"How are you feeling?" Haoran asked as he handed his mock exam to Emma. "Are you excited about the trip?"
"Hmm... what did you say?" asked the girl. She raised her head from the paper to Haoran, prompting him to repeat his question. Emma wasn't paying attention because she had too many things on her mind.
Haoran smiled faintly. "You must be thinking of the day you'll arrive in Paris. It fills your mind to the brim. So, you cannot think of anything else."
"You're right." Emma thought that in this world, the only one who could understand her the most was Haoran. Because, just like her, he's also missing a person that he couldn't visit.
At least, Emma would finally be able to come to Paris after dreaming about it for more than eleven years. Meanwhile, Haoran still couldn't meet his mother in China. It must be really hard for him.
Emma was immediately filled with sympathy for Haoran. She touched his hand and patted it gently. She said softly, "Haoran, you'll definitely meet your mother someday."
The young man looked back at Emma. Slowly, a faint smile formed on his lips and he nodded.
"I hope so," he replied quietly.
They hadn't had a talked like this with just the two of them. Today was the first time they shared this type of connection. After all, whenever they met, it's always for studying with the other four boys around. The two hours they were together were always filled with lessons and discussions. Emma could see how serious Haoran was in his goal to move to class A, and this determination was also shared by his four friends.
Emma could see that Haoran did like her, also based on what Alex told her, but Haoran wasn't approaching her seriously yet. It's because Haoran felt they weren't equal yet, academic-wise. His current status was a mere student from Class F, with a reputation as the biggest failure in St. Catherine. Emma, on the other hand, was one of the smartest students at school.
There were times though Emma thought about how she felt toward Haoran. He was her first friend, and their relationship was quite good. But she didn't know what she would do if Haoran someday openly courted her.
She had heard from Alex that Haoran liked her ever since they first met. And Alex was always happy to gossip about his boss every time he dropped off Emma at home after their tutoring sessions. Even so, Haoran had still behaved like normal toward her. He's always relaxed around her, never tried to get her together with him at his house—just the two of them—and never hinted going on dates with her.
'Ah, Emma... why do you think about random stuff like that?' The girl scolded herself as her mind was distracted by thoughts about Haoran when she was supposed to study for the exam. 'You have to focus on your two goals. The first one is to make sure your students get good grades. And the second one is to find information about your parents in Paris. You must not get distracted.'
***
Time passed quickly, and before they knew it, it was the exam week. Students from Class A and some from class B looked ready and excited—their war faces was on! They lived for the exam!
The other students, however, on classes C, D, E, and F, mostly looked murky and desperate. They hated exams. They hoped the exam week would be over soon and it'll be study trip or vacation!
[Good luck for today...] Emma wrote the same message of encouragement to her five students. As their tutor, she felt just as pressured as them about their test scores. She really hoped they would do well.
[We won't disappoint you.] Haoran replied to her text a minute later. [We'll make our tutor proud.]
Emma smiled thinly when she read his reply.
Mary saw Emma's rare smile and scooted over. "Ohhh, what was that? Who sent you the message? You're smiling like a maiden in love!"
Emma furrowed her brows when she heard her friend's remarks. "I did?"
'Maybe I am in love,' she secretly said to herself.