Damn the Fountains!

It was the most spectacular thing Sun Mei had ever seen. To be fair, her standards were pretty low. She had never even seen a play or a circus show, but she was sure that this was far better.

A pop song started playing as the fountains slowly came to life and followed its rhythm. As the music picked up speed, so did the fountains, which spurted water faster and higher in elegant shapes.

When the music reached its crescendo, Lily asked to be put down.

"I want to dance!" she told Mr. Wu, who set her down carefully.

Yu Zan grabbed Lily's hands and started swinging her in circles as they sang along. Sun Mei smiled at the sight of them.

When she turned to look at Mr. Wu and thank him for his brilliant idea, however, she saw a sad smile on his face.

"Sir? Is everything okay?" she asked him loudly in an effort to be heard over the music.

Mr. Wu quickly snapped out of his daze. "Yes," he answered with a slightly more genuine smile. "This just brings back a lot of memories."

"What kind of memories?" Sun Mei shouted in his ear.

Mr. Wu turned sideways and pointed at the glorious water show. "This is where I proposed to Jenny. Right in front of this fountain at midnight."

Based on the way he spoke, it seemed like he was saying, "This is where I made the biggest mistake of my life."

"Oh…" Sun Mei frowned before she said, "Well, if it makes you feel any better, I'd propose to pretty much anyone right now. This is a magical place!" She instantly pointed all around her gleefully and turned in a circle.

Mr. Wu chuckled. "You think I could blame it on the fountains?" he asked with a spark in his eyes.

"Unless you planned it ahead of time."

"Damn it, I did plan it ahead of time. I am a planner."

Sun Mei pretended to think about it. "Well, the fountains sure didn't help."

"You're right." Mr. Wu grinned playfully. "I would have reconsidered had it not been for the fountains."

"Damn the fountains!" Sun Mei yelled.

"Damn the fountains!" Mr. Wu repeated.

"They are too beautiful for any human to resist them!" Sun Mei added.

Mr. Wu laughed even louder and leaned in close to speak in her ear. Sun Mei had no idea what he was going to say, and she never found out.

Before Mr. Wu could utter a word, she felt someone push her forcefully from behind. She quickly let out a yelp, but it was already too late.

As soon as she lost her balance, she slipped and landed inside the chilly water of the fountain. While her head was submerged, she heard another splash and felt a second body land right next to hers in the fountain pool.

Sun Mei pushed at the bottom of the pool with her feet and broke the surface with a cough. Luckily, the pool wasn't that deep, so she was able to stand up shakily.

"Mr. Wu!"

Sun Mei instinctively looked at the blurry shape of the second body inside the pool, which had not surfaced yet.