Chapter 46: Birthday Plans

When Emma arrived, Haoran and his friends were swimming in the large swimming pool on the side of the mansion. They had come from school two hours ago and while waiting for Emma, they decided to have fun by swimming.

Singapore weather was the hottest in July, perfect for spending some time playing with water. Emma suddenly felt fresh just by looking at the clear water in the pool. When they saw Emma arrive, the young men immediately called her to join them.

"Hey .. Emma, why don't we skip the lesson today... and just swim," exclaimed Alex. "Aren't you feeling hot? Let's swim with us ... and whoa... hmph ... humph ..."

Alex couldn't finish his words because Haoran had pulled him underwater and held him there for a whole minute while Alex gasped in shock.

When Alex got away from Haoran, he hit his friend's shoulder with an annoyed expression.

"Hey!! You're cheating ... If you want to drown me, you should have given me a warning," he grumbled.

"Don't you dare ask Emma to swim with you," Haoran muttered under his breath.

Only then did Alex realized his mistake. He immediately burst into laughter. Alex realized that Haoran was acting possessive by stopping his friends from seeing Emma's body in a bathing suit.

Alex's mood became very light after he laughed at Haoran and did not continue his nagging. He just got out of the pool, put on his bathrobe, and walked over to Emma, who had stood at the edge of the swimming pool and watched them.

"I'm not here to tutor," Emma commented. She sat by the pool and down her legs in the water. "Haoran told me to come to see the antenna installed, together with the radio equipment for the Moon Bounce project."

"Ahh ... the project," commented Alex. "Very interesting! Did the equipment arrive?"

"Yes, they did," Haoran answered. He also got out of the pool and then washed under the outdoor shower located next to the pool. The outdoor shower was installed against a green and beautiful garden as the background, and it looked lovely because the design matched the nature. People would be reminded of one of those typical outdoor showers at resorts on the island of Bali.

For a moment, Emma was amazed to see Haoran washing under the shower against the beautiful landscape. This was the first time she saw the young man's body wearing only a board short.

Because he was older than his friends, Haoran's body was more chiseled than theirs. Even Eric, who had the most muscular body and looked older compared to his friends, didn't look as good as Haoran with his tall, slender body. As he stood there drenched with water from the shower, his chiseled body became a feast to the eyes.

Ah, of course... Haoran loved working out, and he swam almost every day. No wonder, he would look so fit, Emma complimented inwardly. Subconsciously the girl swallowed and looked away at Alex, who apparently was catching her watching Haoran.

"What is in your mind? You must be thinking perverted things about Haoran," Alex teased her, and laughed so hard.

"Iisshhh..."

Emma just rolled her eyes and walked away, leaving Alex to go inside the mansion. Ms. Chang, Haoran's housekeeper, who saw her arrived immediately, greeted her politely.

"Hi, Miss. Would you like some cold juice or tea?" she asked her.

"Just cold tea, please, Ms. Chang," Emma said to the housekeeper in a polite manner. Ms. Chang nodded and returned shortly after with a tray containing a large pot of cold tea, sliced fruits in a large bowl, and several cups for them. She placed the tray in the living room table.

Haoran entered the living room with a towel wrapped around his waist. He greeted Emma and then hurried up to the second floor, to his room to change clothes. Eric, Dinh, and David appeared shortly after, already wearing fresh clothes with towels on their heads. Their hair was still wet.

They happily sat around the table and enjoy the sliced fruits and cold tea that Ms. Chang served for them and discuss their activities today.

"I don't know if I will be able to keep up with summer classes until it's over," David complained. "If it wasn't for the car that my father promised me, I would have run off to Thailand with my brother. He is having fun there now without meeee...."

Emma immediately remembered Haoran saying that David would soon have his 18th birthday. She then asked them all their birthdays so she could write down the dates and greet them happy birthdays.

"Oh ... my birthday is this Friday," David said happily. "I'll bring drinks here. We can have fun after tutoring."

They still study with Emma every Wednesday and Friday, which means David's 18th birthday will be celebrated at Haoran's place after they finish with their lessons.

"Ah, how exciting!" said Alex enthusiastically. "I'll bring fireworks."

Emma nodded. She opened her cellphone and typed in David's birthday, July 7, on her calendar. She then turned to Alex and asked for his birthday.

"What about you, when is your birthday?" she asked.

"Oh .. me? I was born on December 31. Haoran was born on August 1," answered Alex.

Emma just rolled her eyes when she heard Alex voluntarily mention Haoran's birthday, even though Emma didn't ask for it.

"What about Dinh? Eric?" She raised an eyebrow and looked at the two boys.

"Ahhh ... Emma is so caring. My birthday is on October 2," Dinh replied as he picked a large mango slice and devoured it.

"My birthday is also in December, before Alex," Eric answered. "10th."

Emma realized that she was the youngest of them. She looked at the calendar on her cellphone and nodded. She would not forget their birthdays and send them birthday greetings.

"Hey, I heard you guys talking about birthdays," suddenly Haoran's voice came from the stairs. They all turned to him and found the young man coming down from the second floor in casual clothes. He slid off the banister and immediately joined them around the table. "David wants to celebrate his birthday here? Why don't you all stay the night together? There are plenty of empty rooms here. We can party all night if necessary."

David exchanged glances with his friends. They liked Haoran's idea.

"I like that ... My father is currently overseas, handling cases in Hong Kong. My mother would let me stay here if I asked her," David said eagerly. "We can party all night. I'll bring drinks, fireworks, and some games."

Haoran turned to Emma and looked at her with a sweet smile. "Do you want to come? We can try to do a Moon Bounce as well. All the equipment should have arrived before Friday."

Instantly Emma's face lit up. "Yes, I do."

The five young men cheered.

"Great! It will be fun!" Alex exclaimed excitedly. "This is quite last minute, but I will ask for my mother's permission. She will say yes."

"I will tell my father that we stay together to do some school projects ... ahaha ... it should be okay," Dinh replied. All the fruit slices in the large bowl were now gone, moved to his stomach.

"Since all of you come, then I'll come too," Eric shrugged.

They became excited about discussing their party on Friday. Emma had never 'partied' before, but seeing their enthusiasm, she could imagine that it must be really fun. Besides, she really liked hanging out with the five boys.

"Excuse me, Young master ... The fixers are here," said Ms. Chang suddenly. She entered the room and told Haoran that the antenna fixer had arrived. "I invited them in, and now they are waiting in the garage where we store the equipment."

"Ah ... they're here. Let's help them carry the boxes to the backyard," Haoran said to his friends. "The equipment is quite large."

"You guys go ahead.. ahahaha. I need to shower and change," said Alex who just realized he was still wearing his bathrobe. He quickly disappeared while the others followed Haoran eagerly to the garage.

It was there that the packages containing the equipment he ordered were stored. They had heard a bit about this Moon Bounce project from Haoran and were curious to know how it worked.