by Zoey Gong
“Nothing,” Winnie said. “I try calling every day, but no answer. They’ve all blocked me on WeChat as well, so I can’t see anything they are posting. I wish they would at least let me know how Lingling and the baby are doing.”
“The liver is discolored,” Lian said, pointing at a brown spot on the liver that Brock had missed. Winnie nodded and jotted that down.
“What about Chang?” Lian asked.
“I blocked him,” Winnie said. “I mailed the ring back with a letter telling him the engagement was off and that I already told my mother the truth, so he doesn’t have any leverage to use against me.”
“What about the money for Lingling’s hospital stay?” Brock asked.
“It was a private loan,” Winnie said. “He just paid the bill himself. There was no contract. I’ll still pay him back, but he can’t take us to court or anything to get the money back.”
“That’s good,” Lian said.
“And Kai?” Brock asked as he rooted around in the body’s intestines.
“I don’t know,” Winnie said. “I don’t really see much of a future there with the way things are now.”
“But if things were different?” Lian prodded.
“He’s a nice guy,” Winnie admitted. “The way he loves his mother...It makes me ashamed of my own behavior.”
“Well, your mom is totally extreme,” Brock said. “Who arranges a marriage without their daughter’s consent?”
Winnie couldn’t help but chuckle at the whole situation. She supposed that having a little time and space from that crazy New Year holiday had done her some good. She couldn’t believe what they had all gone through. Did her mother really think she could force Winnie to go through with it? Had Winnie really hired Kai to be her fake boyfriend to get out of it? It was so dumb! Lian was right. She should have been honest from the beginning.
“She did it because she loves me,” Winnie said. “We are just living in two different times. Did I ever tell you that my parents had an arranged marriage?”
“No!” Brock said, with an exaggerated gasp.
Winnie nodded. “That’s just how it was back then. I don’t know. If I can get my mom to ever speak to me again, I think we can work things out.”
“How?” Lian said. “She won’t want you living overseas.”
“I know,” Winnie said. “I looked at some programs in China, but I can’t find any that will accept the credits I’ve earned here. I’d have to start over if I went back I think, and I don’t want to do that. I sacrificed so much to get here.”
Brock and Lian nodded in commiseration and then returned to their body.
Winnie’s phone rang and she answered it quickly without checking to see who it was. Since she was taking the notes, her hands weren’t covered in viscera.
“Li Wen?” the voice on the other end of the line asked.
“Umm, yes,” Winnie said. “Who is this?”
“I’m not sure if you remember me, but this is Dr. Hu from the Shanghai Maternity Hospital.”
“Oh!” Winnie said, suddenly alarmed. “It’s Dr. Hu!” she whispered harshly to her friends before turning away and walking out of the room. “Of course I remember you,” she said to the doctor once she was in the hallway. “Is something wrong with my sister?”
“Not at all,” the doctor said. “I’m sorry for startling you.”
Winnie sighed in relief. “Oh, good. Then how can I help you?”
“I wanted to tell you that I was very impressed with your assistance on your sister’s situation,” Dr. Hu said.
“Really?” Winnie asked. She was certain that by telling the doctors how to do their jobs, she had stepped on more than a few toes. Not that she cared. Her sister’s life was worth it.
“Yes,” the doctor said. “I will have an opening for a new intern soon. It is a rare opportunity. One of my other students had a family crisis and had to leave the program. I was wondering if you would be interested in interning with me.”
“I...Well...Yes,” Winnie said. “I would be interested in learning more. But I am a student in Australia. I haven’t found any programs in China that would accept my Australian credits.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Dr. Hu said. “I have seen you in action. I know you have the practical skills. I can take care of any paperwork.”
“In that case,” Winnie said. “I’m very interested! We need to talk about the details. I would have to move, find a place to live. And we would have to talk about my pay--”
“Yes, yes,” Dr. Hu interrupted. “I will send you a copy of the contract with your duties and the complete program laid out for you. We can talk about the adjustments since you are already mid-program in Australia after you look it over, okay?”
“Great!” Winnie said. “Thank you.”
“I look forward to working with you...again!” Dr. Hu said.
“Me too,” Winnie said. “Oh, but how did you find me?”
“I had your mother’s information in Lingling’s file, so I called her,” Dr. Hu said.
“You contacted my mother?” Winnie asked. “And she gave you my number.”
