Exclusive Model for the Top Painter Chapter 7

A Dinner of Emotional Ebb and Flow

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Sunday, 5 o'clock in the afternoon.

The Vogue Awards gala started at seven o'clock, and Wen Di drove up to the villa to pick someone up.

It was again Liang Jin who opened the door for him.

When he first saw him in his evening suit, Wen Di was quite surprised, for he really deserved to be Ji Xiuyuan's favourite model. A change of attire immediately changed his temperament. He joked, "Mr. Liang looks like he's going on stage tonight to receive an award."

"With your kind words, I hope I really can win an award in the future!" Liang Jin smiled graciously, "Just call me A'Liang." He was dressed in a black silk tuxedo, with a white shirt, a jacket with wing collars and a well-stitched bow tie; he looked as radiant as a star walking down the red carpet.

Wen Di sat down on the sofa: "Which award do you want to win?"

The annual Vogue Awards gala is one of the top awards in the domestic fashion industry. There are two categories: the designer category and the model category. The model category has its Style of the Year Award, the Best Model Award and the Best New Talent Award, which is the highest honour in the domestic modelling industry.

Liang Jin honestly said: "Among the three heavyweight awards, the New Talent Award is a little easier to win. But I understand very well that the chances of me winning any of these awards are better than winning $10 million in a lottery."

Wen Di corrected, "Maybe the odds of winning the lottery are even greater."

Liang Jin: "... Ahem, can I ask a question?"

"Go ahead."

"I'm curious, isn't Ji Shen a painter? Why was he invited to the Vogue gala?"

Wen Di's expression instantly twisted a little: "Didn't you sign a collaboration agreement with him? I can't believe you don't know his other identity?"

"What identity?"

Wen Di sighed softly, "He is the director and the largest shareholder of Tian Han Group."

Liang Jin's mind went blank for a moment.

Tian... Tian Han Group?

An absolute giant in the fashion industry, a hallowed hall that countless designers and models would dream of squeezing into; the initiator and organiser of the Vogue Awards; it was rumoured in the circles that "if Tian Han shakes, the world will shake".

The man who runs this company is actually his current roommate?

Seeing his frightened look, Wen Di patted his shoulder reassuringly, "Do you now understand how I felt when I first saw you here?"

Liang Jin nodded hesitantly.

Wen Di took out a name tag from his briefcase and handed it to Liang Jin: "This is your work ID for tonight, don't lose it."

Liang Jin took the name tag and looked at it, it read: "Liang Jin (Assistant to Director of Tian Han Group)".

He hung the name tag around his neck and asked Wen Di, "Why don't you have one?"

Wen Di said helplessly, "I've been working at Tian Han for years, I just use my face."

At that moment, Ji Xiuyuan came down from upstairs.

He wore a half-length silk blazer with no tail, an Italian shirt, a waistband and a black and white bow tie. Strictly speaking, it was not the most formal outfit. But on him, there was a different kind of elegance and effortless charm.

Liang Jin whispered to Wen Di, "If I were the chairman of the Vogue Awards panel, I would definitely give all the awards to Ji Shen."

Despite the low volume of his voice, Ji Xiuyuan heard him. He stared at Liang Jin for a long time before smiling, "Maybe you're more suitable for the award than I am."

———

The dinner was held at the Tian Han Group's headquarters.

Following Ji Xiuyuan, they entered the conference hall unhindered. The venue was already packed, with the most famous models and designers in the fashion industry, and journalists and photographers carrying long-distance cameras everywhere.

Compared to the bustling hall, the VIP seats were much quieter.

As the assistant to the director, Liang Jin, a fledgling fashion insider, was unprecedentedly seated in the first row of the VIP tables, next to Ji Xiuyuan.

Noticing that there were constant glances towards him, Liang Jin felt a lot of pressure and said to Ji Xiuyuan, "Why don't I go to the staff table over there with Wen Di?"

Ji Xiuyuan flatly refused, "You are my assistant tonight, so you should stay by my side."

At seven o'clock in the evening, the awards ceremony started on time.

Firstly, the awards were given out for 'Best Fashion Design', 'Best Accessory Design' and 'Best Subtle Design' in the design category, followed by the 'Style of the Year', 'Best Model' and 'Best New Talent' awards in the model category.

Seeing the award-winning designers and models either beaming with joy or shedding tears, Liang Jin was deeply touched and impressed.

