When Lin Mo emerged, Xia Mengdie was already waiting outside.
Seeing Lin Mo's expression, Xia Mengdie quickly felt apologetic, "Mo, I'm sorry, my father has always been like that."
Upon seeing Xia Mengdie's guilty look, Lin Mo, on the other hand, felt a twinge of heartache, "It's okay, let's go wish your grandpa a happy birthday."
At that moment, Old Master Xia, seated at the main seat, was warmly chatting with the honored guests.
When he saw Xia Mengdie approaching, Old Master Xia immediately smiled and said,
"Die'er has arrived."
"Yes, Grandpa, Die'er has come to celebrate your birthday."
"And who is this?"
"He's named Lin Mo, he is... Die'er's boyfriend."
Upon hearing this, Old Master Xia scrutinized Lin Mo carefully, and on his aged face, a satisfied smile appeared,
"Tall and with a noble air, he really is quite a handsome young man."
Xia Mengdie immediately grinned, responding, "Thank you for the compliment, Grandpa."
Then, Xia Mengdie quickly found a chair for Lin Mo, who sat down and also greeted Old Master Xia, "Good day, Grandpa Xia."
Seeing that Old Master Xia seemed quite pleased with Lin Mo, the direct descendants of the Xia Family couldn't help but agree,
"This young man is indeed quite handsome; Meng Die has good taste."
"Yes, he is also quite tall, he looks impressive when taken out."
Just then, a middle-aged couple couldn't help but snicker and interject,
"Handsome is all well and good, but what use is that alone?"
Upon hearing this, the direct descendants of the Xia Family slightly frowned and couldn't help asking, "What do you mean by that?"
"Cough cough, nothing much, just that we noticed this young man seemed to arrive by taxi just now."
At this revelation, the faces of the direct descendants of the Xia Family immediately looked somewhat displeased.
Just moments ago, they had been praising Lin Mo, but to hear now that Lin Mo had actually come by taxi...
Everyone knew, to come to Old Master Xia's birthday, weren't they all worth millions at the least?
At the very least, they would be driving a car worth hundreds of thousands. Coming by taxi was unheard of for them!
Suddenly, those of the Xia Family who had just praised Lin Mo felt their faces burning with embarrassment—it was quite unsightly.
In today's society, what mattered were wealth and background.
And now that they knew Lin Mo was just a penniless nobody, their impression of him plummeted immediately.
The gossiping aunts and uncles of the Xia Family began buzzing even louder:
"Meng Die, when choosing a boyfriend, you really need to pick someone suitable for yourself."
"Not to criticize you, but let's not even talk about being opportunistic. In today's society, without money or status, life is no better than a dog's, not to mention securing your happiness."
The direct descendants of the Xia Family and the other guests continued to chatter.
After all, the Xia Family's assets exceeded tens of billions.
And yet, the boyfriend that Xia Meng Die had chosen just didn't match up to the Xia Family.
However, seeing the extremely determined look in Xia Mengdie's eyes, Old Master Xia didn't say much more; after all, he wasn't particularly concerned about family background. What he valued more was someone who would treat his granddaughter well and dote on her.
Soon, a very important part of the event, the giving of birthday gifts, arrived.
The announcer on stage began to call out:
"Bright Moon Group presents a pair of jade bracelets valued at one million."
"Chairman Wang presents a famous painting valued at five million."
"Mr. Zhou sent ten kilograms of Blue Mountain Jinting tea leaves."
"Director Liu sent a piece of Yuan Dynasty Blue and White Porcelain."
"..."
As the announcer read out each gift, countless individuals revealed looks of astonishment and envy.
After all, just the presents for this birthday banquet alone were worth several hundred million!
Most people had already presented their gifts, and at this point, the announcer's gaze fell upon Xia Mengdie and Lin Mo:
"I wonder what gift the boyfriend of Miss Xia has prepared for Old Master Xia?"
Upon hearing this, nearly everyone's eyes fell upon Lin Mo.
Xia Mengdie's gaze also held some expectation, for Lin Mo had promised her that he would prepare a birthday gift for her grandfather.
No matter what it was, Xia Mengdie was extremely happy.
After all, she believed that Lin Mo would prepare a very surprising gift.
Seeing that all eyes were on him, Lin Mo slightly rose and took out a box, speaking indifferently,
"This is the gift I've prepared for Old Master Xia."
Upon seeing the box, which looked quite ordinary, many immediately revealed scornful expressions:
"Isn't this gift a little too thoughtless?"
"What could possibly be inside such a box that's valuable?"
"I bet it's probably something worth just a hundred or ten bucks."
Seeing the crowd below discussing animatedly, the announcer took the initiative to approach Lin Mo, and then, he opened the box.
As soon as he opened it, a brilliant azure light shone out, dazzling everyone.
Someone in the crowd exclaimed,
"Is that… is that an Eternal Jade Stone?"
"How could that be possible!"
Everyone was somewhat shocked, knowing well that an Eternal Jade Stone was worth over three billion, and they didn't believe that Lin Mo could offer such a valuable gift.
Hearing this, Old Master Xia, sitting on the high platform, was also slightly taken aback. Although he had been a master gambler in his younger days, his eyesight was failing with age.
Thus, Old Master Xia said to Father Xia, "Junsheng, go and help me see if that's a real Eternal Jade Stone."
At those words, Father Xia snorted coldly; he couldn't believe that Lin Mo would bring a real Eternal Jade Stone.
He walked briskly up to the announcer, took the Eternal Jade Stone, and after a careful inspection, he began to laugh coldly and said loudly,
"Young man, it's bad enough that you don't sincerely wish my father a happy birthday, but to dare bring a fake!"
Hearing this, everyone present was in an uproar:
"What? A fake?"
"Is this guy really that audacious?"
"I was just wondering, how could a guy who rides in taxis possibly bring out an incredible gift like the Eternal Jade Stone?"
In actuality, Father Xia himself couldn't tell whether the Eternal Jade Stone was real or fake.
However, he felt that with Lin Mo's status, it was impossible to give a real one!
As for Lin Mo, his expression remained calm, and he paid no mind to the doubts of the others.
A bunch of idiots only!
Lin Mo glanced at Xia Mengdie with a light laugh and said, "Die'er, do you believe me?"
Xia Mengdie nodded earnestly, "No matter what others say, I never doubt the authenticity of the gifts you give."
As for Old Master Xia, while he may have seemed composed on the outside, inside he was already feeling some anger.
On his sixtieth birthday, someone dared to give a fake, and the person who gave the fake was his granddaughter's boyfriend, how could he not be furious?