Exclusive Model for the Top Painter Chapter 62

The Density of an Underwater Kiss

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After watching the sunrise at the top of the mountain and returning to the hotel from the campsite, Ji Xiuyuan meticulously helped Liang Jin clean up his body.

Liang Jin had long been exhausted to the point of weakness, and was carried the whole way back. After taking a shower, he fell asleep as soon as he hit the pillow.

The sun rose early in the summer, and it was not even six o'clock yet.

But the crew had to start work at nine o'clock, so they didn't have more than a few hours to rest.

When the alarm clock went off at eight thirty, Liang Jin reluctantly opened his eyelids.

Seeing his sleepy look, Ji Xiuyuan painfully said, "Xiao Jin, why don't you take a day off?"

"Location shooting is already difficult to coordinate, if I don't finish my schedule on time, Director Ouyang will strangle me to death."

"I can help you talk to him."

"Better not," Liang Jin got out of bed and went to the bathroom to wash up, "I'll have a guilty conscience if I delay the entire crew because of my own personal reasons."

At nine o'clock, the crew was filming on the set.

Bei Sha looked at Liang Jin for a while and said with concern, "A'Liang, you don't seem to be in good spirits today."

"Mhmm, a little, I didn't sleep well last night."

The make-up artist arrived on the scent and exclaimed, "Oh my god my Jin Jin! Those dark circles under your eyes are too heavy! I doubt you slept at all last night! Tell me honestly, did you secretly have a passionate night with your partner? Did you stay up all night?"

Liang Jin immediately blushed, "So... sorry!"

Bei Sha said, "It's okay, just put more powder to cover it."

The make-up artist said painfully, "Some people have a good time at night, and it's his make-up artist who has the bad luck!"

Liang Jin was in a fidgety state and apologised, "Really... I'm very sorry! I will pay attention in the future."

The make-up artist was hysterical: "Promise me, there will be no next time!!!"

Liang Jin swore, "Mhmm mhmm, I promise!"

This day's shooting went smoothly, and the work was finished before five o'clock in the afternoon.

In order to thank Liang Jin for his help earlier, Bei Sha introduced him to a job opportunity as the Chinese print advert model for Chaumet.

Chaumet is a French jewellery and luxury watch brand known as the "blue-blooded aristocrat", and its Dandy collection of high-end men's watches was looking for models for the Chinese market.

Bei Sha has worked with Chaumet before and was highly praised by the brand. With her recommendation, Liang Jin was almost certain to get the job with Chaumet.

As a result, Liang Jin's schedule was once again filled to the brim.

Every weekday, he participated in the shooting of the city's promotional film as the lead actor, and on weekends, he went to shoot advertisements with Chaumet during the daytime, and had to participate in the team training for the preliminary rounds of the International Professional Model Competition at night; he could only spare the rest of his time to work as a model for Ji Xiuyuan's paintings.

As Liang Jin's focus was on his work, the time they spent alone was drastically reduced, and Ji Xiuyuan expressed his dissatisfaction explicitly and implicitly on several occasions.

For example, on one weekend, Liang Jin was still reading Chaumet-related documents during his break.

Ji Xiuyuan opened a bag of cat food, poured it into Amber's bowl, stroked its little head, and said softly: ''Xiao Jin, it was you who said you wanted to raise a cat before. But Amber has been at home for so long and never sees you, so she misses you."

Liang Jin immediately dropped the documents and ran to his side, taking the little cream cat in his arms and guiltily squeezing its soft pads: "Bo Bo! Brother Xiao Jin earns money to buy you canned fish! You have to listen to Daddy Xiuyuan at home!"

Ji Xiuyuan had already expected that Liang Jin did not understand what he was saying. But what he didn't expect was that in Liang Jin's case, there was actually a difference in seniority between the two of them, he laughed and said, "Xiao Jin, why are you the older brother and I'm the father?"

