Chapter 848
Chapter 848
Meanwhile, Ning Ran woke up early despite not sleeping well. She had not been checking Rong Jilin's Weibo, so she had no idea that the latter had deleted that slandering post and uploaded a new one apologizing to her. Of course, she was also entirely in the dark that Ruan Anxi had forced him to do so. However, someone did notice it. It was none other than Wang Xiaoou who had stayed up all night with the public relations team to think of a response plan.
Wang Xiaoou also thought it odd, wondering why Rong Jilin would take the post down so quickly and even apologize publicly. It took everyone by surprise. Hence, she called Ning Ran as soon as it was light out. She wanted to know whether Nan Chen had done something to pressure the Rong family, thus forcing Rong Jilin to change his tune.
Ning Ran also could not make heads or tails of the situation as she did not know what had happened. However, I do know that Nan Chen must be awake already. He always gets up early. I've got to rush over to Raining Pavilion before the kids need to leave for school. It was too late to go there last night, and I didn't want to wake the kids. It's better to head over in the morning.
When she arrived at Raining Pavilion, she was surprised to discover that the little ones were not yet awake. She had indeed gotten up too early.
The housekeeper was preparing breakfast in the kitchen, and she went to help. A while later, she heard Nan Chen talking on the phone in his study. She slowly moved closer, wondering whether he was talking to Luo Zhiyi so early in the day. However, after eavesdropping for a short while and guessing it was not the case, she entered the room to let him know she had returned.
He looked a little grim after ending the call. “Did you get back last night?”
“Yes. Since it was late and I was worried about waking the kids, I stayed the night at the old house and rushed over first thing in the morning,” she explained.
“What happened at the capital? You have to tell me everything now and explain every detail clearly,” he said, his expression serious.
“I'm sorry. I went to meet David without your permission—”
“I already know about that. DBA has informed us about resuming our collaboration negotiations. That's wonderful news, but what I'd like to know is what happened between you and the Rong family's second son.”
“Well, it's like this...” Ning Ran proceeded to recount to him what happened at the capital. She did not spare any detail, and he listened intently.
After a moment's silence, he asked, “Is that all?”
“That's all. I last met Rong Jilin at Medallion Restaurant, and we've not interacted with each other since then. This morning, Ou suddenly told me that he had deleted the post about me and even apologized. She wanted to know what happened, but I don't know either. Was it you?” Ning Ran countered.
The way Nan Chen was staring at her made her hair stand on end. “Why are you looking at me like that? Did I say something wrong?”
His gaze turned even colder. “Have you really told me everything? You're not hiding something, are you?”
“Of course. I've explained every single detail clearly. Why would I hide anything?” she responded, not understanding what he meant.
He paced around a little, seemingly deep in thought. “I received word that Rong Jilin has been seriously injured and hospitalized. I heard he had his face disfigured and the ligaments in his foot severed. If the
operation is unsuccessful, he might end up as a cripple. There's only one person I can think of who'd do something so cruel.”
Ning Ran was shocked when she heard that. “Someone severed the ligaments in his foot? Like what we see in TV shows? Are you serious?” NôvelDrama.Org holds text © rights.
“The news came from a very reliable source, so it should be true. I can't think of any other person. Apart from one person, I can't think of anyone else who'd do such a thing.” Nan Chen studied her closely after saying that.
Panicking, she replied, “We must be thinking of the same person, but I didn't meet with him. I only met with two people in the capital. One of them was Lu Jingyuan. After that, I went with her to meet David. There was no one else. I swear—”
He waved a hand at her. “I trust you. Perhaps Ruan Anxi secretly followed you, but you just didn't realize it.”
A chill ran down her spine. What's that devil up to? Why did he follow me?
“Or maybe it wasn't Ruan Anxi?” she ventured.
Nan Chen shook his head. “It has to be him. No one else would be so bold as to injure Rong Jilin in the capital, let alone in Rong Jilin's hotel room. At the moment, no one knows how he got in. Moreover, no one else is as ruthless as Ruan Anxi. I'm sure it's him.”
“Has the Rong family made a police report?”
“No idea. However, since Ruan Anxi dared to take things so far, he must not be worried about them making a police report. He has a thousand ways of getting away. It's what he has done all these years,
and he's used to it already. It appears he was helping to punish Rong Jilin, but he has once again put me in a tough spot,” he uttered icily.
“I understand. The Rong family will surely think you're behind it and blame everything on you. They already have a grudge against the Nan family, and their hatred will only deepen after this,” she said, ending it with a sigh.
Nodding, he replied, “I'm glad you understand. Did Ruan Anxi contact you?”
“No, he really didn't. I wasn't even aware that he had gone to the capital too. He's like a phantom. No one ever knows his whereabouts,” she answered.
“Mommy, are you back? I heard your voice!” Having just woken up, Erbao burst into the room, bleary- eyed.
Ning Ran swept Erbao up in her arms. “Did you miss me?”
“Of course! Very much. I missed you three thousand!”
“Three thousand?”
“Yeah. It means I missed you more than a thousand or two thousand times!”
Realization dawned on Ning Ran. Ah, what she means by that is she didn't just miss me a ton, but way more than that. I didn't know there were so many levels to missing someone. I've learned something new.
“Well, I missed you twice as much!” She gave Erbao a big kiss.
“Mommy, I want you to help me comb my hair and wash my face,” Erbao said in a wheedling tone.
“Okay. I'll help you do that. Then, we'll head to school after breakfast,” Ning Ran replied.
Watching the affectionate mother-daughter interaction, Nan Chen felt slightly jealous. He asked Erbao, “How much did you miss me when I went away on a business trip?”
The little girl gazed at him, then at Ning Ran while giggling. “Three thousand!”
Ning Ran could not help thinking about how well Erbao handled the question. She said she missed us the same, no more and no less. She treats us both equally.
However, Nan Chen frowned. “Just the same?”
“What's the matter? Don't tell me you want to one-up me,” Ning Ran teased with a laugh.
“All right. So be it. The two of you should go and wash up. I still have another call to make,” Nan Chen said. In truth, he and Ning Ran both had something on their minds. However, they put on a cheerful front before Erbao so as not to put pressure on the latter.
There had always been bad blood between Prosperity Holdings and Nanshi Corporation. After what happened to Rong Jilin, his family would surely be livid and retaliate. Although Nan Chen had nothing to do with the incident, he would not take the initiative to explain it because he knew they would not believe him anyway. That's just how some things are. Even if I explain it a hundred times, my attempts will be futile. Since there's no point in explaining the situation, I can only face it head-on.
However, even though he remained calm and composed, Ning Ran knew that a storm was brewing.