“Are you Ding Mi?” Bai Hua approached Ning Ran.
“Yes, I am. Hello, Mrs. Nan,” Ning Ran bowed her head and greeted.
“Do you remember me?” Bai Hua asked her sternly.
“Mrs. Nan, I don’t think we have met.” Ning Ran pretended not to know her.
“No! We have!”
Nan Chen was taken aback by this. So they’ve met? Where?
“I don’t think so.” Ning Ran denied the truth once more.
“Yes, we have. I’m very sure of it. It was my first day back here, and I bumped into you at the airport. You were with another lady then. She had short hair and looked like a man! I remember how you two bullied me! You spilled coffee on my dress and refused to apologize. Not only that, but you even shouted at me! You might have forgotten about this, but I will never!” Bai Hua pointed her finger at Ning Ran’s face and asserted.
Ning Ran inhaled sharply as she heard Bai Hua’s recount of the event. This woman is really good at lying. She was the unreasonable one that day! How can she point the finger at me now? To make things worse, I already denied knowing her just now. If I try to explain, I will look like a big fat liar!
“Mrs. Nan, I think you might have mistaken me for someone else. I rarely take the plane and seldom come to the airport. I haven’t been here in a few months. How could you have bumped into me? Furthermore, you are so beautiful, so I will definitely remember you if I’ve met you before. I will never forget such an attractive face like yours! You must be mistaken! It’s all a misunderstanding, yes?” Ning Ran chuckled nervously.
Initially, Bai Hua wanted to exaggerate the matter and discredit Ning Ran.
However, Ning Ran’s response was unexpected. It was as though she already erased the incident from her memory. Thus, there was nothing much that Bai Hua could do.
“You are such a dishonest little liar. You obviously knew who I am. How can you act otherwise? What a scheming woman.”
“Mrs. Nan, I’m sure we haven’t met before, so you must have remembered wrongly.” Ning Ran cringed as she said that.
“You b-”
“Enough.” Finally, Nan Zhiyuan stepped in.
He could not comprehend what was going on between these women.
However, he knew that he could not risk a tension escalating with the woman that Nan Chen brought along. He still needed his son’s help to go about his life in Flower City.
“I’m happy that Chen is here to pick me up, so stop arguing, alright? You women always like to argue over trivial matters,” Nan Zhiyuan ordered.
“Hey! How can you chide me like that? Do you know how rude this woman was? She wants to marry your son! She wants…”
“Aunt, let’s get in the car.” Ouyang Qing interrupted Bai Hua.
The young lady was rather sensible. She knew that Bai Hua would accidentally reveal some matters if she continued talking.
She knew that Nan Chen was a smart man. A few more words were sufficient to arouse his suspicions.
Hence, she quickly stopped Bai Hua. It was better to discuss the matter at a later date.
Bai Hua noticed Ouyang Qing’s meaningful look and got the message.
“Forget it. I’m not going to argue with someone like you. But remember! The truth is that you yelled at me! I can see through your act! I know exactly the kind of person you are!”
Ning Ran shrugged her shoulders helplessly and chose not to retaliate.
She did not want to appear too aggressive in front of the Nan family because it wouldn’t look good on her.
“I’m quite hungry. Shall we have lunch? You know that I never get anything from the inflight menu,” Nan Zhiyuan suggested.
“I have a meeting later, so I won’t be joining you guys.” Nan Chen declined.
“Chen, your dad hasn’t been back for a long time. Hence, it’s been a while since we had a family gathering. I know that you are very busy, but shouldn’t you at least have a meal with us? Take it as a request from me, please?” Bai Hua asked.
Yet, Nan Chen did not respond.
“Chen, Aunt hasn’t been feeling very well lately. She’s also been feeling rather down. However, she is in a much better mood upon seeing you. Please spend more time with her? She will feel a lot better that way. Please?”
It was Ouyang Qing who spoke. Her words showed her consideration for the elders.
Furthermore, she had those puppy eyes when she spoke. It was truly touching. Even Ning Ran felt that this girl was so thoughtful and considerate.
“Are we in a rush? Is Mr. Song still waiting for us?” Nan Chen glanced towards Ning Ran.
The latter was stunned at this.
Immediately, she understood. Nan Chen wanted to use her as a shield against his parents’ invitation.
He was not in a good position to reject them, and thus, he dragged her into the conversation.
Well, it would be fine if this were someone else. But those people are his parents!
If I do what Nan Chen wants, I will offend Nan Zhiyuan and his wife!
Ning Ran was oblivious to the fact that Nan Zhiyuan was not considered key personnel to the Nan family.
If I offend them, what’s going to happen if Nan Chen fights for custody of the children? Wouldn’t they combine forces and destroy me?
Nan Chen’s mother already doesn’t have a good impression of me. If I anger her more, she will really crush me!
No, I can’t let that happen.
Nan Chen can go against his parents’ wishes for all he wants. After all, he is family and also the head of Nanshi Corporation.
I’m just an actress! If I get on their wrong side, they will ruin my career path using all the resources they can get their hands on! I’ll never have an acting career then!
Right then, Ning Ran came up with an idea.
“Actually, we can postpone the meeting. If it really comes to it, we can work overtime tonight. Since your father is here, I think you should spend some time with him. It’s just going to be a short while anyway,” Ning Ran said.
Nan Chen was dumbstruck by her response.
Did this woman not get the message? Is she really that stupid? Or is she doing this on purpose?
Since Ning Ran already said that, Nan Chen had no other excuse.
Even though he was indifferent to the duo, he could not deny that they were his parents.
“So, Chen, I take it that you’re coming?” Ouyang Qing clarified.
“I will get someone to make a reservation,” Nan Chen agreed.
“It’s alright. I’ve already made the reservation. Why don’t you three take a car? You can chat on the way there. Ms. Ding can come with me,” Ouyang Qing suggested.
“That’s a good arrangement. It’s a good opportunity for us family to catch up,” Bai Hua immediately chimed in.
Naturally, Ning Ran did not want to take Ouyang Qing’s car. However, since the latter already thought out the seating arrangement, it would not be nice to squeeze together with the Nan family and disrupt their family time.
Nan Chen looked at Ning Ran and kept silent.
She deserves it. If she had cooperated with me earlier, this will not have happened. Serves her right!
Nan Zhiyuan and Bai Hua got into Nan Chen’s vehicle, while Ouyang Qing invited Ning Ran with a smile, “Ran, my car is parked at Zone D. Follow me.”
“Ran”? Sounds quite affectionate.
Ning Ran always thought that while Ouyang Qing looked rather innocent and cheerful on the surface, there was another side to her that she had not seen yet.
“Are you Chen’s assistant?” Ouyang Qing asked her.
“I guess you could say so,” Ning Ran answered half-heartedly.
“Chen is the leader of Nanshi Corporation. His assistant must be elite and very capable. I suppose you were selected from a large candidate pool of thousands! Wow! Ran, you must be very competent. Where did you graduate? Do you have a Ph.D.?”
I got pregnant before I graduated from university. How am I going to get a Ph.D. with two children to take care of?
“Well, I wouldn’t say I’m highly educated, nor am I an elite. I just help around as much as I can,” Ning Ran said as she managed a smile.
“Ran, you are too humble! Please guide me along next time. I might have graduated from Harvard, but I’m not as competent as I sound to be. I definitely pale in comparison to you! How about this? Let us exchange contacts. We can keep in touch, and I can learn from you too!”
Ouyang Qing fished out her phone as she said that.
