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.

Not wanting to alarm her mom further, she quickly reassured her, "I'm okay, Mom." She then reached out to her teacup and explained, "I'm just parched." She took a sip of the aromatic jasmine tea before looking at Kai. "Thank you, Mr. Wu, this lavender rose is lovely." 

She had taken flower arrangement classes when she was younger and hadn't missed the meaning of this particular flower. Enchantment. Love at first sight. Did he know it too? Or had he simply bought it because it carried the same hue as the meaning of her name? 

She gave him a faint, polite smile. 

Kai's handsome features looked calm, but Violet saw a hint of discernment in his gaze, telling her he noticed how her smile didn't reach her eyes.

"Miss Lee must have been surprised by my appearance here," he said, a wistful smile crawled across his lips. "I apologize for not telling you about this in advance."

All the other ears in the room perked up while Violet frowned.

Did he just reveal to everyone that we knew each other?

She raised an eyebrow at him.

Surely, he isn't planning to let the cat out of the bag...?

Her heart started to beat faster.

"What do you mean, Kai?" Aunt Yue asked, hearing no response from Violet. "Did you two already know each other?"

Kai didn't immediately answer. His deep and dark gaze never moved from Violet, and his smile, though pensive, was enigmatic, never left his lips.

Violet's heart throbbed harder.

W-what in the world is happening?

SURELY, he wouldn't divulge the truth? She started to panic.

Clutching at the skirt of her dress, she bit her lip, hoping to God that Kai would recognize her silent plead.

Then she saw his eyes leaving hers, shifting them to his aunt as he replied, "We met a few days ago at Sing Sing Lounge Karaoke Bar," he said, "Miss Lee was attending her friend's birthday party..."

Violet's heart sank.

Alright... this is it then.

Her parents were about to find out about what happened to her last weekend.

Goodbye, dorm... Goodbye, freedom... It was good while it lasted.

Feeling her eyes moistening, Violet lowered her head, bracing for whatever would come next.

"... saw Miss Ng, whom I happen to know because she used to be a trainee at the police academy."

Yes, sure... Why don't you go and implicate Lauren too? Violet grumbled inwardly. I'm sorry Lauren, I can't protect you right now, but rest assured, I won't abandon you...

"She told me she was on duty, safeguarding Miss Lee. Later, she introduced us," Kai explained. "That's how we met."

Violet blinked.

Wait, what?

She jolted upright and saw how everyone's whole face lit up before they dissolved into laughter.

"It's indeed a small world after all," Leo guffawed.

"No wonder my daughter looked so surprised when she saw you," Byron said, smiling. "Who would've thought Miss Ng would be your mutual acquaintance."

"How auspicious!" Aunt Yue exclaimed, clapping her hands. "You should have told me, Kai."

"Sweetheart, you should have told us about this too," Marion gently chided Violet, although smiling, expressing her amusement.

Violet couldn't help but pout. How was she supposed to know that this man was also Aunt Yue's nephew?

But he didn't rat on her, giving her an immense sense of relief. Feeling thankful, her eyes drifted back to him, and their eyes met again. His expression exuded gentleness, and his dark eyes flashed with a hint of a smile.

Right at that moment, a maid appeared, announcing that the dinner was served.

***

The Lees definitely knew how to host a dinner party. It was a lavish feast of traditional Cantonese dishes. Neatly arranged on the dining table were Claypot rice, steamed chicken, sweet and sour pork, and all kinds of braised and stir-fried vegetables. The elders ate and chatted merrily as if they had all been old friends. The conversation topics varied from their respective family, politics to business.

Throughout the dinner, Violet kept her prim and proper manner but still rarely spoke, only talking when a question was directed at her. Nonetheless, she'd been listening to the talks between the elders attentively. 

"How is Honorable Governor Wu doing?" Her father's question piqued her interest.

There was only one man with the surname of Wu in Hong Kong that held that title. Jian Wu.

As the last Governor of Hong Kong under British rule—and the most notable—Jian Wu was no stranger to anyone. He took office around twenty-five years ago and was even mentioned in the history textbooks for elementary school students.

"He's doing well and in good health, sir," replied the familiar deep voice of the man sitting next to her. "Living and enjoying the fisherman's life."

"Is he still living up north in Tung Ping Chau island?"

"Yes, he likes the tranquility."

"With not even fifty residents spread around the area, it's close to becoming a ghost island," Aunt Yue chimed in. "But my brother is such a recluse. He loves it there. Not even this oldest son of his could persuade him to move closer to us."

Violet jerked her eyes up from her rice bowl to Aunt Yue, to Kai, then to Aunt Yue again, silently gaping in awe.

So Aunt Yue was the sister of the illustrious Jian Wu? And the fine man sitting beside her was the eldest son of Jian Wu and his late wife, Lilian Arai? 

Sweet kitten in a mitten! What a curious twist of fate!

Neither Aunt Yue nor her mom had ever talked about Aunt Yue being Jian Wu's sister. Had she known, she would have asked Aunt Yue for her brother's autograph!

You see, this particular Wu family was such a high-profile family. Not only due to Jian Wu's title as a former officeholder but also because of his and his late wife's beautiful love story. It was so awe-inspiring that it had been widely celebrated by the public, even after Lilian's passing. Even she, someone who hadn't been alive back then, knew about them.

Before Jian Wu was the head of the Government of Hong Kong, he was a Professor of Economics, granted tenure at Tokyo University. It was there that he met Lilian Arai—a beautiful young lady, who was born to a French mother and a Japanese father.

Lilian, fourteen years Jian's junior, was one of his students. She was also the only heiress of the Arai Corps, Japan's largest biomedical company. Jian and Lilian fell in love, and despite her family's objections—mainly because he wasn't the person her family had arranged for her to marry—he wedded her.

He moved back to Hong Kong, taking his young wife with him. Persuaded by a friend, he started a career in politics. He eventually climbed up the political ladder and was appointed the Governor of Hong Kong. 

With a successful career and a blissful life with his wife and their two children, Jian Wu had got it made. Things couldn't have been any better, for even the Arai family had finally given the couple their blessings. Everything was as perfect as it could be.

Until exactly twenty-two years ago, when Lilian suddenly died in a plane crash. She was just thirty-three years old. Jian Wu, who loved his wife so much, was so heartbroken, he decided to resign from office and retired completely from the limelight, away from the public's eyes.

He lived a quiet life with his children thereafter. Not much had been written about him until around five years ago; when he published his memoir. The book sold like hotcakes on the first day after its release. That was how Violet came to know about Jian Wu and Lilian Arai's story, for she, too, had read the book.

Even though at the time of reading it she hadn't been interested in romance for herself, learning about Jian Wu's story had brought about a great sense of reverence toward the man. Not only for his accomplishments but also his deep love for his late wife. Just like anyone else who'd read the memoir, she gushed over the couple's love story.

Thinking back to the book, she realized there were little to no mentions of Jian Wu's other relatives, including his own sister and two sons. The memoir was truly his ode to the only love of his life, Lilian, and her only.

Violet sighed. What a great love...

She snuck another glance at the man beside her and got startled when his eyes were already fixed on her. She quickly looked away.

♡──── ❝ Author's Note ❞ ────♡

Nope, the cat's still in the bag! 🙃

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Thank you so much for reading!

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