“It took some begging,” Dr. Hu said. “Your mother is very proud of you. Said you were a hot-shot doctor in Australia and would never accept my proposal.”
She laughed, but Winnie just stood there in shock. Her mother was...proud of her? Surely not!
“Anyway, I need to get back to work,” Dr. Hu said. “We can set up a meeting in a few days.”
“Sounds good,” Winnie finally choked out. “Thank you again.”
Winnie held her phone to her chest and exhaled. Was this the answer to her problems? Was it what she wanted? After everything she had been through to escape her life in China, did she really want to go back?
She knew the answer and was surprised by it.
Yes, she wanted to go back to China. She wanted to go home.
She missed her crazy family. She missed the food. The smells. The sights.
And there was so much good she could do there. Seeing how overrun the maternity hospital was showed her that her skills were needed more in China than abroad. It would be stressful. The sheer number of babies was a constant strain on doctors. And the lack of socialized healthcare was heartbreaking. But she couldn’t do anything about that if she wasn’t there. If she was in China, she could help people, and she could work to create a better system. She could find ways to volunteer and support the families who needed it most. It would be difficult. She knew many days would leave her emotions utterly destroyed. But she was strong. She could do it. She would do it.
Winnie called her mother. When her mother didn’t answer, she called again. And again. And again. She wouldn’t stop calling until her mother answered the phone. She called dozens of times before her mother finally answered.
“What?” her mother asked.
“Ma,” Winnie said. “I’m sorry.”
“Go on…” her mother said.
Winnie chuckled. “I’m sorry I lied...about everything. About my schooling, my job, where I live, and about Kai. I’m sorry. I was wrong.”
Her mother was quiet for a long time, but she knew she was still there because she could hear her breathing. Finally, she spoke.
“I want to forgive you, Wenwen,” she said. “But I can’t accept you living so far away. I need you here. Your sister needs you. She’s been very weak. It’s been very difficult for everyone.”
“I’m sorry to hear about Lingling,” Winnie said. “And I understand your concerns. I wanted you to know that I’m moving back to China.”
“Oh! Wenwen!” her mother cried.
“But not back to Harbin,” Winnie said quickly. “Dr. Hu from Shanghai Maternity Hospital has offered me an internship with her, and I’ve decided to accept it.”
“So you will be living in Shanghai?” her mother asked. “For real this time?”
“Yes,” Winnie said. “For real. Once I get my apartment arranged, you can come see for yourself, oka
y?”
“Fine,” her mother said. “But I need more from you.”
“Anything,” Winnie said.
“I want you to call me every day, just so I know you are safe.”
“Okay,” Winnie said.
“And you must come home every New Year. And National Day.”
“Oh, Ma!” Winnie groaned.
“No disagreements!” her mother said. “You’ve put me through so much. My heart hurts. I don’t know how many years I have left. Don’t you want to see me as much as possible before I die?”
Winnie knew her mother was exaggerating, but she thought about Kai and his mother. How he would do anything to spend even one more moment with his mother.
“Yes,” Winnie said. “I’ll come.”
“Then I forgive you,” her mother said. “And...I’m sorry too.”
“Really?” Winnie asked.
“Yes,” she said. “Lingling sent me an article about how many young women are hiring these New Year boyfriends. I didn’t think that wanting the best for my daughter would drive you to do something so extreme. I still want you to get married. I want you to be happy and taken care of. But I will let you finish medical school first, okay?”
“Thank you,” Winnie said, her eyes welling with tears. “That means a lot to me.”
“So,” her mother said. “When are you coming home?”
Winnie walked the hallway of the cancer ward with flowers in hand toward Kai’s mother’s room. She hoped they were still there. They were leaving for home today. Kai’s mother was in full remission, and Kai needed to work more closely with the app developers he had hired in China to meet a looming deadline for the investors. It would still be a few weeks before Winnie would return to China, so she wanted to let Kai know about the change in her circumstances now, before he left.
Kai’s mother opened the door and greeted Winnie with a smile and a hug.
“Oh, Winnie!” she said. “The flowers are beautiful, but I don’t think I can take them on the plane.”
“Oh, right,” Winnie said. “That was stupid of me. I’ll leave them here for the next resident then.”
“We are leaving in a few minutes,” Kai’s mother said. “But I want to say goodbye to a few other people. I’ll be back soon.”
“Okay,” Winnie said. She then turned to Kai, who had been sitting on the bed. He stood up and walked toward her.
