Personally, she didn’t want the kids to see Nan Chen, but she didn’t want her kids to keep worrying either.
For the longest time, it had only been Ning Ran and the kids so the kids’ idea of a ‘dad’ had always been blurry, and they had always lacked the love of a father.
It wasn’t until Nan Chen, a man with a similar face, strong aura, and immense wealth showed up that the kids started fantasizing about having a dad.
The sudden appearance of fatherly love had engulfed them and protected them, giving them a sense of security and warmth that they had never experienced before.
The kids loved that security and warmth and it was normal for them to lean on it, and be unwilling to give it up.
Unfortunately, just as everything was bright and sunny, they received the news that Nan Chen had fallen ill.
The kids may be young, but they understood what being sick meant, and they sensed that they may be losing that fatherly love again.
Even for an adult, retrieving someone you lost was a happy encounter while losing it again was a devastating loss. For kids, that was something unthinkable.
As their mother, Ning Ran understood how they felt. How could she not? They’re a part of her.
After considering long and hard, she decided and said, “It’s okay, let them go see that poker face.”
“Then you must go too,” said Cheng Xiangyun.
“Me? That’s not possible. You know that there’s bad blood between the two of us. We hate each other! Letting my kids see him is the farthest I’m willing to go.”
“The kids won’t go unless you go too,” said Cheng Xiangyun.
“Why not?” Ning Ran asked Cheng Xiangyun.
“Don’t you know your own kids? They still feel bad for meeting Nan Chen without your permission. Now that they know you’d be upset; would they still pay him a visit? The only way they’d be willing to go is if you pay him a visit too.”
Ning Ran didn’t speak because she agreed with Cheng Xiangyun.
The kids are mature, so mature that it made her heartache.
Happy kids are often immature because they never needed to face any difficulty and never needed to grow up any faster than the other kids do.
“But I don’t want to go. If I do, I’ll be miserable, and so would he.”
“Is there really that much bad blood between the two of you?” asked Cheng Xiangyun, “He could be the father. You shouldn’t make things so bad between the two of you,”
“No, he looks down on me and I don’t care what he thinks of me,” said Ning Ran who shook her head, “Luo Fei’s boyfriend… that is a proud, useless man who inherited his wealth.”
“Then we’ll ask what the kids think. If they’re willing to go without you, then that’s fine, but if not, you’ll have to go with them. Remember, you’re just doing this for the kids anyway, not actually paying him a visit.”
Ning Ran nodded. She was willing to sacrifice herself for her kids.
In the end, it was as Cheng Xiangyun predicted. The kids denied being worried about Nan Chen and simultaneously said that they don’t need to pay him a visit.
They didn’t want to upset their mommy.
“Then what if your mommy wants to go visit Uncle Nan Chen with the two of you?” asked Cheng Xiangyun.
The two precious kids looked up, delighted to hear the news, but they quickly reverted back to their previous stance.
“That’s not possible,” said Erbao as she shook her head.
“Nothing’s impossible. Your mommy loves you both very much. You may be worried that she’s upset, but she’s even more worried about the two of you being upset. I’ll call your mommy now, have her ask the director for some time off so she could clock off early and accompany the two of you to go visit Uncle Nan Chen.”
The kids’ smile lit up again. “Really?”
“Of course,” said Cheng Xiangyun, “When have I ever lied to you?”
……
At Nanshi Corporation’s Headquarters
“Mr. Chen, the share price falling made the shareholders upset, and they had been calling to ask about your condition,” reported Jiang Zhe cautiously.
Nan Chen narrowed his eyes. Those shareholders had always been annoying for getting all worked up over something so petty.
The companies under Nanshi Corporation had been growing exponentially and the shareholders had been receiving huge bonuses ever since Nan Chen took over Nanshi Corporation.
There was no such thing as an everlasting rise in share prices so it was ridiculous of them to get so worked up over the fluctuation in prices.
“Ignore,” replied Nan Chen.
“After news got out that you are sick, the European royal family called to wish you a speedy recovery, and to say that they were sorry you couldn’t attend the banquet,” said Jiang Zhe.
“Reply. Feel bad for missing the banquet. Look forward to working together,” ordered Nan Chen.
“Yes, sir.”
The boss went too far this time. Jiang Zhe thought. First, he had forgone the royal banquet just to have dinner with two kids then he feigned his illness to prevent the royal family from being upset. The report of him being sick, in turn, caused the share price to drop and the company lost billions because of it.
When the kids grow up and found out that Nan Chen had thrown billions away just to have dinner with them, would their jaws drop from the shock?
The buffet dinner costs a couple of hundred, but Nan Chen having the meal with them lost him billions. That was most definitely the most expensive dinner in the world.
“Anything else?” Nan Chen asked the distracted Jiang Zhe.
“Oh, Ding Mi’s assistant called to say that they heard about Mr. Chen’s illness. Ding Mi wants to bring her kids along to pay you a visit and asks if you’re okay with it.”
“Ding Mi?” the moment he uttered her name, Nan Chen felt like he smelled that sweet tangerine scent again.
Unfortunately, that was quickly replaced by repulsion. This woman really did have something planned. First, she pretended to not care, then used her kids to get my attention.
Now that the timing is right, she is using her kids to get close to me.
It was just as Nan Chen had thought. That was a scheming woman.
“Reject it,” said Nan Chen.
“Understood, Mr. Chen,” said Jiang Zhe as he started to leave.
“Wait,” Nan Chen called after Jiang Zhe, “Meet.”
Jiang Zhe was confused… So do I arrange for that visit or not?
“Then I’ll have them here tonight?” said Jiang Zhe to confirm everything.
Nan Chen didn’t speak. Instead, he waved his hands to get Jiang Zhe to leave the room.
At the set of the Sound of Thunder 2, the shooting of the show was on-going.
After shooting a reel, everyone was exhausted and was using the small window of time between takes to rest up.
Ning Ran walked over and said, “Director Wang, I’d like to ask for some time off today so I can leave early.”
“Are you kidding me? We have a scene to shoot when the day becomes dark. No one is allowed to leave before 12 in the morning. Anyone who leaves will be fired!” said Wang Yan.
“Lower your voice, director,” said Ning Ran, “Or someone else may overhear you.”
“I’ve always been loud, and why would I care if anyone else heard me?”
“Because you’d look bad if you change your mind later,” whispered Ning Ran.
“Huh? Why would I change my mind? We need to hurry or we’ll have to delay the show’s air date. Everyone must work overtime tonight, no one leaves!”
“But Mr. Chen wants me to head over right away,” said Ning Ran who then sighed and continued, “He’ll be angry if I don’t.”
“What did you say? Mr. Chen wants you to go over? Aren’t you two at odds? Why would he want you over?” asked Wang Yan who didn’t believe in Ning Ran’s excuse.
Ning Ran pretended to be shy and said, “I have no idea why he wanted me to go over. All he said was that he had a room ready in the hotel and he wants me over to talk about the script.”
Wang Yan’s heart skipped a beat. Getting a hotel room to talk about the script? Did she mean….?
“Are you sure?” asked Wang Yan again.
Ning Ran acted even shier and had her head down, “If you don’t believe me, you can ask Mr. Chen.”
“Then what are you still doing here? Go on now! Don’t make Mr. Chen wait!”
Ning Ran was speechless.
