Newhaven: Week Eight - The Chang-Ngai Family
Previously for the Chang-Ngai family: Mei had perused a relationship with Matthew Passang mostly because she felt left out when both her step-mother and sister fell pregnant. The couple were developing deeper feelings for each other though and with Matthew’s help, Chang’s Collectables reached level 10 allowing Mei to take a position in business and work towards her goal of becoming a Business Tycoon. Xun and Gretchen were happy albeit slightly senile and Xiang shared his first kiss with Coco Darcy. All was going so well until Matthew mysteriously disappeared.
Mei’s sister Lin and her family visited often, trying to keep Mei’s mind off her boyfriend Matthew’s disappearance. While Mei appreciated the effort, she couldn’t help but fear the worst.
Eventually her fears were confirmed when the town’s law enforcement, Lucas Sibly, rang to inform Mei that Matthew’s body had been found washed up on the beach.
Mei couldn’t understand why Newhaven’s so called “Captain Hero” couldn’t tell her what had happened to him.
He apologised and explained the body had been too damaged to determine a cause of death.
It turned out it wasn’t only the unexplained death of her boyfriend she needed to contend with. She discovered she was expecting and would now be raising their baby alone.
And she would be doing it without the help of her aunt, who since her own mother’s death had been like a mother to her.
Gretchen Chang-Ngai (née Ngai) had been shopping at Chang’s Collectables when she met Xun. Their first date resulted in an unplanned pregnancy which prompted them to get married. Despite moving out on their own, the newlyweds moved back in with Xun’s family when Xun’s brother lost both his wife and youngest daughter in a fire. The extended family lived happily together until Xun’s brother remarried a woman Gretchen didn’t trust, and the resulting friction ended in Gretchen, Xun, their son Xiang and niece Mei moving into their own place.
Even Mei achieving her life’s dream of becoming a Business Tycoon did little to ease her grief at losing both Matthew and Gretchen, and her concerns over the future.
Her anxiety wasn’t helped when her uncle Xun too passed away. He had been as much a father to her as her actual father Jin had been.
Xun Chang was the last of Newhaven’s original settlers. Joining his brother and sister-in-law on the expedition, despite his aspirations for pleasure and romance, Jin proved himself to be an invaluable member of his family and the community. He was a devoted uncle to his nieces, so much so, that when his brother lost his wife, Xun and his new wife returned to live with them. He turned his passion for arts and crafts into a commodity, selling his pottery in his brother’s store and helping stimulate commerce in Newhaven. As well as being a loving husband and father, he too proved to be a just and fair mediator between his wife and second sister-in-law until the household eventually separated.
Losing his parents was hard on Xiang who had only recently finished high school. But like his father he preferred to move with the tide of change, whether good or bad, and try and make the best of it.
Even if that did mean utilising your late parent’s double bed to make out with a girl who wasn’t your girlfriend.
Luckily, he and his cousin Mei, despite the age difference, were close and soon his enthusiasm for life managed to bring Mei out of her slump and make her excited about the baby.
And not a moment too soon, as the newest member of the family quickly made her appearance.
(Enter your own joke about water breaking here)
Jiang missed the momentous occasion as he was canoodling with Coco, who actually was his girlfriend, and listening to her tell him how impatient she was for him to celebrate his birthday.
He chose not to remind her she was impatient about most things. It was this approach that made their relationship work so well.
Mei named her daughter Jia Chang-Passang, Jia being the nickname she used to call her youngest sister Jiayi. She had both her parent’s brown eyes and her late father’s black hair.
Despite her sister helping by babysitting, and Xiang helping her out at the store, Mei knew her heart just wasn’t in running Chang’s Collectables anymore. Additionally, sourcing stock since her uncle had died, had become particularly time consuming. Time she’d prefer to spend with her daughter.
So with mixed emotions she sold all her stock, leaving it ready for the new owners.
And closed the business her parents had opened for the last time.
Despite no longer having her time consumed by running the store, it seemed Jia’s infancy just flew by and soon family came by to celebrate her first birthday.
She was a kind, playful and outgoing toddler, who loved nothing more than getting into mess (2/9/2/10/9).
Another birthday was soon held for Xiang who was to celebrate finally becoming an adult.
Mei invited a special guest to Xiang’s birthday. Maurice, who was Lucas Sibly’s brother, had shown much more concern over Matthew’s disappearance than his law enforcement working brother had, and took to checking on Mei and Jia to make sure they were okay. Over time they had become friends, and then something more.
Adult Xiang quickly found a position in the culinary career and started working towards his dream of becoming a Celebrity Chef like his cousin Lin. He still happily babysat Jia though while Mei was working, even if he had been at work all night himself.