Suzy was genuinely exhausted.

Waking up early, combined with the high-intensity battle earlier, had drained a massive amount of her energy.

Not to mention she had been injured afterward and lost a significant amount of blood. Even now, she hadn’t dared to use her spiritual spring water to heal herself, terrified of exposing her secret.

Fortunately, she had taken a few Ibuprofen tablets ahead of time, which managed to dull the pain, leaving her feeling utterly wiped out.

She was exhausted, sleepy, and freezing.

Liam’s house was nowhere near as warm as hers. Leaning back against the soft sofa, Suzy’s eyelids grew heavier and heavier until she unconsciously drifted off to sleep.

Noah would look up at Suzy from time to time. Finding her fast asleep, he stared at her for quite a while. As it kept happening, Aaron noticed too.

"What’s wrong?" he asked.

Noah made a "shhh" gesture, signaling him to keep his voice down, and then nudged his chin toward Suzy. "Suzy is asleep," Noah whispered.

Aaron followed his gaze. On the sofa, the slender woman had fallen asleep with her head tilted to the side. Her beautiful, pale face was entirely devoid of color, yet she slept peacefully. Just looking at her somehow caused his own heart to settle down.

What a strange feeling, he noted to himself.

Suddenly, his thoughts grew chaotic. Resisting this shift in emotion, he knit his brows and pulled his gaze away. "Yeah, let her sleep," he said flatly.

"Aaron, wait a second." Noah suddenly stood up.

Seeing Aaron’s confused look, Noah explained in a low voice, "I’m going to get a blanket for her. It’s freezing."

Aaron was left speechless.

Without waiting for a response, Noah ran straight back to his bedroom and quickly emerged carrying a thick, heavy blanket. The blanket was too cumbersome for a kid his size. Seeing this, Aaron immediately stood up to help.

"Let me help you."

"Thanks, Aaron." Noah didn’t try to be stubborn; he gratefully handed over the blanket. For him, the weight was indeed a struggle.

"It really is heavy," Aaron noted, tossing it lightly in his hands after taking it.

"Aaron, could you please put it over Suzy?" Noah requested.

Aaron froze.

Noah whispered again, "I... I’m afraid I’ll wake her up." He knew very well that with his small frame, trying to drape a blanket over Suzy without waking her would be incredibly clumsy. It was much better to ask Aaron.

He looked up at him pleadingly. After a brief silence, Aaron relented. "Alright."

The young man walked over to Suzy with the blanket. She was still fast asleep, completely unaware of her surroundings.

Unfolding the blanket gently, Aaron carefully draped it over her. As he leaned down to cover her, the distance between them inevitably closed, and Aaron held his breath. He felt as though his heart had skipped a beat.

His movements were stiffer and more unnatural than they had ever been. He finally managed to get the blanket over her, but before he could even breathe a sigh of relief, Suzy suddenly opened her eyes.

Their eyes met unexpectedly. Aaron froze, his entire body locking up in extreme tension.

Suzy was equally stunned. She was completely dazed.

Why... what is going on? Why is Aaron so close to me?

Before Suzy could even react, Aaron had already backed away. His glasses masked the emotions in his eyes, making his thoughts unreadable. However, his movements made it obvious that he was completely flustered.

Likely out of embarrassment, his face flushed a deep crimson. He opened his mouth, attempting to explain, but the words caught in his throat.

Noah was still standing nearby, looking up at the two of them with an innocent, clueless expression. He didn’t know what had happened, only that the atmosphere had suddenly turned incredibly awkward. Tilting his head, he looked from Aaron to Suzy and whispered, "What’s wrong?"

Suzy was the first to snap out of it.

She propped herself up on the sofa, catching the blanket as it slipped from her shoulders and gathering it onto her lap.

She now realized what had happened. So, Aaron had only gotten close to tuck her in. However... she and Aaron weren’t close enough for him to do something like that on his own initiative.

The blanket felt quite heavy. Suzy glanced at Noah beside her and instantly pieced it together.

"Noah, did you fetch this blanket for me?" Suzy asked.

Noah nodded vigorously. "Uh-huh."

Just as I thought, Suzy mused, a soft smile appearing on her face.

"Thank you, Noah."

Then, she turned her gaze to Aaron. "Thank you too." After a brief pause, she added gently, "I didn’t mean to startle you just now."

Aaron gave her a very slight shake of his head. "It’s fine."

Suzy let out a yawn, pulled the blanket back up, and covered herself.

"Go back to sleep, Suzy. We won’t disturb you," Noah said sweetly.

Suzy smiled, nodded, and closed her eyes again.

Noah and Aaron returned to their original spots and went back to tinkering with the Legos in front of them. The room fell quiet once more, save for the occasional faint clatter of Lego pieces clinking together.

Aaron kept getting distracted. His movements were halting and sporadic, to the point that even Noah noticed his distraction.

"Aaron, do you not want to play this anymore?" the boy paused what he was doing and looked at him.

"No." Aaron rubbed his temples and said softly, "My eyes are just tired. Let me rest for a bit."

Hearing this, Noah didn’t argue. "Okay, you rest then."

He himself had plenty of energy, so he went right back to building his Legos, completely absorbed in the task.

Aaron took off his glasses, wiped the lenses, and rubbed his temples again. Slowly, his gaze drifted back to Suzy. She was still fast asleep on the couch, her face turned slightly to the side. She looked incredibly peaceful and entirely defenseless.

This woman... Aaron was temporarily at a loss for words, bewildered by how dropping her guard she could be while sleeping.

Slowly drawing his gaze back, he glanced sideways at Noah, who was still laser-focused on the Legos.

Then, Aaron reached for the gun resting beside him. Feeling its heavy weight in his palm, he gently traced the firearm’s frame. He looked back at Suzy, a flash of hesitation crossing his eyes.

Right then, gunfire echoed in the distance.

First came a burst, followed by a brief pause. The sound wasn’t too far away, yet not too close either—it carried over from a few buildings over.

Holding the pistol, Aaron stood up and walked toward the window to check the situation. Noah, sensing that something was wrong, stopped what he was doing and looked toward the window as well.