Exclusive Model for the Top Painter Chapter 84

Guilt and Deep Affection

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Since Tan Zimo's Weibo outburst, the negative news about Yu Shan has continued to ferment, occupying almost half of the hot search list for several days in a row.

This year's entertainment reporters seem to be all from the UC shock department, with each headline being extremely eye-catching and lurid. (Angel: UC shock department is an internet term that refers to netizens ridiculing the overuse of 'shock' in news titles.)

Fortunately, this situation did not last. With Ruan Jun's intervention, those malicious rumours were suppressed; Yu Shan's public relations team wasn't naive, and after the first wave of excitement passed, they made a clarification in a justified manner.

Some of Yu Shan's friends in the circle, including Liang Jin, Yao Yin and Ouyang Zheng, made clarifications on the incidents involving themselves.

A week later, the situation gradually calmed down and Yu Shan's studio finally resumed its normal business, but things could never go back to the way they were before.

Yu Shan's popularity had fallen to its lowest level since his debut. This year, the partners who had originally signed with him had cancelled their contracts, and the partners who had him as a spokesperson had also announced the end of their relationship one after another.

It wasn't until then that Yu Shan truly realised what it meant to feel the warmth and coldness of the world.

Due to his former young master's temper, he had long since offended many people in the entertainment industry. In the past, when he was in his prime, no one dared to say a word against him, but now, unlike in the past, those who hated him were eager to come forward to throw stones at him.

Yu Shan's condition declined with a speed visible to the naked eye and he became more and more depressed day by day.

But he did not give up.

Because he knew very well that acting was the only place for him in this life.

He can fall from the highest place, can put up with the ridicule and embarrassment, and can even change his old domineering behaviour and learn to grovel.

But he could never stop his desire and pursuit of being on screen.

With the studio's efforts, he still managed to keep a few offers. They were ordinary dramas with little splash or highlights, the kind Yu Shan wouldn't have even glanced at in the past, but his attitude was more serious and rigorous than ever before.

The sharp edges that Yu Shan had collected were all turned into sharp blades against himself. Removing the appearance of silence, there were thousands of holes and wounds on the inside.

The lower he was, the more he refused to give in, and the harder it was for him to fulfil the wishes of others.

He devoted himself to his work with a passion and stubbornness that he had never had before, and even the director of the film crew sighed and secretly lamented: it was such a waste of talent to let the former film star act in such a film.

After all, those who sympathised with him were in the minority, and most were cynical.

When he was filming on the set, some people still called him "Film Emperor" in front of him. Their tone was not the respect of the past, but naked ridicule.

As the saying goes, it's easy to hide from an open gun, but it's hard to guard against a hidden arrow. On this day, while filming a fight scene, it seemed that the person he was acting with was intentionally trying to torment him by nging repeatedly, which made Yu Shan suffer from a lot of torture.

The character Yu Shan plays in this drama is a rich second-generation whose family has fallen into disrepair: when he was young, he was used to an expansive life of golden clothes and gourmet food, but when he was eighteen years old, his family suffered an unexpected change, both of his parents were killed and his assets were plundered. Burdened with such a past, the protagonist gradually grows up in the process of searching for the truth and eventually completes the revenge himself.

Today's scene was being filmed during a rainy night. He suddenly discovers that the murderer of his parents is actually his uncle, his parents' best friend, whom he has respected since childhood.

When he learnt the truth, he was devastated. On the way back, he accidentally bumped into someone else's car. Just as he got out of the car to deal with the situation, the other party began to attack him without any words. On such a cold and rainy night, he received a severe beating.

Yu Shan's acting skills were originally the ultimate pinnacle of existence in the circle, and coupled with his own recent experiences, his interpretation of such a plot was naturally easy to handle.

His face looked calm, but the hands holding the steering wheel were trembling slightly; his eyes were staring ahead, but his thoughts had already drifted away.

After realising that he had clipped the other party, he slammed on the brakes. Yu Shan got out of the car in the rain and said guiltily, "Sorry, I didn't mean to do it, you see..."

Before he finished his sentence, the other party violently grabbed him by the collar: "You kid, do you drive without looking? Huh? Do you know how expensive this car is? Can you afford to pay for it?"

Raindrops slid down his eyelashes, Yu Shan nervously smiled and said, "I'm really sorry."

The man pressed him against the side of the car and viciously kneed him in the abdomen, "You look like a poor man, you won't learn until you've been beaten twice!"

Yu Shan secretly ate the pain, this person was really kicking!!!

He stared darkly at the other's face. The latter obviously smiled contemptuously at him, and deliberately said, "I'm sorry Director, I forgot my lines again, let's do it again?"

This went back and forth five or six times until the entire crew became angry, and only then did the man relent and the filming finally came to an end.

Yu Shan had been drenched in the rain for a long time and received a few kicks, it was obvious that he couldn't carry on.

Assistant Xiao Zhang brought him a towel to wipe off the water and worriedly said, "Mr. Yu, are you not feeling well?"

Yu Shan whispered, "It's okay, I'll be fine after resting for a while."

Returning to the lounge, Yu Shan changed into clean clothes and lay on the sofa with his eyes closed.

A sudden throbbing pain came from his abdomen, he braced himself against his exhaustion and went to the sink where he vomited a mouthful of blood, leaving a sweetness in his throat.

Red blood ran down the corners of his mouth, staining bits of his white collar.

Yu Shan pulled out a tissue and wiped it haphazardly, frowning and muttering to himself, "This is the shirt I just changed into."

He took his top off, and was half-naked when he turned around and saw Ruan Jun.

