'You can be absent, but not the red packet': Bride in China disses ex-colleague over wedding no-show

Should newlyweds be expected to eventually reciprocate the ang baos received from wedding guests?

One bride in China seems to think so.

Upset that her ex-colleague did not attend her wedding, the angry woman from Sichuan launched into a tirade, accusing him of evading the repayment of the ang bao she previously gifted him, reported the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

"I gave him 400 yuan (S$75) when he got married, so now I'm obligated to invite him to my wedding," said the woman surnamed Huang, according to local media outlets.

She had extended to him a physical copy of the wedding invitation as well as another digital invitation via WeChat before her ceremony on Oct 22. However, her ex-colleague was a no-show on her wedding day.

A vexed Huang then sent him multiple messages demanding for repayment, but to no avail.

"What is this? I gifted you 400 yuan for your wedding last time. Please return the money to me," the messages read. "Are you not going to return me this favour you owe?"

Her ex-colleague later told Huang's husband that he did not show up to their wedding as he felt her invitation was not genuine, an explanation she could not accept.

"You can be absent, but not the red packet," she rebuked. 

Huang said she eventually told her ex-colleague not to bother returning her the money, adding that he should have had a better attitude and informed her if he could not attend.

"Aside from you not coming, not replying my messages is quite disrespectful," she wrote.

"If you don't have money, just tell me and I would have let it go. But your attitude makes me feel like I owe you."

ALSO READ: Rude or not? Wedding guest claims bride asked to identify ang bao, sparks discussion

lim.kewei@asiaone.com