Exclusive Model for the Top Painter Chapter 6

A Close Touch

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The next morning, when Liang Jin woke up, he felt dizzy.

Could it be that he had caught a cold after being soaked in dry ice for so many hours last night? He touched his forehead and found that his temperature was normal.

He should be fine after drinking some hot water.

In order to prepare for the exhibition, Ji Xiuyuan had been engrossed in his studio. Liang Jin was happy to be free, and was in his study studying the history of art.

The villa was equipped with a corresponding meal delivery service, and as the two of them were busy with their own work, even their meal times happened to be staggered, and they did not see each other once all day.

It was not until around one o'clock in the morning that Ji Xiuyuan finished his work and came out of the studio, but the light in the study was still on.

Ji Xiuyuan gently knocked on the door, but no one answered.

He slowly pushed the door open, only to find the desk covered with books, and two or three English dictionaries piled up at the foot of the desk. Liang Jin was lying on an open copy of 'The History of Art' and seemed to be asleep.

Ji Xiuyuan quietly approached and saw a black notebook lying next to Liang Jin's head. He picked it up and flipped through it, revealing pages and pages of notes he had made. The history of Chinese art, textual imagery, socio-historical background and so on were well organised; many of the technical terms were even directly referenced from English texts and marked in detail, which was a lot of work.

Ji Xiuyuan leaned down slightly and called out to him, "Liang Jin."

Liang Jin's eyelashes trembled and he muttered, "Mhmm."

"Go back to bed, be careful not to catch a cold."

"Mhmm." Liang Jin agreed perfunctorily, but his eyes were still closed.

Ji Xiuyuan teased, "You're acting like this, do you want me to carry you down?"

"Mhmm, hmm?" Liang Jin jerked his eyes open, "Ah, Ji Shen. Sorry, did I disturb you?"

Ji Xiuyuan shook his head, "It's already very late, go and rest early."

Liang Jin stood up in a daze, and before he could take two steps, he almost fell to the ground. Ji Xiuyuan caught his waist in his hands and was shocked: Liang Jin's body was very hot.

Thinking of the painting in the bathroom last night that he had made with the help of the dry ice, he was overwhelmed by a wave of guilt, and Ji Xiuyuan's voice was hoarse: "You have a fever."

"Really?" Liang Jin touched his own forehead, "I feel fine, but my head is a bit dizzy and I'm so sleepy."

Ji Xiuyuan squeezed his shoulder, "Go and lie down on the bed first, I'll go and find fever-reducing medicine."

Liang Jin promised properly, but when he returned to his room, he fell asleep as soon as he touched the pillow.

He heard someone call out to him, but he was so tired that he couldn't open his eyes.

He felt himself being lifted up by someone.

Ji Xiuyuan sat on the bed and held Liang Jin in his arms.

Because of the fever, Liang Jin was weak and fell limply on top of him.

Ji Xiuyuan embraced him from behind.

Liang Jin's sweaty hair was pressed against his ears and his head rested against his neck.

Ji Xiuyuan hung his head, his forehead almost pressed against his, and he coaxed, "Be good and take the medicine."

Liang Jin barely managed to regain some consciousness and took the medicine he handed him. Ji Xiuyuan brought him a cup of warm water, so he drank some and swallowed the medicine with a roll of his Adam's apple.

When a person is ill, his senses are not normal and he has little control over his actions. When he drank the water in a hurry, he choked a little and got a little water on his lips.

Liang Jin was oblivious to the fact that his appearance at that moment looked a little seductive in the night: his cheeks were flushed due to the high fever, his body was hot, and his thin lips were slightly parted and stained with liquid.

Ji Xiuyuan's eyes deepened, and he felt himself embracing him tighter. He gently wiped the water stains from his lips with his fingertips. Under the moonlight, there was a silent ambiguity.

———

When Liang Jin woke up, it was midday the following day. The curtains were tightly drawn and the light was dim.

He rubbed his eyes and sat up, his discomfort had completely dissipated, and the symptoms of his cold had disappeared.

He picked up his cell phone out of habit, and at first glance, he saw a text message:

[Awake?]

It was Ji Xiuyuan who sent the message, and the time was 9:03 a.m.

Liang Jin glanced at the time in the upper right corner of the screen, it was now 11:36.

He replied:

[Mhmm.]

Within a second of sending the text message, the other party immediately replied:

[What do you want to eat for lunch?]

Liang Jin guessed that Ji Xiuyuan must be ordering a meal, so he helped him order one.

