Chapter 537 What Is Happening
That day, Ning Ran managed to finish work early and got home by eight. Dabao and Erbao were both on vacation, and the helper looking after them left as soon as Ning Ran was home.
Dinner had been prepared and laid out, but both kids refused to start eating without their mother. “Have you called your father? Is he joining us for dinner?” Ning Ran asked Erbao.
“I have, but Daddy said he has an appointment and will be home later.”
Soon, the two kids had finished setting the table and urged Ning Ran to have dinner together.
Now that filming had started, Ning Ran had to be even more careful about what she ate so she wouldn’t gain weight.
Rice and other carbohydrates were definitely out of the question, which meant she could only stick with vegetables and fruit.
Erbao scooped a spoonful of braised pork and jiggled it in front of Ning Ran. “Mommy, do you want some?”
As much as she wanted it, Ning Ran had to stop herself. “No.”
Erbao immediately burst out laughing. “You’re lying, Mommy! I can see you drooling!”
“Stop fooling around,” Dabao scolded as he glared at his sister. “Mommy’s tired. Let her have her dinner in peace.”
“Fine,” Erbao whispered and did as instructed.
Thankfully, Ning Ran knew her daughter well. Erbao was used to chattering away, so getting her to stay silent would only make her miserable.
Furthermore, Nan Chen and Ning Ran had been so busy with work that their kids hardly saw or talked to them.
Now that Ning Ran was home early for once, how could she bear to push her kids away?
“All right, let’s chat while we eat. You can tell me anything you like,” Ning Ran said with a big smile.
Erbao’s eyes lit up at once. “Okay! Let’s chat!”
“Well then, what would you like to talk about?”
“Gossip!”
Ning Ran blinked in surprise. Why is this kid always so fond of gossip? Has she inherited my nosiness? Is that it?
“Okay, what gossip? Is there anything new you want to share with me?”
“Yes! Big gossip!” Erbao shouted as she placed her cutlery down.
“Wow, what big gossip has made you that excited? The only other time I’ve seen you so thrilled is when you’re talking about food,” Ning Ran teased.
“Oh, this is even better. Our plan has worked!” Erbao replied.
This time, Ning Ran was befuddled. “Your plan? What plan is it? What are you talking about?”
“Dabao, are you going to say it, or do you want me to?” Erbao asked her brother.
For one who was never fond of talking, the decision for Dabao was easy. “You can say it.”
“Okay! Mommy, have you seen today’s news? Uncle Xing and Ouyang Qing are together now!”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes! And someone also said it was Ouyang Qing who forced Uncle Xing to be with her. Haha! Uncle Xing’s such a poor thing,” Erbao added while laughing.
“But what does that have to do with your plan? Are you guys responsible for getting them together?”
“No, even though that was our original intention. Dabao and I had always wanted to set Uncle Xing up with Ouyang Qing. That way, she wouldn’t have a chance to come between you and Daddy. Our plan didn’t quite succeed, though, so we were disappointed. But now, things have all worked out brilliantly, and they’re finally together! Are you happy, Mommy?” Erbao exclaimed gleefully.
The truth was, Ning Ran had long heard about the news from Cheng Xiangyun, except she never bothered to look up the details.
What was there to be happy about when she didn’t think the situation would benefit her in any way?
Furthermore, Ning Ran was still skeptical about the relationship because she never once thought that Nan Xing liked Ouyang Qing.
She had seen the scandalous video of them posted online, and Nan Xing’s attitude toward Ouyang Qing wasn’t one of love.
And even though Ouyang Qing had always been loathsome, Ning Ran still saw no reason to be happy about her scandal.
After all, Ning Ran wasn’t one to gloat over someone else’s misfortune. As long as the matter didn’t hurt her, she couldn’t be bothered about it.
When she realized Ning Ran wasn’t as happy as she had hoped for, Erbao couldn’t help but feel disappointed.
Dabao and Erbao had always seen Ouyang Qing as the troublemaker in their parents’ relationship, so it stood to reason that everyone would want her out of the picture.
Now that Uncle Xing is with Ouyang Qing, shouldn’t Mommy be a little happy? Why isn’t she, though?
Perplexed, Erbao decided to ask, “Mommy, aren’t you happy? You no longer have to worry about anyone coming between you and Daddy.”
“Erbao, kids shouldn’t get involved in matters between adults. Whether they’re together or not is none of our business. Let’s not care so much about it.”
Dabao and Erbao merely glanced at each other. They thought that Ning Ran would be over the moon after hearing the news, but her calm demeanor managed to suck the fun out of everything.
Since there was no other gossip to share, the kids decided to finish their dinner in silence.
Just then, Ning Ran got a call from the production team, informing her to read the new script they had sent.
After dinner and washing up the dishes, Ning Ran got her tablet out and pored over the new script.
Studying the script had always been a habit of Ning Ran’s. She’d read it over a few times to familiarize herself with the plot before immersing in her character and thinking about how best to portray it.
The plot hadn’t changed much, except that the female lead’s husband would now die with their child.
That, however, was a problem.
The original script had the female lead’s child caught in a traffic accident.
Later, it was revised to have the child contract an incurable disease that changed the entire family dynamics, thus plunging a once happy family into utter despair.
Naturally, there’d be a lot of emotional scenes between Huang Zichao and Ning Ran as they would fight and cry throughout the show.
Most actors wouldn’t have been able to take on such demanding roles, but Huang Zichao and Ning Ran were so talented that the writers decided to give them even more scenes together.
Alas, that was all for naught now. With the plot once again rewritten to kill off the husband, wouldn’t Huang Zichao be made redundant?
Ning Ran sighed. After seeing the script revision, she was even more sure that Nan Chen was the mastermind behind it.
It was never a must for Ning Ran to act alongside Huang Zichao, but she felt that the film would benefit from having a male lead added to it.
Ugh. Nan Chen just had to ruin everything because of his own bias. What’s happening with him? How can he hire one of the most famous actors just to let him play a small role? No, no, this won’t do. I have to persuade Nan Chen to change his mind.
As luck would have it, Nan Chen returned home right at that moment.
Ning Ran got up to take his coat before asking if he had eaten.
To her surprise, Nan Chen said no.
“Didn’t you say you had an appointment and wouldn’t be home for dinner?”
“Yes, but we only had a few drinks.”
“Would you like to eat, then?” Ning Ran asked.
“When I told you I haven’t had dinner, shouldn’t that be enough for you to prepare some food for me? Why are you still asking questions?” Nan Chen snapped as he fixed a steely gaze on Ning Ran. “Is this you showing me fake concern? Are you just being pretentious?”
Alas, Ning Ran was too shocked to reply.
“All right, I’ll make you something to eat,” she finally said. “There are still leftovers from our dinner.”
“I don’t eat leftovers.”’
