When Edith returned to her table with Hazel, Edith was surprised upon finding that the President of MH Group was sitting at the chair that she had occupied earlier.
Neil Mo does not seem to notice them approaching him as he was engrossed in reading the books she left on the table.
"Uncle!" Hazel called once she saw the man from a distance. Though she had wanted to run over to his side, Hazel was reminded that she had promised him earlier that she will not run around.
Neil Mo raised his head when he heard his niece's sweet voice. He shut the book he was reading earlier and smiled.
Seeing that the President had stood up, Edith picked up her pace again and headed over with Hazel.
"Thank you," Neil said to the kindergarten teacher. He glanced at the books on the table and smiled. "Sorry. I had nothing to do so I browsed through your books while waiting."
Edith glanced at her books. "That's alright."
Neil then shifted his gaze to his niece. "Are you done?" He watched the little girl nodded and saw that her ponytail was tied neatly. There were no longer some loose strands and Hazel looked much cuter and tidy.
Hazel touched the tip of her ponytail and smiled. "Teacher Qian helped to tie my hair. Uncle, is it nice?"
"It's nice." Hearing his niece's words, Neil raised his head to look at the kindergarten teacher again. "Thank you." He then reached his hand to Hazel and the little girl ran to his side. "Come on Hazel. Let's not disturb your teacher. You must be hungry."
"You can sit here if you don't mind," Edith said as the uncle and niece turned around. "It's lunch hour and the place is an almost full house."
Neil looked around and saw that the table he had wanted to go to earlier was now occupied by a family. It was the weekend and most of the parents had taken this opportunity to take their children to the mall to eat and shop.
At first, Neil had wanted to go to another restaurant but knowing that the other restaurant in the mall would be full as well, Neil then hesitated. He could not let his niece starve because he wanted to find another place to eat.
Neil lowered his gaze to look at his niece and saw the way she was staring back at him in expectation. When he looked at Hazel's teacher again, the woman had already tidied the books on the table to make space for both of them.
"It's alright," Edith Qian continued when she noticed his hesitance. "I sat here alone. I don't mind some companies."
"Uncle," Hazel shook his hand. "Let's just sit here." She had heard her teacher's invitation earlier and was excited to sit with her.
Ever since Teacher Qian had consoled her the other day, Hazel found that she liked to stay around with her class teacher and the two had become closer. Previously, Hazel was very close to her mother. Now that her mother was no longer around, Edith had become the closest female figure to Hazel and she had looked up to her.
Sensing the woman's sincerity, Neil decided to accept her offer. "Thank you, Teacher Qian" He pulled a chair for Hazel, but the little girl had already run over to her teacher's side. With no other choice, Neil then sat down across Edith. He then waved a hand to the waiter and ordered a meal for himself and his niece.
Once the waiter walked away, Neil was suddenly at loss at what to do.
Although he could always ignore Hazel's teacher and do his thing, Neil was aware that he should not be rude especially since the woman had helped him earlier.
He was someone who had never go out and have a meal with someone who was not his business client or partners. But right now, he was sharing a table with both his niece and Hazel's teacher, he found himself in an awkward position.
Fortunately, Hazel was around. The little girl looked at the books that her teacher was looking at and had asked some questions.
At this time, Neil Mo suddenly found that his niece can be a talkative person. Whenever she was with him, Hazel did not talk much and would prefer to do her own thing. Looking at the two girls interacting, Neil was relieved to see that his niece was acting… normal.
A slight frown appeared on his face at the thought that his niece might be disturbing the teacher, however, Edith Qian had been answering her questions and explained things to Hazel patiently.
With absolutely no idea how he should strike a conversation, Neil looked around and paused as his eyes caught the book he was reading earlier.
"Teacher Qian, what are these books?" Hazel tilted her head as she stared at the book. Although she can read the letters, Hazel found that she did not understand the words. "These are not English?"
"No. They're French."
Hazel's eyes went wide as she continued to study the words even when she could not understand a thing.
"You were studying French?" Neil took the initiative to ask.
Edith paused as she heard his question. Though she was the one who invited the man to sit together, Edith soon found that sitting together with a man like Neil Mo can be stressful, especially because of who they were.
A well respected President Mo of MH Group was sitting together with her on the same table! How can she not find it stressful? Although that man was good looking, he always wore that stiff expression on his face.
At this time, Edith was suddenly reminded of how Lily had described Neil Mo—an emotionless robot and an iceblock!
Edith slowly looked up at the iceblock and mustered a smile. "Hmm… just to pass time."
When she was still a small kid, Edith had learned French with her mother and since then, this language was what makes her connected to her late mother. These days, with her knowledge, Edith had become a freelance translator to support her life living in the city.
"It's a good hobby," Neil commented.
At this time, the waiter came back with Neil and Hazel's lunch. Neil heaved a relieved sigh as he began to eat. Once in a while, he would glance at his niece to ensure that she was eating properly.
"Teacher Qian, my uncle said that he was going to take me to buy some clothes. Do you want to come along?" Hazel whispered as she peeked at her uncle.
"Thank you for your invitation, but I am going to meet with a friend later on."
Hazel lowered her gaze. "Oh."
Sensing the little girl's disappointment, Edith patted the little on her back and smiled. "Maybe next time, alright?"