Nan Chen kept quiet.
He could feel Nan Zhengde’s rage in his voice and had to calm himself down before he spoke.
“Do you trust me, Grandpa?”
“What do you think? Would I have entrusted you with the Nan family otherwise?” Nan Zhengde asked as he looked straight into Nan Chen’s eyes.
“Thank you for trusting me, Grandpa. In that case, I’ll do my explanation.”
“Very well. Go ahead, I’m listening.”
“As you know, Ning Ran is the mother of those children.”
“Of course I know that, but you shouldn’t give up on something this important just because she’s their mother!” Nan Zhengde said coldly.
“I wasn’t giving up on it. I heard that something had happened to her, so I had to find out about her condition. I believe nothing is more important than human life. We may not be married, but that doesn’t change the fact that she is the mother of my children. Her safety will affect their lives at present and in the future. They mean the world to me, and I am willing to exchange anything for them,” Nan Chen spoke slowly and cautiously while observing Nan Zhengde’s responses.
He only continued when he saw Nan Zhengde motion at him to go on.
“So I didn’t do it for Ning Ran or even myself. I did it for the children as well as the future of the Nan family. I know my reason may not sound very convincing, but that is my honest answer. I’m sure you will be able to make a judgment, Grandpa,” Nan Chen said calmly.
Nan Zhengde remained silent and seemed to be in deep thought.
“Well, I suppose your reasoning is acceptable,” he said after a long pause.
That meant it wasn’t completely convincing.
“So why did you change your mind in the end?” Nan Zhengde asked.
“Because I found out that she wasn’t really in a life-threatening situation,” Nan Chen replied.
That was one of the very few moments Nan Chen had told a lie.
He had actually planned on seeing the official at night, but Ning Ran urged him to leave by throwing him out.
“What exactly did she say to you throughout the entire process?” Nan Zhengde asked.
Nan Chen recalled the things Ning Ran said that day and couldn’t bring himself to say it.
“She didn’t say anything.”
“Did she threaten you into seeing her at the hospital?” Nan Zhengde glared at him.
“What do you mean, Grandpa?” Nan Chen noticed something was amiss.
“Did she ask you to go see her, or did you go there of your own accord?”
“The latter, of course! She has no right to demand anything of me, nor will I do as she asks. You know me, Grandpa.”
“Is that so?”
Nan Chen realized that someone must have been badmouthing Ning Ran in front of him.
“Did you hear some nasty rumor or something, Grandpa?”
“I did.” Nan Zhengde didn’t bother to deny it.
The two most powerful men of the Nan family were answering each other’s sensitive questions directly.
“What sort of rumor was it?”
“Someone told me that the woman forced you to go see her, and that you nearly messed everything up as a result. If she really is that selfish and inconsiderate, then you shouldn’t keep her around.” Nan Zhengde got straight to the point.
“Who told you that?” Nan Chen asked.
“Bai Hua did, but she was in this mountain the entire time. She too, had heard all of that from someone else.”
Nan Chen was shocked to hear that.
Bai Hua is here? Does that mean Grandpa has forgiven them? Why else would he let them stay with him otherwise?
“I understand now.” Nan Chen said, “Everything she has heard is false.”
“Okay,” Nan Zhengde replied and went silent once again.
“How have you been, Grandpa?” Nan Chen asked.
“I’ll manage. Keep in mind that I’m not as young as I used to be, so try not to give me a heart attack, okay?”
“I’m sorry, Grandpa. It’s my fault, and I won’t do it again.” Nan Chen apologized.
“But you don’t seem to be at fault, according to what you said earlier.”
“Making you worry is a fault in itself.”
Nan Zhengde kept quiet.
“Is this the only reason why you wanted to see me?” Nan Chen asked.
“Bai Hua was the one who told me all that. Why didn’t you ask me how she found out about it?”
“I know she must’ve heard it from someone. Someone with ulterior motives, that is.” Nan Chen said calmly.
Nan Zhengde nodded. As expected of the person I have entrusted everything with. He saw through it right away!
“Aren’t you going to pursue this matter, then?” Nan Zhengde asked.
“No.”
“Why not? Don’t you care about it at all?”
“I do, but I don’t want to pursue this matter.” Nan Chen said.
Nan Zhengde gave him a puzzled look.
“The incident took place on set, and there were a lot of people present at the scene. That person could be any one of them, so it would be incredibly difficult to find out who it was. I don’t want to trouble my men with such a difficult yet pointless task as that would be a huge waste of resources. Whoever did it must have something that they want, and they won’t stop until they accomplish it. I’m sure they will make a move again. All I have to do is wait for them to do so and expose them then. As long as you are able to tell right from wrong, they will not be able to have their way.”
Nan Zhengde nodded. “You’re right. I do have faith in your capabilities, but you are still very young and inexperienced. You must be more careful in how you handle things, Nan Chen.”
“I understand, Grandpa. I’m sorry for making you worry.”
“I’ve always thought that someone had intentionally arranged for the return of Nan Zhiyuan and Bai Hua. I’ve been observing them for a while now, but I wasn’t able to find anything suspicious about them. The Ouyang family has been in touch with them quite a lot lately, but there isn’t anything unusual about that either. As such, I find it very difficult to understand, and uncertainties are usually a sign of danger. Think of it as a habit I’ve developed over the years if you will. Who knows, maybe I’m just overthinking things?” Nan Zhengde frowned.
He’s clearly bothered by this.
“Is that why you chose to forgive them and keep them by your side? To see if they had any ulterior motives?” Nan Chen asked.
“Correct.” Nan Zhengde nodded.
“Have you managed to find anything?”
Nan Zhengde shook his head. “No, Zhiyuan and Bai Hua haven’t done anything wrong or unusual so far.”
Nan Chen nodded. “Do we have any conflicts of interest with the Ouyang family?”
“No. The friendship between us goes way back, and we’ve been helping each other out in our businesses throughout all those years. Thus, there are no conflicts whatsoever.” Nan Zhengde said.
“I see.”
“Do you have any ideas?” Nan Zhengde asked.
“Not at the moment, although I still find the Ouyang family to be most suspicious.”
“I heard you were pretty close with the second daughter of the Ouyang family. Is that true?”
Nan Chen nodded. “We are considered close, but it’s nothing intimate.”
Nan Zhengde simply nodded in response and kept quiet.
They were both holding back on sharing their honest opinions regarding the incident.
