Ning Ran was befuddled. She couldn’t answer that.
If she knew who had snuck the pills into her purse, she would have told the police.
As soon as Nan Chen asked the question, he knew it was just a waste of time.
If she knew that, she wouldn’t have been taken to the police station.
How could such an intelligent person like him ask this nonsensical question?
The lunacy of this woman is contagious. You’d become senseless too when you go near her!
“You don’t need to answer me. I know you can’t,” Nan Chen said that to save his own face.
“Then why did you even ask?” Ning Ran murmured.
“Moron,” Nan Chen muttered.
“How did I know that was going to happen? I have never encountered anything like this before,” Ning Ran mumbled again.
Even though she was scolded by Nan Chen, Ning Ran knew very well that she would not have been released so soon if it wasn’t for him. Therefore, she was very grateful to Nan Chen.
Nan Chen went silent.
“Someone was setting me up but I’m totally clueless as to who it might be. You’re right. Frankly speaking, I’m rather stupid. I don’t know anything,” Ning Ran said softly.
Nan Chen remained quiet.
His heart wavered a little when she said that.
It’s hard to guard against being framed; even a wise man might not be able to avoid it.
Hence, she should not be blamed for this incident.
“Don’t worry now, you will be fine,” Nan Chen replied briefly.
“Mmm, I know I’ll be fine with you around,” Ning Ran responded.
Looking out the window, Nan Chen was silent again.
The next day, Ning Ran appeared on the trending topics again.
This time, it was not due to her being associated with someone popular but because of the sensational news which got her into the top three of the trending topics.
Hit Series’ Female Lead Detained for Drug Abuse; Drug Test Result: Positive
Ning Ran was called again to stop all her works at the company and wait for further instructions.
Every year, there had been scandals of celebrities involved in drug offenses which were abhorred by the public.
While these celebrities harnessed a great deal of social resources and received inconceivably high income, loathsome and reprehensible deeds had been committed in private. Therefore, it was only fair and reasonable for such news to spark public outrage.
Due to the positive drug screening result, Ning Ran was detained by the police again.
Nan Chen was occupied and had no time for real-time updates on social media. It was already noon when he found out about it.
Qiao Zhan had been waiting for a long time to report the issue to Nan Chen after his meeting.
Nan Chen had told him to report only after resolving the issue. However, the issue had gone out of hand now so he had no other options but to update Nan Chen about it.
Nan Chen knew at once that the issue had worsened when he saw Qiao Zhan.
“The drug test result is positive?”
“You’ve heard about it?”
“No, I reckon so,” Nan Chen replied.
“Ms. Ding was detained by the police again and I’ve contacted every connection available but orders have been passed down from above to deny bail.”
Qiao Zhan was unable to settle the problem so he slouched and was embarrassed to face Nan Chen.
“Above? Which above?” Nan Chen was perplexed.
“The above where my connection could not reach,” Qiao Zhan grimaced.
“Well, unreachable it is then,” Nan Chen replied.
“No, no, I’m still working on it.” Qiao Zhan became very disconcerted at the thought that Nan Chen was dissatisfied with his incompetence.
“Just leave it for the moment,” Nan Chen muttered again.
“I’m looking for my ex-comrades. They have higher-ranked connections which might hold out…” Qiao Zhan was even more panicked upon hearing that.
“I told you. Let her stay inside for the moment. Don’t worry about bailing her immediately for now,” Nan Chen made it clearer.
“Huh?”
Nan Chen looked at Jiang Zhe, signaling him to explain.
Jiang Zhe gave Qiao Zhan a contemptuous look. “Even this is unfathomable for you? Captain Qiao should get yourself to more reading.”
“What has it got to do with reading? Don’t f*cking go over the top!” Needless to say, Qiao Zhan was defiant.
Nan Chen glared at Jiang Zhe.
Jiang Zhe knew that his boss was having a bad day so he went straight to the point immediately. “Now that the police have got hold of the evidence, we’ll have to wait and see how the case unfolds. Getting Ms. Ding out recklessly would only put us at risk. Of course, the crook behind this knew very well that Ms. Ding is backed by Sir Chen, hence, it’s very difficult to discern whether this plot was directed at Sir Chen or Ms. Ding. But one thing is certain, some big shot is involved. Since we have big players in the game now, it will not be child’s play anymore, nor can it be puzzled out with usual approaches. Hence, we can’t rush it now. We need detailed observation, thorough investigation, and a game-changing plan to turn things around. Do you follow, Captain Qiao?”
Jiang Zhe looked at Qiao Zhan.
“Of course I do, but we can’t let Ms. Ding suffer inside,” Qiao Zhan replied.
“That’s where you come in, Captain Qiao. Even though you can’t reach the big shots above, the connection it takes to make sure that Ms. Ding doesn’t have a hard time inside is reachable for you, isn’t it?” asked Jiang Zhe.
“So, what you’re saying is, we don’t need to worry about bailing Ms. Ding out at once and just let her stay in custody, but her safety and wellbeing have to be assured, right?”
“Captain Qiao starts thinking, how unusual is this!” Jiang Zhe seized the opportunity to ridicule him.
“Why don’t Assistant Jiang go handle it if you’re so capable?” Qiao Zhan retorted.
“Is Captain Qiao questioning my ability?” Jiang Zhe asked.
“Prove it then.”
Jiang Zhe knew full well that he was unable to handle this even though he had a higher education qualification and could come up with better strategies than Qiao Zhan. However, there were things that could be done by Qiao Zhan which he couldn’t.
“Enough, get back to your respective task,” hollered Nan Chen.
The two man shut their mouths altogether.
“This is the guest list for the dinner event last night.” Qiao Zhan handed a piece of paper to Nan Chen.
“They’re all here?”
“Yes.”
“Have you checked the CCTV at the scene?” asked Nan Chen.
“No. The surveillance footage had been duplicated and taken away by the police while the original footage was deleted,” answered Qiao Zhan.
“You didn’t manage to get ahead of them?” Nan Chen’s tone turned frosty.
Opening his mouth, Qiao Zhan was unsure if he should give an explanation for it.
“He was occupied with bailing Ms. Ding out yesterday so the police have overtaken,” Jiang Zhe lent Qiao Zhan a hand in explaining the matter.
Qiao Zhan gave Jiang Zhe a look. This jack*ss actually speaks for me. What a surprise!
“I’m not helping you. I’m only telling the truth,” Jiang Zhe said.
“Do I need you to tell me the truth?” Nan Chen asked dispassionately.
Jiang Zhe went silent instantly.
“That’s right. I can tell the truth myself.” Qiao Zhan gave Jiang Zhe another blow.
This rascal can only be killed and not saved. He has immediately turned against me.
“Go retrieve the deleted footage,” Nan Chen told Qiao Zhan.
“I’m afraid this might be a little tricky. Can you really retrieve a deleted file?”
“You have two options, one is you can request for a duplicate from the police; the second one is to retrieve the original footage. I don’t care which one you opt for so long as I see the footage,” Nan Chen answered.
“Yes, Sir,” Qiao Zhan could only promise since there was no other way.
“You can seek help,” Nan Chen added.
“From whom? Can Sir Chen recommend any expert in the field? Of all the people I know, none is skillful in this area,” Qiao Zhan muttered.
“My son can do it,” Nan Chen declared proudly.
Realization dawned on Qiao Zhan. “Oh right, Little Master is an expert in this terrain. How could I forget that? I’ll get to it immediately.”
