Table For Two - Chapter 250：The Walk (2

Xiu Ling was understandably surprised to see her mother there since she had just sent her mother up the plane that morning. Well, technically, she did not see with her own eyes her mother get on the plane and she did send her to the departure hall.

“But, mom, how?” Xiu Ling gasped with surprise. She was happy that her mother was there but she still could not get over the shock.

Mrs. Xiu smiled and explained, “I was intercepted by someone your husband hired while I was waiting for the plane to arrive. He said he was going to give you a surprise and when I heard what it was, of course, I came back. How can I ever miss my daughter’s wedding?!”

Mrs. Xiu smiled brighter and added, “Don’t worry, Lin Kang promised he’ll pay for the replacement plane ticket after the wedding is over.”

To be honest, Xiu Ling had not even considered the issue of money until Mrs. Xiu brought it up. Perhaps she had been with the Lin family for far too long that money became less of an object of everyday concern for her. That was a habit that Xiu Ling reminded herself she had to be careful of. In any case, she was glad that her mother was going to a part of this momentous event of her life, it would feel wrong for her not to be there.

Xiu Ling even had a feeling this was Lin Kang’s plan all along. To plan this on the day her mother was going to return so that he could make it a surprise for her. That did sound like something he would do.

After Xiu Ling got over the surprise of seeing her mother and her best friend there, she noticed a smartly dressed woman standing at the corner. Xiu Ling greeted her and the woman introduced herself as the wedding planner. She would handle everything related to the wedding, at least on Xiu Ling’s side and the plan for the day was to find the bride a wedding dress.

Lin Kang had notified the wedding planner that everything in the store was free game so Xiu Ling had the whole store of dresses to choose from. However, before she arrived, based on what Lin Kang told the wedding planner, she had the store narrow down the two general choices.

She ushered Xiu Ling into the dressing room to try out the first dress.

It was a strange feeling trying out the wedding dress and to see herself in a wedding dress. Before this, Xiu Ling did not really think a wedding matter that much to her. It was already in the past and they should focus on the future. Therefore, when Lin Kang brought up the surprise, a part of her thought this was quite troublesome and a waste of money as well as time.

However, when Xiu Ling saw herself reflected in the mirror, the feelings that came to her heart were something that was hard to be described in words. There were regret, happiness, relief, sadness and many more all rolled into one. She felt her eyes prickling with tears but she could not tell whether they were tears of joy or sadness. Xiu Ling had been through a lot and standing there in a dress that was heavily symbolic, she was overwhelmed by emotions.

Memories of the past came to her and there were happy moments and sad moments. Moments that she did not realize she had locked up in the deepest recesses of her mind, moments that felt to her like it was a lifetime ago. Xiu Ling could not see herself experiencing some of these memories. If she went back in time, she definitely would have done certain things differently.

She was not proud of the things that she had failed to do, things that she was forced to go through, things that should not ever befall upon a woman but she had survived and she could not deny those times that mold her into the woman that she was that day.

At the end of the day, Xiu Ling told herself, those were all in the past, they should not matter anymore or at least that was what she was trying to convince herself of.

The dressmaker who was there to help Xiu Ling with the fitting had no idea what was running through Xiu Ling’s mind. When she saw the tears that threatened to fall on Xiu Ling’s face, she just assumed she was shedding tears of happiness. That was something common in her line of business.

When she was done with all the adjustments, she stood back and announced to Xiu Ling, “Miss, we’re done. And you look gorgeous.”

Xiu Ling looked at herself in the mirror and she smiled. ‘Today is a happy occasion,’ she reminded herself.

She picked up the front of the dress and walked through the curtain to the room where her mother and her best friend sat waiting. When she appeared, she heard her mother gasp and her best friend exclaim, “Xiu Ling, you look so beautiful.”

Xiu Ling had to admit, that did feel nice to hear. She walked to the little podium that was set up in the middle of the room. Mirrors were placed at strategic angles so the bride could see herself from multiple angles.

