“That’s the coolest proposal I’ve ever heard!” Samantha gushed, wiping the tears from her eyes. When she had first heard about what had happened to Rachel in Singapore, Samantha had been furious with Nick. How could he not have noticed how badly Rachel was being treated? Rachel had moved out of Nick’s place immediately after returning from Asia, and Samantha was glad her cousin was rid of him. But as the months passed and Rachel began to see Nick again, Samantha found herself having a change of heart as well. After all, he had come to Rachel’s rescue and sacrificed his relationship with his own family to be with her. He had waited patiently in the wings, giving Rachel all the time she needed to heal. And now they were getting married at long last.

“Well done, Nick! We’re all looking forward to the big day next month in Montecito!” Uncle Ray declared.

“We decided to spend a few extra nights at Ojai Valley Inn and Spa,” bragged Auntie Belinda, looking around the table to make sure all the family had heard her.

Rachel chuckled to herself, knowing that her other relatives wouldn’t even have a clue what Belinda was talking about. “That sounds wonderful. I wish we had the time to do something like that. We’re going to have to wait till the semester ends in May before we go on our honeymoon.”

“But weren’t you and Nick just in China?” Uncle Ray inquired.

Rachel’s auntie Jin tried to make eyes at Ray from across the table, warning him off the topic, while his wife pinched him hard on his left thigh. “Owww!” he let out before realizing his gaffe. Belinda had told him that Rachel and Nick had been to Fuzhou again, chasing yet another false lead in the search for her father, but this apparently was another in a long list of family secrets he wasn’t supposed to talk about.

“Yes, we made a short trip,” Nick answered quickly.

“Well, you two are brave souls. I for one cannot stomach any of the food over there. I don’t care how ‘gourmet’ they say the food has gotten, all their animals are loaded with carcinogens. And look at this duck you’re all eating! I bet it was fed with growth hormones too,” Auntie Belinda scoffed as she gnawed on her turnip.

Rachel stared at the plump roast duck with its glossy amber sheen, suddenly losing her appetite.

“Yes, you can trust the food in Hong Kong, but not anywhere on the Mainland,” Auntie Jin said, deftly removing every bit of fat from her roast duck with her chopsticks.

“That’s just not true!” Samantha argued. “Why are you guys still so prejudiced against China? When I was there last year, I had some of the best meals of my life. You really haven’t had good xiao long bao^*3 until you’ve eaten it in Shanghai.”

At the end of the table, Great-auntie Louise, the oldest member of the Chu clan, suddenly blurted out, “Rachel, what news of your father? Have you found him yet?”