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“ This is my family. I found it all on my own. It’s little, and broken, but still good. Yeah, still good.”
Those words struck a chord in Piaopiao's heart, making their home in her head to be played on repeat for well over a week now. One day Kan Jian had brought over one of his favorite American films (which was also the namesake of his dog) after he heard about what happened with her ex-husband. It was a little interesting if a bit strange; about a blue dog-like alien creature that learns about compassion and humanity from a little girl and her older sister. The movie had been a big hit with her little girl, but those words spoken at the end made Piaopiao pause.
Before, the only family she had was her daughter. Her own parents couldn’t care less about her. It was her younger brother who shouldered the weight of their family. She may have learned the tricks of the family business, but he was the one with the talent, their pride and joy. Even as she got older and gained all of those admirers, she felt trapped. They always swarmed her, crowding and suffocating her; like locusts after a leaf. In middle school, the situation worsened, nearly driving her insane.
The only bright spot was the young fat boy (she never really knew his name until she met him again thirty years later). Unlike the other boys, he never really sought out her affections; she was more of a sister than a love interest. He helped fix up her bike a few times, even going so far as to give her his own bike chain when hers broke (As thanks she gave him homemade sweets a few times, the only one aside from her ex-husband to ever get any). Then there was that incident with the upperclassmen the winter that they had moved away. Piaopiao hadn’t known she had a stalker until he was nearly upon her. She didn’t even know that he had been stalking her for weeks . The creep grabbed her wrist just as she passed by an alley on her way home. Jerking her hard enough that she nearly fell to the ground screaming. A hand covered her mouth a second later. She could feel her blood turn to ice, fear gripping her heart. How she wanted to run away as fast and as far as possible, but the grip around her wrist and mouth was far too strong for her to break.
Her stalker was nearly twice as tall as she was, wearing the uniform of the neighboring high school. That was the first time she ever felt terrified for her own life. However, she was lucky that day. Pangzi happened to have spotted her stalker several days before. He had been stalking the stalker in case the creep had tried anything (his hunch would be right). Piaopiao had never before felt such joy to see the chubby boy. He had taken one look before flying into a rage. The creep was thrown off guard when a chubby fist was hurled into his nose. A sickening crunch resounded as the taller was thrown back into the alley. “ Sicko! Leave her alone! ”
Before she knew what was happening, her young hero grabbed her wrist, pulling her out of the dingy alleyway into the semi-crowded main road at a dead run. Piaopiao didn’t even think twice as she followed the little (fat) knight. That had been the first instance where she had been grateful to the young boy who had saved her, feeling a sort of familial connection to someone other than her future daughter. Unfortunately, she would lose touch with him the next day when her father decided to just uproot them all (" It’s for the best ,” he told them as they loaded up the small car with their meager belongings. “ The Tigress is getting restless. ” That was all he had said on the matter).
The next time she saw Pangzi came at a point in her life where it seemed that darkness lurked at every corner. She had finally just got the courage to file for divorce after opening a salon the year before with help from some old friends. It was doing okay, it helped to pay the bills, at least. But those soon piled up. With Xiao Mei’s hospital bills, plus the lawyer fees and bank payments, she was beginning to wonder if she would have to take a second job just to keep up with all of it. When she had overheard the conversation between the two boys that day, she had to admit that it sparked her curiosity a bit. Never in a million years would she have thought that the young boy (Li Cu, she would later learn, was Pangzi’s godson/older brother/nephew. It was an odd title but it fit in with the family image she now had of them) would lead her to a family more loving than her own, and just as non-conventional.
