Mike Qian shifted his gaze between his granddaughter and the newcomers. Seeing how his granddaughter had such a big reaction upon seeing the little girl, he was suddenly curious about them.
At this time, Edith Qian was staring at the two in a daze.
Mike Qian nudged at his granddaughter's side and raised a brow, silently asking her if she knew the two strangers before them.
"We came here to buy some noodle," Hazel answered as she glanced at her uncle.
A moment ago, her uncle had told her that he was going to stop by at the noodle stall and buy some for her grandparents. It was the first time for her to come over the noodle stall and was curious about the place.
As she looked around, Hazel Mo was surprised when she saw that her teacher was eating noodles with a few grandfathers. She could not help but call out her teacher. But who would have thought that her teacher would be surprised and had almost choked on her noodle?
Edith swallowed as she looked at the two people in front of her. Her gaze shifted to the tall man and suddenly, Edith did not know how to act before them.
Since she was back in the countryside, Edith had long let go of herself and forgotten her gentle way when she was interacting with her kindergarten students.
Just now... both President Mo and Hazel probably had seen the way she was eating her noodles. She had her right legs propped on her left and she knew that she was slurping loudly.
Edith was worried if she had ruined her image. At this time, she was embarrassed that she wanted to bury herself in the ground.
"Teacher Qian, you came here to eat noodles too?" Hazel asked when she saw that her teacher was staring back at her in a daze.
"Teacher Qian?" George Bei repeated. He glanced at the grandfather and granddaughter pair beside him and smiled at the little girl. "Little girl, who did you call Teacher Qian?"
"Grandpa George. This is my student," Edith said in a low voice.
"Your student?" George Bei frowned. "You mean, from the city?"
"Hmm," Edith nodded.
"It turns out that you are my granddaughter's student," Mike Qian had a bright smile on his face. "Hello. Little girl, what is your name?"
"Hello grandpa," Hazel greeted. "My name is Hazel Mo."
"Oh, she's very well behaved," Mike Qian nodded. He lifted his gaze to the tall man beside the girl and smiled. "You must be the father." His smile froze when he suddenly felt his granddaughter tugging at his shirt. He gave a questioning look at her and saw that his granddaughter shook her head at him.
"Grandpa, you're wrong," Hazel spoke. "This is my uncle."
"Hello," Neil took the initiative to greet the elderly. Then he turned to Edith and smiled. "It turns out that Teacher Qian is from Z Town. Hazel's grandparents stayed in the west part of the town. We came to visit them."
It was then that Edith seemed to remember that she had heard that Chairman Mo was staying in the countryside due to his health problem. If her guess was right, then, Chairman Mo and his wife should be staying in the west part of the town. There were a few luxury private residences in the area and during the weekend, some rich families would come over to stay there.
In fact, her friend, Lily Zhao had a residence in the area as well. It was at this town that she had run into this friend and they became closer.
"How is Chairman Mo's condition?" Edith asked.
"He's recuperating well," Neil said. "It seemed that this town's environment is good for him."
Mike Qian frowned when he noticed that his granddaughter's polite attitude. Earlier, when she came to find him, his granddaughter still had her gangster attitude. It still gave him a shiver whenever he recalled the way his granddaughter had appeared earlier. She was too fierce!
"Young man, here's your noodles," Old Chen spoke as he put the bag on the table. "Since you're very familiar with Edith, I added in a few more slices of meat."
Neil looked at the old man and smiled. "Thank you." He then turned to his niece and stretched his hand. "Hazel, let's go. Grandma is waiting for you."
The little girl nodded. She put her hand in her uncle's and paused. "Teacher Qian, my grandma promised me to take me to the beach. Later, you can come over and play together with me."
Edith bent down to look at her student. "Hazel, you like to play at the beach?"
"En." Hazel nodded. The smile on her face widened.
"The beach on the west side of this town isn't as safe and beautiful as the one on the east side. Well, if you like it, I can take you to a good spot." Edith paused when he saw that the girl was looking at her uncle. She followed Hazel's gaze and saw that Neil Mo was looking at her. Seeing the man's gaze on her, Edith pushed a few strands of hair behind her ear and flashed him an awkward smile.
She had momentarily forgotten that Hazel still need her guardian's permission to come out and play!
Neil was about to say something when he felt Hazel gripping at his hand. He turned to his niece and the words he wanted to say suddenly disappeared.
He came to Z Town because his parents were missing their granddaughter. Other than staying at the mansion, Neil did not have any plan to go anywhere.
However, seeing the expectant look on the little girl's face, Neil did not have the heart to reject her teacher's invitation. It was not every day that Hazel would have this look on her face.
Neil was always worried that Hazel was forced to grow up too fast after she had lost her parents. But at this time, Hazel had that rare expression that made him remember that she was still a five years old kid.
"Do you want to go?" Neil asked his niece.
Hazel's eyes sparkled. She nodded vigorously and stopped herself. "Can I?"
Neil looked at Edith and spoke, "Well, if your teacher's offer still stands, then sure."
Edith looked at the uncle and niece back and forth before she finally stopped at Hazel. "If you want to go, then I will wait for you here later." She turned to Neil and continued. "How about around five? The weather isn't too hot."
"Alright." Neil agreed.