"You’re the one with issues."
She just didn’t like unfamiliar men touching her at will—no, it wasn’t because she was worried someone would get angry. Absolutely not.
"Alright, back to the matter at hand," Yu Hang withdrew his hand and continued, "This old man is quite prestigious in Province N. He has a hobby, which is painting. For the past couple of years, whenever he sees a painting he likes, his spirits improve greatly. Hence, people have always been finding and sending him paintings according to his taste. My dad and the others have been searching too."
Xi Minghui followed up, "But they’ve been searching among those famous painters, domestic and international, yet the old man hasn’t been impressed by a single one."
"We’ve heard about Xiao Chiang," Yu Hang pointed at her, "that is, you, and want to give it a try."
They want to give it a try. So many renowned artists’ works couldn’t win the old man’s favor; maybe Xiao Chiang, who is called a beautiful young genius painter, could?
But if they consulted with their families first, while they would certainly object, they would also worry about them causing trouble here, likely resulting in another transfer.
Yu Hang and Xi Minghui actually quite liked this county and Third Middle School.
The teachers and students at Third Middle were also quite nice.
They didn’t want to transfer schools again, so they had to tackle this on their own.
"But right now, the two of us can only manage to scrape together a thousand bucks," Yu Hang looked at Chiang Xiao and said, "If you trust us and are willing to help, we will definitely repay the money in two years."
He knew he was putting Chiang Xiao in a difficult position.
First of all, completing four paintings in half a month was no easy feat.
The old man, spoiled by famous masterpieces, had high standards, not just any doodle would do. Otherwise, their parents wouldn’t have been searching for so long without success.
Furthermore, Xiao Chiang’s paintings could each sell for over two thousand now, yet they were only offering her a thousand per piece, which was taking advantage of her.
Giving only a thousand yuan as a down payment was even more demanding, practically forcing her to agree to credit.
But they really had no other option now.
If it weren’t for their recent observations of Chiang Xiao, deeming her trustworthy, where would they dare to disclose their family details so explicitly?
Chiang Xiao propped her chin with one hand while tapping lightly on the table with the other, tap by tap.
Yu Hang and Xi Minghui both watched her, waiting for her response.
"That old man," Chiang Xiao suddenly asked, "what kind of painting style does he like?"
"Landscape paintings," Yu Hang said.
Looking at him, Chiang Xiao stopped her tapping and declared, "I will paint only one. If the old man likes it and keeps it, then I want a hundred thousand yuan. If he doesn’t, your job is to try and get the painting back to me, and I won’t charge you a cent."
"A hundred thousand yuan!"
Xi Minghui stood up so abruptly that the table shook, spilling some of his mung bean ice.
"Minghui!" Yu Hang admonished him in a low tone, yanking him back to his seat.
Though Xi Minghui sat down, his gaze towards Chiang Xiao was laced with anger and disappointment.
"Chiang Xiao, I really didn’t expect you to be this kind of person!" His voice was still suppressed, but his rage was palpable.
Chiang Xiao smiled, unconcerned by his anger.
"What kind of person do you think I am?" she curled her lips slightly, feeling in her heart that she was already completely different from the foolish Chiang Xiao of her previous life, whom even the heavens couldn’t bear to watch. "It’s true we are classmates, but we’ve only known each other for a month and a half. Do you think we’ve established some profound camaraderie? No."