Brother-Sister

"Sister Zhenyi. Here is your dress." 

"It'll take that long to get you into that dress. We better get to work on especially those buttons. Poor, Long Jie," Fan Bingbing said.

"Call him brother-in-law." Zhenyi narrowed her eyes at her.

"You are impossible." Fan Bingbing muttered.

Zhenyi stood in her robe as Aria and Bingbing removed her dress from the garment bag.

It was a vintage lace wedding dress with long sleeves. It was so gorgeous that Zhenyi didn't even dare to touch it.

"It's so gorgeous," Wen Juan said.

"Indeed, it is," Ming Jia agreed.

It was the most beautiful wedding dress she had ever seen. The perfect shade of ivory vintage lace over creamy vanilla charmeuse—something she had never imagined she would ever wear.

She wondered if Jie was going to like it.

Jie….She liked the way his name rolled out of her tongue.

She stepped into her gown and Ming Jia helped her pull it up. "Ah, these buttons are the only flaw this dress. Though it looks pretty, it's one hell of a job  unfastening it."

"I know." Zhenyi chuckled lightly.

"I'm going to do them up for you, baby girl, but it'll be Long Jie's  job to unfasten them tonight."

"Ah, I'm looking forward to it, "Zhenyi replied nonchalantly rendering speechless everyone present in the room.

"Sometimes, I forget you are my best friend's daughter

. But then, you render everyone speechless with your words just like her. You didn't get her face but definitely got her tongue." Ming Jia said as she fastened the last button of the wedding dress.

"And I can still see her smug smirk--that's my daughter. Such a show-off she was." Went Juan muttered to herself.

"Shut up," Both Jia and Zhenyi said simultaneously.

_____

The bridal room was unoccupied with the exception of the bride, as someone unlocked the door and entered without knocking startling the bride.

"you startled me." Zhenyi stood up suddenly, a reflex action ingrained in her since her childhood. She sighed in relief when she heard the voice of the intruder.

"Did I?" The intruder smiled and came towards her.

"No. you didn't." A genuine smiled blossomed on her face as she walked towards his warm embrace. The safest place on the planet. Technically, she was not surprised because she was anticipating him any moment,  given his fondness for abrupt entries.

"Are you surprised to see me here?"Xin Ryuu asked as he pinched her nose. His little sister was getting married today, no force could stop him from coming to her.

" Do you want truth or lie?" Zhenyi answered her question with another question meeting her sparkling eyes his warm brown.

" Lie." Xin Ryuu playfully answered. This was their personal game truth or lies, they were playing it since their childhood days.

" I'm very appalled by your abrupt entry. And I should be?" Zhenyi said dramatically widening her eyes. 

"Really, Angel?" Xin Ryuu narrowed her eyes at her.

She huffed and sat on the couch. Which brother arrives late at his only sister's wedding?

Apparently her only brother.

Xin Ryuu...

Xin Ryuu was a mystery even bigger than Xin Zhenyi. No one without the exception of few people was aware of the fact that Xin Yichen had another child aside from Xin Zhenyi. The birth of Xin Ryuu was the second biggest mystery of the Xin clan.

Ryuu trudged ahead beside her as he removed her long veil that she had fixed on her head, matching her wedding dress.  Zhenyi found his actions quite surprising but didn't speak. Everything with Ryuu was unpredictable and she trusted him enough to ask questions.

If there was anyone Zhenyi trusted more than anyone, it was her brother-- Xin Ryuu. She could sacrifice her life without asking anything if he had asked. One of the reasons she agreed to the marriage was her brother neither stopped her nor encouraged her and it was enough for Zhenyi to decode the meaning behind it.

He opened a wooden box and took out another vintage veil. With a single glance, anyone can tell the sentimental value of the veil. It was not just a veil, it was the heirloom from her maternal side. And the veil had a long story behind it.

"Do you what you are doing?" Zhenyi couldn't help but ask.

"Of course, I understand my actions, unlike the certain one I know," Ryuu said as he fixed the veil.  

Wow, it looked perfect just as he had anticipated.

"Ryuu, Do you even know what this veil means?" Zhenyi asked again ignoring the sarcasm. She knew what he meant by his earlier statement.

Was there something this omnipresent Ryuu was not aware of?