Chapter 5 Not Even a Ripple

• "From Glen, a jade necklace. May you live as long as the mountains, Great-Grandma."
• "From Julia, a pair of emerald bracelets of fortune. May your happiness be as boundless as the sea, Great-Grandma."
• "From Gerard, a pair of canes made of fragrant rosewood. May you have a life as heavenly as the actual heaven."
• …
• Inside Elizabeth's room.
• The younger generation of the Shaw Family was presenting their gifts to Elizabeth as they wished her a happy birthday.
• The adults were watching from the side.
• When she heard that each gift was worth tens of thousands, and some even reached hundreds of thousands in price, Janice took a deep breath.
• The gift she had prepared was worth only 20 or 30 thousand. Compared to the others, it seemed inadequate.
• She could afford a gift worth tens of thousands.
• However, she thought that Elizabeth's birthday celebration would just be a simple family meal.
• It turned out to be a competition.
• What should she do now? Was she really going to embarrass herself?
• While Janice hesitated, Garrick presented his gift.
• "Great-Grandma, I am Garrick. I know you like flower arranging, so I bought you a blue and white porcelain vase."
• Garrick proudly continued, saying, "From now on, use this vase for your flower arranging. I wish you happiness as boundless as the sea and a life as eternal as the mountains."
• "You are very thoughtful."
• Elizabeth smiled.
• "Garrick, your gift is quite unique. Is there a story behind it? Tell us about it."
• Someone called out.
• "Garrick's gift is indeed special."
• Before Garrick could speak, Gabriel Shaw, one of his close cousins, spoke up. "This used to be a royal tribute given to the greatest kings and queens. Although it was not used by the king it was gifted to, it's still worth quite a lot."
• Everyone gasped. They did not expect it to be a royal tribute from history.
• "How much is it worth?" someone timidly asked.
• Garrick, full of pride, answered, "Not much. Just over three million."
• As soon as Garrick finished speaking, Gabriel chimed in again. "Garrick had a hard time buying this from a friend. The vase was even the treasure of their shop."
• No one expected that the gift Garrick presented to Elizabeth would be worth over three million and an old royal tribute.
• "Among all of us, Garrick is the best. Even a casual gift for Great-Grandma is worth that much."
• "Yes, I immensely admire Garrick."
• "Of course, Garrick's gifts are never ordinary."
• "Garrick did a great job with his gift. Haha!"
• Johnson was pleased to hear everyone praise Garrick.
• Others soon chimed in, calling Garrick a considerate child.
• …
• Everyone knew that the future head of the Shaw Family would be Garrick.
• Thus, they took this opportunity to curry favor with. They might get better and greater treatment in the future if they had his favor.
• "Today is Great-Grandma's birthday."
• Garrick raised his hand to calm everyone down. "I just wanted to make Great-Grandma happy. It is nothing special."
• Those who did not know better would have thought Garrick was very magnanimous. Those who knew better knew he was hypocritical and vain.
• Janice hesitated about whether to present her gift.
• Clinton, standing behind her, watched everyone's behavior with a sneer.
• In his eyes, they looked like children showing off, trying to outdo each other.
• Garrick noticed Clinton's sneer.
• He had been paying attention to Clinton, looking for a chance to make Clinton look foolish.
• There was still the store to settle from yesterday.
• "What are you laughing at?" Garrick said to Clinton with displeasure. "What right do you have to laugh?"
• Everyone looked at Clinton, wondering who he was. How did he get here? Who brought him in?
• If Garrick had not gone after Clinton, no one would have noticed him.
• Garrick deliberately did not reveal Clinton's identity. He wanted to humiliate Clinton during the party.
• This was something he and Johnson had planned together.
• Johnson was coldly watching Clinton.
• From the beginning, he had already confirmed Clinton's identity.
• Now, he said nothing and just waited to watch Garrick embarrass Clinton.
• With so many guests at the Shaw Family event, he could not speak up.
• He had to wait for Garrick's performance.
• Janice realized this too.
• "I am laughing because some people are fools with too much money," Clinton disdainfully said.
• "What did you say?"
• Garrick flew into a fit of rage. "Who is the fool? Make yourself clear."
• "I said you are a fool with too much money since you spent millions on a fake."
• Clinton did not mince his words. "Do you understand now?"
• Not only was Garrick angry, but everyone was also feeling indignant toward Clinton.
• They wondered why he claimed Garrick's gift was fake. If he had the ability to criticize, he should prepare a gift himself!
• Even Janice glared at Clinton. She had brought him here to wish Elizabeth a happy birthday.
• However, she now realized he was here to cause trouble.
• How would this end?
• "Believe me, I can throw you out," Garrick coldly said to Clinton.
• "I do not believe you," Clinton calmly replied.
• Janice tugged at Clinton's sleeve, signaling for him to apologize to avoid public outrage.
• Although they had known each other for less than a day, they were now married.
• She did not want Clinton to become a target for everyone's anger, which would end up causing trouble for herself.
• Clinton gave her a reassuring look.
• "Everyone, get him out."
• Garrick, burning with rage, said to everyone, "Throw this arrogant guy out."
• He was the first to move to attack Clinton.
• He called everyone to join in, aiming to settle the score from yesterday with greater intensity than before.
• He did not believe Clinton would dare fight back in front of everyone.
• Moreover, it was Elizabeth's birthday banquet. He did not think Clinton would dare attack anyone.
• If Clinton did, Garrick could justifiably deal with Janice.
• Garrick believed he was standing on the moral high ground, so he waited to see how Clinton would respond.
• With that thought in mind, Garrick smugly grinned.
• Everyone else was eager to please Garrick, taking advantage of this rare opportunity.
• "Stop it! What are you doing? Everyone's watching."
• Finally, Johnson spoke up.
• Surprisingly, Johnson's shout made Garrick stop.
• As he had already taken a few steps forward, he slipped when he tried to stop himself.
• He accidentally bumped into the table.
• The vase on the table wobbled and then...
• Bang!
• A loud crash echoed through the room.
• Everyone stopped their actions, staring at the broken pieces on the ground.
• There was a moment of silence.
• They even forgot about attacking Clinton.
• The gift worth over three million was now in pieces, leaving everyone in shock.
• It did not even cause a ripple in the crowd.