The Scheming Ex-Husband's Courtship-Chapter 612 - 530 What Are You Really Looking For

Chapter 612: Chapter 530 What Are You Really Looking For
Nan Zhan only pitied her foolishness when he gave her a tip; he didn’t expect that she would set her sights on him in a blink of an eye.
"Don’t even think about it." Nan Zhan made it clear with an uncompromising attitude.
"Mr. Nan, Attorney Nan, Handsome Nan, Oppa..." Jian Si pulled on his sleeve, resorting to all the coquettish antics she hadn’t used in years for the sake of business.
"Impossible." Nan Zhan brushed her hand away.
"Then what will it take for you to finally walk towards a young and handsome guy, chat with him smilingly, and have him happily agree to become my volunteer model for this painting?" Jian Si was prepared to be persistent to the end.
"No way at all." The idea of him, the dignified Nan Zhan, sitting on this low stool, sitting there like a fool motionless, just thinking about it felt utterly stupid.
"Forget it, if not painting, then not painting." Jian Si glared at him, "I’ll find someone else."
Jian Si mingled among the passing tourists.
"I’ll gift the painting to you after finishing." Jian Si said with a smile, "Thank you for your help."
"No worries, it’s a small matter, I’m very willing to serve a beauty." The young man was about to sit down when his chair was suddenly pulled away, but thankfully he reacted quickly and didn’t fall to the ground. Turning around, he glared angrily at the one responsible.
Nan Zhan was already sitting upright on the chair, his cold face making him look very unapproachable.
"Are you crazy?" The young man’s face flushed with anger; such impoliteness, snatching a seat out of the blue.
"I’m sorry, I’m sorry, he’s my friend." Jian Si hurried to apologize.
The young man, previously amiable, now spoke irritably, "Miss, you should just paint your friend. I can’t help you, excuse me."
Before leaving, he gave Nan Zhan a glare: "Crazy."
Jian Si apologized again, and only after the young man left did she unceremoniously pull Nan Zhan off the chair, "Nan Zhan, get down, you scared off the model I finally found, how am I supposed to do business?"
How could her frail frame shake his massive, mountain-like body? She strained for a long time, but he remained securely seated.
"Twenty minutes." Nan Zhan suddenly spoke languidly.
"What?" Jian Si initially didn’t catch on, "What twenty minutes?"
Nan Zhan lifted his eyelids, revealing his usual mocking smile.
Jian Si was somewhat surprised, "You’re willing to model for me?"
"Nonsense, hurry up, I’m quite expensive." Nan Zhan changed his position, crossing his long legs, slightly leaning back in the chair with an air of arrogance that was asking for a beating.
"Right away, right away." Jian Si happily set up her sketchpad and pencil while directing him, "Face straight, yes, look in my direction."
Nan Zhan frowned with dissatisfaction, "You have nineteen minutes left."
Has a minute passed that quickly?
Jian Si pouted and immediately immersed herself in drawing. She would look up at him intermittently as she drew. His facial features were sharply defined and deeply dimensional; perfect in isolation and a masterpiece when combined.
As she drew, her thoughts involuntarily drifted back to many years ago, the first time she met him; her first impression was that he was handsome and exquisite. Back then, he was much younger, not like now, his appearance more refined and sharp due to the years, but regardless, he was enticing.
Nan Zhan obviously had little patience for such boring affairs, having quoted twenty minutes but wanting to leave after just ten. However, seeing Jian Si with her head down, even her hair screamed concentration, he ultimately held back.
She occasionally looked up at him, her gaze particularly detailed, as if she wanted to etch his image into her heart.
Although he knew she was doing it to perfectly capture his likeness on paper, he slowly began to enjoy being watched by her.
Just like earlier, when she was treating another man with a charming smile, it made his stomach burn with jealousy. Did she even realize her status now? If it weren’t for him sheltering her, she would probably be crying by now; how could she afford to giggle so idiotically at other men.
Humph, watching him closely like this was more comfortable anyway.
"Done." Jian Si happily flipped the sketchpad around, "What do you think?"
Nan Zhan glanced at it, "So-so."
Jian Si smiled, "Thanks for the compliment."
"When did I compliment you?" This woman is so full of herself.
"If you’re not dissing me, you’re complimenting me." Jian Si hung up the portrait she just finished on a board and placed it in the most eye-catching spot.
As soon as she set it up, two girls came over and asked, "Which celebrity did you paint here? We can’t guess."
"It’s not a celebrity. The real person is right in front of you." Jian Si pointed to Nan Zhan who was on the phone next to her.
"Wow." The two girls gawked at Nan Zhan’s profile and were smitten, "Your painting is really good, it looks seventy to eighty percent like him."
