Exclusive Model for the Top Painter Chapter 29

Unconsciously Sinking

---

The next day, Liang Jin woke up with a terrible headache.

After lying in bed for a while, he couldn't remember what had happened last night.

He only remembered that Shu Yue asked him to go for a drink, and then he met Zhou Hai and the three of them drank together.

But he couldn't remember anything after that. Could this be the legendary 'blackout'?

For some reason, Ji Xiuyuan was looking at him with an extraordinarily gentle look.

Liang Jin secretly said to himself that he was good for nothing, it was just a look, why was he blushing?

He pretended to be calm and sat opposite Ji Xiuyuan to eat his breakfast.

Ji Xiuyuan was in a happy mood: "Good morning."

"Good morning."

"How did you sleep?"

"Not bad," Liang Jin took a sip of milk, "I just can't quite remember how I got back last night… Sure enough, you shouldn't drink too much."

Ji Xiuyuan looked into his eyes, "How much do you remember about last night?"

"Didn't I just go drinking last night? Could it be, did something else happen?" Liang Jin stared nervously at Ji Xiuyuan, "Ji Shen, I didn't talk nonsense last night, did I? Don't take it seriously, I'm not a good drinker and I like to talk nonsense when I'm drunk."

Ji Xiuyuan narrowed his eyes at him, "What if I took it seriously?"

Cold sweat broke out on Liang Jin's forehead, "Ji Shen, what exactly did I say?"

"You said," Ji Xiuyuan's voice was low as he slowly said, "that you like me."

Liang Jin's brain exploded and he became incoherent: "This, actually, it's because... there are many kinds of liking, it wasn't that..."

"And then you kissed me."

Liang Jin instantly turned off his microphone, his face turning red as he looked at Ji Xiuyuan in shock, "I-I'm sorry!"

After clearing his mind, he only felt that his blood was frozen, and a certain fear rose up in his heart:

What if, Ji Shen hated him because of this?

What if, the relationship between the two of them deteriorated rapidly as a result of this unspeakable love affair, what should he do?

What if, in return for his sincerity, he was disappointed and broken, could he risk taking that step?

In all other matters, he had never lacked courage.

Only when it came to relationships, he had always been a coward.

He didn't dare to try.

Liang Jin lowered his eyelids and rubbed his fingers uncontrollably: "Ji Shen, I'm sorry. I don't know what to say when I'm drunk, I actually didn't mean that..."

"You really didn't?"

"No."

Ji Xiuyuan looked at him seriously for a long time and sighed softly, "Okay, I understand."

———

On Monday morning, the National Central Academy of Fine Arts held a press conference for the promotion of the [Liao Zhai – Misty Dreams] painting exhibition.

After the speeches by the relevant leaders, there was the usual interview session.

As this was a high-end cultural promotion for the world, the content of the interview was particularly formal. In addition to Ji Xiuyuan, who was the main subject, another Chinese woman, Zoe, who was active in the world of painting, was also invited. Coincidentally, she and Ji Xiuyuan were classmates at the Paris Academy of Fine Arts.

As Liang Jin sat below the stage, watching Ji Xiuyuan and Zoe chatting happily on the stage, an emotion called jealousy grew like crazy.

They were both talented and beautiful, had the same profession and graduated from the same school, so no matter how you looked at them, they were perfect for each other. It was reasonable to think that they were a perfect match, but Liang Jin didn't like what he saw.

Wen Di pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose: "A'Liang, why are your eyes burning?"

"... It's because of the weather!" Liang Jin casually brushed it off, but then he couldn't help but ask, "Do Ji Shen and Zoe know each other well?"

"Not really, but they do have a bit of a friendship." Wen Di's eyes flashed a little teasingly, "But it's nothing compared to someone who lives in the same room with and is inseparable from Director Ji. What, are you jealous?"

Liang Jin had experienced Wen Di's poisonous tongue before, but he didn't expect that after not seeing him for a while, his jokes had even found their way to Ji Xiuyuan: "Wen Di, has anyone ever told you that you should stop talking if you don't know what to say."

"Oh, I was going to tell you something about Zoe, but you won't let me talk, so forget it."

"Wen Di, I was wrong! It's me who doesn't know what to say!" Liang Jin looked at him with a grin, "You can't just forget about it, you're bored now anyway, why don't you chit chat with me?"

Wen Di was impressed by his cheeky spirit, "What do you want to know?"

"Her age, height, weight, three dimensions, personality, interests, family background, education, work experience..."

Wen Di interrupted, "You have your eye on her?"

