It was Saturday morning and Edith was preparing herself to go over to her class. When she went downstairs, Hazel was having her breakfast in the dining area and Auntie Emma was preparing some breakfast.
Hazel stared at her teacher with her bright eyes and saw that she was dressed and ready to go out. "Teacher Qian, you have class this morning?"
Last night, Edith had reminded the little girl that she will not be around as she had to attend a class.
"Hmm," Edith nodded. "Today your uncle will be looking after you."
"When will you get back?"
Edith stared at the girl and a chuckle escaped her when she saw Hazel's expectant gaze. She had been staying with the uncle and niece in the house for almost a week and Hazel has become really sticky towards her recently.
Suddenly, Edith did not know how will this little girl react once the two-month contract ended.
Edith sighed and pulled Hazel into a hug before she kissed the top of her head. This little girl was too obedient and cute. Edith was sure that she too will have a hard time to part with Hazel later. Fortunately, they can still see each other at kindergarten.
"I will be back in the evening," Edith said. Her class should end around lunch hour, but she had planned to visit Lily later.
"Oh," Hazel dropped her gaze back to the bowl of porridge. She had thought that Edith's class would end sooner than that and she was planning to ask her to play with her.
Hazel was very close to her mother and having Edith around the house made her feel more at ease.
After living with Edith for a few days, Hazel was happy that she gets to learn a lot of interesting things—those things that she would never learn at her kindergarten. Edith would always fill her time with interesting activities and they both had a lot of fun.
Edith's smile curled into a helpless smile at Hazel's disappointed expression. "Tomorrow, we will visit the aquarium together and we will have a lot of fun, alright?"
The little girl's expression changed again and this time, her happiness was apparent. Watching the cute expression, Edith could not help but kiss her on the head again.
At this time, a sound of movement was heard and Edith lifted her head and saw that Neil was walking down the stairs.
"President Mo, good morning," Edith greeted.
"Good morning," Neil replied coolly. He gave Edith a look over and asked, "You are going to your class?"
"Yes," Edith nodded.
Seeing the indifferent look on his face, Edith subconsciously let out a sigh. She had thought that the President Mo who teased her with the way she was eating noodles was too strange. Perhaps, last night he was tipsy and therefore had acted differently.
"Let me give you a lift," Neil said.
"That's alright. I can walk over to the main street and grab a cab."
"It would be hard to grab a cab around this area," Neil pointed out. "Besides, I am taking Hazel out later." He walked over to Hazel and bent to her level. "Let's go and see your parents later."
"Un," Hazel quickly nodded.
A rare smile curled on Neil's face. He patted at the little girl's hair and said, "Eat your breakfast."
Once they had their breakfast, Neil drove Edith to her class before he drove to the cemetery.
Neil helped his niece off the vehicle and watched as the girl stepped carefully with two small size flower bouquet in her hand. The two of them had made a quick stop at the florist earlier and Hazel had chosen some flowers for her parents.
Hazel placed the bouquet on the grave, took a step back, and stared at the tomb in a daze. Whenever she came over to visit her parents at the weekend, Hazel would always stare at the tomb for a long time. It was as if she was afraid that she was going to forget her parents and had wanted to record how they look like in her brain.
"Don't you want to say something to them?" Neil spoke when the little girl stayed in silence for a long time. When Hazel turned to look at him, Neil pointed his hand to the corner and said, "I will head over there to call your grandmother. You can take your time to tell everything to them."
"Un," Hazel nodded obediently. She watched as her uncle walked away and turned to the tomb. The little girl took a deep breath and flashed a smile. "Mama, Papa, it's me, Hazel."
Neil turned around to glance at the little girl and a heavy sigh escaped him. His heart tugged as he listened to the girl's voice. Every time Hazel came to visit the cemetery, she would often have this expression; a smile on her face as if she was forcing herself not to cry.
Hazel was only a child and seeing her suppressing her emotion to this extend was worrying him. She was a child and should be having fun in her childhood. However, after her parents passed away, the cheerful girl was never the same again.
Although she was now able to smile and laugh happily, it was still worrying that she had tried so hard to suppress her feelings.
Neil took out his phone and dialed his mother's number. After two rings, Sophie Huang picked up the phone as if she was waiting for his call.
"You are at the cemetery?" Sophie asked.
"Hmm," Neil nodded. "Hazel is talking to her parents."
Sophie let out a long sigh. "How is Hazel?"
"She is doing well," Neil said. He thought of the recent change in the little girl and smiled. "Mom, perhaps hiring Teacher Qian and letting her live with Hazel was the right thing decision. Recently, Hazel has been showing a lot more expression and has been smiling and laughing a lot more. It seemed that she really liked having Teacher Qian around the house."
Hearing his words, Sophie felt a bit at ease. "That is good. However, you must remember not to rely too much on Teacher Qian. She will not stay by your side and help you forever. You are Hazel's uncle. Since you have volunteered to look after Hazel, you have to do it properly. Don't forget to bond more with her."
This was the weekly routine for the two of them. Hazel would talk to her parents and report everything about what was going on with her life, while Neil would stand at the side to report of his new living arrangement with Hazel to his mother.
"Mom, I have asked Teacher Qian to help me with bonding with Hazel and she had agreed," Neil reported. "Tomorrow, I will take Hazel to the aquarium and spend more time with her.."