Li Meng Hao, usually a decent fellow, had managed to round up six or seven cars, each worth a couple hundred thousand yuan, to pick up Wu Qian.
The Li family had already presented eighty-eight thousand yuan in betrothal gifts and a Mercedes-Benz C-Class worth over three hundred thousand yuan.
Furthermore, Wu Qian was visibly pregnant, and her fetal heartbeat had been unstable during the first trimester.
Therefore, both families had agreed to keep the wedding simple.
This was meant to ease the burden on the young couple.
However, as the saying goes, reality often falls short of ideals.
Upon arriving at Wu Qian's place, the entire entourage found themselves in a predicament.
"Bride, bride, open the door! Red envelopes, big red envelopes!"
"Groom, groom, don't call out, the door won't open without red envelopes."
The traditional custom of bridesmaids blocking the door and groomsmen stuffing red envelopes was, in essence, part of the wedding festivities.
The bridesmaids and relatives would only open the door after the groomsmen had offered a generous amount of red envelopes.
Typically, this "teasing" was done in good spirits.
The amounts in the red envelopes were usually small, often just a few yuan, given as a token gesture.
A few envelopes, a couple of shouts from the groomsmen or the groom, and the door would be opened.
Yet, they had been here for over an hour. The red envelopes were long gone, and the door remained stubbornly shut.
"Qian Qian, hurry up and open the door! The relatives at home are starting to rush us. Even my parents called, saying if we're late, we'll miss the auspicious hour!"
Li Meng Hao, dressed in a white suit and holding a bouquet, pleaded anxiously at the door.
However, instead of Wu Qian's voice, a sharp, female voice echoed from within.
"Oh, Li Meng Hao, in such a hurry? To marry our Wu Qian, these small red envelopes won't cut it. Tsk, tsk, you've only stuffed five or six hundred yuan in. No fun, no fun at all. Alright, I won't tease you anymore. Scan this and quickly send ten red envelopes of 8888 yuan each. I'll open the door for you right away!"
With that, a QR code was pushed through the gap in the door – a WeChat payment request!
"What the heck! Are you blocking the door or robbing us? Ten red envelopes of 8888 yuan each? Did I hear that right!"
"I've seen it all now. I've never heard of an opening gift of 88888 yuan. Are you playing with us?"
"Didn't you say earlier not to make things difficult and to let Meng Hao pick up the bride quickly?"
The guests helping with the pickup were all relatives and friends of Li Meng Hao.
Hearing the voice from inside, they erupted in protest.
Who had ever heard of an opening gift of ten 8888 yuan red envelopes?
Li Meng Yao and Li Meng Han, along with Ke Ke, watched the scene unfold, stunned.
Ten 8888 yuan red envelopes?
Even television dramas wouldn't dare to portray something like this!
Li Meng Yao, in particular, felt her mood sour further after hearing Ye Yun mention that the baby in Wu Qian's womb might not be a prince but a changeling.
However, without any prior notification from Ye Yun, she couldn't act rashly.
"Qian Qian, please open the door first. We can discuss things properly."
Li Meng Hao was taken aback. He couldn't believe Wu Qian would make such an exorbitant demand.
"Meng Hao, Sister Qian Qian is crying. She said she never expected to have the chance to marry you in this lifetime, and she's moved to tears! As for the red envelopes, Sister Qian Qian said it's just for you to show your commitment and how much you value her. This money, in the future, will be your savings for buying a house together."
"Exactly, exactly. Wu Qian is thinking of your Li family. We hope you will show Qian Qian more respect and importance."
"Tsk, if you're unwilling to even pay 88,800 yuan to open the door, I suspect you won't treat Qian Qian well in the future either. In my opinion, it's better not to open the door at all. Otherwise, conflict is bound to arise sooner or later."
Inside, there were noisy, sarcastic remarks.
Before Li Meng Hao could speak, Wang Hui, who had been silent all along, couldn't stand it any longer. She said with heartfelt persuasion,
"Sister Qian Qian, please don't be angry. Brother Meng Hao is just a bit anxious. Please don't enjoy this too much. How about this, Brother Meng Hao didn't prepare that much money at first. I have some here. I'll send it to you right now. Please open the door!"
Saying this, Wang Hui took out her phone, intending to scan the WeChat payment code.
For many years, she had been by Li Meng Hao's side as a friend, secretly harboring feelings for him.
Alas, her affections were unrequited; the prince had no interest in the goddess.
Li Meng Hao's entire heart belonged to Wu Qian.
This had been the case for years.
Now, witnessing their impending marriage, Wang Hui's heart ached.
However, more than her own pain, she couldn't bear to see Li Meng Hao suffer.
Seeing him being blocked at the door...
Forget it, I'll pay for it.
As long as Brother Meng Hao can be happy in the future.
Li Meng Hao was completely bewildered. He never imagined that Wu Qian would make such an outrageous demand, and he hadn't even agreed to it yet.
And Wang Hui, that foolish woman, was actually offering to pay!
This was a joke!
No matter what, how could he let Wang Hui pay this money!
With this thought, Li Meng Hao quickly stopped Wang Hui and said to those inside,
"Wang Hui was just joking. Qian Qian, Father, Mother, please open the door. We can talk about this inside, alright? There are many people outside, let's not make a spectacle of ourselves."
Li Meng Hao was clearly still smitten with Wu Qian. Despite her behavior, his first instinct was to de-escalate the situation.
At this moment, Wu Qian's mother's voice came from inside.
"Meng Hao, what's there to discuss? Honestly, are our demands too high? You're reluctant to even pay eighty-eight thousand yuan for the opening red envelope? When you got Qian Qian pregnant, why didn't you say anything? We only have one daughter, Qian Qian. Even if you give us more, won't it all be for you and Qian Qian in the future? It all comes down to attitude, to see if you truly value Qian Qian."
"Exactly, Meng Hao. We used to think you were deeply in love with Qian Qian, but now it seems Qian Qian is not even worth 88,800 yuan in your heart! Forget it, we don't want this money. Qian Qian's mother, take back the betrothal gifts and everything else the Li family gave us. We'll return them. We won't get married! My Wu family's daughter, I won't let her suffer any injustice!"
Wu Qian's parents, one playing good cop and the other bad cop, took turns. How could the naive Li Meng Hao stand against them?
His face immediately turned as red as a monkey's posterior.
This made Li Meng Yao so angry she almost cursed out loud.
If she hadn't known about what happened yesterday, she might have thought this family was genuinely expressing their love.
But now, she could see clearly.
This family was using a strategy of "retreat to advance"!
Her foolish younger brother was very likely to fall for it!
Indeed, the words of his future in-laws moved Li Meng Hao to tears, and he immediately transferred 88,800 yuan via his phone!
In truth, one couldn't entirely blame Li Meng Hao.
After all, Wu Qian was an only child, and she was carrying his child.
His money was also Wu Qian's money.
And Wu Qian's money was his, wasn't it?
However, he was completely unaware that a vast grassland was currently sprawling over his head.
Li Meng Hao, still blissfully dreaming of their wedding night, was about to push the door open to enter.
But...
The door still wouldn't open!
"Dad, Mom, I've transferred the 88,800 yuan red envelope. The door should open now, right? I told you long ago, I, Li Meng Hao, will cherish Wu Qian for the rest of my life!"