It had been an odd first meeting. After finding Pangzi at the local market with the young boys (whom she would come to love just as much as her own daughter), the fat man managed to drag her and her daughter to Wushanju to meet some of his extended family. When she had heard that Li Cu’s mother had been sick, the image of a frail beauty of a woman with long hair neatly tied back and kind eyes appeared in her mind. She had been right about everything except the hair and gender. Wu Xie was definitely very male, but he was also a frail beauty with kind eyes, even with a bit of a fever blush on his cheeks as he greeted them from what looked like a pile of fuzzy blankets (and the occasional pillow), arms full of fur. A kitten, around the same size as the orange one that her daughter was still holding, curled up in the crook of his arm while another, much older cat with very colorful fur, sat looking at her. Wu Xie had tried to get up, but the person behind him wrapped an arm around his middle before resting his chin on the other's shoulder. When Pangzi introduced her to his two life-long friends, he switched between so many nicknames it made her head spin. Wu Xie just laughed at her confusion before speaking, " You can just call me Wu Xie. Only my kids call me Laoma. " The silent one only acknowledged whenever he was called Xiaoge or Laoba. She had seen the way both men eyed the bruise she had tried hard to hide. She also eyed the scars on the man with kind eyes. She had seen the one on his neck and the smaller ones hidden by the blankets and his shirt sleeve. It made her wonder just how much pain he had survived until now.
That had been her strange introduction to the residents of Wushanju. Overnight she learned the dynamics of their so-called family. Wu Xie was Laoma , the mother and head of the household, and his word was law. Beside him was the silent one, Xiaoge (or as she would later learn, Zhang Qiling), was Laoba , Laoma’s enforcer. No one dared to argue with him ever . Pangzi was a strange mix of the youngest child, the crazy uncle, and the older brother. He played whatever role seemed to fit his mood at the time. Then there was Wang Meng and Liang Wen, both aunt and uncle as well as brother and sister to the younger trio. Li Cu, Yang Hao, and Su Wan were Wu Xie's oldest wards, followed by Liu Sang (as she became more involved with them, Piaopiao would soon learn that Wu Xie tended to adopt anything that gave him sad puppy eyes and came with an even sadder back story).
She would also learn that despite his frail appearance, the younger man had a spine made of steel. He got it from his grandmother, the old Tigress herself, Wu Erbai explained to her one day. The woman was every bit as fierce as the tiger she kept at her side (and wasn’t that a heart attack, to see an old tigress following the heels of a woman that looked far younger than her years), along with the various sized dogs ranging from purebreds to mutts. It was a sight to behold.
That day that she met the old woman in the flesh, it was at the insistence of Liang Wan, who usually had tea with the Wu Matriarch on her days off from the hospital at the Sanctuary. Piaopiao had heard of all the good things that the Sanctuary did all around Changsha, and she had wanted to visit the wildlife classes that were offered every so often. She never expected that she would get a personal tour from not only the founder but also one of the major donors. When Liang Wan brought her there, at first Piaopiao had thought that she was going to introduce her to a doctor friend and then leave. It didn’t occur to her that the one they’d meet was Lan Meifan herself.
The woman had met them at the entrance of the visitor's center, a small pack of dogs following behind her, along with a very large tigress with scarring over her right eye and part of her left ear missing. Piaopiao had only ever seen tigers in pictures or videos; an up-close and personal encounter had her heart nearly leaping out of her throat. Her daughter, though, had had a different opinion. Xiao Mei had taken one look at the dogs lining up outside the doctor’s car and let lose a squeal that only a child could, while the woman herself just laughed.
“ You don’t have to worry about them. Wu-nainai has trained them all well. Even Zeitain won’t attack anyone without Nainai’s permission, ” Liang Wan explained before getting out of the car to greet the various dogs. Watching the younger woman with them, Piaopiao mustered the courage to get out of the car to see all the dogs patiently awaiting head pats and ear scratches. The tigress, on the other hand, seemed like she couldn’t care less about them. The old feline just stood next to the woman and the two men accompanying her. Piaopiao took the time to study the trio. The woman had some greyish hair that came with age, her face gracefully holding the passing of time. Not at all like the image she had in her head of a woman nearing her nineties. She wore a traditional long-sleeved cheongsam in a deep blue with silver butterflies embroidered around the hems and the neckline, a deep emerald shawl adorning her shoulders. She wore no makeup, and her only jewelry was a pair of silver butterfly earrings with red jade in the wings. Her eyes held a sharpness to them that reminded Piaopiao of Wu Xie’s eyes. While his still held a bit more of a sparkle of wonder in his, the Wu Matriarch was more of a smoldering fire waiting to spark back to life. The two men next to her were dressed in similar outfits of long sleeve turtlenecks and jeans, one in black and the other in cream. The one in the cream sweater wore a pair of golden horn-rimmed glasses and a pair of sneakers. The one in the black sweater wore a pair of black combat boots that shined in the early autumn afternoon sun. Piaopiao also took notice of the matching rings that both men wore. Liang Wan offered a smile to both of them as she hugged them and the older woman. “ What a surprise to see you two here! Had come to see the latest adoption? ”
‘ Adoption? ’ That word caught Piaopiao’s attention, as they didn’t bring any of the animals with them; most of them were back at Wushanju or with the kids at college.
