The Secret Culprit

"What the hell was that?" she croaked.

Everyone looked at her in shock. Although Michael looked slightly hurt by her words, Mr. Wu could hardly contain his laughter.

Vivian took off the blindfold and addressed Michael directly. "How could you make something so beautiful that tastes so bad?" she asked as if the answer really mattered to her.

Then, she pointed to Mr. Wu's pitiful cake. "All you had to do was make something slightly better than that. Was that so hard?" Vivian coughed a little. "Now I need some of Mr. Wu's cake to forget this one!"

"Well, that was unexpected…" Sun Mei muttered as she cut a piece of Mr. Wu's cake for Vivian. "What went wrong?" she asked Michael, who seemed completely baffled.

"I have no idea," he said. "I followed the recipe down to the smallest detail." After thinking about it solemnly for a while, he yelled, "I want a rematch!"

Vivian stood up immediately. "No, I'm done. I'm going home before I get poisoned!"

"No, rematch!" said Lily excitedly. "Let's make cupcakes!"

Mr. Wu laughed. "Down, you little monkey! It's past your bedtime anyway."

"I have to go too," said Yu Zan. "But let's do this again!"

"Don't count me in!" Vivian picked up her bag and got ready to leave. "I trust that you will clean this mess, Mr. Wu?" she said uncertainly. "Don't let the birthday girl do it."

"Yes, ma'am!" Mr. Wu said obediently.

"Do you need a ride?" Michael asked Vivian. "I can take you home to compensate you for having to taste that."

"Yes, why don't you?"

Before they left, Michael wished Sun Mei a happy birthday once again and they promised to meet again soon, not necessarily at another birthday party.

Mr. Wu started to clean up as soon as everyone left. He did not let Sun Mei help, but Lily, who was too energetic to go to bed, stayed and tried to contribute. Sun Mei looked at them cleaning quietly in harmony.

"Is it really that bad?" she asked aloud as she wandered back to Michael's cake, which was still on the table. She was surprised that Mr. Wu hadn't thrown it out already.

"You know what? I want to try some too." Mr. Wu took two spoons out of the kitchen drawer and handed one to Sun Mei. They took a bite at the same time.

"It's an abomination!" Mr. Wu yelled before it was even halfway down his throat.

"I know!" Sun Mei coughed the cake out on a napkin and threw it in the trash.

Then, she noticed Lily looking at them curiously.

"Lily?" she asked suspiciously. "How come you don't want to try the cake?"

"It's bad."

"Yes, but you like all cakes, right?"

Lily shook her head. "I don't like this one."

Mr. Wu, who had slowly started to catch on, looked at Lily in shock. "Sweetheart, did you do something to the cake?"

The little girl smiled faintly. "I added an ingredient while Michael wasn't looking," she said slyly.

Sun Mei and Mr. Wu exchanged a terrified look. "What kind of ingredient?" they asked simultaneously.

Lily pointed to a thin bottle on the counter. "That one!"

By the time they read the label and realized it was vinegar, they both felt like they had lost ten years of their lives!