"How could I, I'm just helping Ji Shen examine her."

Wen Di looked at him with a scrutinising gaze for a long moment, "I don't know anything too specific, except that she was a classmate of Director Ji's in Paris. They shared a common style of painting and aesthetic sense, so they had a good relationship. Although her contribution and status in painting is nowhere near that of Director Ji, she is considered a well-known figure in the international painting world."

After hearing this, Liang Jin was even more sour, and his mood couldn't be any lower.

Wen Di's phone rang, and he looked down to check it, it was the daily schedule sent by the organiser: "Later on, Director Ji has some more activities, do you want to go back first or join them?"

Just thinking about the image of Ji Xiuyuan and Zoe standing together made Liang Jin feel tortured. Simply out of sight, out of mind, and he said, "Then I'll go first, tell Ji Shen for me."

Leaving the venue, Liang Jin was still in a depressed state of mind.

His cell phone rang abruptly, and the caller ID note read: Yao Yin, director of Hongyin Pictures.

As soon as he picked up, Yao Yin's silvery voice came through, "A'Liang, are you free now? I have an audition for a film right now, do you want to come?"

"What kind of film?"

"Don't worry, it's a completely different genre from the last one, it's a literary film."

"Okay, when's the audition?"

"Now."

"Now?"

"Yes, the directing team is particularly interested in the improvisation ability and acting skills of the actors. Therefore, they won't give time to prepare in advance, they will call for the audition directly. So, can you come over?"

"Yes, send me the address."

At 10:30 a.m., he arrived at Hongyin Pictures.

When he walked into the audition room, there was a row of directors sitting in front of Liang Jin. Yao Yin was in the very middle and handed him a script, "A'Liang, I'm glad you came. This is the script for the audition, you can read it first, and after ten minutes, you will perform live without anything physical."

Liang Jin took the script and saw that it was titled 'Si Qing Ru Xia'.

The plot was based in a small, peaceful town, where a professional killer who used to make a living by earning commissions lives. The killer's code name is 'S', which stands for Slaughter. Tired of his bloody lifestyle, he came to this small town under the name of Quan Cheng because he wanted to start fresh.

It was a bright summer day when he met and fell in love with Xia Qing, a nurse in the small town. But because he was concerned about his identity, he was afraid to confess his feelings.

Later on, Xia Qing met Luo Zhou through a blind date, but she didn't realise that Luo Zhou was a scumbag who sleeps around with other people. Quan Cheng teaches this scumbag a lesson for Xia Qing and makes his feelings clear.

The two finally got together and were about to get married, but his enemies came and killed Xia Qing in front of Quan Cheng the day before the wedding. From then on, the rest of Quan Cheng's life was frozen in that one summer forever.

The part chosen for the audition was about Quan Cheng having fallen in love with Xia Qing but being afraid to confess his love. After Xia Qing's blind date with Luo Zhou, the passage where he plays the role of a friend to try to find out the outcome.

Ten minutes passed quickly, and Yao Yin asked, "A'Liang, are you ready?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, then I'll play Xia Qing and you'll play Quan Cheng. Shall we start now?"

Liang Jin lowered his head only slightly and raised his eyes to look at Yao Yin again, his eyes already becoming depressed and hot. He controlled his voice well, seemingly casual yet slightly anxious: "I heard that you went on a blind date today?"

"Yeah." Yao Yin's voice was sweet.

"How was the other party?" Liang Jin pretended to be relaxed, "Did you meet the right one?"

Yao Yin was a little shy, "Don't make fun of me, maybe, I don't know, but I seem to have a crush on him."

Liang Jin's expression froze for a moment, a smile still on his lips, but the bottom of his eyes looked like a frozen pool: "... That's great, congratulations."

When dealing with this scene, some actors would express themselves in a very exaggerated manner, thus showing the inner sense of loss he felt.

But Liang Jin did the opposite, he played Quan Cheng so naturally. On the surface, he was still clear-headed and smiling, but when this light disguise was removed, the tightly clenched right hand and the sadness under his eyes all conveyed the extreme sadness he felt inside.

The directors nodded frequently and exchanged glances with each other. They did not expect that a model who did not come from an acting background could give such a wonderful performance.

Only Liang Jin himself understood, that while reading this line,

he was not thinking of Xia Qing, let alone Yao Yin, but...

rather, it was the person who was similarly engraved in his heart and untouchable.

Rather than saying that he was playing Quan Cheng, it was better to say that he grew right into this scene, wholeheartedly.

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

Previous Chapter | TOC | Next Chapter

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 23, 2023