Bai Zemin took a moment to carefully observe the woman in front of him.
Her slightly brown hair fell softly over her shoulders and due to the steam released by the hot water inside the pool was slightly steamy. Her brown eyes shone with a hint of shyness but there was not even a hint of fear or unwillingness in them. Her body did not exude a charm that urged men to immediate lust like Lilith but instead seemed to ask to be cherished with care and delicacy.
Overall she was a very pretty girl even if she was not a great beauty. Bai Zemin believed that she could easily be among the top 20 most beautiful women at Beijing University in the past, and considering that the girl before him was 1 to 3 years older than him, perhaps she was still a student before the world change.
"Do you know how to remove this kind of gear?" Bai Zemin asked with a smile as he pointed to himself.
The girl stared dumbfounded looking at the black armor covering his body and for a moment she was speechless.
Forget about removing this kind of clothing, she hadn't even seen real leather armor in her entire life.....
"N-No..." The young girl lowered her head shyly and shook her head softly.
Seeing the young girl in front of him acting like this, Bai Zemin couldn't help but be slightly amused. As easy as it may have been in reality, a battle was still a battle; therefore, a slight momentary change wouldn't hurt anyone either.
"Okay. Help me with this. I'll guide you." Bai Zemin finally relented.
The young girl's eyes lit up and she nodded several times like a little chick pecking at rice. She moved her hands timidly and Bai Zemin's voice guided her movements. Occasionally he would grab her arms gently and move her hands in the right direction as he tried to coordinate with her awkward movements.
"What is your name?" he asked casually as staying silent could become uncomfortable for everyone.
"My name is Fu Shuren." The young woman responded as a bead of sweat slid down her face. It was unclear if it was from the heat inside the bath or if it was from her nerves.
"I see." Bai Zemin nodded calmly and looked at Nangong Yi out of the corner of his eye. The man was also receiving the same treatment as him by another maiden of about 39 years old with a particularly seductive body.
Unlike Nangong Yi, who might be interested in sleeping with any woman to satisfy his lust and to relieve the stress of not knowing if he would still be alive the next day, Bai Zemin had no thought of doing anything with Fu Shuren. But even if he wished to do so he could have a peaceful conscience since he had no need to explain himself to anyone; after all, leaving aside the factor that he was the leader of an expanding and powerful faction, he was a single man.
Besides, who said that one had to have a sentimental relationship with a woman to have a carnal relationship? It was very normal nowadays to have a night of fun and the next day act as if nothing had happened... Although this kind of behavior was not something that Bai Zemin himself appreciated too much.
After withdrawing his gaze, Bai Zemin tried to continue chatting until the work was finished: "Were you a student before the apocalypse? Or maybe you were working?"
Perhaps feeling calmer hearing the unpressured voice and friendly attitude of the person she was helping, Fu Shuren was no longer so nervous, and after a few minutes of effort, finally managed to remove several locks from the armor.
She explained, "I was a student. However, my grades were not particularly outstanding, just average. Therefore, I could not get into Beijing University and could only settle for a second-rate one in the same district."
Bai Zemin chuckled and as he withdrew his arms from the chest plate, he consoled, "Well, you needn't worry too much about that. Even if we put aside that at the end of the day it was no use going to a prestigious university considering the current state of the world, the reality is that Beijing University is no big deal at all either. Except for the ease with which its graduates can get a job due to its worldwide prestige, it's nothing out of this world."
Fu Shuren subconsciously smiled. She gently shook her head and said softly, "The reason I feel a little bitter is not because of the honor I would receive after graduating, it's just that my younger brother managed to get into Beijing University... As the big sister, I can't help but feel like a bit of a failure."
Fu Shuren's voice practically mingled with the sound of the water that the artificial formation in the center of the pool was constantly releasing and contained a bit of pain as well as a bit of regret.
However, a thought flashed in Bai Zemin's mind and his expression froze for a second. He looked again at the young woman in front of him, but this time was as if he wanted to study her very DNA.
Don't tell me...
"You... What did you say your name was?" He asked hesitantly.
"Huh?" The young woman naturally felt the change of the person in front of her, and as she took off the upper part of the armor as well as the T-shirt, she replied confusedly, "My name is Fu Shuren..."
Then, her voice trailed off as she looked at the naked torso of the young man in front of her and her brown eyes were briefly dazed on his figure.
His skin was delicate but not similar to a woman's, but filled with masculine charm with a roughness that only men possess. His chest looked extremely firm and his abs looked like they had been sculpted by the gods themselves.
Like any normal person who visited the ocean during the summer to take a dip in the cold water, Fu Shuren had naturally seen the naked upper parts of countless men; and among them were several with truly stunning bodies. However, in front of the body of the young man before her, all those men paled to the point that it would be difficult to look at them again.
