The waterfall hanging between heaven and earth was like a galaxy forced into stillness by a divine power.
Countless shattered droplets hovered and swirled around Hawk beneath the reversed waterfall.
So much like they were bowing to Hawk.
Scared, scared.
Perhaps just now, his voice had been too loud, causing the waterfall to dare not even make a sound now.
All was silent.
Except for the one voice from behind saying "Hawk," which made shirtless Hawk, his chest slightly rising and falling, shudder all over.
Hawk instinctively turned his head to look.
What he saw.
He saw Gwen emerging from the nearby forest, wearing a jacket, her golden hair already disheveled and sweating profusely, but the blue eyes looking at him were filled with surprise.
"Gwen?"
Hawk was instantly stunned in place.
He found it hard to believe.
Goodness.
He never expected that the first to find him here would be Gwen, not the Quantico military.
But...
How could this be?
Hawk was a bit confused.
And at this moment, time that had been still seemed to restart.
Thunderous!
The reversed waterfall suddenly returned to its original state, though now the falling sound of the waterfall was much quieter.
As if even the waterfall feared its sound might bring about needless trouble.
After all, Hawk could really make it flow backwards.
Meanwhile.
Seeing Hawk standing beneath the waterfall, Gwen started running.
Though she didn't understand why, having seen Hawk, she still wanted to run.
She just wanted to run.
In just a blink of the eye, Gwen leaped to the pool beneath the waterfall and came to Hawk.
The next second.
She hugged Hawk.
Hawk instinctively took Gwen into his arms, using his back to shield her from the waterfall's force.
At that moment.
He reacted, a swift motion, disappearing into the pool, and reappeared on the bank beside it, holding Gwen.
Thick mist billowed like smoke from Hawk and Gwen, just drenched by the waterfall.
In just a blink.
Under Hawk's powerful vitality, both Hawk and Gwen, drenched a moment ago, had now removed all traces of dampness and were dry again.
Having done this, Hawk lowered his gaze to look at Gwen, who was tightly hugging him.
He opened his mouth, curious about how Gwen found him when even Quantico's military couldn't.
But...
Seeing Gwen in his arms, eyes closed, even softly snoring, Hawk opened his mouth, thought for a moment, said nothing, and sat down, holding Gwen as she lay in his embrace.
He didn't speak, just lowered his gaze to watch the sleeping Gwen, looking at the tangled golden hair on Gwen's face, stretched out his right hand, paused slightly in the air, then adjusted Gwen's hair.
About half an hour later.
Gwen slowly opened her eyes, too familiar with sleeping, thinking she was waking up in bed, instinctively stretching.
The next second.
She saw Hawk gazing down at her.
Their eyes met.
Gwen instinctively blinked.
Hawk smiled slightly.
"Hello."
"Holy shit!"
With an exclamation, Gwen sprang from Hawk's embrace, her once fair face now visibly flushed.
Hawk also rose from the ground.
Upon standing, relief spread through his limbs from remaining still to avoid waking Gwen, now finally able to move comfortably.
Gwen reclaimed her gaze from surveying the surroundings, focusing once more on Hawk, who wore only shorts.
Before her, Hawk's physique was like an Ancient Greece statue, his blue eyes under his prominent brows full of expressiveness.
The brows were the same as ever.
Different, because if the previous Hawk's brows were sheathed like swords in a scabbard, now they were like swords drawn, honed and uninhibited.
Gwen was momentarily enraptured.
The next second.
She snapped back, looked at Hawk, seemingly remembering something, a lovely smile curling her lips.
"Library, reading, ha."
"..."
Hawk raised a brow, catching the hint of reproach beneath Gwen's teasing and, after a moment, said, "Sorry."
Gwen laughed.
If Hawk had sensed the reproach in her teasing, Gwen too detected something else in Hawk's apology.
Previously, when Hawk apologized.
She sensed Hawk apologized just for the sake of it.
But now?
Gwen's lips curled upwards, her small hand reaching for Hawk.
Hawk slightly hesitated.
Gwen said, "Give me the phone, why haven't you been answering my calls?"
Realizing, Hawk went to fetch his phone, placed atop a folded T-shirt, and handed it to Gwen: "I've been here for over twenty days, it's long been dead."
Gwen slightly hesitated upon hearing this, took the phone.
Indeed.
The phone wouldn't turn on.
But...
Gwen blinked, as if remembering something, grasped Hawk's phone in one hand and her own, opening a previous message link.
The link was expired.
Gwen stared at the screen where the link had been but was now expired, dumbfounded.
At this moment, Hawk finally asked what he'd been wondering.
"By the way, Gwen, how did you know I was here?"
"..."
Gwen returned to herself, nonchalantly stowing her phone in her pocket, handed Hawk's back, smiled, "My father is the police chief, Hawk, as long as I want to, I can find you wherever you are."
Hawk blinked.
Those words...
He'd be crazy to believe them.
But seeing Gwen's face flush once more after speaking, Hawk thought for a moment, showed an understanding expression, and nodded.
Forget it.
If seeing Gwen initially left him curious about how she found him, now he wasn't curious at all.
Indeed.
As Gwen lay asleep in his arms moments ago, he was unconcerned.
Perhaps it's as Gwen said.
She's the police chief's daughter; if she wants, she can find him anywhere.
Gwen said so.
Hawk chose to believe this narrative.
...