Page 10 of Worth Fighting For

Zhou

From: Li Shang

To: Hua Zhou

Subject: Re: Wutai Gold & Facai Capital

Dear Zhou,

Hey I never back down from a challenge. Horseback race it is.

My family is very much looking forward to meeting you on Wednesday. Between you and me, they’re very traditional, as you can probably guess. They feel strongly that whomever we end up selling the company to needs to understand what our brand stands for—strength, courage, and perseverance. I’ve really enjoyed our correspondence and hope that our meeting will go well.

I’ll see you then,

Shang

“Strength, courage, and perseverance,” I say. My forehead thunks onto the table and I lie there quietly for a while, savoring the silence in the office.

The sound of footsteps enters the room. “Uh-oh. Are we done for the night?” Mushu says, setting bags of takeout down on the table.

I peer up at her without lifting my head. “The patriarchy is so tiresome.”

“That’s one word for it.” Mushu starts unpacking the bags, filling the room with the delicious, greasy smells of black pepper beef and Yangchow fried rice. She pushes the containers to me. “Eat. Your brain needs food.”

“I’ve lost my appetite.” On top of Baba being in the hospital right now, the images of him being raised on a farm hurt for some strange reason. For the life of me, I can’t imagine Baba herding cattle or milking cows or whatever else they do on farms. And here he is, telling a complete stranger that he learned to ride horses before he could walk? What? Who is this man, and what happened to him? The Baba I grew up with carries a microfiber cloth to clean his glasses every thirty minutes and takes two different antihistamines for his pollen allergy. He watchesLove Is Blindand says “Oh my” when the contestants inevitably get hurt on camera. He is a math nerd who plays the Xbox and cries at games likeThe Last of Us. I feel betrayed somehow, finding out that there’s a whole side to him I didn’t know about.

And not to mention the fact that this Shang has basically spelled out that his family will only deal with a man. What I said to Mushu earlier in the day about being experienced when it comes to dealing with finance bros is true. It’s just that I never expected that my father would connect to a finance bro on such a personal level.Maybe Baba lied to me all these years when he told me that he was glad to have a daughter instead of a son?The thought stabs straight into the roots of my heart, making my eyes water. Historically, Chinese families have been known to favor boys over girls. Didn’t my own aunt say as much to my mother? I’ve always considered myself lucky that my parents are so untraditional, but maybe that was all a lie.Could Baba have secretly wished for a son all along?

The thought of this makes something click. Haven’t I been playing different roles my entire life? This whole time, I’ve tried to fulfill the role of a sonanddaughter for my parents to make up for me being a girl. At the office, I’ve played yet another role. My life is nothing more than a series of roles. What’s one more?

“I take it you’ve read all their emails?” Mushu says. Her mouth is full of fried rice, so it takes me a second to figure out what she just said.

“Yep.”

“You read the emails that basically say they don’t want to deal with anyone but your father?”

“I read the emails that say they don’t want to deal with anyone but Hua Zhou,” I say.

Mushu frowns, chewing slowly before swallowing. In the thick silence of the room, her swallowing is painfully audible. “I’m not sure what you’re getting at.”

“My dad never referred to himself as a ‘he.’”

“Um…”

“He never mentioned his age, never mentioned his daughter or his wife or any other identifying details aside from his name. Zhou could be a girl’s name.”

“Mulan…” Mushu says with a warning tone.

“Mushu,” I reply with a sweet smile.

“No,” Mushu says.

“Yes.”

“No.”

“And you’re going to help me.”

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