The feeling of hope that had been doused in Julie’s heart just earlier seemed to have rekindled again at this moment.
She looked up again to smile in Fabian’s direction, then turned to smile gently at Lillian too.
“Thank you for sending the cake over, Lillian. Help me thank Fab as well. Have fun on today’s outing. I’ve planned some games for everyone to play later. I hope you’ll like it.”
Lillian nodded, indicating that she understood, she then turned around and trotted toward Fabian.
Julie looked down at the tiramisu in her hand and got her confidence back. However, when she looked up again, she noticed that Fabian and Lillian were sitting on the picnic mat laid by the single mother with her son.
They were chatting away happily again. It seemed like their conversation was never-ending.
Julie had known Fabian for some time, but she had never seen such a radiant smile on his face.
At that moment, the tiramisu in her hands no longer smelled good to Julie.
She turned around to leave in discontent and saw other parents coming over with their children to gift her exquisite snacks and refreshments. Julie kept a decent smile and accepted the kind gestures of each and every one of the parents and students. However, she was not in the mood to eat these at all.
After setting everything aside, she could not help but want to take another look at Fabian.
However, she did not see Fabian after turning around this time. Instead, she saw the beautiful single mother who was walking toward her with her son.
She brought her son along with her and walked up to Julie with a polite smile on her elegant face.
“Miss Charles, thank you for taking such good care of my son at school during the weekdays. This is a snack I made myself this morning. I hope you like it.”
Julie glanced at what she handed over. It was a box of four mochi balls that looked very appetizing.
Although Julie was not in the mood to accept it, she still showcased her signature smile.
“Why, how nice of you. Taking care of children is my job. There’s no need for you to give me things to show your appreciation. As you can see, I already have so much here. I can’t possibly finish it all. It’s better if you share this box of mochi balls with others. I have to go prepare for the next activity now, so please excuse me.”
Julie turned around after she was done talking. The young mother who got rejected did not think anything of it, but the little boy felt down.
His teacher rejected their gift. Did she not like him?
The little boy listlessly followed his mother back to their seat. Fabian was confused when he saw the untouched mochi balls in the woman’s hands.
“Miss Charles didn’t take it?”
“Too many people gave Miss Charles gifts as a token of appreciation. She said she can’t finish all of them and didn’t want these to go to waste, so she rejected them,” the woman answered truthfully. After noticing her son’s long face, she comforted him. “ Silly boy, don’t be upset, Miss Charles just doesn’t want the snacks I made to go to waste. Why don’t you do what Miss Charles said and share these mochi balls with your friends? That’ll make this box of mochi balls even more meaningful.”
After hearing those words, the little boy’s eyes instantly lit up,
“Okay!” The little guy nodded as he picked up the box of mochi balls and walked toward the other kids.
Lillian glanced at Fabian and happily followed along to deliver the mochi balls.
Fabian relaxed as he watched Lillian’s tiny figure tenderly.
A few moments later, the two children came back happily one after the other. As they were about to sit down, they heard Julie calling everyone to gather around.
The first round of activities was hiking up a fairly easy trail along with their guardians.
Climbing up a mountain trail was a must during outings.
Not to mention, it could help train the kids’ fitness and stamina.
Fabian took Lillian’s health condition into account and had looked up the trail before coming. The trail was not rugged at all. There were flowers, plants, and even streams with small pink flowers flowing in its clear water. The environment looked nice, so going on a walk here would not be a bad idea.
Even if Lillian could not walk anymore, he could still carry her.
After he made up his mind, Fabian carried Lillian’s small school bag and joined the hiking team in an orderly manner.
Julie intentionally walked close to Lillian and talked to the kids around her from time to time. That way, she could talk to Lillian naturally without others finding it odd.
She was also doing this in hopes that Fabian would talk to her, but throughout the entire journey, he only talked to Lillian and took no notice of Julie. 2
This caused Julie’s confidence to suffer a huge blow. Eventually, she could not help but speak to Fabian.
“Mr. Johnson, do you hate me?” asked Julie as she strode forward to catch up to Fabian.
