Exclusive Model for the Top Painter Chapter 74

Honesty on a Walk in the Woods

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It was already autumn.

Strolling through the squares of Madrid's city streets, the sacred oak trees of the Retiro Park are enchanting.

A poem called "El otoño de Madrid" (Autumn in Madrid) reads:

The golden light spreads,

dusk and dawn in the rose garden.

Just in the Roman autumn,

quietly,

reside in the rustling sound.

Madrid, where are we going?

In the cosy weather of autumn, they could have gone to the outskirts of the city. However, due to the indulgence of the evening and the inertia of human beings, this plan has been put on hold again and again.

There was no work scheduled for today.

Liang Jin was catching up on sleep at the hotel, and Ji Xiuyuan planned to go out and do some shopping.

Although the hotel had a catering service, there was also a restaurant downstairs. However, the room they were staying in was a suite with complete kitchen facilities. If they were tired of the taste of western food, they could cook for themselves.

Ji Xiuyuan had lived abroad for a long time and had long been accustomed to Western-style food. However, out of care for his lover, as long as he wasn't busy at work, he would cook a Chinese meal himself.

After purchasing ingredients and household items at the supermarket, he made a special detour to the adult products section to pick up condoms.

What he didn't expect was to bump into Ruan Jun here.

Ruan Jun was frowning as he stood beside the shelves, picking up a box with one hand and studying it in detail, but he couldn't make any sense out of it, and his whole body looked like a big, anxious dog.

Ji Xiuyuan didn't like to get involved with people he didn't know well, so he ignored him and concentrated on picking out his favourite products, and showed great interest in the new sex toys on the shelves.

Ruan Jun finally noticed him and greeted him as if he had seen a saviour, "Mr Ji, what a coincidence."

Ji Xiuyuan hummed in response.

Ruan Jun didn't understand Spanish at all, and the interpreter he hired was a girl who he was too embarrassed to bother when buying this kind of stuff, thus creating the current awkward situation.

He stared at the condoms in Ji Xiuyuan's hand for a while, and only half a day later did he stifle a sentence, "This one, is it good?"

"Not bad."

Ruan Jun then followed suit and also took a box, throwing it into the shopping basket.

Ji Xiuyuan took another box of another brand, and Ruan Jun asked, "This one, is it also good?"

"Mhmm."

"Compared to the one just now?"

"The experience is slightly different."

Seeing Ji Xiuyuan choosing several boxes of different types, Ruan Jun was dumbfounded, "So many, can you use them all?"

"Of course."

Ruan Jun's heart filled with envy, he also took many many more and vowed to use them all.

When Ji Xiuyuan returned to the hotel, Liang Jin had just woken up, washed up and was waiting for food.

Ji Xiuyuan asked him, "Xiao Jin, do you want to have breakfast, or just have lunch?"

Liang Jin looked at the time, it was almost twelve o'clock, "Let's have lunch."

"Okay," Ji Xiuyuan took some of the ingredients to the kitchen, and put some others into the fridge, "I bought some bread and fruits, if you're hungry, you can eat a little bit to pad your stomach first."

"Ji Shen, don't you have to work today?"

"Mhmm."

"Then why don't we go around the neighbourhood and have some fun? I promised before, but we never went."

"Okay."

———

The small town of El Tiembo, on the outskirts of Madrid, is very popular in autumn.

It boasts vast forests of golden chestnuts, mesmerising views and cosy countryside holiday cottages.

It's a good thing it wasn't a weekend, otherwise it would have been full of tourists and lost its laid-back fun.

It's only an hour's drive from the city centre.

Walking along the forest path, under the feet of the thick leaves, bird cries and the fragrance of flowers, the air was fresh and cool.

A cordon was drawn not far away, surrounded by a circle of staff, and there were several cameras set up.

Liang Jin said: "Ji Shen, there's some filming going on over there, let's go and have a look. I haven't seen a foreign film crew before."

Ji Xiuyuan looked over there for a moment, "I'm afraid you'll be disappointed, this is not a foreign crew."

As soon as the words fell, they saw a pretty beauty with long wavy hair, wearing a work badge and holding a script in her hand, walking towards them, "A'Liang, Mr. Ji? I didn't expect to meet here, are you guys here for your honeymoon?"

Liang Jin: "No."

Ji Xiuyuan: "Mhmm."

Liang Jin: ......

Ouyang Zheng was attracted by the sound of conversation, and when he saw Ji Xiuyuan, he inevitably had to pull him aside to chat. What was said was nothing more than the friendship between himself and Ji Wenyao, Old Ji's history of starting his own business back then, and so on.

On this side, Yao Yin smiled brightly: ''How come you two are still not aligned? Oh, I know, could it be that you're using work as an excuse to have a honeymoon?"

Yu Shan appeared at some point and interjected, "Yo, Liang Jin. Are you tired of playing at home, so you've gone abroad to look for freshness?"

Liang Jin was speechless, "Playing what ah, it's a work trip! What are you filming here?"

Yao Yin said to Liang Jin, "A movie. By the way, the production of that city propaganda film from last time is in the final stages, and it should be released soon. At that time, you'll be the centre position on the major publicity channels in A City! So, have you considered coming to the entertainment industry?"

Yu Shan chimed in, "Yes, Liang Jin, come be my little brother."

