Haoran and Emma spent their weekend at Haoran"s house, relaxing and discussing their future plans. Although they suspected within a year from now they would leave the earth, both of them still had to live their lives, as usual, to avoid suspicions.They discussed university entrance exams and other matters. The maids at home did not question why Emma stayed at Haoran"s place over the weekend. They did not dare to interfere in the affairs of their young master.
On Sunday afternoon, Haoran himself took Emma home to Grandma Lin"s apartment and stayed for dinner. He gave her several presents from Switzerland and Shanghai, and the old woman received them with a beaming face.
Since she met Haoran the first time, Grandma Lin had grown fond of this young man. Haoran was good at winning the elderly"s approval. He could also talk well with people of all ages, including Grandma Lin. Inwardly, Grandma Lin was pleased because Emma had a boyfriend who was considerate and thoughtful.
When Haoran finally explained that he and Emma had actually got married in Shanghai, Grandma Lin initially did not believe him.
"Ahh .. you guys shouldn"t talk carelessly like that. Marriage is not a joke, Grandma Lin commented while laughing. She poured tea into Haoran"s cup. "But, I am happy to hear that you are serious with Emma, and you can see yourself married to her in the future."
"Uhmmm ... I"m also serious now. I wasn"t joking when I said we are already married," Haoran said with a smile. "We are taking this very seriously. Emma and I decided to get married because we felt it was the right thing to do."
Grandma Lin"s face immediately looked shocked. She turned to Emma with rounded eyes. She touched the girl"s hand and asked attentively. Her voice was full of concern, but not at all judgmental.
"Emma ... are ... are you pregnant? Is that why you guys got married in a hurry?"
Oma Lin did not know who Haoran"s family was, but from his appearance and how he behaved, she could guess that the young man came from a wealthy background. She knew that for a wealthy and respectable family, a scandal like their son getting a girl pregnant out of wedlock would be a stain that would embarra.s.s the family"s reputation.
Haoran and Emma looked at each other and laughed. Emma hurriedly shook her head. "Not at all, Grandma. I"m not pregnant. We also don"t plan to have children soon because both of us are still very young. However, Haoran and I have our own reasons why we got married so quickly. I hope you would understand."
Grandma Lin really could not imagine what other reasons could make two teenagers like Haoran and Emma decide to get married.
However, she would not be so nosy and force them to tell her all their thoughts and decisions. Emma was not even her biological granddaughter. They just lived together. So, she must know her place.
"Alright, then." Grandma Lin smiled warmly. She then got up and hugged Emma. "Congratulations, Emma... I"m sure you all have your own reasons. I will always wish you happiness."
Emma returned Grandma Lin"s hug with her chest filled with happiness. After they broke free, Grandma Lin hugged Haoran and also congratulated him.
"Thank you, Grandma," Haoran said solemnly. "I"m very happy because Grandma has been taking care of Emma for the past year. In the future, I also want to take care of her. Emma will stay at my house with me every weekend. While on weekdays ..."
"So, on weekdays, you stay here?" Oma Lin asked, her eyes sparkled with excitement.
She could imagine that her apartment would become more lively and she could cook for more people.
"Eh ... no, Grandma..." Emma tried to interrupt. She could not imagine Haoran staying with her in her tiny bedroom. Haoran"s own bedroom was even more s.p.a.cious than Oma Lin"s entire apartment. She thought Haoran would never want to sleepover at her place.
But she was very surprised when she heard Haoran respond enthusiastically. "Can I stay here? If it"s okay with you, I"ll sometimes stay here with Emma on a week days."
Emma"s eyes went round as she looked at Haoran with surprise. Did she not mishear just now?
Gosh ...
Grandma Lin seemed very happy to hear that. She hugged Haoran again and patted his shoulder.
"Ahh .. I am very happy. I would love to have you around."
***
Therius stood unmoving in the center of the moon base, while his men examined the situation and made sure there were no other humans there.
"This place has long been abandoned, Sir. We conclude this based on various logs and records we obtained from the Central Computer. Our engineers have taken all the data." Saul gave his report respectfully.
"Long abandoned, huh? But the messenger s.h.i.+p was only sent a while ago." Therius" tone of voice sounded a little disappointed, even though his face still looked stoic.
He had hoped that Emm Stardust would still be at this base when they arrived. He really wanted to meet the girl in person.
"There"s no way she would be here all the time. Didn"t he say that she lives on the planet called earth? We have to look for her there," Xion said.
Therius nodded. "I will look for her there myself. But we will only use a small shuttle s.h.i.+p. Let the others wait here. You and I can go there and look for the girl. I don"t want to risk the humans on that planet knowing of our arrival."
"The Central Computer is called AWA. She has complete information on Emma Stardust"s whereabouts," Saul added. "It seems they left the information for the pickup s.h.i.+p from Akkadia so they could find her."
"Smart girl," Therius commented. He patted Xion"s shoulder. "Apparently, you will get your wish to go on an adventure on a backward planet."
Xion"s face looked happy, and his eyes sparkled. "I knew it! Finally, I got something out of this boring trip."
***
"You and Haoran skipped school on exactly the same days," Nadya said at recess. "Are you two going together?"
Emma nodded. "We attended a conference and then visited Haoran"s mother."
Suddenly her friends became interested, and they approached Emma to ask the next gossip.
"Gosh ... So, you"ve traveled together, and you"ve also met his mother! Does this mean your relations.h.i.+p is official?" Nadya asked enthusiastically.
After they resolved the problem between Haoran, Emma, and Mary last year, the relations.h.i.+p between the girls had improved. Mary had now managed to forget her feelings for Haoran and focus on school. Nadya, her best friend, was also no longer upset with Haoran and Emma. Their relations.h.i.+p was fine now.
"Hm ... you could say that," Emma said with a thin smile. She glanced at Haoran at the end of the cla.s.s. The young man suddenly sneezed.
Haoran turned to her and raised his eyebrows to ask if Emma and her friends gossiped about him.
"It is okay. This is just a conversation between women, "said the girl and waved her hand so that Haoran was not curious.
"Wow ... how exciting. It looks like your relations.h.i.+p will be smooth. If that"s the case, then, we will nominate you to become the prom queen and king ... If you win, you have to treat us to dinner!"
The Prom King and Queen? When?" Emma asked in surprise. She recalled that there were preparations to hold the event, but she was not sure when the event would take place.
"Next week!" said Nadya excitedly.