She sighed. “Give us some space, okay? You threw a bomb at us. Maybe… maybe you and Andrew should do your own thing tonight. Somewhere else. Okay? Chinese restaurants will be open—on me and Bǎbá.”

But I only see you a few times a year.

But it’s Christmas.

But it was self-defense for me. Like always.

Aren’t I the victim here, not you?

“Okay,” I said instead.

She started to leave, but then she stopped and turned back to me. “At least you have Andrew. If you didn’t, you’d be in a lot more trouble. You better hang on to him, okay? Make this all worth it by showing me you were right about him, that he’ll be rich and successful and by your side. Do you think there’s a ring coming?”

“My God, Mǎmá. I haven’t even graduated college yet.”

“Yes, but when they have money, you have to lock them down sooner. You don’t have to get married tomorrow, but getting the ring is good.”

“What aren’t you telling me?” I blurted. “How serious is Bǎbá’s whatever-it-is? Should I be taking some time off school to spend at home?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. If the University of Chicago is as good as you say it is, you wouldn’t make such stupid conclusions.”

“Please. Just tell me if there’s something,” I begged. If they were trying to spare me from stressing, not knowing was much worse, because my mind had already spiraled to the darkest conclusions. But I couldn’t tell her that—she hated how I worried, told me it was my least attractive feature.

Instead of answering my question, she said, “Bring a jacket when you go out tonight.” Then she slipped back into the bedroom.

Drew CHAPTER 39 FOR REALS

But it’s Christmas was the first thought I had when Chloe relayed that her parents didn’t want to see us the rest of the day. For obvious reasons, I kept it to myself.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “What would you like to do? What do you need?”

“What are my options?” she said with a (very) forced laugh.

“Well, we could wait a little and see if they change their minds. Or we could just plan something and hope they’ll join us? What do you guys usually do?”

She shrugged. “Not much. Just dinner at home, maybe a game—you’ve already had a full tour of a Wang holiday. Our whole lives revolve around food and when and what our next meal is.”