Liang Jin politely refused, "Sorry, I have no such idea at the moment."

Yu Shan disdainfully snipped, "Whatever, who cares."

Yao Yin had long seen through everything: "Is it that the one at home doesn't agree?"

"Sort of, ha ha!" Liang Jin thought of Ji Xiuyuan's narrow-minded and jealous nature, if he really went to the entertainment industry, he would probably be in trouble every day.

Yu Shan educated him, "Liang Jin, what are you afraid of him for? If he doesn't let you do something, you won't do it? Are you even a man?"

Liang Jin reminded him, "Emperor Yu, who was the one who didn't dare to drink last time?"

"Who said I didn't dare, didn't I drink later?"

"Oh, what about after drinking? Was the result extremely tragic?"

The veins on Yu Shan's forehead bulged, "None of your business!!!"

After Ji Xiuyuan finished catching up with Ouyang Zheng, he walked to Liang Jin's side and naturally took his hand, "Xiao Jin, the crew is going to work, let's go somewhere else to wander around."

"Oh, okay."

When the two left, Ruan Jun happened to arrive from the city.

Yao Yin patted Yu Shan's shoulder, "Ahem, your boss is here, restrain yourself."

When Yu Shan saw Ruan Jun, he immediately tensed up, "What do you mean, I've been very restrained lately, okay?"

Yao Yin sighed, "I really didn't think you would have such a day. So, are you guys in a relationship now?"

"It shouldn't count, we're taking it slow."

"Remember what I said? The way of heaven is good, one thing leads to another?"

Due to the last PR crisis, Ruan Group invested a large amount of money and directly took a stake in Yu Shan's agency.

From assistant to general manager, this huge transformation was staggering. Everyone in the brokerage firm was surprised at the change in him, of course, not only in his status, but also in his temperament and attitude.

In the past, Ruan Jun was like a shadow following Yu Shan, every time he looked at him, there was pure longing and infatuation in his eyes. He shouted "Brother Yu" in every breath, which was very sweet.

Now, Ruan Jun was busy with his family's affairs and could rarely be seen in the company. His attitude towards Yu Shan has also become much more indifferent, and his mood fluctuates greatly, making it difficult for people to guess their current relationship.

When in a good mood, he would call out for Brother Yu. When he was in a bad mood, he frowned and called his full name stiffly.

Today, for example, Ruan Jun seemed to be in a good mood.

He stood by the side rather patiently and silently watching Yu Shan film the scene, and despite his efforts to repress it, his eyes still shone with some fascination.

Immediately after the end of the scene, he went over to his side and said, "Brother Yu, I have something I want to show you."

They went for a stroll between the trees to the side, and Ruan Jun took out a small and delicate knight figurine from his pocket, "I went shopping at the mall yesterday and found it at a roadside stall. Alex, my favourite of Brother Yu's many starring roles."

Yu Shan paused, and took the figurine for a closer look, "This is from Star Knight 1, it should be from a long time ago."

"Mhmm, it's very rare. I've searched for it for a long time in China and couldn't find it. After all, it's a sci-fi film invested in by Hollywood. I'm really happy to be able to buy it here. Brother Yu, I also have a full set collected at home..."

"A full set of figurines from the Star Knight series?"

"No, it's all artefacts about you Brother Yu, all displayed in my bedroom."

"Ah, it feels like it'll be spectacular."

"When I can't reach Brother Yu, they're the ones that keep me company, as if you're right next to me."

Ruan Jun's expression was full of admiration when he said this. Yu Shan seemed to have an illusion, as if that simple and dull young man had returned.

However, this situation did not last long. Ruan Jun quickly adjusted his emotions and sighed, "I'm sorry for accidentally letting you see me like this again. You don't like it, I know."

"I like it."

Ruan Jun froze for a moment and said blankly, "I thought, you don't like it."

"Why did you think that?"

"Because you drove me away before because I was too obsessively obsessed, didn't you?"

A golden leaf fell to the ground as the breeze blew by.

Yu Shan looked at him, "No."

"My overwhelming possessiveness towards you has hindered your pleasure-seeking nature, you must hate me very much."

A gust of wind rose, and the forest leaves fluttered.

Yu Shan denied, "No."

"You don't even have hatred for me? Yu Shan, in your eyes, I'm just a convenient tool, unworthy of even the slightest bit of emotion?"

Yu Shan sighed softly and said, "Ruan Jun, why are you still so stupid and insensitive?"

Ruan Jun looked at him in dismay.

Yu Shan brushed away the crushed leaves that fell on his shoulder, "I drove you away before because I was disturbed by you. In other words, I didn't allow myself to fall in love with anyone, nor did I allow anyone to interfere with my private life, you were the only exception. So, it's my fault for wanting to take the initiative to snuff out this seed before I fell deeper."

He tugged on Ruan Jun's collar and pulled him down, pressing a kiss to the side of his face, "If you are really tempted, how can you stop it?"

Ruan Jun squeezed the knight hand puppet in his palm tightly, trembling slightly with nervousness, "You are lying to me, aren't you? Brother Yu, you are lying to me again."

Yu Shan helplessly wrapped his arms around him and said soothingly, "What I said is true, are you willing to believe me one more time?"

‿︵‿︵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: September 24, 2023