JJ's story starts with Quidditch. Her parents met at the 2010 Quidditch World Cup final - Moldova vs China. Her mother, Lilin Yang, is a British-Chinese Muggle-born witch who was a freshly trained Healer at the time. Since she spoke both English and Mandarin, she was recruited to attend the match as a Mediwitch. JJ's father, Shi Dengqi, is a Chinese wizard who got too rowdy cheering for his country's team and fell out of the high rise spectator stands, earning himself a concussion and broken bones. He was carried to the medical tent for treatment, and was worked on by none other than Lilin Yang. It was love at first sight.
Lilin unexpectedly got pregnant within a month of meeting Dengqi. Lilin was the only child of two non-magical Chinese immigrants who had moved to London before she was born. She spoke Mandarin but had never visited China. Her parents had not taken it well when Lilin was revealed to be magical and had almost refused her the chance to attend Hogwarts, but they had finally begun to appreciate it now that their adult daughter was a "doctor." So when Lilin sheepishly disclosed her pregnancy to her parents, they disowned her. Having a child out of wedlock was unheard of in their family, not to mention the father was a stranger, and a magical one at that! It was too much for her traditional parents to handle.
The dejected Lilin moved in with Dengqi and his mother in their home near Kunming, China. Unlike Lilin's parents, Dengqi's mother was excited about her first grandchild. Dengqi had grown up in the southern mountains of China, raised by a witch mother and immersed in magical society from the beginning. He had never known his father, but his mother claimed he'd been a wizard too. Now Dengqi was a skilled magical lantern maker who specialized in charmed lanterns of all varieties, for both lighting and decoration.
Jingjing was born in April 2011, surrounded by love and magic from the start. Despite their rushed beginnings, Lilin and Dengqi were a committed couple, and they quietly wed in a private ceremony a few months after Jingjing's birth.
Lilin may have been Chinese by heritage, but she was still a Brit at heart. As the years passed, she struggled to find happiness in her new home and longed for the bustling pavements of Oxford Street and Diagon Alley. This discontent was doubled in 2014 when Kunming suffered a terrorist attack followed only a few months later by a severe earthquake. Dengqi tried to soothe his wife's worries. He didn't usually concern himself with Muggle politics or happenings, and neither should she.
But Lilin had made up her mind. She wanted Jingjing to grow up in London, and maybe even attend Hogwarts like she had. After several weeks of discussion, Dengqi finally agreed to move, deciding he would be happy as long as his wife and daughter were happy.
They made the move to London in 2016, a month before Jingjing turned 5. Dengqi continued with his lantern business, and Lilin got a job with the Ministry of Magic as a field Mediwitch. Both parents mutually agreed to enroll Jingjing in a Muggle primary school. Jingjing only spoke and understood Mandarin, and a school environment with other children would be the best way for her to learn English. Lilin was primarily the one who dealt with the school enrollment and administration, since she both spoke English and had a Muggle upbringing.
It was stressed to Jingjing from an early age that she should never reveal her magical family to the greater world. She was expected to attend school as a normal girl and speak English, get good grades, and then go home and interact with her magical family while speaking Mandarin. As she grew, Jingjing began to feel like she was being pulled in too many directions and was overwhelmed by the expectations. Was she magical, or not? Was she Chinese, or British?
Things were complicated even further when Jingjing was 8 and the family welcomed her little brother, Tianlan. Now she had to add "big sister" to her list of expectations! The girl was accustomed to having the undivided attention of her parents, and now suddenly they were constantly busy with the baby and she felt sidelined. During this time is when she started asking her friends to call her JJ, as a way to begin carving her own identity.
A month after her brother was born is when JJ experienced her first instance of magic. Her parents were hosting a large celebration for the baby and invited almost everyone they knew. Wanting to make a good impression on their guests, JJ's mother insisted her daughter wear a traditional dress and hairstyle for the party. While JJ had no problem with the dress, she hated the hairstyle and protested loudly against it as her mum brushed and twisted her hair. Suddenly all of her hair fell out - every last strand - leaving JJ completely bald!
JJ was shocked that she had accidentally caused such a thing to happen, and burst into tears. She didn't want the ugly hairstyle, but she didn't want to be bald either! JJ's mother was aghast, but secretly proud that her daughter had belatedly showed her magic in such a headstrong way. JJ's hair was quickly restored with a Hair Regrowing Spell from her mum, and the special hairstyle was never mentioned again. JJ went to the party with her hair in a ponytail.
JJ continued to feel pressured by her parents' expectations, and her own, and it was almost a relief when her Hogwarts acceptance letter arrived shortly after she turned 11. Finally she could focus just on learning magic and nothing else. To account for her departure, she told her school and her Muggle friends that she would be attending an international secondary school in China.
