“Slapping her is something you did out of your own accord. The company has no reason to take responsibility.”
Nan Chen’s words rendered Ning Ran speechless.
She gaped at him in astonishment, wondering why he went back on his word. This is not what you said earlier on!
Nan Chen caught her questioning look, but he was unperturbed. Rather, he picked up his phone again from his pocket and sat back without any explanation.
It might be completely normal for people to be engrossed in their phones—but that was not the case for Nan Chen.
He did not usually spend a lot of time on his phone, and he never once concerned himself with all the juicy gossips online.
But he was not himself today. Time and time again, Ning Ran caught him checking his phone every few minutes. It was like he could not take his eyes off it.
This made Ning Ran even more disturbed. A frown etched on her well-defined brows as she stole another resentful look at Nan Chen. He must be texting some woman.
Why not just make yourself scarce and go meet her in person?
What’s the point of hoarding space here if you’re not interested in talking?
Ning Ran could not take it anymore. “Are you that busy?” she snapped.
As usual, Nan Chen looked up without a word and continued whatever he was doing.
Ning Ran was infuriated. She wanted to go over and snatched his phone away. Her impulse was telling her to just throw his phone out of the window.
But she did not have the guts to do that. She was afraid of Nan Chen.
Yet it was not long before Ning Ran brightened up. Delicious food was served and her mouth watered looking at all the dishes.
Who cares about men? Food never betrays you!
Why should I even bother myself with an unruly man like him?
Little did she know, Nan Chen had been observing her from the corner of his eyes. Confusion glimmered in his eyes when he spotted Ning Ran’s erratic change of mood when she saw the food. Gosh, she’s so unpredictable.
It was not until he saw Ning Ran reached for the food that he finally made a sound. “Did you wash your hands?”
Ning Ran cocked her head and looked up in surprise. “I did,” she said curtly. True, the tasty food appeased her, but that did not mean she was happy with his attitude.
“But you touched something else after you washed your hands, didn’t you? Go wash them again,” Nan Chen said.
“You do it yourself. I’m digging in,” Ning Ran protested.
But Nan Chen refused to let her off the hook. “There’s no room for discussion here,” he replied severely.
Ning Ran let out a resigned sigh and got off to the washroom. She figured it was not worth wasting time over a small issue like this.
She washed her hands and quickly came back to the dining table before burying herself in all the appetizing food before her.
Over on the other side, Nan Chen looked at her with a disgusted look.
Geez, do you have to eat like there is a famine out there?
The food really packed a wallop and Ning Ran was eating away when she suddenly sensed a cold glare. She looked up and saw Nan Chen staring at her with an inexplicable expression on his face. He sat there elegantly with a glass of red wine in his hand; there was a huge contrast between himself and Ning Ran.
She became self-conscious all of a sudden and adjusted her posture, eating in a slow and poised manner.
But that was not why Nan Chen was looking at her. He just found out that he was actually fine with her casting off restraint in front of him.
He had seen many women who were prim and proper. And none of them felt comfortable enough around him to just be themselves.
Ning Ran was the first to ever let her guard down around him. She did not put up a front nor did she care about her image in front of him.
He even noticed she actually ate like a kid—like Dabao, to be precise.
“You don’t have to do that,” Nan Chen remarked, taking a sip of red wine.
“Do what?” Ning Ran looked at him cluelessly, wiping the food at the corner of her mouth with a clean napkin.
“You don’t have to act all ladylike.”
“Me? Putting on an act? I don’t need to put on an act. I am ladylike. That’s my nature,” she retaliated.
Nan Chen smirked and shook his head in disbelief.
But Ning Ran shot him her sweetest smile and raised her glass towards him. “Thanks for coming to my rescue and treating me to good food.”
Nan Chen held out his glass and clicked hers before drinking his wine with a suppressed smile hanging on the corner of his lips.
This was definitely a rare sight considering how Nan Chen had always put on a poker face.
Ning Ran took a sip as well and finally asked in a worried tone. “Will everything really be okay? Is there anything I can do? I don’t want the company to be affected because of me.”
“The company is obviously bearing the brunt of what you did. So what you should do now is to work extra hard to make up for the loss the company has incurred because of you,” Nan Chen replied.
Ning Ran nodded determinedly and clenched her fists. “Yes, that’s what I’ll do. I’ll work hard and give it my best!”
