44: Chapter 44 Half for Each Person

The manager frowned.

Her plan was to swap the lottery ticket while avoiding the other customers' gaze.

Then she would dismiss Zhao Jian by saying he hadn't won.

Once the ticket was swapped, even if Zhao Jian was unwilling, he would just be seen as a troublemaker.

Either he'd be driven away, or the police would be called.

But she couldn't do that in front of other customers.

Any suspicious movement would instead confirm that Zhao Jian had won the first prize.

It would also ruin the mall's reputation.

Especially today, since the regional manager was here.

Nothing could go wrong.

But she had promised that car to her boyfriend; they had discussed it half a month in advance!

"Sir, I'm sorry. There's an issue with your ticket, and we need to verify its authenticity. Please come with me."

Zhou Xiaoqian even started to believe the excuse she'd made up.

She felt smug and delighted.

She even thought about tricking Zhao Jian into a secluded spot and telling him the ticket was fake.

That way, she wouldn't even need to swap it.

The customers in line were all ears, listening to their conversation.

Hearing Zhou Xiaoqian say there was an issue and that they needed to verify it...

They immediately assumed Zhao Jian was cheating.

"No wonder he was so confident about the first prize!"

"Didn't you see? He reached in and pulled his hand out instantly. There wasn't even time to grab a ticket. He must have had a fake one hidden in his hand all along!"

"How despicable. There's only one first prize, and he's trying to scam it away. Even if we win, we won't be able to redeem it!"

"But the manager didn't say it was fake."

"You don't understand."

Listening to the customers' chatter...

...Zhou Xiaoqian felt even more smug.

She felt like she was doing something for the public good. She'd just take a symbolic walk around the corner...

...then come back and announce that Zhao Jian's ticket was a forgery.

Surely many people would support her!

She doubted he would dare to cause a scene!

But Zhao Jian still held out his hand:

"Whether there's an issue or not doesn't stop you from returning the ticket to me. If you keep being difficult, I'm calling the police!"

You're calling the police?

Zhou Xiaoqian was stunned.

Shouldn't that be her line?

"This is our mall's ticket, why should I give it to you!"

"Go ahead and call them, I'll call them too!"

Based on Zhou Xiaoqian's twenty years of life experience, being a woman gave her the right to be willful.

So, she was going to exercise that right now.

Once the ticket was returned to Zhao Jian, the car would definitely be lost.

So, she would rather show a bit of shrewishness than return the ticket!

Besides, she had the support of the crowd.

But she was wrong.

Hearing Zhou Xiaoqian's refusal to return it...

...the customers' mindset shifted.

"Could he really have won?"

"Hard to say, but that woman looks pretty desperate. If it's a fake ticket, why not just give it back? There are cameras everywhere; it's not like he can run away."

"Exactly. I think the mall just doesn't want to give out the prize. They're just using these gimmicks to scam people out of their money!"

"You guys are right."

"You finally figured it out."

Zhou Xiaoqian listened as the customers who had just supported her all turned against her.

She was so angry her face turned green.

A child even pointed at her and laughed, "Mom, look! That auntie's face is green!"

"Who gave you permission to laugh? Stop laughing!" Zhou Xiaoqian roared.

The child, who had been giggling a moment ago, burst into tears.

Even more people began pointing and whispering about her.

Just as she was about to tear up the ticket in her hand...

...deciding that if she couldn't have it, no one would get the first prize...

...a brightly dressed woman with slightly rough skin walked over and said:

"What's going on, Zhou Xiaoqian? What are you arguing about?"

Zhou Xiaoqian looked up and saw the newcomer as her savior.

She didn't tell the truth.

She only said that Zhao Jian was pretending to be a winner and making a scene.

After hearing her words, the woman looked up at Zhao Jian.

With one look, a joyful expression appeared on her face.

Zhao Jian noticed her gaze and took half a step back.

He thought to himself: Auntie, don't look at me like that, I'm scared.