Liang Jin rightfully said, "You're the one who takes care of Bo Bo every day, so naturally you fall into the category of dad! And I am younger and belong to the same generation as Bo Bo, right Bo Bo?"

Having long been accustomed to the different terms of address between the two of them, the kitten jumped down from Liang Jin's arms and ran over to Ji Xiuyuan's side, rubbing his trouser leg affectionately.

Liang Jin said, "Okay, I didn't expect you to be like this Bo Bo, you don't want me at all! You only like Ji Shen don't you? No more canned fish for you!"

Amber seemed to be able to understand him and slipped back to Liang Jin with another feline step and licked the palm of his hand, "Meow~"

Ji Xiuyuan put his arm around Liang Jin, "Xiao Jin, have you been spending too little time at home lately?"

Liang Jin coaxed, "Ji Shen, I'm working hard now to catch up with you! I always feel like I'm not good enough to be worthy of such a perfect you."

Ji Xiuyuan's tone was full of doting, "You don't need to work hard, I can support you."

Liang Jin kissed his lips, "You raise me, I'll make money to raise Bo Bo."

If one method doesn't work, Ji Xiuyuan would always think of another way to solve the problem: since Liang Jin's time at home has become less, he would think of ways to create opportunities to spend time together in the workplace.

Originally, as the art consultant for the promotional film, he didn't need to stay on the set all the time. But Ji Xiuyuan set up a special office on the set for Liang Jin, and willingly followed the crew around.

Ouyang Zheng did not know the ins and outs of the situation, and thought that he was holding this matter in such high regard because of his father Ji Wenyao's many years of friendship with himself, and sighed, "Mr. Ji is truly a man of great affection and righteousness!"

Ji Xiuyuan naturally accepted the praise with peace of mind and humbly stated that this was the respect due from a junior to a senior.

Liang Jin: ......

———

The filming of the promotional video entered the second phase, focusing on showcasing A City's booming tourism industry.

The filming location on this day was at a certain water park, where the protagonists and their party had to get in a raft together and enjoy drifting in a canyon.

Tourism belongs to the tertiary industry, and is one of the most important parts of A City's economic development. Therefore, the Department of Culture and Publicity specially invited Yu Shan to appear in the film, hoping to bring more revenue to the tourism industry.

The terrain at the rafting site was uneven; paddling in between allowed visitors to experience the thrill of a racing heart.

Ouyang Zheng insisted on filming that thrilling adventurous fun, and chose one of the steepest travelling routes.

Liang Jin and the others put on life jackets, boarded the raft, and started the rafting journey to the sound of the boatman's whistle. The cameraman and accompanying crew followed in another boat, with the director's team observing and guiding from the shore not far away.

During the first take, the boatman was especially cautious for the sake of safety, slowing down his speed so much that he didn't make any waves the entire time. Ouyang Zheng was greatly displeased and angrily rebuked, "This shot is meant to be thrilling! Thrilling! Understand? What the hell is this? The baby pool in front of the neighbourhood is more exciting than this!!!"

After receiving a scolding, the boatman took the risk and travelled at a very high speed, going specifically to where the current was strong.

Bei Sha was scared out of her wits, and Yu Shan turned pale. The two of them, one on the left and one on the right, tightly grasped Liang Jin's wrists, and refused to let go of his hands. Ji Xiuyuan saw from a distance on the shore, and as if he had drunk several bottles of vinegar, his heart was quite dissatisfied.

At this moment, without knowing whether it hit a reef or was swept into the whirlpool, the entire raft suddenly turned over, and the people on board, just like dumplings, all fell into the water.

Ouyang Zheng was shocked and immediately contacted the rescue team to retrieve them. The rescue team had not arrived yet, and several figures immediately rushed down from the shore.

The boatman was good in the water. Bei Sha was the closest to him, so he saved her first and swam to the shore.

Yu Shan fought and flailed in the water for a while, choking on several mouthfuls of water, and shouted, "Liang... Liang Jin! I can't swim!!!"

Liang Jin was swimming towards him when Yu Shan sank into the water.

