"Stardust! You're here."

As she heard Haoran's voice came from a distance, Emma woke up from her reverie. The young man's voice was filled with concern while panting because he had rushed from Trocadero to the tower. Not long after, the owner of the voice arrived and quickly hugged Emma by the shoulders.

"Gosh, I didn't know you sleepwalk. I was worried sick," he grumbled in a tone filled with relief. Emma's very happy to hear his voice, so the girl spontaneously hugged him back.

"Haoran, today's my birthday," the girl whispered. "Don't you want to wish me a happy birthday?"

"Oh, is that so? I'm sorry, I didn't know." Haoran let go of Emma and looked at her attentively. "Happy birthday."

Emma nodded. "Thank you."

"You made me worried because I couldn't find you. After the lights went out, there's a sudden commotion from the street. Rumors spread saying this blackout was a terrorist attack. Everyone was told to immediately gather in the lobby, but you're the only one who didn't show up"—Haoran touched her hair—"that's why I became distraught."

"Is there really a terrorist attack?" Emma asked, pretending to be scared. "I don't know what happened to me. I think I was sleepwalking. I don't know why I'm in the Eiffel Tower."

"It's a baseless rumor. If it's really a terrorist attack, we would have known it by now. It might just be an ordinary blackout; it just happened to be a bad one." Haoran shrugged. "Anyway, I'm glad you're safe. We better go back now. Madame Delaval and Monsieur Thomas must be looking for us."

Emma nodded. "Come on."

Haoran grabbed her hand and led her across the park next to the Eiffel Tower to the street and hailed a taxi. Ten minutes later, the two of them walked into the lobby of the Nobel Hotel.

"What's my room number?" Emma asked as they stepped into the elevator. She saw Haoran pressing the button to the 10th floor. Did this mean that their rooms were on the same floor?

"Tonight, you'll sleep in my room, so I can watch over you. I can't risk you sleepwalking again and wandering around alone," the young man answered firmly.

Emma stared at Haoran without blinking. She's trying to figure out if Haoran was joking, or if he's deliberately taking advantage of her. However, there weren't any whatsoever signs of those in his eyes. Haoran appeared sincere with his words to take care of Emma.

'I don't actually sleepwalk,' Emma thought to herself. She had lied to Haoran, but the young man took her words seriously. She didn't know how to convince him that she's fine without admitting that she lied.

In the end, though, she sighed in resignation. Ah, maybe it's good to sleep near Haoran tonight. She might be able to ask him about what had happened during the last two days. The last thing she could remember was replying to his text at school. And then—what happened?

"Haoran..." Emma called the boy's name as soon as the elevator rang and opened on the 10th floor.

"Hmm?" Haoran only turned to her and signaled Emma to follow him. The girl nodded. They walked side by side and stopped in front of door number 1015, which was located at the very end of the corridor. Haoran opened the door and invited the girl inside. "Let's talk inside."

As soon as they stepped into the place, Emma was amazed by Haoran's hotel room. He didn't book a standard room, but a spacious luxury suite. Ahh... that's right. How could she have forgotten that Haoran's the son of the fifth most affluent person in Asia?

"You're not staying in a standard room?" Still, Emma felt compelled to ask. Haoran frowned and tapped her forehead softly.

"You already knew this. How can you forget?" he asked, astonished.

Emma was about to say she couldn't remember anything that had taken place for the past two days but changed her mind. She didn't know how to explain it to Haoran. This was why she could only shrug.

"I don't remember. That's all." She stared at him for a long time, and suddenly realized something.

She couldn't hear those voices. After she reunited with Haoran, she no longer heard the thoughts of those around her unlike when the blackout had occurred. Was that ability only a temporal one? Or was Haoran's presence blocking those voices? She also realized that she couldn't read his mind.

Ahh... everything's so confusing. There were so many questions raging in her mind, but she didn't know the answers. How nice it would be to meet her parents and ask them everything.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Haoran asked after closing the door. He watched as she stared at him in a strange manner. "Is there something on my face?"

