Uncle Loong had been even busier tending to his mini bonsai garden while Hilbert occasionally helped him move some pots or pack some red packets. Su Lan was instructing their helpers to dust and clean down every corner before hanging up some decorations.

  Within a couple of hours, the house looked so brightened up and ready for the occasion. Jazzlyn stirred awake near lunch as she got dressed and walked down to find that everyone was so busy that she admired the decorations.

  The big bright red tanglungs* reminded her of Chinese New Year in her grandparents' house. Just these alone were enough to brighten up any lively occasion. As she strolled further, she admired the simple white chrysanthemum flower arrangement at Mdm. Wong's altar. She quickly bowed as a greeting before she headed to the kitchen to find it was chaotic.

  Su Huang caught sight of her by the door when she greeted her.

  "Oh, look who's awake! Finally! The bride-to-be can't be here!" Su Huang teased as she chased Jazzlyn to the living room.

  "What's the occasion? Who is getting married? Why is everyone so busy? The house is so lively like Chinese New Year..." Jazzlyn asked as Su Huang chuckled when the main door opened up, with Ethan inviting two familiar guests in.

  "It's your tiny wedding day... It's the tea ceremony today!" Su Huang giggled as Jazzlyn was surprised and touched. She knew exactly that it was all Ethan's plan.

  "And here are our honourable guests! Quick, you must get yourself all dressed up too with Su Hong!" Su Huang announced that Jazzlyn was still trying to make sense of who was at the main door.

  "Si Gina!* Have you forgotten us?!" Isla exclaimed the moment she saw a groggy Jazzlyn standing with a confused look. Isla put down the gifts on the ground with Ellie and went to hug Jazzlyn, who began to tear up upon the realisation of how much Ethan had prepared for her.

  "Just when will you grow up? How could you not include us?" Isla went into her nagging mode.

  "We are your family from before! We are still your family, are we not? So, we are here to send guo da li* gifts!" Ellie exclaimed happily as Jazzlyn, whose eyes were glistening with tears, chuckled.

  "Yes, mother..." Jazzlyn bowed to Isla as she wiped her tears away.

  "Yes, big sister..." She then bowed to Ellie as the girls ended up in a hearty laugh, luring the Wongs' family members to the living room to greet Isla and Ellie warmly.

  Ethan smiled proudly at himself as he shared a few grateful glances from Jazzlyn. He gently nodded with encouragement to let her be at ease, sharing joy with her best friends.

  When Jazzlyn finally realised the gifts on the ground, she gasped.

  "What are all these?!" Jazzlyn squatted to touch the pretty dragon and phoenix candles.

  "Guo da li* gifts! Didn't you hear what your big sister said?" Isla proudly announced as Ellie and Jazzlyn broke out in laughter.

  Isla frowned. "Ungrateful!"

  "You dumbo! Guo da li* is meant for the male side to handle, not the bride! I thought she was joking!" Jazzlyn explained as Isla laughed at her silly mistake and hugged her before telling her solemnly.

  "Whatever the tradition is, as your family, we will always be grateful to Ethan's family. Whether these are guo da li* gifts or not, it's our little sincerity to help with the last-minute traditional ceremony." Isla explained before letting Jazzlyn go.

  What she said touched everyone's hearts as Isla, Jazzlyn, and Ellie got teary.

  "You married me off to Lex back then, so let me return this favour and marry you to Ethan. Don't forget to marry off this little one soon too..." Isla pointed at Ellie, who was already wiping her tears off.

  "What would I do without you, oh mother?!" Jazzlyn hugged Isla and Ellie as they laughed and cried together.

  The Wongs' family watched the trio and finally understood the reason Ethan insisted on bringing them both.

  "Right, we have plenty to do.. But first, you must meet the Wongs!" Jazzlyn's gaze met with Ethan, who was smiling, but his eyes were darting around behind her. She knew the Wongs must be watching them eagerly as she quickly introduced each family member to Isla and Ellie.

  "This is..." Before Jazzlyn could introduce, Isla knew who he was.

  "Uncle Loong? Your dad's best friend?" Isla questioned as Jazzlyn closed her eyes and nodded.

  "And you are?" Uncle Loong greeted them comically.

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  "I'm Isla Cayman Jin Ru, and this is Ellie Leiking Kolopis Singau..." Isla introduced.

  "Wow, very interesting names!" Su Huang could not help it as Isla smiled.

  "Yes, my mother married a British, and Ellie's parents are native Kadazan Dusun* villagers back in Lahad Datu..." Isla explained.

  "Oh my, Sabah! That's so far away! Sister in law, you have such a unique combination of friends!" Su Huang instantly loved the duo as she hooked onto Isla's left arm.

  "My grandparents were from there too..." Jazzlyn reminded as Su Huang nodded.

  "I'm Wang Su Huang, their third sister. Ethan is the youngest. That's Su Qing, the second sister, and that's Su Lan, the eldest. Hilbert by her side is my brother-in-law." Su Huang introduced as they all exchanged nods with Ellie and Isla.

  "Nice to meet all of you. Thank you for being so hospitable to this poor little girl..." Isla gently tapped on Jazzlyn's back. That making Ellie chuckle but it was Su Qing who beat her to saying what she was chuckling at.