Following her motivating statement, a timely ring came from Nan Chen’s phone and the screen lit up.
Nan Chen spared it a cursory glance and chose to ignore it.
Ning Ran eyed his phone suspiciously as thoughts raced through her mind. It must be a woman.
“Why didn’t you check the message?” she probed.
“I’ll check it later. I don’t want to wash my hands again,” Nan Chen explained.
Ning Ran pursed her lips and shrugged. I really think he has OCD.
But she did not want to let the matter off so easily. “What if the person has something important to tell you?” she asked again.
“Who are you referring to?” Nan Chen replied with a question.
Ning Ran widened her eyes and looked at him without another word. Well, how will I know who sent you a message?
They continued dining quietly until Nan Chen finally put down his cutlery and wiped his hands. He did not eat a lot since his mind was elsewhere.
He unlocked his phone and finally looked at the message.
He then made a brief call and said just three words hastily—’send it out’.
He hung up and let out a sigh of relief as if he just got a burden off his chest. He put down his phone and sat there in a relaxed manner as he watched Ning Ran finish up her portion.
She was taking longer than usual because her mind was wandering all over, thinking about the message that Nan Chen received. He even caught her peeking at his phone from the opposite side of the table.
“What are you trying to look at?” Nan Chen asked coldly.
“Nothing. I’m just curious,” she replied shortly.
“That means you want to take a look,” Nan Chen said.
Ning Ran did not reply but stared at her food intently. If you want to put it that way, there’s nothing else I can say.
Nan Chen surveyed her face and finally said, “Give me a good reason and I’ll let you have a look.”
Ning Ran pouted her lips and raised her eyelids weakly. What solid reason can I give, eh?
You’re the high and mighty Nan Chen! I know you won’t be persuaded so easily.
“I’m not interested in persuading you,” she said.
“Why not?”
Ning Ran stared at him nonchalantly and answered, “Because I know it’s impossible to change your mind.”
Nan Chen almost chuckled at how blatant she was. “Not necessarily. It depends.”
Ning Ran rolled her eyes as she thought keenly. “Give me a clue.”
“You just need to tell me why you wanted to look at my phone. I’ll agree if it’s reasonable,” Nan Chen said.
Ning Ran crossed her hands in front of her chest and took a deep breath. I’m up for the challenge!
Judging from what he said, I think he will allow me to check his phone if I’m able to give him a good enough reason.
“You’re not someone who can’t live without your phone. But I realized you have been checking your messages this whole night. I think this is really unusual,” Ning Ran explained.
She knew there was no point making something up because Nan Chen would definitely see through it. So she told him the truth.
“Reason accepted. Here you go,” Nan Chen said, holding out his phone towards her after he unlocked it.
Ning Ran gaped in bewilderment as she looked at Nan Chen. She was not expecting him to give her the green light that easily. “Just like that?”
“You’re not interested?” Nan Chen asked, gesturing to retract his hand.
“Of course I’m interested! But I have to make it clear first—you’re the one who offered it, I didn’t force you!” Ning Ran reiterated.
“Do you still want to have a look?” Nan Chen was getting impatient.
“Yes!” Ning Ran exclaimed, taking his phone from his hand.
On the screen was a video of a woman who looked extremely familiar with just one glance.
Ning Ran squinted her eyes at the woman dressed in a low-cut dress—it was Ye Meng—the female superstar.
And beside her, was Ouyang Qi.
They were caught drinking together in the video. Although Ning Ran could not hear what they were talking about from the poor quality audio, it sure looked like they were flirting from their interaction.
“What about these two?” Ning Ran still could not get her head around what was the meaning behind this.
Nan Chen cleared his throat and explained. “Ouyang Qi, also notoriously known as the Nine-Fingered Prince, has a reputation of being an extravagant playboy that splurges on women. He’s involved with many actresses and there have been so many scandals no one is surprised anymore.”
Ning Ran nodded quietly but she still could not see what this video had to do with what happened. “And what’s the point of letting me see this?” she inquired.
“You’re the one who wanted to see it.” Nan Chen sank back into the seat with a confused look.
Ning Ran rested her chin on her hand and bit her lips, thinking hard. It was not long before she snapped her fingers and a big proud smile spread across her face. “I got it!”
But she realized was too loud and quickly looked around with an embarrassed smile.
