Dream Of Love

City A, early morning.

A thick fog blanketed the sky.

Moist clouds clung together against the gloomy heavens, creating a stifling, lifeless atmosphere. Words like muggy and humid seemed tailor-made for this city.

Emma woke up early. In the dark room, she turned over and gazed at the slightly parted curtain not far away, letting out a lazy yawn.

The room was silent, making it easy to hear footsteps echoing from outside.

She thought to herself, Lily must be up already.

Her sister was always the early riser.

Emma kept staring at the curtain as if something were hidden behind it.

The footsteps headed down the stairs, and sounds from downstairs gradually grew clearer.

Voices her mother and sister chatting.

The ding of the microwave.

The sound of newspaper pages being flipped.

Normally, the house was well soundproofed due to someone practicing piano, and such sounds rarely traveled. But maybe because this was part of her daily routine, she heard it naturally and clearly.

The slightly drawn curtain trembled faintly.

She thought, I must've forgotten to close it last night like Mom said.

Emma's dark eyes finally found focus. She blinked, propped herself up, tossed off the blanket, and stepped out of bed.

Wearing a loose nightgown, she ran her fingers through her hair as she walked toward the window. A small pink Hello Kitty on her collarbone waved with a cheerful grin.

Her pale, slender hand pulled the curtain open.

The sudden burst of light made her squinther eyes hadn't adjusted yet. Her brows furrowed as she raised a hand to shield herself.

The weather was gloomy and damp.

Emma's lips curved into a faint smile. Just the kind of weather she liked.

The footsteps outside drew closer, stopping outside her door. Moments later, there was a knock.

Knock, knock.

"Emma, time to get up, sweetheart."

The person outside waited for a moment without hearing a reply and was about to open the door.

"Mom, I'm up. I'll be out after I change," her soft, warm voice called out.

Hearing her daughter, Mrs. Lucy Mitchell frowned but stopped reaching for the doorknob.

"Today's the first day of school. Don't be lazy. Your sister's been up for ages."

She waited a bit longer. The room remained silent except for the faint rustling of clothes.

"Hurry up, everyone's waiting for you downstairs for breakfast," Lucy added sternly.

"I know, Mom."

Hearing that, Lucy finally turned and walked away.

Inside the room, Emma continued dressing calmly, as if the exchange had never happened.

Ten minutes later, she had washed up, dressed, and slung her backpack over her shoulder before heading downstairs.

In the dining room.

Mr. David Mitchell flipped through the Financial Times while eating breakfast.

In his forties, he wore a perfectly tailored suit, exuding a refined elegance. Thanks to his regular workouts, most people wouldn't guess his true age.

Lucy was busy giving instructions to her older daughter. Lily grinned mischievously and waved at Emma.

Emma stepped lightly down the stairs.

Hearing the sound, David looked up.

"There's my Emma. Come eat. I'll drive you two to school in a bit."

Emma replied with a gentle "Yes, Dad," pulled out a chair, and greeted her mom and sister.

"Aren't you busy with work today?"

She picked up a small sandwich, spread peanut butter on it.

Lucy, seated across, continued giving Lily school-related advice while pushing a glass of milk toward Emma.

"Of course I'm busy, but driving you two to school comes first," David said, adjusting his glasses.

"It's your first day of eleventh grade. I wouldn't miss it."

Emma quietly munched on her sandwich.

David ran a mid-sized company. Normally he was so busy he didn't even have time for breakfast, let alone driving the kids to school.

Clearly, their education was the highest priority in the household.

Lucy, satisfied after giving Lily her reminders, turned to Emma and brushed her bangs aside.

"Your hair's covering your eyes again. Get a haircut after school today."

Emma took a sip of milk and nodded.

"Got everything packed? Don't be careless and forget something. You're not as meticulous as your sister."

"I packed everything last night," Emma replied softly.

Lucy nodded, pleased, having finished her morning checklist.

She stood by the table, watching her daughters eat, and felt a quiet satisfaction.

In her youth, she'd been a stunning beauty, admired by many suitors, but chose David in the end. Their marriage was blissful, and they had twin daughters who inherited both her looks and grace.

Friends often envied her for having such beautiful girls, and she doted on them meticulously-academics, daily life, everything.

Milton High School was one of the top high schools in the city, boasting over a 95% university acceptance rate and a prestigious teaching staff-making tuition steep.

It meant that unless you had both brains and money, you wouldn't set foot there.

In 10th grade, students were assigned randomly to classes. By 11th grade, they were sorted by academic performance.

Emma and Lily were now in the same class.

Lucy was thrilled-it made all her educational efforts worthwhile.

