Exclusive Model for the Top Painter Chapter 21

Snuggling Against Each Other's Heartbeats

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Liang Jin didn't know how long the deep kiss lasted, but he remembered that after it was over, the staff excitedly slipped a 20% discount coupon into his hand and took them to a private room in the restaurant.

Sitting blankly at the table, Liang Jin's mind was muddled. It took a while for him to regain his senses as the cold air of the air-conditioning blew against his face.

Liang Jin raised his menu to block his view of Ji Xiuyuan, and he felt as if a wild horse was running wild in his heart.

Just now, what the hell was that???

Though it wasn't the first time they had kissed.

But, before, it was for a painting, it was a necessity, it was for work.

What was this now?

Just for a 20% off coupon, was it necessary to go to this extent?

Why the hell didn't I push him away?! In his heart, Liang Jin was incredibly remorseful. Feeling Ji Xiuyuan's gaze sweeping his way intentionally or unintentionally, he was on pins and needles.

"Xiao Jin, what's wrong?"

He actually had the nerve to ask what was wrong? Liang Jin buried his face behind the menu: "... Nothing's wrong, I'm looking at the menu."

Ji Xiuyuan smiled, "Are you shy?"

"I'm not!" Liang Jin slammed the menu down on the table, "It's just that, Ji Shen, don't play this kind of game in the future."

"What do you mean?"

Liang Jin said softly, "Kissing should be a way for lovers to express their devotion to each other, it shouldn't be used in exchange for coupons."

"I'm sorry," Ji Xiuyuan looked at him, "I crossed the line."

The tone seemed sincere, but the speaker's taciturn expression seemed insincere.

Liang Jin couldn't help but ask, "Doing intimate things with someone you don't like, doesn't it bother you?"

Ji Xiuyuan continued to look at him like that, "I have no interest in touching people I don't like."

Liang Jin's heart skipped a few beats, he didn't dare to think about what Ji Xiuyuan meant by his words, so he picked up the glass and pretended to drink water

Fortunately, Ji Xiuyuan didn't continue the conversation as he handed Liang Jin the tablet for ordering food, "See if there's anything else you want to add."

Liang Jin quickly scanned it absentmindedly, "That's enough, I'll place my order."

While waiting for the food to be served, an awkward silence permeated the entire compartment.

Liang Jin was struggling to think of how to bring up a topic that would lighten the mood, when suddenly light and shadow intermingled, and huge, colourful fireworks burst into the night sky.

The restaurant was on the upper floor of the mall and was decorated in a very modern style. The booth they were in had huge blue floor-to-ceiling glass windows.

At this moment, if you turned your head slightly to the side, you could see the bright fireworks outside the window, which matched the neon of the city.

Just then, the waiter brought out the aperitif, a bottle of champagne submerged in a bucket of ice.

In addition to the champagne, there was a rose on the tray, a gift for the Qixi Festival.

Liang Jin opened the champagne and poured it for Ji Xiuyuan and himself, before smiling brightly and sincerely toasting, "I hope that Ji Shen will have a smooth year, winning more formidable awards and creating many, many great works!"

Ji Xiuyuan gently clinked glasses with him, "Thank you."

Liang Jin lowered his voice and looked at him with clear eyes, "Happy birthday, Ji Shen."

Ji Xiuyuan smiled, "You've already said that."

"The atmosphere is so good now, can't I say it a few more times?"

"Okay."

"Happy birthday, happy birthday, happy birthday, happy birthday!"

The fireworks were bright and colourful. As they looked at each other, the only reflection in their eyes was each other's faces.

———

After dinner, they left the restaurant and took the elevator to the underground parking garage.

Liang Jin asked, "Ji Shen, what do you usually do on your birthday? Do you eat cake and make a wish or something?"

Ji Xiuyuan's tone was indifferent: "I don't celebrate birthdays."

Liang Jin was shocked: "How can you not celebrate your birthday?"

The elevator went down to the basement and Ji Xiuyuan stepped out, "I spent a long time alone abroad, I'm used to it."

Liang Jin stayed in the elevator with a serious expression, "Ji Shen, wait for me in the car for a moment, I'll be right back."

Ten minutes later, Liang Jin reappeared, carrying a cake in his hand and a bouquet of blue baby's-breath in his arms.

He placed the bouquet and the cake in the passenger seat: "It's Ji Shen's birthday, there must be a ceremony! Come on, let's go back and eat the cake!"

Ji Xiuyuan looked at the blue bouquet and his eyes glowed a little: "Do you know the meaning of the blue baby's breath?"

Liang Jin sat in the back seat, uncomfortably looking out the window: "I didn't know, but the girl at the florist taught me."

Ji Xiuyuan had a smile on his lips, "It signifies the love and sincerity of the person giving the flower."

Liang Jin's ears reddened: "Today is the Qixi Festival, the shop is full of these flowers, the one I chose is already the most subtle."

Ji Xiuyuan teased him, "Why do you need to be subtle? I can't quite remember, who was it that told me he worshipped me last time?"

Liang Jin was embarrassed, but for the sake of his birthday, he didn't get angry: "It's me, are you satisfied? Big birthday boy?"

"Barely satisfied."

Back at the villa, Liang Jin turned off the lights in the living room, opened the cake, lit the candles and excitedly said to Ji Xiuyuan, "Ji Shen, make a wish!"

Ji Xiuyuan smiled helplessly, it was obviously his birthday, why was Liang Jin more excited than him?

Under Liang Jin's expectant gaze, Ji Xiuyuan blew out the candles.

Liang Jin asked, "I'm a little curious, what did you wish for? But it won't work if you tell me, just tell me what direction it's in!"

Ji Xiuyuan said, "I suddenly thought of a movie just now."

"So?"

"My wish is that I can revisit the film later."

"That's it??" Liang Jin practically freaked out, "You took a great opportunity for a birthday wish and just wasted it! Ji Shen!!!"

"Wasted'? I don't think so." Ji Xiuyuan said calmly, "What I can achieve, whether I wish for it or not, the outcome will not change. What cannot be achieved is meaningless even if one wishes for it. It's better to follow your heart."

Liang Jin was speechless, and after a while, he asked again, "Which movie is it?"

"The Reader."

"Then let's watch it now!" Liang Jin turned on the TV in the living room and started searching for movie on the internet, "Is it this one?"

"Mhmm."

The movie is about a handsome German teenager and an older woman who meet by chance, fall in love and then get separated. They meet in a rainstorm on a summer night, the teenager reading to her and her obsessing over the beautiful words. They meet each other naked, colliding fiercely in a beautiful illusion of literature, from body to soul.

The two lean back on the sofa, and on the screen, the teenager was reading aloud softly.

They were lines from a book, moreover, a statement of his state of mind -

"I am not afraid."

"Danger only deepens my love."

"The more painful it is, the hotter my love becomes."

"Let it be clearer and richer."

"I am all you need, the only one, an angel."

The movie was a hundred and twenty-four minutes long, and by the end of the film, it was already well into the night.

Liang Jin couldn't hold back his sleepiness and fell asleep, unconsciously resting on Ji Xiuyuan's shoulder.

Ji Xiuyuan put his arm around him and watched the film in silence.

At the final moment before the credits rolled, he whispered in Liang Jin's ear, "Happy Qixi Festival, Xiao Jin."

‿︵‿︵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: May 10, 2023