Hush, My Sweet Darling

Chapter 39: Is the Cat Out of the Bag?

Byron got up from his seat and took Kai's hand in a firm grip. After sizing him up like he would any man that showed an inclination toward his precious daughter—in a not so discreet manner—he patted the young man's shoulder. "The remarkable Kai Wu! I've heard a lot of good things about you. Glad to finally meet you. Have a seat!"

Marion smiled. "You're not late at all," she said. "We were just waiting for dinner to be served."

Kai immediately took a seat next to Violet. As soon as he sat down, Butler Ming approached the group, holding a large box of gifts in his hands.

"Sir, ma'am, these are from Mr. Wu."

"Aiyo, what are these?" Marion exclaimed, looking surprised. "This isn't necessary."

"I don't know your preference yet, so my apologies if they didn't suit your taste. A Moutai Baijiu for Uncle Lee, and Wuyi oolong tea for Auntie Lee."

Violet saw her parents' eyes lit up, and she knew exactly why.

"Hm, are you sure you didn't know our preference?" Byron raised his eyebrows skeptically, but everyone could tell he was genuinely pleased with the gifts. "This is my wife's favorite tea. As for me, a lot of people have given me very expensive liquors. All in good intentions, of course, but they don't know that I don't usually drink, and when I do, it's only this Baijiu of this particular brand."

Marion smiled at Aunt Yue, giving her a knowing look.

"I didn't tell him anything," Aunt Yue said, laughing. "I didn't even know your husband's liquor preference. Even I'm impressed."

Byron let out an appreciative smile. "What a thoughtful lad," he praised while holding up the gift box with both hands. "Thank you, thank you. We both will certainly enjoy these."

"I'm glad I chose correctly," Kai said before glancing at Violet. A smile twinkled in the depth of his eyes.

With her mind and heart still in a jumble, Violet gave Kai another peek. Then a double-take. The sleeves of his navy blue dress shirt were up, exposing sinewy forearms. His button-up was tucked inside a pair of beige pants and a brown belt, all custom-fitted, outlining his toned figure. It seemed like everywhere there could be muscles, he had it. 

Of course, this wasn't the first time she saw him, but she'd always found it hard to look away from the man's masculine body. Her eyes slowly trailed from his powerful thighs, sturdy chest, dominant shoulders, back to his gorgeous face, perusing the finest man she'd ever seen in her life.  

Gosh, why does he always look so good? 

Then she saw it. He...winked.

Feeling her cheeks burn, she averted her gaze to the coffee table in front of her. 

She had just caught up on the fact that this man, for whom her heart had been wildly palpitating, was also someone that her mother had been trying to set her up with. Logically, shouldn't she be happy? Wasn't this what they called serendipity? So, for reasons that she was still trying to figure out, why did she somehow feel aggrieved?

"Sweetheart," her mom's voice startled her. "Are you sure you're alright? You haven't said a word. Maybe I really should take your temperature." 

Realizing that all eyes were on her, Violet came back to her senses. She knew her mom must have found her silence odd. Even if she'd had a second thought about being set up with Aunt Yue's nephew, she'd still have greeted him and thanked him for the flower. That was just how she'd been raised. She realized she was behaving rather discourteously in front of their guests.