WU, JULONG

JuLong was proving to be a perfect, protective older brother to his siblings before becoming an addict. Then his life spiraled. He was called selfish, greedy, good-for-nothing. But his mother never gave up on him. She still saw the sweet boy in him. Now that he's recovering from his addiction, he's trying to return to that boy. But he's jaded now, and a bit more bitter about the world. He's grown to be hyper, excitable, and playful with the right people, but also a bit sarcastic and even occasionally grumpy with others.


JuLong was the first born of three in Shanghai, China. His childhood was relatively normal, greeting first a younger brother Shen, then a younger sister, Li, into the family. He taught himself to be the perfect older brother, protector of his little brother, and a knight in shining armor to his baby sister. Especially since Shen was teased often, JuLong was quick to learn to protect and the bond he had with his younger siblings was stronger than anything.

But in middle school, he pretty quickly ended up making friends with he wrong crowd. By the time he was thirteen, he had experimented with drugs, and became addicted to cocaine. By fifteen, he began physically fighting with his siblings and parents about the addiction. When he ran out of money, he'd sell his body. Eventually, it spiraled to the point he ended up hitting Li, and he ran away, not wanting to hurt the family who had all but turned their backs on him. He was ashamed of himself for hurting one of the two people he swore to always to protect, but he hadn't quite reached the lowest low yet.
He lived on the street for six months, until finally, in a drugged attempt to sell his organs for more cocaine, he came to his senses, and ran away from there to return home. Now eighteen, he had his own demons to face as he attempted to quit on his own. To make matters worse, his family had news for him: they were moving to the US, California to be exact, where his father would be the lead manager in expanding his company's business. It was a great opportunity, even if two out of three of the kids couldn't see it yet and didn't want to go. JuLong because of withdrawals, and Li because she was a teenager.
JuLong arrived in California a year older, the flight lasting basically his entire birthday. He was facing spiraling mood swings and listlessness from the withdrawals, and a general discontent for moving. That all changed, however, when he met Tillie Carlson after deciding to return to school. He fell in love with the strange, quirky girl and proposed quickly. His life is much happier now, especially since Li and Shen are beginning to trust him again.