After saying goodbye to Zhou Hongjin, He Zhilan and Jiang Biyun returned to their dormitory. Upon returning, the first thing Jiang Biyun did was to urge Zhilan to take out her dress and show it off. She volunteered to do Zhilan’s makeup and vowed to make her outshine Gu En!
"Senior Zhou has a really good eye." Zhang Zhilan took out the dress, held it up in front of her, then looked at Jiang Biyun, Chen Xiting and the others, "Does it look good?"
The others all nodded in agreement. Jiang Biyun pushed He Zhilan in front of Gu En’s dressing mirror, "Of course it looks good! It’s like a little princess descending from heaven! The color is stunning! I wonder where Senior Zhou got this dress, I love it too! I should ask him next time if it’s affordable as I want one too!"
"Hurry up and try it on!" Chen Xiting urged.
"Not now, I’ll wear it after lunch. I’m going to wash up now and I’m afraid of getting it dirty!" He Zhilan responded, "I remember my aunt used to send me dresses like these when I was a child. I miss those days."
"Don’t worry, He Zhilan! The Goddess of Fortune is definitely on your side!" Jiang Biyun comforted Zhilan after figuring out what she was thinking, "Go for it!"
Although Huang Cai and Wang Bingbing didn’t quite understand what Jiang Biyun meant, they nodded their heads in agreement and encouraged He Zhilan nonetheless.
Somehow, the group started talking about wedding dresses while admiring Zhilan’s dress.
"During the winter break, I attended my cousin’s wedding. She wore a white, Western-style wedding dress with a long veil. She looked so beautiful! This dress reminds me of that. When I get married I also want to wear a pure white wedding gown and look like an angel!" Jiang Biyun said.
"White? Completely white? And a white veil?" Huang Cai could not comprehend, "In our village, it’s taboo to wear black or white at weddings. The bride and groom are decked out in auspicious red from head to toe. Anyone who wore the type of wedding dress Jiang Biyun described would definitely stand out and be gossiped about."
"That’s because the concept of a wedding dress hasn’t been universally accepted yet. In big cities, places where there are a lot of foreigners, or people who have traveled abroad, the white wedding dress was quickly adopted. People abroad have many customs that are very different from ours. Like, when someone passes away here, everyone mourns. But overseas, they believe that death is the next stage towards paradise, a place of happiness without any sadness. So they celebrate with joy," He Zhilan added with a laugh.
The group looked at He Zhilan, "Really? There’s such a big difference even in dealing with death?"
Chen Xiting playfully hit Zhilan on the shoulder, looking up to her in admiration, "You know so much! Our foreign language department’s prodigy, did you read all of this on your own?"
"Quit flattering me!" He Zhilan lightly pushed Chen Xiting away, "I overheard some of it from my boss’s wife at the restaurant I worked at over the winter break."
"Haha!" the group laughed, "Where did you hear all of these stories?"
He Zhilan shrugged just as she was about to put her dress away. But then, the dormitory door suddenly opened and Gu En walked in, her eyes fell directly onto the dress in He Zhilan’s arms.