Gwen: "As Long As I Want, I'll Always Find You"

The reversed waterfall hung suspended between heaven and earth, like an unceasing, flowing galaxy forcibly solidified in the air by divine power.

Countless shattered water droplets floated and spun around Hawk, who stood beneath the reversed waterfall.

It was as if they were submitting to Hawk.

Scared, scared.

Perhaps because he felt his voice had been too loud just now, the waterfall didn't even dare to make a sound at this moment.

All was silent.

Only a single "Hawk" from behind him made Hawk, who was bare-chested with his chest rising and falling slightly, tremble all over.

Hawk instinctively turned his head.

What met his eyes.

He saw Gwen emerge from the nearby forest. She wore a windbreaker, and though her blonde hair was messy and she was covered in sweat, her blue eyes were full of surprise as she looked at him.

"Gwen?"

Hawk froze on the spot.

He found it hard to believe.

Good heavens.

He never would have imagined that the first person to find him here wouldn't be the military from Quantico, but Gwen.

But…

How was this possible?

Hawk felt a bit disoriented.

And at this very moment, the frozen time seemed to restart.

Rumble!

The reversed waterfall also returned to normal at this instant, though the sound of the falling water was much quieter than before.

It seemed the waterfall was also afraid of causing unforeseen disaster by being too loud.

After all, Hawk could truly make it flow backward.

At the same time.

Upon seeing Hawk standing under the waterfall, Gwen had already started running.

Even though she didn't understand why she was running when she had clearly seen Hawk, she just wanted to run.

In the blink of an eye, Gwen had also reached the pool beneath the waterfall and waded to Hawk's front.

The next second.

She threw her arms around Hawk.

Hawk instinctively embraced Gwen, using his back to shield her from the impact of the waterfall's water.

Just then.

He also reacted, and with a whoosh, his figure disappeared into the pool. When he reappeared, he was already on the bank beside the pool, holding Gwen.

White mist billowed like smoke signals from Hawk and Gwen, who was damp from the waterfall's water in his arms.

In just a blink of an eye.

Under the surge of Hawk's powerful Blood Essence, the dampness on Hawk and Gwen, who had been soaking wet a moment before, was completely gone, and they were dry again.

Having done this, Hawk looked down at Gwen, who was holding him tightly.

He opened his mouth, intending to ask curiously how Gwen had found him when even the military from Quantico couldn't.

But…

Seeing Gwen close her eyes in his arms and even let out a faint snore, Hawk opened his mouth, thought for a moment, said nothing, and instead sat down on the spot, gently placing Gwen in his lap.

He remained silent, looking down at the sleeping Gwen, at her messy blonde hair framing her face. He raised his right hand, paused it in the air for a moment, then lowered it, and gently tidied the messy blonde hair by Gwen's face.

About half an hour later.

Gwen slowly opened her eyes. Having slept soundly, she thought she had woken up in bed and instinctively stretched.

The next second.

She saw Hawk looking down at her.

Their eyes met.

Gwen blinked instinctively.

Hawk smiled slightly.

"Hello."

"Holy shit!"

With a startled cry, Gwen sprang up from Hawk's embrace. The previously pale complexion of her face was now visibly tinged with a rosy hue.

Hawk also got to his feet.

The moment he stood up, his limbs let out a sigh of relief, stretching out comfortably. He had been holding them still, afraid of waking Gwen, and now he could finally move them freely.

Gwen, having finished surveying her surroundings, refocused her gaze, locking it onto Hawk, who was now standing before her in just a pair of shorts.

Hawk's physique was like that of an ancient Greek sculpture, and the pair of sword-like eyebrows above his deep blue eyes exuded an untamed charisma.

The sword-like eyebrows were still the same.

But the difference was, if Hawk's eyebrows had been like a sword hidden in its sheath before, they were now like a finely honed, drawn sword, ready for anything.

Gwen was mesmerized.

The next second.

She snapped back to reality, looking at Hawk as if a thought had struck her. A beautiful smile curved her lips.

"The library, reading, huh."

"..."

Hawk raised an eyebrow, catching the hint of playful accusation beneath Gwen's teasing. He thought for a moment. "Sorry."

Gwen smiled.

If Hawk had heard the hint of accusation in her teasing, then Gwen had heard something else in his apology.

For instance, the old Hawk had apologized to her before.

But she could feel that his apologies back then were just for the sake of apologizing.

But this one now?

Gwen's lips curved upward slightly as she reached out her small hand towards Hawk.

Hawk blinked in surprise.

Gwen said, "Give me your phone. Why didn't you answer my calls?"

Hawk came to his senses, walked to the side, picked up his phone from where it was under his folded t-shirt, and handed it to Gwen. "I've been here for over twenty days. The battery died a long time ago."

Gwen was taken aback for a moment upon hearing this. She took the phone.

Indeed.

The screen wouldn't light up.

But...

Gwen blinked her eyes, as if an idea had occurred to her. Holding Hawk's phone in one hand, she took out her own phone with the other and clicked the link from the previous message.

The link was no longer valid.

Gwen stared blankly at the screen, bewildered by the link that had been there moments ago but was now defunct.

At this moment, Hawk finally asked the question that had been on his mind.

"By the way, Gwen, how did you know I was here?"

"..."

Gwen collected herself, discreetly put her phone back in her pocket, and then handed Hawk's phone back to him with a smile on her face. "My dad is the Sheriff, Hawk. If I want to find you, I can find you no matter where you are."

Hawk blinked.

Those words...

He'd be crazy to believe them.

But looking at Gwen's face, which had once again taken on a rosy hue after she'd spoken, Hawk thought for a moment, a look of realization dawning on his face. He nodded.

Forget it.

If he had been curious about how Gwen found him when he first saw her, he wasn't curious anymore.

Yeah.

He wasn't curious anymore, not since Gwen had fallen asleep in his arms just now.

Perhaps it was just as Gwen had said.

She was the Sheriff's daughter; she could find him wherever she wanted.

That's what Gwen had said.

Hawk chose to believe that explanation.