[Anything is fine, I'm not picky.]

After answering the text, he jumped out of bed and took a nice hot shower. When he followed the smell of the food to the living room, he was so surprised that he was frozen in place.

In the kitchen, a little to the southeast of the living room, Ji Xiuyuan was cooking.

It is difficult to describe the impact of this image, but Liang Jin only knew that as he watched it in silence, a warm current of emotion seemed to flow through him somewhere in the bottom of his heart.

Ji Xiuyuan had tied up the sleeves of his light grey flannel shirt and was chopping meat into julienne strips while holding a silver knife in his hands.

Some people seem to have a natural charm, and even trivial tasks such as cooking appear pleasing to the eye when they are performed by him.

He couldn't bear to break the scene, Liang Jin seemed to be admiring a painting that had been in perfect harmony for ages, but when Ji Xiuyuan turned to get the ingredients, he found him standing still: "How are you feeling today?"

"I'm perfectly fine!" Liang Jin entered the kitchen, "Ji Shen, you actually know how to cook!"

Ji Xiuyuan pulled out an egg from the fridge, "Is that strange?"

"Of course!" Liang Jin said excitedly, "It's like a piece of art from the Louvre that suddenly came down from the altar and hung above my bed."

"It's nothing," Ji Xiuyuan cracked the egg, "it comes naturally after spending time abroad."

Looking at how he handled the items, it was very neat and tidy, even to the point of being a beautiful piece of artwork. Liang Jin took the initiative to ask, "Is there anything I can do?"

"What do you know how to do?"

"Well, cutting vegetables? There's a piece of meat here, I want to cut it, can I, Ji Shen?"

After receiving permission, Liang Jin picked up his pair of instruments and began to cut with great difficulty and without any rules. He couldn't help but wonder how, with the same tools and the same ingredients, Ji Xiuyuan could cut them into beautiful shreds, but his own were too unpleasant?

After nearly an hour of work, Liang Jin finally ate his meal and felt a sense of achievement, even though most of the work had not been done by him.

In the middle of their meal, he couldn't help but ask, "Ji Shen, are you omnipotent? I'm wondering if there's anything you can't do."

Ji Xiuyuan took a piece of meat and examined it carefully, and when he saw the odd shape, he knew it was from Liang Jin's hand. He said seriously, "I can't cut meat like this."

Liang Jin's ears turned red: "Shut up."

Ji Xiuyuan laughed, "I actually don't know how to drink."

"Oh, really? I saw you drinking last time."

"I can only drink two thirds of a glass, if I drink more than that, I get drunk."

Liang Jin was intrigued, "That's interesting, I'd like to see you get drunk."

"It's nothing special, just the same as usual." Ji Xiuyuan suddenly remembered the awards dinner that Wen Di had mentioned, "There's a dinner party this weekend, do you want to go?"

"What kind of dinner party?"

"Vogue's award ceremony."

The hand Liang Jin was holding his chopsticks in shook violently: "Isn't that the top dinner party in the domestic fashion industry? Can I go?"

"Mhmm, as my assistant."

Liang Jin instantly felt that Ji Xiuyuan was shining, and he was so moved that tears welled up in his eyes, "Thank you, Ji Shen!"

"You'll need an evening suit."

"Okay, I'll go shopping later."

"I'll have one made for you."

"I can't," Liang Jin refused, "I'm very poor these days."

"I'll deduct it from your salary."

"Oh."

At night, Liang Jin turned on the television and the news was reporting on the preparations for the Vogue Awards gala. Thinking that he would be there in person in a few days, he was filled with excitement and anticipation.

His cell phone suddenly rang, and it was a text message from Ji Xiuyuan.

[Sleeping?]

[No.]

[Then I'm coming in.]

It was obvious that he was at the door, but he still sent a text to ask, was he afraid of disturbing his rest? When they first met, he was obviously so proud and indifferent, but after spending more time together, he found that he was delicate and gentle inside.

Liang Jin turned off the TV and replied: [Okay.]

The door was slowly pushed open. Ji Xiuyuan was holding a soft measuring tape in his hand, and he spoke in a low voice: "I need your body measurements for the custom suit, come here."

Liang Jin went to his side and raised his arms.

Ji Xiuyuan leaned forward and encircled his waist and hips with the measuring tape.

His hands moved between his waist and abdomen, causing a strange burning sensation.

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

Please feel free to comment any mistakes I made so I can improve and do better as I go through the book.

Translated: April 15, 2023