Before Tang Jing could say another word, Nan Chen had already walked away in large strides.
As the chauffeur ignited the car engine again, he cast a side glance over at Tang Jing. When he saw her smitten expression, he couldn’t help but feel amused.
That was, as a matter of fact, a common occurrence for him. Countless of attractive women had tried to seduce his boss, but no one had ever succeeded.
Not even one.
“Ma’am, may I have your address please?” The chauffeur inquired.
There was no reply from Tang Jing.
She was still caught up in her imagination, and did not hear the driver’s question.
“Ma’am?” The chauffeur raised his voice and asked again.
“Oh, what?” Tang Jing finally snapped out of her trance.
“Please tell me your address so I can send you back.”
“Oh, sure. My address is… “
After Tang Jing recited her address, the chauffeur nodded, an indication that he knew where her place was.
Apart from being a competent driver, the Nan family’s chauffeur was also required to be an all-rounder.
The most basic requirement was to be multilingual, as the chauffeur was often required to drive foreign clients or guests around.
Next, he had to know every nook and cranny in Flower City by heart. He had to be even more familiar with the roads than a cab driver and had to continuously update himself with any new roads or changes in road structures.
The chauffeur would be fired immediately if he had to rely on GPS to direct him to his boss’s destination.
“You actually know where it is?” Tang Jing was surprised at the man’s intimate knowledge of the streets.
“Of course. I know the location of all the streets, including every residential estate, in the city. The Nan family’s chauffeurs are required to update ourselves with the latest maps once a week, in order to ensure that we do not send the boss to the wrong place,” the chauffeur chuckled as he replied.
“Wow, that’s really impressive.” Tang Jing gave the chauffeur a thumbs up.
The man laughed and said, “There are a lot of people who want this job as Young Master Chen’s driver. Not everyone who knows how to drive is qualified to take up this position, though. I’m the chosen one among thousands of applicants. Of course, I have to put in more effort to prove my worth, as I wouldn’t want to risk losing this privilege.”
It was apparent from the chauffeur’s tone that he was honored to drive for Nan Chen, and at the same time, proud of himself for beating his competitors to be offered the job.
“But your boss seems to be a man of few words. Does it pressurize you to be in the same car as him?” Tang Jing asked.
“I wasn’t really used to the silence at first, but I’ve grown accustomed to it. Young Master Nan Chen is a busy man. He manages a big corporation and has a lot of important matters to tend to every day. I doubt he would have any extra energy for small talk,” the driver said.
Tang Jing nodded in agreement.
“How’s the relationship like between your boss and your lady boss?” Tang Jing asked again.
“Lady boss?” The driver did not understand who the woman was referring to.
“Oh, I mean Ding Mi, the woman your boss is living with.”
“Oh, you mean Ms. Ding.” The driver did not continue beyond this point.
“Yeah, that’s her. Does she have a close relationship with your boss?”
The chauffeur kept quiet.
“Why are you not replying anymore?” Tang Jing asked as she was not able to comprehend the man’s abrupt quietness.
“Chauffeurs are not allowed to comment on, nor divulge the boss’s private matters. It is basic ethics drivers should have,” he replied.
“Never mind then. You guys seem to have pretty strict rules.”
Tang Jing was unable to hide her dejection. She had supposed she would be able to get some information from the driver, but things did not go as planned.
In fact, she herself wasn’t exactly sure what she wanted. To her, the Nan family was like a powerful magnet, full of a mysterious force which kept attracting her in.
The woman was determined to do everything she could to get close to that magnetic field, or even, within it.
She had not yet conceived a concrete idea of what she wanted to achieve, though.
The first step for Tang Jing was to shorten the gap between her and the Nan family, as this was no doubt, the best opportunity presented to her in her life so far.
Ning Ran slept all the way till morning.
She had already fully recovered and felt rejuvenated.
However, she did not see Nan Chen lying next to her, like the previous two nights. Did he stay out the entire night?
