*******
The neon sign above the door flickered, buzzing like an angry hornet. *Wei's Home Kitchen*. The 'K' in Kitchen was burnt out, so it read *Wei's Home itchen*. It fit the place perfectly. Broken, trying hard, but still standing.
Inside, the air was thick with the smell of frying garlic, stale beer, and cigarette smoke. It was 11:00 PM in the Red Row district. This wasn't a place for families. This was where the street strippers came after their shifts, where the gamblers wiped their sweat, and where men with tattoos on their necks drank away their sins.
Alexa wiped the counter with a rag that was more grease than cloth. She was sixteen, but her eyes looked ten years older. She wore a men's white tank top and loose cargo pants, her short black hair tucked under a dirty cap.
"Table four needs more beer, Alexa," her father, Chen Wei, called from the kitchen. He sounded tired. His voice used to be loud, booming when he told jokes to customers. Now it was raspy.
"Got it, Dad," Alexa said. She grabbed two bottles of cheap Sorghum spirit and navigated through the crowded room.
A man with a scar running down his eye grabbed her wrist as she passed. "Hey, little brother. You're getting prettier. Why are you working here? Come sit with Uncle."
Alexa didn't flinch. She twisted her wrist, breaking his grip with a technique her father had taught her years ago. "Drink your alcohol, Uncle. Don't touch the staff."
The man laughed, showing gold teeth. "Feisty. Just like your old man."
Alexa dropped the bottles on the table. "That's twenty yuan. Pay up."
She walked back to the kitchen. Chen Wei was stirring a massive wok of braised pork ribs. The steam hit his face, masking the worry lines.
"How much did we make tonight?" Alexa asked, leaning against the doorframe.
Chen Wei didn't turn around. "Not enough. The rent is due on Friday. The electricity bill is overdue. And your brother... Xiao needs new shoes. His toes are poking through."
Alexa looked down at her own worn-out sneakers. "I can pick up more shifts at the loading dock. The foreman said he needs guys to move cement bags tomorrow morning."
"No!" Chen Wei slammed the ladle down. He turned, his eyes red. "You are a girl, Alexa. You shouldn't be lifting cement. You should be... studying. Playing. Being a child."
" I won't be a kid one day, Dad," Alexa said softly. "Mom left. It's just us. I don't mind the work."
"Your mother..." Chen Wei spat the word out like it was poison. "She called today."
Alexa stiffened. "What did she want?"
"She's coming tomorrow. She said she wants to take you to live with her. She said she married a man who owns a tower in the city center. She said you could live a better life there." Chen Wei looked at his daughter. "Maybe you should go."
Alexa grabbed a dumpling from the steamer and bit into it. It was cold. "No."
"Alexa, listen to me—"
"No," she said firmer. "Xiao is seven. He asks for Mom every night. If I leave, who looks after him? You? You're here until 3 AM cooking ribs for gangsters."
"I do this for you!" Chen Wei shouted. The customers in the front quieted down. He lowered his voice. "I do this so you don't starve."
"I know," Alexa said, her voice cracking slightly. "But I'm not leaving Xiao. And I'm not leaving you."
She walked out of the kitchen and into the small back room where her brother, Chen Xiao, was sleeping on a mattress on the floor. He looked so small. Alexa tucked the blanket around him.
The bell above the front door chimed. It wasn't a customer. The car engine outside purred like a luxury cat. A woman stepped in. She wore a silk dress that cost more than the restaurant made in a year. Her heels clicked on the dirty tile.
It was her mother. Lin Yu.
Lin Yu wrinkled her nose as she smelled the grease. "Wei, this place is a pigsty."
Chen Wei came out, wiping his hands on his apron. "Yu. You're early."
"I'm here for my daughter," Lin Yu said, ignoring him and looking at Alexa. "Alexa, go get your things. My driver is outside."
Alexa crossed her arms. "I told you on the phone. I'm not going."
Lin Yu stepped closer, her perfume overwhelming the smell of garlic. "Don't be stupid dear. Look at you. You dress like a boy. You smell like smoke. You live in a slum. I am offering you a life of luxury. Private school. Dresses. No more carrying heavy boxes."
"I like my life," Alexa lied.
"You like starving?" Lin Yu laughed, a cold sound. "Your father is a failure. He can't even keep a restaurant open. Come with me. Be a girl for once."
Alexa looked at her father. Chen Wei was looking at the floor, his shoulders slumped. He looked defeated. Something inside Alexa snapped.
"He is not a failure," Alexa said, her voice shaking with anger. "He feeds us. He loves us. You left us for money. Don't come here acting like you care."
Lin Yu's face hardened. "Think about it. Starve then. When the police come knocking because your father can't pay his 'debts', don't call me."
She turned on her heel and left. The luxury car roared away.
Silence filled the restaurant. The customers went back to drinking.
Chen Wei walked over to Alexa. He put a heavy hand on her shoulder. "You didn't have to say that."
"It was true," Alexa said, tears finally spilling over. She wiped them away quickly with her sleeve. "Dad... are we in debt? Real debt?"
Chen Wei hesitated. He looked at the back door where the gangsters often entered for private meetings. "Just... business troubles. Go to sleep, Alexa. Tomorrow is a new day."
Alexa nodded, but she didn't believe him. She walked to the back, but instead of sleeping, she opened her bag. Inside was a basketball. She held it tightly. It was the only thing that was hers.
Outside, in the shadows of the alley, a black sedan parked. A man in a suit watched the restaurant. He made a phone call.
"The target is still operating," the man whispered. "The daughter is stubborn. The father is desperate. It's time."
Alexa didn't hear the call. She was too busy dreaming of a court that didn't exist, in a world that wanted her to fail. She fell asleep holding the ball, her knuckles white.
****