“ I know my boys well, Wan’er. ” The grandmother took a once-over of Piaopiao and Xiao Mei, a soft smile forming on her face. “ And you wouldn’t have brought them here otherwise if my grandson hadn’t already claimed them to be family. ” She pulled out her phone to show them a snapshot being used as the lock screen. It was one that Li Cu had taken that first weekend they all met. Piaopiao and Xiao Mei squished together in front of Pangzi, with Wu Xie next to her. His spouse was behind the younger male with one hand on Wu Xie’s shoulder and the other on Li Cu’s. Liu Sang was in front of Li Cu with his head leaning towards Wu Xie’s unoccupied shoulder while Kan Jian sat in front of them. Yang Hao and Liang Wan were at either end, the dogs sat around Kan Jian. The cats all scattered in the laps of those sitting. “ A’Li sent this to us saying that he had a new aunty and kid sister. I’d say that speaks for itself. ” At that moment Piaopiao couldn’t hold back her tears. In the picture, she looked far happier than she had ever been. Her smile outshone the faint bruise on her cheek as she held her daughter close while gripping the hand on the young girl’s shoulder.
Even now as she watched her daughter feed her new pet, the peach-colored bird her daughter named Cotton Candy (or Candy for short), from a small dish at the table, she never felt such happiness as she did now. Like many of the animals that seemed to flock around Wu Xie’s family, Candy was very smart and well behaved. He never once tried to fly away when she left the doors open to her salon. Rather the bird seemed to like finding all kinds of perches in the salon where he could watch for Xiao Mei returning home.
Piaopiao had a soft smile on her face as she indulged in this peace. She would have never expected that she would ever be a part of such a warm and welcoming family like the one at Wushanju. There was a warmth there, one that was missing in her prior “family”. Even among the animals, they were all so accepting of Xiao Mei. Even the tigress, Zeitian.
It had been quite the surprise when she had found her daughter fast asleep, surrounded by many of the half-grown puppies (and some of the older dogs, too), curled up against the old feline’s side. It had been their second visit to the Sanctuary, and Liang Wan had gone to greet some of the vets who just so happened to be relatives of Wu Xie and Lan Meifan - Lan Meifan's nephews, Lan Huan and Lan Zhan, who helped run the animal hospital within the Sanctuary (Piaopiao could see different aspects of the Wu Matriarch in the two young men. Lan Huan had a similar aura to his cousin Wu Xie, all kind smiles hiding a spine of steel, with a tongue sharp enough to match Lan Meifan. Lan Zhan was more like Xiaoge in his silence and hard gaze, but his eyes held an unwavering spark similar to his aunt). There was also Wei Ying, who was married to Lan Zhan, a very bright ball of sunshine matching perfectly with his husband. Then there were Wei Ying’s adoptive siblings, Jiang Cheng and Jiang YanLi. Those five were the heads of the different departments at the hospital, and they had all been with her when she had found her daughter curled up among the pile of animals after an afternoon of playing with the three boys who just so happened to be both in her class and the sons of the people she just met. Lan Yuan, Jin Ling, and Lan JingYi were all spread out among the pile of fur, with Lan Yuan also using the tigress as a pillow. Jin Ling rested his head on Lan Yuan’s stomach while snuggling a grey and white Alaskan husky puppy. Lan JingYi was the only one sprawled out like a starfish with dogs all over him, a very small dog was using his stomach as a bed. The sight had left her a mix of scared and awed.