When presenting the Style of the Year Award, the presenter was particularly enthusiastic when he announced, "Now, please welcome Mr. Ji Xiuyuan, Director of the Tian Han Group, to present the award to Ms. Bei Sha!"

Ms. Bei Sha is a veteran model in the fashion industry, with many years of experience, and this year she has been chosen as a representative of a leading international luxury brand. This award was truly well deserved.

Ji Xiuyuan went up to the stage and handed Bei Sha the trophy, and with tears in her eyes, the two shook hands and took a photo together.

For some reason, this image stimulated Liang Jin. He secretly made up his mind that one day he would stand side by side with Ji Xiuyuan on stage and win the most important award.

When Ji Xiuyuan came down from the stage, he was invited to another location by the staff.

After the awards were presented, the dinner began.

For insiders looking for opportunities or resources, this was the perfect opportunity, so the atmosphere was quite enthusiastic.

Wen Di came over with a thick stack of reports in his hand and said to Liang Jin, "Director Ji has a meeting later on, which may take several hours. You can move around freely at the dinner or go back on your own."

"Oh okay, I'd better wait for him to go back."

Wen Di nodded and left in a hurry.

Liang Jin asked the waiter for a glass of wine, intending to take his chances at the dinner and try to make connections with some new companies. He hadn't even finished walking around when he heard someone call out to him, "A'Liang, it's been a long time."

At the sound of this voice, Liang Jin's body immediately tensed up.

Zhou Hai was wearing a white suit and had one hand in his pocket: "What? You don't even want to talk to me now?"

Liang Jin looked at him with a stiff smile, "There's nothing to say, I have to go first."

"Wait," Zhou Hai blocked his way, "you hate me that much? Just because I like you? Just because I confessed to, our friendship of ten years can be severed?"

"I have always kept my grievances clear." Liang Jin said, stopping in his tracks. He put his glass down on the table and said seriously, "It has nothing to do with liking or disliking. We grew up together from a young age, and we went to the same university. When you started your own company in university, I signed with you right away. After I graduated, I was never tempted to leave, no matter how many companies tried to recruit me. I really thought of you as a friend, but what happened? You actually blackmailed me with a contract, asking me to be with you. Do you remember what you said? You said that if I didn't say yes to you, you would hide me and leave me with no place in the industry. It was only then that I suddenly realised how stupid I had been to sign that extremely unequal contract with you for the sake of so-called brotherhood. Since I chose to break the contract and compensate you for the breach of contract, I would like to draw a line between us from now on, please don't bother me anymore."

Zhou Hai's eyes darkened: "I'm sorry, I was angry at the time, I never thought you would actually break the contract. Have you changed your bank card number and cell phone number? I can transfer the money back to you, and the contract can be re-signed..."

"Is there any point in saying such things now?" Liang Jin looked at him with amusement, "Zhou Hai, you should know me well. When I thought of you as a friend, I would have been willing to go through the fire regardless of what I could gain or lose; what position are you in now to ask me to sign with you? Waiting to threaten again?"

Zhou Hai's face became pale: "Are you still angry? How about this, think about it again, as long as you are willing to return to the company, I will agree to whatever terms."

Liang Jin turned to leave in annoyance, but before he could take a few steps, he bumped into someone. Before he could say anything to apologise, the person pulled him into a corner and asked in a low voice, "Who was that just now?"

Liang Jin raised his head abruptly and saw Ji Xiuyuan, who was like the sunlight dispelling the darkness, and immediately felt better: "He's the boss of my last company."

"Do you know each other well?"

"We used to know each other very well, but now I'm tired of looking at him."

"So you fired him?"

"Yes, and lost a large sum of money."

Ji Xiuyuan lowered his head and looked at him with scrutinising eyes, "What if one day, you don't like me either?"

Liang Jin smiled at him, "Don't worry about that, I'm very poor now and looking at you is exceptionally pleasing."

Ruffling his hair in front of his forehead, Ji Xiuyuan smiled gently, "I have a meeting later."

"Mhmm, Wen Di told me, I'll wait for you here."

"Okay," Ji Xiuyuan took a black card out of his pocket and handed it to him, "if you don't want to be disturbed, go to the lounge over there. This card has the highest authority in the company, so no one will stop you."

‿︵‿︵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 17, 2023