Exclusive Model for the Top Painter Chapter 15

Silently Growing Jealousy

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Zhang Xuan and the two people accompanying him blocked him in the alleyway. Liang Jin was on guard, but his face was still composed, and he looked at him calmly.

Zhang Xuan threw the cigarette he was holding in his mouth onto the ground: "I was worried about having nowhere to turn after suffering a loss from your hands last time. I didn't expect to run into you here, blame it on your own bad luck."

Liang Jin smiled, "We are a society under the rule of law these days, you don't want to try anything in broad daylight, do you?"

"It's getting dark now." Zhang Xuan instructed his two younger brothers, "Don't hit anything vital, especially the head, I don't want to kill anyone."

The two men looked like typical youth, one with a head full of red hair and the other wearing exaggeratedly large earrings. The red head was more aggressive, and he swung his fist at Liang Jin. Liang Jin dodged to the side and swept his fist underneath, catching the red head off guard and dropping him to the ground in a heap. The one with earrings cursed, "Fuck, you're a practised fighter."

Liang Jin raised an eyebrow, "How about we stop here? Save yourself the trouble. After all, we still don't know who will die."

The man with the earring smiled provocatively, "That's not true, you must admit defeat today."

The red head suddenly sprang up from the side and wrapped himself tightly around Liang Jin's legs. The man with earrings charged forward and punched Liang Jin in the shoulder. While he was thinking about where to throw his next punch, Liang Jin used his knee to slam into red head's lower abdomen. The red head screamed and let go, and Liang Jin kicked him to the ground. He then moved forward and grabbed the man with earrings by his collar and punched him in the jaw so hard that he immediately saw blood.

Obviously ruthless, Liang Jin smiled brightly, "I'm in a hurry, and there is someone waiting for me at home. I won't play with you anymore, let's not meet again."

The red head and the man with earrings stood by in silence, fearful, neither daring to step forward again

As soon as Liang Jin left the alleyway, Zhang Xuan found a wooden stick from somewhere and followed him, hitting him on the back with force. Liang Jin was stunned by the blow and stumbled to the ground. The red head and the man with earrings immediately ran over to him and pinned him to the ground with their combined strength. Zhang Xuan kicked him twice in the stomach, "I haven't managed to fix you yet, huh?"

"Excuse me, I wonder if you have read the 'Criminal Code'?" Suddenly, another man's voice rang out, "According to the 'Criminal Code', you will be imprisoned for causing intentional injury like this."

Liang Jin raised his eyes and saw Zhou Hai.

Zhou Hai was leaning against the streetlight with his hand in his pocket, "By the way, I've already called the police."

Hearing the word 'police', the red head immediately panicked, "Boss, what should we do?"

Zhang Xuan glared at Zhou Hai viciously, "I'll remember you." He slapped the man with earrings on his head, "What are you waiting for, let's go, are you waiting for jail time?"

The three men cursed and left the alley. Zhou Hai immediately ran over and helped Liang Jin up: "How are you? Where were you injured, is it serious?"

Liang Jin leaned against the wall and asked him in return, "Why are you here?"

Zhou Hai hesitated for a while before hesitantly saying, "Actually, I've been following you since you came out of Xinhong. I don't have any other intention, I just wanted to see you off. I'm sorry, I should have come forward earlier. I knew you are a black belt in Taekwondo, so they couldn't take advantage of you. I didn't expect him to actually do it, how on earth did you provoke them?"

Liang Jin said, "Because he spoke ill of Ji Shen at the painting exhibition."

"Ji Xiuyuan?" Zhou Hai was stunned and blurted out, "You're with him?"

"How is that possible?" Liang Jin asked rhetorically, "Does he look like he's bent?"

"No." Zhou Hai added after a moment, "You don't look like that either."

Liang Jin felt that there was something more to his words, but didn't bother to guess. His cell phone screen lit up and he received a text message.

Ji Xiuyuan: Why haven't you arrived yet?

Liang Jin replied: There was a situation on the way, but it's been resolved, so I'll be there soon.

Liang Jin didn't intentionally hide anything, Zhou Hai also saw the message and sighed softly, "It seems you two have a good relationship, I think the possibility of you returning to the company is slim."

Liang Jin put his cell phone in his pocket and stood up, "Anyway, thank you for this, I'll go first."

"You're not going to the hospital?"

"It's nothing, it's just a small injury, I'll just go back and rub some medicine on it."

The sound of police sirens came from not far away, and Zhou Hai said, "It looks like you won't be able to go back for a while."

The two of them were taken to the police station to make a statement.

Zhou Hai had taken a picture of Zhang Xuan with his cell phone and handed it over to the police.

After completing the formalities, it was already after 11 p.m., and Liang Jin received a call from Ji Xiuyuan.

Ji Xiuyuan's voice was faintly depressed: "Where are you?"

"... The police station."

There was a pause for a second: "Send me the address."

"Ji Shen, don't trouble yourself, I..."

"Wait for me where you are."

After he hung up the phone, Zhou Hai teased from the side, "Checking in so diligently? I'm a bit jealous. I remember your ex-girlfriend didn't even dare to rush you like that."

Liang Jin walked to the entrance of the police station and leaned against the wall: "Are you free? The statement is done, you can go now if you have nothing to do."

Zhou Hai stood next to him, "You still refuse to forgive me?"

Liang Jin didn't answer the question.

Zhou Hai changed the subject: "By the way, I suddenly remembered something interesting. That cousin of yours, Shu Yue, came to our company the other day to do some kind of performance art, saying that he likes me. Because of you, I've known him for quite a long time, but I didn't really know he had such a side."

Liang Jin helplessly held his forehead, "Just think of him as an ignorant child."

"Thinking back, the first time I saw him was probably in primary school. At that time, we were in the same class, and he was two years below us. You were always fighting for what you thought was right, just like you are now."

"I call that a sense of justice."

"Mhmm, that's good. I really like..." Zhou Hai looked at him sideways: "... this about you." (Angel: This was difficult to translate, because it worked in Chinese but not in English. The original sentence said: "I really like you…" and "...this thing.", which worked because the author separated the possessive particle 的 from 你. However, in English, there is no way for the second half of the sentence to make sense if I left the first half as "I really like you…", so I had to get a little creative, I hope it still conveyed the same idea.)

Liang Jin was speechless: "Can you finish your sentences properly?"

"It's the same anyway," Zhou Hai said seriously, "Actually, I don't regret it. If I could only stay with you as a friend and never have the chance to express my feelings, that would be the most painful thing. I've endured this for so many years, and now I've finally said it. Even if you can't accept it, it's better than keeping it to myself. A'Liang, what I regret is that I should not have been so hot-headed as to threaten you with that kind of tactic. You have gotten away from me, and I deserve it."

He suddenly moved closer to Liang Jin and said in a very low voice, "From tonight onwards, everything in the past will be erased. Consider getting to know me again and give me a chance, okay?"

When Ji Xiuyuan arrived at the police station, this was the scene he saw.

Liang Jin was leaning against the wall, his face hidden in the dark, unable to be seen clearly.

Zhou Hai was looking at him with deep affection and had turned his head to speak in ear, and the relationship between them seemed particularly intimate.

An inexplicable feeling of anxiety rose in his heart, and Ji Xiuyuan's eyes deepened as he silently looked at Liang Jin.

Liang Jin seemed to feel something and suddenly raised his head, and their eyes met each other.

Liang Jin smiled like a clear breeze and his eyes lit up with a different kind of light: "Ji Shen, you're here."

‿︵‿︵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 30, 2023