Chapter 4 Chap 4: Dream Of Love

Time flew by in the blink of an eye.

By noon, all the students in the class had left, leaving only a few girls lingering to pack their books.

Seven was packing her pencil case while frowning and looking out the window, her face gloomy.

Outside, the rain was pouring heavily. The sky looked gloomy, and the rainwater resembled a black curtain slowly descending.

She sighed, "I miss First Thread Noodle near the school so much, thought I could eat there today. Why does it have to rain now?"

The cafeteria at St. Eden High School was generally a bit more expensive, and the food wasn't very tasty.

That made the small restaurants around the school extremely popular. Every noon, the crowds came and went like ants.

First Thread Noodle was one of those restaurants, mainly selling Crossing-the-Bridge noodles.

The restaurant owner had changed the name, redecorated the place, wanting to follow the trend, making it look unique and different.

Emma and her older sister had eaten there a few times; the flavor wasn't bad but not amazing. Maybe it was also because of her own eating habits.

"If we can't go to First Thread Noodle, let's go to the cafeteria; they have noodles too."

Kelly called from inside, then swayed her head at Emma, who was waiting at the door, "Where are you eating lunch today?"

Emma lay on the railing on the second floor, extending her hand out to catch the rain, "Probably going to eat with my sister."

"Oh."

Kelly paused for a moment and then asked, "Want to come along?"

Emma nodded lightly, "Sure."

"Does she agree?"

Kelly pointed to Lily, who was talking with their class teacher.

Emma paused, turned to look.

Is her sister that scary?

Her black eyes stared at her sister for a while, then suddenly turned back, smiling slightly, "Yes, she'll agree."

"Good then." Kelly nodded quietly.

In fact, if observed closely, Emma was also very beautiful-not the radiant kind like Lily.

Her skin was very fair, with long eyelashes. When she didn't smile, she gave off a proud impression, but when she smiled, it made others drown in her sparkling eyes.

When Lily arrived, the whole group headed to the cafeteria.

On the way, Lily acted very friendly, laughing and chatting cheerfully, without showing the usual pride, following the conversation topics of the two girls with her. Kelly and Seven gradually felt much more comfortable.

The cafeteria was very large, with two floors. The first floor was the normal ordering area, with rice and noodles. The second floor served snacks with delicious flavors but relatively expensive prices.

"Hi, Lily."

A voice called from the convenience store opposite the cafeteria.

The girls stopped walking as Jason, carrying several bottles of water, ran up, panting, "You guys heading to the cafeteria too?"

"Yes, it's raining, so no interest in eating outside." Lily handed him a tissue and asked, "Why are you running? Why are you sweating so much?"

"Thanks."

Jason tucked the bottles under his arms, took the tissue, and wiped the sweat off his forehead, "We just played basketball with the seniors from Grade 12 in the gym. We're hungry, so we came here to eat."

Suddenly remembering something, he continued, "Hey, how about you all eat with us upstairs? My treat, okay?"

Lily thought for a moment and smiled, "Sure."

Jason glanced at Emma, "How about you, little sister?"

Emma: "I'm fine either way..."

"...And you two?" He turned to the two girls standing behind Lily, though he couldn't recall their names.

Kelly and Seven said nothing but nodded repeatedly. What was going on? They themselves didn't know either. Such a rare good chance couldn't be missed.

First day back at school, eating with the senior of the whole grade?

Just the thought was exciting.

"Alright, let's go."

Jason nodded and led the way.

The five of them went up the stairs; the second floor of the cafeteria was sparsely populated. Since their friends were late, most people had finished eating, and the place no longer felt crowded.

They approached the table closest to the window, where some people sat with legs crossed, heads tilted, looking relaxed.

Kevin and Jason Graywere amazed. Since when did Jason have such a strong charm? Enough to have a group of female students following him.

Ethan was playing with his phone. Hearing the voices, he looked up, stunned. His dark eyes glanced sharply and then frowned, showing obvious displeasure, "I told you to buy four bottles of water, not to bring four girls back."

His voice was deep but carried some irritation.

Kelly and Seven followed behind, feeling uneasy, hesitating. Seems like the senior is angry.

Emma pressed her lips tightly, also feeling a bit uneasy, tugging Lily's shirt slightly, "Let's sit at the next table."

Lily glanced at Ethan then nodded.

Jason eagerly stopped them from leaving, saying, "Hey, don't go. Let's eat together, forget him. He's always grumpy like that."

"Come on, sit down."

Jason smiled hard to pull them in, pushing each of them down and saying, "We're all classmates, the teacher said we should be close. Come on, sit here. I'll order some more dishes."

