith slowly opened her eyes and took off her sunglasses, looking Wu Yijun straight in the eyes with a weird sparkle in her gaze and smiled slightly as she said in a low voice:
"Don't you think I'm right, sis Yijun?"
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