When Ning Ran came out of the shower, she saw Cheng Xiangyun clinging onto her phone and seemed reluctant to let go of it.
“What are you doing? That’s just an old phone. Do you want it?” Ning Ran frowned as she asked.
“I was just thinking about how nice would it be if this phone were mine.” Cheng Xiangyun sounded like an infatuated school girl.
“Damn! I think there’s something wrong with you. Otherwise, why would you want this outdated phone?” Ning Ran replied, looking at her with disdain.
“Geez, it’s not about the phone. It’s the person who calls this phone whom I want,” Cheng Xiangyun muttered under her breath.
“What are you mumbling to yourself? Are you going crazy?”
“Sir Chen just called to look for you.” Cheng Xiangyun finally stopped digressing.
“What did he say?” Ning Ran asked nonchalantly as she continued drying her hair with a towel.
“He didn’t really say anything,” Cheng Xiangyun answered with a pitiful look on her face.
Ning Ran was puzzled for a moment, but broke into a smile shortly after. It was exactly Nan Chen’s style to call without a specific reason.
“You should give him a call back,” Cheng Xiangyun suggested as she passed the phone back to Ning Ran.
“Not now, I’m still drying my hair,” Ning Ran replied.
“Goodness gracious! Is drying your hair more important that returning Sir Chen’s call?” Cheng Xiangyun raised her voice in disbelief.
“Sir Chen is a human being; I am also a human being. Why should returning his call be more important than drying my hair?”
Ning Ran went back to toweling her hair dry after saying that.
“Fine. You win.” Cheng Xiangyun shook her head, at a loss of words. “No wonder people say, ‘he who knows not, fears not’.”
Ning Ran took her time drying her hair. She even applied some moisturizer on her face before calling Nan Chen.
Right after the call went through, Nan Chen spoke with hint of displeasure in his voice, “Why did you take so long to return my call?”
Ning Ran was about to explain to him that she had just finished showering when she realized that something did not seem right. Why is he shouting at me?
“Mr. Nan, I’m not your employee, I have no obligations to return your call immediately,” Ning Ran retorted mildly.
“Go downstairs now. There’s a car waiting for you, be quick,” Nan Chen said.
“Huh? What?”
“Something has happened to Dabao, you have to come over quickly.”
Right after saying that, Nan Chen hung up the phone.
Ning Ran panicked when she heard what the man said. Shocked, she staggered and almost fell.
Something happened to Dabao? What happened to him?
Tears started streaming down the woman’s cheeks immediately. She dialed Nan Chen’s number in a flurry, but he did not pick up.
Actually, Nan Chen did that on purpose. He was already in a foul mood and Ning Ran chose a bad timing to provoke him. It was his intention to make her feel anxious.
Ning Ran could not afford to waste any more time. Without grabbing her bag, she rushed to the door and called out, “I’m going to the Nan family’s house now!”
“Huh? Did Master Chen summon you? You should at least change your clothes!” Cheng Xiangyun shouted after her.
“There’s no time for that. I’m going to see my kids.”
Ning Ran rushed downstairs, still dressed in her pajamas. Sure enough, there was already a car waiting for her.
Her pink pajamas even had Hello Kitty prints on it. It was, in fact, quite a jarring sight.
The manly Qiao Zhan, who was the one picking her up, was momentarily stunned when he saw her.
It seems like the Young Lady has retained her childlike innocence. Why else would she be wearing such cute pajamas?
But it’s still pajamas! How could the Young Mistress of the Nan family appear on the streets wearing pajamas?
“Ms. D-ding.” Qiao Zhan was unable to look Ning Ran straight in the eye.
In addition to the fact that the pajamas was quite hard on the eyes, it was considered a private piece of clothing. Qiao Zhan felt that it was disrespectful for him to stare.
However, even though he tried, it was impossible for his gaze to completely avoid the woman as they were travelling in the same car.
“Captain Qiao, what happened to Dabao?” Ning Ran asked worriedly.
“Little Master? I am not aware that anything happened.”
Qiao Zhan was not sure, as employees were not allowed to freely enter the main residence of the Nan family without permission.
As such, he wouldn’t know what went on inside the house.
“You have not heard?” Ning Ran was feeling increasingly bothered.