  "You do really sound like her mother..." Su Qing mumbled, but it was loud enough for everyone to hear as they all ended up in laughter.

  "Come, come, have something light for lunch. What else did you bring us?" Su Qing invited their guests as she went to check on the gifts in the paper bag.

  "Pig head!" Su Huang laughed with Su Qing and Ellie.

  "Dinner is considered done!" Su Huang cheered as Su Qing was satisfied with the hard liquor, oranges and wedding cakes because that would be symbolic for the event. Plus, it was ideal as tea for everyone later. She found the red packets and quickly placed them on the table for show.

  "There, there, go and prepare the basket to display them, and we can snap some pictures..." Su Qing urged Su Huang as Ellie followed to help while Jazzlyn and Ethan went to doll up.

  Jazzlyn found herself with a very quiet Su Lan sitting in the wheelchair while supervising the helpers putting up some last touches decoration. As Uncle Loong and Hilbert were running through the last bits of their preparation, Isla walked up to Su Lan.

  "It has been hard on you... I'm sorry for such a last-minute rush..." Isla apologised as Su Lan turned around to face her with a smile.

  "It should be us who apologise for not preparing well. Had to trouble you with the guo da li* gifts..." Su Lan finally chuckled at Isla's mistake.

  "Sorry, being born into a Western-influenced family, I wasn't very educated on all these. I married an Australian Chinese, where we didn't have to go through all these." Isla apologised again, which made Su Lan frown.

  "Oh, we are in laws after all, don't be so calculative and polite." Su Lan's comment made the ladies laugh together.

  "In laws.. I wish we were. That girl is so pitiful. Always thinking and putting others before herself. This..." Isla took a deep breath while pointing to the air. "Is the least I could do for her." Isla's eyes reddened, recalling their recent agreement on Lex.

  "If it wasn't for her, my brother and I wouldn't be here either..." Su Lan showed her fake leg to Isla.

  "You..." Isla was trying to make sense when Su Lan began to share with Isla the past of her and Ethan. That made Isla very proud of Jazzlyn as she too shared with Su Lan on Lex's passing and their recent reconciliation on the matter.

  "Looks like she has gotten too used to blaming herself and always drowning in guilt..." Isla nagged, which made Su Lan chuckle.

  "Don't be too harsh on her... We promise we will treat her very well. After all, dad had already said whether the both of them are together till the end or not, Wei Wei will always be his extra daughter." Su Lan informed which made Isla very glad as they both enjoyed the soft breeze blowing by the hallway before a burst of chaos came from the second floor.

  "Isla! Come! Oh my! You must see this!" Ellie was yelling for her with Su Huang.

  "Yes, big sister Isla, come now! We need your help!" Su Huang yelled from the second floor as Isla chuckled with Su Lan.

  "Not a moment of peace with the young ones..." Su Lan commented as they laughed.

  "Quick, go..." Su Lan urged as Isla ran upstairs and was led to the guest room to find an exquisite mother-of-pearl jewellery box in front of Jazzlyn, facing her.

  "I thought you would be the right person to do the honour of picking the jewellery from this dowry..." Jazzlyn gently said, knowing how much Isla loved jewellery. Lex had bought Isla so much in her collection from around the world back then that she still shopped for them occasionally when she travels.

  Instead of rummaging through the jewellery, Isla closed the box to study the pattern of the phoenix perched on the stone by the lake. She traced the trails of the pattern in awe as the trio watched her.

  "Pretty, isn't it?" Su Huang asked as Isla nodded in awe.

  "It's my mother's... She kept this box of dowry for all her daughters and her daughter-in-law. Now, Wei Wei can choose hers first." Su Huang said as Isla smiled.

  "Who gets the box?" Isla questioned as Su Huang smiled, knowing Isla knew the value.

  "If she wants, she can..." Su Huang said while Isla averted her gaze to Jazzlyn.

  "I don't need this... You know my job. Not even all these jewellery." Jazzlyn whined, and Ellie finally understood Isla's intention.

  "That's why she asked you to take the box. It suits you the best, but seeing how much jewellery is left, you should wait until then as the last owner in this generation." Ellie explained.

  "But why? It's just a box..." Jazzlyn questioned.

  "It's not just a box, Jazz..." Isla sternly corrected.

  "This was handcrafted by my mother back then from shells, and there is a lot of work to put into it. If you could craft one to sell in today's era, it would cost a fortune." Su Huang explained as Jazzlyn slowly realised she was holding onto a treasure.

  "Alright, I will take it and come back for it much later, but I still need some jewellery to doll up for today?" Jazzlyn questioned as the girls opened up the box with laughter and started to mix and match on Jazzlyn, who felt like a princess for a day.

  Glossaries:

  * Tanglungs: Means lanterns in Malay

  * Si Gina: a Hokkien dialect directly translates into "this kid," but also means "you are asking for a beating" or "you're asking for it."

  *Kadazan Dusun: the largest indigenous people in Sabah, Malaysia

  *Guo Da Li: meant the betrothal gifts in Chinese. It's a traditional Chinese betrothal ceremony symbolising a formal union of both families. It is more common for the groom's side to visit the bride's family as a form of respect.