"Benefactor! Do you remember me?"

The woman's form of address made Zhao Jian freeze.

It also made Zhou Xiaoqian freeze.

She thought: It's over, she's the regional manager.

"It's me, Liu Caixia. You helped find my son, Liu Hao."

Liu Caixia was very excited to see Zhao Jian.

Hearing Liu Hao's name, he remembered.

The Young man who was weaving little dogs out of foxtail grass in the park.

That was also the first pot of gold he'd earned after getting the system.

"Sister Liu, how is Xiao Hao doing?"

The two exchanged a few pleasantries.

Once the small talk was over...

...it was time to settle the score.

Liu Caixia's face darkened as she said to her employee, "How many times have I said it? We hold events to give back to our customers. We must never resort to fraud!"

"Zhou Xiaoqian, do you even want to keep your job?"

Facing her superior's reprimand...

Zhou Xiaoqian didn't dare to talk back.

She remained silent.

"Hand the ticket over to the prize redemption staff. You, apologize to the customer right now, and give me your resignation letter by tomorrow."

After handling the situation...

Liu Caixia turned back to Zhao Jian.

Her gloomy and oppressive aura vanished instantly, replaced by a kind and friendly look.

"I apologize for my lack of discipline over my staff. I've made a fool of myself."

"It's fine, it's fine. I'll just consider it a lesson in the diversity of species."

The incident was resolved.

Zhao Jian left after receiving 38,000 yuan in cash.

Behind him, outside the entrance of the Aolai Mall, Zhou Xiaoqian stared hatefully at his retreating back.

She even spat on the ground.

With over a million in hand...

Zhao Jian felt the urge to splurge for the first time.

He walked into a donkey meat flatbread shop.

It was crowded at noon, and there were no empty tables.

At the waitress's suggestion, he chose to share a table.

Halfway behind the waitress, he felt like switching to another shop.

It wasn't that the environment was dirty, nor that the waitress wasn't pretty enough.

It was because the girl at the table had a very familiar shock of bright blue short hair.

Zhang Xinxin.

"Big Brother, Big Brother!"

All the diners in the shop looked over.

Zhao Jian didn't want to leave under everyone's watchful eyes.

It would make him look guilty and cowardly.

He sat across from Zhang Xinxin and asked, "What are you doing eating here?"

"It's the grand opening of Aolai, so I'm looking around."

"Don't you have classes?"

"No classes today. Oh, Big Brother, stop nagging and buy me a donkey meat flatbread."

Zhao Jian thought: I'll buy you a punch to the face!

But thinking about how his savings had surpassed a million for the first time today, it was worth celebrating.

So he nodded and said, "Alright, I ordered six. I'll give you half later."

"Wow, thank you, Big Brother."

Zhang Xinxin had only eaten two.

Each donkey meat flatbread cost 27 yuan, and she had already spent all her monthly allowance on plushies.

If she hadn't been able to sell off some gifts from her suitors, she would have gone hungry.

Eating two sandwiches had already strained her wallet.

Now, Zhao Jian had promised to give her three without hesitation.

A little bit of affection quietly grew in her heart.

The more she looked at Zhao Jian, the more she realized he was handsome and had a great build.

He was exactly her type.

Before the sandwiches even arrived, Zhang Xinxin was almost drooling just looking at Zhao Jian.

Before long, six donkey meat sandwiches were placed before Zhao Jian by the waitress.

There were disposable chopsticks on the table.

Normally, you'd eat them with your hands through the paper bag, so chopsticks weren't needed.

But Zhao Jian opened a pair anyway.

Seeing his actions, Zhang Xinxin was even more satisfied.

This man was not only rich but also a gentleman.

He wasn't going to use his hands to give her the sandwiches; he was going to use chopsticks.

So handsome!

But the scene she imagined didn't happen.

Zhao Jian used the chopsticks to pick out all the donkey meat and ate it.

He then handed the empty pastry crusts to Zhang Xinxin:

"Here, half each."