The situation now was somewhat different than before. All the relatives and friends had arrived and were silently watching from the sidelines. If things flared up now, Li Dali would lose all face.

He had thought that everything was settled last night, but at the last moment, she chose to change her tune. She was squeezing him at the most critical time!

"Wang Rui, I'm warning you not to go too far. Our relatives and friends are all watching. Get out of the car at once!" Li Dali said, forcefully controlling his emotions as he reached out to pull her out.

However, Wang Rui swiftly dodged and bit down hard on his arm.

"We're at your doorstep. If you don't give me the money, I'm not getting out of this car. You and your family will be the ones who are embarrassed!" Wang Rui sneered, her expression filled with smugness. Her thinking was simple. Things had already reached this point; he had no choice but to compromise! This plan was perfect!

"You…" Li Dali slammed the car door hard.

The surrounding neighbors, relatives, and friends were all watching the scene unfold. Many had already started whispering and pointing. He was utterly humiliated!

At this point, Li Dali had no choice but to call his parents and ask them to bring the money. This was the 100,000 yuan they had prepared in advance. They had originally planned to hand it over after she entered the house, but now they had no choice but to bring it out first.

"Wang Rui, I can only get you 100,000 yuan right now. Please, let me owe you the other 100,000. As soon as I have it, I'll give it to you. I promise I won't short you, okay?" Li Dali pleaded, handing the money into the car.

Wang Rui snatched the money and stuffed it into her purse, her expression turning incredibly haughty. "That won't do," she said. "You're still short 100,000 yuan. I'm not getting out for a single cent less!"

Everyone could see what was happening. How could he possibly not pay up now? This was the plan she and her mother had devised last night. It was a checkmate move! It wasn't the first time they had pulled a stunt like this; they were experts at it.

"Wang Rui, you've gone too far!" Li Dali roared, his hands balling into fists.

Chen Zheng, who had been watching from the side, couldn't help but shake his head in resignation. This woman is so mercenary and shameless! Of course, this was a private family matter, and it wasn't his place to intervene. His old squad leader could handle it himself. Li Dali was an adult; he had made his choice and would have to take responsibility for his actions. Still, Chen Zheng hoped his friend would be smart enough to cut his losses while he still could. After all, even if he did manage to marry a woman like her, she would only cause more trouble down the line.

"If this isn't going to work, then forget it..." Li Dali muttered, walking to the side and kicking something viciously. He was at his breaking point.

"Son, don't panic! If we have to, I'll go borrow some money. We've come this far; we have to go through with the wedding, no matter what! Otherwise, we'll never be able to hold our heads high again!" said Li Dali's father, Li Chen, a man who cared deeply about his reputation. If the wedding fell through today, in front of everyone, how could they ever show their faces to their acquaintances again? Most importantly, his son already had a bad leg and was getting older. After an incident like this, if things dragged on any longer, he feared his son might never get another chance at marriage.

With that, he immediately started asking the nearby relatives for money.

The Li Family's social connections were actually quite good. Passing the hat around, they managed to scrape together a little over 30,000 yuan, but that was still a long way from 100,000.

"Dad... stop it. I don't want this marriage anymore!" Li Dali cried, bursting into tears as he saw the weary, aged look on his father's face. He was in his thirties, yet he was still causing his parents so much worry. This wedding was practically killing them!

"What are you talking about?" his father, Li Chen, immediately chided. "I just called your second uncle. He's sending Li Hui over. We'll have enough money soon!"

Li Dali's second uncle had married into a good family in the county. Thanks to those connections, he was able to run engineering projects out of town year-round and made good money. Their side of the family had grown distant, and they hadn't had contact in years. Li Chen only begged his brother for help because he had absolutely no other choice.

Before long, a Toyota pulled up nearby. A young, somewhat overweight man in a suit got out. He spat harshly on the ground, his expression full of arrogance.

Li Hui straightened his suit and swaggered toward the crowd. "Well, well, cousin," he began, casually tossing a paper bag onto the ground, his voice dripping with condescension. "So you're getting married today after all this time? Why no heads-up? What have you been doing? Now that you realize you can't afford a wife, you finally remember to ask my father for help?"

He took the opportunity to glance at the bride in the wedding car. "Well, what do we have here... Your bride is quite a beauty! You, you damned cripple, actually managed to find such a gorgeous woman. I'm impressed!"

"Li Hui, shut your mouth and get lost!" Li Dali roared.

Ever since his second uncle got rich, this cousin of his, Li Hui, had always acted like he was better than everyone. The two of them had even come to blows over it before; there was a lot of bad blood between them.

"What was that?" Li Hui sneered. "Telling me to get lost? Fine, give me the money back. If you're so tough, you shouldn't have borrowed from my father in the first place. You've been reduced to borrowing money just to get married, and you still have the nerve to act so arrogant? Don't you know who's holding all the cards here?" He wasn't about to let such a perfect opportunity slip by.

"Take it and get lost!" Li Dali snarled, grabbing the paper bag and moving to throw it back at him.

But his father grabbed his arm. "He's just joking with you, son! It's normal for brothers to roughhouse a bit!"

"Dad..." Li Dali started, but his mother cut in, urging, "That's enough. Hurry and give the money to Wang Rui. Everyone's waiting for the banquet to start!"

Only then did Li Dali finally hand the money into the car.

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