Chapter 2178: You Are My Only Color 13

The Oil Painting Competition has high prestige; it is a contest highly recognized by all top art academies in the country, and Jin Chen also wants to fulfill the original owner's obsession and win first place.

On the day Wen Jin went abroad, Jin Chen headed to the capital to participate in the Oil Painting Competition.

Wu You also accompanied them, as their institute's representative contestant.

This originally didn't comply with the rules; in the original plot, the original owner's slot had been schemed away, and Jin Chen hadn't expected Wu You to still obtain a spot.

Gu Xi, the protagonist's love interest, surely played a role.

Now there's nothing left to plot; everything waits for Wen Jin to finish handling the mess overseas, then gradually take over the group's business before proceeding.

As long as the protagonist doesn't cause trouble for him, Jin Chen becomes somewhat laid-back, experiencing an international romance with the 'Gold Patron Professor' from the preliminary round.

But the protagonist never stays idle.

Wu You simply doesn't believe that Gu Xi's sudden injury at that banquet had nothing to do with Wen Jin.

He can't even fathom how, without Wen Jin's boyfriend as his right-hand man, he could possibly obtain the Wen Family relying only on his disabled eyes.

The more he fears, the more Wu You secretly harbors resentment toward Wen Jin.

This time, Wu You entered the competition intending to 'save' Jin Chen.

If Jin Chen were willing to befriend them and cooperate with their plan, it would both help him escape Wen Jin the madman and make Gu Xi's control of the Third Group easier.

It's practically a win-win; Wu You sees nothing Jin Chen could refuse.

But in fact, Jin Chen pretended not to understand the hints, repeatedly refusing the olive branches Wu You extended in Gu Xi's name.

The hotel arranged by the competition organizers.

The breakfast area smelled of fresh-baked bread, light spilling onto the marble floor and casting mottled shadows.

Jin Chen sat by the window, leisurely cutting a Benedict egg; the yolk ran down the fork, staining the lettuce on the plate yellow.

Wu You sat opposite him, holding a coffee cup, the spoon handle tapping the porcelain rim with a clear sound.

"Jin Chen."

This time Wu You got straight to the point, no longer hinting.

He couldn't afford to waste time with Jin Chen; waiting for Wen Jin's return would mean losing the chance entirely.

"Do you really resign yourself to being controlled by Wen Jin?"

Jin Chen didn't look up, continuing to spread butter on his toast: "Every time you come looking for me at mealtime, aren't you afraid of indigestion?"

"Wu You:" "..."

"Who made it so I can only find you when I'm dining at the hotel!"

Wu You held his breath, leaned forward slightly, and stared straight at Jin Chen.

"Wen Jin's ambitions are too great; he wants to swallow the entire Wen Family. After your time with him, you must know what kind of person he is."

Jin Chen lowered his eyes, moved the lettuce he didn't like to one side, preparing to feed it later to Zero Egg.

Wu You continued, his fingers tapping the coffee cup impatiently: "Gu Xi controls the Third Group; if you're willing to cooperate and obtain some documents from Wen Jin's hands, you can free yourself from him."

"That way, perhaps the Jin Family could also rise with the tide…"

"You actually think being a pawn of Gu Xi means you're on his side."

Jin Chen couldn't help but interrupt; looking at Wu You, his gaze was like looking at a fool—oddly light and utterly out of tune, making one angry with nowhere to vent.

"What are you playing at, playing house? Don't you think—does the Wen Family even need your help?"

Wu You's face turned ashen instantly; he slammed his coffee cup on the table: "Jin Chen, don't be ungrateful!"

"Who are you talking about? I don't know."

"If you have time, you'd better improve your painting skills," Jin Chen said, wiping his mouth with a meaningful look, "don't embarrass yourself at the competition."

Wu You's hand holding the coffee cup trembled slightly; the liquid rippled, reflecting his distorted expression.

Yet his heart suddenly felt a bit panicked.

He almost thought Jin Chen knew something.

But then he thought: the final hasn't started yet; no matter how talented Jin Chen is, he couldn't possibly have contacted those art bigwigs, so he relaxed.

Clear hints and subtle ones alike were useless; Wu You stormed off angrily.

{Host, you've got a reply from the news agency you contacted! }

Ling Gun Gun reminded, {As long as the acquisition succeeds, you won't have to worry about the final. }

Jin Chen snapped a photo of breakfast to notify Wen Jin, then left the hotel to meet the person in charge about the acquisition.

Wen Jin is extremely controlling, and with his high Blackening Value acting up, even while busy abroad he never tells Jin Chen what dangerous schemes he's up to.

But regarding Jin Chen's life, he wants to control every aspect—something an ordinary person couldn't tolerate—so Wen Jin had previously been testing the waters slowly; this overseas trip saw it fully erupt.

Wen Jin himself had once been wildly reckless; he knows better than anyone that a teenager's temperament is unstable. He only has this little Xiao Chen, and with so many enemies at home, if something happened, what could be done?

Fortunately, Jin Chen is willing to cooperate, reporting his three meals a day on schedule, saying every two hours where he went and what he did, and each night's video is no less than five hours.

Yes, at night.

To match Jin Chen's rest time, Wen Jin wakes up in the early hours abroad, and they've actually adjusted quite well.

But this mutual longing lasted until the fourth day; on the night before the final was to begin, Wen Jin sensed something was off.

Upon waking in the morning, he habitually checked his phone and found that the usual ten-plus voice messages had dwindled to just two, not even a basic location check-in.

Wen Jin considered himself not the type to be troubled by feelings, so upon detecting the problem he immediately suspected Jin Chen had come to harm; but after listening to the two voice messages, he felt it wasn't that.

Strangely, Wen Jin sensed a hint of… throwing a tantrum.

He sent a video over.

In the capital city late at night, outside the hotel's floor-to-ceiling window, neon lights blurred into hazy spots in the rain.

Inside the window, Jin Chen leaned against the headboard, his loose sleep robe revealing a hickey on his collarbone that hadn't faded; Wen Jin bore a similar mark, left from the night he departed abroad.

The phone rested on the pillow; the screen showed Wen Jin in a crisp shirt, also wearing the silver‑frame glasses he planned to use later when negotiating with the mafia.

"Why didn't you check in today?" Wen Jin's voice came through the earpiece, accompanied by a faint static.

Jin Chen lazily turned over, the hem of his sleep robe slipping off, "Unfair."

He drew out his words in a low, deep tone; to Wen Jin it sounded like honey, yet with a faint hint of sourness.

Wen Jin raised an eyebrow, the gaze behind his gold-rimmed glasses dimming slightly: "What's unfair?"

"I'm the only one sharing, and you never tell me what you're doing."

Jin Chen drew up his knees, tapped a finger on the screen, his tone light yet laced with a hook.

He put on a serious front and declared bluntly, "So I don't want you today."

Indeed so.

Laughter came from the other end of the screen; Wen Jin took off his glasses, rubbed his brow, and asked, "Is it my fault?"

"No." Jin Chen answered that quickly.

"I don't want you, and I'm not blaming you," Wen Jin leaned closer to the screen, gazing at Jin Chen's brows and eyes that were beautiful enough to startle him, "Then what are you thinking about?"

Jin Chen lifted his eyes, his amber pupils reflecting the screen's light, and lightly curled his lips: "I'm thinking of you—do you think of me?"