This was bad! Liang Jin held his breath and dove under the water, trying to find Yu Shan's figure.

The water in the valley was clear and transparent, and the turquoise water under the lingering waves was vast.

Seeing that he had held his breath until he reached the bottom and was about to be unable to hold on, Liang Jin was thinking of floating up to replace his air.

Suddenly, he was hugged from behind. Liang Jin turned around, and saw Ji Xiuyuan's figure.

He smiled at Ji Xiuyuan and poked his face, signalling him to let go.

He could barely hold his breath.

Ji Xiuyuan, however, did not have the slightest intention of letting go, and instead closed the distance between the two of them once again.

Leaning down slightly, he kissed him.

Liang Jin was surprised, the lack of oxygen prompted him to tighten his arms around the person in front of him, impatiently thirsting for some nourishment from him.

Breath and fluids exchanged, lips rolling between, and some mischievous bubbles rose.

Under the water waves, there was only the dense ambiguity, which quietly spread in their entanglement.

———

When Yu Shan was fished up, he looked sickly and weak, his hair covered his forehead, his eyes were closed tightly, and his lips were white.

Ruan Jun anxiously called out, "Brother Yu, how are you? Don't scare me Brother Yu!"

He carried Yu Shan to the shore, laid him flat in his arms, cupped his chin, covered his lips and forced air inside.

Yu Shan's eyelashes trembled slightly and he coughed violently.

Ruan Jun rejoiced, "Great, Brother Yu! You've woken up!"

"It's noisy, keep it down." Yu Shan asked him in a low voice, "Where are we now?"

Ruan Jun looked around, "Probably downstream. The place was moving fast where you fell in, so we should have been brought down the river."

"I'm a bit uncomfortable right now, call someone to pick me up."

"Okay Brother Yu! Hold on a little longer!" Ruan Jun subconsciously went to feel for his cell phone in his pocket, but came up empty. Only then did he recall: the accident had happened suddenly, and as soon as he saw Yu Shan fall into the water, his mind went blank, he immediately dropped his cell phone and dove headfirst into the water; his trouser pockets were naturally empty at this moment.

He licked his lips and whispered, "Brother Yu, I went into the water in a hurry and didn't bring my mobile phone."

Yu Shan helplessly rolled his eyes, "Even if you brought it, it's useless, can you still turn it on after it enters the water? You, now, run and find someone, I'll wait for you here."

"No way!!!" Ruan Jun agitatedly said, "I can't leave Brother Yu behind!!!"

"I'm physically exhausted right now, you won't get far with me."

"I can carry Brother Yu!"

Yu Shan smiled, "Fine, if you have nowhere to use your strength, I naturally don't care."

Ruan Jun picked Yu Shan up in his arms and walked along the riverbank, slowly heading upstream.

Yu Shan teased him, "Ruan Jun, have you always been this dumb? It's easy to deceive people like you."

"I'm only like this when facing Brother Yu."

"Oh, then what are you like with others?"

"I can disguise myself to them."

"Disguise how?"

"Disguise myself to be what outsiders want to see."

"Then why don't you disguise yourself in front of me?"

"Because I see the real Brother Yu, so I also want Brother Yu to see the truest version of me."

"Interesting, I seem to like you a little bit."

On hearing these words at first, Ruan Jun almost slipped on his feet and stammered, "Really... really?"

"Really."

He didn't dare to look at Yu Shan, and could only pretend to look at the surrounding scenery, "I'm very happy, Brother Yu."

"Want to be happier?"

"Hmm?"

Yu Shan pulled his collar over and wrapped his arms around his neck, kissing him gently on the lips.

Ruan Jun's face instantly turned red, as if he had been hit with chicken blood, and hugged him as he rushed forward.

It was at this moment that the sirens of rescue vehicles came from not far away.

Ruan Jun smiled radiantly towards Yu Shan, "Brother Yu, we've been rescued!"

‿︵‿︵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: August 7, 2023