“$10,000? I’ll help you pay it off.”
Indeed, Bella didn’t disappoint; she promptly offered to help William settle the debt.
A mere $10,000 was nothing to her, sometimes a casual luxury purchase would exceed that amount.
David was stunned for a moment. Did women really find William that appealing?
Before David could even speak, William had already said, “No need.”
Bella didn’t insist, merely pouting slightly. She couldn’t very well beg to help William pay off his debt.
William asked, “Can paintings be sold here in a while?”
“Yeah, what’s up?” Bella was a bit puzzled. Why was William suddenly asking this?
William nodded and said, “Then I will earn some money myself later to pay him back.”
David almost burst into laughter. Was William seriously saying he would earn some money later to repay him?
$10,000 might not be a significant amount to them, but for a first-year college student like William, it was quite a substantial sum. And here he was, casually saying he would earn it back in a bit?
It was like a beggar claiming they would be able to beg for a gold bar later on.
Is he dreaming?
“I’ll wait for you to repay me later then,” David said with a smile, “Since you are Miss Bell’s friend, I’ll give Miss Bell face. You can return the $10,000 to me before midnight today.”
If Bella truly helped William pay off the debt, it would indeed be incredibly embarrassing for David.
It would feel as if he had to come to an art exhibition to collect a debt, and before William even spoke up, someone had offered to settle it for him. In such a scenario, he would be the clown.
Bella couldn’t figure out how William intended to earn $10,000 to give back to David later.
Now that he had spoken those words, failing to do so would be humiliating.
Bella even wondered, how could she facilitate William in earning $10,000?
Need to let him accept it with peace of mind.
David glanced at William and asked weirdly, “William, how do you plan to earn these 10,000 dollars? You’re not thinking of painting a picture and then selling it for 10,000 dollars, are you?” He started laughing after saying this.
Visibly annoyed, William shot him a glance, saying, “What’s it to you? Just wait to receive the money later.”
David’s face darkened, ready to retort when suddenly, the cellphone in his pocket exploded. The sound wasn’t loud, but smoke was emerging from his leg, startling him into hurriedly fishing the phone out and throwing it on the ground in panic. His trousers had a burn hole, and his thigh was also somewhat burnt.
Bella, also startled, stared blankly at the still burning phone on the ground and at David, who was hopping around the spot like a monkey.
He is really unlucky, encountering even something as rare as a phone explosion.
“You…” David, enduring the pain, glared at William. He had a strong feeling that William was behind the explosion of his phone, even though William hadn’t done anything in front of him.
They were standing more than three feet apart; it couldn’t be that just a glance from William caused his phone to explode, right?
William’s face was calm. He didn’t expect that the broken phone could actually catch fire; it really was high-tech.
Not far away, Alice couldn’t help but chuckle quietly, thinking that David was indeed just someone bringing troubles upon himself.
She had been with William for only a few days but could already feel a noticeable change in herself.
“What kind of courage supports you to purposely seek trouble with someone with supernatural abilities when you are just an ordinary person, arrogantly thinking too highly of yourself?” she mused, even suspecting that William, if he wanted, could really kill David with just a glare.
Unable to blame the phone explosion on William, David could only say to Bella, “Miss Bell, I’m sorry to have frightened you. I will go dress my wound and change my trousers.”
Although his injuries weren’t severe and could be dealt with a simple dressing, logically speaking, being injured should mean exiting immediately. However, he was keen on seeing how William would earn 10,000 dollars to repay him today.
“This bastard, it feels like nothing good ever happens when I encounter him!” he thought.
David’s injury attracted some staff members, who quickly took him for emergency dressing. 𝗼𝘃𝗹.𝗼𝐫𝗴
Only after he left, Bella asked, “William, you’re not really planning to paint a picture and then sell it for 10,000 dollars, are you?”
“Can I paint here?” William was also pondering this question. Debts should be paid, it was a matter of course, but was there a place to paint here?
Bella replied, “Of course, you can. But will your painting really be worth that much?” As she said this, she paused, her expression changing as if she had suddenly realized something, and then she remained silent.
There was going to be an auction in the evening. As long as William’s painting was auctioned off, she didn’t need to worry about how William painted,she would directly purchase it for 10,000 dollars, wouldn’t that solve the problem?
Even if she didn’t buy it, Alice would probably cooperate and buy it.
Thinking about it this way, it indeed seemed simple and didn’t require William to have any exceptional painting skills.
“As long as I can paint, it’s fine.” Once William confirmed that he could paint, he started to ponder, what should he paint? Painting too well wouldn’t be right.
Bella felt that she had understood William’s intentions, but she didn’t expose him,after all, she just needed to play it by ear when the time came.
The art exhibition was proceeding in an orderly manner, and William also met the star of this exhibition, York Brimstone.
Unexpectedly, York Brimstone turned out to be a Soulmancer, albeit one of the most junior kind, just a beginner-level Soulmancer.
William looked at the paintings he had done. They weren’t impressive; from his perspective, they were quite ordinary, albeit still quite creative.
“Bella, is this young man your boyfriend?” York Brimstone was an old acquaintance of Brian Bell, otherwise he wouldn’t have arranged this date with Brian Bell, but he had already heard from others that Bella had brought a boyfriend to the exhibition.
A freshman from college?
This was a bit too ridiculous.
Setting aside any preconceived notions about social standing, the age itself was a significant issue.
But Bella wasn’t intimidated; she hooked her arm through William’s, her face beaming with a smile, and said, “Yes, Mr. Brimstone, his name is William.”
At this moment, there were quite a few people around York Brimstone, all of whom couldn’t help but scrutinize William.
There was no denying William’s demeanor; even dressed ordinarily, the aura he emanated gave people an indescribable feeling.
It couldn’t precisely be described as a noble vibe, especially given his very casual attire.
But you can’t say he’s very ordinary, there seems to be a sense of both awe and approachability about him.
York Brimstone smiled at William and said, “Young man? Are you still in your freshman year of college?”
William nodded, asking, “Is there a problem?”
There was no sign of reverence in William’s demeanor towards York Brimstone. Probably no one in this world could make him feel respectful upon their first meeting.
York Brimstone was somewhat dissatisfied with William’s attitude, frowning as he said, “Do you understand art?”
“I know a bit about it,” William always used to say “know a bit about,” because he believed that even for him, it was impossible to claim to have reached the pinnacle of understanding. Time was too long; every now and then, he would grow in certain aspects. Perhaps in a billion years, looking back at what he created now, he might find it just average.
York Brimstone laughed, pointing to the painting beside him and asked, “What do you think of this piece then?”
The painting he pointed to was the special artwork of the exhibition, a cut above the rest showcased in the hallway, and it was also his proud creation titled “The Resurgence of Tulips.”