Chapters (93)
- Cover
- Dedication
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- Fifty-Six
- Fifty-Seven
- Fifty-Eight
- Fifty-Nine
- Sixty
- Sixty-One
- Sixty-Two
- Sixty-Three
- Sixty-Four
- Sixty-Five
- Sixty-Six
- Sixty-Seven
- Sixty-Eight
- Sixty-Nine
- Seventy
- Seventy-One
- Seventy-Two
- Seventy-Three
- Seventy-Four
- Seventy-Five
- Seventy-Six
- Seventy-Seven
- Seventy-Eight
- Seventy-Nine
- Eighty
- Eighty-One
- Eighty-Two
- Eighty-Three
- Eighty-Four
- Eighty-Five
- Author’s Note
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Books by Kelly Yang
- Back Ad
- About the Publisher
“Never mind,” I say. “So what does your dad believe in?”
He ponders this. “Strength and control,” he replies.
After dinner, we curl up in front of the TV. I drift asleep. Maybe it’s the wine or all the late nights of studying finally catching up on me. When I wake up, it’s midnight. I’m lying in bed. I look around, feeling slightly disoriented as I register that I’m in one of the guest bedrooms, down the hall from Jay’s room. I panic, looking down at my clothes. I’m in navy-blue satin pajamas. But my bra’s still on. We didn’t . . . Did we?
I get up out of bed to find Jay. As I walk down the hall, I hear him talking on speaker.
“Sorry, sir. I haven’t had a chance to go to the site yet. I’ll go soon,” Jay says in Chinese.
Who is he talking to?
“Stop screwing around. The future of this family depends on you,” the thick Beijing accented voice booms on speaker. Is that his dad?
“Of course. I understand,” Jay says. “I’ll go tomorrow.”
“Have you been doing your exercises?”
“Yes, Dad,” Jay says.
“I’m going to test you when you’re back. If it turns out you’ve been lazy—”
“I haven’t been lazy.”
Jay’s dad exhales. “Your mother says you’ve been hanging out with a girl,” his dad says.
I freeze at the mention of me and lean against the marble wall.
Jay doesn’t say anything.
“You know I don’t care who you take to bed, but don’t let it get too far,” his dad says. “Women are a weakness.”
“Yes, sir,” Jay says.
I tiptoe back to my room as he ends the call. Crawling back under the covers, I try to close my eyes and go back to sleep, but I can’t. All I can think about are the words, “I don’t care who you take to bed . . .” Who says that to his son? And is that all this is?
Jay wakes me up at the crack of dawn.
“Hey,” he says. “Get up, sleeping beauty.”
I squint at the misty morning light streaming in through the airy white curtains.
“Want to go on a run with me?” he asks. He’s in jogging pants and a T-shirt.
I sit up and look around the room. “What time is it?” I ask.
“It’s nearly six,” he says.
I groan. So early? I put my head back on my pillow. Ever since I stopped Skyping with Teddy, I’ve been sleeping in until seven. Then I suddenly remember. “Did we?” I ask him.
He looks at me, amused. “No, we did not,” he says. “But if you want . . .”