As the bus pulled at the bus stop and a few passengers were seen getting off the vehicle.
Edith Qian was the last person who was seen getting off at the stop. She pulled at the straps of her bag, adjusted her blouse, and checked at the time. A breath of relief escaped her, realizing that she had arrived on time.
Last night, Neil Mo had asked her to accompany him and Hazel to the mall after her class. The little girl wanted to have a meal together and play around and Edith had no way to decline her once Hazel launched her puppy dog eyes on her.
To make it convenient for them, Edith had volunteered to head over to MH Group after class and meet the uncle and niece both in the lobby.
The mall they were going to was somewhere close to MH Group Headquarters. It would be a waste of time for Neil to have someone to pick her up at her school and brought her over to the company. Anyway, Edith was aware that Neil would often stay at the company to deal with his work matter even on Saturday.
From the bus stop, Edith would have to walk for less than ten minutes to arrive at the headquarters. Seeing that she had almost reached the place, Edith took out her phone and texted Neil that she was about to arrive.
Just as she pressed the sent button, the phone in her hand vibrated and her grandfather's name popped up on the screen. Her lips curled into a smile and Edith slide her finger on the screen.
"Grandpa, what is it? Are you going to tell me that you are going on another fishing trip?" Edith spoke as soon as the line was connected.
Mike Qian coughed out as his granddaughter had perfectly guess at his reason for calling. "What are you saying? Can't I give my favorite granddaughter a call and check on her?"
Edith rolled her eyes. What favorite granddaughter? She was his only granddaughter, alright?
"Are you outside?" Mike asked as he heard the background noise.
"Hmm, I finished my class a while ago and now I'm heading to the city to shop around."
There was a brief silence on Mike Qian's part. He knew that his granddaughter has been taking French lessons and knew her reason. As Mike thought of his deceased daughter again, a brief pain stabbed at his heart.
"I don't understand why you want to learn that language," Mike muttered and heard her laugh.
"My mom was proficient in French and I want to be as good as her."
"It's fine if you're learning it. But I don't want you to have a job like your mother," Mike said. "That kind of job would require you to travel around the world for a long time. I just did not want you to stay too far away from me."
"Grandpa, you won't let me find a job in town and instead throw me to the city. You still said that you did not want to stay too far away from me."
"This is different. You're a good girl and I did not want you to waste your future in this small town," Mike said. "Anyway, the journey from A City to Z Town will only take two hours. It was not too far."
Edith rolled her eyes again, feeling too tired to argue about this meaningless matter with her grandfather.
"The kindergarten will be on a break a few weeks later, right?" Mike Qian asked. "Will you come back to town?"
"I'm not sure." Edith heaved a sigh. "I might not be able to come back this time. I got myself a part-time job."
"What kind of part-time job?"
"Babysitting. Grandpa, you remember my student we met at Old Chen's noddle stall?" She heard her grandfather hummed once and continued, "Well, I'm babysitting her during the school break."
Mike Qian's gaze softened as he was reminded that the little girl had recently lost her parents. "Alright. If you are unable to come back, then just stay in the city. That little girl is too pitiful. You have to look after her properly."
"Grandpa, I know. I spent a few years babysitting after the kids back in town. I'm good at this."
Hearing her words, there was a mixture of relief and guilt in Mike Qian. The only reason his granddaughter had such experience was that he had to work on important cases and had to send her over to Li's Bed and Breakfast. Missus Li had to look after her B&B as well as the children. Therefore, elder children like Edith would often have to look after the young one.
Mike Qian cleared his throat again. "Edith."
"Hmm?"
"Tomorrow," Mike paused, hesitant. "Old Bei invited me to accompany me on a fishing trip."
"Grandpa, I knew it," Edith spoke with her gritted teeth. "You only call me to inform me about your fishing plan!"
Her conversation with her grandfather lasted for a few minutes. When it ended, Edith immediately texted Neil to inform him that she would be arriving at the company anytime soon.
Neil quickly replied to her and told her to wait at the entrance and his driver will pick them up and drive them over to the mall.
Of course, Edith had no idea that the driver Neil had mentioned was not referring to Uncle Tang, but Henry Wu who had insisted to come along and them for lunch.
After almost ten minutes of walking from the bus station, Edith was able to see the tall building of MH Group. Her lips curled into a smile upon seeing the two figures waiting for her at the entrance.
The sight of a tall man and the petite girl standing next to each other as they waited for her had somehow warmed her heart. Her heart started to jump and her stomach was doing that annoying somersault again when she saw him. Edith sucked in a deep breath and shifted her gaze to Hazel, but the feeling just would not subside.
"Teacher Qian!"
Hazel was the first to noticed Edith at the walkway. The little girl's expression brightened up as she was able to recognize her favorite teacher from distance away. She stepped down the stairs carefully and ran towards Edith happily.
The little girl heard from her uncle that her teacher was going to arrive soon and had asked him to wait for her at the entrance instead of the lobby. As soon as she saw her teacher, Hazel was unable to conceal her excitement and had rushed forward to hug her.
"Hazel, be careful!" Edith warned as she picked up her pace towards the girl. She was worried that Hazel was going to trip and fall.
Just a few meters before Hazel reached her teacher, a black vehicle stopped at the side of the road with a loud screech. The door swung open and Edith's eyes went wide as she watched a man get off from the car and grabbed Hazel right in front of her eyes.