The convoy started from the Tang family manor in the northern part of the city and headed for the Huo family manor in the eastern end of the city.
The long queue of luxury cars attracted everyone's attention as they made their way, and many in the crowd pulled out their phones to snap pics or record video of the event. A number of journalists already knew of the big event tying two of the most powerful families in the city together. Those guys had found the best spots to camp out in, the best spots for the best photos.
When the convoy arrived at the Huo family manor, there were already a ton of people waiting there. They were all chatting amongst themselves and laughing.
The cars rolled up to the manor gate. Dressed in a formal black designer suit, Sheffield emerged from his Aston Martin holding a large bouquet of champagne roses.
The six groomsmen also left their cars, including Gifford and Joshua. Gifford drove a McLaren F1, and Joshua was in a Lotus Esprit. Both quintessentially British cars sported bright red paint jobs.
The other four groomsmen were Sheffield's good friends. None of them were from ordinary families. Some of the onlookers soon found that one of them was a domestic superstar, and another was a prince of M Country.
Gwyn was in a pink princess dress and Blair held her. Colleen stood next to them. When she saw Sheffield, the little girl immediately wriggled in Blair's arms and exclaimed, "Daddy! Daddy!" Blair carefully set the girl down, making sure the little one was steady on her feet, and she ran towards Sheffield.
Sheffield's eyes were full of tenderness when he saw his little girl running full tilt at him. He held the roses in one hand and scooped up his daughter in the other. "Let's go to Mommy, sweetie!"
Gwyn clapped her hands. "Mommy upstairs. The dress, byoo-ee-full." She tried to say "beautiful," but that was a big word, full of subtle, difficult-to-master sounds.
Sheffield understood what she meant. Evelyn looked stunning in her wedding dress. "Oh, really? Then could you please take Daddy to have a look at Mommy?"
"Yes!"
As Sheffield walked towards the villa with Gwyn in his arms, many guests were amazed at how happy he was—and how lucky. "You never see grooms carrying their daughters before the wedding. That guy has it all. He married the hottest socialite in the city, and he has an adorable daughter."
"I know, right? Lucky duck!"
The bridesmaids heard the groom come inside. So they rushed to lock Evelyn's bedroom door so he couldn't see the bride easily.
There was a crowd already gathered in the hallway. Terilynn walked over to Sheffield holding the toddler. "Little one, your dad's still busy. Want some candy?"
Gwyn turned around to take a look at her dad waving at her, and nodded, "Okay."
There were six QR codes printed out and taped to Evelyn's bedroom door. The emcee told Sheffield, "These codes are to the bridesmaids' WeChat Pay accounts. If you could give them some cash, that would be good. But make sure they don't think you're a penny-pincher!"
Joshua clicked his tongue. "They sure know how to rip the groom off." Luckily, Sheffield was loaded.
"Definitely!" Gifford agreed with Joshua.
If he wanted to marry his woman, he had to do this. Sheffield asked Tobias to bring him his phone and opened the app without hesitation. He scanned one of the QR codes and transferred 99, 999 dollars.
He could hear one of the bridesmaids say "wow!" through the door. "What a great guy! Let's open the door and let him in!"
"Don't fall for that, sis! Calm down!" another bridesmaid said.
Gifford raised a brow at Sheffield and teased him. "You're so generous to other girls. Be careful, or your wife will make you kneel on the keyboard on your wedding night!"
"No way! My wife's friends are my friends too."
Joshua also mocked him, "Let me be Evelyn's bridesmaid for a bit? I can put my QR code up there and get a serious cash infusion. I'll still be your best man afterwards."
Anxious to see his bride, Sheffield continued to scan the other QR codes one by one and wired the money quickly, while replying to Joshua, "Dude, I'll give you 999, 999—if you wear a bridesmaid dress."
"Only six figures? Well, forget it, my rep is more important than money!" Joshua would not swallow his pride for money.
In less than two minutes, he had completed all the wire transfers. Sheffield put away his phone and knocked on the door. "Hey ladies, I have a bigger red envelope in my pocket. Do you want it?"
"Yes! Of course!"
"Well, open the door a bit and I'll shove the envelope through the gap."
"Sure!" Sheffield heard someone turning the lock, and then another girl screamed, "Don't open the door. It's a trap!"
But it was too late. They only opened the door a crack, but the group of men forced their way in.
The bridesmaids protested, "Hey, now, where's the red envelope? And the groom! Where are you going?"
The moment the groom saw his bride, he paid no attention to what the other bridesmaids were saying and rushed over to the bed.
Evelyn sat on the edge of the bed, dressed in a simple, white, off-the-shoulder V-neck gauzy dress. A white diamond pendant hung from her neck. Her long hair was pulled up into a bun and decorated with a crown inlaid with ruby. She looked fabulous.
"Honey, I'm here to marry you!" Sheffield shouted.
Everyone burst into laughter. Evelyn's face was as red as a tomato.
The emcee came to stop him. "Slow down there, guy. You have a few things to do before you can claim your bride. This one's for the groomsmen—and the groom. You guys have to show us how well you like each other."
Joshua laughed loudly, "We don't like him. Make him do everything himself!"
Knowing that he was just joking, everyone burst into peals of laughter as well.
Sheffield turned to his friends and told the emcee, "I trust these guys with my life. If there's something to be done, just tell us."
A bridesmaid came over and pulled the groom aside, keeping him away from the bride. She said with a smile, "Of course we have games for the groomsmen, but you can't approach the bride before answering our questions."
"Is that the eldest daughter of the Qiao family?" Joshua whispered to Gifford. Like Evelyn, the eldest daughter of the Qiao family was also one of the richest socialites in the city.
"I don't know her." Gifford did not recognize the bridesmaid who just spoke, but he added with a sigh, "I guess it's true. Beautiful people always play with beautiful people." The bride and bridesmaids were all incredibly lovely.
Sheffield straightened up his clothes and said confidently, "No problem. Fire away!"
"Listen up. You have to circle the room three times carrying a groomsman on your back for each wrong answer."
Sheffield looked at the group of bridesmaids in astonishment, and tried to make it easier on his buddies. "Why not ask a groomsman to walk around the room three times with a bridesmaid on his back?"
"Great idea!" Gifford clapped his hands.
Joshua wanted to shout his approval too, but he didn't dare. Terilynn was part of this. So he took a step back and let other single people join the game.
Libby Qiao, the head bridesmaid, thought for a while and said, "Okay."
"Come on, Libby. You know that's not fair!" one of the bridesmaids screamed.
Another bridesmaid responded calmly, "Don't panic. Just ask Libby to do it. Don't forget that she's also a bridesmaid."
"You're right."
Libby Qiao smiled and reminded Sheffield, "Quit stealing glances at the bride. Now, for the first question…"
The bridesmaid's words drew unwanted attention to Sheffield. Quite a few guests happened to spot Sheffield trying to look at Evelyn, and the crowd burst into laughter again.
"Question number 1: What is Evelyn's favorite food?"
