Chapter Text
Eleven years earlier...An enraged Madame Yu screamed her frustration at her husband, “He is your problem, I did not sign up to raise your dead lover’s child! He will NOT attend school with my children, you had best have him registered at the local public school immediately, find out about bus schedules as well.” She turned from her husband to the child cowering at his side, “You will be seen and not heard, do you understand?!? Do NOT embarrass this family or you will find yourself right back on the streets!” She stormed out of the room, slamming the door as she went.
Like most urban areas, sister cities Lotus Pier and Gusu had rough city centers with wealthy suburbs. Wei Ying spends too many hours each day reflecting on his place in the world past, present and the undetermined future. He is aware that high school seniors across the country are in the same mental state, ending one chapter of their lives and embarking on adulthood, but he barely has the attention span to dissect his own. In a few months, everything about his life is going to drastically change, a truth that has him pulling out all his hazy memories to analyze the meaning of his life up to this point.
Few of his classmates know the reality of his complex life, really only the Wens understand the dichotomy of his existence. He lives with his wealthy adoptive family in the posh suburban landscape outside of Lotus Pier, surrounded by the best money can buy. However, he actually lives in the apartment above the garage that was probably intended for a nanny or some type of servant, but the Jiangs had moved him there at the age of ten when they feared his influence on their precious children. While his siblings go to Gusu Prep and Gusu University, he has always attended public school. At least he had the intelligence to apply for a transfer to the Arts Magnet school in downtown LP to better support his art, unfortunately his school was located in the same facility as the rougher public school in the area.
After embarrassing rumors began to emerge his freshmen year because neighbors witnessed him riding his skateboard all the way to the nearest bus stop to trek into downtown, his parents agreed to provide transportation. To avoid purchasing him a car, the Jiangs allowed him ownership of an older model motorcycle which he got an early permit to use for his sophomore year forward.
His reflection today is centered on his freshman year and the series of events that changed the course of his life, and continue to shape it in the present. Even though most of his memories bleed together in a blurry mess, one specific day remains perfectly clear in his mind. It was a few months into the school year, he was still keeping his head down and scoping the lay of the land in the drastically different world he had entered. Elementary and middle school in the suburbs had been an alternate universe compared to downtown LP, but he had nothing to lose by transferring as he never fit in at his other schools. They might have been public schools, but they served rich brats who all knew he was the unwanted punk the Jiangs got stuck with so many years ago. So daily he made his way to the bus stop in the burbs on his skateboard, changed buses a few times and hiked a couple shady blocks to get to his public high school specializing in the arts.
For a minute, his mind slips down a rabbit trail thinking back to his first impressions of his new high school. He might have always been the outcast in the suburban schools, but he had only been exposed to the rougher side of life as a small child before being adopted. After spending his summer bouncing from camp to camp, his nerves began to increase about the transition to his new school. He had nightmares that combined real elements of his early years and imagined monsters lurking around the corner on the first day of school. Naturally fidgety and high strung, Wei Ying was a basket case so he left extra early to make it to school on time. He almost missed the bus, nearly transferred to the wrong bus and barely made it down the scary blocks to make it to the safety of his building. Once inside, he realized his school had potential if he could survive coming and going each day. The demographic of the student body was diverse, catering to artists from all walks of life with a variety of academic and behavior profiles. Finally he had a fishbowl full of species as odd or weirder than himself. Things might have gone in a very different direction except for that one specific day.
On that day, the early morning was chilly and wet, plagued by a continual drizzle that soaked his clothes as he made the final trek from the bus to school. His usual routine included loud music blaring in his ear buds, but today they were MIA so he is left with the sounds of the dreary daily life of these streets. In the midst of all the noise, he heard a faint cry, and for some reason he decided to risk being late to investigate. Later he would look back on his decision and conclude it was motivated by the possibility a child needed help, someone like he had been many years ago. For whatever reason, he found himself in an alley facing three figures ganging up on a smaller person huddled against the wall. Now, the Jiangs never intentionally enriched Wei Ying’s life but having access to their resources often added to his odd collection of knowledge and skills. One such example being Jiang Cheng’s private martial arts lessons and his need for a sparring partner over the years, leaving Wei Ying able to defend himself in most situations. Without a thought, he intervened and managed to defeat the bullies with limited damage to his own person.
