Huanying! Welcome to Shanghai, China. The place of all the peculiarities. Where everyone have their own stories about the families living there, especially the Xu's. Their ancestral house that they own for many generations have an infamous garden w...
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Tuesday afternoon, Timmy announced that he was going to the grocery store and Mei asked if he and Tyler could ride along. Mei wanted to get a new newspaper to check out some ads though it pained him to do so, he had to return the suit his Uncle Alex had given him. He'd put aside the money he made from working with Timmy for emergencies, so he badly needed extra cash for toiletries, and of course, kid food. Timmy was a great cook, but too bad he can't make a pizza roll.
When they reached Jun's store, Timmy and Tyler went into the grocery store while Mei walked up the sidewalk. The square hadn't changed much, though there was a university student's sculpture that looked like a panda by the fountain on the green.
Mei returned the suit at Gucci and discovered that the shop had changed managers twice and was now run by a stylish woman in her fifties. She didn't have an opening at the store but she took Mei's number and she said she would call if something came up. She recognized his surname, Xu, and asked if he was related to Timmy and he said yes. The woman's face brightened and said that her daughter's wedding cake last year was the talk of the town. Then she said she would definitely call if ever she had an opening.
On her way back to the grocery store from Gucci, Mei passed the Franck Provost Salon. Ten years ago, it had been a trendy salon called Studio Salon but now it was more posh. A patron came out, and with the patron came the scent of chemicals cushioned by the smell of sweet shampoo. It was a smell that could almost lift Mei up and make him float. Oh, how he badly missed that. It had been a long time since he'd been in a salon and everytime he passed one he felt like this, like he needed to go in and pick up his shears and get to work.
He started to get that prickly feeling he always got when he thought of being happy again. He'd been in a 'beauty' school under his real name, a name that Edison didn't know. The only reason Edison had found him back on the outskirts of Taipei was because he register Tyler under his real name. He didn't think he had a choice when the day care asked for Tyler's birth certificate. He thought Edison would only be looking for Shaun Huo, not Tyler. He wasn't making that same mistake again. Tyler is a Xu here.
He fixed his clothes and hair, glad that he waxed it earlier this morning. He straightened his shoulders and confidently walked in.
Mei was giddy when he met Timmy and Tyler at the van. He grinned as he helped them load the bags of groceries. Mei kept meeting Timmy's eyes until Timmy finally said,
"Okay, what's with that grin?"
"Guess what?" Mei replied happily.
"What?" Timmy smiled, obviously amused by Mei's mood.
"I got a job! I told you I am staying. Getting a job is pretty clear, isn't it?"
"But you already had a job," Timmy stopped what he was doing, leaning halfway on the van. He looked genuinely perplexed.
"Timmy, you do the work of three people and you only need help occasionally. I'll still work when you need me," Mei laughed. "Maybe not at Kelly's house again.. but you know."