He comforted them, then placed a hand on Ethan's shoulder and patted him, speaking with a teasing tone, "Be gentle with the girls in class, will it kill you?"

Ethan smirked but said nothing.

Emma thought to herself, wanting to get close, but she didn't even remember Kelly's and Seven's names?

Hứa Gia Nghiệp laughed, "If one day he voluntarily eats with girls, I'll quit gaming for life."

"Ha, you better not regret saying that."

Kevin teased, leaning close to Ethan, "Hey Ethan, tomorrow you should ask Angela out for a meal, she won't do anything to you."

Ethan frowned, kicked Kevin's leg lazily, "Want to die? If you're bored, go serve the food."

Kevin laughed and stood up, bowed to Ethan jokingly, "Yes, senior."

Their demeanor lightened the tense atmosphere.

Seven and Kelly sitting nearby made the tense atmosphere more relaxed.

They sat quietly, still very tense but sneaking glances.

Ethan slowly changed his sitting posture, very confident, stretching out his long legs.

Emma was pushed down next to Ethan by Jason. The leg of the person sitting beside her was almost touching her, and she vaguely felt a little heat, shifting uncomfortably.

A moment of silence, no one spoke.

Emma smiled slightly, quietly asked Lily for a tissue, then gently wiped the stain on the table.

Hứa Gia Nghiệp looked up from his PSP and chuckled, "Little sister, wipe mine too, thanks."

Emma paused, said nothing, took another tissue, and helped wipe everyone's table.

Kelly and Seven held their tissues and wiped their own spots.

Ethan looked up, expressionless, glanced at the pale slender hand in front of him, stuck his tongue to the corner of his mouth, then bent down again to continue playing on his phone.

"Who told you to call her little sister? That's my sister." Lily was unhappy.

"Don't be stingy. I don't have a little sister yet, let me call her." Hứa Gia Nghiệp called Emma, "Little sister, little sister, little sister."

...

Long silence.

Suddenly, Ethan grinned showing his teeth.

Everyone around felt confused.

Emma continued wiping the table.

After lunch, the boys and girls parted ways. The boys gathered to hang out at the back gate of the cafeteria.

Lily stared at someone's figure then turned to head upstairs back to class.

There were a few minutes left before the first afternoon lesson, then the boys put their arms around each other's shoulders, laughing and chatting as they returned to class.

Emma lay on the table asleep, resting her head on her arms.

Someone walked by. The chair behind Emma shook for a moment, startling her.

The person passing by smelled of fresh mint, cool and pleasant, like home-grown mint, quickly waking Emma from drowsiness. She wrinkled her nose, sniffed, and frowned.

Mixed with the scent was a strong smell of cigarette smoke.

After a long day, Emma took her clothes to wash.

Lily's umbrella was too small, clearly not enough for two people, and Emma got her arm half soaked.

By the time she finished showering, Mr. Andrew An had returned home.

The whole family ate dinner together. At the table, Michelle Lu asked about the children's day as usual.

Lily answered all questions in detail. Suddenly, she remembered something and said excitedly, "Mom, do you remember that top boy who always ranked first? He is the one who ranked second in this placement."

"Oh, him? Of course, why?"

"He's my desk mate." Lily pouted, showing dissatisfaction, "I see him not paying attention in class at all, so how come he always scores higher than me?"

Emma silently glanced at Lily, lowered her head, and continued eating.

"That's nothing to envy, he's smart, gifted." Michelle Lu scooped a bowl of soup and handed it to Emma, "You have to try harder, don't think your current grades are enough. The competition is fierce now; you have to set higher standards, learn from your sister, and ask questions if you don't understand."

The last sentence was clearly directed at Emma.

Emma nodded gently, "I know."

Mr. Andrew An put food on Michelle Lu's bowl, "Eat quickly, stop talking about these things."

After dinner, Emma went to her room to do homework. She wore headphones, replaying a song over and over before opening her math workbook.

After finishing some exercises, she sat blankly. Actually, Emma's grades were very good, just not as good as her sister's.

Emma recalled once in middle school, she unexpectedly scored high on a math test and was excited to show Michelle Lu, hoping for praise.

But unexpectedly, Michelle Lu frowned and lectured her, "Are you already satisfied with that? With such scores, look back at your sister's achievements and compare."

Emma really wanted to surpass her sister.

But there was no way; in studying, sometimes no matter how hard you try, it's useless. Like her mom said, it depends on innate talent.

Suddenly, she remembered what Lily said at dinner and laughed. Lily wanted to surpass Ethan, but Emma only wanted to surpass Lily. What is this, a vicious cycle?

Emma rubbed her eyes and continued her homework.

In the dark, the yellow light highlighted her soft, fair face.

The space was very quiet.