“I only received instructions to come here and pick you up. As for the purpose, I really don’t know,” Qiao Zhan replied nervously.
“Nan Chen only told me that something has happened to Dabao when he called just now. He didn’t say anything else.” Ning Ran voice cracked spoke.
“Young Mistress, please don’t worry. I am sure it’s nothing serious. If something important happened, I would definitely be informed,” Qiao Zhan tried to comfort her.
Only then was Ning Ran able to relax a little. Qiao Zhan was one of the key employees who handled the internal affairs of the Nan family. Needless to say, if something serious happened in the Nan family, he would definitely be aware of it.
“I did not have time to change as I was in a haste. I hope you don’t mind my inappropriate dressing,” Ning Ran explained, feeling embarrassed.
“No worries at all! This outfit makes Young Mistress look… quite cute,” Qiao Zhan replied unconvincingly.
No one spoke after that.
It was too exhausting to carry on an awkward conversation; silence seemed to be a better choice.
The car ride to Nan residence was filled with silence.
According to the house rules, Qiao Zhan could only report that Ning Ran had arrived from outside; he could not enter the main residence without specific orders.
After he told Ning Ran the directions, the woman went into the house alone.
As she was feeling extremely anxious, Ning Ran picked up her pace and broke into a brisk trot.
Through the surveillance cameras, the security guards stationed at the main residence spotted a pink figure approaching the house and swiftly reported their sightings.
When they were informed that the pink blob they saw was the Young Mistress’s pajamas, everyone was stunned. When did the Nan family have a Young Mistress, let alone a Young Mistress that roams the streets in pink pajamas?
Nan Chen was furious when he saw Ning Ran’s attire through the windows.
What does the woman treat the Commoner Residence as? Is this a place where she can behave so casually? She’s too outrageous!
If Grandpa sees this, it would surely be the death of him.
Even the servants of the Nan family are required to dress appropriately when they go out, how dare the woman run about wearing such flamboyant pajamas! Ridiculous!
Ning Ran was caught and dragged into the house. She was a pathetic sight.
“Let go of me! What are you doing!” Ning Ran bawled.
“What is it that you are wearing? Do you think that the Commoner Residence is a wet market? How can you roam around the compound dressed like that?” Nan Chen’s anger flared up.
“Have you seen anyone dressed like this at the wet market?” The man’s question infuriated Ning Ran even more.
Nan Chen was thrown off for a moment by her odd rebuttal.
So, does it mean that she would pay more attention to her clothes when she goes to the wet market as compared to coming to the Commoner Residence?
Neither of them were willing to back down. Just when a war between them was about to erupt, Erbao heard the commotion and ran over.
“Mommy!”
Erbao hugged Ning Ran’s legs tightly and the woman’s heart melted at once.
“Darling, how are you?”
“I’m fine, I just miss mommy a lot.” Erbao sounded like she was going to cry.
Dabao toddled over shortly after. Ning Ran knelt on the floor and held each child in one arm as tears fell from her eyes uncontrollably.
Looking at the tearful reunion, Nan Chen walked away to give the mother and her children some privacy.
“Dabao, what did you do today? I received a call from Uncle Nan Chen asking me to come here. Mommy was so worried!”
Dabao grinned as he stroked Ning Ran’s face and said, “I’m OK, mommy.”
“Brother refused to eat and forced Third Uncle to call you,” Erbao explained the situation to her mom.
“Ah, how can you not eat? It’s not good for your stomach. You can’t do that again, understand? You can shout or smash things, but don’t starve yourself, understand?”
Nan Chen was rendered speechless as he listened to their conversation in disbelief. Is this how she teaches her children?
“We can’t do that. We will have to pay for the damage and we don’t have money,” Erbao said, feeling concerned.
“Don’t worry, you are still kids, so they won’t make you pay. Next time if you are not happy or miss mommy, you can call me. If they don’t let you call me, just smash something!”
Nan Chen was unable to listen any further and rushed over in large strides. “This is not the way to teach your children!”
Ning Ran pointed at Nan Chen with a smug expression on her face. “I knew you would be listening in, so I said that intentionally to test you. See, I was right. Eavesdropping is such an immature thing to do!”
