In the meeting room, Jiang Zhe sat at the head of the table on behalf of Nan Chen.
That was how influential Nan Chen was. Even when he was not around, his assistant was still qualified to take his seat.
Despite knowing the whole story, Jiang Zhe let his subordinates finish reporting the entire incident.
I have to act like I’m listening attentively before making a decision so that I appeared mature and staid.
I know I’m sitting here only because of the respect they have for Mr. Chen, and I can never replace him.
Not only was Jiang Zhe smart, but he also had high emotional intelligence. He earned everyone’s respect, yet he never put on airs.
Despite his powerful position, he maintained a humble attitude, which was exactly the reason why he could stay by Nan Chen’s side for such a long time.
After everyone finished reporting, Jiang Zhe adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, nodding discreetly.
“I see. So it wasn’t Ms. Ding’s fault,” Jiang Zhe told of his opinion.
And everyone knew that whatever Jiang Zhe said was Nan Chen’s standpoint as well.
His words set the tone for the entire meeting, and everyone stopped focusing on blaming Ding Mi’s and discussed the solution instead.
“Do you have any suggestions?” Jiang Zhe asked.
“We thought of having Ding Mi to apologize publicly to calm the netizens down,” an executive suggested.
“Yes, one must apologize after doing something wrong. However, Ms. Ding isn’t at fault. Why should she apologize then?” Jiang Zhe asked them.
Everyone fell silent at his words.
They felt doubtful, despite knowing that this was Nan Chen’s decision. How are we going to solve the issue without apologizing? We can’t just let it be, or else the scandal may escalate and get out of control.
“What does Mr. Chen think?” Another executive couldn’t help but ask directly.
“Mr. Chen came with me just now, but he’s here not for the meeting, but to check on Ms. Ding and make sure that she wasn’t hurt by Ye Meng,” Jiang Zhe answered.
It finally dawned on them that Nan Chen was very protective of Ning Ran. What else could they ask when their boss only cared about whether she was hurt or not?
“How should we deal with this?” the director of the PR department asked.
“We won’t deal with it.” Jiang Zhe’s answer caught them by surprise. Everyone looked stupefied.
What does he mean by not dealing with it?
Jiang Zhe added, “Ye Meng instigated her fans to attack our celebrity. How are we going to handle it? We can’t stop her fans from protesting and clamoring on the Internet. If they sue us, we can respond to the lawsuit. However, if they do nothing other than starting an online movement, just ignore them.”
“But this will have a huge negative impact on us. Now Star Entertainment has become their target too.” Someone voiced out his doubt.
“This is Mr. Chen’s decision,” Jiang Zhe announced the final word.
What sort of strategy is this? How can we ignore such an overwhelming hue and cry all over the Internet? Anyway, there’s nothing else we can say about this matter. Since Mr. Chen said so, we’ll do nothing then. But this doesn’t seem like his way of handling things at all.
Meanwhile, on the way home, Ning Ran felt rather gleeful.
I thought he would blame me for acting recklessly, since my actions caused so much trouble. I didn’t expect him to protect me to the extent that some will find it outrageous. Am I dreaming?
Looking at the hint of a smile on her lips, Nan Chen felt delighted on the inside.
“Have you eaten?” Nan Chen suddenly asked.
Hearing his words, it was only then Ning Ran realized that she was hungry.
“No,” she answered meekly.
“It’s already so late. Why didn’t you eat first?”
“I didn’t have the mood to eat because of the scandal. I’m sorry to have troubled everyone,” Ning Ran said with remorse.
“Don’t be silly. Like I said, it’s not your fault.”
“I’m not being silly. Though you support me, I still feel bad about it…”
“It’s not that I support you. I just don’t want to see the artiste under my company get bullied,” he corrected her at once.
“Okay. Anyway, thank you.”
“Treat me to a meal then,” the man said impassively.
“Huh? Treat you to a meal?”
“Didn’t you say to treat me to a meal? Are you only thanking me verbally?” His face became stern.
“Sure, I’ll buy you a meal. Let’s go to Pit’s Barbeque. It’s been a while since I last ate…”
“No!” Nan Chen interrupted her.
It reminded Ning Ran that he had diarrhea the last time he ate this, so he surely wouldn’t want to go there again.
“What would you like to eat?” she asked.
“I don’t know.”
Ning Ran seemed troubled.
Usually, I’ll choose a decent restaurant when I treat someone to a meal. But that doesn’t work when it comes to this man. He isn’t interested in those high-end restaurants which he goes to regularly. Thus, it’s meaningless to bring him there.
“How about going home? And I’ll cook noodles for you. This is the cheapest option. It’ll save me a lot of money.”
Dissatisfied, he glared at her. “Why are you so avaricious?”
Ning Ran let out a sigh. “I know that money is just a number for rich people like you. But for people who used to be poor like me, it’s crucial for our survival. I bet you’ll never understand this.”
“Never mind. I’ll take you to a restaurant. What do you want to eat?”
Ning Ran almost leaped for joy. “Grilled beef!”
“How many times have you had this? Don’t you get sick of it?”
She shook her head. “I won’t. I really love it. The restaurant is too expensive. I won’t get to eat it when you’re not around. I’m reluctant to spend money on it even if I go on my own.”
Without a word, Nan Chen gave her a disapproving look. She’s literally obsessed with money.
Half an hour later, the two arrived at the restaurant.
After taking a seat, Ning Ran wanted to chat with Nan Chen. Yet, he kept quiet, and she didn’t know how to strike up a conversation.
It’s really difficult to chat with the taciturn Poker Face. It takes a lot of patience and the ability to find the right topic to talk to him about. He has always been a man of mystery. And this enigmatic man never makes small talk. I wonder what kind of topic will pique his interest.
He holds an ocean of knowledge, including global politics and economic trends, corporate development and many more that ordinary people cannot even imagine. Nevertheless, he rarely expresses himself, because only a handful of people can understand him. And I can never take a sneak peek into his heart if he doesn’t open up.
In the end, Ning Ran rested her hands on the table while staring at him.
Under the faint light, the man looked utterly dashing, but his expressionless face was a party pooper.
“Can’t you just smile? Aren’t you tired of being so serious all the time?” Ning Ran couldn’t hold back from teasing him.
“Why should I smile? Only fools smile for no reason,” Nan Chen replied.
Ning Ran couldn’t find words to refute him. Yet, that didn’t ruin her good mood.
“How are you going to handle the scandal? What’s the company going to do?”
She started asking about work since he wasn’t keen to talk about his personal matters.
Unlike Nan Chen, who could keep silent for a long time, Ning Ran found it hard to do the same, trying to look for a conversation starter.
