Once, when he was still a boy, his father had told him about Shang one day having a wife and all the qualities that a good wife should have (calm, obedient, refined in taste) and perhaps it was that Shang had never quite found the appeal in women, but the idea had seemed... quite boring, if he had to be honest; while he had never doubted his father's wisdom (and he certainly didn't then), quietly, Shang wondered why couldn't he, instead of finding a good match, perhaps worry about finding someone he wanted to be with, someone he could talk to and practice and laugh, someone whom he shared more than duty with?

These days, Mulan wakes him up by jabbing her freezing toes under his calves until he can't ignore her and when he tries to catch she laughs and moves away from bed, far too cheerful for waking up so early, telling him that they absolutely need to leave the bed if they want to have some time to practice, ("seriously, Shang, I mean it!") and she laughs (snorts, actually: it's ridiculously, unbearably charming), loud and bright as a gong when he drags her back to bed.

(They end up being late not only to practice but to three meetings as well).