When Mary and Nadya arrived with a tray filled with their drinks, Haoran invited them to sit at his table. He had met Nadya during the study trip to Paris, and they already became acquaintances. While Mary was obviously a friend of both Nadya and Emma, so he treated her politely.

"Thank you for treating us to lunch," Mary said, beaming. "Nadya and I had already had lunch, so we just got drinks."

"You're welcome," Haoran shrugged. "I just want to celebrate this special day and make a good impression on my new classmates."

"But ... what you achieved is amazing! You can upgrade yourself from class F to class A. What's the secret?" Mary asked curiously. "If I knew you and David were aiming for class A, I would have studied harder to stay in class A. I admit I slacked a little during the past semester."

Haoran glanced at Emma subtly before replying to Mary's question. "I have a great tutor to help me. I also found a big motivation to move to class A because I really like Emma and want to be in the same class with her."

Emma immediately coughed violently when she heard Haoran's blunt words. She glared at the young man and tried to understand why Haoran was being so honest.

"Haoran ..." hissed Emma. She turned to Mary and Nadya with an apologetic look.

But strangely, the two girls did not look surprised by Haoran's words. They actually just talked about this earlier. Mary only nodded in understanding.

"So, do you like Emma?" she asked in a low voice.

Haoran nodded. "Yes. I have liked Emma since she first came to school. I know that I don't stand a chance to approach her if I'm still in class F, while she is the top student. That's why I became motivated to study hard so that I wouldn't be embarrassing myself too much in front of her. "

"You're not embarrassing," Emma said. "You deliberately failed your exams ... you have your own reasons for doing that."

"The point is just the same ... I really want to move to class A so I can get closer to Emma," Haoran continued his words. He looked at Mary with a serious look, but he no longer said anything.

Mary understood that Haoran wanted to tell Mary not to keep having feelings for him because Haoran liked another girl.

Mary's chest immediately felt heavy . She then looked down and sipped her drink, also didn't say anything.

[Why did you say that? You know Mary likes you.] Emma said to Haoran without moving her lips. She resorted to using telepathy because she didn't want Mary and Nadya to hear them talking.

[I did that because I want to be frank with Mary. I just want her to understand that I will never reciprocate her feelings. I want her to focus her energy and attention on something else or someone else ... WOwww ... I can hear you!! Can you hear me too???]

[Of course, I can. I am using my telemancy so they can't hear us.]

[Wowww.... This is soooooo cool!!!] Haoran's face looked soooo excited that Emma almost laughed.

"Then, Emma ... do you like Haoran?" Suddenly, Nadya asked Emma. She was curious to know what actually happened between Haoran and Emma. She understood what Haoran meant by admitting to Mary that he liked Emma. Nadya also agreed that Mary must indeed forget her feelings for the young man. But at the same time, Nadya also wanted to know what the current status of Emma and Haoran's relationship was.

"Me?" Emma pointed at herself. She then turned to Haoran. "Of course I like Haoran. What to dislike about him? He is funny and pleasant. Most students in our class like him, too, right?"

Hearing Emma compliment him made Haoran puffed out his chest proudly. Ahh, he knew Emma liked him, but still, he loved hearing his girlfriend praise him in front of others.

Nadya just rolled her eyes at Emma's answer and Haoran's attitude. But she didn't press further. She understood that Emma and Haoran might have already dated but did not want to reveal their relationship openly, and she could understand that.

***

After they had lunch together that day, Mary avoided Emma for several weeks. Her heart still hurt from knowing that the man she liked turned out to like another girl.

However, after one month had passed, slowly, Mary could get over her pain and started to act normal again and treated Emma better. Nadya, who was neutral, also went back to being Emma's friend.

Emma's life in her final year at St. Catherine High School became pleasant. Haoran and his friends still study together every Wednesday and Friday with her. Every Saturday, Emma would still spend her time with Haoran, sometimes in his house, sometimes on his ship, and occasionally they would invite their four friends and sail together.

In her spare time, Emma still worked hard to improve her hacking abilities, and occasionally she would break into some companies and government agencies' security system to hone her skills.

"When do you think you can start hacking into SpaceLab?" Haoran asked Emma one day.

"Hmm ... right now I don't dare to do it. If I tried once and failed ... they will find me right away. I don't want to risk it," Emma answered. "If my skills are already at Goose's level, then I'll try it."

"Hmm ... Goose once said that she was also a genius like you, and she taught herself how to do things since she was 12 years old. When she turned 18, she already made a name for herself as a respected hacker in Darknet."

"Which means she needed more or less five years?" Emma pondered. "I just started two months ago... I don't know how long I will need to be that good."

"But you don't have to hack everything. You just have to get into their system and use Ren Hanenberg access code ... I don't think you will need years to do it," Haoran said soothingly. "Starting next week, I will start my internship at my father's office. I can also help you get in faster."

"Thank you..." Emma could only nod when she heard Haoran's words. She knew that she must be patient.

.

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From the author:

For the past several days, I have been thinking about this new story. It was always in my head and I can imagine in great detail how the characters and the story would be like.

I am writing this new story to join Webnovel Spirity Awards. You can check the blurb below and see if you'd like it. If you think the story is your cup of tea, feel free to add it to your library so you can be notified when I update it.

The title is "Ashes of Gods" and it will focus mostly on friendship and family. This is the blurb:

ASHES OF GODS

Sirius only lived for vengeance. When he was 8 years old and stranded in the woods, Princess Myria from Parrel saved him and took him in. Her family gave the lowly slave boy shelter, love, and dignity.

He was considered important, valued as a human being, and was endowed with affection like the king's own son. Until one day, the crown prince of the Ice Palace came and destroyed Parrel to the ground.

The prince fell in love with Myria and demanded a political marriage between the two countries. Because Myria refused, the whole capital city of Parrel was invaded and destroyed, and the princess was taken by force.

Sirius was 15 years old by then. He managed to escape through the sewers in the dungeon and was resolute to take revenge. The only way to save Myria and avenge his adopted family's death was by becoming stronger than the people of the Ice Palace. With that determination, young Sirius went into the Death Valley searching for the gods and forced them to help him, even though he had to pay for it with his own life.

On his way to the valley, Sirius encountered and befriended Vitalis, the ice mage, and Orien the wind mage. The three youths wanted to visit Death Valley for different purposes. Facing so many dangers, powerful enemies, and adventures on the journey bound their souls into one as they pledged to be friends for life.

Can Sirius get his revenge? What would he choose when he learned that his own best friend turned out to be the youngest prince from the Ice Palace who was the target of his revenge? What happened to Myria while she was in the hands of the enemy?

Follow Sirius's journey to take his revenge and save his only family by doing whatever it takes...