Downtown Singapore

It’s currently 3 pm and everyone’s awake by that time. Ashley had a good sleep as she looks refreshed now. Ashley is sitting by the swimming pool. She saw the pool when they checked in and she wanted to dip her feet in the pool but she was to tired to do it when they first arrived. She’s recharged after having a good sleep and now she’s enjoying the view while her feet are submerged in the pool. Aron and Professor Murphy find her and make their way towards her. Professor Murphy tell them that he’s going out to meet some of his friends who also came to Singapore for the seminar. He tells them they could also head out to explore the city if they want to, as the conference is tomorrow morning. But he asks them to go out together, so they won’t get lost. He asks them to take care of themselves and to have fun. He leaves the two of them by the swimming pool and heads out.

“Do you wanna go out?” Ashley asks Aron.

“If there’s somewhere you want to go just tell me. I don’t want to ruin this trip for you. I can take you there,” Aron replies which makes Ashley wonder why he’s being so nice to her but she dismisses her thoughts as she also doesn’t want to ruin this trip for him.

“Okay then, there’s a place called Flower Dome and Cloud Forest. We can go there and then we can have dinner downtown,” Ashley says in excitement and Aron nods.

They go to their rooms to get ready and 20 mins later they meet outside the hotel where the taxi is already waiting for them. They hop in and they’re both looking outside, admiring the beauty of Singapore. It’s their first time in Singapore but they are already in love with it’s beauty. They arrive at their destination and head inside the Flower Dome first. Ashley and Aron are in awe seeing flowers everywhere. They saw flowers that they had never seen before. Ashley asks Aron to take her photos and he does as told. Ashley asks a person passing by to take their photo together which leaves Aron puzzled but he follows anyway. Ashley asks Aron to make a victory sign. In this moment, they look like friends. Two people who have been rivals their whole lives are now getting along. Ashley and Aron talked about flowers they’d seen before and the flowers they saw here for the very first time.

After exploring the whole Flower Dome, they decide to go to Cloud Forest next. They’re stunned to see the ethereal view in front of their eyes. They’re left speechless by the waterfalls and the greenery around them. They make their way to the top and they walk through the dome by Cloud Walk bridge. It’s so peaceful in here which makes them never want to leave this place.

It's getting dark outside but they don’t realize it as they’re busy appreciating the beauty inside. Someone told them to go see the Garden Rhapsody nearby. He told them that it was a kind of show that will leave them spellbound. So they agreed to watch it. Ashley is jumping in joy which makes Aron smile. The excitement in her eyes says it all. They head towards the Garden Rhapsody area in Gardens by the Bay. They find a nice place to sit so they can enjoy the show. The show hasn’t even started yet but Aron and Ashley are already shocked to see the splendid Supertrees. The announcement is made as the show is about to start. The Supertrees light up and opera is being played in the background. Ashley stood up as soon as the show started. She’s thrilled. Aron stands up as well as he can’t stop himself. They’ve never seen something like this before. They’ve never experienced anything like this. They have no words to explain their feelings right now. Their whole life,they were busy competing with each other and missed out on a lot of things. But in this moment, they’re purely ecstatic. Ashley can feel goosebumps all over her body. Maybe it’s the opera sound in the background or maybe it’s because of the Supertrees changing colors after every passing second. Aron saw Ashley smiling throughout the whole show. He was glad that they witnessed it together. The show ended but Ashley’s eyes were still on the Supertrees.

“Wasn’t it beautiful?” Ashley asks, still staring at the Supertrees.

“Yes. Yes it was,” Aron replies looking directly at Ashley.

After a few minutes of staring, Ashley faces Aron and tells him that she’s hungry. Aron chuckles after seeing her all pouty. Aron asks if she’s comfortable with riding a bicycle. Ashley nods as she has seen lots of people on bicycle since she got here and wanted to ride one too. Aron calls Professor Murphy to let him know of their location and that they are coming back after having dinner somewhere by the Singapore river. Professor Murphy tells them to stay safe on their way back. After the call ended, they both went to rent the bicycles. They cycled through the streets and sometimes stopped when Ashley saw something intriguing and wanted to know what it was. They find a good place to dine and have dinner. They view is amazing here as well. They can see the river and beautiful city lights all at once. After having dinner, they head towards their hotel. On their way back, they stop to have some Pandan Chiffon cake which is a famous dessert in Singapore.

They arrive at the hotel. They meet Professor Murphy there as he wanted to check if they were okay and didn’t get hurt. Professor Murphy is a sweetheart. Aron and Ashley walk to their rooms together as Professor Murphy had to sign some papers at the reception.

“Thank you for taking me there, Aron. I had so much fun today,” Ashley says smiling with her eyes and her lips. Her words make him speechless. This is the first time Ashley thanked Aron. They always bicker when they are back home but something changed tonight. Something that made Ashley feel safe around Aron. She was not mad at him nor did she doubt him this time because of her father’s words. This time Ashley saw everything in Aron with her own eyes and not through her father’s eyes.