“I’ve owed Zheng Lunlun a couple hundred thousand for quite a while now, but I never had the financial capabilities to repay him. That was how he pressured me into taking him out for dinner that day, and how the rumors began. It is useless to try and pressure me into paying because I am too poor.”
Nan Chen’s lips were shaking with pure rage. She wasn’t ashamed of her condition, but was proud of how terrible it was?!
How utterly shameless!
Ning Ran was so glad to be able to fight back that she had almost forgotten about the situation she was in.
Ning Ran realized her mistake soon and straightened herself before saying, “That is not something I wanted to happen. I hope that Sir Chen is understanding toward a struggling actress who has to take care of two kids.”
Ning Ran regretted her words the moment she said them. Those last few words about the kids were her biggest mistakes.
She knew that Nan Chen was trying to use the money to take her kids away, yet she brought them up. How stupid was she?
As suspected, the bright Nan Chen caught the mistake and used it against her. “You don’t need to worry about the kids anymore because we’ll take care of them. You can focus on working and repaying your debt. We will draft a legal notice and give you one year to repay all 2.4 million.”
Ning Ran wanted to slap herself hard. Dumbass! You knew there was something up his sleeve, but you still step on that trap. Did you lose all your brain cells? Idiot! Why can’t you talk without making any mistakes? Like that man does!
“I take back what I said!”
Nan Chen stared at Ning Ran with distance in his eyes, but he didn’t speak.
You want to take back what you said? No way! Not even in your dreams!
“I’ll take care of the kids myself. As for the 2.4 million loss, it’s not entirely my fault.”
“We kept moving and changing shooting sites, but those haters found our exact location.”
“That proves that someone on the insides had leaked the information so this whole thing is a set-up.”
“Sir Chen is so smart and powerful. I am sure your beautiful mind can see through all this and find the real culprits.”
Ning Ran’s sudden praise had Nan Chen frowning because he wasn’t used to that kind of treatment.
In fact, he was uncomfortable with Ning Ran being so nice to him. He felt like a greasy piece of meat had been shoved down his throat, and was making him sick.
Ning Ran didn’t care if Nan Chen was comfortable with her praises because she needed to make up for her mistake and prevent her kids from being taken away.
“I am nothing but a nameless actress and was blessed with meeting you, Sir Chen. You allowed me to take part in the show you invest in, and I am grateful for it.” “I worked hard to repay your kindness but was disrupted by a perpetrator who caused the production to be delayed. It is out of my control.”
“I am but a helpless woman. I don’t have the intelligence to deal with difficult situations like these. Only a strong hero like Sir Chen can save me from this disaster.”
“I know that peace will return to Flower City if you take charge and destroy all those mean monsters who are disrupting us.”
Nan Chen felt a headache coming.
That woman was proud and arrogant like a peacock a minute ago but was humble the next. She had no boundaries, and Nan Chen didn’t know how to deal with that.
He had planned a scheme to fight against Ning Ran and force her into obeying him, but she had messed everything up.
She was like a ball of cotton that wouldn’t be hurt no matter how hard one punched it and was able to change the subject without anyone noticing.
They were supposed to be talking about who should take care of the kids, but the topic had been changed to her asking Nan Chen to help solve the issue with the show.
What a terrifying monster.
Nan Chen took a big gulp of his coffee to realign his thoughts.
He had been a business tycoon for years and had faced countless experts in negotiation. Some of his opponents had been a country’s minister or a multinational corporations’ board of directors.
Nan Chen had always been able to adapt and combat against their strategies and tricks while retaining his quiet style.
Yet, Nan Chen often felt helpless when dealing with that woman.
He would even be distracted by the sweet orange blossom scent that exuded from her body every now and then.
He was annoyed but he couldn’t do anything about it.
To make matters worse, he would feel guilty after being attracted to that scent because the woman in front of him was Nan Xing’s lover… or at least she used to be.
That guilt gnawed at him like a poisonous snake and tortured him.
He had thought about seeking help from his psychiatrist, Qin Lan, but he couldn’t bring himself to talk about it.
He had also planned to leave Flower City to get away from the scent by studying abroad, but that wasn’t possible either because the Nanshi Corporation needed him. He was responsible for the corporation and could not leave just because a woman made him uncomfortable.
No one but Nan Chen himself could understand how difficult it was to be the powerful Sir Chen.
That was why he hated Ning Ran. After all, she was the root of all his guilt.
That being said, the hatred he felt wasn’t absolute. It was a strange, indescribable kind of hate.
Ning Ran was observant and caught Nan Chen being distracted for a moment.
Nan Chen’s eyes weren’t cold and distant then but were exuding a mysterious form of loss and disappointment.
Ning Ran was shocked to see that. Who would’ve thought that the heartless Poker Face’s eyes could show emotions that strong?
What was he thinking about?
Ning Ran didn’t disturb him. Nan Chen’s distraction was a good opportunity for her to take a break and gather her thoughts.
Battling against an opponent like Nan Chen was exhausting, and Ning Ran needed the break.
When Nan Chen noticed that he was distracted, he adjusted his chair and straightened his back. The cruel glint returned to his eyes immediately.
“I will take care of the show’s problem,” replied Nan Chen.
“Thank you, Sir Chen,” said Ning Ran who kept buttering him up, “I knew there’s nothing you can’t solve in Flower City.”
“But your responsibilities are not to be excused either,” said Nan Chen who had no intention of letting Ning Ran go.
Ning Ran was stunned to hear that. He’s not backing down even though I’m being ridiculously nice?
Are my words and praises too tame, or is his immunity against beautiful words too strong?
“The kids will stay at the Nan Family’s house for now,” said Nan Chen whose intention had always been that.
All that discussion was done just for that one sentence and that request.
Ning Ran didn’t answer right away because her current state made it impossible for her to deny that request.
As Cheng Xiangyun had mentioned, the haters had the house surrounded so even Ning Ran herself couldn’t go home.
She couldn’t be that selfish and let her children face hardship with her so them living with the Nan Family was the best arrangement at that moment.
The only thing that worried Ning Ran was that Nan Chen’s version of ‘staying over for now’ would turn into a permanent arrangement because that was Poker Face’s style of dealing with things.
How do I deal with it? Do I agree with it or not?
“You don’t have a choice,” Nan Chen pointed out.
“Sir Chen…”
“Don’t need to act so humble,” said Nan Chen sternly, “I never liked that title, but everyone kept calling me ‘Sir Chen’, and I got tired of correcting them. You don’t need to address me that way.”
Ning Ran sighed. Looks like praising him is not the way to go.
It can’t ease things over, and might even cause new conflicts to arise.
It is so difficult to please this Poker Face. I have to come up with something else.
“I’ll let the kids stay over on one condition.”
“The kids are staying at the Nan residence. Do you agree?”
Nan Chen’s words were truly infuriating.
Ning Ran kept her cool and took a deep breath before saying, “I want to move into the residence as well. I want to keep an eye on my kids.”
Nan Chen’s eyes narrowed dangerously.
