Don't underestimate the poor and elderly; I was thrilled to refuse the class beauty's adva

Zhang Yifan patted Zong Wen on the shoulder, signaling him to move aside, then took a step forward, looking at the middle-aged man with neither arrogance nor servility.

"Uncle, how about this? If this scratch-off ticket doesn't win, I'll apologize to you on the spot, bow deeply, and put up a notice in the store admitting that I lied. I'll also buy you ten more lottery tickets as a way of making amends."

The middle-aged man raised an eyebrow, clearly finding the suggestion interesting.

"But what if we win?" Zhang Yifan asked.

"You won?"

The middle-aged man chuckled and waved his hand dismissively, exuding an air of authority even more commanding than a lottery shop owner.

"If you win 300,000 with this scratch-off ticket, I'll cover your taxes! You'll actually get 300,000 right in your pocket! Boss, you be my witness!"

The lottery shop owner, who was just worried about the lack of excitement in his shop, immediately perked up upon hearing this and patted his chest, declaring that he was determined to get the certificate.

Several lottery players in the shop also gathered around.

Some people, finding it strange that a high school student was betting that a scratch-off lottery ticket would win 300,000 yuan, came over to watch the spectacle.

Before long, seven or eight people had gathered in the lottery shop, all craning their necks to see how this arrogant high school student would get away with it.

Zhang Yifan took out ten yuan from his pocket and handed it to the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper took the money and picked up a scratch-off lottery ticket from the counter.

The front is printed with the three large gold characters "好运来" (Good Luck Comes), a design that is both tacky and festive.

Zongwen's forehead was already sweating.

He glanced at the scratch-off lottery ticket, then at Zhang Yifan's calm face, his heart pounding. He quickly stepped forward and grabbed Zhang Yifan's wrist.

"Yifan,"

He lowered his voice, his lips trembling slightly.

"Think it over! Even though I've stood up for you, don't you have any self-awareness?"

"If you win, that's fine, but if you don't, you'll really have to put up a notice in the store!"

"The whole school will know then that you humiliated Peng Kaifei in class this morning, and then got humiliated by the lottery shop this afternoon. The contrast is just too great..."

Zhang Yifan turned to look at him, his eyes calm and resolute, a slight smile on his lips.

"Peace of mind."

Just two words, spoken in a tone that was neither too light nor too heavy, but full of casualness.

Zong Wen stared blankly at Zhang Yifan, a thought suddenly popping into his head.

This guy is serious; he seems to genuinely believe he can win 300,000.

What's wrong with this person today?

He confronted Lin Wanqing, rejected all the goddesses in the class, slapped Peng Kaifei in the face, accepted the challenge from Shen Zhiyi, and is now full of confidence to scratch a lottery ticket that will surely win 300,000 yuan.

To a stranger, each and every one of these events would seem like reading some kind of light novel.

"Alright then." Zong Wen released his grip, took a deep breath, and resignedly took half a step back. "If you win, you'll cover all my meals from now on."

"no problem."

Zhang Yifan peeled off the coating of the scratch-off lottery ticket, revealing the silver-gray scratch area underneath.

He held the scraper, moving at a steady pace, giving onlookers no chance to create suspense.

Everyone around held their breath.

The middle-aged man crossed his arms, a disdainful smile still playing on his lips, waiting to see how the high school student would fulfill his promise to post a notice admitting his mistake.

The lottery shop owner craned his neck to look this way, his cigarette almost burning his fingers.

First time.

The second time.

Zhang Yifan's fingers were steady; the scraper sliced ​​through the coating, and silver-gray shavings fell in a flurry.

He scratched off the first number.

"23".

Someone nearby read it aloud.

Zhang Yifan checked the winning numbers; the first winning number was 09, which was incorrect.

He didn't stop and continued scraping downwards.

The second number, 15, is incorrect.

The third number, 31, is still wrong.

The onlookers began to whisper among themselves.

The lottery shop wasn't big to begin with, and now with seven or eight people crammed in, the air had become stuffy and hot.

Some people stood on tiptoe to peek inside, some crossed their arms and looked on with amusement, and others muttered to themselves, "If this wins, I'll eat the lottery ticket on the spot."

Zhang Yifan's hands remained steady.

The fourth one, 07.

The fifth one, 12.

The sixth one, number 28.

None of them are correct.

The sound of scraping the coating was particularly clear in the quiet shop, a soft, scratching sound like fingernails scraping a blackboard.

Zong Wen stood next to Zhang Yifan, craning his neck longer than anyone else, his eyes almost touching the scratch-off lottery ticket.

With each number he scratched off, his heart jumped a little higher into his throat, until it was practically leaping out of his mouth.

The seventh, the eighth, and the ninth.

No! No! No!

Nine out of ten numbers have already been scratched off, and only one small, fingernail-sized area of ​​the scratch-off zone remains untouched.

The scratch-off ticket was covered with numbers, none of which matched the winning numbers. To those around it, it was already a worthless piece of paper.

The middle-aged man's smile became increasingly difficult to conceal.

He crossed his arms again and tapped his toes on the ground.

"Alright, alright."

His voice was filled with barely concealed smugness.

"That's enough. I've told you before, this isn't something for kids like you to play with."

"Ten yuan a piece, what can you do with ten yuan? You can buy two jin of eggs, and with this scraping, two jin of eggs are gone."

"But it's not a complete loss. At least I learned a lesson. I shouldn't say 'it's guaranteed to win' in the future. It's easy to say something like that, but hard to take it back."

"Come on, come on, write the notice first. What did you say you were going to write? A formal admission that you were lying? If I remember correctly, right?"

Several onlookers nearby also shook their heads.

"Sigh, only one left, there's no way to turn the tide."

"The probability of that is even lower than getting hit by bird droppings while walking."

"Forget it, let's call it a day, there's nothing to see here."

Everyone said they were leaving, but none of them actually moved an inch.

What they wanted to see at this moment was no longer Zhang Yifan winning the grand prize, but how this high school student would handle the situation, how he would apologize in public, and how he would write that notice.

After all, watching someone get slapped in the face or win the lottery is entertaining, and no one is any less entertaining than the other.

Zongwen closed his eyes in despair.

He was already rapidly calculating the consequences of this in his mind.

Once the notice is posted, even before tomorrow's morning self-study session, half the school will know that Zhang Yifan from Class 9 has publicly lost money at the lottery shop.

Having just humiliated Peng Kaifei in the morning, only to be humiliated by the lottery shop in the afternoon, this contrast is sure to become the top topic of campus gossip for the coming week.

"Yifan,"

He closed his eyes and squeezed out a few words through clenched teeth in a voice only the two of them could hear.

"I just bragged about you in front of so many people, you have to reimburse me for my emotional distress..."

Zhang Yifan did not answer him.

Unbeknownst to Zong Wen, Zhang Yifan was also feeling incredibly anxious.

Dog-like system!

He cursed that cold, electronic voice in his mind at least ten times.