Chapter 12: You Can Keep Your Socks On

Lin Yi: Where are you?

Jian Shuye: You took fifteen extra minutes.

Lin Yi: Sorry about that (sweating emoji.jpg)

[The other party has shared a location with you]

Lin Yi opened it and her pupils trembled.

Wasn’t this the Victoria Grand Hotel right next door?

Why was Jian Shuye on the island today too?

Jian Shuye: Be here within ten minutes.

Lin Yi sighed, turned off her phone screen, and strolled along Brick Stone Avenue in the afternoon.

Arriving at the hotel entrance, Lin Yi marveled that this Western European classical-style building from 1885 still looked quite new, and she’d heard it was even a nationally protected cultural heritage site.

She glanced at the front desk, where many elegantly dressed men and women were checking in.

She felt a bit hesitant to go in, because she was just a poor girl, afraid that even breathing inside might cost money.

Just then, a woman wearing sunglasses and looking at her phone by the door raised her head and walked to Lin Yi’s side.

“Take the elevator directly, go to the eighth floor, Zhi Zhen River View Room. Here’s the room card.”

Before Lin Yi could react, a room card with a room number was already in her hand.

When she looked back, the woman had already returned to her position in front of the hotel, resuming her phone-scrolling posture.

A bodyguard?

But how did she know Lin Yi was here to see Jian Shuye?

Never mind. Lin Yi took the room card and boldly walked inside, following the front desk’s directions to the elevator, going straight to the eighth floor.

The interior decoration wasn’t bad either.

She’d heard a French president had stayed here, though she didn’t know if it was true.

Lin Yi, lost in her random thoughts, quickly found the corresponding room and swiped the card to enter.

The first thing that greeted her eyes was a reception room.

Before this, Lin Yi had never seen a hotel’s king-size room that could have its own reception room.

In stark contrast to the exterior decoration, the hotel’s interior room was filled with Chinese-style decor, with window lattices and embroidery visible everywhere.

A Chinese-style long bench was covered with a brown sofa cushion.

The simple, antique decor exuded a sense of minimalist warmth and grace.

Lin Yi particularly liked the warm yellow cage lamp in the corner.

In front of the sofa was a long, lacquered wooden table.

On the table were ink painting supplies.

An ink lotus painting lay quietly on the rice paper, remarkably lifelike.

She was agonizing over whether to take off her shoes when she heard Jian Shuye’s clear, cool, yet elegant voice.

“Come in.”

Lin Yi looked at the soles of her round-toe leather shoes, thinking she probably couldn’t afford to pay for the carpet if she ruined it, so she obediently changed into the disposable slippers by the door and walked in.

Lin Yi, whose combined mental age was now over forty, had still never stayed in a hotel outside.

Not to mention now having to be in a river view room with a girl whose beauty broke the upper limit.

It felt a bit subtle.

After entering, on either side of the semi-circular window in front of the desk were drawn-back curtains. The view of White Goose Pool outside the window was fully visible, breathtakingly beautiful.

Jian Shuye was sitting in a master’s chair.

On either side of her exquisite face was impossibly smooth black hair, covering the fragrant shoulders that should have shown perfect curves.

In sharp contrast was the white dress she wore today.

Her two snow-white legs were well hidden within the gauzy skirt, with only a few pink toes peeking out onto the carpet.

In front of Jian Shuye were a painting easel and canvas.

Completely different from the traditional Chinese painting on the desk, what she was painting was an oil painting of the river view.

If she could take a photo now, it might not need any editing to make the front page of a modeling magazine.

“Um…”

“Starting the timer.” Jian Shuye glanced at the time on her phone.

“Stand in front of me.”

Starting work right away?

Lin Yi had no choice but to follow Jian Shuye’s request and stand in front of the easel.

Jian Shuye swept her eyes over Lin Yi from head to toe, making Lin Yi feel quite uncomfortable.

She didn’t seem to have any thoughts about Lin Yi being late; she was simply looking at Lin Yi’s attire.

“The slippers, take them off.”

“Huh?”

Lin Yi looked at the disposable slippers on her feet. They did seem a bit out of place for the scenery requirements.

She took off the slippers, placed them to the side, and stood still again.

