“I failed to protect the kids? I just think it’s a small thing to make such a fuss about!” Ning Ran countered.
“The trauma that kids can suffer from being bullied can last a whole lifetime. What kind of mother are you to not know even that?” Nan Chen scoffed.
Ning Ran was taken aback by the sheer impact of his insult.
“I did not let them get bullied. It was really just a small matter. You’re going to turn them bullies and tattletales if you make a grown man apologize to them over such a trivial matter!” Ning Ran was slowly getting angry, too.
“Kids will face all sorts of obstacles and difficulties in life. If you stand up for them for every single struggle they face and let them win every battle, they’ll start feeling invincible. They’ll start to think that everything they do is right. They’ll think that just because they have a powerful uncle, they can part the Red Sea! But that’s not what life is supposed to be like at all! Even the most powerful man will trip over his feet and face obstacles that he’ll have to work his ass off to overcome. Are you going to be able to help my kids throughout their whole lives? Will you be there for every mistake they make?”
Ning Ran rattled on, like a teacher lecturing a delinquent.
Nan Chen was so angry that he almost hung up, but suppressed his fury and sat through it.
He knew, deep down, that this woman was making sense. She wasn’t just barking mindlessly.
After her little spiel, Ning Ran was worried that Nan Chen had already hung up.
Hearing the dull crackle of the speaker, she relaxed.
“Are you listening? Did you hear what I just said?”
“Sorry, what were you saying?” Nan Chen asked.
Ning Ran almost exploded in rage. Did you just ignore my whole speech?
“I was telling you to not concede to my child’s every wish and raise them as bullies!” Ning Ran could only summarize what she had just poured her soul into.
“I don’t have time for your rubbish.”
Then, he hung up.
“I-”
Ning Ran wanted to smash her phone onto the ground, but managed to hold herself back. This phone wasn’t expensive, but it still cost money, after all.
“Ding, how is it?”
The actor who had been waiting with bated breath next to Ning Ran was taken aback, too. He was amazed at the sheer speed of her scolding, and the fact that she was able to pull so many metaphors out of the top of her head was even more shocking.
“All good. Go back to work.” Ning Ran waved a hand.
“Really? I won’t be banned from the entertainment industry, right?” the actor asked with disbelief.
“If you don’t trust me, then go and deal with it yourself,” Ning Ran said impatiently.
“I trust you! I trust you, of course I do,” the actor said hurriedly.
“Good.” Ning Ran waved her hand once more, signaling him to leave.
No one else in the crew could figure out what exactly had played out there. Their only impression of that whole showdown was that that actor had knelt to Ning Ran.
How powerful was that woman to have that man kneel down before her?
The other members of the crew immediately felt fearful of Ning Ran, too, and quickly made a mental note to not cross the woman.
Ning Ran had assured the actor that everything was okay, but in truth, she felt uneasy.
If anyone from the Nan family further pressurized that actor, then wouldn’t she have to eat her own words?
Just to be safe, Ning Ran made another call to Qiao Zhan to make sure that everything was settled.
She had planned to call Qiao Zhan initially, but fate played a game on her and she ended up dialing Nan Chen’s number.
The call went through quickly, and this time, Qiao Zhan answered. “Young Mistress.”
“Didn’t I already tell you to stop calling me that?”
“Miss Ding,” Qiao Zhan corrected himself immediately.
“Did you threaten one of the actors in our cast?”
“Yes, but I didn’t exactly threaten him. I just told him what he was about to get himself into. It wasn’t a threat, it was a fact,” Qiao Zhan said in a rather self-righteous tone.
“Okay. Listen up, then. This kind of stuff can’t happen from now on.”
“Sure,” Qiao Zhan agreed coolly.
His breeziness, however, gave rise to more suspicion.
“Why are you agreeing so easily?”
“Yeah. Sir Chen has already called to inform me,” Qiao Zhan replied.
So that was the case. While Poker Face might have seemed like he wasn’t listening to her, he definitely had been. Besides that, he had acted on her words, too.
That was pretty speedy of him.
“Thanks, Qiao. That’s all from me.”
“No need to thank me, Young Mistress. It’s my job,” Qiao Zhan replied courteously.
After hanging up, Ning Ran threw herself into her work.
In the afternoon, after finishing her lunch, Ning Ran looked for a spot to take a quick nap to revitalize herself. Just then, her phone rang. It was a call from Feng Minsheng.
Ning Ran felt exasperated. Can’t he just leave me alone?
Nope, I’m not going to answer.
Ning Ran instantly rejected the call.
However, her phone buzzed with another incoming call from Feng Minsheng right after she hung up. In fact, he kept calling and calling, even after she hung up multiple times.
Ning Ran paid him no heed.
At that moment, one of the staff members came over to tell her that there was a man outside who kept trying to break into the filming set. That man said he was looking for Ning Ran, so the staff member came over to call her.
As expected, that person was Feng Minsheng.
There were some bruises on Feng Minsheng’s face. It seemed like he’d been punched yet again.
“Ran, don’t go. Please, hear me out,” Feng Minsheng practically lunged at her.
Ning Ran felt a headache coming on. He had been pestering her for two or three days at this point. She cringed to think about how promiscuous she must seem to others who didn’t know what was going on, with different men pestering her every other day.
“Feng Minsheng, I’m warning you. If you show up before, I will immediately call the police!” Ning Ran announced loudly.
“Ning Ran, you’re being heartless. I spent so much money on you, but you went and got other people to beat me up. I want to expose you! I’m going to let the world know how terrible of a person you really are. I wonder who else will watch your movies when they hear about this!” Feng Minsheng wasn’t backing down, either.
He had spent so much time on her, but instead of reaping benefits, he got a good beating. Of course he found it was unfair.
Ning Ran was frustrated.
Why are there so many disgusting people in the world to deal with? Feng Minsheng had the good looks of a human being, but he did such beastly things.
“Do whatever you want. I can’t stop you. Just stop harassing me, or I’ll call the police on you,” Ning Ran said.
“Call them! Do you think I’m scared? I want justice!” Feng Minsheng was agitated.
The cast and crew crowded around outside when they heard another argument going on.
Ning Ran was embarrassed. How annoying.
Feng Minsheng kept pestering her and sticking to her like glue. How am I going to get out of this mess?
At that moment, however, a black Jeep pulled up, and Qiao Zhan got out of the car.
“Mr. Feng, I have something to talk to you about. Please come with me,” Qiao Zhan said politely.
“Who are you? Go away, I don’t know you,” Feng Minsheng replied.
“That’s fine. We’ll get to know each other in no time.” Qiao Zhan walked over and reached out, wrapping an arm tightly around Feng Minsheng’s shoulders.
His actions seemed friendly, as if they were close friends who were just about to go out for a drink.
Feng Minsheng obviously didn’t want to go with him. He came here for Ning Ran, after all.
He tried to struggle, but Qiao Zhan simply gripped him even tighter. He looked sincere and amiable, but his arm around Feng Minsheng was as firm as a metal band. Feng Minsheng couldn’t escape no matter how hard he tried.
