so long, london

Mei Lian was the first born daughter to the Huang family--and the last. Her mother, Xue, died a few years later, leaving Mei as the only woman in the family at just five years old, and as such, had high expectations put on her from the moment she took her first breath, especially since her mother’s dying breath was filled with wishes that Mei take care of the family- and of her father.

While her older brother had duties of his own, Mei’s varied a little. She was educated in all the things one expected of a lady: classic literature, weaving, learning languages, playing instruments, painting–and how to be a good and proper wife to a man she’d been betrothed to from the moment she was born. She was to be seen as eloquent and elegant at all times, quiet, molded into the absolute picture-perfect daughter who’d then be the picture-perfect wife–-but Mei always wanted more. She was smart, incredibly so, and whenever she’d disappeared, her family would always find her with her nose stuck in a book, eager to learn.

Nevertheless though, Mei was nothing less than dutiful, just like her mother wanted. Her father, Yian Huang, was a powerful man, the family well-known in the upper echelons of London’s society, and most importantly, was the type one ought not to cross. Not unless you wanted to wind up mysteriously dead anyways. Mei never quite learned what her father did, but she knew a lot of it wasn’t exactly legal, and she’d always been told that if asked, she was to say that her father was a businessman. Nothing more, nothing less. Mei’s eldest brother eagerly followed in their father’s footsteps though, ready to take on the family business. Her younger brother however wanted nothing of it, leaving the family once he was of age and heading off on his own, putting more of a strain on her father and of the pristine image he wanted for their family--and making Mei feel stuck in doing nothing but keep her head down and keep her father happy, not wanting to be another black stain on the family name. So when she was 21, the man she’d been arranged to marry from birth was there--Albert Tsung, whose father was a colleague of Yian’s and who in turn was now powerful in his own right. The two were wed soon after.

And she tried, she did. Albert was a decent enough man, not unkind, and he was just as busy as her father and often left on business trips for weeks on end, leaving Mei with some blissful alone time to continue to teach herself more in the ways of maths and sciences and trying to give herself the higher education she’d never been allowed. But no amount of duty ever made her truly happy- and no amount of trying ever made the marriage successful, and after a decade of marriage, Mei felt truly stuck and lost in life.

It was then that she met him.

Albert was the only man she’d been with in all her life- the only one she’d been allowed to. She’d accepted the fact too that he’d be the only one if her father had anything to say about it. But when she met him, everything changed.

He was a stranger, one who soon became a friend, who soon became a confidant, who soon became more. Mei never thought she’d be someone who could be unfaithful, but from the moment they allowed themselves to break and to kissed, she felt happiness for the first time in her entire life.

They met in secret (mostly at night) for nearly three months and Mei not only felt happiness, but she fell in love as well. She never knew life could feel so bright and so full and he was all she wanted. But life, unfortunately, had other plans.

For months they whispered dreams of running off together and living freely, but in reality Mei knew it’d be just that: a dream. Her life wasn’t her own after all...she was just a pawn in something bigger than her, and in reality she was scared of what could happen give the power and the pull her father had. If he found out about her affair, Mei was certain her lover would be dealt with and would be gone without a trace. So when he needed to leave London due to a family emergency and really did ask Mei to run away with him, to start a new life...she couldn’t. Because as always, Mei Lian was a dutiful woman. She couldn’t break her mother’s dying wish after all, and she wasn’t at all going to risk his life and his safety. Besides, despite all his faults, Mei genuinely did love her father and didn’t want to be excommunicated from her family like her brother, so sadly, her duty won out, and when the only man she’d ever loved had no choice but to leave, Mei heartbrokenly stayed behind. 

It was a few weeks later she found out she was pregnant.

She could have easily just...lied about who the father of her baby was, could have gone on pretending her perfect little marriage and her perfect little life was..well...perfect, but instead the loss of her lover made Mei realize just how little control she had over herself and when she found out she was going to have a daughter, Mei had realized something had to change. Her daughter deserved better than this--she deserved better than this.

Mei came clean to Albert, who was rightfully upset, and they agreed on a divorce. Her father however was absolutely furious, and no grandchild was going to change that. He barred Mei and her daughter from the family, giving her some semblance of pity and wiring some money into her bank before sending her off, saying he never wanted to see her again--just like he’d done to her younger brother.

She was a new mother to an infant, Luna, had never had a proper job, had no home...and she’d been led to believe that her lover, and Luna’s father, was most likely dead. So Mei decided to head off towards America and to the town she’d gone on vacations to with Albert, Aurora Bay. 

Once there, she got herself a little apartment and a started off with a waitressing job, working days and going to school at night while also taking care of Luna on her own. It was still a sense of independence she’d never had before, and again, finally, Mei was content. Eventually she got her teaching degree, and just this year, she finally began teaching at the daycare in town--a bonus since Luna was now four and attending as well.

Mei has been living peacefully in Aurora Bay for almost four years now. She still feels a sense of longing though, a hole in her heart that never quite filled since the only man she’d ever loved had left. She just hopes that one day, she’ll maybe feel some semblance of true happiness again.

extras:

birthday - december 30, 1986

she’s fluent in Mandarin and Cantonese (and conversational in French) and was trained in piano and the violin from a young age.

Mei was barely ten when she realized her father’s work wasn’t exactly all that legal (read: lowkey mob boss/money launderer/arms dealer).

she always held a bit of jealousy of her younger brother who escaped the family early. she wonders about him often and hopes to one day find him again so he can meet his niece. 

moved to aurora bay in June of 2019, just before Luna was born on July 29, 2019.

her daughter Luna has no idea about her father 

no one knows the truth about Luna’s father and everyone just assumes it’s Mei’s ex-husband

Luna was named after the moon in reference to all the late-night meets Mei had with her daughter’s father

appearance:

medium-length dark brown hair, often picked up for work

height - 5′7

smells like - roses, marigold, lavender

wears lots of long sundresses, and skirts, jeans, and casual blouses. very much the #momfit. big Miss Honey energy