Mr. Wu's Affection

"Ouch!" Sun Mei thought. "That must have hurt."

However, Jenny did not back down. "I can make no such promise, Charles. In fact, if it wasn't for our book deal, I would have already fired that slut. But who cares? I'll just wait for her visa to expire. As long as you don't give her any more of my daughter's money, I don't give a damn. I know she's not here to stay. You would never get married again. You could hardly handle it the first time."

Sun Mei could almost feel Mr. Wu's anger drifting from the living room in waves, sliding up the bannister and reaching the top of the stairs, where she was standing.

"I had no trouble being married to someone, Jenny. You were the problem," he said in a tense voice.

"Sure, Charles," Jenny said nonchalantly. "Give it another try then."

"Maybe I will. Are you done?"

"For now."

Sun Mei quickly scrambled away from the stairs when she heard them approaching the front hall. Wouldn't it be just amazing if Jenny caught her eavesdropping on this conversation?

"Oh, I forgot," said Jenny as she was about to step out of the house. "Lily has a playdate with Karen's daughter today."

"What? Karen never called me," said Mr. Wu in confusion.

"She called me."

"You do not arrange Lily's playdates!"

"Whatever. Just be there at five o'clock."

Although Mr. Wu shut the door behind her as slowly as he could, his irritation was almost tangible.

As he hung his head down in defeat, Sun Mei ran down the stairs to meet him.

"Mr. Wu what happened?" she asked him.

He immediately looked up in surprise. "Oh my god, did we wake you up? I'm so sorry, I couldn't contain her…"

"It's okay, Mr. Wu," Sun Mei reassured him.

"Did you hear everything?" he asked with a sigh.

"Almost."

"Did Lily wake up?"

"I don't think so. She's not as stealthy as I am."

Mr. Wu's smile didn't reach his eyes. "She has a playdate later today."

Sun Mei smirked. "I know. I heard that part." Then, in an effort to improve his mood, she told him, "Don't pay attention to her, Mr. Wu. She's paranoid."

Mr. Wu shook his head. "I don't think she is."

"What… What do you mean?" Sun Mei's heart missed a beat.

"She can obviously tell that I feel a certain… affection for you. You are a part of our family, and she is jealous of you for that."

"Oh…" Sun Mei blushed a little. "Yes, that must be it."

Meanwhile, she kept pondering over his choice of words. He felt a certain… affection for her.

"I'll go wake Lily and tell her about the playdate!" she said quickly before leaving like a panicked duck.

It took her a few minutes to get Lily out of bed and convince her to get dressed. Then, she told her about that day's plans.

"You have a playdate with Karen's daughter after school."

"Julie? Oh man, no! I hate Julie!" Lily whined.

"Oh man?" Sun Mei repeated in her mind. "Where did she hear that?"

"She is the biggest gossip at school!" Lily added.

Sun Mei nodded in understanding. "It must be genetic," she murmured.