Dozens of imposing, menacing men and over a hundred funeral wreaths lined both sides of the red carpet in neat rows, stretching from the hotel entrance out to the road.
It had all happened too quickly, too suddenly.
A luxury motorcade blocked the entrance, and a group of men in black suits carried over funeral wreaths and placed them along both sides of the red carpet.
And setting down the wreaths was not the end of it. The dozens of men in black suits stationed themselves in pairs along both sides of the red carpet, with the wreaths between them, apparently unwilling to let anyone remove them easily.
"Y-you... who exactly are you? What are you trying to do?"
That relative of Guo Xinliang's pointed a trembling finger at Qin Xiao as he asked.
The hotel employee had already sensibly shut his mouth and stopped asking questions.
Sending funeral wreaths on someone's wedding day meant there had to be some deep-seated hatred involved. More importantly, judging by the motorcade and this whole display, whoever had come was no ordinary person.
Why would he meddle? He turned around and left.
Qin Xiao ignored Guo Xinliang's relative and waved his hand. Another dozen or so men in black suits got out of the Ferraris behind him.
They ran over and hauled Guo Xinliang's relative away, while also blocking the bride's and groom's friends and relatives coming out of the hotel.
Faced with a scene like this, ordinary friends certainly would not meddle. Only Guo Xinliang's and Qu Fang's families came out to argue.
But the burly men in black suits stopped all of them at the hotel entrance. They neither hit nor insulted anyone. If people wanted to shout, they could shout.
They simply would not let anyone come out and disturb Qin Xiao.
The wedding motorcade received the same treatment. Apart from the lead car, every vehicle had two men in black suits stationed beside it, preventing the couple's friends and relatives from getting out.
Once he saw that everything was more or less in place, Qin Xiao finally walked toward the couple's lead car, step by step, with a smile.
Inside the car, Guo Xinliang and Qu Fang had been utterly dumbfounded ever since Qin Xiao got out.
Just over two weeks ago, the two of them had hired someone to look into Qin Xiao's current situation.
He had been muddling through life, bent on getting his company back, without a steady job, living in a garage in the county town, and being hounded by debt collectors every few days.
For whatever reason, Qu Fang had even had someone send him an invitation by courier.
But looking at the scene before them, even renting this motorcade was beyond what Qin Xiao could afford, let alone bringing all these people.
The two of them had prided themselves on knowing everything about Qin Xiao inside out, but the scene before them went completely beyond their imagination.
And there were Qin Xiao's clothes and appearance, and the air he carried.
If not for that familiar face, neither of them would have dared believe this was Qin Xiao.
"What? Don't recognize me? I came to your wedding and even went out of my way to put on such a grand display for you. Aren't you going to thank me?"
Qin Xiao lightly tapped the rear window twice as he spoke.
Inside the car, Guo Xinliang and Qu Fang exchanged a look. Guo Xinliang took a deep breath, looked up, and lowered the window.
"Q-Qin Xiao, what are you doing here?"
After spending so long gathering his courage, Guo Xinliang came out with a load of crap.
"Weren't you the ones who sent me an invitation?"
Qin Xiao took an invitation out of his pocket and flicked it through the window.
When Guo Xinliang saw the invitation, he turned and shot Qu Fang a vicious glare.
Although he had no idea what had happened to Qin Xiao, there was no avoiding today's situation, and this was no time to make a scene.
More importantly, judging by this display, they could not get the better of him even if they did make a scene.
That woman Qu Fang usually seemed so fierce, but when it came down to it, she did not dare say a word.
Guo Xinliang had no choice but to force a smile uglier than a ghost's face and speak.
"Qin Xiao, I know we both wronged you, but today is our wedding day. Whatever it is, could we talk about it after the wedding?"
Indeed, Guo Xinliang was right. With so many friends and relatives watching, they had to grit their teeth and finish the wedding first.
"Listen to you. You make it sound like I'm here to collect a debt. I only came to attend your wedding. Look, I even prepared a motorcade and flowers for you."
"Look at this motorcade of yours. What is this stuff? You're about to become the chairman of a listed company. This hardly suits your status, brother!"
Qin Xiao spoke with a grin.
Guo Xinliang was about to explode with anger. Who the hell brought funeral wreaths to a wedding and called them flowers?
The man had neither caused a disturbance nor hit anyone, so calling the police would be useless. Giving funeral wreaths was not illegal, was it?
"Thank you for your kindness, but my motorcade is already here. Could you let us go inside first? The wedding is about to begin. And could you remove those 'flowers' of yours first?"
Guo Xinliang spoke through gritted teeth.
"Of course!"
Qin Xiao snapped his fingers.
He waved toward the back, and the motorcade, along with the pickup trucks, slowly pulled onto the road and left.
"You already have a motorcade, but you can't turn down my flowers. Hurry up and get out. I'm still waiting to welcome the bride and groom!"
Qin Xiao produced one of those twist-operated confetti poppers from somewhere and spoke to Guo Xinliang with a grin.
Guo Xinliang could neither back down nor press ahead. The motorcade slowly entered the hotel grounds.
He pulled Qu Fang out of the car, though she was reluctant and somewhat afraid to face Qin Xiao.
Looking at the funeral wreaths standing firmly on either side, Guo Xinliang proved he knew when to yield and when to stand tall.
He took a deep breath and slowly led Qu Fang onto the red carpet.
Qin Xiao felt genuine admiration for Guo Xinliang. He could even put up with this.
But after more than ten days of careful planning, how could Qin Xiao have only this little surprise in store?
When he saw the newlyweds step onto the red carpet, he gave a sharp wave.
The men in black suits standing on both sides of the red carpet all reached behind the funeral wreaths and pulled out twist-operated confetti cannons.
Bang! Bang!
Two per person, fired in two perfectly synchronized bursts, as though they had rehearsed it.
Countless scraps of paper shot out of the confetti cannons.
But instead of the usual glittering streamers, they contained pieces of white funeral money, each the size of a copper coin.
Outside the five-star hotel stood a red carpet and balloons.
A newlywed couple in wedding attire had several people who looked like bridesmaids and groomsmen following behind them.
Yet both sides of the red carpet were lined with funeral wreaths, while a dense shower of white funeral money fluttered down overhead.
It was utterly bizarre!
Among the guests, some stayed out of it because it was none of their business, while others had already called the police.
Some took out their phones to film this bizarre, rarely seen moment.
Some were at the entrance, shoving back and forth with the burly men in black suits.
Finally, as funeral money fluttered through the air, someone could no longer stand it.
It was unclear which side this relative belonged to, but he shouted, "You bastards have gone too far!"
Before he could do anything, however, the doors of numerous vehicles in the hotel parking lot opened.
Another group of men in black suits rushed out. Unlike the earlier group, every one of them held a dagger gleaming coldly.
Although Qin Xiao had instructed them that they absolutely must not hurt anyone, they were causing this much trouble at someone else's wedding.
There was no way around using some intimidation. Sure enough, as these men in black suits charged forward with blades in hand,
Those who had lost their composure immediately calmed down. Even the one or two who remained impulsive were firmly held in place by their friends and relatives.
Qin Xiao looked at the ashen-faced Guo Xinliang and Qu Fang and said,
"Do you think I've gone a little too far? I think so too. That's why I've prepared a big gift for you, custom-made especially for the two of you. It's worth a lot of money!"