The call was from Feng Minsheng.
“Ran, where are you? Be strong and ignore the rumors on the internet.”
“Stop bothering me, Feng Minsheng! If you keep this up, I will call the police!” threatened Ning Ran.
“I am not bothering you. I’m just caring for you,” explained Feng Minsheng, “I just want to let you know that I am by your side and will always support you.”
“No need. I can take care of myself.”
“Don’t be mean, Ran,” said Feng Minsheng, “I know you’re in a bad place now, but I’m here for you. I will face this hardship with you, and my heart will always be yours…”
“Stop being cringy,” interrupted Ning Ran, “Do you actually have something to say? If not, I’m hanging up.”
“Where are you? You haven’t eaten, right? I’ll take you out to lunch.”
“I am working at the shooting site so I’ll eat there.”
“You’re lying. I am at the studio now, and I heard that the production team had halted production.”
“What are you doing there?” demanded Ning Ran, “Don’t you have a job? Why are you spying on me?”
“I saw what had happened on the internet and thought that you must be stressed so I wanted to come to give you my support,” said Feng Minsheng who was still trying to find out where Ning Ran was, “I didn’t know that you’re not here. Where are you now? I’ll go to you.”
“No need and I’m not telling you where I am! Since there’s nothing else, I’m hanging up now,” said Ning Ran who then hung up.
Ning Ran was still upset after she had hung up the phone so she turned it off and went to sleep.
She had been so tired that she fell asleep despite being in a terrible mood.
Ning Ran was later woken up by the doorbell. She jumped on reflex.
She took a look through the peephole and realized that it was the receptionist – Zhang Ying.
After opening the door, Zhang Ying scanned the room while wearing a strange expression.
“Are you hungry?” asked Zhang Ying, “Would you like me to get you something to eat?”
“I’m not hungry,” replied Ning Ran with a smile, “But thanks.”
“Are celebrities like you picky when it comes to food?” asked Zhang Ying.
“I wouldn’t know because I am not a celebrity. I am just a regular actress so I have no idea how celebrities’ lives are.”
“That’s not true. You’re a popular celebrity now. If you don’t mind, I can get you something to eat from the hotel’s restaurant. It’s actually pretty good. What do you want to eat?”
Zhang Ying was very enthusiastic and kind so Ning Ran was a little touched.
The situation had demoted Ning Ran to the rank of a street rat so it was rare to see someone else being so nice to her.
“Really, it’s okay. Thank you, but I can go buy something myself if I’m hungry.”
“Don’t be shy. A meal doesn’t cost that much anyway.” “Oh, celebrities like you can’t eat whatever you want because you have to keep fit, right?” “What would you like to eat? I’ll get it for you.”
After that, Ning Ran kept rejecting Zhang Ying’s offer, but Zhang Ying kept insisting.
It was clear that Zhang Ying was a persistent young woman.
Ning Ran had no choice but to agree to it and said, “Okay then, thank you. I’m actually not picky about food. Some rice and vegetables will do.”
“Alright, hang on. I’ll be right back.”
Zhang Ying returned quickly with lunch. She was very sweet and smart. In order to keep the calories low, she had gotten stir-fried broccoli and boiled eggs.
“Thank you, you’re very sweet,” said Ning Ran, “Thank you.”
“Then can I eat with you?” requested Zhang Ying, “I got two servings.”
“Okay, let’s eat together.”
“Let’s take another picture.”
The duo held their boxed meal up and took another photo together.
“So how long have you and Lunlun been together?” asked Zhang Ying as she ate.
“There’s nothing between us. We’re just friends.”
“No way!” said the surprised Zhang Ying, “You two look great together, and you’re so beautiful that you are a great match to Lunlun.”
“But there really is nothing between the two of us…”
“I have absolutely nothing against the two of you together. I like him, but I’m a rational fan.”
Zhang Ying was rather insistent on her views, and Ning Ran realized that there was no changing those views so Ning Ran let Zhang Ying be.
After lunch, Zhang Ying packed up and went back to work.
Zhang Ying stopped by two more times to take a look around the room before leaving.
Ning Ran found that to be weird. Zhang Ying seemed nice but there was something off about it.
A day had passed in the hotel room.
At night, Ning Ran couldn’t bear it anymore because she wanted to see her children. It had been two days since she had seen them.
Ning Ran called Nan Xing to tell him that she wanted to meet the kids.
Nan Xing agreed to it immediately and said that he would make the necessary arrangements so that Ning Ran and the kids can have dinner together in a secluded area.
Ning Ran’s spirit started to lift up. Nothing else mattered as long as she could see her kids, but she felt conflicted because she was worried about being recognized and scaring the children.
Nan Xing called just as Ning Ran was feeling nervous. He stuttered and gave a bunch of excuses about how everybody was busy. His intention was clear – to tell Ning Ran that she couldn’t see her kids that day.
Ning Ran understood that it must be the Poker Face’s orders.
The Poker Face didn’t agree to it, and Nan Xing didn’t dare to disobey because they had just caused a huge problem.
“It’s alright. I won’t meet them tonight. I’m worried about scaring the kids anyway because I’m in trouble at the moment,” said Ning Ran, “Maybe I’ll see them tomorrow.”
“Ran, where are you? You may not be able to see the kids today, but you can still see a hot guy. That’ll cheer you up too.”
“A hot guy?”
“Me,” replied Nan Xing who was just shameless, “Obviously, I am a handsome and hot man.”
“I’ll pass, Mr. Hot Guy. I’m not in the mood. I’m hanging up now, ‘kay?” said Ning Ran before she hung up.
Someone rang the doorbell once more. It was Zhang Ying.
Zhang Ying’s shift had ended so she was out of her costume and was wearing a beautiful skirt. It looked like she had even put on some make-up.
“He’s not here yet?” asked Zhang Ying directly.
“Who’s not here yet?” asked the confused Ning Ran.
“Lunlun. When is he coming over?”
Ning Ran caught what was going on immediately. Zhang Ying had insisted that Ning Ran stayed in the hotel because Zhang Ying thought that Zheng Lunlun would make an appearance.
Zhang Ying had thought that Ning Ran and Zheng Lunlun had decided to meet in a hotel so Zhang Ying made Ning Ran stay so as to meet Zheng Lunlun.
That was a pretty good plan, but it was too naive.
Zheng Lunlun and Ning Ran were polar opposites when money was concerned. A celebrity like Zheng Lunlun would never stay in a two-star hotel.
“I’m sorry, but he’s not coming,” said Ning Ran, “As I said, we’re just friends so he has no reason to stop by.”
Zhang Ying looked disappointed but refused to back down. “You mean it’s still too early so he won’t be here until much later?”
