Chapter 273 The Paranoid Painter 3 "No, something's not right..."

He muttered to himself.

His gaze fell on a barely visible mole on her left shoulder, and he suddenly picked up a small knife from the side.

Zi Xi's eyes widened slightly, but she still didn't move.

To her surprise, Jin Ye did not harm her, but instead used the tip of the knife to cut his own fingertip.

A bright red bead of blood gushed out.

He returned to the canvas and smeared his blood-stained fingers across the background of the painting, adding several dark red streaks.

Strangely, the addition of this bloodshed actually made the image in the center of the painting appear even purer and more prominent.

"Don't be surprised, my paintings are all stained with blood."

"Even if you are white, you will be stained with blood."

He muttered to himself.

These words gave Zi Xi, who had been keeping a calm demeanor, goosebumps.

Jin Ye didn't notice.

He was completely absorbed in the final strokes, deeply engrossed in the creative process.

When he finally put down his paintbrush, dusk had already fallen outside the window.

He blinked and looked at Zi Xi, who remained unchanged.

To his surprise, although she was pale and obviously extremely tired, she still maintained the required posture with incredible stability.

"alright."

He said his voice had become even hoarser due to the long silence.

Zi Xi slowly relaxed, her muscles trembling noticeably from prolonged tension.

She carefully moved her limbs and then walked toward her clothes.

Can I come again tomorrow?

After putting on her dress, she picked up her tablet and wrote.

"I will come here every day from now on, from nine in the morning to five in the afternoon. I will not paint on weekends, but I can only rest at the manor."

Jin Ye stared at her.

I will be there on time.

Most models would hesitate or ask for a raise, but Zi Xi just nodded.

As she walked toward the door, her steps were slightly unsteady, but her back remained straight.

"How can you stay still for so long?"

Jin Ye suddenly spoke as her hand gripped the doorknob.

[Back in school, I could stand at attention for just as long.]

Zi Xi turned around, thought for a moment, and then wrote a few simple words on the tablet.

Before Jin Ye could ask anything else, she nodded gently in farewell and left the studio quietly.

Jin Ye stood still, chuckled softly, and then burst into laughter.

Her faint fragrance still lingered in the studio.

It smelled like fresh air after rain, quite different from the usual smell of paint here.

He walked back to the easel and gazed at the work he had just finished.

The figure in the painting resembles Bai Zixi yet is not her; it is both concrete and abstract, both pure and alluringly decadent.

The blood-red brushstrokes in the background surrounded her like thorns, yet could not truly touch that pure white.

For the first time in all these years and with so many models, someone not only endured his creative process.

Jin Ye's fingers gently traced the blood-stained area on the canvas, then stopped at the pure white center.

"Bai Zixi, very good."

He murmured the name.

The next day, Zi Xi entered the studio again and quietly waited for instructions.

How long can you remain still?

Jin Ye suddenly asked.

[It should take as long as needed, but one day probably won't be enough.]

Zi Xi is writing on the tablet.

"Many people have said that, but judging from your performance yesterday, it should last a long time."

Jin Ye's lips twitched slightly. He wouldn't be so difficult as to make someone stay still for a whole day.

He walked to the easel and suddenly ripped off the covering.