While Ning Ran and Nan Xing were presenting their gift to Nan Zhengde, Ouyang Qing turned and headed for the rest area set aside for the staff.
She had placed one of her men here as a waiter.
Her tone was icy as she demanded, “I thought I told you to take away that person’s belongings?”
“I tried to but I was stopped by a little boy. That one, that pretty little boy over there.”
“You can’t even handle one little boy?”
“Young Miss, there are bodyguards everywhere! All he needs to do is let out a scream and more than a dozen men will be lunging toward me. I’ll never be able to leave!”
Glancing around, Ouyang Qing saw that he was right. There were bodyguards stationed everywhere.
It was not surprising that security here was at an all-time high. After all, there were a lot of VIPs present today.
“Make sure there aren’t any mistakes later when they play the video,” she instructed softly.
“Don’t worry, Young Miss. Everything has been arranged according to your wishes.”
Just then, Bai Hua came over. Her expression was ugly as she snapped, “Why didn’t you tell me that woman has children with Chen?”
Ouyang Qing gnashed her teeth, completely forgetting to put on the innocent smile she usually had plastered on her face. Hatred blazed in her eyes.
She snarled hatefully, “My men clearly didn’t do a good enough job investigating her. I only just found out too!”
Bai Hua stated, “Children are going to make things a lot more difficult for us. Plus they’re already so grown! How long ago must this have happened? How could there not be any news about them at all in the past few years?”
“That woman must have gotten pregnant with Chen’s babies but kept them a secret from him. Now she’s probably thinking of using them as her way into the Nan family.”
“I think so too. What a manipulative and scheming woman! How did she manage to keep in the shadows for so many years?” Bai Hua said.
“Aunt, are you going to let a woman like that marry Chen?”
“Of course not! So what if she’s already given him children? They’re a part of the Nan family but she’s most definitely not! I’ll just have Chen compensate her a little and tell her to leave the children. She, on the other hand, needs to stay the hell away from my son!” Bai Hua ranted.
Unlike normal people, Bai Hua was not the slightest bit grateful to Ning Ran for giving her two adorable grandchildren. On the contrary, she hated Ning Ran and treated the younger woman like someone who had personally offended her.
“With you supporting me, that woman will never get her way!” Ouyang Qing chimed in.
“Have you prepared the video about her vile acts? Everything we’ve done so far is in preparation for this day. We need to let everyone here see what sort of woman she really is! Old Master will feel absolutely humiliated in front of all those guests and then she’ll be done for! There’s no way he’ll allow her to marry into the Nan family then. I believe he might even force her to leave Flower City. Even we might get thrown out on our asses if the Old Master really loses his temper, let alone her!” Bai Hua imagined gleefully.
“Don’t worry, Aunt. The video of her father committing suicide by jumping into the river and the other various videos have all been edited together. Once that video plays out, everyone will see her true colors.” A cold smile curled Ouyang Qing’s lips.
“Alright. Rest assured, I’m in full support of you chasing that woman away from Chen’s side,” Bai Hua told her.
“Your support gives me all the confidence I need, Aunt.”
After the toasts were over, the celebration officially began.
Since it was the Old Master’s birthday and most of the guests were VIPs, the atmosphere was kept relatively calm. There was no noisy music or flashing lights. Everybody was incredibly courteous as they smiled at each other politely.
The emcee called for everyone’s attention, “Good evening, distinguished guests. I would like to direct your attention to the projector screen where we shall enjoy a short video.”
Once everyone was focused on the screen, the emcee continued, “In his younger days, Old Master Nan used to contribute greatly to the economic development of this city. Since it’s his birthday today, we’ve specifically made this short video in commemoration of his glory days.”
Everyone applauded loudly even as Nan Zhengde chuckled, saying, “Oh, come now. Why are you making it sound like I’m dead? I’m still very much alive!”
The emcee rushed to explain, “Of course we hope you’ll live to a ripe old age, sir. We just made this video to reminisce about all your great contributions to this city.”
“Bah! I did nothing. I was just fortunate to have lived during this era. It was this country and this city that has offered me so much. I should be the one feeling grateful, not the other way around!” Nan Zhengde grinned.
Ouyang Qing and Bai Hua exchanged meaningful glances as anticipation curled in them. Time to get this show on the road!
Their plan was simple. The short video about Nan Zhengde would be switched out and replaced with one showing Ning Ran’s “heinous crimes.”
Naturally, that video had been specially edited to twist the truth and show Ning Ran in a bad light.
Once everybody present saw the video, Nan Zhengde and the Nan family would be utterly ashamed. Ning Ran would be in deep trouble then.
When they tried to investigate the culprit behind this incident, nothing would point to Ouyang Qing. She had made sure of that.
At most several staff members would lose their jobs due to receiving bribes but that had nothing to do with her.
This was her trump card. She had to ruin Ning Ran once and for all so that the other woman would leave Nan Chen. In fact, she was hoping to force Ning Ran to leave this city altogether.
Ouyang Qing, who had been repressing her emotions the entire night, finally felt like she could breathe. It was time to get revenge.
Just then, Ning Ran’s gaze swept across Ouyang Qing and she noticed the triumphant and wicked smirk on her face.
Ning Ran gasped softly in surprise. I never knew she could have such a vicious look on her face. Does that mean her innocent expression has always just been a facade? But why is she smirking like that? What’s going to happen that has her looking so smug?
Everyone was staring at the screen expectantly. The seconds ticked by but still only the words “Happy Birthday!” could be seen. There was no sign of the short video.
The emcee hurriedly uttered, “Please wait a moment, dear guests. We’re most likely suffering some technical problems. I’m sure everything will be just fine in a short while.”
Right after the words left his lips, music flowed from the speakers and the screen began to show a video.
At first, it was a photo of Nan Zhengde in his prime, wearing a safety helmet as he inspected a construction site. Then, it was him in a suit at a congress. What followed next was a short clip of him at the newly-constructed Flower City airport and then another clip of him at the opening ceremony for the first high-speed rail station to be constructed in the city.
It was a video showing snippets of Nan Zhengde’s life throughout the years but also a show of just how influential the Nan family was in this city. They were either directly or indirectly involved in nearly every important event in the city.
The accumulation of all these many years of hard work was the reason for Nan Chen’s prominence and irrefutable status today.
A celebration video for Nan Zhengde’s birthday was almost like a documentary on the development of the city.
A wide smile spread across Nan Zhengde’s face as he watched the video, recalling how passionate and strong he used to be. His eyes grew misty with tears.
Once the video was over, several words appeared on the screen, “Thank you for all you did, Old Master Nan! We wish you a long and prosperous life ahead!”
The hall exploded into thunderous applause that did not stop for several long moments.
Tugging Ouyang Qing off to the side, Bai Hua hissed, “What’s going on? Didn’t you say you were going to show that b*tch’s video during this time? Why was it still the original video about Old Master?”
Equally furious and confused, Ouyang Qing whispered back, “I have no idea! I arranged for them to replace the original video with Ning Ran’s so I don’t know why this one played instead!”
