Ouyang Qi adjusted his position and faced Ning Ran as he explained away. “Not really. Our families are close, so we knew each other since we were kids, although I can’t really tell him and his brother apart. The only reason why we don’t get along now is because of you.”
But Ning Ran knew it was all a bluff. “Stop talking nonsense and tell me why you agreed to work with Nan Chen.”
“My original plan was to persuade Ye Meng to go easy on you. But the people Nan Chen sent said I should just have a drink with her and have it recorded instead of wasting my energy talking to her. Like I told you, Nan Chen is not as good as you think he is. I’ll never do something this underhanded.”
It was obvious that Ouyang Qi was trying to make himself appear better by putting Nan Chen down.
“Yeah, but you still agreed to his proposal,” Ning Ran pointed out honestly.
“But he was the one who came up with the idea. He actually wanted to do it himself, but he knew he was not attractive enough to ask Ye Meng out for a drink. That’s why he had to ask me to do it,” Ouyang Qi said.
Ning Ran suppressed her smile and nodded mechanically as Ouyang Qi bragged away.
“What’s so funny?” Ouyang Qi asked, looking at her.
“Nothing. I just think you really have a way with words,” she replied nonchalantly.
Emboldened by the compliment, Ouyang Qi continued badmouthing Nan Chen. “He came out with a sneaky idea and pushed me into doing it. How reliable can a person like that be, eh?”
Ning Ran continued nodding as he talked on and on about Nan Chen.
“Don’t you agree?” Ouyang Qi finally asked.
“Yes, I agree with everything you said.”
“Good. Then we should have a meal together after you get a change.”
……
Over at Nanshi Corporation, Nan Chen flung a document file in full force at Jiang Zhe in his office.
“What is Ouyang Qi doing there?” he interrogated.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Chen. He happened to pass by and…”
“He happened to pass by? It’s not like the event was held beside a big road!”
Jiang Zhe almost slapped himself in the mouth for coming up with such a lame excuse. He quickly picked up the file and put it back on the table as he took the chance to think about another explanation.
“He must be there because he knew there was an event going on. That’s why…”
“I’m not going to let him play the good guy. Where is he now?” Nan Chen asked furiously.
Jiang Zhe stole a timid look at Nan Chen and replied softly, “They went to the hotel.”
“What? They went to the hotel?” Nan Chen sprang to his feet, sending his roller chair banging against the wall.
He reached for the file Jiang Zhe picked up and slammed it towards the ground.
“Ms. Ding dirtied her clothes and she needed a change. That’s why she’s heading for the hotel to wash up,” Jiang Zhe said quietly.
“She can do that at home! Why does she have to go to the hotel with him?” Nan Chen went berserk.
“They left the place in Ouyang Qi’s car. I guess Ms. Ding did not want to bring him home.” Jiang Zhe was doing all he could to extinguish the fire.
“That doesn’t mean they can just go to a hotel!” Nan Chen roared, sweeping everything on the table to the floor in a fit.
“Damn it!” Nan Chen shouted as he stormed out of the office.
Jiang Zhe dashed after him as he searched his pocket for his phone to call the driver.
In less than ten minutes, Nan Chen was already at the hotel.
By the time he arrived, Ouyang Qi was sitting at the lobby, looking at his phone leisurely as he hummed a lively tune. He felt a threatening glare piercing through him and he looked up, only to see Nan Chen charging towards him.
He stood up nervously and evaded his glare guiltily.
“Why are you here? Did you send someone to spy on me again?” Ouyang Qi asked coldly.
“Where is she?” Nan Chen questioned.
“She’s bathing in the room. Those people dirtied her clothes and she had to change.”
“Which room?” Nan Chen probed with a scrutinizing tone.
But Ouyang Qi was not planning on telling him. “She asked me to wait for her. Why not you just sit and wait together?”
“I asked which room is she in?” Nan Chen reiterated his question. He was not in the mood for any game.
“Seriously, what’s wrong with you? Don’t tell me you’re going to barge into the room! Just be patient and wait here,” Ouyang Qi retaliated.
“Fine. I’m going to ask the front desk,” Nan Chen said curtly as he walked towards the receptionist.
“Excuse me. Could you tell me the room number of the lady who came in with this man who looks like a pervert?”
The receptionist stole a furtive look at the handsome young man before her and answered disconcertedly, “I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you anything about our guests.”
“Why?” Nan Chen inquired immediately.
“Because the lady specifically told us not to tell anyone her room number. We’re responsible for the safety of our guests,” the receptionist answered with a coy smile.
“She asked you not to tell anybody?” Nan Chen asked.
“Yes. I’m sorry but we have to respect the guest’s request,” she replied in a helpless tone.
If Ning Ran had not requested so, the receptionist would have readily offered any information Nan Chen needed. He was just too attractive for her to reject any of his requests. From the way she was drooling over Nan Chen, it was not surprising at all that she would even give him her WeChat ID if he had asked for it.
Across the front desk, Nan Chen’s frown relaxed and his mood lightened up after he found out that Ning Ran was the one who asked the receptionist to keep her room number a secret.
She must have done so because she did not want Ouyang Qi to know where she was.
Ning Ran took the necessary precaution to keep that man away and Nan Chen finally heaved a sigh of relief.
That’s my wife!
Looking at how things turned out, it seemed like he got all worked up for nothing.
Nan Chen walked over to the leather couch and sat down as he waited for Ning Ran.
Seeing him come back, Ouyang Qi leaned closer and asked, “What about a game?”
“Get lost!” Nan Chen scoffed.
“Come on. Don’t be a bore. Let’s play a game. It’ll be fun,” Ouyang Qi said yet again.
“Get lost!” Nan Chen’s voice hardened as he shot him a death glare.
“How can you talk like this to me? I know we dislike each other, but there’s not a need to be so rude,” Ouyang Qi replied in a superficially polite tone.
“Just get lost!” Nan Chen raised his voice.
But Ouyang Qi did not seem to heed his warning. “I did everything you said yesterday. You should at least thank me for making everything a success. But here you are, instead of thanking me, you’re asking me to get lost. Where are your manners? So much for a gentleman!”
To Ouyang Qi’s dismay, his long reproval did not elicit any response from Nan Chen. He had his gaze locked on the entrance.
In no time, Jiang Zhe appeared at the entrance with a branded shopping bag in his hand. It was the most expensive luxury brand for women’s apparel in Flower City, and there was only one retail shop for that brand in the whole city.
Following Nan Chen’s gaze, Ouyang Qi quickly said, “I’ve already got her a set of clothes.”
But Nan Chen disregarded him completely and gestured at Jiang Zhe to bring the bag over before asking him to leave first.
Jiang Zhe nodded and greeted Ouyang Qi before turning to leave.
Unlike Nan Chen, who could treat Ouyang Qi as coldly as he liked, Jiang Zhe could not.
It was true that Ouyang Qi was a dandy, but it was also equally true that he was Ouyang Duo’s son.
Everyone had to respect him because of his dad.
That was why he was able to ask Ye Meng out and even slept with the female superstar.
It would not have been possible if it were not for Ouyang Qi.
After greeting Jiang Zhe back, Ouyang Qi cocked his head towards Nan Chen and dissed, “You should learn from your assistant. He’s much more polite and he knows his manners.”
Again, Nan Chen ignored him and looked past him towards the elevator as the door opened. Ning Ran was finally back.
