Emma rubbed her welling eyes with her sleeve and sat in her chair. She hadn't cried for her parents for a long time; she knew crying would accomplish nothing.
Her priority had always been finding ways to return to France and search for her parents' tracks, and she didn't expect to see a poster about a study trip to Paris on her first day living away from the orphanage, which would wrench her heart like this. So just like that, Emma's deep longing for her parents struck her.
Emma tried to suppress her feelings and focus her attention on the topic being taught by Mrs. Wen. Her homeroom teacher was responsible for Mathematics. And although this wasn't her favorite subject, she never had any difficulty understanding it.
Hour after hour passed so slowly. Finally, recess time came, and some students who were curious about Emma approached her to get acquainted with her.
Most male students seemed attracted by her beauty, while the female students were just trying to be polite. Emma didn't want to make a pointless small talk, so she immediately asked about the study trip to Paris.
"Oh... that's a special trip organized by the French teacher. It's meant for students to practice their French. It's not compulsory; only those who want it. After all, it's quite costly. Only rich students could go. They don't actually go to Paris to practice language but to merely shop around and travel," Mary explained.
Emma instantly became disappointed. She thought the study trip was part of the school's main program, and all the students would go. But since this was an extracurricular program, it meant that she wouldn't be able to ask the government to pay for her.
"How much does it cost to join?" Emma asked, trying to hold back her disappointment so that her voice didn't sound bitter.
"About two thousand dollars," answered Nadya, the girl with glasses who sat at the desk next to Emma. "Only five people are going from our class, including me."
Emma could only swallow and nod. "Thank you. Excuse me."
Emma rose from her chair and rushed outside to hide her uneasiness. She wasn't 17 years old yet, so she didn't have a way to find a job. She couldn't think of a way to make that amount of money in a short period of time.
She had planned to give private tutoring to make extra money to support herself, but how on earth she would make enough in such a short amount of time to pay for the trip?
Emma walked in the corridor with a heavy heart. Her murky face made her classmates think the girl was arrogant and didn't want to hang out with them.
"Hey, you! Wait a minute!" Bianca caught up to Emma and patted her shoulder. "Mrs. Wen asked me to take you around the school and explain the things you need to know."
Emma turned and stopped walking. "Okay."
"I am Bianca. Why did you transfer school?" Bianca asked as she reached for a shake. Emma shook the girl's hand reluctantly.
"Mrs. Wen already said I moved house," Emma answered curtly. She didn't like Bianca. From the very beginning, this class president looked at her with contempt, reminding her of Mabel.
"I see. You don't have to answer angrily. I was just curious." Bianca shrugged her shoulders and waved to Emma. "I'll take you around. Follow me."
Emma nonchalantly walked behind her as Bianca headed toward the end of the corridor, the staircase down to the first floor.
"Maybe you don't know yet, but Class A students are the smartest students in this school. Followed by Class B, C, and so on. The kids in Class F are the dumbest students and troublemakers." Bianca explained. She then pointed to the last classroom. "You won't want to hang out with them."
Her last sentence referred to a group of students who were loitering around in front of class 2F.
"Hey, Stardust!" A familiar voice came from the direction of those said students.
Emma squinted her eyes to see properly who had called her name just now.
'Ah... It's Haoran. He was in class F?' she thought.
The young man rose from his seat. He had been chatting with a few of his friends, but when he had spotted Emma, he smiled broadly at her direction.
"Do you know each other?" Bianca turned to Emma.
"Yes." She moved away from Bianca as Emma thought of something. "Thanks, but I don't need you to show me around anymore. I want to talk to Haoran."
She walked over to Haoran, pulled his hand, and headed down the first floor. Bianca and the students from class F were left behind, staring at their backs. They were all astonished by the scene.
A moment later, the students from class F cheered for Haoran and Emma while Bianca pursed her lips, wearing an angry expression.
Bianca didn't expect this new student to be that shameless. Instead of being grateful because she was willing to take her around and explain everything about this school, the girl acted in a vulgar manner by grabbing a class F student and walking away with him, hand in hand.
"Wow... I didn't know you missed me that much," Haoran commented in a mischievous voice.
He smiled broadly because Emma had held his hand in front of many people. Rumors were already circulating that a fairy had arrived in St. Catherine High School today. That was Emma, and her action must have made so many boys jealous of him.
"I don't miss you, stupid," the girl replied. She brought Haoran to a quiet place, around the corner of the school building, and let go of his hand. "I need your help. I've paid for your service in advance by holding your hand just now, so you can't say no."
"Eh?" Haoran was stunned by Emma's words. He was joking about that earlier but now he didn't bother correcting Emma. He only nodded with a grin.
'This girl truly isn't the shy type,' Haoran thought. He then said, "Alright, what can I do for you?"
"I need money, 2,000 dollars," Emma said in a whisper.
The young man looked at the girl in confusion. His brows furrowed as he tried to make sense of the girl's request. "You... want to sell your body to me?!"
