Distracted

Sun Mei was really going to kill Yu Zan. It was all her fault. Ever since she had met Mr. Wu by the pool, she had not stopped harassing Sun Mei about making a move on him. As if hitting on one's boss was not a big deal. As if Sun Mei even knew how to flirt…

"Even if I did, why would Mr. Wu ever give me the time of day?"

Sun Mei had met his ex-wife. Evil as Jenny Wu was, she was still without a doubt one of the most beautiful women Sun Mei had ever met.

"How could I ever live up to those standards?" she wondered.

"Sun Mei? Is something the matter?"

Sun Mei looked up from the breakfast table and blushed. Mr. Wu was looking at her in confusion over his reading glasses. He often read books for his company over breakfast while Sun Mei tried to feed Lily some fruit without making the table look like a warzone.

"No, sir," she said quickly. "I was simply distracted."

"What's distracted?" asked Lily, who was munching on a strawberry.

"Sun Mei means that she was absent-minded," Mr. Wu explained. "She was not paying attention."

"But I like attention!" said Lily.

Mr. Wu and Sun Mei burst into laughter at the same time.

"That was quite honest of you, Lily," Mr. Wu said with a smile.

Later, as Vivian cleared the table, Lily ran upstairs to get her backpack and Mr. Wu and Sun Mei walked to the hallway to wait for her.

"Is something on your mind, Sun Mei?" Mr. Wu asked her. "Are you not happy here?" he added as an afterthought.

"Of course I am, sir. I couldn't be happier," Sun Mei reassured him.

"Are you sure? I couldn't help noticing that you have been very thoughtful lately," he said hesitantly.

"That's because I have been thinking about something." Sun Mei averted his gaze as she spoke.

"What is it?"

"I have a lot of free time in the morning, while Lily is at school, so I was thinking about maybe enrolling at a local community college if it's possible."

Mr. Wu seemed relieved to hear her answer. "That is a brilliant idea, Sun Mei. Why don't I drop you off downtown after I take Lily to school? You could get a few brochures and decide what you want to do. I will help you in any way that I can."

"That would be great, sir, thank you."

"Daddy, I'm ready!" Lily yelled as she stomped down the stairs, dragging her bright pink backpack behind her.

"Okay, ladies. Off we go then!" Mr. Wu waved his car keys and gestured for them to follow him.

When Lily was strapped in her seat, Sun Mei got in the passenger seat and Mr. Wu drove off.

"First stop, preschool!" he announced ten minutes later.

Lily bade them farewell quickly and ran off to find her friends. Sun Mei watched her with a tight heart.

Their relationship had been getting increasingly better, so it would be beyond stupid to risk ruining it by falling in love with her father.

This was why Sun Mei wanted to enroll at a community college. She had to start getting out of the house more and making more friends. Maybe she should even get a boyfriend. Preferably, someone who wasn't 10 years older than her, divorced with a child, and richer than her entire family.