He had left with Tang Jing last night. He wouldn’t have taken her to a hotel right?
Even though she had let her thoughts run wild for a moment, Ning Ran decided it was not a possible scenario, as that was uncharacteristic of Nan Chen.
When she came out of her room to wash up, she realized that the kids were not around as well.
Ning Ran hurried downstairs to check the gym, but there was also no one there.
She rang Nan Chen at once, but he did not pick up his phone.
Ning Ran started to panic. He wouldn’t have abducted the kids right?
No, if that was Nan Chen’s plan, he wouldn’t have needed to carry it out in such a secretive manner. He had most likely just taken them out.
But where could they have gone to so early in the morning?
After running through some possible scenarios in her head, Ning Ran decided to drop the thought, as she came to a conclusion that there shouldn’t be any cause for worry.
Just as she finished washing up, Nan Chen returned with the kids. It turned out that he had brought them for a morning jog around the estate.
That was a rather interesting choice of activity to engage the kids in, as, given their tender ages, they were probably not able to run that fast.
However, Ning Ran agreed that jogging was a good habit to start the children with, as exercising was an essential part of building a healthy lifestyle.
The woman had already decided to bring up the issue of Zou Gang’s resignation at the breakfast table.
She could not delay it any further, as it would be hard to get hold of Nan Chen once he left.
However, Ning Ran hesitated, as she did not know how to proceed.
She had to strike a good balance in her tone and usage of words to make sure that it achieved her objective, while at the same time, not angering Nan Chen.
“If you have something to tell me, feel free to speak your mind.” The man had already sensed that Ning Ran was biting back her words.
“It’s about that doctor from the hospital,” Ning Ran said softly.
“Which doctor?” Nan Chen pretended not to know.
“It’s Zou Gang, he’s that… “ Ning Ran was at a loss for words to describe the doctor.
Nan Chen did not press on. He could not be bothered to know what the woman was arriving at if she could not even express herself properly.
Ning Ran took a deep breath and said, “He’s the doctor who was forced by you to resign. That guy is still young and might be inexperienced in his ways of handling situations. He still has a lot to learn and should be given another chance. It’s not necessary to take such extreme actions.”
Nan Chen’s face hardened.
The woman noticed the change in his expression and was afraid to carry on talking.
However, she could not just leave it hanging, as she had promised the doctor that she would help him keep his job.
“Dr. Zou had lost his parents when he was only a boy and was brought up by his uncle. It also wasn’t easy for him to obtain his doctor license at such a young age… “
“So, are you saying you admire him?”
Nan Chen suddenly interrupted Ning Ran with his question.
It caused Ning Ran to feel even more anxious.
“No no, I don’t admire him. I really dislike his flamboyant ways, but he did not have a smooth-sailing life, and I can empathize with that. If he was fired because of such a minor incident, it may affect his future career prospects,” Ning Ran steeled herself and said.
Dabao and Erbao could only look at each other and stay quiet, as they did not understand the contents of their parents’ conversation.
“It shows that you admire him. Otherwise, why would you be speaking up for him?” Nan Chen asked.
Ning Ran was stumped again and was unable to come back with a good reply.
“That’s not true… “
“Then what is?”
“I just… I will just feel bad to be the one who caused him to lose his job, so I feel obligated to say something… “
“I’ve already noted your point of view, but it wouldn’t change anything,” Nan Chen said coldly.
Ning Ran had been holding her emotions in, as she was wary of the man. However, his firm stance on the matter was causing her to lose her composure.
“You’re being such a bully,” the woman grumbled under her breath.
“What did you say?”
“I’m calling you a bully!” Ning Ran raised her voice.
“So what if I am? Are you going to help him?”
“I don’t have the power to do that. It’s just really ungentlemanly of you to take advantage of someone who’s weaker than you.” Ning Ran slammed her chopsticks down on the table.
However, realizing that she might have gone overboard and was worried that her action would rouse Nan Chen’s anger further, Ning Ran gently picked up the chopsticks again and held it in her hand.
