Exclusive Model for the Top Painter Chapter 13

Growing Admiration

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It was the day of Ji Xiuyuan's exhibition, and outside the International Art Exchange Centre in A City, there was a huge poster – Misty Maze · Ji Xiuyuan's non-profit exhibition.

Wen Di picked them up in the car, and on the way from the villa to the Art Exchange Centre, they saw the exhibition being advertised everywhere. There were advertisements on bus stops, on bulletin boards in flowerbeds, and even push notifications on their mobile phones: [The solo exhibition of the internationally renowned painter Mr. Ji Xiuyuan is being held today, and the mayor of A City will be present to give a speech].

The entire second floor of the Art Exchange Centre has been carefully decorated as a gallery for the exhibition, and the opening ceremony and special interview will be held on the third floor, both of which will be broadcast live over the Internet.

Liang Jin was seated in the first row of the audience with Morgana and Wen Di. After a speech by the mayor, the host began a special interview with Ji Xiuyuan.

The host: "Mr. Ji, at the beginning of last year, you won the highest international painting award for your series of paintings on Greek theology, Myth; at the end of the same year, you created a series of paintings based on Chinese history, The Song of the Century, which won the Golden Award for Fine Arts in the Chinese art industry; as the only painter who has achieved such success, why did you suddenly think of painting real figures? As far as I know, the main works in your exhibition this time were created with reference to real people."

Ji Xiuyuan smiled lightly: "Art is not just about the stars in the sky, nor is it about the metaphysical musings or the solemnity of the temple. Sometimes there is a need to focus on the brilliance of human nature itself. To me, human nature is the most complex, the most magical and the most wonderful of all. In particular, I have met my artistic muse. For me, he inspires my deepest creative desires. He is also the inspiration for this exhibition."

The host's voice was full of surprise: "Mr. Ji, to be honest with you, I'm a big fan of yours. In all the time I've been a fan of your paintings, I've never heard you speak so highly of your partners. May I take the liberty to ask you about this muse of yours?"

Ji Xiuyuan leaned back on the sofa with a light smile: "He is a model, that's all I can tell you. However, judging from the aspect of business ability, he has unlimited potential and malleability. I'm sure you'll see these qualities in my future paintings."

Recovering from the shock, the host went on to ask about other details of the exhibition.

Liang Jin sat dumbly below, his expression frozen. Since Ji Xiuyuan had started to praise him, he had been unable to listen to anything else. It was as if a hundred and eight gun salute had been set off in his head, and his brain was buzzing.

His daze was interrupted by the urgent ringing of his mobile phone, and Liang Jin went to the outside of the venue to answer the phone. As soon as he got through, the person on the other end introduced himself, "Hello Mr. Liang, I am the business representative of XX Company and I am looking for models to work with, I am wondering if you are interested?"

Liang Jin politely replied, "I will give you my email address in a moment, let's communicate through email."

After hanging up the phone, a new call came immediately. After a dozen or so calls, all with the same content, Liang Jin realised that something was wrong: all of this was because of what Ji Xiuyuan had said in the interview just now.

Liang Jin opened his cell phone and saw that there were three hot searches related to the exhibition.

#TopPainterInIheArtWorldOpensUpAboutHisMuse

#MistyMazeNon-ProfitExhibition

#JiXiuyuanLiangJin

How powerful are gossip reporters these days? It's only been ten minutes, how did they dig up their personal information?

Clicking on the latest trending search, photos of the two men appeared side-by-side. The comments were full of passionate messages about the beauty of the two men, and some of them had even started to promote their relationship.

When Liang Jin opened his email inbox, it was filled with 99+ unread emails, and when he opened one at random, it was an invitation to collaborate.

So, was he on fire?

Liang Jin quickly calmed down, traffic came and went quickly. This was just a short-lived heat brought about by Ji Xiuyuan's extraordinary influence, and after tomorrow, perhaps no one would remember himself.

After adjusting his mentality, he returned to the meeting and the interview was ending.

The host: "Mr. Ji, all the proceeds from your non-profit exhibition will be donated to the Student Aid for the Needy Foundation. As far as I know, this is already the third non-profit foundation you have established, what are your thoughts and feelings about charity?"

This was a question deliberately posed by the host, which was very suitable for making a big statement to build up a positive image of himself. However, Ji Xiuyuan was not interested in this and simply replied, "There will be more in the future."

After the interview, Ji Xiuyuan had a series of meetings to attend, so Liang Jin and Morgana went to the second floor to look at the exhibition.

After all, Morgana was an artist, and when she saw the four paintings that had been created with Liang Jin as the model, she was immediately engrossed in a state of complete immersion.

Without disturbing her, Liang Jin went to look at the other paintings alone. To his surprise, he bumped into Summer in one corner of the exhibition hall.

Summer winked at him excitedly and the two met outside the exhibition hall. Once outside, Summer exclaimed, "A'Liang, you're amazing! I thought you'd be homeless after leaving the company, but I never thought you'd be able to hug a big leg like Ji Xiuyuan! I have a feeling that you will definitely have a bright future ahead of you."

"Why did you come to the exhibition alone?"

"Don't mention it," Summer sighed loudly, "I had an appointment with Liu Shen, but he stood me up at the last minute. Oh yeah, let me tell you something, we're together."

Liang Jin was slightly surprised, but he quickly said with sincere blessings,

"Congratulations."

Summer encouraged him, "When are you going to get one too?"

Liang Jin bowed his head and for some reason suddenly asked her, "If you expect more than usual from someone, and you spend time with them, you'll inexplicably feel a flutter of emotion. Is that a feeling of liking?"

Summer smiled with her eyebrows, "Of course it is, try harder and try to turn your liking into love."

"But," Liang Jin asked, "what if the other person is someone of Ji Xiuyuan's level?"

"Ah, then you have to think carefully." Summer analysed, "A person like Ji Xiuyuan has too much of an aura. He's on the level of a male god, so why wouldn't a normal person like him? However, if you want to develop a romantic relationship with him, I'm afraid it will be very difficult to do so."

Liang Jin's eyes darkened: "That's true."

"But, A'Liang, if it's you, you can definitely do it!" Summer gave him a pat on the shoulder, "No matter if it's Ji Xiuyuan or anyone else. I believe that, A'Liang, you have your own charm. In any case, finding someone you like is a precious thing, don't let fear hold you back. Maybe the other person is longing for you too."

Why on earth is this topic being discussed? Liang Jin grumbled at the bottom of his heart: why on earth would he have such an idea? Had he been bent by Ji Xiuyuan?

Was he bent by Ji Xiuyuan?

Impossible, impossible, impossible!

Liang Jin took a deep breath to calm his nerves and smiled at Summer, "Thank you, I was just mentioning it casually."

After the opening event of the exhibition, Morgana had to go home.

Ji Xiuyuan and Liang Jin saw her off at the airport.

As they parted, Morgana gave Liang Jin a big hug: "You are welcome to come to France anytime. You know, in France, same-sex couples are allowed to register their marriage." She held Liang Jin's hand with deep affection, "If it's possible, I'm really looking forward to the day of your wedding."

‿︵‿︵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 26, 2023