Chapter 543 He Refused To Be The Villain
“She is not a regular kid, so we can’t drop her off at any random daycare centers. It’s not safe,” added Nan Chen.
“Yeah, I agree. Many daycare centers nowadays are questionable, and I heard rumors about how some carers abuse the children,” replied Ning Ran.
“How about we sign her up for some lessons?” suggested Nan Chen.
“You mean like an extra-curricular activity?”
“Yeah. At first, I was against it because I thought she’s too young, and I didn’t want to burden her with too many activities. I simply want her to be happy, but if she’s bored, we can hire someone to teach her a new skill. That might help kill the boredom and fill up her time,” replied Nan Chen.
Ning Ran thought that idea was great.
“Well, Darling? What would you like to learn?” asked Ning Ran as she turned to Erbao.
“Acting,” replied Erbao. Her response surprised both Ning Ran and Nan Chen.
“Acting?”
“Yeah, I want to be an actress like you, Mommy, and I want to shoot a movie with you,” answered Erbao.
It turned out the kid simply wanted to tag along with Ning Ran and go play at the filming site.
“No, that won’t do. You can’t be an actress because you have an important destiny to fulfill in the future,” said Nan Chen, trying to nip his daughter’s idea in the bud.
“But why? I want to be a movie star and look pretty on TV,” insisted Erbao.
Truth was that her understanding of being an actress was limited and vague. To her, being an actress meant being featured on the screen and having people around her all the time.
Erbao had always been an extrovert who enjoyed a crowd, so she thought that being an actress would be perfect for her.
At that moment, however, she only asked to go to acting lessons because she wanted to follow Ning Ran to the filming site and play there.
“You’re still too young to know what you want to be,” stated Nan Chen patiently.
“I may be young, but I’m sensible. I want to be an actress.”
“There aren’t any acting classes for kids around here,” replied Nan Chen.
“I don’t need to be in a class to learn anything. I can learn from Mommy because she is a great actress.”
“And how will you do that?”
“Mommy can take me to the filming site, and I’ll watch her. That way, I’ll learn how to do it,” answered Erbao, who finally revealed what she had in mind all along.
Nan Chen and Ning Ran turned to one another. They were both signaling the other to turn Erbao down.
The man was firmer, though. Both kids obviously favored Ning Ran, and he was a little envious, so he refused to be the “villain” at that time.
Ning Ran hinted again to ask him to turn the kid down.
Still, he refused to voice up.
Seeing how her parents were signaling to each other, Erbao thought they were both on her side, so she was instantly delighted.
“Yay, then let’s hurry up and eat. We can go there in Daddy’s car later.”
“No, that’s not possible,” replied Ning Ran. She had no choice but to turn her daughter down herself.
“But why?” asked Erbao. Her big, round eyes were watery as she stared at her mother.
“The filming site is a mess, and everyone will be too busy to babysit you, so it’d be dangerous. I will also be distracted if you’re there, and I won’t be able to focus on my job. On the other hand, I will feel much better if you’re home. That will help me work faster, and I can be home sooner to play with you,” remarked Ning Ran patiently.
Erbao was disappointed to see her scheme failing. She had no excuse, but she still wanted to fight for it, so she promised, “I’ll behave. I promise I’ll just sit there and watch from the side.”
“No,” replied Nan Chen, who decided to speak up as well. “It’s dangerous to stay in a crowded place, so you’re not allowed to go. I will get you a dance teacher instead, and you can learn some basic dance moves. You can also ask to learn some other skills, but you can’t go to your mommy’s workplace, and that’s that. If you’re not happy with that or find classes to be boring, I will send you to your great-grandma’s place.”
“No, I won’t go,” complained Erbao.
Putting her cutlery down, she pouted. She also turned her head to the side to fume silently.
Nan Chen and Ning Ran turned to one another again. It did not take long before they simultaneously turned to Dabao.
Really? You’re going to toss that problem to me? Geez, adults nowadays are so unreliable. I’m the older brother, though, so I do have the obligation to coo my pouting baby sister.
“I’ll teach you how to play some computer games, but we need to set a time limit,” offered Dabao. “We can’t play for too long because that’s bad for our eyes.”
“I don’t want to play games. I want to be a hacker like you,” replied the intrigued Erbao.
“It’s not easy to be a hacker. There are many techniques and skills to master. You’re already getting a pretty sweet deal, so you can either take it or leave it.”
“I’ll take it.”
Erbao knew she could not go to the timing site, so she had to opt for the second best.
“You’re not allowed to play all day, okay? It’s easy to get addicted, and kids like Erbao are especially prone to addiction because she has less discipline,” reminded Ning Ran in a worried tone.
“Don’t worry, Mommy. I will time everything,” replied Dabao sweetly.
After having breakfast, Ning Ran entered Nan Chen’s car. He would drop her off at work before heading to his company himself.
Ning Ran did not actually want Nan Chen to drive her over because his car drew too much attention.
She had already gotten used to others gossiping about her relationship with Nan Chen behind her back, but she did not want to lose herself in the dream of having a luxurious car dropping her off everywhere. Life was getting too great, and she did not have the guts to fantasize about having it forever. She worried everything would turn out to be a dream, and she was terrified of the immense disappointment she would have to face when she was back to having nothing.
Nan Chen was a great man. He was handsome and rich, so he was one of the most desirable bachelors.
Unfortunately, the more perfect he was, the more difficult it was to keep him.
Ning Ran had gone through too much in life, and she knew how cruel things were sometimes.
Every day, she would mentally ready herself to be abandoned. She was convinced that was the only way to prevent herself from feeling too much pain and hopelessness when others left her.
Putting all her hope in someone else, be it a man or a woman, was a risky move because no one could dictate another person’s fate. Hence, there was no guarantee that the person she held dear would stay.
That was why she believed it was best to only believe in herself. The only being that had to stay with her forever was her lonely soul.
That belief drove her to always remain calm and be ready to leave at any given moment.
Obviously, Nan Chen did not have the mindset. He saw Ning Ran as a talented employee who had given him two kids. Hence, he wanted to give her the very best.
In fact, the incredible movie she was in only existed for her sake. He knew she enjoyed acting and was good at it, so he set everything up for her to spread her wings.
Looking out the window, Ning Ran was lost in her mind.
Nan Chen, on the other hand, was checking his e-mails using his tablet. He was always in a hurry and had to find tiny pockets of time just to work more.
No one spoke, so it was quiet in there.
Nan Chen turned to Ning Ran only when they were almost at the filming site.
“We need a child actor for the movie, and the sponsors asked if they could get one of our kids to play the role. What do you think?” asked Nan Chen.
“No, that won’t do,” replied Ning Ran without missing a beat.
“Why not?”
“The kids shot a commercial some time ago, and the netizen called me a bad mother who abuses her children. That is why I will not let my kids act again, regardless of how strenuous life is. I want them to grow up happy, and I want them shielded from the harsh comments on the internet,” said the woman.
Nan Chen was secretly delighted because he wanted to turn down the production team’s request as well.
“The sponsors actually mentioned something else. They said that the kid won’t have any lines and can be his or her youthful self. Those sponsors also offered to pay the salary of a child celebrity. The money will go straight to you,” added Nan Chen to further test the waters.
However, Ning Ran was no fool; she knew Nan Chen was just testing her.
