"Okay. We'll take it– "Elias attempted to say before being firmly interrupted.
"I'm sorry, but that's too expensive for a trinket," Emily responded, fiercely shaking her head. She narrowed her eyes at Elias, pondering how quickly he had accepted the price without negotiating.
When the vendor heard Elias' words, the vendor's expression lit up before morphing into displeasure when Emily spoke.
Elias furrowed his brows, pondering deeply about his words, before he responded, "You're right. It's quite pricey. But you like the trinket, don't you?" he smiled gently, hoping she would see his sincerity.
Also, if he hadn't had the system, he would have already left to search for another vendor. However, witnessing her affection for him increase by one per cent even before the vendor brought out the trinket made him confident in his judgment.
Hearing Elias's question, Emily hesitated briefly before nodding. "I like it, but it's too expensive. Maybe we can find something much cheaper to buy as we stroll within the park," Emily responded.
Her suspicions about Elias's background grew intense as she observed how he spent his money effortlessly. Besides, it is evident that the vendor's story was a sham, and they might as well be buying the scales of some wild animal that's being decorated rather than a supposed 'Crimson dragon.'
"Are you two still buying? If not, please stop blocking the view of my shop so other customers can approach," the vendor said, his voice laced with annoyance.
Coughing slightly to clear the tense atmosphere, Elias's smile brightened, "If you like it, then that is all that matters. I don't think there is anything more valuable than making you happy," he responded, before swiftly refocusing on the vendor, "Put the trinket in a package, I'll buy it," he added.
"I've changed my mind. I'll be selling it for 150 dollars," the vendor responded, snorting audibly at their astounded expressions.
Initially, he had wanted to sell this unique item to the two of them at a low price because they looked like a beautiful couple. However, after the excessive back-and-forth conversation, he no longer cared whether they were to purchase the unique item or not. He simply wanted them to leave his shop.
"Are you buying or not? If you are, pay up or leave?" the vendor added, waving his hand at them as he observed them tiredly.
"YOU—" Emily attempted to speak, but she immediately held herself back from uttering derogatory words at the old man and shifted her attention towards Elias.
"Did you hear what he had just said? He obviously wants to scam us into buying that thing! Come on, let's leave. It's not worth it, staying here!" Emily said to Elias, holding his right hand and attempting to drag him out of the shop. However, he didn't budge from his position.
Emily looked astounded as Elias took the small box from the vendor and placed it on the table.
"I don't have that much money on me right now, so I'll do a transfer," Elias said, handing his phone over to the vendor so he could input his account details for the payment.
The vendor looked at Elias sceptically before collecting the phone, inputting his account details, and returning it to Elias.
Elias collected his phone back and swiftly sent the money for the trinket to the man's account.
┏━━━━━━༻✾༺━━━━━━┓
Amount Spent: [ $150 ]
Cashback Reward: [ $300 ]
Affection Multiplier: [ x2 ]
┗━━━━━━༻✾༺━━━━━━┛
"I've sent it; you should confirm the payment," Elias said, displaying his receipt to the vendor.
The vendor was stunned by Elias's words. He was pulled back from his thoughts upon hearing the alert notification on his phone and feeling its vibration. Swiftly, he took his phone from his pocket and looked at the notification sent from his bank.
Upon seeing the vendor's reaction, Elias grabbed the box and took Emily, who was equally stunned, away from the vendor's shop. After walking slightly, he opened the box, took out the trinket and placed it around her neck.
At that moment, Emily snapped out of her thoughts and immediately attempted to remove the trinket; however, as though already expecting this, Elias swiftly entered his camera app and showed her a live image of herself. "Here, take a look," he said.
Emily immediately halted her actions, entranced by how the trinket complemented her features and enhanced her attractiveness. She swiftly shook her head, "No, it's too expensive. I can't accept this. We need to return it and get your money back," she said, averting her eyes from the screen.
"Well, I don't think he will be willing to refund our money without any problem," Elias responded, pondering inwardly for a way to make Emily accept his gift. He could not risk losing his cashback rewards.
Suddenly, the sight of a local artist in the distance attracted his attention, sparking a brilliant idea.
[ Update! Emily's affection for you has increased by 3% ]
'It increased,' Elias thought.
"If you keep insisting like that, then how am I going to make it up to you after you've purchased such an expensive gift," Emily responded, frowning deeply.
As much as she disliked witnessing people squandering money at things, she also hated being put in a position to do so.
[ Update! Emily's affection for you has decreased by 1% ]
"If you want to make it up to me, then how about we go over there," Elias said, directing Emily's attention towards the local artist painting near a pond.
He was already having anxiety observing the way her emotions increased and decreased, fluctuating rapidly, and decided to act on the only solution he could come up with at the moment.
Emily's eyes sparkled instantly, discerning Elias's underlining words.
"Considering this is our first date, rather than taking pictures with our smartphones, I think it would make it feel more special if we captured it within a painting. Also, we get to support a local artist, so I don't mind if you pay for the painting to make up for it," Elias added.