The girl shook her head. "No. I'm just confused. There are some things I can't remember."

Haoran nodded. "Maybe it's because you were sleepwalking. You'd better rest now, and we'll talk again tomorrow. I'll tell you everything you want to know. Now go to sleep. It's almost two in the morning."

Emma glanced around the suite and noticed that in the spacious suite, there was one bedroom, a nice bathroom, a large living room with a comfortable sofa, a sitting room, and even a dining room.

Crazy! This place was even bigger than Grandma Lin's whole apartment.

She nodded and walked toward the couch where she planned to lie down. Emma said while throwing herself on the sofa. "Alright, let's go to sleep now."

"What are you doing there?" He asked in bewilderment. "You'll sleep in the room. I'll be on the sofa."

"Eh? You should be in the bedroom. This is YOUR suite. I'll sleep on the couch. Look, the sofa is big and soft," Emma commented.

Haoran pulled her hand and led her into his room. "It's pointless for you to sleep in the living room. What if you sleepwalk again, how will I know?"

'I actually don't sleepwalk,' complained the girl inwardly.

Unfortunately, she had kept the lie for some time now that it'd be difficult to take it back. After all, she didn't want Haoran to think she's a liar.

The two argued for a few more minutes until she finally complied and laid down on the bed in Haoran's room. The young man was satisfied with the result and covered her with a blanket. Once everything was settled, Haoran went out of his room to sleep on the couch in the living room.

"Good night," Emma softly said before Haoran closed the door behind him. He simply nodded and smiled.

Emma though couldn't sleep; she's trying hard to remember what had happened in the past two days. However, even after more than an hour had passed, she didn't succeed, leaving her with no choice but to give up.

She hoped that once she had fallen asleep, she'd be able to dream of her parents. Somehow, despite not remembering the past two days, Emma felt elated because she finally managed to remember their faces.

***

Emma opened her eyes at eight o'clock in the morning. Woken up by Haoran who seemed to be rummaging the closet for clothes.

"Eh, did I wake you up? Sorry, I just came in to get some clothes," the young man apologized. "Today's program starts at 10 AM. We'll visit the Louvre Museum. What time do you want to go down for breakfast?"

Emma shook her head. "I don't know."

"How about 9 AM?" Haoran. "After breakfast, we can immediately join the other students in the lobby."

The girl got out of bed. "Sure. Then I'll head to my room now and get ready. Do you know what room I am in?"

Haoran nodded. "You're in room 512."

Emma searched her pockets trying to find the room key, but she couldn't find it.

"My key is gone," complained the girl.

"Wait here," Haoran said. He went to the phone sitting on the bedside table and called the receptionist. He spoke briefly about Emma having lost the key and asked the hotel to send staff with a new key to his suite. The staff on the other end of the phone immediately agreed. Haoran then hung up.

"That sounded very easy," said Emma. "I thought if I lost the room key, the hotel would fine me."

Haoran shook his head. "There's no way they would dare fine you. If they did, I'll buy this hotel and fire the staff who asked for money from you."

Emma looked at Haoran with a pair of rounded eyes. "What are you talking about? Don't joke around too much."

He only shrugged and smiled.

Five minutes later, the door knocked, and a hotel staff handed over a room key for Emma. The girl was simply amazed at how convenient life was for the son of the fifth most affluent family in Asia. Whatever he wanted, he could obtain easily.

"Thank you, Haoran. Ah—how can I be so lucky to be friends with you?" asked the girl with a wide smile on her face after receiving the key from the young man's hand. "I'll go to my room now. See you at the restaurant for breakfast."

"See you later!"

Emma exited Haoran's suite and entered the elevator. She pressed the button for the 5th floor. Ten minutes later, she arrived in her room, washed up, got dressed, and be ready before finally heading out.

At exactly nine o'clock, the two met again at the hotel's restaurant for breakfast.