The Trick Question

Sun Mei shifted in her seat uncomfortably. She chastised herself for not realizing that Mr. Wu was divorced sooner. He had attended Mrs. Lin's dinner party alone after all. How could she not have noticed?

"I'm sorry to hear that, Mr. Wu," she said tactfully.

Mr. Wu nodded slowly. "It was for the best."

Although Sun Mei was really curious to know why Mr. Wu and his wife had gotten divorced, she realized that it would be completely inappropriate, not to mention downright nosy, to ask.

"Anyway, Lily has been living with me ever since," Mr. Wu explained. "Her mother only sees her… occasionally."

Sun Mei noticed that Mr. Wu was speaking about his ex-wife the same way she spoke about Mrs. Lin. Although he tried to be polite and diplomatic, it was obvious that he felt bitter and exasperated deep down.

Sun Mei, who sensed his discomfort, tried to change the subject. "How old is Lily?"

"She is four," Mr. Wu answered. He immediately seemed much happier at the mention of his daughter, who was still sleeping peacefully in the backseat. "She goes to preschool in the mornings, so you will have some time to rest. You probably need a lot of rest after this day," he added with an understanding smile.

"I do," Sun Mei admitted. She could not believe that she would finally have a morning off. She would basically have every morning off!

This unexpected news made her extremely happy. Could she perhaps start thinking about enrolling at a university again? Sun Mei didn't want to get ahead of herself. After all, Mr. and Mrs. Lin had also made her many promises that they hadn't kept. It was best to wait and see if Mr. Wu was being honest with her.

"We are here," Mr. Wu announced, abruptly interrupting her thoughts.

Sun Mei turned to look out of her window. Her mouth immediately dropped open in shock.

She had thought that Mr. and Mrs. Lin's house was big. However, their house paled in comparison to Mr. Wu's. Her eyes widened as she counted three floors, sixteen windows, and four cars in the driveway. There was even a pool and a tennis court. How rich was Mr. Wu exactly?

She suddenly recalled reading on his card that he was the CEO of a big publishing company. Before she could think twice, she blurted out, "Did you publish Harry Potter or something?"

Mr. Wu laughed out loud. "No. I'm not that old!" he added with an amused smile. "But I guess I've published some pretty successful bestsellers."

"How old are you?" Sun Mei asked curiously. It was really late and her exhaustion allowed her to ask things that she would have considered rude under normal circumstances.

"How old do you think I am?" Mr. Wu asked back.

Sun Mei furrowed her brows. "That is a trick question."

Mr. Wu chuckled when he saw her suspicious expression. "Okay, okay, no tricks. I'm thirty two."

Sun Mei smiled. "Show me your ID."

"What? Are you saying that I look older, girl?" Mr. Wu asked, looking half-amused, half-offended.

"No, sir. Not a day older than thirty two," Sun Mei replied with a smile. She didn't know where this playful attitude was coming from, but she finally felt herself relax after this dreadful day.

Suddenly, Lily stirred in the backseat, drawing their attention to her.

Mr. Wu instantly stopped laughing and unbuckled his seatbelt. "Okay, let's get inside," he said.