“Flowers?” he asked as she held them out to him.
“Well, I never show up for a date without flowers,” she said.
Kai chuckled and took the bouquet from her. “I thought that was supposed to be me.”
“That was the pretend you,” Winnie said. “These are from the real me.”
“Thank you,” Kai said as he picked at a couple of the blooms. “I’m not sure what they are supposed to mean, though.”
“They mean that I am looking forward to getting to know you better...after I move back to Shanghai,” she said.
“In a few years?” Kai asked.
“More like in a few weeks,” she said. “I have accepted an internship at the Shanghai Maternity Hospital.”
“Winnie!” Kai gasped. “That’s wonderful! If...if this is really what you want?”
“It is,” Winnie said. “And I talked to my mother this morning. I apologized for...well, for everything. And she apologized too and promised not to pressure me into marriage again. At least not until I finish my program.”
“That’s so great,” Kai said, reaching out and wrapping her in a hug. “I’m so happy for you.”
Winnie hugged him back and lingered, not wanting to let him go. Kai finally pulled back first.
“When you are finally a doctor,” Kai said. “I’ll be waiting for you.”
“You don’t have to wait,” Winnie said, and Kai’s eyes grew big. “You helped me realize that there was more to life than studying and being the best student in the best program at the best school. I can have more reasonable goals and be happier if I have room for my career, my family, and even love in my life.”
“Love?” Kai asked, wiggling his eyebrows.
“Maybe,” Winnie said. “When I get to Shanghai in a few weeks, maybe we can find out.”
“We can start finding out right now,” Kai said, and he cupped her face in his hands and pulled her into a gentle kiss.
Winnie felt the butterflies surge and flip in her stomach and she leaned in, deepening the kiss. It felt right. It felt warm. It felt like home.
Winnie laughed to herself as she imagined the look on her mother’s face when she reintroduced Kai, her New Year boyfriend, as the love of her life.
* * *
The End
Thank You!
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A Girl and Her Elephant
All of the elephants wept as one of their own lay dying in childbirth. But Kanita, the daughter of the royal elephant trainer, refused to give up. With her own hands, she helped bring the baby elephant, Safi, into the world, beginning a lifelong friendship between a girl and her elephant.
But many of the villagers worried about the curse of the white elephant with the red birthmark across her face.
Raised in the mountains of northern Siam, Kanita’s idyllic life is shattered when she is ordered to marry a much older man and leave her beloved yet cursed elephant behind. But Kanita’s stubborn nature refuses to bow to her parents’ wishes.
Kanita and Safi flee their village with the goal of redeeming Safi from her cursed reputation and cementing their bond, vowing to never be separated.
But the jungle is more dangerous than Kanita or Safi could have imagined.
Follow Kanita and Safi through the jungles of ancient Siam in a story of friendship, hope, and redemption.
A Girl and Her Panda
Lihua never could have imagined that the birth of a little brother would end the life she knew.
Raised in a poor country village, Lihua prayed her parents would have a son to bring peace and balance to the family. But she did not foresee how living in such poverty would force her parents to face a terrible choice they once made that would now cost Lihua everything.
Suddenly told to leave her home, Lihua begins a treacherous journey alone. After being attacked on the road the first day, an unlikely hero comes to her aid: a panda she decides to call Panpan. Bound together for love and survival, Lihua and Panpan travel together through the mountains and forest of western China as Lihua struggles to find her new place in the world.
A Girl and Her Tiger
She didn’t plan on becoming a rebel…
After watching her parents serve in British households for her whole life, Priya had grown to despise every aspect of British colonialism. After an introduction to a British family in an attempt to secure a servant position of her own ends in disaster, Priya runs away to try and find a better life.
But she doesn’t get far.
Alone on the streets of Bombay, Priya is kidnapped and taken captive aboard a smuggler’s ship bound for the slave markets of the Americas.
And in the cage next to her – is a ferocious mama tiger named Nabhitha!
When Priya and the tiger see a chance for escape, will Priya dare to take it? Or will she end up the tiger’s dinner?
Follow Priya and Nabhitha on a journey of courage and second chances.
About the Author
ZOEY GONG was born and raised in rural Hunan Province, China. She has been studying English and working as a translator since she was sixteen years old. Now in her early twenties, Zoey loves traveling and eating noodles for every meal. She lives in Shenzhen with her cat, Jello, and dreams of one day disappointing her parents by being a Leftover Woman (剩女).
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