Chapter 46: Miscalculated!
Duoduo acted as though she hadn't noticed the woman's actions, walking past her at a leisurely pace.
The woman paused for a moment, looking stunned.
Before she could recover her senses, a soft, sweet voice drifted over from behind.
"Big sister, the milk tea is so delicious! You should try some too!"
The woman: "..."
Wait, what was that little fool doing?
She bought milk tea and didn't drink it herself, but offered it to a stuffed doll instead?
The young female store clerk bit her lip and chuckled quietly upon seeing the woman's gloomy expression.
Earlier, when she saw the woman refuse to help her own child carry the milk tea and instead stand off to the side staring, she had felt annoyed.
Now, watching the woman get thwarted and humiliated, she felt immensely satisfied.
Irresponsible parents like this deserved to be ignored!
Feeling the clerk's strange gaze upon her, the woman offered an awkward smile.
"The little kid is just playing around with me!"
With that, she turned and hurried after Duoduo.
It was just a cup of milk tea anyway; whether she drank it didn't matter.
What she really wanted to eat was seafood, morning tea, and hot pot!
Duoduo had no idea the woman was still following her.
Feeling that the milk tea in her hand had become lighter, she lowered her gaze to look at it.
Seeing that only half of the milk tea remained in the plastic bag, Duoduo asked expectantly, "Big sister, is the milk tea good?"
"It's alright!"
Duoduo automatically interpreted "all right" as delicious.
She grinned from ear to ear with a cheerful giggle.
"If big sister likes it, I'll buy it again next time!"
"Little kid, who are you talking to?"
The woman caught up just in time to hear that final remark.
Duoduo shook her head. "No one, you heard wrong!"
"Is that so?" The woman frowned slightly.
Seeing that she was still trailing behind her, Duoduo looked up with a bright, smiling face.
"Grandma, thank you so much. Now I can find my way."
Duoduo wanted to wave goodbye, but realized she didn't have a free hand.
She hesitated for a split second, gave up on the idea, and turned to continue walking forward.
Realizing Duoduo was trying to shake her off, the woman's expression darkened, and she pretended not to understand the hint.
She followed leisurely behind Duoduo, stopping in her tracks the moment she spotted a morning tea restaurant.
"Let's eat here! The morning tea here is amazing!"
"But I don't like drinking tea." Duoduo shook her head and kept walking.
The woman quickly stepped forward to block her path.
"Morning tea isn't just tea; it's Cantonese dim sum. They have savory ones and sweet ones, and they're delicious."
"Really?" Duoduo thought for a moment, then turned and walked into the restaurant.
The woman's eyes lit up as she leisurely followed her inside.
There weren't many customers in the restaurant, and the moment the two stepped through the doors, a waiter hurried over to greet them.
"Welcome, honored guests!"
The waiter led the pair to a wooden table.
Before Duoduo even had a chance to climb onto the stool, the woman snatched the menu away.
Without even glancing at the prices, she began ordering everything that caught her eye.
Noticing she had ordered over a dozen varieties of dim sum in one breath, the waiter couldn't help offering a reminder:
"Honored guests, there are only two of you, and you won't be able to finish all of this. Why don't you order a few dishes first and add more later?"
"It's not like I don't have enough points!" The woman glared unhappily at the waiter. "If we can't finish it, I'll pack it to go. Just place the order as I said."
"Very well, we'll need to deduct the points in advance."
The waiter curled the corners of their mouth into a smile and brought over the payment terminal.
The woman shot a cold glance at the waiter, then turned her attention to Duoduo.
"Hey kid, hurry up and swipe your points. Once it's swiped, we can eat."
"But I haven't ordered yet!" Duoduo knitted her tiny brows together.
Seeing her dilly-dallying, the woman's face darkened.
"Didn't you hear what the waiter said? I've already ordered plenty for the two of us. All you have to do is swipe your points so we can dig into the food right away. Isn't that great?"
"But I don't even know you. Why should I eat with you?"
Duoduo pouted her little lips and took a reluctant step backward.
Big sister had told her that the points on her watch must never be shown to others—surely that meant she definitely couldn't let someone else swipe them?
Hearing Duoduo's words, the waiter finally pieced things together.
"Little one, you don't know her, do you?"
"Mm-hmm!" Duoduo nodded. "I met this grandma downstairs; we didn't know each other before."
"I'm so sorry, that was my oversight. Let me change your table right away. This way, please!"
The waiter made a polite gesture and led the way forward.
Seeing Duoduo follow the waiter, the woman grew displeased.
"Kid, you haven't swiped your points yet! Where are you going?"
The woman lunged forward, trying to yank Duoduo back.
A male waiter quickly stepped up and blocked her path.
"Honored guest, the dim sum you just ordered has already been placed in the system. The total comes to 298 points; please settle the bill."
"I'm with her, go bill her instead." The woman pointed at Duoduo's retreating figure.
"I apologize, but that customer stated she does not know you. Therefore, we must ask you to pay the bill."
The male waiter stood firmly in her way, denying her any chance to bother Duoduo.
Working in the mall, they had seen all sorts of people.
This woman was clearly trying to take advantage of a young, naive child!
"I really am with her! Why won't you believe me?"
The woman furrowed her brows, sweating profusely from anxiety.
She only had a little over 340 points in total.
If she paid for this meal, she wouldn't even be able to afford her double room tonight!
Not only that, but just to survive, she would be forced to enter an instance game.
Even if it was the lowest-difficulty easy instance, she couldn't guarantee she would make it out alive!
"You have one minute to consider, honored guest. If you still refuse to swipe your points, I will have to involve the mall management."
"No, no, please don't bother management."
The woman waved her hands frantically, her face turning pale with terror.
If mall management intervened personally, not only would she have to pay the 298 points for the meal, but she would also be blacklisted.
Even if she earned points in the future, she wouldn't be allowed to make purchases in the mall, and the double room would be completely out of reach!
"Your minute is up. Have you made your decision?"
"Well... I ordered too much and can't finish it all. Do you think you could cancel some of it for me?"
The woman looked at the male waiter, her previous arrogance completely gone.
The male waiter shook his head. "I'm sorry, the order has already been placed and the kitchen is currently preparing the items. We cannot cancel dishes at this stage."
"B-but I can't possibly eat all of this!" The woman slapped her thigh in desperation.
If she had known that little fool wouldn't play along, she wouldn't have ordered so much.
Originally, she had planned to pack up whatever she couldn't finish and take it back to sustain herself for another day or two.
Who could have foreseen that she would end up footing the entire bill herself?
She had severely miscalculated!
"Honored guest, we advised you earlier, and you insisted that you would pack up whatever you couldn't finish, which is why we placed the order."
The male waiter extended the payment machine toward her once more.
"Please swipe your points, honored guest."
"Fine, I'll swipe it, are you happy now?"
Lifting her wrist, the woman tapped her watch lightly against the machine.
With a crisp beep, the points were deducted from her account.
The corners of the male waiter's mouth curved upward as he bowed politely.
"Thank you for your patronage, please enjoy your meal!"
With those words, the male waiter stepped back.
The woman gritted her teeth and turned to glare over her shoulder.