“So what’s the result of your pondering?” Ning Ran asked.
“Not too bad,” replied Nan Chen.
“Well, looks like you are fine then,” Ning Ran returned.
“Now’s your turn to tell me what you were going to say to me,” Nan Chen told her.
“What I was going to tell you is, don’t ever drink before you swim again. It’s extremely dangerous,” replied Ning Ran.
“That is what you were going to tell me?” Nan Chen asked with a frown.
“That’s right. Don’t you think this is important? It is to me,” Ning Ran answered with a smile.
Nan Chen knew he had been tricked.
How dare this woman fools me! What a daredevil!
“How dare you make fun of me.”
Nan Chen moved toward her slowly and Ning Ran quickly escaped. “It’s getting late and I need to sleep. I’m still weak as I’ve just recovered so I need to have enough sleep.”
“Stop right there.”
Ning Ran did not listen to him and quickly ran off from the study room to her own bedroom. She then locked the door and went to bed.
As she lay in her bed and recalled what happened just now while her heart was still pounding fast.
Silly me! What is this for?
…
The next morning when Ning Ran woke up, Nan Chen had already left.
The lights in the study room were still on. Has he been thinking the whole night in the study room?
After washing up and preparing breakfast, she sent the children to school.
After which, she went for practice at the company. They had been practicing dance moves recently.
The strenuous training was coming to an end and by the time it ended, the movie would start filming.
As soon as she reached the company, she saw someone familiar at the door. It was Ouyang Qing.
Truth be told, they were not close at all. They had only officially met each other several times.
Ouyang Qing greeted her warmly, “Hi, Ding.”
Ning Ran nodded her head placidly and replied, “Hi, Ms. Ouyang.”
“You can just call me Qing, don’t have to be so courteous with me. Are you here for the training?”
“Yes, it’s been enhanced recently,” Ning Ran replied.
“Alright, I shall not bother you then. I’ll leave first, see you later.” Ouyang Qing waved at her.
“Bye.” Ning Ran waved back at her.
Wang Xiaoou walked toward her after she went into the company. “Perfect timing. Prepare yourself for a bit. We’re going to Y City to attend a promotional event.”
“Huh? Isn’t today scheduled for training? Why are we suddenly leaving? I’m totally unprepared.”
“This is a sudden notice from the company and it’s just an ordinary promotional event. You don’t need to prepare much,” replied Wang Xiaoou.
“Alright, let me make some arrangements. I need to send someone to fetch my children in the afternoon and I’ve even promised to make them dinner.”
“Sure, you proceed with that.”
After an hour, Ning Ran departed with her team to Y City.
Sitting next to Ning Ran, Wang Xiaoou was looking out the window. Out of the blue, she asked Ning Ran, “How are you and Mr. Chen recently?”
Ning Ran paused for a while. Wang Xiaoou isn’t the nosy type; why is she suddenly asking about this today?
“I’m not too good with him.” Ning Ran was very honest.
She had never really been very close with Nan Chen. Occasionally they’d get closer to each other, but they would eventually grow further apart due to various kinds of reasons.
“Ms. Ouyang came to the company today,” Wang Xiaoou added.
Ning Ran was all the more suspicious. What is happening to Wang Xiaoou today? She’s speaking so unusually but what is she really implying?
“Right after which, I got the notice from the company to send us to attend this promotional event,” Wang Xiaoou added again.
Ning Ran got it this time. Wang Xiaoou was hinting something to her.
Which meant there was no need for us to go out initially but this promotional event pop up because of Ouyang Qing?
“So what Ou means to say is that it is Ouyang Qing who sent me for this promotional event? But she isn’t from our company, she has no right to do that.”
“She’s one of the investors for the upcoming movie which is under preparation recently. Therefore, she can be considered to have close cooperation with Star Entertainment,” said Wang Xiaoou.
“What? She’s one of the investors? Doesn’t that mean she would become our boss in the future?” Ning Ran exclaimed.
“Well, not exactly. Our boss is still Mr. Chen. He’s only co-investing the movie with someone else, that doesn’t make the ‘someone else’ our boss.”
Ning Ran nodded. “Does Ou have something to say to me? You can just tell me.”
“Nothing. Just treat it as a casual chat.”
Wang Xiaoou was a sharp-witted person; hence, she would not let anything slip from her mouth and get herself involved in unnecessary troubles.
Even though Wang Xiaoou had not been very straightforward, Ning Ran was able to sense the alarming information she provided.
“Ou, you knew it very well. Although I have two children with Nan Chen, we’re not even friends, not to mention some other relationship.”
Wang Xiaoou just listened without speaking.
“I’m not an expert in politicking; so, I hope Ou can give me some advice if there’s anything that I should beware of. Sometimes, I’m a fool who even ended up helping those who were conning me.” Ning Ran tried to sound as pitiful as she could.
“You’re being modest. I know very well what kind of a person you are. You could even survive with Luo Fei picking on you every now and then last time. But compared to Ouyang Qing, Luo Fei was no match. Luo Fei was Luo Fei because she was supported by Sir Chen. Her career could be in full flow was also owing to the halo effect of being the rumored girlfriend of Sir Chen.
However, Ouyang Qing is different. She has the entire Ouyang family behind her. That’s a family that has almost an equal footing as the Nan family. Hence, being able to deal with Luo Fei doesn’t mean you could handle Ouyang Qing. Luo Fei could only play some nasty little tactics but Ouyang Qing could utilize the resources and capital in her hands. That’s something dire and unthinkable. This is why you should be more careful.”
For someone so vigilant like Wang Xiaoou, it was almost impossible for her to talk that much.
Also, what she said were undeniable facts. Ouyang Qing was indeed a much tougher nemesis compared to Luo Fei.
Put it another way, Ning Ran’s current level was not even on par with that of Luo Fei back then but she was already facing an opponent who was umpteen times more powerful than Luo Fei.
“I’ve worked with a lot of artists. Some rely on their background; others rely on their talents and abilities. Some may think that as long as they are capable enough, it’s okay to have no background. Those who are of this opinion don’t really understand the entertainment industry well. We have too many artists around and they’re everywhere.
The few major art schools and colleges produce tens of thousands of graduates every year, and then there are artists who enter the industry through various talent shows, not forgetting trainees from all kinds of studios. All these people want to make their name. Among them, there are a lot of people with actual capabilities but very few could rise to prominence.
I can be very honest to you that ninety-nine percent of those who came on top is backed by capital. In other words, if you don’t have any resources assisting you, no matter how capable you are, the chance of you becoming popular is very, very slim. You are, of course, talented and your acting is definitely the best among the new generation of artists.
Therefore, I really hope you can appreciate and seize every opportunity that comes by. I don’t want you to be the only actress among those I’ve worked with who vanish from this industry even before you become famous.”
For someone as taciturn as Wang Xiaoou to run on and even became affected toward the end after conveying very crucial information to Ning Ran, it could only mean that the matter was exceedingly serious and she was worried that Ning Ran would be eliminated by Ouyang Qing soon.
