One by one, the parents who picked up their children left. With the kindergarten's gate no longer crowded, Michelle finally had the space to move her body.
An old woman, who was in her fifties, was standing next to Leon. When she heard what Don had said, she looked at Michelle and smiled. "Little boy, isn't your aunt here? She was just talking with your uncle. They're both here to pick you up and drive you home."
Michelle heard what the old lady had said and looked confused. Unsure what she was talking about, Michelle pointed at herself and asked, "Are you talking about me?"
She chuckled beneath her breath and waved her hand. "No, no. I think you misunderstood. He's my brother."
Don turned around and saw Michelle. He let go of Leon's leg and hugged Michelle instead. "Aunt Michelle, are you here to pick up me and my brother from school?" he asked in a sweet voice.
"Yes." She noticed Don clinging to her leg and Leon's before that. "Don, it seems that you like hugging people's legs." She rubbed his head, and in turn, he stretched out his hands towards her and asked for a hug.
Michelle bent down to hug him, but Leon intercepted and caught Don's embrace first. "Let me hug you. Michelle isn't strong enough to pick you up."
"Okay." Don pouted and sulked.
Meanwhile, Van and Kian headed outside the kindergarten's gate. Kian saw his grandmother and happily called her. She was the old woman who had just spoken to Michelle.
Michelle held Van's hand.
"Hello, Uncle Leon, Aunt Michelle, Grandma," Van greeted everyone politely.
Kian's grandma helped her grandson carry his schoolbag. She turned to Michelle and Leon with a smile. "Are you siblings? But you don't look like each other. At first, I thought you were a couple."
"A couple? No, no. I think you misunderstood," Michelle stammered as she shook her head. While she was busy denying, she didn't notice she was squeezing Van's hand too hard.
"Aunt Michelle!" Van winced in pain.
"Ah!" Michelle looked down and saw Van's little hand had turned red. She quickly squatted down and blew his hand. "I'm sorry, Van. Does it hurt? Let me blow on it."
"I'm fine, Aunt Michelle." Van smiled and showed her that he wasn't in pain.
Leon held up Don with one hand, and then Van with the other. Before leaving, he said to Kian's grandma, "She's a good friend of my sister. That's why she treats me as her brother."
"No wonder. You don't look like siblings. Do you have a girlfriend?" Kian's grandma asked Leon enthusiastically. Her eyes were fixed on both him and Michelle.
Michelle pricked her ears up and stretched her neck to listen to what they were saying. When Leon turned around to look at her, their eyes met. Her heart began to race as she immediately retracted her neck.
"I don't have a girlfriend yet," Leon replied with a smile.
"I see. Then it's time for you to find a girlfriend. Look at your two nephews. They're already going to kindergarten, asking for their aunt. Do you need me to introduce a girlfriend to you?" 'Old people really like matchmaking and gossiping as their pastime, ' Leon thought.
"I have a niece who's twenty-six years old. She's very beautiful, and she just finished her postgrad studies. Her job..."
Leon interrupted her with a smile. "Thank you for your kindness, but I already have someone I like."
"Oh? Is that so?" Kian's grandma looked disheartened. When she turned around and saw Michelle, her spirits seemed to have been lifted again. "Is she the girl you like?"
When Michelle heard this, she wanted to deny it but chose not to. Instead, she turned around and pretended that she didn't hear anything.
After glancing in Michelle's direction, Leon changed the topic to avoid answering. "We're about to take the children home. It's been nice talking to you. Goodbye!"
"Okay, goodbye." The old lady smiled. "Come, Kian. Let's go home." She held Kian's hand as he waved goodbye to Van and Don. They left shortly after.
"Is that girl my classmates' aunt?" Michelle heard Kian ask his grandma.
"Not now."
"Will she be in the future?"
"Maybe."
"Wow! Van and Don will have aunts, just like Eileen."
Even though their voices had grown faint, Michelle was still able to hear what they said word for word. Her face turned red as she imagined the possibility of what Kian and his grandma said turning into reality.
Leon parked the car in front as he motioned for them to come in. The two kids sat in the back, and before Michelle could sit with them, Leon turned around and looked at her. "Michelle, come sit in front."
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