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A groan from the next bed tells me that Mushu is rousing. I push myself up into a sitting position, wincing at the way my skull feels like it’s two sizes too small. My mouth is so dry that my lips are stuck to my teeth. The last thing I want to do is get out of bed, but at the sight of the tall glasses of water on the makeup table, I crawl out of bed and make my way over, where I chug the entire glass. Then I take the other glass to Mushu.
“Drink,” I tell her.
Mushu groans and says something that sounds like “Fugoff.”
“Come on.” I help her up and push the glass in front of her face.
She drinks obediently before flopping back onto the bed. The water has revived me a little and I go to the en suite and splash some cold water onto my face before brushing my teeth. There’s a knock at the bedroom door. When I open it, Shang is standing there, looking as fresh as ever and carrying a tray of food and drinks.
“Eggs, toast, coffee, and a Virgin Mary,” he says.
“Virgin Mary?” I say, my nose wrinkling.
“Trust me, it’s the best thing for a hangover. All that vitamin C and salts are just what your body needs after a night out.”
I step aside and watch as he comes in and sets the tray down on the makeup table.
At the sound of clinking cutlery, Mushu leaps out of the bed. Her hair is all mussed up and pointing to the left, and she blinks blearily at us. “Food?” she says.
“Yep,” Shang says.
“Gimme.” Mushu makes grabby hands and Shang hands her a plate of sunny-side-up eggs.
I accept the glass of Virgin Mary and sip it slowly. Shang was right; it really is good. The salty, tangy, and slightly spicy mix is exactly what my body needs. I take a long gulp and feel my senses coming back to life. “Did you put glasses of water on the makeup table last night?”
“Yeah, I thought you guys might need it.” Shang glances at the empty glasses.
“Thank you,” I say, suddenly feeling awkward. Bits and pieces of last night are only now whizzing into my mind, and I want to curl up into a tiny ball and hide from the world. Am I imagining it or did Shang and I almost kiss last night? “Um, about last night—”
One corner of Shang’s mouth quivers up. “You kicked ass. Literally.”
“Oh god. Please try to forget everything that happened—”
“Sorry, but James has been telling everyone this morning about how you got us into a brawl.”
“No!” I gasp, horrified. “Oh my god, all your uncles and aunties are going to think the worst of me.”
“Actually, they’re really impressed so far. They didn’t think you had it in you to start a bar fight.”
“Not to interrupt,” Mushu interrupts, “but technically I think I started the fight?”
“Yeah!” I say.
Shang cocks his head to one side. “That’s not how I remember it. But regardless of who started it, I’d say you guys did well. I’ll see you downstairs in a bit. We’re going to head off soon.”
As soon as Shang leaves, I sag against the wall. “I can’t believe we got into a literal fight last night.”
“Yeah, it was awesome. We can all learn a thing or two from Fake Zhou,” Mushu says.
I stare in stupefied terror at the beast that the stable hands are leading to me. It’s a huge black horse who looks really bad-tempered. I wasn’t even aware that horses could have resting bitch face, but this one definitely does. Or maybe I’m just really freaking nervous about riding a horse, and this one seems more gigantic than the usual horse.
“Only the best mare for Zhou the horse-riding champion,” Uncle Hong announces with pride.
The rest of the Li family nods with approval, smiling at the sight of the snorting horse.
“Uh…” I begin to say, then falter when Mushu pulls my arm.
“Can I talk to you real quick?” Mushu says.