The entire room froze. Completely. Not a single muscle twitched.

“She’s just kidding!” my mother said with a laugh, throwing her head back in exaggeration, but not before her eyes met mine with a question in them.

Mrs. Kuo’s gaze dropped to my stomach, which, as always, did have a little protrusion because, well, I’m human, but obviously it was not a full-blown preggers belly.

“It’s still early,” I said, letting my fiery red shine bright. I considered adding that it wasn’t Hongbo’s, but then I realized it didn’t matter whose it was. Maybe it would be better if people did think it was Hongbo’s, just to punish the Kuos more.

My mother started waving her arms. “She’s not pregnant! Tiān āh, you have to believe me!” She grabbed my elbow and shook it frantically. “Tell them, Jing-Jing! The truth!”

I pressed my palm to my abdomen. Andrew, who had been staring at me in shock a second ago, pulled it together and came over to put his hands on my shoulders, a united front.

My father looked like he was about to pass out. My mother’s head turned in a circle, looking from one person to another, and, realizing that they believed me, she lost it.

“I’m going to go get a pregnancy test right now and prove it to you all! Come on, Jing-Jing.” She started pushing me toward the front door, but I held my ground.

“How will I know it’s actually Jing-Jing’s pee on the stick?” Hongbo’s mother exclaimed to mine, also clearly having lost it. “You could pee on it or something—we wouldn’t know!”

“She’ll do it in front of you, okay?” my mother screeched.

“That still doesn’t prove she’s a virgin,” Mrs. Kuo fired back.

“We’ll have a gynecologist confirm her hymee—hymen?—is still intact. Isn’t Tsai An here?” My mother’s head turned frantically, searching for Dr. Tsai in the crowd.

“Everyone shut the hell up!” I yelled, the words erupting from my lips. “No one is looking at my private parts. Jesus! What is wrong with all of you? Does no one else see how fucked up this all is?”

The older generation gasped when I swore, but I charged on, a wild bull finally loose in the China house. “I’m not an object, I’m not anyone’s property, and I’m just done with all this. I don’t care what any of you think of me anymore—for the first time, and much too long overdue.”

“It’s off,” Hongbo’s mother said icily to mine. “Hongbo is too good for your Jing-Jing.”

Andrew and I laughed, but everyone else remained frozen in place.

“Do you really want me to comment on that?” I asked. “On how we all got here?” I would spill their secret with pleasure.