Chapter 64
Suzy lifted her head slightly and set the menu down. Her gaze settled on the small wooden box resting on the table.
"What’s this...?"
She picked it up. The wood felt cool beneath her fingertips.
"Open it and see," Thomas said.
Suzy glanced at him in surprise, clearly not expecting him to have prepared a gift for her. Still, her hands moved without hesitation as she opened the box.
Inside lay an antique brooch.
What surprised Suzy even more was the faint shimmer of light drifting around it—soft, almost imperceptible, but unmistakable to her eyes.
The brooch was clearly an old piece. Its design was intricate and elegant, the craftsmanship delicate and refined. At its center was a deep red ruby that caught the light with a quiet brilliance.
Even at a glance, it was obvious the piece was valuable.
A genuine treasure.
But... Why would Thomas give something like this to her?
Suzy gently closed the box again, holding it with a trace of reluctance to put it down.
It wasn’t just that the brooch was beautiful.
More importantly, items like this could help upgrade her spatial dimension.
"This is for me?" she asked, swallowing lightly, a hint of nervousness creeping into her voice. "Why give me something like this all of a sudden?"
Thomas nodded calmly. "It’s for you. A meeting gift."
He paused for a moment before adding quietly, "The medicine you gave me... it worked very well."
Understanding dawned on Suzy.
So that was the reason. He had given her such an expensive brooch as thanks for the bottle of medicine.
But honestly, of course it worked well. It had come straight from her space—there was no way it wouldn’t be effective.
Still...
The fact that he remembered the favor and repaid it so thoughtfully made Suzy’s impression of him rise a few notches.
"Then I’ll accept it. Thank you," she said, no longer refusing.
"What gift?" Leonard suddenly appeared beside them, smiling broadly.
His eyes immediately landed on the wooden box in Suzy’s hands. With a teasing grin, he held out his hand.
"Did Thomas give that to you? Let me see."
There was nothing secret about it, so Suzy handed him the box.
Leonard opened it and examined the brooch inside.
"Well, well," he laughed. "Thomas, you’ve got quite the eye for gifts for young ladies. This brooch is beautiful."
Thomas accepted the compliment without protest. Then he picked up a long black case from beside him and handed it to Leonard.
"This one’s for you."
"I get a gift too?" Leonard asked in surprise.
Inside the case was a high-quality fountain pen with a smooth, polished finish.
"You helped me find an apartment these past few days," Thomas said simply. "It’s only right that I thank you."
Leonard waved a hand dismissively.
"Come on, why be so formal with me? Back then, didn’t you save my life?"
Even as he said that, he happily accepted the pen.
"So," Leonard continued, glancing between the two of them, "have you ordered yet?"
"Not yet," Suzy replied.
The weather was so hot that nothing on the menu seemed particularly appetizing.
In the end, Leonard took charge and ordered several dishes himself, finally putting the matter to rest.
Then, with nothing else pressing, he leaned back in his chair and casually began chatting.
"By the way," he said with a mischievous grin, "did you date anyone while you were abroad?"
"No," Thomas answered.
"With looks like yours, it’s a shame not to," Leonard sighed theatrically.
With Thomas’s appearance and build, he would have been popular anywhere—even overseas.
Leonard still remembered the time they’d gone out for dinner together abroad. Several foreign women had approached Thomas to flirt with him... and even a few men had tried their luck.
With his presence, he had appeal across the board.
Leonard had assumed that after staying overseas so long, Thomas must have dated at least once or twice.
"Not even once?" Leonard pressed, unconvinced. "That can’t be right."
"My work doesn’t allow for it," Thomas replied.
Leonard thought about it for a moment and nodded.
Given Thomas’s line of work, that actually made sense.
"Well then," Leonard said jokingly, "how about I introduce you to someone?"
Thomas’s expression remained characteristically impassive. "Introduce to whom?"
Leonard grinned. "A girlfriend, of course. What do you think of Suzy?"
"—Cough, cough, cough!"
Suzy had just taken a sip of water and nearly choked when she heard that.
Even Thomas’s usually expressionless face showed the faintest crack.
"Why are both of you reacting like that?" Leonard burst out laughing as he looked at them.
Thomas’s expression had visibly stiffened.
Suzy, meanwhile, was still coughing from the water she’d swallowed wrong. A blush quickly spread across her cheeks.
The faint flush transformed her normally pale, fragile complexion, giving it an unexpectedly vivid charm.
Leonard waved his hand casually. "Relax, I’m just joking."
Only then did the two of them slowly relax.
The rest of the meal passed in relatively pleasant harmony.
When the three of them left the restaurant, there were still plenty of diners inside despite the late hour.
Leonard drove them back to Starlight Towers.
After parking in the underground garage, he and Suzy took Thomas upstairs to the apartment that had been rented for him.
Just as the elevator reached the first floor and the doors slid open, a woman stepped inside.
Due to the oppressive heat, she wore a camisole and tight shorts that showed off her curvy figure. She looked to be in her early thirties, with attractive features and a confident air.
The moment she noticed Thomas and Leonard standing inside the elevator, her eyes lit up.
Suzy, standing quietly in the corner, was completely ignored.
The woman pressed the button for her floor—it was one level below Thomas’s.
As she idly scrolled through her phone, her gaze kept drifting toward Thomas beside her.
The look in her eyes was unmistakably heated.
From the corner of the elevator, Suzy observed the entire scene. A faint, inexplicable discomfort stirred in her chest.
After all... he was her bound target.
Fortunately, Thomas showed no reaction whatsoever.
He didn’t return the woman’s gaze—not even once.
With a soft ding, the elevator doors opened. The woman stepped out reluctantly, glancing back once more before leaving.
As soon as she was gone, Leonard elbowed Thomas and chuckled.
"Did you see that look? She practically wanted to devour you."
Thomas didn’t respond.
But he did cast a quick glance toward Suzy—so quick that no one noticed.
After escorting Thomas into his new apartment, Leonard and Suzy didn’t stay long.
Before leaving, they reminded him repeatedly not to go outside during the daytime and to avoid direct sunlight.
Thomas agreed to everything.
Only then did the two of them head home.
Back at their apartment, Suzy took a shower and was just about to go to bed when she heard a knock on the door.
When she opened it, Leonard was standing outside with a serious expression.
"What’s wrong, Uncle?" Suzy asked.
Leonard handed his phone to her. "Take a look at this."
On the screen was a screenshot of a post. The original poster was complaining that their area had already begun experiencing water outages. The IP address showed it was from a region in the northwest.
"I saw this while scrolling just now," Leonard said. "The post’s already been deleted."
Suzy frowned slightly and handed the phone back.
The water shortages had appeared earlier than in her dream.
Leonard continued, his voice tense.
"I remember you saying that the whole city would eventually lose its water supply. Should we start buying more water barrels...?"
He was clearly beginning to feel anxious about water.
In his mind, the safest option was to buy as many containers as possible and fill them up before the taps ran dry.
"Uncle, don’t panic just yet," Suzy said.
In truth, the water in her spatial dimension was practically endless.
She had no reason to worry about water supplies at all.
The real problem was how to bring it out in a reasonable way.
If she didn’t reveal the existence of her space, everything she did would feel restricted.
Suddenly—
A thought flashed through Suzy’s mind.
The Loyalty Card.