Lily Comes Around

Sun Mei was still blushing by the time she sat down in a chair next to Lily's bed and took Jennifer out of her bag.

She didn't know how Mr. Wu could do this. One moment, she felt completely comfortable telling him anything she had on her mind, and the next one, he said something like that and she couldn't utter a single word in response.

"You brought Jennifer?" Mr. Wu asked her as he took a seat opposite her.

"Yes. I thought you would be too worried to remember to bring any toys here to distract her."

"You were right once again."

Sun Mei smiled at him and then looked at Lily. Although she looked a bit pale, she seemed indeed to be sleeping peacefully.

"How long will they keep her here?" Sun Mei asked Mr. Wu.

"A couple of days at the most. They just want to run some general tests and make sure she's breathing properly. People don't take risks with kids' lives these days."

Sun Mei nodded in approval. "They shouldn't."

Mr. Wu remained silent for a long time. Fortunately, when Sun Mei shot a glance at him, he didn't seem to be that upset anymore. Maybe this was the right time to address the elephant in the room. Or rather, the elephant missing from the room.

"Sir…" Sun Mei began slowly. "Does her mother know that she's being hospitalized?"

Mr. Wu avoided her eyes as he answered, "Yes, I have notified Jenny."

"How?"

"Via e-mail."

"Mr. Wu!"

"What?" Mr. Wu said defensively.

"You need to call her," Sun Mei told him firmly.

"I just don't want to deal with her right now. There's enough drama going around even without Jenny showing up here."

"Agreed," said Sun Mei. "But she is her mother. Don't you think she is going to ask for her?"

Mr. Wu sighed. "I was crossing my fingers that she wouldn't."

"While crossing your fingers sounds like a sound tactic, I think you should call her."

"Do you always have to be the voice of reason?" Mr. Wu asked her like a petulant child.

"Only when I need to be."

"Fine, I'll call her."

"Good boy."

Mr. Wu looked at Sun Mei with an incredulous expression.

She immediately blushed and waved her hands around hurriedly. "Sorry, that slipped out. You are the boss."

"Daddy?" Lily croaked suddenly from the bed.

Mr. Wu and Sun Mei rushed to her side without missing a beat.

"What is it, Lily?"

The little girl coughed lightly and started tagging at the tubes that were connected to her body.

"No, Lily, don't touch those!" Mr. Wu reached with his hands to stop her. "You need them to get better."

"But they are hurting me!" Lily's voice broke as she tried to remove her IV.

"Lily, please, leave them alone! I know you are in pain, but you can't take these out!"

Lily, who was already in pain, started crying when Mr. Wu yelled at her.

"You are mean to me!" she said with a heart-breaking sob.

Mr. Wu suddenly froze in place. There was a hurt expression on his face.

Sun Mei, who was used to being called mean and didn't give a damn, took Jennifer out of her bag and approached the bed.

"Look who else came to see you, Lily!"