“What did Nan Chen say?” asked Cheng Xiangyun who squeezed Ning Ran’s shoulder to comfort her.
“What else could that poker face say? He said he wanted to take the kids away.”
“Nan Chen didn’t seem like an unreasonable man,” said Cheng Xiangyun who was a little suspicious.
“Hey, are you seduced by that face?” demanded Ning Ran, “Do you think he’s a good person? Whose side are you on, woman?”
“Quit talking nonsense. I’m on your side,” said Cheng Xiangyun, “I just meant if he said, in actual direct words, that he wanted to take them away?”
“No, he didn’t, but his intentions were clear. Kids of the Nan Family must be raised by the Nan Family.”
“That request makes sense,” agreed Cheng Xiangyun, “Think about it. The Nan Family is the richest and most powerful family in Flower City, and they have way more resources than ordinary families. Those kids will be much better off there than they would be if they were to grow up in a poor neighborhood like this. Moreover, if the kids were accepted, you, as their mother, would also become a part of the family. You won’t need to shoot movies anymore and would be able to live a luxurious life.”
As she spoke, Cheng Xiangyun’s eyes shone like she was the one who was about to be a part of a rich family.
“You’re too naïve, woman,” dissed Ning Ran who glared at Cheng Xiangyun.
“How am I naïve?” refuted Cheng Xiangyun.
“As you know, the poker face and I had been at odds ever since we met, and every meeting since then had only further that distaste for one another.”
“And now, we’re forced to be a family, but that small connection wouldn’t make him accept me.” “You didn’t see the way he looked at me. It was like I wasn’t even human. That poker face never thought about accepting me and wanted to pay me some money to get me to leave so that he could take the kids away,” explained Ning Ran with her teeth gritted.
“If that is the case… How much did he offer?”
“F*** you! You think I should just accept that money?” growled Ning Ran, “Are you insane? Do you think I’d abandon my kids for money?”
“Here’s the thing. I’m gonna be brutally honest now, but you have no fighting chance against the Nan Family.”
“I know,” said Ning Ran as she nodded, “That was why I didn’t want to make things worse with that poker face.”
“If it comes down to it, you may as well take the money. They’re taking the kids away regardless of whether you accept the money anyway so you may as well just accept it. Accepting the money doesn’t mean abandoning the kids. With that money, you can do a lot of things for yourself and the kids, right? By the way, exactly how much was he offering?”
Ning Ran was speechless. That Cheng Xiangyun was still focused on the money.
“Don’t talk about the money! I won’t let them have my kids,” said Ning Ran as she sprung up, “They’re my kids and no one is taking them away!”
“Don’t worry, I’m on your side,” said Cheng Xiangyun.
Nan Family’s Commoner Residence
Nan Chen’s grandfather, Nan Zhengde, was already waiting when Nan Chen walked into the living room.
Although he was in his seventies, Nan Zhengde was still alert and strong.
“You called, grandpa?” said Nan Chen as he bowed.
“Sit,” Nan Zhengde ordered Nan Chen.
Nan Chen said down with his back straightened and his legs close together.
“Relax,” said Nan Zhengde, “You don’t have to be so nervous.”
Unfortunately, Nan Chen was unable to do so because if his grandfather called him over that late at night, then it must be something important, and Nan Chen had guessed what it was about.
“It’s late, grandpa,” said Nan Chen, “Let’s get to it and you can rest early.”
“Alright then, I’ll be straightforward,” said Nan Zhengde, “Nan Chen, you are, undoubtedly, the most brilliant member of the Nan Family.”
That was his grandfather’s technique – to butter someone up before criticizing them so that the blow was softened. Being aware of that, Nan Chen didn’t speak because he knew that the real topic was right behind.
“I got a couple of complaints that said you lied about being sick and caused the share prices to fall.” “I didn’t talk to you about it until I looked into the matter myself and realized that it was true. I just want to know why.”
Nan Zhengde’s tone was calm and carried no anger, but Nan Chen was pressured.
“That did happen,” Nan Chen admitted.
“You canceled the trip to Europe so you had to feign your illness to prevent the royal family from being upset, am I right?” asked Nan Zhengde.
Nan Chen nodded. He knew he couldn’t keep his grandfather in the dark so he never planned to do so.
“However, I didn’t look into why you canceled the trip. I felt like I should give you the chance to explain yourself.” “Grandpa trusts you so I don’t want to look into your private matters and only investigated the official matters.”
Nan Chen nodded again to say that he understood.
“Well then, tell me. Why did you cancel your trip? As the head of the Nanshi Corporation, you are aware of how important it was to maintain a good relationship with the royal family.”
“I did it to have dinner with someone,” answered Nan Chen honestly.
“To have dinner with someone?” said Nan Zhengde who was surprised to hear that, “Who was it that was so important to you that you are willing to sacrifice that much just to have dinner with him/her? Was the dinner with a man or a woman?”
“A boy and a girl.”
“Who are they? Are they some sort of prime ministers or business tycoons?”
“No, just two kids.”
Nan Zhengde had been calm but the moment he heard that it was two kids, he lost it.
“What’s going on? You canceled a trip that important just to have dinner with two kids?”
“These are the kids,” said Nan Chen. Then, he fished out his phone and showed his grandfather a photo of Dabao and Erbao.
The moment he saw those eyes, Nan Zhengde understood.
“Are those… your kids?”
“No, they’re Nan Xing’s kids. I didn’t know back then but I had to make sure.”
“And now you’re sure?”
“The DNA report had confirmed that they are Nan Xing’s kids, your great-grandchildren.”
“Good, good, good!” exclaimed Nan Zhengde.
Royal banquets, share prices…. none of that mattered. The important thing was that he had great-grandchildren!
“Where are the kids? I want to meet them. I’ll go wake your grandma up now and we’ll go together. She’ll be even more excited than I am,” said Nan Zhengde who was extremely excited.
“Grandpa, it’s late and the kids should be asleep. Nan Xing will be back tomorrow and we’ll bring the kids over to meet you.”
“Oh right,” said Nan Zhengde who sat back down, “It’s late so the kids should be asleep. Kids need plenty of sleep to grow up healthy.”
Nan Chen saw how excited his grandfather was and knew that the old man would not be able to sleep that night.
“Then I’ll take my leave,” said Nan Chen as he stood up, “so that you can rest well.”
“Wait, the kids. They’re twins, aren’t they? They look so much alike,” said Nan Zhengde who wanted to talk more about the kids because he was too excited.
“Yes, grandpa,” said Nan Chen, “the younger one is the girl who’s talkative and likes to play. The elder one’s the boy who’s quiet and smart.”
“That girl is just like Nan Xing, and the boy…. well, he’s just like you. It’s so awesome. Oh, I really want to meet my great-grandkids soon.”
“Calm down, grandpa. You’ll definitely meet them.”
“Oh right, by the way, who’s the mom? Why didn’t she come forward earlier?”
Nan Chen was quiet because he didn’t know the answer.
His guess was that the woman was too scheming and hid her pregnancy so that she could use the kids to gain favors or power in the future.
“I’m not sure. You’ll have to ask Nan Xing. It’s really late, grandpa, you should rest.”
“Alright, then you may take your leave. I have to tell your grandma about the kids!”
