The first week of December, just before the madness of the Winter Bridal preparation begins, Ping Ping's mother insists that they take a family repast.
December wind in Shanghai blows crisp and chilly. The cherry blossoms blooming. Families on holidays roaming the streets. Couples romancing. Grandparents doting on grandchildren with candies and sweets from street vendors.
The Christmas stores glistening with shining baubles for the trees. The smell of roasted chestnuts, hot chocolate mixed with a scent of the large spruce tree in the middle of the plaza.
Everything. Beautiful. Picture perfect.
The three of them bundled with matching red and white scarf leisurely stroll along the Bund, stopping here and there to sample the food stalls. Her father holds her mother's hand. Then as the night lights come on, her father stretches out his long arm and takes a selfie, never letting go of the two ladies embraced in his arms.
She saves it as her screensaver.
The two weeks leading up to the Winter Bridal, Ping Ping slaves over the construction of her collection with a team of assistants assigned by the Institute. On the first night, De Ai joins as the lead model for the bridal gown and makes an instant connection with the fellow models - one of them a very stunning Kai Sha.
Unlike the other guys who pursue her, he doesn't see De Ai for her beauty; he likes her for her bubbly personality, her kindness to the other models and the easy friendship she has with Ping Ping. He speaks Chinese with an accent, the effects of being an American Born Chinese and the reason why his family has sent him back to China for the year.
De Ai mocks his Chinese and he mocks her English. Then they make a deal - he teaches her English while she teaches him Chinese.
The first two nights, De Yi shows up on the auspice to take De Ai home and giving Ping Ping a ride as a matter of courtesy. On the third night, Kai Sha takes the girls out for a late night meal (xio-ye) and then offers to drive them home in his car. De Yi shows up anyway, to be a chaperone.
Then two nights before the event, Ping Ping feels too behind in the work to want to leave the studio. Kai Sha orders in xio-ye and just after one am, the two girls fall asleep on the couch. De Yi hesitates, debating if he should let Kai Sha pick up De Ai. It makes more sense for him to do it since she's his sister; yet, he feels worse to have Kai Sha touch Ping Ping in such a familiar way.
Kai Sha smiles knowingly. "Here, allow me." He picks up De Ai and walks towards the door.
Hundreds of brides and their families over-fill the design studio. The two runways could not be more different - the competition has everything in stark black and white, with one streak of red.
Ping Ping's backdrop has a gorgeous cherry tree in winter bloom with soft hues of the golden lighting. When De Ai strides down the catwalk, the cape with the pearls and diamonds in silks shimmers as if a star river.
"Oh Ping Ping." De Ai poses for pictures. "You must make me this dress when I get married."
Kai Sha cannot take his eyes off De Ai. It is as if a premonition for him, to watch this girl unspoiled by her wealth, acting more like a normal teenager, than the social elites he's used to.
Q&A is the last segment of the competition - when the two designers take the stage to answer questions from the panel of judges. The final card shows this question: "What do you say to a bride whose dress is ruined and believes that it is a bad omen for her marriage?"
The other finalist answers with the perfect answer - have a backup.
The images of the hundred or so brides from the past years floods Ping Ping's mind. She looks at her parents, the Chins. She speaks quietly, almost unsure of herself. "A dress is just a dress. A wedding just a ceremony. The sum total is not an omen about the marriage - whether good or bad. Marriage is two imperfect people committed to working through whatever life difficulties that come their way. Together. And becoming stronger as a couple. The dress can be repaired or restored...just like the not so perfect parts of a marriage."
A hush descends. Her answer has mesmerized the audience. The master of ceremony quickly retorts - wow, what a wise young lady. I need to take some notes to help my marriage. His quip lightens the atmosphere.
At that moment, De Yi has decided, he wants Lee Ping Ping for a wife. And he wants to go through the good and the bad together.
YOU ARE READING
WAITING FOR THE BEGINNING
RomanceWhat does it mean to be married? Is it a legal status? A love status? Or a promise? Ping Ping has always wanted a peaceful and civil marriage, much like her parents. But instead, her heart and her fate don't seem to align - putting her between t...
