One year later:
"Mei! Are you ready?" Song Ren asked her sincerely. Song Ren wore a satin-gold dress as required of her maid of honour.
Qian Meigui smiled nervously; her stomach fluttered. She loosed a breath, smiling. "Yes, I am ready," she responded.
Just before Qian Meigui left Song Ren's house where all the women were preparing, she hugged Song Ren, pulling Song Jinyi in as well. "Thank you," she whispered to them.
Song Jinyi smiled, "We're sisters, forever and always," she responded. Qian Meigui's eyes welled with tears, holding the hands of the girls who never treated her wrongly, for always being there for her when she needed it. She was lucky.
Qian Meigui was fortunate to have been raised alongside a family that wasn't arrogant, that valued family and respect more than selfishness and greed. Her biological family was full of vultures, while the Song family was full of doves.