"You, you guys..."
Wang Zhuangfei was incredibly angry; just as he was preparing to have a talk with Xia Nuo, he suddenly felt his ear being yanked from behind.
"Ow, ow, ow—"
Zhuang Zhuang's mom to the battlefield!
"Hey, have you finally decided what you want to buy, or haven't you made up your mind yet?"
"Auntie, he's made his choice!"
Xia Nuo chimed in from the side, "He wants to buy the Emperor's Oath Edition of the third-generation Paru."
"The one for 5999," added Fang You. "RMB, 5999 yuan."
[Wang Zhuangfei now despises you to the bone! Emotional Energy +20]
[You've understood the joy of keeping up with the Joneses, knowledge energy +5]
Immediately after, Fang You saw the transformation on Wang Zhuangfei's face from grinding his teeth to baring them in a grimace.
"Didn't I just tell you that you can only buy the cheapest one? Don't you want to live?"
Xia Nuo and Luo Xianyu both laughed upon seeing this, making the motions of whispering and joking with each other:
"Pffft, so he was going to buy the cheapest Paru."
"Ayu would never buy the cheapest thing when shopping outside, at the very least we'd have to buy the second cheapest," Luo Xianyu said proudly.
Although Emotional Energy was now in a state of overflow, it was after all a good thing that could be used for drawing lots, and Fang You knew he couldn't waste such an ideal opportunity to cash in.
"Auntie, the cheapest one isn't the one for 1999."
With a calm face, Fang You pointed to the corner of the shelf, "There's a second-generation Paru over there, on sale for just 999, less than a thousand yuan to take it home."
"Oh my, there's a discount?" Zhuang Zhuang's mom's face lit up with joy, "We can just buy that one and save quite a bit of money; it looks almost brand new too."
"It's not the same, Mom! Totally not the same!"
Wang Zhuangfei immediately got angry, "Mom! I don't want that one! I already said I'm buying the 1999 one, so it's going to be the 1999 one!"
"Well, you said it yourself, no backing out now! Come on, hand over the one you're holding to mom."
Zhuang Zhuang's mom said this as she tried to take the Emperor's Oath Edition of the third-generation Paru from Wang Zhuangfei's arms.
That's when Xia Nuo also started to hop around happily.
"That's great, You You, this way you can buy it tomorrow."
"Hmm..."
The truth was, Fang You was contemplating whether to buy it from another store.
But by this time, Wang Zhuangfei's mentality had already collapsed.
No, I don't want...
that kind of thing.
Just the thought of him holding a 1999 yuan Childish Edition Paru, about to show off in the neighborhood when he would discover everyone worshiping You You's third-generation Emperor Paru, envying his imperious style—it was more unbearable than death!
If not for the sake of showing off, playing with a Paru had no meaning at all!
Wang Zhuangfei changed his mind and clung tightly to the Emperor's Edition Paru in his arms, refusing to let go.
"I, I don't want it anymore, I don't want it! I want this Emperor's Edition! I want it!"
His resolve was like that of a seasoned soldier who had gone through many battles, yet a well-known entity from the Subspace realm named the Evil God instantly made mom's face fall:
"I can also choose not to want you as my son, think it over carefully."
Sweat beads suddenly appeared on Wang Zhuangfei's forehead.
Although "Mommy, I want it" is a very powerful, god-tier talent, its effectiveness still depends on the family's economic condition.
At this moment, the staff member, with a barely contained smile—no, an apologetic smile—said,
"I'm sorry, ma'am, about this item... I'm afraid you can no longer get a refund. You have to pay for it."
"What?"
Zhuang Zhuang's mom immediately became livid with rage, "Why not? Are you trying to force a sale on me? I said I don't want it! Watch out or I'll complain to the consumer association about you!"
"Ma'am, please, don't get excited, take a look at this."
The staff member pointed to the conspicuously scratched part of the package.
"This serial authorization code on the packaging is factory-made and can only be bound and validated by this Paru device; once scratched, there's no way to return or refund the item."
Zhuang Zhuang's mom frowned, sweat beading on her forehead.
"How can you say it was scratched by my son? Do you have evidence? Turn on your surveillance and let's see—"
"I saw it, aunty!"
Xia Nuo would never condone such evil acts!
There she stood with her hand raised, saying, "Just now I saw him sneakily grazing the packaging box, so he was scratching the code!"
"I, I saw it too."
Ayu, although very timid, felt fearless with her father and Nuo Nuo by her side, "It was him who scratched it."
Tsk... Where did these nosy girls come from!
So meddlesome.
Pretty and all, but why do they have to chatter non-stop!
"He did it."
Emperor Youyou was the last to chime in.
This was because he was accessing the video records on his watch.
There was Wang Zhuangfei, sneakily stretching out his finger and rubbing, rubbing against the smooth packaging box as he put back the Emperor Edition Paru 3.
"As you can see, with these children's testimonies, we probably don't need to check the surveillance footage."
The staff member said with a smile.
"This, this can't prove that my son scratched it! It could have been like that from the start——"
"Mom, don't make excuses, it really looks bad."
Wang Zhuangfei bravely spoke up, "Let's just buy it... our family can afford it."
"If it really comes to it, I can take out my—my New Year's money."
Wang Zhuangfei suddenly felt that something was off in the atmosphere.
Because his mom wasn't angry anymore.
She had a very serene and peaceful expression on her face.
"Tell me, Zhuang Zhuang, did you scratch it? Just be honest with mom, I won't blame you."
...
Okay.
Mom... must have come to terms with it.
I am her own child, after all.
She can't possibly disown me!
Wang Zhuangfei pursed his lips, unable to suppress a smile, then said:
"Mom, yes, you're right, it was me who scratched it."