The Same Direction

After accompanying her grandparents with lunch, Hazel Mo packed her backpack and walked over to her uncle.

Sophie watched her granddaughter walking out with her backpack and her tears threatened to come out. As she grew up, Sophie began to notice that Hazel resembled her mother, Claire Fan, when she was her age.

The Mo and Fan family live closer and Sophie had seen the kids grew up together. Claire would frequently visit their house to play with her sons in the backyard before her mother would come over to pick her up.

Because the little girl would frequently come over, Sophie had thought of Claire as her daughter. Perhaps, she was the happiest when she heard that her son Adam was in a relationship with the girl.

"Grandma, what's wrong?"

Sophie snapped out of her trance and smiled as she watched the little girl in front of her.

"Don't be sad," Hazel continued. She gave her grandmother a tight hug and spoke again, "Next time when the school is on break, I will come over with Uncle and accompany you for a few days, alright?"

A soft laugh escaped her as she listened to Hazel's cute voice. "Alright." Sophie nodded. "Next time, you definitely have to come over and play. I'll make a lot of food and we can go picnic together."

Hazel's smile widened and she was looking forward to having a picnic together. She decided that when the time comes, she would have to ask Teacher Qian to come along.

After saying her goodbyes to her grandparents, Hazel entered the SUV and let her uncle help her with her seat belt. With the window rolled down, she stuck out a hand and waved to her grandparents. Once she can no longer see her grandmother, Hazel sat down properly and the window rolled up.

"It will take a few hours before we arrive in the city," Neil Mo spoke. "If you're tired, just close your eyes and sleep. I'll wake you up when we arrive."

"I'm not sleepy," Hazel said. She grabbed her backpack on her side and pulled out a book that her grandpa had given her earlier. Her eyes shone brightly as she looked at the colorful pages and pictures of the beautiful princess.

After browsing through those pictures, Hazel went back to the first page and start reading slowly. There were a few words that she did not know how to read, and Hazel decided that she should go and ask her uncle later.

Outside, the weather was too hot and it was expected that it was going to rain heavily in a few hours.

Neil Mo's SUV cruised smoothly from Z Town for about thirty minutes until the traffic suddenly moved at a crawl.

Neil frowned as he watched the road ahead. He glanced to check at the time and then to the navigation system. It seemed that a vehicle made a stop at the side. Because the road was a bit narrow, the car can only pass slowly. Once they passed through, the traffic will be moving again.

"What's wrong?" Hazel asked as she looked up from her book.

"A car probably broke down ahead," Neil answered. "It should be fine after this."

As they were approaching the scene, Neil saw a bus stopped at the side. White smoke came out of its hood.

On the side of the road, a few passengers of the bus were seen lining up. When the bus suddenly broke down, the driver had asked everyone to go out and wait until the next bus pick them up before they can continue their journey.

"Uncle!" Hazel Mo called out suddenly. "It's Teacher Qian! I saw Teacher Qian at the side of the road."

Neil looked from the rear mirror and saw that the kindergarten teacher was standing along with the other passenger with her head tilted down. After a quick judgment, Neil pulled his SUV to the side of the road and turned to his niece.

"I'm going over there for a while to check on the situation," Neil said. "When I leave, you must remember to lock the door and only open them when you see me, alright?"

"Oh," Hazel nodded. She took off her seat belt and watched as her uncle exited the car. Then, she took off her shoes and crawled over to the driver seat to lock the door.

Once he was sure that Hazel had locked the door, Neil walked over to the bus and approached the driver. "What's the matter?"

The middle-aged man turned around and spoke, "Something's wrong with the engine. Don't worry about it. The tow truck will be coming shortly."

"Then, what about the others?"

"The company has sent another bus to pick them up," the driver said. "It shouldn't take too long before they arrive."

Neil nodded. He shifted his gaze towards the passengers and stopped at Edith. At this time, the kindergarten teacher was typing something on her phone. He pondered for a few seconds and walked over.

The passengers looked up when they sensed that someone was approaching. The female passenger was suddenly excited upon seeing a handsome man walking over.

Just when they thought that this handsome man would take the initiative to talk to them, the man suddenly stopped in front of another woman. The women sighed with disappointment before they looked at the lucky woman with slight envy.

"Teacher Qian?"

Edith Qian was busy typing on her phone to report to her grandfather about her situation when she heard a familiar voice. When she looked up, President Mo's face suddenly appeared in front of her.

"President Mo, what are you doing here?"

"I saw you as I was passing by the road," Neil said. "The driver said that the next bus will be arriving soon, but since we're heading in the same direction, why don't you come with us? I will give you a lift to L City."

Edith was about to reject his invitation until she suddenly recalled that she has not finished preparing her teaching materials for tomorrow's class. When the bus suddenly broke down, Edith was worried that she might arrive in the city too late that she will have to stay up to prepare for her class.

Her eyes brightened up as she looked at the man in front of her as if she was looking at her savior.

Neil was momentarily stunned as he looked at her expression. He was only offering to give her a lift to the City, why does she have to look so happy?

However, her expression toned down again when she remembered that she was not living in L City.

"That." Edith paused. "My place is in A City."

"It's fine. We were going to pass through A City before we arrived in L City after all. It wouldn't be a trouble." He saw her hesitation and continued. "Let's go. Hazel is waiting in the car. She will be happy to see you."