The Nan residence, the Commoner Residence.
Three persons with a similar look, with one looking slightly chubbier than the rest, sat around the dining table.
The chubbier one looked at the other two, because they appeared to be rather emotionally distant.
Of course, the chubbier one was Erbao. And the other two were Nan Chen and Dabao.
Nan Chen who was working overtime received a call from the maid, saying Dabao refused to eat. He had no choice but to rush home.
Today had not been a great day for Nan Chen, after he bumped into Nan Xing and Ning Ran walking out of Nanting No.1 Hotel this morning.
He felt he had fallen into Ning Ran’s trap and could not escape from it anymore.
Just when he thought he could treat this relationship more seriously, he felt Ning Ran did not think likewise. Perhaps to her, spending a night in the arms of another man in a hotel was just something casual.
And the worst thing was, the man was his brother. Nan Chen felt embarrassed and disgusted.
This was the worst day for Nan Chen. Yet, Dabao chose to be on a hunger strike. Nan Chen had not been exceptionally kind to Dabao the minute he stepped into the house.
Coincidentally, Dabao was not in a good mood either, and he was not ready to be nice to Nan Chen.
If an adult could not manage his emotions well, how could we expect a child to do so?
So the cold war began. No one had spoken a single word for almost ten minutes.
Erbao was already eyeing on the delicious food on the table. She took a glance at Nan Chen and Dabao, and swallowed a mouthful of saliva. She was famished.
“Ning Sirui, I always thought you’re a mature child. But now you’re just throwing a childish tantrum by not eating. I’m disappointed in you.” Nan Chen started the conversation in the tone of an adult.
Not going to play nice, not going to please him, not going to compromise.
“I’m disappointed too.” Such powerful words coming from a five-year-old.
Nan Chen was shocked for a bit.
Everyone’s a fighter here. No weaklings in the Nan family, indeed.
“Why are you disappointed?” Nan Chen reconsidered his strategy to appease his opponent a little.
“And why are you disappointed?” Dabao was not ready to take a step back.
Nan Chen thought, Oh dear, he’s coming on strong, am I about to lose to a child?
Neither the hard nor soft approach would work on him, I believe. What else can I do?
“I’m disappointed because you refused to have your meal.” Nan Chen said.
“I’m disappointed because you don’t know why I refused to have my meal.” Dabao responded in a cold tone.
Nan Chen was stunned completely. Did… a five-year-old just spewed those words?
A calm but powerful comeback, from a child!
Erbao’s eyes were like two black gems, focusing back and forth on the two boys during the exchange. She knew they were in an argument, but could not quite understand their words.
“Ehm… shall we just eat?” Erbao asked in a soft voice.
“You eat first.” Nan Chen and Dabao said simultaneously.
The two boys were on the same page that they should not keep Erbao waiting.
Erbao took up her bowl and ate a little, but could not quite enjoy her meal upon feeling the tension between Uncle and her brother.
She sighed and put down the bowl and chopsticks. It was a helpless sigh.
“You two are big boys, yet behaving like children. So disappointing.” Erbao let out another sigh again.
Nan Chen and Dabao were stunned, Now it’s Erbao’s turn to be disappointed?
“Why can’t we just talk things out? What’s the point of pulling a long face?” Erbao found the courage to finally interrupt their exchange.
She was pleased that no one reprimanded her or asked her to stop. Being the most talkative person among the three, she had a hard time staying quiet.
“The reason brother refused to eat is because he misses Mommy. Me too.” Erbao said.
Nan Chen and Dabao did not respond to that. They did not expect Erbao to step in to resolve the conflict.
“If we have problems, just talk.” Erbao continued.
Nan Chen cleared his throat, “Erbao’s right. We’ll talk after our meal.”
Since Erbao had voluntarily diffused the tension, Nan Chen of course must grab hold of this opportunity.
It did feel awkward confronting a child for an extended period.
But more importantly, he knew he might even lose the battle if the confrontation went on.
So the best solution was to call it quits, and get Dabao to eat.
“Nope. Not eating.”
Nan Chen failed in his attempt. ‘Mr. Bossypants’ here still refused to eat.
“What do you want?” Nan Chen’s emotion was stirred up once again.
“I want Mommy.” Dabao made it clear.
“Mommy is busy shooting. She doesn’t have the time to come visit you.” Nan Chen responded.
“Mommy was also busy in the past, but still made an effort to visit us.” Dabao said in a cold voice.
Dabao might not be a chatty child, but that was just because he did not want to talk. If he really wanted to convey a message to someone, he would deliver it with strength and in a logical fashion.
Nan Chen did not know what to say, and another silent battle ensued, once again.
Dabao’s attitude was clear. If I don’t get to see Mommy today, no one can force me to eat!
Nan Chen would have a million ways to deal with adults. Brutal force, at the very least, would work effectively.
But not with Dabao. Nan Chen had yet to figure out the proper method to deal with ‘Mr. Bossypants’.
“Let’s eat first. After this, we’ll go and see her.” Nan Chen gave in.
No choice. Even though he felt defeated, this was the only way out.
“I want to eat with Mommy.” Dabao persisted.
“Ning Sirui, don’t test my patience!” Nan Chen could not control his anger anymore.
Dabao gave him a deadly stare. He did not retaliate, but was not ready to give in either.
Erbao noticed the escalating tension, she immediately kept her mouth shut and her head down. On and off, she would peep at the two men.
Nan Chen stood up and stormed out of the dining hall…
At this time, Cheng Xiangyun was helping Ning Ran to pack her luggage, as she would be moving into the villa tomorrow.
The phone on the table rang. It was Ning Ran’s.
“Ran, your call.”
Ning Ran did not respond, as she was in the shower.
Cheng Xiangyun answered the call instead, “Hello, who is this?”
“Where are you?” Nan Chen asked.
“Oh, are you looking for Ding Mi? She’s in the shower and couldn’t answer your call. Who is this?” Cheng Xiangyun became excited when she heard a man’s voice.
As the manager of a female celebrity, of course I need some gossip to spice things up.
“Nan Chen.”
Cheng Xiangyun’s hand trembled and almost dropped the phone.
“Chen… Sir Chen?” This had truly stirred up her emotions. It was almost Zheng Lunlun had possessed her body, and caused her to stammer.
“Get her to call back.” Nan Chen hung up right after saying this.
Cheng Xiangyun wished she had more time to work her charm on Master Chen, but too bad, he did not show interest and abruptly ended the call.