“ Zeitian grew up around humans after A-Xie saved her from some poachers, ” Lan Huan explained as he watched his brother-in-law cower behind his spouse. Jiang Cheng smirked as he moved to stand by the older Lan brother. “ She seems to enjoy the company of children just as much as Aunt Meifan. ”
“ She’s much more gentle than many in captivity ,” Jiang YanLi explained further. “ I don’t think I’ve ever seen another tiger like her. ” The young mother had a soft smile on her face as she pulled out her phone to snap a picture of the kids napping.
After that day, Piaopiao had begun to notice changes in her daughter. Being around the older boys, especially Li Cu and Kan Jian, gave Xiao Mei something she herself had never had. Piaopiao had never had a good relationship with her brother while growing up but seeing how each of the boys treasured Xiao Mei (in their own, different ways) made her elated. She even found her own relationship with Wu Xie to be a better sibling relationship than what she had with her biological one. There had been a few times when she had caught the man in a coughing fit when he was alone. Her motherly instincts easily took over as she tried to help him through it. She panicked the first time it had happened because it had the younger man doubled over. “ I’m fine, it’s nothing to worry about ,” the man had tried to assure her when she settled him into a chair outside. “ My body is trying to adjust to the medicine ,” was all he would say on the matter. After a while, she began to treat him much like she did her own daughter (and by extension, many of the residents of Wushanju).
It wasn’t until the day after the confrontation in her salon that she found out that affection went both ways. When her ex had shown up out of the blue like that, Piaopiao was terrified for her own and Xiao Mei’s safety. He had come in demanding money (that she didn’t have) so he could lose it all in either alcohol or cards. When he had backhanded Xiao Mei, Piaopiao felt her world grind to a halt. Her baby girl was hurt by the man who had no right to call himself her father. She hadn’t even thought twice as she reached out, uncaring if she got herself hit again. When she saw Xiaoge catch her daughter just before the young girl hit the floor, her world shifted. Relief coursed through her veins as she noticed that the silent man had not come alone. Pangzi ran in just in time to grab her ex’s raised fist before he could strike. Li Cu followed in to drag her away, a glare on his face as he and Xiaoge shuffled them into an SUV that she hadn’t seen before. The younger(?) man placed the unconscious girl into the backseat of the SUV, a hard look on his face that Piaopiao hadn’t seen before. He used the sleeve of his hooded jacket to gently wipe away the blood that came out from the young girl’s nose.
“ Everything will be fine, aunty, ” Li Cu had assured her as he sat her down into the passenger seat of the car. He had a grim look on his face as he turned to look back at her salon. “ We’ll protect you. ” The boy’s adoptive father (who she had to admit looked to be about the same age as the boys but was actually old enough to be her grandfather ) came to stand beside the boy, a sword gripped in his hands (When had he grabbed that?).
As soon as Pangzi released her husband, who took off running, she noticed that the fat man had the same look of surprise on his face as soon as he saw what Zhang Qiling had in his hands. He gave them a soft, fond smile before he got into the driver seat of the SUV. Pangzi muttered the whole way to the hospital, mostly curses and something about ‘setting the Tigress loose on the poor bastard’. Piaopiao worried that he was going to send Zeitian after her former spouse (which made her somewhat happy and a little bit concerned). When they arrived, she found Liang Wen waiting in the emergency room with another doctor, a Wen Qing, from the pediatrics ward. Her newfound friend had explained that Li Cu texted her en route to the hospital to have them both looked over. “ I hope you kicked his ass. ” Liang Wan directed her comment at the man carrying the still unconscious Xiao Mei in his arms over to Wen Qing. At his simple “ No ”, a frown adorned her face as she turned her attention to Piaopiao. “ If he comes back, let A-Xie know. He’ll send out the army. ”
(Piaopiao had to suppress a shudder as she remembered just how literal the good doctor was; it would be an army with Lan Meifan at the head.)
