They were the ones who made them lose face like this!
Their hearts were filled with deep resentment!
They completely forgot the disdainful and unwilling expressions they had when Si Nian offered to introduce them earlier.
The entire family stormed over to confront Si Nian, but the moment they stepped into the Zhou family’s living room, they were stunned by the sight before them—a retro-style decor, an oversized sofa, a television, and a radio. Before they could even process it, a familiar voice rang out behind them.
"Si Nian, where’s Si Nian?"
Turning around, they saw Fu Qianqian, dressed in festive red, walking in with a man.
The two parties locked eyes, both frozen in surprise.
"What are you doing here?" Fu Qianqian, who had been smiling brightly, instantly changed her expression.
She remembered how the Si family had looked down on Si Nian for marrying a country bumpkin, eager to sever ties with her.
Yet here they were, standing in the Zhou household. How unexpected.
Fu Qianqian didn’t believe they had come out of goodwill to attend Si Nian’s wedding.
Si's Father and Si's Mother had arrived with stern faces, ready to pick a fight with Si Nian, but now they couldn’t maintain their composure. They never expected Fu Qianqian to show up.
Weren’t the two of them on terrible terms before?
Forcing a smile, they said, "Oh, isn’t this Qianqian? What brings you here?"
Fu Qianqian gave them a strange look.
At that moment, Si Nian, who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, warmly approached and exclaimed loudly, "Oh my, Mom and Dad, you didn’t have to bring so many gifts! I’m really touched!"
There were quite a few people around, and hearing this, they all turned to look.
Wasn’t this the family who had been bossing Si Nian around at the entrance earlier?
They claimed to be here to send her off for the wedding, yet they arrived empty-handed, spouting unpleasant words on such a joyous occasion. Everyone had been gossiping about how terrible Si Nian’s adoptive parents were.
But now, seeing them accompanied by someone else carrying so many gifts, the crowd began to wonder—were they just harsh on the outside but kind at heart? Had they misjudged them?
If they truly didn’t care about Si Nian, why would they bring so many presents?
Whispers spread among the onlookers: "Seems like the Si family isn’t as heartless as we thought."
"Yeah, I was just thinking how awful they were earlier."
"Sorry, members of the Si family, we didn’t realize you were so thoughtful, bringing all these wonderful gifts. We might’ve been too quick to judge."
The crowd grew enthusiastic. "Ah, I knew it! Anyone who raised such a sweet girl like Nian couldn’t be that bad."
"Such generosity! These cigarettes, liquor, and pastries must’ve cost a fortune!"
People swarmed around them.
Fu Qianqian was utterly baffled. How had the gifts she brought suddenly become the Si family’s?
Did Si Nian, that idiot, think the things she was carrying were from the Si family?
Glancing at the empty-handed trio, Fu Qianqian was furious. Before the equally confused Si family could react, she snapped loudly, "What do you mean ‘their gifts’? These are the things I bought! What does it have to do with them?"
"Huh?" The crowd’s cheerful expressions froze.
They looked between her and the pale-faced, dumbfounded Si family.
Then Fu Qianqian added sarcastically, "Oh, if it isn’t Uncle and Auntie Si? You came to send Si Nian off for her wedding—without bringing anything?"
Only then did the crowd realize Fu Qianqian wasn’t with them. Their expressions turned odd.
"Seriously… so it wasn’t them after all."
"I knew it—they arrived with nothing earlier."
"Tch… and here I was feeling a tiny bit guilty for cursing them out."
"How shameless, showing up to a wedding without even a token gift?"
Si's Father and Si's Mother were so humiliated they could barely lift their heads.
They had no idea what was happening.
They had come to pick a fight with Si Nian, yet in the blink of an eye, they were being scolded again.
Si Nian gasped dramatically and exclaimed, "What? These aren’t from you, Mom and Dad?" She covered her mouth in shock.
Her words made the two, who had come to cause trouble, feel a pang of shame.
They had rushed over, eager to get this over with, never expecting so many mishaps.
With so many eyes on them, they couldn’t leave without giving something.
Gritting his teeth, Si's Father said, "Well, these may not be from us, but your mother and I knew life here would be hard for you. These things wouldn’t be of much use, so we prepared a red envelope for you instead."
Si Nian’s face lit up with joy. "Oh, I knew it! You’ve always been so good to me. But please, don’t give me too much—I’d feel bad accepting it, especially since Qianqian already gave me sooo much!"
Si's Father’s hand, reaching for the money, paused.
He clenched his jaw, resentment bubbling toward Fu Qianqian. Why did she have to bring so much?
He had planned to casually hand over a hundred yuan to save face, but now, if he gave so little compared to her lavish gifts, he’d look stingy.
So he nudged his dazed wife and said, "Hurry up and take out the money I told you to withdraw yesterday for Nian’s red envelope."
Zhang Cuimei was still processing things. Why were they suddenly being forced to hand over money?
Hearing this, she instinctively retorted, "But wasn’t that for Si—" Before she could finish, her husband cut her off.
"Of course it was for Nian’s red envelope. Why else would I have you withdraw it?"
In truth, that money was for Lin Sisi’s foreign language classes. Recently, a wave of studying abroad had swept through the city, with every family boasting about sending their daughters overseas. But their Lin Sisi wasn’t fluent in English.
The couple had planned to enroll her in a course after the wedding, so Zhang Cuimei had brought the money with her.
But before she could protest, her husband snatched it from her and handed a thick stack of crisp new bills to Si Nian.
"Nian, this is from your father. Take it, and if you ever need more, just let me know."
Thirty brand-new ten-yuan bills—freshly withdrawn.
Si Nian accepted them with a smile. "Oh, I couldn’t possibly… Dad, you’re too kind! Little Dong, Little Han, Shitou, come here—Grandpa’s giving you red envelopes!"
The moment the kids heard "red envelopes," they came sprinting over, surrounding Si's Father and his family.
Si's Father’s smile was strained, but under the expectant gazes of the children and the crowd, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and fork over more cash.
"Little Dong, Little Han, right? Here’s a red envelope from Grandpa!"
He handed each of the two children ten yuan.
The kids glanced at them, and Si Nian, thoroughly amused by Si's Father’s pained expression, urged, "Little Dong, Little Han, say thank you to Grandpa."
The two exchanged a look before obediently chiming, "Thank you, Grandpa."