After hearing Julie’s question, Fabian’s expression did not change in the slightest. On the other hand, Lillian raised her head and was looking curiously at Julie with her bright eyes.
However, children’s minds were still innocent, she only looked at Julie for a second before continuing to walk forward with small steps.
At this moment, Fabian started to talk, “Why do you ask, Miss Charles?”
Julie internally breathed a sigh of relief and smiled out of embarrassment as Fabian finally acknowledged her existence.
“It’s nothing. I just feel like I’ve done something wrong to make you not want to talk to me.”
“Miss Charles, you must be overthinking. You’re Lily’s teacher. I have nothing but respect for you. How could I feel hatred toward you?”
Fabian answered courteously, yet his answer sent a chill down her spine.
Nothing but respect?
She fell into a trance for a moment until she heard Fabian speak again.
“Plus, Lily likes you a lot. This morning, she even asked the home chef to make tiramisu to give to you. Miss Charles, did you not see it? There’s a card inside the cake box with Lily’s own writing on it.”
? D
Julie’s legs suddenly felt weak.
It turned out that the tiramisu had nothing to do with Fabian. It was just Lillian’s token of appreciation.
It was all just her imagination, after all.
A surge of loneliness overwhelmed her heart as she could not help but slow down her footsteps, when she came back to her senses, she realized that Fabian and Lillian were already way ahead of her.
When they were almost at the halfway mark, many of them sat down near the pavilion to rest, eat, and drink to replenish their energy.
Julie saw Fabian and the beautiful single mother sitting next to each other again. They talked and laughed while taking care of their little ones.
Julie had lost her appetite, she took two sips of water and sat alone on a rock.
The two female colleagues beside her noticed and could probably guess what was going on. After having a little discussion, they walked toward Fabian.
Fabian was feeding Lillian snacks when he noticed someone walking toward him. He looked up and saw the two teachers from other classes.
The two female teachers walked up to Fabian and unintentionally glanced at the young single mother.
“Mr. Johnson, can we have a word with you?
“Mr. Johnson, we’re Julie’s colleagues. There are some things we want to consult you about. We won’t take up too much of your time.” 1
After hearing their words, Fabian gently patted Lillian’s head. “Lily, be good and eat your food. I’ll be right back.”
“Don’t worry, Mr. Johnson. I’ll watch over Lily.” The single mother politely expressed that she would take care of Lily.
Fabian was rest assured and followed the two female teachers to the side.
“May I ask what is it that the two of you want to consult me about?” Fabian asked straight to the point.
The two female teachers looked at each other and put on straight faces.
“Mr. Johnson, although we’re not in a position to comment on your relationship with Julie, nor do we know what happened between the two of you, arguments aside, Julie would be very upset to see you talk and laugh with someone of the opposite gender while you give her the cold shoulder.”
A female teacher spoke while deliberately glancing over at the single mother.
“She’s right, Mr. Johnson. No matter what happens between a couple, one shouldn’t go to such lengths to torment their other half. Julie is a great woman. She comes from a good family, and most importantly, Julie cares a lot about you, Mr. Johnson.
“The other day, when you were taken away by the police right outside the kindergarten, Julie hurriedly went into the monitoring room to ask the people in charge for a copy of the surveillance footage of your argument with the parent, she didn’t even have time to ask for leave before she ran out to provide proof of your innocence, she even got reprimanded by the principal when she came back. Can’t you see how much she cares about you?
“Mr. Johnson, that’s all we have to say. You’d better not let down such a nice girl.” After hearing what they had to say, Fabian understood what the two female teachers were trying to express.
However, Fabian found it quite amusing.
Just as he was about to explain, Julie sprinted over in a panic.
“Miss Monet, Miss Lee, what are you and Mr. Johnson talking about?”
The two female teachers looked nervous when they saw Julie coming over. They became even more certain that Julie and Fabian were a couple in a lover’s quarrel.
“It’s nothing, Miss Charles. We’ll head back now and leave you two to it. Between lovers, just say kind words to each other and it’ll be over. Don’t make such a huge fuss over things.” (( ))
? ? ?
The two of them turned around and walked away before Julie even had the chance to ask what was going on.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.