Epilogue
EPILOGUE
T here is a hot breakfast waiting for me when I come out of the bedroom, my hair still mussed. Actually, calling it a breakfast seems inaccurate, given there are so many dishes on the dining table that it looks more like five different breakfasts. There are pumpkin pancakes, a few dim sum favorites like shao mai and har gao, jian bing—Chinese crepes filled with eggs and scallions and shredded chicken—and cold, spicy sesame noodles.
“Oh my god,” I say, gaping at all the food.
“Morning,” Shang says, walking into the dining room carrying two mugs of coffee. He hands one to me and leans down to kiss me.
“How? Why?” I say.
Shang grins and pulls out a chair for me. “You’re a pretty heavy sleeper.”
“Or you are the world’s quietest cook?”
“Gonna go with heavy sleeper.”
I can’t keep my eyes off him as I lower myself into the chair. “But why? There is so much food here.”
“It’s your first day as a partner at your firm. I didn’t want you to go to the office hungry. Anyway, we can save some for your parents. Your mom was the one who told me all your favorite breakfast dishes.”
I blink. “My mom?”
“Yes. There’s a group chat.”
“A group chat? Who’s in this group?”
“Both our moms. And me,” Shang says, smirking. “It’s called the Foodies.”
My mouth drops open in mock outrage. “You didn’t think to invite me to this group?”
“Are you a foodie?”
“I eat food!”
“This group is for serious cooks and food enthusiasts only,” Shang says.
“You smug bastard.” I take a big bite of cold sesame noodles and my eyes flutter closed. As with everything else Shang cooks, it’s delicious. “Thank you for doing this. And for creating the group chat. I bet my mom loves it.”
“She does, actually. Every morning I wake up and find like a dozen messages in there already. Our moms wake up really early.”
I laugh, shaking my head. “Unbelievable.” This man. I lean forward, smiling, eyes bright. This is the best moment. My smile widens. Over the past month, ever since the awards banquet, I find myself thinking: This moment is the best moment, I want to memorize it. Except there are so many of these moments. My days are now moments like these, bright and sparkling, stitched together. “Hey,” I say, “I love you.”
“Good, because I’m in love with you, too.” Shang meets me halfway, kissing me just the way I like, soft and slow.
At the office, I knock on Ba’s door. When I enter, I hold up a container. “Ba, I have some jian bing here for you.”
Ba’s face breaks into a smile. “Ah, jian bing! My favorite.”
“Shang made it.”
“Excellent,” he says. “Come sit down, Mulan.”
I sit across the table from my father. He gazes at me fondly. “Look at you,” he says. “Facai Capital’s newest partner. I couldn’t be prouder.”
It’s all I can do to whisper, “Ba.”
“Can I give you some advice?”
I nod.
“Don’t be the first one in and last one to leave the office,” Ba says.
“What, why? Isn’t that what partners do?”
“Sometimes, yes. But I also want you to have a life outside of all this. I didn’t come to this country so my daughter can sacrifice her youth for work.”
“Okay, Ba. I won’t.”
“Good, now let’s talk business.”
At noon, I leave for my lunch hour. I walk quickly, eager to get to the corner bistro. Mushu is already there, and she’s got our usual table by the window. I break into a smile when I spot her. It’s been weird not having Mushu around in the office anymore, and I relish our regular lunches.
“I ordered your usual,” Mushu says when I slide into my seat.
“Thanks. How was your weekend?”
Mushu blows air through her lips, making a thp-btb sound. “Exhausting. Brooke Tanaka is a demon. We had three events, back-to-back.”
“Oh yes, I saw the photos. You looked incredible at all of them.”
“That goes without saying.”
“All original Posy Lees?”
Mushu nods, then gives me a wicked grin. “You know, she mentioned she’s starting up a wedding dress line.”
“Shang and I have been in a relationship for less than two months,” I say flatly.
“I’m just saying, when you two inevitably get engaged, you know who’s a badass event planner?”
“I would not dream of going to anyone but the best event planner the Bay Area has to offer,” I say.
“Just to clarify, that would be me, yes?”
“Yes, Mushu!” I laugh. “Of course it would be you.”
“Good, because I’ve talked about this with your mom and she agreed to disown you if you went with anyone else.”
“Has everyone in the world been talking to my mom behind my back?”
“Yes,” Mushu says simply.
I shake my head, still beaming. My eyes soften as I look closely at Mushu. There are so many subtle differences with her now. Even the way she sits is different. Relaxed and happy and confident. “I love this job for you.”
Mushu meets my eye, and we gaze at each other with the kind of understanding only two women who have grown up with each other can have. “Thanks for pushing me to do it.”
“Thanks for helping me save my career.”
“Always.”
At the end of the workday, Baba and I make our way to Lamian Paradise. Everyone is inside, and it is chaos when we arrive. Hugs and handshakes are given all around, and Uncle Hong says, “Sit next to me, Zhou. The big Zhou,” he adds with a wink at me.
I roll my eyes, taking a seat next to Shang, who kisses the side of my head.
Uncle Hong pours some tea for Baba, briefly switching to Mandarin. “We’re so happy about the company’s performance.”
“Mulan has done very well with it,” Ba replies.
Uncle Hong nods. “She is a bright young woman, you must be very proud of her. We are all very pleased with the numbers, aren’t we?” He looks around the table, and Uncle Jing and Uncle Xiaotian nod, albeit a tad grudgingly.
“She is my future daughter-in-law, of course she is a bright young woman,” Auntie Jiayi pipes up.
Shang turns beet red. “Ma!”
“Hush, future son-in-law,” Ma says.
Now it’s my turn to blush. “Ma!”
The younger generation is more enthusiastic than the uncles—save for James, who just mutters something into his tea. I don’t care. The numbers don’t lie, and Wutai Gold is doing better than ever before. Shang, as CEO, still gets creative control, but he and his team have been surprisingly easy to work with, and I always look forward to our check-ins.
“Okay, no more shoptalk,” Auntie Chuang says. She turns to Shang. “Shang, when are you proposing to Mulan?”
“Go back to the shoptalk,” I say.
Everyone laughs. The conversation moves on to the topic of the holidays, which aren’t too far off in the distance now. As we argue good-naturedly about which one of us should get to host them, Shang reaches out and places a warm, calloused hand on mine.
I look up and find him gazing at me with tenderness, and I think, for the millionth time: This moment. This one is the best moment.
Of course, given the fact that I will later find a million more moments when I think, Nope, this one is even better , I am wrong about this one being the best, but I’m not mad about it.
THE END