Unfortunately, Bai Zemin no longer had any intentions of playing or having fun chatting with this young miss and therefore also didn't seem to notice how she was looking at him in a daze.
"By any chance... Your younger brother's name is Fu Xuefeng?" Bai Zemin asked a little tensely.
In China, it was not at all uncommon for many people to have the same surname despite not being related in any way. Bai Zemin himself had known at least a dozen people with his surname even though they were not related by blood.
However, the case of the woman in front of him was different. Her surname was Fu and she had a younger brother who had been admitted to Beijing University; considering that Fu Shuren was only a few years older than him, Bai Zemin could naturally conclude that her younger brother had to be about the same age as him.
Fu Shuren's eyes flinched when she heard Bai Zemin's question. She seemed to snap out of her trance and looked at him with fearful, hopeful eyes, and many more complicated emotions as she hurriedly said, " T-That's right! My younger brother's name is Fu Xuefeng! He's 19 this year and he's also wearing a pair of glasses for eyesight! You... My brother..."
The corner of Bai Zemin's mouth twitched a couple of times as he finally confirmed his theory.
What kind of demon curse was this? Just when he wanted to tease a pretty woman, it turned out that she was the older sister of one of his trusted men.
Bai Zemin couldn't help but slap his face as he sighed. However, he soon calmed down. Fortunately, only his upper body had been exposed, or it might have been awkward to talk to Fu Xuefeng in the future...
"Your younger brother is alive. He is also currently living a good life." Bai Zemin said in a serious voice. There was no more amused tone or anything in his voice: "He is two days away from this place in the southern direction, and is a powerful soul evolver under my rule."
This was also good. He did not expect to meet by chance a direct relative of one of his subordinates right in this place.
Fu Shuren's eyes filled with tears upon hearing Bai Zemin's words and she brought both hands to cover her mouth as she took a step back. The joy in her heart as well as the relief of knowing that she was not alone in this cruel world was such that it burned like a volcano inside her.
In the end, the only thing she could do was to bow down and thank him in tears: "Thank you... Thank you..."
Although she didn't know how things turned out, Fu Shuren knew that her younger brother somehow must have received the favor from the person in front of her since from her point of view there was no way the thin and timid Fu Xuefeng would dare to fight without support from someone.
Little did she know that while her theory was true, it was also not completely accurate since although Fu Xufeng indeed received support from Bai Zemin and he even gave him his Xuanyuan Sword to kill the first zombie and then gave him the skill scroll that fell from the kill, Fu Xuefeng was the second person to stand up among hundreds of students only behind Cai Jingyi.
Bai Zemin smiled slightly and waved his hand as he calmly said, "Don't worry. Your younger brother has also been helping me and will continue to do so in the future for which you don't need to say thank you to me."
Fu Shuren, still emotionally moved, wiped away her tears and nodded even though gratitude was still in her eyes.
Suddenly, Bai Zemin thought of something and asked with a deep voice: "Did that Kang Rong pig do something to you? Did someone on this base touch you?"
Fu Shuren was surprised by the sudden change. However, she soon understood and hurriedly shook her head, "I only arrived at the base three days ago, and just started working here this afternoon. No one has done anything mean to me."
Bai Zemin sighed in his heart. This girl was very lucky that he and his group showed up here just today or it would be hard to say what would happen to her.
"I see." He nodded and ordered, "Dismissed. You can join your brother in a couple of days. In the meantime, there is no need for you to work as a maidservant."
As one of the main soul evolvers under his rule, Fu Xuefeng naturally received a large amount of resources as payment and his lifestyle could be considered luxurious in the apocalypse. Bai Zemin did not know if Fu Xuefeng wanted his sister to work as someone else's maidservant, so it was better to wait and see.
However, who knew Fu Shuren would refuse? She shook her head hurriedly and took a step forward as she stretched out both hands with the intention of wanting to continue with her task, "N-No! No need. I can still-"
"Alright, that's enough." Bai Zemin easily sidestepped her and sternly ordered, "It's not a question. It is an order. When your younger brother is here you can talk with him and then decide what to do."
Fu Xuefeng was one of his ten most powerful soul evolvers, and Bai Zemin had no intention of letting a crack grow in the middle of the trust that was growing between the two of them because of such nonsense like this.
Fu Shuren cowered and pulled back her hands as she saw the serious expression on the face of the young man in front of her. The calm and seemingly friendly expression was nowhere to be found, and all that remained now was pure indifference.
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Thanks a lot to all those who use their Golden Tickets to vote for BW <3