"Looks like it'll rain hard today. Did you girls bring umbrellas?"

Lucy glanced out the window, frowning.

"Only once a year we have a cloudy school opening-such a mood killer."

Since David usually got home late, he couldn't pick them up. They'd be taking the bus home.

Lily took out a small foldable umbrella from her bag, her smile bright.

"I brought mine. Checked the weather forecast last night."

Lucy nodded and looked over at Emma.

Emma swallowed her milk.

"I forgot."

Lucy frowned and turned to go upstairs for an umbrella.

"No need, Mom," Lily pulled her arm. "We can share mine."

"Alright." Lucy nodded but reminded Emma, "Be more careful next time, okay?"

Emma nodded.

Lucy sighed. These two girls were obedient, sure, but not without flaws.

Lily had always been independent, cheerful, and ranked third in her entire grade.

Emma, on the other hand, was more reserved and indecisive. Though she also did well, she didn't shine like her sister and was less sociable.

Sigh, she'd still need to keep an eye on Emma.

"If you're done, get moving. You never know when the roads will jam," she nudged David.

In the car.

The sisters sat in the backseat, both wearing headphones. One listened to music, the other to an English audiobook.

Emma stared out the window, absentmindedly twirling her earphones.

Outside, people hurried past, and car horns blared.

After a while, she turned away-no longer interested.

Beside her, Lily had her eyes closed, mouthing along to the English novel's vocabulary.

Lily was stunning-a radiant beauty who resembled their father. Puberty had been kind to her. Even the standard school uniform couldn't hide her graceful curves.

Her hair was long, reaching her waist, and she cared for it meticulously-shiny and soft.

Emma's, in contrast, was shoulder-length. She lacked the patience to wash and dry it for half an hour. In fact, she and Lucy had once argued about this.

Before long, they reached school. A row of luxury cars lined the entrance.

Emma and Lily waved goodbye to David.

"Be careful and come home early," David said, glancing at his watch. "Now go, or you'll be late."

Milton High was famous throughout the province for its high university admission rate and stellar teachers.

During orientation, the principal had listed outstanding alumni-some were now CEOs of publicly traded companies or high-level officials.

Pretty intimidating.

Each grade had its own classroom building and teacher offices.

On the second floor, they reached Class 11-A1. The room was unusually quiet, with only occasional whispers.

Are A1 students really this disciplined?

Emma didn't think much, following Lily inside.

The room was packed. Only a few empty seats remained.

"Almost late," Lily muttered.

Probably the traffic.

Voices hushed as new students entered. For a moment, silence.

Then some boys started whispering excitedly.

A stern middle-aged female teacher standing at the podium gave a sharp "Shh!" and looked up.

Her eyes scanned the sisters from head to toe.

"Good morning, Miss. I'm Lily," Lily said politely, bowing slightly.

Whispers buzzed again, especially among the boys. If the teacher weren't present, there might've been applause.

The teacher glanced at the roster and ticked off a name.

"Alright."

She then looked at the name under Lily's and at Emma.

"You must be her sister, Emma?"

Emma nodded, replying softly, "Yes, Ma'am."

The teacher smiled, her expression softening. She pointed them to their seats.

She'd heard of the twin sisters. Their previous homeroom teacher had sung their praises.

The elder: bright, talented, independent.

The younger: gentle, obedient, among the top students, easy to manage.

Looking at them now-both were stunning, modestly dressed, with a very good impression.

In the back row, Tony elbowed Ryan, who was playing on his PSP, and grinned.

"See her? That's the class beauty from 10-A7. Bit cold, but her looks and figure are top-notch."

"Whoa, let me see." Ryan was tall-he lifted his head easily. "Damn, this class has so many cute girls. If only I'd been transferred sooner. I might've actually studied."

"Studied my foot. If Ethan hadn't forced you to, you wouldn't even be here ogling girls."

Jacob, from another row, tugged Ryan's messy hair and asked who the girl behind the beauty was.

Tony leaned over, smirking.

"No idea, but also cute."

He and Ryan both eyed the two empty seats in front.

Tony was already scheming how to strike up a conversation without seeming cringey.

Jacob crossed his legs and joked, "Don't forget to leave one for Ethan, bro."

Ryan mumbled, still absorbed in his game,

"What? Hot girls?"

Jacob burst out laughing.

Emma checked the seating chart. She and Lily weren't seatmates-not unusual, since they hadn't been in 10th grade either.

She was assigned to the fourth row, Lily to the fifth. Both were tall, with good eyesight, so front-row seats were never an option.

She returned the seating chart to the teacher and headed to her desk.

"Good morning, Ms. Li."