Ruan Jun stared at him with reddened eyes.

Yu Shan covered his eyes with his hand and whispered in his ear, "I'm in a state of disgrace, don't look."

Ruan Jun hugged him tightly, his voice trembling, "Brother Yu... I'll take you to the hospital."

"Go to what hospital? I still have to film this afternoon."

"No, you must go, go now."

"It's not a big deal." Yu Shan stroked Ruan Jun's back as if he was calming a frightened wolfdog, "I'm not in pain anymore."

"Brother Yu, I'm sorry." Ruan Jun buried his head in his shoulder, "It's my fault for not taking care of you."

Yu Shan realised that Ruan Jun was actually choking back tears under his breath, he was at a bit of a loss for words, "Silly boy, why are you crying? I'm not dead yet."

"Brother Yu, I can't help it. It's so hard to see you like this."

"Alright, was it me or you who vomited blood, don't cry."

Ruan Jun hugged him tighter, "I'd rather it be me!!! Brother Yu, did the director deliberately make things difficult for you? Or was it that actor who was acting with you? I want them to pay it back a thousand times over!!!"

"Why are you saying such childish things, Ruan Jun, be more mature." Yu Shan stroked his head as if smoothing a dog's fur, "It's me, I've been under too much pressure lately and I've accumulated too much depression. If you go out there and mess around, do I still get to work in the circle? Hmm?"

"Brother Yu, but..."

"I've reflected for a long time, maybe this is retribution." Yu Shan said in a seemingly relaxed tone, "It's what I deserve in order to clear the mistakes I made in the past."

Ruan Jun held the back of his head and ferociously bit his lips.

The aching guilt and fervent love, mixed with the fishy sweetness of blood, steamed up in the dim and narrow washroom with a dense burning heat.

Yu Shan was already very sick, how could he withstand such a torture. He pinched Ruan Jun's chin and said in dissatisfaction, "Hey, your bite hurts me."

Ruan Jun licked his lips, "I'm sorry Brother Yu, I felt sad and didn't control it, I'm sorry."

"Ruan Jun, when I say I like you, it's true."

"Mhmm."

"You believe it?"

"Mhmm."

"Why don't you say I lied to you?"

"I've already made up my mind," Ruan Jun looked at him with moisture in his eyes, "even if Brother Yu is lying to me, I don't care, I'll always love Brother Yu."

"Why are you so good all of a sudden?"

"Because I can never bear to lose you. As long as you're by my side, I couldn't care less about anything else."

"I'll tell you a secret." Yu Shan poked where his heart was with his fingertips, "To you, from the very beginning, I was sincere. It's just that at that time, I refused to admit it to myself."

Ruan Jun was flattered and stared at him, "Really... really, Brother Yu?"

"Really."

"But why?"

"Because I've never seen you so stupid."

Ruan Jun looks like he's about to cry again, "Brother Yu, I'm really happy."

"I know."

"I really love Brother Yu."

"Mhmm, the clothes are dirty, remember to help me wash them later."

"Okay." Ruan Jun hesitated for a while, "Brother Yu, tonight..."

"I'll come and find you."

"No, I'll be on set, waiting for you to get off work."

———

After Christmas, Morgana went back to France.

Liang Jin noticed that Ji Shen seemed to be getting busier and busier at work, often staying at Tian Han from one day to the next, and Wen Di also seemed preoccupied.

One day he specially caught Wen Di and asked what was happening recently?

Wen Di held a pile of documents in his hand and said seriously: "Ji Wenbin has started to target Tian Han."

Liang Jin could see the seriousness of the situation, "Is it difficult?"

"Well," Wen Di said, "after Ji Wenbin took a stake in Qiyi Media, it was like a magic trick. A steady stream of US dollars poured in in large quantities, and the stock price continued to go up, approaching Tian Han, but these are not the most important things."

His eyes were hidden behind the lenses, radiating a slightly fierce gaze, "As one of the former founders, Ji Wenbin understands Tian Han very well. He is systematically launching an attack on Tian Han, which has troubled us greatly."

"But why is he doing this?"

"Because, his request to re-invest in Tian Han was rejected by Director Ji."

Liang Jin immediately came to his senses, "So, when he came back from the US, his target from the start was Tian Han."

"That's right."

"But didn't he give up on Tian Han and go to the US more than ten years ago? Why did he suddenly change his mind now?"

Wen Di sighed softly, "This is also where my doubts lie. His motives are still unknown."

Liang Jin asked, "Is it possible that something happened to him in the US?"

"It's possible, we're still investigating in this regard." Wen Di urged him, "Liang Jin, what I've said to you, don't mention it to anyone other than Director Ji. I suspect that there is a mole in Tian Han's board of directors."

"Ah? Wouldn't that be a dangerous situation for Yuan Yuan?"

"Mhmm, Director Ji is the primary person responsible for Tian Han."

Liang Jin ran to Ji Xiuyuan's office and painfully said to him, "Yuan Yuan, you've been working so hard lately, I've decided that I'll take care of all the housework from now on! And Bo Bo, don't worry about it either, I'll feed it and promise not to let it bother you. And also you don't need to cook any more, my current level of cooking skills is fine, let me cook for you instead!"

Ji Xiuyuan raised his eyes from the piles of documents to look at him, gentle and affectionate, "Okay. Thank you, Xiao Jin."

"What's the point of saying this to me?"

"I love you."

"Mhmm, so do I."

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

Happy new year!

Please feel free to comment any mistakes I made so I can improve and do better as I go through the book.

Translated: November 5, 2023