Beijing, one year later

Luhan looped the silky fabric of his tie through the hole and arranged it to a proper and presentable necktie. He turned the collar of his white shirt down and sleeked the fabric on his chest. Lifting his head, he looked into the huge mirror in front of him. Outwardly, he might look calm and well rested. His hair was a few shades darker than a year ago and professionally pushed back by a stylist who did a good job in making him look more stunning than usual.

Inwardly, Luhan was a mess of excitement and nervousness. But it was nothing bad, he was only very, very happy. It has been a long time since he felt a mixture of feelings like the ones he was feeling now.

It was the night he kissed Mei.

The night a few days before their journey ended; where everything ended.

He was still thinking of that kiss a lot and he was glad about it, because he never wanted to forget and never wanted to forgive himself. It had been a chaste and fond kiss, and it didn’t come that surprising because either of them knew it was about to happen sooner or later. It was the kiss they had been awaiting for a long time.

It was strange, yet still amazing how all the feelings of that night could be recalled just by thinking back at it.

Automatically, Luhan’s sight shifted to the bouquet of flowers on the table in front of him. It was a bouquet of marguerites. And not only here. When he took a look into the church earlier, he saw the altar was decorated with marguerites along with the seats and the walls - beautifully bounded to arrangements along with some other flowers.

“Hey Mei,” Luhan said after a while, “What flowers do you recommend for a wedding?”

“Marguerites,” she answered immediately.

“Why so?”

“Because they mean true love.” She smiled. “I will choose them for you when you’re getting married.”

Luhan smiled delicately, thinking back at the night where they had been sitting on the engine cover and talked. She really kept her promise. But he didn’t expect it any other way as well. It was Mei. Mei always kept her promises.

Though, the white flowers got a bittersweet taste, because Mei put a single red spider lily in each arrangement.

The spider lily which gave him so many sleepless nights; the spider lily of which he didn’t know the meaning first; the spider lily Mei used to refer to themselves. It was beautiful, but it reminded of bittersweet times.

Mei told him the flower’s meaning on their way to Xi’an. In the beginning, Luhan didn’t exactly know what it should symbolize. Yet, he suddenly understood Mei’s words after they separated.

“We are like the spider lily, Luhan.”

A glance at the clock told Luhan that there was much time left until the ceremony would begin, but instead of feeling more relaxed, his heart began to pound faster as the seconds past. He always thought that a wedding was not such a big deal - he had been attending a few before, but never was he aware of how much work it would actually be.

First, Luhan found it very cute how she planned everything very detailed and how dedicated his bride was to make the day as perfect as she had imagined it. She had been dreaming of such a wedding since she was a little kid and Luhan was willing to give her everything she had been wishing for.

Apart from the work like designing invitation cards and searching and decorating the location, Luhan and his future wife had to undergo mental stress which prevented them from sleeping well and long the past days. He had thought that, now that everything was done, he could rest well before the actual wedding, but obviously, he underestimated his feelings.

Excitement, nervousness and happiness had kept him awake for hours and although he was dead tired, he didn’t feel like it at all. Why would he anyways?

Today was his special day. From today on, he could call his fiancée finally his wife.

A knock on the door made Luhan turn around and as soon as he saw the familiar face, Luhan’s expression lighted up more. The person stepped in and closed the door behind him.

“Ren,” Luhan said with a smile, “Finally someone who wants to keep me company. The others just came in and out, seeming much more stressed than I am.”

Ren let out a quiet, melodic chuckle and stepped further to Luhan. Reaching out his hands, he grabbed his friend’s tie and fiddled with the knot. “You’re going to be a lawyer after getting your degree in a year. You should know now how to make a proper tie.” It wasn’t reproachful, because he told that with a smile.

“I know. I’m just so nervous.” Luhan let out a sigh, trying to calm himself down.

“Understandable. Everyone would be.”

“Yeah, prepare yourself, because when you are getting your degree in a year as well, you’re going to get married too - just like you wished for and like you planned to a year ago.”

“That’s still a long time, Luhan.” But he could see that Ren slightly flushed and it made Luhan somehow proud, because he usually never showed such a sign of affection. He never did that when he spoke about Mei before, but now, everything has changed.

“I thought so too,” Luhan answered. The year after Luhan's proposal has passed faster than he could have ever imagined, but it was probably mostly because he enjoyed the time with his fiancée too well.

“But she still said yes to you after all, so be prepared that the day might come faster than you expect.” Luhan paused for seconds. “Didn’t she want to see me as well before the ceremony? I would have loved to exchange some words with her. It had been a long time.”

 “I think she somehow feels more attracted to exchange words with your future wife in the other room.” Ren laughed and Luhan pouted.

“You already saw her?” Suddenly, Luhan’s face lightened up to an expression full of happiness and anticipation. “How does she look? Is she as nervous as I am? God, I’m barely able to drink water, although my throat feels so sore. I’m afraid that the words ‘Yes, I will’ will be stuck in there.”

The pounding of Luhan’s heart increased its pace again and he suddenly felt so overwhelmed just by Re