After she and her daughter got checked up by the two doctors, they returned back to Wushanju late into the evening. Many of the others were there already and met them at the entrance. Xiaoge had taken her daughter to his little nest with XiaoXiao and the kittens hot on his heels. Even little Ying, the three-legged tabby, was keeping pace with his new siblings. Li Cu followed his adoptive father to the nest as well, most likely worried about the sleeping girl. Wu Xie and the others listened to the story that the fat man had told them, each with varying degrees of rage. Even the grumpy Liu Sang had fury burning in his eyes as he listened to the words that were coming out of Pangzi’s mouth. By the time he finished his story, Wu Xie had gotten up to make a phone call, his son’s Chinese bear dog following behind him while the white Kunming rested his head in her lap. Yang Hao made her a nice cup of tea which was helping calm her nerves. As she watched each of the men present, a small part of her heart warmed at the affection that they all shared for the mother and her young daughter.
Which brought her back to the present, a week after the incident. Her daughter was doing much better, her treatments were helping immensely along with her newfound friends from the Sanctuary. Apparently the trio of boys had included Xiao Mei in with their own group of friends from the various classes at the school, and they sometimes hung out at the Sanctuary after school or during the weekends to help with the animals. She even talked about a young girl named A-Qing who was a cousin of Lan Yuan’s. Apparently the girl had two fathers and an older brother who the older girl offered to share with Xiao Mei. The younger girl declined to say she already had two fathers and mothers and plenty of older siblings too. Lan Meifan had immediately taken a liking to her daughter as well; allowing the young girl to call her Wu-nainai like her grandson(s) and great-grandson(s). That brought a big smile to her daughter’s face. She was even hanging out with the older boys whenever they returned home from college and when she wasn’t at the Sanctuary. She sometimes even hung out with Kan Jian whenever he had the time between running errands for Wu Xie or Zhang Rishan. Sometimes he even brought along his boyfriend, Luo Que, who was just as silent as Xiaoge but just as gentle around her daughter (the boy had startled her at first when he had dropped by without Kan Jian, because he just snuck up behind her without her noticing. She would have broken his nose if he hadn’t dodged in time. He had wanted to drop off some sweets that Yang Hao had made in the hotel's kitchen). They sometimes came to hang out with Xiao Mei or to drop off movies for the girl. Which brought it all back, full circle.
Piaopiao recalled the words again from the movie as she watched her boys enter the salon, goofy smiles and all (sans Xiaoge, who just had a fond look in his eyes), to pick up Xiao Mei for a play date with her new friends. Pangzi opened his arms to receive a hug from the young girl when she spotted his arrival; Wu Xie, Xiaoge, and Li Cu behind him followed by all the animals.
“You ready, Xiao Mei?” The fat man easily picked her up like she was still a small girl while placing a kiss on her cheek. “Wu-nainai says that there’s a snow leopard cub that’s being delivered today from some poachers. The poor thing was going to be killed for its fur!"
"That's horrible!" her daughter cried in outrage as she wrapped her arms around the man's neck. "Do I get to name it?"
"I'm sure you can if you ask Nainai." Li Cu smiled as he moved up behind them to pat Xiao Mei's head. He offered her another small smile before turning his attention to her mother. "It's still a bit young, so there's a good chance it won't be able to return to the wild. Most of the kids usually name any of the animals that can't be released back into the wild."
"Tradition, mostly" Wu Xie explained. Xiaoge had nodded his head in agreement with his spouse.
"Give me a minute to grab her backpack and we can all head out." She smiled as she dried her hands on her apron. Pangzi had passed off Xiao Mei to the hooded man before he helped her gather up some things they'd need. A jacket since it was getting colder earlier in the afternoons, Candy's cage since they also decided to have a check-up for the bird at the same time, and her daughter's backpack that had a change of clothes for her when she helped out with the other kids around the Sanctuary.
As he helped her out, Piaopiao couldn't help but repeat those words in her head one last time, ' This is my family. I found it all on my own. It’s little, and broken, but still good. Yeah, still good. '