Suzy was generous. After all, Liam was now one of her bonded targets. With the rebate system in place, giving things away never truly cost her anything.

"Suzy, aren’t you playing with me today?" The excitement on Noah’s face slowly faded.

Suzy rubbed his head gently. "I’ve got something to do today. I need to go out and gather supplies, so I can’t stay and play with you. I’ll come see you again when I get back."

Although disappointed, Noah didn’t want Suzy to dislike him. He nodded obediently. "Okay then... but you have to come play with me next time."

"I will. Don’t worry."

Suzy then turned toward Liam. He still hadn’t taken the bag from her hands, so she lightly bounced it once. "This is for you two. The medicine’s inside too. Just apply it the same way as before. After today, Noah should be completely healed."

This batch of medicine had only been diluted halfway, making it far more potent than the last one.

One more application would be enough to fully cure him.

"Thank you." Liam finally reached out and took the bag from her.

"It’s nothing. Alright, I should go." Suzy turned to leave, but suddenly, Liam grabbed her wrist.

He stared at her silently.

Suzy froze for a moment. The Liam in front of her suddenly felt unfamiliar somehow, like a different person.

"What’s wrong?"

"...Nothing." Liam slowly released her. "Where are you going? Are you leaving this place?"

"No." Suzy waved her hand dismissively with a smile. "We’re just going out to collect supplies. We’ll be back soon."

"Collecting supplies..." Liam looked as if he wanted to say more, but ultimately swallowed the words.

He had already gotten the answer he wanted.

"Alright. Be careful out there."

"I will. Don’t worry."

And just like that, Suzy left.

The two brothers stood there watching her figure disappear down the hallway before returning inside, carrying the supplies with noticeably low spirits.

The mood in the apartment dimmed immediately.

The coffee table was already covered with the LEGO sets Suzy had brought the day before. Noah had carefully laid everything out in advance, waiting excitedly for Suzy to come play with him again.

He never expected her to stop by only to deliver things and leave.

Noah felt miserable.

After a while, he seemed to think of something and turned to look at Liam.

"Brother, you wanted Suzy to stay too, didn’t you?"

Liam instinctively denied it. "Not really."

Noah stared at his brother’s face for a few seconds before pouting.

Liar.

***

After saying goodbye to the Austen brothers, Suzy quickly headed downstairs. Partly because she didn’t want Leonard and Thomas waiting too long for her. And partly because she wanted to avoid Wendy’s floor as much as possible.

Suzy had no intention of letting Wendy find out she was going out. She quickened her pace, keeping her footsteps as quiet as possible.

Unfortunately, the one thing she least wanted to happen still happened.

Apparently, she should’ve checked the calendar before leaving today.

As Suzy passed Wendy’s floor, she moved as quickly as she could, hoping to slip by unnoticed.

But she was still one step too slow. The moment she rounded the corner, the heavy security door on that floor swung open. Wendy stepped out and immediately spotted her standing there.

She froze briefly in surprise. "Suzy?"

Suzy’s back stiffened. Today was seriously cursed. Why did Wendy have to come out right now?

Suzy had no intention of engaging with her. She planned to ignore her completely and keep heading downstairs.

But Wendy moved even faster, crossing the distance in a few quick steps before looking Suzy up and down.

"You’re going out? It’s dangerous outside right now."

Her tone was full of fake concern.

"That’s none of your business," Suzy replied coldly.

Wendy didn’t seem bothered by the attitude. Instead, she glanced downstairs, clearly searching for something.

When she didn’t find what she was looking for, disappointment flashed briefly through her eyes before she looked back at Suzy.

"Suzy, why are you always so cold to me? No matter what, we’re still family."

Her voice turned pitiful.

Suzy couldn’t be bothered to play along. She stepped around her and prepared to head downstairs. But Wendy suddenly grabbed her shoulder.

"You’re going out alone? Uncle Leonard isn’t coming with you?"

Suzy didn’t answer. She shrugged off Wendy’s hand and quickly continued downstairs.

What rotten luck.

Wendy watched Suzy’s figure disappear around the stairwell, her eyes flickering thoughtfully.

Then she spun around and rushed back toward her apartment. She grabbed a pair of canvas shoes and hurriedly changed into them.

After quickly checking the apartment to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything, Wendy slammed the door shut and sprinted downstairs.

If Suzy was going out, Leonard would definitely be with her. There was no way he would allow Suzy outside alone. Thomas would probably go too. How could Wendy possibly miss such a good opportunity?

She had to follow them. More importantly, she wanted to know where Suzy was going.

So Wendy sped up.

But Suzy was even faster. The moment Wendy returned to her apartment, Suzy had already started running downstairs. She was terrified Wendy would secretly trail them.

Down below, Leonard and Thomas had already finished preparing everything.

Leonard had taken the boat and the necessary supplies out from his storage space.

Now that Thomas was officially one of their own, Leonard no longer hid the existence of his space from him.

"Suzy, you’re here."

Before she even appeared, the sound of her hurried footsteps had already alerted them.

The two men were seated inside the speedboat, ready to leave the moment she arrived.

Suzy didn’t even bother replying. She leaped directly into the boat. "Uncle, go. Hurry."

Leonard blinked. "Why the rush?"

Thomas, however, immediately started the boat without hesitation.

"I just ran into Wendy. I’m worried she might follow us," Suzy said quickly.

She genuinely believed Wendy was capable of something horrible. On the way down, she had already understood the meaning behind Wendy’s expression. And Wendy bringing up Leonard out of nowhere had clearly been an attempt to confirm whether he would be leaving with Suzy.

Would Wendy let this chance go? Absolutely not.

The most important thing now was to leave as quickly as possible.

"What? How did you run into her?" Leonard looked horrified.

"I don’t know either." Suzy rubbed her nose helplessly. "I got to her floor right when she came out."

Leonard shook his head with a complicated expression.

The speedboat had already begun moving, and Suzy finally relaxed slightly.

"Good thing you guys came down early," she said.

If Leonard and Thomas hadn’t prepared everything in advance, getting the boat running would have wasted more time.

And if Wendy came downstairs asking to join them... Just imagining it made Suzy feel sick.

Thomas steered the speedboat out of Starlight Towers.

The endless rain had flooded even the residential complex itself, though because the area sat on high ground, the water had only risen to the second floor.

Suddenly, Thomas lifted his head and looked sharply in a certain direction.

The other two instinctively followed his gaze.

"What is it?"