The Other Guest

In the evening, Yu Zan came to attend Sun Mei's birthday celebration.

As soon as she walked through the door, Sun Mei asked her the question she had been suppressing for days.

"How long have you known about this?"

"Oh, I knew all along. I was messing with you on the phone."

"Yu Zan!"

"You're really cute when you get mad. You should save this face for Mr. Wu! Where is he anyway?"

"He is, um… in the kitchen. He's trying to decorate the cake."

"Trying?" Yu Zan raised her eyebrows in question.

"Yes, definitely trying."

"Oh, is Lily helping him?" Yu Zan flinched in understanding.

Sun Mei laughed. "No, he's messing it up all by himself!"

"Seriously? Why didn't he just buy one?"

"He likes to do things that take personal effort. I think it's sweet. I mean, the gesture, not the cake. The cake might be salty for all I know."

When they entered the kitchen, they found Mr. Wu struggling to put yellow icing on the cake.

"What is that?" Yu Zan whispered to Sun Mei.

"He's trying to create a sun," Sun Mei whispered back.

Luckily, Mr. Wu was so concentrated on the job at hand that he did not hear them.

"Hi, Mr. Wu!" Yu Zan said loudly. "What a lovely sun you're making!"

"Yu Zan, you're here!" Mr. Wu said excitedly. "You can really tell that it's a sun?"

"Definitely!"

"Hypocrite," Sun Mei whispered under her breath.

"Hush!"

"I think I'm done here," Mr. Wu announced. "We are just going to wait till all the guests are here so you can blow out your candles!"

"Oh, I'll go get Lily and Vivian," said Sun Mei. "They are upstairs packing Lily's suitcase for the trip."

"I'm not talking about Lily and Vivian." Mr. Wu shook his head as he wiped his hands on a towel. "I invited your friend."

"Yu Zan is already here," Sun Mei pointed out.

"I'm talking about your other friend."

"I don't have any other friends."

"That's kind of sad when you say it out loud," Yu Zan told her.

"I mean your male friend."

"Oh no…" said Yu Zan as the truth started to dawn on her.

Sun Mei froze in place. "No, you didn't, Mr. Wu…"

Mr. Wu, who looked confused, said, "I kind of did, but now I'm starting to think that maybe I shouldn't have?"

Before any of the girls could answer his indirect question, the doorbell rang.

Sun Mei immediately turned to Yu Zan. "Will you please go? Please? Please?" she asked desperately.

"No!"

"It's my birthday!"

"That's why you're supposed to open the door!"

Sun Mei looked pleadingly at Mr. Wu.

"While I would go, I am currently wearing an apron covered in flour and I am probably the person he likes least in this room."

"Probably?" Sun Mei asked him.

"Well, he hasn't met Yu Zan yet. He might like her less than me."

"That's unlikely, I'm adorable," said Yu Zan with a flip of her hair.

"You're both useless!" Sun Mei told them as she headed out of the kitchen.

"That's no way to speak to your boss!" Mr. Wu yelled after her playfully. "I even made you a cake!"

Sun Mei ignored his teasing remark and tried to calm herself down. As soon as she reached the front door, she took a deep breath and opened it.

"Hi, Michael!" she said with a forced smile.