After a couple of minutes, the sound of firecrackers ceased, and everyone began to enter the tent with laughter and conversation.

"Let's go, we're going in too," Guo Mengyao said, inviting Chen Feng.

Cheng Yuhuan agreed, "Yeah, a lot of people have already gone in. Let's go eat too. I didn't have much this morning, and I'm starving. Let's go, go, go!"

After speaking, Cheng Yuhuan directly pulled Zhao Zixuan towards the tent, and Cheng Yuhuan followed along. Chen Feng deliberately lagged behind, not really wanting to sit at the same table as the three of them.

But after he lagged a few steps, Guo Mengyao turned back to urge him, "Hurry up and catch up."

Chen Feng felt quite resigned.

Fortunately, at this time, the rest of the high school classmates also returned one after another, and everyone surrounded Zhao Zixuan, Guo Mengyao, and Cheng Yuhuan like stars around the moon.

After entering the tent, they found tables labeled "High School Classmates" and sat down.

Everyone was quite in sync, and the female classmates naturally sat together. Each table could seat ten people, and there were fewer than twenty of them—eighteen female classmates—so they occupied two tables, leaving one seat empty at each.

Meanwhile, there were 27 male classmates, occupying three tables, with three seats left empty.

The class originally had 52 people, so by this calculation, surprisingly, 45 classmates came, plus Qin Zhen, the groom, making 46. Only 6 classmates didn't come, two of whom had passed away, another two—Pu Fangye was hospitalized, and You Hairong was detained.

Thus, only two classmates were absent, making this attendance rate even more complete than a formal class reunion.

After the calculations, everyone became curious about who the two absent classmates were.

Then someone mentioned the two names and the reasons for their absence: one was abroad, and the other was in another province and couldn't get away due to other commitments.

This clearly showed Qin Zhen's undeniable influence among the high school classmates.

Of course, besides Qin Zhen's good popularity, it was mainly due to his family's status in Lin Nan and his current sectional-level position.

Otherwise, it wouldn't have been possible to have such a complete gathering, nor so many guests congratulating.

People, after all, are quite realistic.

After the guests gradually took their seats, a quick glance revealed 58 tables, with only two still unoccupied, while the other 56 were basically full. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

A rough estimate showed that there were at least over 500 guests present.

The Qin family indeed had extensive connections and a wide social circle.

Each table already had cold dishes set out, and quite a few people had begun eating.

The same was true for Chen Feng's table. It was already almost one in the afternoon, and many people were already hungry.

Like them, Chen Feng was also hungry. After pouring himself some soy sauce and vinegar, he ripped open the cling film covering the plate of three-yellow chicken and started eating.

After eating for about ten minutes, Qin Zhen, the groom, finally came down from the upstairs with Pei Lei and stood together on the small stage.

First, the emcee delivered the opening remarks, followed by Qin Zhen's father giving a speech to thank all the friends and guests who came to congratulate.

Finally, Qin Zhen took the microphone and said some words of thanks and pleasantries, then announced the start of the banquet.

The engagement banquet process was somewhat different from a formal wedding banquet. Although it was considered grand, some procedures were less cumbersome, more concise.

Soon, the engagement banquet officially began, as it was getting late, and it would be impolite to keep the guests waiting any longer.

Several helpers started serving dishes, and everyone began eating amid cheerful chatter.

Chen Feng didn't talk much at the banquet, primarily focused on eating, partly because he was hungry and partly because the banquet food was quite good and tasty.

Initially, the classmates at the same table didn't engage him in conversation.

In high school, Chen Feng wasn't particularly popular, apart from being fairly close to Qin Zhen, and somewhat familiar with a few others.

Except for Qin Zhen and a few others he remained in contact with, most haven't been in touch for years, so it's no surprise their relationships weren't that good.

Earlier, quite a few people tried to strike a conversation with Chen Feng, but he responded indifferently, naturally putting an end to any further approach.

Additionally, most classmates, except for Qin Zhen and Guo Mengyao, knew that Chen Feng was wealthy, believing that he might have made a few million, bought a house in Xiu Zhou with a down payment.

With such assets, he couldn't compare to someone like Guo Mengyao, a female tycoon with a net worth in the billions, let alone some other classmates with substantial family wealth, like Yang Jiayu, a contractor, discreet but worth millions.

Then there was Pu Fangye, whose father left him a significant inheritance, still possibly worth millions despite his lavish spending over the years.

Even Yang Zechuan, who owns a seafood shop, might seem unremarkable, but after operating it for so many years, his assets could also comfortably reach millions.

In the eyes of these classmates, Chen Feng wasn't particularly impressive.

Those classmates who took the initiative to speak to him were mainly interested in finding out if he was indeed involved with Guo Mengyao, the female tycoon, with mostly envy and few genuinely wishing him well.

Chen Feng was well aware of this, avoiding establishing any special connection with them, recounting the past ties of high school years, as he had long outgrown that age.

At their current age, everyone had become quite realistic.

Chen Feng was no exception, precisely because of this realism, that he hesitated to engage with those high school classmates with whom his relationship was originally mundane.

Among those classmates who were somewhat friendly, were the couple sitting near him during those high school times; Chen Feng was still somewhat familiar with them but only on the surface, having a drink or two.

Since Chen Feng mentioned needing to drive guests later, the classmates at the table refrained from persuading him to drink, so he only drank soft drinks throughout.

Otherwise, if he had a little to drink, in this scenario, he might have been ganged up on by those old classmates.

The reason was naturally the rumors Pu Fangye spread about him being involved with Guo Mengyao.

After about ten minutes, the emcee took the stage again, starting a lucky draw activity. The grand prize was a fruit phone, immediately drawing cheers from the audience.

The second prize, which had two winners, was an electric kettle, and there were several third prizes, consisting of various stuffed toys.

The atmosphere was enthusiastic, and everyone followed the emcee's instructions to scan the code for the draw.

A junior high school female classmate of Qin Zhen was lucky enough to win the grand prize, a fruit phone, sparking envy from the crowd.

After the lottery concluded, the emcee invited children to come up and sing or dance, rewarding each child who performed a program with a gift.

This immediately prompted many children to rush to the stage, each getting a gift.

The atmosphere was very lively.

At this time, the class president, Zhou Binhui, who had been sitting at the table next to Chen Feng, suddenly came over with a drink in hand, patted Chen Feng on the shoulder, and said with a smile standing tall, "Come on, we haven't seen for many years, let's have a drink."