Chapter 166 - Hazel Holding Hands

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Ethan froze as he walked into the backyard. The couple who stood under the tree was very close as they whispered something he could not hear. From his position, Ethan could see their silhouette was as if they were hugging.

Although his wife had told him the news that their friend Edith was seeing President Mo, Ethan was still at a stage of disbelief. Neil Mo was famous for his cold and aloof attitude. While after being acquainted with Edith for years, Ethan thought that she was a cheery girl. Seeing that the two of them with different personalities get together seemed a little strange for him.

Ethan stared at the cake knife in his hand and let out a dry cough. Soon, the couple in front of him parted and Edith flashed an embarrassed smile. 

"Well, Lily told me to bring out the cake knife," Ethan said. His gaze met with Neil and he slowly nodded. "Please, sit down. Lily went in to call the kids. We can eat soon."

Neil took a seat at the garden chair and lowered his gaze. He had wanted to continue his talk with Edith, but the timing and place were not very suitable. 

Various thoughts went into his head when he realized that his girlfriend was acting strangely around him. He had thought that his enthusiasm last time had scared her and thus, Edith was trying to stay away.

He did not think that the reason would be… different.

At this moment, Neil did not know whether he wanted to laugh or cry. Should he be lucky to have this hooligan girlfriend?

Just as he was pondering how he was going to continue his talk with Edith later, his ears caught the sounds of footsteps. He looked up and saw three children running over towards them. His gaze softened when he saw Hazel in her pink dress. However, that calm gaze turned cloudy when he realized that a boy was holding his niece's hand.

"Uncle!" Hazel released her hands from Alex's and ran over to her uncle. Her bright eyes were staring at him curiously. "Why are you here?"

The frown on his face disappeared when Hazel reached to his side. "Of course I'm here to accompany you. Don't you like me here?"

"I like it." Hazel nodded. She hugged her uncle's arms and said. "I just did not think that you would be here. Right. Let me introduce you to my classmate."

"Wait a second." Neil grabbed at the little girl's wrist and stopped her from turning away. 

"What's wrong?" Hazel looked back at him with a questioning gaze. 

Neil did not answer and instead turned Edith. "Do you carry wet wipes with you?"

Edith reached into her bag pulled out a packet of wet tissue. As someone who would often be around with small children, Edith had made it a habit to carry wet tissues and sanitizers.

The corner of her lips twitched as she watched as Neil pulled out a few wet wipes and helped Hazel to wipe both her hands.

"We're going to eat later. Let's wipe your hands clean first," Neil explained to his niece with a straight face.

President Mo, are you sure it was not because you were upset that some boy was holding on to Hazel's hands just now?

Once Neil was sure that Hazel's hands were now clean, Hazel ran towards the table and to both Alex and Tyler.

"Hazel seemed close to that boy, Alex," Neil commented. He seemed to recall that this was not the first time that he had seen his niece and that boy together.

"Hmm…" Edith nodded. "After Hazel returned to the kindergarten, she had been isolating herself from her friends. I did not know why she had become closer to Alex later. Perhaps, because Alex was a quiet child, Hazel felt comfortable around him."

Initially, Neil did not like Alex, but once he heard from Edith how Alex had helped his niece, he could not bring himself from disliking that boy.

"Are you worried about Hazel and Alex?" Edith laughed. "Don't worry. Next year, Alex and the others would start primary school and will have no chance to see Hazel."

"Weren't they classmates?"

Hazel will not enter the primary school for another year, but the boy will start going to school earlier. Therefore Neil thought that this was very strange.

Edith smiled when she saw the puzzled look on his face. "When Hazel registered at the kindergarten, we found that her comprehension on some subjects higher than those who were around her age. Therefore, Headmistress Fu decided to put her in my class."

Neil was shocked at this new information. He turned his head to look at Hazel and a proud look appeared on his face. "Hazel is a smart child. It must be in our genes."

Edith glanced at the narcissistic person beside her and pulled him up to join the others at the table. 

A birthday song was sung and Alex blew the candle on the cake. Though there were not many guests coming over, the atmosphere was as lively.

For Alex, who was not a fan of a big crowd, as long as he was surrounded by his favorite people, it was more than enough.

After a while, Lily helped her son to cut his birthday cake. Alex was obsessed with the Gundam model due to his father's encouragement and therefore, his parents had ordered a chocolate cake with a miniature Gundam model fondant on top.

The birthday boy cut his cake excitedly and passed it around. Then, he brought his two friends to eat and play together with the new toys he got.

The atmosphere surrounding the children was very lively, but with Neil's presence in the backyard, the atmosphere between the grownups became somewhat awkward. 

In the end, Ethan took his role as the host and chatted with him about business.

Seeing that the men's conversation had gone deeper, Lily pulled her friend to a side and raised a brow. "How was it?"

"I told him."

Lily's eyes brightened. "Was he happy?"

"Rather than saying that he's happy, I think he's… shocked." Edith lowered her gaze and rubbed at the back of her neck. "He thinks I was avoiding him for days because I got scared of us being intimate."

Lily stared at her friend with a blank expression before she burst into a laugh.

"It was not my intention to avoid him."

A thought crossed her mind and Lily narrowed her eyes. "Is this why President Mo appeared at my son's birthday party today? He was worried that you have been avoiding him since that day?"

Edith nodded weekly. She noticed the strange way Lily was looking at her and raised a brow. "What?"

Lily caressed her non-existence beard.. "Perhaps President Mo liked you more than I thought."

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