“The coat, take it off.”

“Huh?”

Although it was a bit hot outside today, the room had the air conditioning on.

If she took off her coat…

Whatever, the other party was the client.

What she said goes.

Lin Yi took off her outerwear, hung it on the wooden coat rack, and stood still again.

Jian Shuye extended her paintbrush, gestured towards Lin Yi, and frowned in thought.

“The shirt, take it off.”

“No!”

Lin Yi absolutely refused this time, tightly protecting her chest.

“There’s only underwear underneath, how can I take it off?!”

Jian Shuye’s expression didn’t change at all, as if she hadn’t heard Lin Yi’s protest at all.

“You’re sweating. The white shirt is showing the color of your underwear. What’s the difference between wearing it and not wearing it?”

“Eh, really?”

But still, she couldn’t…

“We’re both girls, what does it matter?” Jian Shuye added a few strokes to the canvas.

“Or do you want to quit?”

Lin Yi gritted her teeth. In her mind, an angel and a demon were fighting.

Finally, she felt Jian Shuye had a point. They were both female, so what if she took it off?

She had a C-cup, and Lin Yi herself was only an A-cup.

She wasn’t afraid of being seen!

“Then… turn the air conditioning up a bit, I’m afraid of the cold…”

“Do it yourself.”

Lin Yi had to pick up the air conditioner remote, turn up the temperature, and then, trembling, unbuttoned her shirt.

It was a bit cold.

Especially her smooth, fair shoulders and back, which were now exposed to the window of the river view room, gave her an indescribable sense of shame.

Lin Yi’s cheeks felt a bit hot.

She was… unmarriageable now.

Jian Shuye touched her chin.

She put down the paintbrush and stood up.

“Um, can I put it back on now?” Lin Yi asked pitifully.

“The pleated skirt, take it off.” Jian Shuye’s tone was firm.

“Absolutely not!”

This time, Lin Yi absolutely refused, even tears threatening to spill from the corners of her eyes.

“I never thought it would be like this when I came. A private model isn’t a boudoir model, it’s not like this!”

Jian Shuye didn’t speak, just continued looking at Lin Yi.

Lin Yi pursed her lips.

“Can I ask, why do I have to take off my clothes?”

“It doesn’t suit.” Jian Shuye walked to Lin Yi’s side, staring at her pleated skirt.

“My eyes can’t tolerate things that detract.”

“It doesn’t have to be taking everything off, no way, absolutely not!”

Seeing Lin Yi’s resolute stance, Jian Shuye’s eyebrows twitched, as if an inner feeling of annoyance rose to the surface.

“This is art.”

Lin Yi argued, “Art isn’t a reason to make someone take off their skirt.”

Jian Shuye tilted her head.

“Why, are you going commando today?”

“Of course not!”

“Fine, then I’ll make a concession.” Jian Shuye turned and returned to her position.

“You can keep your socks on.”

Lin Yi was shocked.

“So you wanted me to take off my socks too? Even more impossible!”

The two stood in a stalemate.

After a while, Jian Shuye crossed her arms and spoke.

“Dominique Ingres, 1814, La Grande Odalisque.”

“Huh?”

“Jean-Léon Gérôme, 1861, Phryne Before the Areopagus.”

“Ah?”

“William-Adolphe Bouguereau, 1870, The Bather.”

“Not…”

“Otto Pilny, 1910, Slave Market.”

“Stop, stop!”

Lin Yi quickly held up her palm, fingertips touching it, signaling Jian Shuye to stop.

“I get it, I get it. Your thinking is completely biased by the West!”

“On the contrary.” Jian Shuye lifted her head high, looking quite authoritative.

“Several of those paintings depict Orientalist themes.

It seems you don’t fully understand art.”

“That still doesn’t mean I have to take it off. I’m a very conservative person.”

“Is that so?”

Jian Shuye picked up her phone and tapped a few times.

Lin Yi’s phone vibrated. She opened it and saw their chat log had updated.

Jian Shuye: [Congratulations on Your Wealth]

Lin Yi’s fingers trembled.

She rubbed her eyes and took two steps back.

The beautiful girl in front of her wasn’t joking.

She was serious.