The Little Mermaid umm Merman

Saturday

He drove a restored '88 Pontiac Firebird that he'd bought at auction. He loved seeing the bird on the hood, loved the feel of the road beneath him, the wind in his hair when he took down the T-top. It would not be the muscle car of choice for most people.

He wasn't most people. And he loved that car.

But now that his phone was unlocked, he could see that there was at least one message waiting on his dating app. A few from men who'd tried to match with him. None looked interesting. No one had a profile that intrigued him.

Unlike Laozu's. It wasn't as bare as his own; it was starkly honest. "I'm Chinese American. I don't do hookups. Don't send me unsolicited pictures of your intimate body parts. I'm looking for a long term relationship. Are you someone (male or female) with a brain who knows how to use it with a good personality? Match with me. Looks are pretty unimportant." He clicked into the messaging part of the app.

Laozu: Good morning! All that exercise yesterday means I slept like a baby. You?

Lan WangJi's fingers moved slowly over his keyboard.

Xiandu: That's good to read. I slept well.

Xiandu: I apologize for over burdening you with my past last night.

Right away the typing dots appeared.

Laozu: When did you overburden me? My memory is shit. I can remember my mom's best friend's phone number even though I haven't seen her or talked to her in over 20 years. But ask me what I had for breakfast? I think I ate. My stomach isn't complaining, so I guess I must have, right?

Laozu: I ran into a former college not-friend yesterday. Totally blanked on his name, but I remembered he's a boxer guy. As in likes to put you in nice neat boxes not that he pretends he's Rocky. Memory's shit.

Lan WangJi wanted to smile at his phone. No. He wanted to smile at Laozu.

Xiandu: what box did he try to put you in?

Laozu: i studied engineering. And I'm from China. So my box was full of over-protective parents who must have had me in after school tuition since 1st grade. And in 4 sports, one per season. He nearly flipped a lid when he found out I have siblings. [high squeaky VERY IMPORTANT voice] "but China has a one child policy!!!" Yes, doofus. And sometimes contraception fails.

Xiandu: And sometimes you live in another country and have your children there. I have an older brother. He was born in Singapore. I was born in Japan.

He debated including more personal information. Like that his mother lived there until she moved to the US when he was twelve. He'd been brought to China to live with his uncle, as his uncle's son, when he was six. His mother was still talked about in hushed whispers for having married one brother and bore his child, then slept with her brother-in-law and bore him a child.

The truth was worse than the rumor. Good wives and mothers did not abandon their husbands and sons without a damn good reason. Then again, good husbands and fathers did not give their pregnant wives a damned good reason to flee to another country.

The six year old Lan Zhan refused to play the 'my uncle is my father' game. Fùqīn was Fùqīn. Shūshu was Shūshu. It confused the Hell out of the people who believed the rumors about his uncle betraying his brother like that.

Laozu: I think it would be cool to have an older brother. My jiejie is four years older than me. My didi is a few weeks younger. I'm really a foster sibling.

Lan WangJi froze in panic. Are you... You can't be.The similarities were so close. Horrible mother, older sister, younger brother. Foster child. His fingers typed rapidly.