The dress was the traditional dress that signified purity. It had a bustier that had a low cut. It showed off Xiu Ling’s curves that honestly made her rather uncomfortable. It was not her nature to wear something so revealing. Then again, perhaps she should try something out of her comfort zone for her wedding day. The bustier also had crystals sewn into them and glistened luxuriously under the light.

It had a long sleeves that was puffy at the shoulders. It made Xiu Ling look rather regal but it was not the old-fashioned styling so she looked more like the princess than the queen. Adding to this theme of royalty was the empire style waist. The dress blossomed out like a giant umbrella. There were white and yellow tulle to add to the volume.

Xiu Ling twirled on the podium and she asked for her audience’s opinion. “Well, what do you think?”

Joann thought she looked gorgeous even though it was not something Xiu Ling would normally wear. Nevertheless, as big as the dress was, she felt like there was something missing.

Mrs. Xiu agreed that Xiu Ling look gorgeous but she felt like the dress did not fit her daughter’s personality. It was nothing to take away from the dress but it felt like it was just too much. The dress appeared like it had swallowed up Xiu Ling with the many layers. Furthermore, she had reservation for Xiu Ling to wear something white for the wedding. It was still considered a taboo in Chinese culture, white was reserved for funerals.

The wedding planner nodded her head along to the opinions given. She led Xiu Ling back to the dressing room for her to try on the second dress.

The second dress was a complete opposite of the first. When Xiu Ling saw it, she knew it was the correct dress. It just spoke to her in a way the first dress did not. With the help of the dressmaker, Xiu Ling put it on. As if the heaven had spoken, the dress also fitted her better than the first dress.

When Xiu Ling walked out with the dress, her best friend was speechless and Mrs. Xiu had tears in her eyes. “This… this is the dress.”

Seeing her mother getting emotional, Xiu Ling felt like the tears were threatening to return again. She stood under the spotlight and looked at herself in the mirror. Yes, it felt right.

The dress was comparatively muted compared to the first one and that was representative of who Xiu Ling was a person. She was never the boisterous type to seek attention. The dress was more a gown than wedding dress.

Hearing the opinion from Mrs. Xiu from before, the dress was not white but cream-coloured with red accents around the sleeves and waists. The dress had a mandarin collar and it covered up Xiu Ling modestly.

It was clear that the dress had Chinese influence, but it had a western base because there was a train that pooled around Xiu Ling’s feet instead of dragging behind her. There were Chinese motif around the end of the skirt as well.

The dressmaker came out with some hair accessories and she placed them in Xiu Ling’s hair. It made her look graceful. It was not one would expect from a traditional western wedding dress but it fitted Xiu Ling’s style.

Joann handed Mrs. Xiu some tissues and as she dabbed at the tears around her eyes, she said, “I’m so glad I’ll be able to see this before I pass away. I initially thought this was just a ceremony that should not have meant something but…” Mrs. Xiu choked on her words and she blubbered out, “Xiu Ling, I’m so happy for you… That bastard better treat you right or I’ll come back to the city to teach him a lesson…”

Xiu Ling walked down the podium to give her mother a hug. “Oh, mom…” She too felt like crying at that moment. It was exactly like what her mother had said, she did not expect this thing to have such a meaning as well.

However, right then, she realized how important it was. The wedding was not only for her but it was for her mother as well. Mrs. Xiu had raised her all on her own and it felt like she deserved to witness that she had married a good man. Xiu Ling owed her mother that much.

Xiu Ling wiped the tears from the corners of her mother’s eyes and she said with levity, “Mom, you’re going to make me cry.” She still could not make the tear leave the sound of her voice, “This is a happy occasion but look at us being a crying mess.”

Mrs. Xiu chuckled and said, “You’re right, you’re right.”

The pair of mother and daughter laughed at themselves. Xiu Ling gave her mother a hug. She had no one but her mother growing up. This was to thank her for everything that she had done.

Wrapped in the emotions with her mother, Xiu Ling did not notice under the smile on her best friend’s face, there was an undercurrent of concern and worry.