“Permission granted,” said Nan Chen who agreed to the terms.
Ning Ran was surprised. She didn’t think that Nan Chen would agree to those terms.
Her intentions were obvious. She would move into the mansion with the kids, and she would be able to leave with the kids when she moved out.
A man as intelligent as Nan Chen must’ve seen through it, but he still agreed to it.
That made Ning Ran uncomfortable because it made her wonder if Nan Chen had something up his sleeves.
“Really?” asked Ning Ran who felt that it was necessary to confirm his reply.
“Yes,” said Nan Chen coolly.
“Okay,” said Ning Ran who was calmer, “So the kids and I will stay in the same room?”
“That won’t be possible. Kids of the Nan Family must learn to be independent, and they must have their own rooms. Parents need not accompany them.” “You and Nan Xing aren’t married yet so it’d be inappropriate for the two of you to share a room.” “Grandma and Grandpa had been fighting and were at odds. You’ll share a room with grandma for now. It’ll give you two a chance to get to know one another,” said Nan Chen.
“Huh?”
Ning Ran knew that the Poker Face wasn’t that nice! He was making her share a room with an old lady who was in the middle of an argument!
Everyone knew that most elderly ladies from rich families were difficult to deal with because they were stubborn, picky, and liked to discriminate against others.
Having a stranger share a room with an elderly woman who was in the middle of an argument was equivalent to sending the stranger in as a punching bag.
Moreover, even if the elderly woman didn’t go out of her way to annoy Ning Ran, Ning Ran would still be uncomfortable.
Ning Ran had always been easy-going so she never paid attention to her bad habits. If she wasn’t careful, she’d make a mistake and the elderly woman would eat her alive for it.
That Poker Face is truly devious!
“I’m not going,” refused Ning Ran immediately.
“Then forget about it,” said Nan Chen, who was waiting for Ning Ran to reject his offer.
“You…”
“That’s it then.”
Nan Chen got up and left the room without saying another word to Ning Ran.
He had gotten what he wanted so there was no need to talk anymore.
Ning Ran was a little disappointed that she couldn’t beat him.
She had spent so much time and put so much effort into that argument but was defeated by the Poker Face’s indifference.
After exiting Nanshi Corporation’s headquarters, Ning Ran started to look for a hotel to stay in.
She spent quite some time looking for a place online and picked a cheaper hotel to stay in.
Ning Ran put on a mask so that she won’t be recognized and attacked by the haters.
There was a time when Ning Ran was jealous of Zheng Lunlun because he was a celebrity who needed a mask whenever he left the house. She never thought that there’d be a day when she needed to wear a mask too.
Ning Ran finally got a taste of what it was like to be a public figure. The heartbreaking bit was that other celebrities were worried about their fans being too sweet whereas Ning Ran was afraid of being targeted.
At the hotel reception, Ning Ran handed her identity card over to register for a room.
“Please take off your mask so that we may verify your identity,” said the receptionist.
Ning Ran hesitated, but still took her mask off.
The moment she took it off, a beautiful face was shown.
The receptionist felt that she had seen Ning Ran before so she said, “Are you…?”
“No, I am not!” claimed Ning Ran who wanted to keep herself hidden.
“Wow, so you really are…”
“I said I’m not!” said Ning Ran before she put on her mask again.
The receptionist looked rather excited when she said, “Don’t worry, I won’t tell. I am Zheng Lunlun’s fan too, but I won’t be mean to you.”
Am I supposed to thank you for that? thought Ning Ran.
Ning Ran didn’t want to stay there anymore since she had been recognized.
“Sorry, but I changed my mind,” said Ning Ran, “I won’t be staying here anymore.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone,” said the receptionist, “You’re too popular now so you’d be recognized no matter which hotel you live in. You may as well just stay here.”
Ning Ran deliberated about whether she should listen to the receptionist.
The receptionist seemed like a reasonable person, but there was no saying whether she would leak the information about where Ning Ran was staying to the public.
“No thanks, I don’t want to stay here anymore. Please return my deposit. Thank you.”
“Just stay. It’s fine,” said the young receptionist, “I could pay for your room if you want. Employees get discounts on all rooms.”
“It’s okay,” said Ning Ran who was a little touched, “You don’t need to do that.”
“Come on, just stay. You have to rent a room somewhere. It’s decided. I’ll pay for your room and you don’t need to spend a dime.” “Besides, I work at the reception. If the paparazzi show up, I can phone ahead and let you know,” said the receptionist, “Won’t that be better for you?”
Ning Ran saw how sincere the receptionist was and decided to stay. There is a good chance that I’ll be recognized even if I stay somewhere else so I may as well just stay here.
“Okay, I’ll stay,” replied Ning Ran with a smile, “And thank you for your kindness, but I prefer paying for my room.”
“There’s no need. I can pay for it. I get a huge discount anyway. If you really feel that bad, you can buy me dinner.”
Ning Ran didn’t want to keep talking in a crowded lobby so she agreed to it.
The receptionist personally brought Ning Ran to her room and requested a selfie before leaving the room.
Ning Ran wasn’t happy about it, but the receptionist seemed like a nice person, and it didn’t seem right to reject that request. Hence, Ning Ran took off her mask and took a selfie with the receptionist.
“My name is Zhang Ying,” introduced the receptionist, “I am glad that you’re staying at this hotel. I love Zheng Lunlun, and I hope that you two are happy together.”
Ning Ran thought about explaining the fact that Zheng Lunlun was not her boyfriend, but later decided against it.
Some things were too complicated to explain so it was better to just keep quiet about it. In the end, Ning Ran smiled as a reply.
“Rest up, I’ll take my leave now.”
“Okay, thank you.”
After Zhang Ying left, Ning Ran fell onto her bed and began browsing the internet on her phone.
That was when she realized that it was a bad move because the haters were being too mean on the internet.
They were no longer just going after her immediate family. They were after all of her ancestors too.
Ning Ran had seen other celebrities being hunted before, and she had always thought that it seemed exciting.
Being on the other end made her realize that things weren’t as simple as it looked.
The harsh words and mean comments were downright scary.
Ning Ran couldn’t understand why those fans were so mean that they were willing to go on their phone and other devices to attack her. She was a stranger who never really did anything to hurt them, yet they acted like she was their mortal enemy and were determined to destroy her and her family.
That was just too scary.
Ning Ran threw her phone aside and buried her face into her blanket. Tears slowly crept out of her eyes.
Ning Ran rarely cried. She had spent years wandering lost in a foreign country and had learned that tears could never solve anything. That was why Ning Ran didn’t cry during some of the most difficult times of her life.
With two kids by her side, she had no choice but to be strong because she needed to support them while being both their mom and their dad.
However, she wanted to cry that day. Life was simply too harsh. She had done everything right but was still hurt by a bunch of strangers.
Ning Ran’s phone rang just as she was crying.
