Chapter 9

Their home was less than a two hours' drive from the city. Neither of her parents had proper jobs, and they had a son, Chloe's brother, who was unemployed and spent all day playing video games.

"Uncle, Auntie, Chloe doesn't know I'm here today. Actually... I'm planning to propose to her."

Her mom and dad exchanged a glance, their smiles not particularly warm: "Lucas, you and Chloe have been dating for over a year, and it is indeed time to talk about marriage. But marriage is no small matter."

I quickly said: "I understand. Marriage needs to be discussed properly between both families. Don't worry, Chloe is a wonderful girl, and my family will definitely show enough sincerity in marrying her."

Her father's eyes scanned the gifts I had brought: "As parents, we don't ask for much. We just hope our daughter can find an understanding family who values her and treats her well."

That sounds nice, but what do they mean by "understanding" and "valuing"? Isn't it just about how much bride price the groom's family can offer?

Chloe's parents had asked her more than once how much bride price my family could offer for the wedding.

I had already inquired about this.

In Chloe's area, the usual bride price ranged from 66,000 to 88,000 yuan, which wasn't considered excessive.

But if it were just this amount, her parents wouldn't be beating around the bush with me now.

I smiled: "Uncle, you're absolutely right. Please rest assured, the bride price from my family will definitely be more than others. I guarantee Chloe won't lose out compared to anyone else."

Hearing my ambiguous response, her father cleared his throat.

Her mother took the cue: "Lucas, my daughter has a bachelor's degree and is beautiful. You probably don't know, but even though I've told people Chloe has a boyfriend, matchmakers keep coming to our house one after another to introduce potential partners for her. Last month, our neighbor's daughter got married, and her conditions were far inferior to Chloe's, yet the groom's family still gave a bride price of 200,000 yuan!"

I slowly said: "Auntie, my family will offer a bride price of 500,000 yuan."

"H-how much?"

"500,000 yuan."

"500,000 yuan!"

Her mother was so shocked she almost jumped up.

Her father, who was in the middle of drinking water, choked and started coughing repeatedly.