Chapter 14 - Rich And Willful (2)
"Jiao Yang?" The man condescendingly looked at her.
Were there two people in the world who lived in different areas but still had the same painting style and signature?
He"d never before believed in coincidences; all coincidences were things deliberately orchestrated by humans.
Sheng Jiaoyang listened to the name that the man had spat out, and for no explicable reason, she felt a chill travel up from her back to her scalp, rendering the places it touched numb. This feeling was all too familiar to her. Every time he would call out to her with such a gloomy tone, it always meant that unfortunate circ.u.mstances would befall her.
Previously, Shen Zhining, this b.a.s.t.a.r.d, had always bullied her whenever he was unhappy; unfortunately, at that time, he"d been unhappy every day. Back then she"d been unable to understand why she"d had to be bullied to tears day after day. Since she was intimidated so much by him when she was a child, it had psychologically scarred her. Once she was older, she"d always make every effort to detour the places that Shen Zhining would frequent. If she happened to run into him, she would flee.
Even though the little devil prince had now grown up, it was unlikely that he"d become an angel. The current Shen Zhining was simply too scary; the coldness around him like a living organism that permeated all within reach. While Sheng Jiaoyang knew that the summer sun was beating down on her back, she felt so cold that it was like she"d fallen into a frozen lake, her heart chilled to its core.
"That-that is my stage name," Sheng Jiaoyang said, her answer lacking any confidence.
"Change it."
Hearing the other party"s command, Sheng Jiaoyang laughed angrily, "Oh, since you said that I should change my signature, then I"ll change it. Who are you? Why should I change it?"
"You won"t change it?" The man"s tone became extremely dangerous.
When Sheng Jiaoyang heard this, a scene that she"d once witnessed suddenly appeared in her mind. It was something that had happened with Shen Zhining several years ago. The younger Shen Zhining had been wearing a tailored suit with his left hand inside a pocket on his trousers, while in his right hand he"d held a wine gla.s.s. The blood jade ring on his thumb had contrasted vividly against the wine in the gla.s.s, making it utterly eye-catching. However, the most prominent aspect about Shen Zhining at that time had been the middle-aged man who was being crushed under his foot until he was pitifully howling. The man had been lying on the ground with a swollen face; his right wrist pinned by Shen Zhining"s shoe. Yet even with such a cruel act, a ruthless smile had hung on a corner of Shen Zhining"s mouth.
It was only later that she"d found out that this person whose hand had been crushed by Shen Zhining had been his subordinate who"d betrayed him.
Unfortunately, by then it"d been too late; that scene had been burnt into her memories. The little devil prince had become a demon king. The change wasn"t just in size and appearance, but also in temperament as he"d become crueller and colder. The only constant was his utterly unpredictable mood.
I absolutely won"t bend to Demon King Shen! With these words engraved in Sheng Jiaoyang"s mind, she decided to use them as a guideline for her next move.
"Of course, that doesn"t mean that it"s impossible for me to change my signature, but why should I change it?" Sheng Jiaoyang"s voice softened near the end. Before, she"d always had people around her who"d protect her from Demon King Shen, yet now, she was just an ordinary person who didn"t have anyone to rely on. It wouldn"t be difficult to dispose of her without anyone noticing.
"There"s a genius before you, yet you still insist on copying others and making a fool of yourself?" Shen Zhining said as he looked her straight in the eyes. Although he didn"t reveal any emotions on his face, Sheng Jiaoyang had managed to hear the contempt in his flat voice.
Genius? Copying?
"Oh? There"s an artist whose name is Jiaoyang that"s better than me in this world?" Sheng Jiaoyang quietly asked herself. If there was such an artist, how could I not know?!
Shen Zhining snorted in contempt. His gaze, as he looked at Sheng Jiaoyang, revealed a glimpse of pity; like he was looking at a person with no worldly experience.
"F*ck!"
Sheng Jiaoyang grit her teeth, but she knew that she had no alternative other than to give in.
"I can change my signature, but since it"s you who wants me to change it, I want compensation." Using money to solve an issue wasn"t a problem; the problem was the principle of the matter. This was something that had been told to her by the young Shen Zhining.
"How much do you want?"
Sheng Jiaoyang stuck out a finger.
"One hundred thousand dollars?"
So much?! Sheng Jiaoyang lowered her eyes and didn"t immediately respond due to surprise.
"You still want more? Your life isn"t even worth one million dollars," Shen Zhining slightly narrowed his eyes.
A corner of Sheng Jiaoyang"s mouth twitched. When she"d been Sheng Jiaoyang she"d regarded a mere million as pocket money; not enough for her to even buy a piece of jewellery. Initially, she"d only wanted to get ten thousand dollars, but when Shen Zhining had taken take the initiative to offer one hundred thousand dollars, she"d been pleasantly surprised. Yet, due to his words, she was now unsatisfied. Since he"d decided to look down on her, she"d, in turn, decided to up her asking price to one million dollars.
"That outstanding artist drew a picture and got more than that, right? My life may not be worth one million dollars, but in the future, my drawings will be worth way more than that!" Sheng Jiaoyang stood up, and with her current height, she could now stand face to face with Demon King Shen as long as she raised her eyes. There was no need to lift her head to look at him like she"d had to do in the past.
Shen Zhining stared fixedly at the girl before him who"d dared to negotiate with him. As if he"d remembered something, his expression seemed to soften as he said, "Okay."
The next second, Demon King Shen"s expression darkened.
"But if next time I find out that you"re still using her name, I will make you suffer a life worse than death!"