Hazel woke up early in the morning and was unable to conceal the excitement on her face. Last night she was unable to fall asleep at the thought of visiting the aquarium. The last time she went to an aquarium, she was still a toddler and had no recollection about it.
After taking a shower and getting dressed up, Hazel went downstairs and waited for the grownups to come down. The moment she saw Auntie Emma in the kitchen, Hazel greeted her enthusiastically before she sat down at the dining area to eat her breakfast.
Her gaze darted towards the stairs when she heard a movement.
"Teacher Qian, good morning," Hazel greeted.
Edith smiled upon noticing the bright smile on the girl's face and knew how much Hazel has been looking forward to this trip ever since she mentioned it for the first time.
"After you had your breakfast, let me help you to comb your hair, alright? Which style do you like?"
"Teacher Qian, please help me and do twin tails."
When Neil Mo walked down the stairs, the little girl ran to his side, moved her head left to right, and smiled brightly. He stared at the little girl and noticed that there was something different from her.
"Uncle, look at this," Hazel said. "Teacher Qian helped me to do twin tails." Her hair was styled into high twin tails with soft curls. Then, her teacher had helped her to put on her cute starfish hair clip at the side. She had looked into the mirror and was very satisfied with her look.
The three of them hopped into the vehicle and Neil drove over to the aquarium. Although this aquarium was one of the projects that the MH Group was involved in, this was actually Neil's first time to step into the building.
Assistant Shawn was already waiting for them at the car park. With his qualification and experiences, Assistant Shawn was someone who was charged with a lot of important documents and decisions for the President. However, he was forced to come over and accompany his boss to walk around the aquarium on his off day.
Putting on the best smile on his face, Assistant Shawn greeted his boss and looked at Hazel. "Young Miss, you're looking especially cute today."
Beaming, Hazel then hid behind Edith and looked at the Assistant shyly. "Thank you."
Sensing that someone was staring at him, Assistant Shawn turned around and saw that his boss was staring at him as if warning not to get close to his niece. Assistant Shawn cleared his throat and took out the tickets that he had kept in his pocket. "President Mo, your tickets. You can use the express lane and the VVIP area."
Edith turned to look at the ticketing counter and was surprised to see the long queue.
It was then that she recalled that the aquarium would be crowded with people during the weekend. She turned to Neil and sighed. "Fortunately, you have booked our tickets. Or else, we will have to join in the long queue."
A thought crossed her mind, and Edith bent to Hazel's level and spoke, "Later when we're inside there will be a lot of people, so you have to hold on to your uncle's hand tightly, alright?"
"Un," Hazel nodded, although she wondered if she could hold on to her teacher's hand instead.
Edith smiled upon noticing the girl's hesitant look. "Your uncle is taller and you would be able to walk around easily with him around. You will be much safer with him."
Neil heard her words and wondered if this was her way to help him get close to Hazel. He had asked for her help a few days ago and she had agreed to help him.
"If you need to visit the restroom, you have to tell us, understand?"
Hazel nodded again. "Understand."
"Don't run around and stay close. If you see something that might interest you, you have to tell your uncle before you head over to the place."
"I know."
Edith patted at the little girl's shoulder and smiled. "Alright. Let's go."
Hazel walked over to her uncle and held his hand tightly before the three of them followed Assistant Shawn towards the express lane.
There were ten minutes left before the aquarium will be opened to the public, but because of his identity, Neil was granted an early entry.
A few employees who recognized Neil and his assistant did a double-take. Their eyes went to the little girl who was holding on to Neil's hand tightly and finally stopped at Edith. Their curiosity peaked and they started to whisper to each other. However, this curiosity was quickly killed once they noticed their manager's warning gaze.
They were working at the express lane and should know to keep their mouth shut with the VVIP around.
An employee finally snapped out of her trance and stepped forward to hand them some brochures from the aquarium. Edith studied the map and the time table.
"There will be an animal show in an hour," Edith spoke absentmindedly.
Hazel turned around. "What animal show?"
"Sea lions." Edith looked at Hazel and asked, "Would you like to go and see? If you're lucky you might be able to touch them."
Hazel turned to her uncle and gave him a pleading look. "Can we go?"
"Of course we can," Neil answered before he turned to his assistant again.
"President Mo, I have reserved a special seat for the three of you." Assistant Shawn smiled. "I recommend you to have lunch at the aquarium cafe," Assistant Shawn continued. "Young Miss Hazel will enjoy having her lunch surrounded by those colorful fish."
Neil glanced at Edith as if asking for her opinion and nodded. "We'll follow your arrangement.
Assistant Shawn let out a breath of relief. Fortunately, he had asked around and talked to the manager that President Mo will be coming over and the manager had recommended to Assistant Shawn about the activities they can do in the aquarium.
The four of them walked into a humongous shark mouth at the entrance of the aquarium.
"Hold on," Edith spoke out quickly, causing the three others to look at her inquiringly.
Edith looked at Neil and continued, "Since there is no one else, how about if I help you to snap a few pictures together. Usually, there will be too many people gathering at the entrance to take pictures. This is a rare occasion."
Assistant Shawn turned to his boss. "President Mo, I will take a few pictures together. I'm sure the Chairman and Mrs. Mo would love to see pictures of Hazel."
Neil thought over their suggestion and nodded. "Alright." He looked at Hazel and spoke, "Let's take a few pictures first."
Just like that, Hazel was staring at the camera with an adorable look, however, the iceblock beside her was ruining this portrait.
Edith looked at her phone screen and let out a small sigh. "President Mo," She waved her hand and instructed, "Get down."
Hearing her instruction, Assistant Shawn turned to Edith with horror. Although he understood Edith's intention to let them the uncle and niece have a nice picture together, it was the first time that he had seen anyone giving an instruction this way to President Mo.
Suddenly, Assistant Shawn was scared that Neil might be upset and spoke a few harsh words towards this fearless teacher.
However, what Assistant Shawn was expecting did not happen. His mouth gaped open as he watched his boss crouched down beside his niece.
"Like this?" Neil asked.
"Un. Un," Edith nodded as she lifted her phone again. "Hold Hazel closer. And smile."