Chapter 695 Bad Example
Qiao Zhan had an innocent expression on his face. “I genuinely think that you’re suitable to play the role of…” “Get lost! What do you know? You dumb cow!” Cheng Xiangyun roared.
“Dumb cow? What do you mean?” Qiao Zhan was indignant. “I’m talking about you! You’re a big dumb cow!” Cheng Xiangyun raged.
With that, Qiao Zhan glanced at Ning Ran and said, “Madam, did you hear what she just said? I find it extremely insulting!” “What does a dumb cow like you know? Why are you interrupting our conversation?”
Qiao Zhan’s lips twitched, but he held his tongue in the end. After all, arguing with others verbally wasn’t his strong suit. Instead, he excelled in physical combat.
“Chief Qiao, Cheng always talks this way. Don’t take it personally,” Ning Ran comforted with a smile.
“Why are you comforting him? He’s the one who started this. What did you just call him? Chief Qiao? I wonder how someone like him got that position. Did you address him wrongly?” Cheng Xiangyun asked.
Hearing that, Qiao Zhan cleared his throat. “I am the head of security at Nanshi Corporation. Is there a problem?”
He said smugly, clearly proud of his position. Worried that Cheng Xiangyun might not believe in him, Qiao Zhan produced his work ID and waved it in front of Cheng Xiangyun, deliberately showing it off.
“That’s enough! Stop flashing your ID. It’s annoying!” Meanwhile, Ning Ran found their childish banter amusing.
Shortly after that, a car arrived. Nan Xing had returned along with Dabao and Erbao. “Mommy…” Erbao called out, dragging out her voice as she threw herself into Ning Ran’s embrace.
As soon as Ning Ran saw the children, her grievances magically disappeared. With Nan Xing’s arrival, dinner was finally ready to be served.
More than ten people enjoyed dinner together, including the driver and the bodyguards. They were separated into two tables, and the atmosphere was lively.
During dinner, they inevitably discussed what happened to Ning Ran. That topic piqued Nan Xing’s interest almost instantly.
“I told you that Lu Jingyuan is not a good person! It must be her!”
He could still vividly remember the incident where Lu Jingyuan splashed him with water. At that moment, he finally found an outlet to vent his resentment.
Before Ning Ran could even say anything, someone else spoke up in annoyance.
Pouting her greasy lips, Erbao reprimanded, “How dare you speak ill of Aunt Jing? She’s nice to us.”
“She’s right, Uncle Xing. As an adult, you shouldn’t defame others blindly without any proof. You should set a good example for us,” Dabao chimed in.
Upon hearing that, Nan Xing expressed his dismay. “I’m exhausted from spending the whole day playing with you both, and this is what I get in return? I’m your uncle. Are you guys closer to me or her? Shouldn’t you guys side with me instead of an outsider?”
“Of course we are closer to you, Uncle Xing,” Dabao responded calmly.
“If so, why are you ridiculing me for the sake of an outsider?”
“That’s because I consider you my family and I believe that you’re a reasonable person.” Dabao remained calm and composed.
Nan Xing was rendered speechless by Dabao’s remarks, for the little boy praised and criticized him at the same time.
“You’re a child. Stop interrupting when the adults are talking,” Nan Xing said sternly, reproaching the little boy like an elder.
“Okay. We won’t interrupt as long as you stop slandering Aunt Jing. That’s not very gentlemanly of you to speak ill of a lady like that,” Dabao replied.
“You…”
Nan Xing turned to look at Ning Ran, signaling for her to teach her kids a lesson.
“Dabao, don’t speak that way to Uncle Xing. It’s impolite,” Ning Ran voiced disapprovingly.
“Okay, Mommy. However, I don’t think I said anything wrong. If Aunt Jing speaks ill of Uncle Xing, I would disagree with her too. To me, both Uncle Xing and Aunt Jing are nice people.”
Upon hearing that, Ning Ran was at a loss for words too.
Nevertheless, Nan Xing was still dissatisfied, so he argued with Ning Ran over the matter after dinner.
As a matter of fact, Cheng Xiangyun agreed with Nan Xing’s point of view too. She felt that something was off about Lu Jingyuan.
However, it was pointless to debate over that. After all, no one had any concrete evidence.
Later that night, Ning Ran lay down to rest and suddenly received a video call from Wang Xiaoou.
She rolled over and sat up swiftly before answering the call. “What’s up, Ou?”
At that moment, Wang Xiaoou was still in the office in her usual workwear.
Ning Ran could not help but feel bad for troubling the team with her personal affairs.
“Take a look at this.”
Wang Xiaoou picked up the tablet from the table and positioned it before the camera so that Ning Ran could see.
Once Ning Ran took a good look at it, she realized that it was a photo of them in a bar.
“Sorry, Ou. I shouldn’t have gone to a place like that. Sorry for troubling you again.” Ning Ran was guilt-ridden.
Wang Xiaoou merely shook her head and replied, “It’s pointless discussing what is right or wrong now that things have come to this. We should instead prioritize settling the problem as soon as possible. Did you notice any difference in this photo? This photo is all over the internet now.”
Bewildered, Ning Ran asked, “What do you mean?”
“Look carefully. Is there any difference from the previous photo on the internet?”
As she said that, Wang Xiaoou put the photo nearer to the camera for Ning Ran to take a closer look.
Ning Ran focused on the photo and found that it was indeed slightly different.
In the previous photo, Ning Ran, Li Xiaolong, and Lu Jingyuan’s faces could be seen clearly. Only the side profile of Ning Ran was captured in that photo.
Everything remained the same in the latest photo. The background was still the same bar.
However, the only difference was that Lu Jingyuan was no longer in that photo, leaving only Ning Ran and Li Xiaolong.
It’s impossible for Lu Jingyuan to disappear completely from the photo. Someone must have edited the real photo. With the latest photo editing technology, it’s not difficult to edit someone out of a photo. Why would the keyboard warriors do that? That’s strange. They’re clearly intending to show me in a bad light. Lu Jingyuan was innocent and got dragged into this matter, but the netizens won’t care about that. If they cared, they would’ve edited Lu Jingyuan out of the photo before they posted it instead of deleting the first photo and posting the edited photo much later on the internet.
After a moment of contemplation, she replied, “I get it now, Ou. Lu Jingyuan is missing in this photo. Someone must have edited it.”
“Yes. Who is she? Why was she there? What was she doing there?” Wang Xiaoou questioned.
Ning Ran had no other choice but to reveal everything to Wang Xiaoou.
“Your friend is suspicious. She brought you there to meet that man. Coincidentally, someone took a photo of you there. Could it be that she’s the one behind all of this?” Wang Xiaoou asked.
Hearing that, Ning Ran did not answer right away. Nan Xing and Cheng Xiangyun had told her the same thing earlier that night.
Even so, Ning Ran believed that Lu Jingyuan would not do such a thing to her.
“She’s your friend. Hence, you think that we shouldn’t paint her in a bad light. Am I right?” Wang Xiaoou noticed her hesitation.
Ning Ran agreed and said frankly, “Yes, I don’t think she has anything to do with this. There’s no reason for her to do that.”
“How do you explain the edited photo, though? The edited photo has clearly dissociated her from this drama,” Wang Xiaoou continued to ask.
Ning Ran didn’t know how to answer that question.
