Gu Xiyan looked at the necklace in Mu Jinyu's hands with surprise and excitement, glanced at Mu Jinyu, and finally nodded her head gently, replying, "Mm."
This was the first time Mu Jinyu had given her a gift, and it was done proactively without any hints from her, which made her exceptionally excited. The evening gown and high heels Xiang Mantang had sent her were now completely forgotten.
They no longer caught her attention.
Originally, after receiving the welcoming gift from Xiang Mantang, Gu Xiyan had planned to subtly hint Mu Jinyu to give her a gift too once she got home. It wasn't about the value of the gift but the thought behind it.
But to her delight and emotion, Mu Jinyu had already prepared ahead of time, which made her very happy.
However, if she knew that it was Mei Yinxue who had hinted to Mu Jinyu first before he went to buy it, she probably wouldn't have been so moved.
Mu Jinyu secretly breathed a sigh of relief, then said to Gu Xiyan, "I'm glad you like it. Let me put it on for you."
"Okay." Gu Xiyan nodded obediently, no longer feeling the urge to punch Mu Jinyu that she had felt before.
Afterward, Mu Jinyu put the necklace on for Gu Xiyan. The silvery-white necklace shimmered with an enchanting luster under the light, complementing Gu Xiyan's pale and delicate neck and her petite collarbone, enhancing her beauty.
Then Mu Jinyu also put one on for Wen Rou.
As for Lin Qiaoxia and Yu Linglong, since they weren't his women, it wasn't appropriate for him to help them put it on, so he simply handed it to them.
They were also thrilled to receive the gifts in their hands.
Previously, when Xiang Mantang had given them a mansion worth nearly a billion yuan, they didn't show such expressions but were trembling and hesitant to accept it.
The people present observed this scene and, aside from the very few who were unaware of Mu Jinyu's identity and disdained the gesture,
no one thought that the necklace Mu Jinyu gave, worth several thousand yuan, was inferior to the over-billion-yuan gown and high heels from Xiang Mantang.
Because it was from Mu Jinyu.
Besides, since the parties involved didn't show any dissatisfaction, others dared not gossip too much about it!
However, Chen Jiahui, who was a classmate of Lin Qiaoxia's, felt envious and couldn't help but mutter quietly, "What's there to be happy about? It can't compare to the mansion and evening dress they were given!"
Chen Jiahui's voice was very soft, obviously not wanting to be noticed, but she had forgotten that in the silent banquet hall where one could hear a pin drop, her soft voice was basically heard by everyone.
Suddenly, everyone turned their heads in unison, looking at her.
"Who is this woman? I haven't seen her before!"
"Maybe she's like those people who just came on their own to join in?"
"That must be it, but she has guts to say something like that, truly admirable!"
"..."
Chen Jiahui, upon seeing that everyone had turned their gaze toward her, showing pity and regret, was suddenly startled, realizing she had misspoken and might have big trouble coming her way.
The Old Master of the Chen Family and her grandmother, seeing that everyone was looking at them, also felt their scalps tingle and scolded Chen Jiahui with their eyes for speaking out of turn.
Mu Jinyu, who had just finished giving gifts to Lin Qiaoxia and Yu Linglong, heard the disdainful and sour voice, frowned slightly, then turned around, following the sound, and looked towards the group standing by the door from the Chen Family.
Upon seeing Chen Jiahui and Wang Chaoyong, he immediately understood that the sour words must have been spoken by this woman.
Mu Jinyu's brows furrowed briefly before she relaxed and said with a smile, "Isn't this Qiaoxia's college classmate? Are you here to attend her birthday celebration as well? Come over, come over."
Following Mu Jinyu's invitation, a waiter brought the Chen family members, who were trembling with apprehension, to a table near theirs.
Suddenly, all eyes were on them.
Old Master Chen and his wife were still unaware of the minor grudge between their granddaughter and today's Birthday Girl. Upon learning that their granddaughter was acquainted, they were overjoyed, thinking this was an excellent opportunity to connect with these great families, soar to the heavens, replace the Old Chen Family, and become the new Four Great Families of River City.
When they arrived, they were a bit disgruntled with their granddaughter. "Look at you, you already know them but didn't tell us, really!"
Chen Jiahui was too embarrassed to tell them about her small feud with Lin Qiaoxia, so she followed with a hardened face. Then, looking at the radiant Lin Qiaoxia, she forced a slight smile and said, "Qiaoxia, happy birthday... "
"Hmm, thank you," Lin Qiaoxia also smiled, though not as warmly.
Mu Jinyu then laughed and said, "Ah, look at you guys, you're all Qiaoxia's classmates. Now that you're here, why bring gifts!"
As she spoke, she didn't snatch the Birthday Gift that Chen Jiahui held in her hand, planning to give it to Grandma Chen once the birthday banquet started, but her gaze intensely fixed on it.
Mu Jinyu did not initiate a gift-giving for Lin Qiaoxia's sumptuous birthday banquet tonight. It was only when more and more strangers appeared that he couldn't outright send them away, so he used the pretext of gift-giving to urge them to leave.
The only people from whom he would actively accept gifts were two types, acquaintances and enemies.
Acquaintances, of course, are close friends like Xiang Mantang, with whom one could directly ask for a gift without any harm.
Enemies, since there's already enmity, why fear damaging feelings?
Seeing Mu Jinyu's undisguised "greedy" gaze, Chen Jiahui's hand reflexively retracted, about to say that the gift was for her grandma, not Lin Qiaoxia.
Her grandmother saw this and didn't think much of it, assuming it was the birthday gift Chen Jiahui had prepared for Lin Qiaoxia. She hastily grabbed it and, with a sycophantic smile on her face, said, "What's there to be shy about? The gift might not be great, but it's the thought that counts. Qiaoxia won't blame you for it."
Then, her grandmother proactively handed Mu Jinyu the Birthday Gift.
Lin Qiaoxia stood aside, feeling weird; she thought that given her relationship with Chen Jiahui, the latter wouldn't gift her something, let alone prepare it beforehand.
Mu Jinyu, however, didn't care about all that. Since the gift was presented to him, he took it and unwrapped it to reveal a Shoushan stone sculpture of a Maitreya Buddha with eight characters engraved at the bottom: "As Fortunate as the Eastern Sea, Longevity as Enduring as the Southern Mountains."
Upon seeing the Jade Buddha, Chen Jiahui's grandma's heart skipped a beat.
This Jade Buddha was not cheap. With that size and quality, it had to be upwards of thirty thousand yuan.
Moreover, who would give such a gift to a friend for a birthday? It was odd...
She began to suspect that this gift might have been the Birthday Gift Chen Jiahui was preparing for her own sixtieth birthday!
Her scrutinizing gaze shifted to Chen Jiahui, who was beside herself with guilt. Upon receiving a nod in confirmation, she suddenly felt the world spinning.
What a calamity, the Birthday Gift her granddaughter meant for her had been given away by her own hands!
Mu Jinyu glanced at the Jade Buddha a few times, finding it uninteresting, but since it was a kind gesture, he accepted it and handed it to Lin Qiaoxia to keep. Then he turned to Chen Jiahui's parents.
And to the several bags they were carrying.
Those also contained Birthday Gifts they planned to give to Grandma Chen but were afraid of leaving in the small banquet hall, lest the poor relatives take them, so they carried them along.
Mu Jinyu's eyes shifted, then he complained, "Ah, really, if you're going to come, just come, why bring so many gifts! This one is for Linglong's birthday gift, right?"