Haoran Wants A Reward

"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.

The exam week drained Emma's energy and mind. She had to think not only about her own exam results but also the performances of her students from class F.

Every day after the exam, she would discuss the questions they had for the upcoming subjects. Haoran appeared to be the most successful among his friends. The young man was indeed determined with his ambition to move to class A. The others seemed to be catching up too. But in Emma's opinion, the four needed extra classes during summer and study every week without stopping to actually get to class A.

"What do you think? I'm smart, right?" Haoran asked with a pair of glistening eyes after he finished the Math problem she gave him. He looked ​like a proud puppy who managed to take back the branch thrown by his master and was now hoping to be rewarded with a delicious bone.

For a moment, Emma felt amazed by his expression.

"Uhm... your answer is correct," the girl replied, nodding. Haoran looked disappointed because she didn't even smile at his accomplishment.

'This girl is really insensitive,' Haoran thought.

"Emma, you have to motivate your students to work harder," said Haoran as he sat next to her. "I want a reward if my test scores matched or exceeded the scores of the students from Class 2A."

Emma frowned at Haoran. "A reward from me?"

Haoran nodded. "Yes."

"What kind of reward do you want?" asked Emma.

A wide smile appeared on Haoran's face as he folded his arms in front of his chest and answered. "I want to go on a date with you in Paris."

In that instant, Haoran's four friends threw their books into the air and cheered.

"Wooooo! Finally!" they cried in unison, laughing.

Emma and Haoran glared at the four boys at the same time.

"Hey, work on your Math problem and don't interfere with the affairs of adults," Haoran grumbled as if he was scolding his naughty children. Emma herself felt her face heated up.

'Gosh, is this it? Finally, he openly asked me out. And in Paris too. This boy is really sly,' thought Emma, ​​glancing at Haoran. She wasn't upset by the sudden request, but in fact, she's secretly happy because Haoran wasn't at all corny in hitting on her. The young man had also looked for the right opportunity to do it properly.

He waited until they had known each other for quite a long time and interacted intensely as friends. He then proved his abilities by improving his grades, before finally manning up and asking Emma out on a date. In Paris.

"So?" Haoran turned back to her.

The girl tried to hide her blushing cheeks but failed. Finally, she nodded shyly. "Okay."

Haoran nodded back. His face beamed upon hearing Emma's reply.

***

"Gosh, time flies! Today we'll go shopping, and next week our test scores will be announced, and the day after that, we can kiss Mona Lisa in person. Yeahhh!" Nadya looked excited as she packed her books into her bag. The exam subject on the last day was Chemistry, not the crowd's favorite. Even class 2A students were relieved when it finally ended.

She pulled Emma and Mary by the hands as they ran out of the classroom in a hurry. Her family's driver had arrived to take them to the mall.

[Congratulations on the exam. You guys did well.] Emma took the time to send text messages to her students while sitting inside the car next to Mary. Nadya sat in front, next to the driver.

[We are blessed to have an awesome tutor.] Came a reply from Haoran which even had a wink emoticon.

Emma smiled, having read his message, and put her cellphone away. Ah... that's right. She remembered that yesterday Haoran had asked her out on a date in Paris during the study trip. Maybe she needed to buy suitable clothes for a date?

All this time, Emma only had a few clothes. Mostly average and plain shirts and jeans and sneakers, for practicality. She had never worn a dress and never bought one.

"Uhm... you seem to be good at picking outfits. Maybe I'll need your help to choose a dress for me," she finally said in a very low voice, almost like a whisper.

Mary and Nadya turned their heads toward her with widened eyes.

"Ahh!! I'm so excited! Of course!!"

The two girls were good at dressing up, and they passionately chose a variety of beautiful dresses for Emma. After going in and out of so many stores and trying on a lot of clothes and accessories, Emma returned home with two summer dresses, pretty red strapped sandals, and a wide summer hat.

"Summer in Paris is as hot as Singapore in July. We'll need a hat to protect our skin from the sun in case we'll be out all day when we get there." That was how Nadya managed to get Emma to buy the hat. And Emma could only say yes.

Emma tried the two dresses again after she arrived home and silently admitted that she did look beautiful wearing those outfits.

'Nadya and Mary have good taste,' she thought.

***