"Do you want one done as well?" Jian Si followed up on the girls’ comments.
The two girls looked at each other, and one of them said, "Go ahead and paint. It gives us more time to look at this handsome guy."
After Nan Zhan finished his call, Jian Si’s stall had two more girls; one was getting her portrait done, and the other was sneakily watching him. He glanced over, and the girl immediately shrank back, sitting down properly now.
With Nan Zhan’s help, Jian Si earned her first big income today, and she was delighted to put away the money.
It was only a few dozen yuan, yet she was as happy as if she had made tens of thousands. Nan Zhan snorted, thinking how naïve and pitiful she was for not having seen much money before.
"Why haven’t you left yet?" Jian Si swapped out the drawing paper, surprised that he had stayed around for so long. Didn’t he have things to take care of?
"The sun in the plaza is nice. Can’t I sunbathe here?" Nan Zhan sat down on a nearby chair, holding a bottle of water.
Aus City’s summer is famously scorching. Jian Si applied a thick layer of sunscreen before leaving home, and even sitting under a shade, she was still sweating. He said he was sunbathing; who would believe that?
However, his presence was good for business; many girls saw his portrait and would come to find the real person. With a little persuasion from Jian Si, they’d be ready to have their portraits made. In half a day, she made more than she usually did in a week.
"Alright, let’s close up shop and go eat. I’m hungry," Nan Zhan put away the phone he had been looking at.
Jian Si, too, was tired from painting all morning and packed her things into Nan Zhan’s car.
Nan Zhan asked, "Is there anything good to eat around here?"
"There’s a decent baozi shop."
"Don’t want that."
Jian Si thought for a moment: "How about seafood porridge?"
"Don’t want that."
After Jian Si suggested a bunch of other options, which Nan Zhan all rejected, she asked exasperatedly, "This won’t do, that won’t do, what exactly do you want to eat?"
Nan Zhan held the steering wheel with one hand, rhythmically tapping with the other, playfully raising his eyebrows, "Let’s buy groceries and cook at home."
Jian Si: "..."
Passing a supermarket, the two got out of the car to buy some groceries. Nan Zhan seemed particularly happy to wander around the supermarket. Not only that, he liked to give her directions, like telling her to buy certain sauces or certain types of beef. Jian Si largely ignored this lifestyle novice’s suggestions; she never bought what he asked, inevitably irritating him and possibly challenging his authority.
At the staircase entrance, Nan Zhan carried the groceries, and Jian Si carried the drawing board.
"You’re not just painting in the plaza to make money, are you?" They entered the elevator, and Nan Zhan glanced at her.
Jian Si was startled.
Nan Zhan spoke calmly, "I have observed you all morning. You only focus when you are painting. Otherwise, you just stare blankly at the crowd in the plaza. If it were just for money, you should be frantically attracting business. But you, you seem more interested in observing people than painting them. You’re happy making forty yuan from a portrait because in your heart, drawing people is just incidental. Making money is a bonus but not essential. What do you say, Ms. Jian, am I right?"
Without a doubt, his analysis was spot on. Jian Si looked down, silent, staring at the tips of her own shoes. She was still wearing those sneakers, the edges marked with a few mildew spots— hardly noticeable unless one looked very carefully.
Suddenly, she felt that a man who could deduce where she lived from such minute details, could he really not see through her, his, and Zhengzheng’s relationship? Could he possibly know everything and just chose not to say it, or was he plotting something, waiting for the right moment to act?
"Jian Si, what are you looking for?" The elevator continued to ascend, and Nan Zhan’s voice gently rang out, "Zhengzheng said you’ve been painting in the plaza for three years now. You couldn’t possibly be looking for some worker who renovated for you half a year ago. So what or whom are you really looking for?"
After a pause, Jian Si responded, "I’m looking for a culprit."
"A culprit?"
"Yes." Jian Si clutched the strap on the drawing board, "When I was in high school, because the school was far from home I had to board, my parents were worried I wouldn’t eat well and would bring lots of tasty food every week for me, and take me out for a big meal. I remember that day, it had rained the night before and hadn’t cleared up the next day. They came to pick me up from school, and we were heading to a restaurant. I was chatting about interesting school events, and they were smiling as they listened. Suddenly, a car that ran a red light crashed into ours. My mom shielded me with her body at the critical moment. I only had minor injuries. When I opened my eyes, she was lying on top of me, blood on her face and head. Meanwhile, my dad was trapped in the car seat with the car’s hood almost completely crumpled. I was terribly scared and couldn’t make a sound, but I saw the driver of the car that hit us. Yes, I saw his face clearly."