《Finding Stardust》Chapter 15 - Haoran's Room
Advertisement
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 obeyed. 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.
Advertisement
"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?"
Advertisement
'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 at 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 a 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 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 ready before finally heading out.
At exactly nine o'clock, the two met again at the hotel's restaurant for breakfast.
Advertisement
Old Riding Author Lunatic Asylum
Just off the A19, in the dark, incomprehensible lands known as Yorkshire, there lies a town. A town where shadow-silent alleys glint with the secret hunger of knives. Where blood soaks the chipboard window shutters of forsaken terraces stretching off into the night. Where the smog-choked air rattles with the depraved laughter echoing out from clubs that can only generously be described as post-apocalyptic. Well, that’s Middlesbrough. But down the A19 a bit (an impossibly long way down, actually) there lies another town: Raughnen, in the ancient, forgotten Old Riding. It is an equal match in muggery and thuggery alike. It also has magic spells and pointy wizard hats. And now, across the miles and across all sensibilities, a pretty nasty power (a magic one) calls out for its pretty nasty counterpart (a decidedly unmagic one): a proper sound Boro lad. Nothing good can come of it. This is a collection of one novella and four connected short stories: I. A Yorkshire Summoning II. Old Riding Day Trip (the novella) III. Heaven is a Parmo IV. Death on the 66 V. Death on the 257 In total, this comprises 34 chapters totalling around 35,000 words, so try not to worry. It will be over relatively quickly. There are three more short stories with more tenuous links to the core collection: Rush, Paper Round and Scenario 79: Sausage Fingers, all of which can be found in my collection Short Records of Misadventure. Reading these may allow you to make more sense of certain parts of the story, if any sense is to be made at all. NOTE: There are instances of prejudice and discrimination within these stories, including elements of sexism and ageism, which are purely the thoughts and actions of the characters involved and which certainly do not reflect my own views on these matters. ANOTHER NOTE; A WARNING, PERHAPS: This can get a bit weird. In less than 150 pages, we have four viewpoints, first and third person narratives, and a completely disjointed plot with lots of gaps, dead ends and no real resolution. Also ZERO lunatic asylums. It's all a bit odd. If that sort of thing isn't your cup of tea, which it most likely isn't, it might be best to move on now.
8 190Reverie
Natalin thought that being a champion of the gods was supposed to make things easier. It turns out, life isn’t that simple. For centuries, the four gods that rule the land have each chosen a hero, a mage-warrior to act as eyes and hands in the world. Gifted with their Divine’s blessing, these Ascended and their successors have worked for centuries to ensure the land stays at peace. As the new Tideborn, the disciple of the sea god Efren, Natalin is expected to follow in their footsteps. Her counterpart Takio finds himself in the same boat, tasked with keeping his volcano goddess patron in check. The demands placed on them are immense, but together with their nations, they’ve managed to keep the peace. Until the crops and grasslands begin failing, sending Takio’s mountainous nomads careening towards war. Natalin’s shores fall under siege, destroying the seabound trade routes that keep their nations flourishing. When the very safety of the four champions is threatened by the growing chaos, Natalin and Takio realize the truth - their Divine favor won’t protect them. And there’s more at play in their ‘peaceful’ world than they’d thought. Cover art by Rin! Check out her work!
8 254The Red Saint
Gabriel is an orphan who wants to be a doctor to help other people with his knowledge.One day when he walked toward his apartment, He died that day because of some accident he doesn't know.His journey is not to stop there as he wakes up afterward.
8 215Vindicated
Noboru was isekai'd along with his friends but there's just one problem... He's not a hero? Can he survive in this new world? Or will the evil powers lurking around be the end of him?
8 110BNHA Truth or Dare
1-A decides to have a sleepover at Momo's house but what happens when they play a game of 'truth or dare'? TodoDeku, MomoJirou, KiriBaku, Tsuraraka.Very GayNo SmutOnly Fluff, but swearing :PCHARACTERS NOT MINE~completed~
8 67Pantalone x GN! Reader
Y/N was a reserved god from Sumeru that kept away from mortals and other gods alike, this seemed to be the case until she crossed paths with The Regrator, Pantalone; Who seemed to be there for business related affairs.
8 183