Deliberate Obstacles

"Smack! You think you can just decide not to get married? I'm telling you, you have to get married today," Hao Lina's father slapped her hard across the face.

Tears of grievance welled up in Hao Lina's eyes. She looked at her father and said, "I can't go through with this wedding. Even if you beat me to death today, I won't get married."

"You..." Her father raised his hand to hit her again, but her mother stopped him, saying, "Don't hit her face! She's getting married; what will people think when they see it?"

"It's all because you spoiled her," Hao Lina's father grumbled angrily.

"Lina, just listen to your father. We don't have any other way. Your brother is getting older," her mother pleaded.

"Mom, it's because you always indulge him that he's the way he is now. This time, no matter what, I'm not getting married. Let's see how you return the bride price to them then."

"Return the bride price? What bride price? If there's no wedding, there's no bride price," Hao Lina's brother scoffed.

"Don't forget, I'm the one refusing this marriage. Not a penny of the bride price can be kept. The court will make sure of that."

"You..." Her brother raised his hand to hit her.

"Go ahead, hit me. Hit me right here," Hao Lina pointed to her face.

"Hmph! If it weren't for your wedding today, you think I wouldn't dare?"

"It doesn't matter. I already said I'm not getting married today. Go ahead and hit me if you want."

Outside, Fatty was getting anxious. Ye Chen quickly approached the female emcee and said, "Could you please go back in and ask what kind of cars they want?"

The emcee looked at Ye Chen and said, "I don't think it's that simple."

"Oh? Why do you say that?" Ye Chen frowned.

These wedding emcees had seen many such situations. If she said so, the matter was definitely complicated.

"Because I didn't even see the bride."

"Really? You didn't see the bride when you went in just now?"

"Mm," the emcee nodded.

"Okay, please go back in and check again. Ask them what conditions they have."

"Alright, I'll go check again."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, it's my job."

Since Fatty and Hao Lina had no matchmaker, the emcee now acted as one. She went back inside, staying for over twenty minutes. By this time, it was already six in the morning, and the wedding procession had been waiting for an hour without even entering the house.

To be honest, Ye Chen was also very angry. If it were him, he would have turned around and left without saying a word. But seeing his good friend so anxious, Ye Chen couldn't just walk away.

Fortunately, the emcee returned, though her face showed displeasure. Seeing her expression, Ye Chen knew there was trouble.

"How is it? Did you see the bride?"

"No."

"No? Then why did it take so long..."

"They didn't allow me to see her, but I think I heard her crying inside."

"What? Lina is crying? No way, I have to go in and see." Fatty said, starting to walk towards the house.

Ye Chen quickly grabbed him, saying, "What are you doing? Calm down and let's understand the situation first."

"Ye Chen, I..."

"I know you're anxious, but now is not the time to rush. Let's figure out what's going on first."

"Okay..."

Once Fatty had calmed down, Ye Chen asked the emcee, "So, what did they say?"

"They said the procession cars should at least be Mercedes or BMW."

"Just that? But why didn't they say this earlier? Mentioning it now is just causing trouble," Ye Chen said indignantly.

"That's probably just an excuse. They have another condition."

"What condition?"

"The bride's father wants 300,000 yuan as a 'boarding fee,'" the emcee said, looking at Fatty before turning back to Ye Chen.

"What? 300,000 yuan as a boarding fee? Are they crazy?" Ye Chen shouted.

Ye Chen's voice was loud enough for not only the wedding procession to hear but also the villagers who had come to watch. From today on, the family's reputation would be ruined.

It's one thing to ask for a token sum, but asking for 300,000 yuan is unheard of. Who brings that much money to pick up a bride? This was clearly a deliberate obstacle. Even if they wanted 300,000 yuan, they should have mentioned it earlier. What was the point of this?

"300,000 yuan? Where am I supposed to get 300,000 yuan now?" Fatty was distraught.

He genuinely loved Hao Lina, and she genuinely loved him too. Ye Chen could tell from their interactions. Though he had never met Hao Lina, he could sense the sincerity of their feelings from Fatty's words. Some things just couldn't be faked.

Honestly, Ye Chen was furious. He had never seen parents like this. Though he had been on many blind dates, he had only encountered snobbish girls, not parents like these.

Ye Chen walked up to Fatty and asked, "Do you really love Lina? No matter what, you want to be with her?"