Unfair

Jennifer only distracted Lily for about 20 minutes before she started fidgeting with her IV again and asking for her mother.

Mr. Wu looked visibly uncomfortable when she asked for Jenny.

"When will mommy come?" said Lily, her eyes brimming again with tears.

"Soon, sweetheart. I'll call her again in case she got lost, okay?"

"Yes." Lily nodded and turned back to her doll sleepily.

When he saw that she had forgotten about the tubes again and left them alone, Mr. Wu stepped out of the room quietly.

Sun Mei stayed with Lily, who fell asleep once more after a few minutes. As soon as she did, Sun Mei followed Mr. Wu out.

She immediately spotted him down the corridor, speaking into his phone. "Please call me as soon as you get this…" he said calmly.

When he hung up and saw Sun Mei, he explained, "I couldn't reach her. I had to leave a message."

Sun Mei nodded. "Okay. At least you tried."

Mr. Wu didn't say anything. Sun Mei, who mostly expected him to start feeling guilty again, was surprised when she realized that he looked kind of annoyed.

"What is it, sir?"

"Nothing."

"Do I look like a fool?"

Mr. Wu ran his hand through his dark hair. "You wouldn't understand."

"So you are indeed calling me a fool."

"Sorry, I…" Mr. Wu took a slow breath. "It just feels so unfair sometimes…"

"What does?"

"That I have been taking care of Lily her whole life and sacrificed everything for her, only to have her ask for her mother when something like this happens…"

He immediately rushed to explain. "I do not regret making her my priority. I love her more than anything. I just resent the fact that Jenny, who won't even miss a manicure appointment for Lily's sake, gets to be her favorite…"

Sun Mei couldn't help bursting into laughter. Mr. Wu looked shocked and almost insulted by her reaction.

"She is not Lily's favorite!" she said while still trying to contain her laughter. "She just keeps asking for her because she is never here. Trust me, Mr. Wu. When you are at work every day, Lily keeps asking for you."

"She does?" Mr. Wu asked in surprise.

"Yes, all the time. Who's the fool now?" she asked in a teasing tone that was meant to make him feel better.

"I guess I have a lot to learn from you," Mr. Wu said with a faint smile.

"Let's start with the basics." Sun Mei pretended to count on her fingers. "Children are greedy little goblins. Lily was not crying because she wished her mother was here instead of you. She was crying because she wanted BOTH of you to be here."

"That's kind of…"

"Selfish, isn't it? She also asks for pancakes and french toast every day, even though she can clearly not eat both. That should tell you something."

"It tells me that we've been wasting a lot of money on food."

"See? You are starting to get this!"

Mr. Wu laughed. "Thank you, Sun Mei!"

"You are very welcome."

"Charles? Where the hell is Lily?"

Sun Mei turned around slowly as Jenny Wu stormed down the hallway towards them.