The first visual seared on his brain from that day is the moment Wen Ning raised his head with a bloody lip and bruised cheek, to stare at Wey Ying in thankful adoration with the kindest eyes he had ever seen. Wei Ying believed himself to be an intuitive person, able to judge a person by their energy / vibes, and the look in this boy’s eyes radiated a pure soul. The second part of his memory is the sheer terror that washed over his body at the prospect of his parents being contacted by his school for truancy, so he quickly helped the boy up and grabbed his arm to drag him with him towards their schools, assuming he attended the attached public school. They exchanged names as they rushed, and Wei Ying asked him to meet him on the stairs after school, he didn’t want a repeat on his way home. After school, Wei Ying found him waiting obediently near the administrator on duty and they made their way to Wen Ning’s house. Thankfully his parents were out of town and both his siblings lived at their schools, so no one was waiting for him to keep to a schedule.
He spent that evening being absorbed into the Wen family, hailed as a hero for saving their favorite junior Wen Ning. The Wen compound was in the heart of the downtown area, with a garage on the bottom floor and apartments above. First he met his sister, Wen Qing, a sophomore at the local branch of the state school in a premed program. Wei Ying was in awe of her anger at her brother’s injuries and declarations of revenge. Next they went across the hall to their grandmother’s to share a snack with their baby cousin Yuan, just learning independence at the age of one. Next, they left their things upstairs and ventured down to their uncle’s business, a bike shop in the garage. He had learned that all three Wen children were orphans, and the uncle was the last of Granny’s three children. Uncle had never married, so he assumed responsibility for providing for his family when disaster struck time and again.
Meeting uncle was the most terrifying thing Wei Ying had ever experienced in his short 15 years of life. The man was a massive mountain of tattooed muscled with a scar across half his face, surrounded by motorcycles and chaotic music blaring. He took one look at Wen Ning’s battered face and turned off the music, attracting the attention of everyone working in the garage. A dark thunder cloud descended over his face, and he swore he saw flames in his eyes. Wen Ning responded by bowing his head with his eyes on the ground, but his sister took his hand and stated three names with an evil smirk on her face. He later found out that usually Wen Qing dropped him by the school on her way to class, but her schedule shifted on that specific day leaving him an easy target. Uncle dispatched angels of justice, and he never asked the details of what became of the three assailants. Before he was actually introduced to Uncle, he stared intently into my eyes as if analyzing my soul, causing me to hold my entire body still while he held his breath.
He survived the moment and they ended up watching silly cartoons with Yuan and eating dinner at Granny’s. The feeling of being part of a family that didn’t resemble a battleground was an addicting emotional experience. Too late he realized he had missed the last bus, so Uncle informed him he would take him home, which would be his first time on the back of a motorcycle. This was the perfect ending of a surreal evening, and birthed his passion for Uncle’s business.
He arranged for Wen Qing to drop Wen Ning with him at a halfway point to walk to school the next day, and he saw him safely home after school. Thus became the pattern of his freshman year, though he learned how to time his visit so he wouldn’t miss the last bus. As much as he loved being on the bike, the last thing he needed were his parents hearing about his arriving late daily with an intimidating biker dude.
This specific day was etched on Wei Ying’s brain, but all those that followed blur together in years of happiness and a new found family. When the Jiangs decided to provide him with transportation to avoid gossip, he jumped at the chance to own an older model bike he could renovate with Uncle’s help. He had taken to shadowing the workers in the garage after school, determined to learn as much as he could. By the end of his freshman year, he and Wen Ning were well on their way as Uncle’s apprentices. The Wens asked very few questions about his adoptive family, they knew his parents had died in a freak accident leaving him to wander the streets before ending up in the foster system. After a few years, his godfather had been located and he was reluctantly adopted by his family at the age of seven. Over the years, the Wens had the misfortune to witness the heart wrenching rejection he endured by his parents, while never ceasing to fight for a relationship with the siblings he dearly loved.
Returning to his present, Wei Ying looks at the bike he is detailing for Uncle’s customer. The owner wanted complicated artwork that took hours of sitting with Wei Ying and his sketchbook to finalize. Even Wei Ying had to admit the finished product was turning out amazing, the customer would love owning the one of a kind masterpiece. It saddened Wei Ying that he only had a few more months of working for Uncle in his garage, before embarking on his own business venture and university life. The last four years were full of ups and downs, but the Wen compound symbolizes happiness and family.