CHAPTER 294: CHAPTER 293: POOL PARTY 4

Vance was the first to arrive, followed by Jason and George.

The three of them were probably tired from work, so they didn’t go swimming right away. Instead, they headed straight to the food table and chatted with others as they ate.

Later, around 5 p.m., Uncle Jeremy, Uncle Wilder, and even Grandpa Omar finally arrived.

When they came, they didn’t join the fun in the pool but instead sat down to eat and began drinking with the others. Nathan’s parents were also there, enjoying a lively conversation with them.

Nathan’s sister quickly bonded with Jasmine and the others, and they all had a good time in the pool.

As night fell, everyone remained in the back garden. The upbeat background music that had played all day slowly shifted to gentle, soothing tunes.

Most people had already had their fill of swimming, so many of the adults gathered around to drink together. Those who didn’t want alcohol chatted while enjoying other beverages.

Ashlee and the kids, along with Astrid and a few others, were busy playing with glowing objects. They tossed glow sticks, glowing stars, and other luminous shapes into the pool, making the water shimmer under the night sky.

Soon, they weren’t satisfied with just floating shapes and went to Calvin, pestering him to make the water itself glow.

Fortunately, Calvin knew how to do it, and the materials he needed were available in Theo’s space. After a while, they managed to create glowing water in various containers.

As for Luciel, he stayed off to the side, quietly listening to the conversations around him while enjoying some ice cream.

They stayed in the back garden until nearly midnight before finally wrapping up their small party.

Before leaving, everyone gathered in the back garden for a group photo session.

Most of those who had brought their phones had already taken plenty of pictures throughout the party—capturing the fun, the laughter, and the rare moments of peace.

They all knew that in times like these, moments like this were precious. So, many of them took the chance to preserve the day in photos.

Even those who weren’t particularly fond of being photographed, like Zam, didn’t stop others from taking pictures.

Although he clearly wasn’t enthusiastic about it, he didn’t refuse when Camille insisted on taking several photos of the two of them together.

So when Aunt Cana suggested they take a proper group photo of everyone, no one objected.

Everyone quickly got into position, smiling and adjusting themselves for the camera.

They knew it was a rare chance to be together in peace.

Even those who had been drinking hadn’t gone overboard; no one was drunk enough to ruin the pictures.

The kids, who had taken short naps earlier in the day, still had enough energy to smile and pose despite the late hour.

In the end, they managed to capture several great group shots, with everyone included and the back garden glowing softly in the background.

After the brief photo session, everyone finally went off to rest, ending the joyful day on a warm, memorable note.

Aside from Luciel, everyone else still had responsibilities.

Those with jobs needed to return to work, those in training had to continue their routines, and even the kids had plenty of lessons to study.

So, they had to end their party in the back garden when it was already close to midnight.

But at least everyone went to rest with a relaxed smile on their faces, even if they still had to be busy with their work the next day.

The next day, Luciel woke up very late—only getting out of bed when it was almost lunchtime.

When he went downstairs, he found the kids gathered together, happily looking through photos from the previous day’s party.

They seemed genuinely thrilled as they chatted animatedly, recalling the fun moments they’d experienced.

Instead of reading a new picture book like they usually did, they were fully absorbed in the collection of photos, reliving the joy of the pool party.

It wasn’t just the kids—everyone appeared to have thoroughly enjoyed the break.

Some were still talking about it with bright expressions, while others, even if they were quiet, wore small smiles and looked noticeably more relaxed than usual.

-

In the next few days, Luciel—having had enough fun swimming—chose to stay in the villa, spending his time lazily indoors. As usual, he continued watching movies, playing games, and indulging in plenty of ice cream.

Fortunately, they still had electricity, thanks to the solar panels and, of course, Treyton’s power. Because of that, Luciel could continue using all his phones and tablets—unlike most people outside, who had been forced to live as if electricity no longer existed.

Most residents in the base didn’t have access to a consistent electricity supply because the base’s solar panels couldn’t support the energy consumption of everyone. Electricity was reserved only for the most essential areas.

Some individuals who had their own solar panels could still generate electricity, but unfortunately, not many common households had them installed before everything collapsed.

Those who were capable of venturing outside to retrieve solar panels could install them for personal use, and those with enough contribution points could also exchange them through the base—assuming the base still had any left.

But people like that were few. So, not many had the luxury of playing with their phones or watching movies like Luciel did.

Luciel just did what he usually does until Treyton and the others came back.

Treyton and the others came back in the morning, so when they came back, Luciel was still sleeping.

He heard someone opening the door, so he immediately became alert and opened his eyes.

"Oh, you’re back. You arrived pretty early," Luciel said as soon as he saw Treyton opening the door.

"It’s already almost 8 a.m., so it’s not that early anymore," Treyton replied with a light chuckle.

"I see. 8 a.m. It is still early," Luciel said as he closed his eyes again, trying to go back to sleep.

Treyton just chuckled and didn’t say anything, heading straight to the bathroom.

Even though Luciel tried to sleep again, he couldn’t fall asleep anymore—he had gone to bed early the night before and wasn’t feeling sleepy at all.

Still, he kept his eyes closed and remained on the bed.

But his quiet moment was interrupted when Treyton, fresh from his bath, came over and started kissing his face.

"I know you’re not sleeping anymore. So just wake up and do morning exercises with me," Treyton said as his hands slipped under Luciel’s shirt and began touching his body.

Luciel didn’t refuse and instead leaned in to initiate a kiss with Treyton.

They hadn’t seen each other for a few days, so both of them were more eager than usual for each other’s company.

In the end, they went into their space to have more time for their "morning exercise."

Later, as they lay together on the bed, finally satisfied and catching their breath, Treyton asked,

"Why didn’t you even wait for us before having the pool party?"

Luciel smiled lazily. "It’s not like we can’t have another one. We can obviously throw another party, so there was no need to wait for you guys when the perfect conditions for a swim were already there."

He turned his head toward Treyton and added, "Let’s just have another party today or tomorrow. Don’t the others still have the day off tomorrow?"

"Yes, they have, but the other group will go out of the base the day after tomorrow."

"Then, let’s just have another pool party today so everyone can enjoy it together. Just ask them to prepare for it again.

They already organized one a few days ago, so they should be quite experienced by now.

Besides, we have more people around this time, so everything should be ready even faster than before."

"Ok, I’ll tell them to prepare for another party," Treyton said in agreement.

"Tell them to prepare more food and drinks. Tell them that they should try preparing dishes that weren’t prepared before."

Luciel and Jane had left the state of the back garden as it is. Instead of rearranging the plants in their original positions, Jane had left them where they were and even used her powers to prevent those plants from withering because of too much heat.

The temperature was still too hot, which isn’t very good for blooming flowers, so Jane had to use her ability so that the plants wouldn’t die.

The others also didn’t remove the beach chairs and designed them in the back garden.

They already had a feeling that there would be another pool party soon, so they hadn’t bothered removing the decorations in the back garden—it was already set up beautifully.

Luciel saw Treyton sending a message to Yang, asking them to prepare for another party. Not long after, Luciel saw Yang’s reply, saying that they had already prepared most of what was needed. They even had some food ready in advance.