"What is it? Bride, don't keep us in suspense, or I won't be able to eat another bite. This darn curiosity of mine just won't be contained."
"Yeah, we're all waiting for you to tell us."
The crowd under the stage began to stir, creating a lively atmosphere at the wedding.
Liu Xinxin smiled and spoke again, "To thank everyone again, Yuan Bai and I have decided to take this opportunity to announce the details of the gifts you've given us."
Actually, there was no segment for announcing gifts at weddings, but after Liu Xinxin saw the wedding gift from Lin Xingwan, she changed her mind.
She refused to believe that Lin Xingwan wouldn't make a fool of herself today.
The guests were not surprised by the actions of Liu Xinxin and Sheng Yuanbai. They came to the wedding banquet with the intention of comparing and showing off.
Firstly, it would give them a sense of prestige; secondly, it would allow them to see who was doing well and who wasn't after graduating from college.
"Good, this segment is excellent," Qiu Junze shouted loudly. He had been looking for an opportunity to get revenge, and he never expected heaven to send him such a good one. Naturally, he had to strike back hard.
He wanted to see who at the wedding banquet today could be more extravagant than him!
Following that, Liu Xinxin and Sheng Yuanbai, as if performing a duet, began to read out the wedding gifts they had received.
"Thank you, Senior Ning Yu, for the 2,000 yuan red envelope."
"Thank you, classmate Du Hui, for the limited edition Jingdezhen porcelain set."
"Thank you, Song Minglang, for the Golden Phoenix hairpin."
"Thank you, classmate Qiu Junze, for the 88,888 yuan red envelope."
When Liu Xinxin read this, the group of people in the seating area was stunned.
Someone attending a wedding banquet actually gave an 88,888 yuan red envelope. How rich could they be?
For someone earning three thousand yuan a month, this amount would take over two years of not eating or drinking.
Yet, Qiu Junze gave it away without batting an eye. He was incredibly generous.
Qiu Junze couldn't hide his smugness. He scanned the entire wedding banquet hall, looking at their envious and admiring expressions, and said with feigned humility, "More than eighty thousand yuan is nothing. The important thing is to have a good omen. I, Qiu Junze, wish my old classmate a hundred years of happy marriage."
Lin Xingwan leaned over to Zhou Jinbai's ear and whispered, "What gift did you give Liu Xinxin?"
Actually, Lin Xingwan had prepared a three-thousand-yuan gift, but she didn't mention it again after seeing Zhou Jinbai had already handed his gift to Liu Xinxin not long ago.
Now that Liu Xinxin was so high-profile in announcing the gift details, the belatedly aware Lin Xingwan had a bad premonition.
Could it be... Zhou Jinbai gave a 'shocking' gift?
"Guess?" Zhou Jinbai's attention was focused on a grain of rice at the corner of Lin Xingwan's mouth, as if everything around him had been ignored.
"How could I guess?" Lin Xingwan's uneasy feeling grew stronger.
"Don't move." Zhou Jinbai reached out and removed the grain of rice from her mouth. Just then, Liu Xinxin spoke again.
"Thank you, Zhou Jinbai and Lin Xingwan, for the comb."
After speaking, she opened a box on the spot and took out a wooden comb about the size of her palm.
Upon seeing the wooden comb, Qiu Junze finally found his opportunity and began to mock, "I say, Lin School Beauty, aren't you and your boyfriend too stingy? They're holding their wedding at Banxia Hotel. No matter what, you should at least cover the cost of a meal, right? Giving away a broken comb worth a few yuan as a wedding gift to them is simply treating others like fools."
"The average cost per person here is over five hundred yuan. For two people, that's over a thousand yuan. I can't believe a comb worth a few yuan can get you such an expensive meal. What a joke."
Lin Shirou, sitting in the furthest corner, said to Gu Shaoting beside her, "I always thought it was not good for my sister to find such a boyfriend. Now look at this. This man is so stingy that he only gives a comb. If Grandma knew, she would definitely be angry. It's a complete embarrassment to the Lin family."
Although she still couldn't figure out why Zhou Jinbai knew Marcus earlier, the opportunity to see Lin Xingwan make a fool of herself now made her feel inexplicably pleased.
"Zhou Jinbai, you're showing too much disrespect to the bride and groom today. Giving them a broken comb for their wedding is worse than not giving anything at all," Gu Shaoting also raised his voice, sneering sarcastically.
Sheng Yuanbai and Liu Xinxin, standing on the stage, felt their faces redden due to Gu Shaoting's instigation.
It was fine not to give a gift if they couldn't afford it, but giving a cheap item from a street stall was insulting.
"Combs can be made of different materials. How can you be so sure this comb isn't valuable?" Lin Xingwan was furious as all the criticism was directed at Zhou Jinbai.
Clearly, all the trouble today should have belonged to her.
But she had brought him along to this 'Hongmen Banquet' in order to make Zhou Jinbai retreat.
Lin Xingwan felt too guilty.
Moreover, her strong intuition told her that Zhou Jinbai wasn't someone so tactless.
"Does School Beauty Lin mean that we've misunderstood your boyfriend? That this comb is actually an antique?"
Qiu Junze's tone was aggressive, and Lin Xingwan was momentarily speechless.
Zhou Jinbai slowly peeled a large crab for Lin Xingwan.
The crab legs and meat were peeled almost perfectly. He said to Lin Xingwan, "Try the crab roe mixed rice, darling. Leave the other matters to me."
Lin Xingwan had begun to understand this man's temperament. When he appeared so calm and collected, it meant the situation was under control!
"My dear is so sweet." Lin Xingwan gave Zhou Jinbai a sweet smile and, indeed, began to eat the crab roe mixed rice in front of everyone.
The crowd was dumbfounded. These two were truly shameless, still thinking about eating more when things had come to this point.
"It's not quite an antique, but the price of this comb is more than all the gifts you people here today have given combined."
Zhou Jinbai's tone was unhurried, with a relaxed air of effortless strength.
Everyone who heard Zhou Jinbai's words burst into laughter.
Especially Qiu Junze, who laughed heartily, "I say, boy, your boasting is about to blow the roof off! More expensive than all our gifts combined? Are you saying this broken comb is worth over two hundred thousand yuan?"
After Qiu Junze finished speaking, laughter echoed throughout the hall again.
"Lying to everyone's face without blushing, praising a broken comb to the heavens. Zhou Jinbai, do you think everyone is an idiot?" Gu Shaoting absolutely loved this feeling. Lin Xingwan and Zhou Jinbai deserved to be chased like rats crossing the street!
Otherwise, how could his two apologies be justified!
"If this broken comb is really worth over two hundred thousand yuan, I, Qiu Junze, will eat it on the spot."