Ning Ran woke up early the next day. She was getting ready to have breakfast at the restaurant, before heading to the filming location.
She opened the door, and saw Nan Xing striking a dashing pose while biting a stalk of rose in his mouth.
Ning Ran was stunned for a moment, “Why are you so early?” “I can’t sleep, just thinking of you. And I know you’re going for a shoot, so I came to accompany you.” Nan Xing then gave the rose to Ning Ran.
“Stop it.” Ning Ran pushed the rose side and walked out of the room.
Nan Xing refused to give up and chased after her.
After arriving at the restaurant, Ning Ran ordered a bowl of plain porridge, an egg, a waffle and a slice of cake. The table was laid with a variety of food.
Nan Xing was surprised that Ning Ran had such a good appetite.
He on the other hand ordered a cup of coffee and a sandwich, and sat beside Ning Ran to watch her enjoy her breakfast.
“When a pretty woman eats, we call her ‘a connoisseur of delicacies’, whereas an ugly woman who eats nonstop is called ‘an uncouthly gobbler’. You, of course, are the former.” Nan Xing mumbled.
“What are you saying?”
“Nothing, just praising your large appetite.”
“I’m eating my own food, it’s none of your business.” Ning Ran was somewhat irritated.
“It doesn’t matter! Even if you’re eating my food, I wouldn’t mind.” Nan Xing said with a cheeky smile.
Ning Ran would rather spend time enjoying her food than entertaining him.
It was true that her appetite had increased, but mostly to compensate for the irregular meals she had during the filming period. On busy days in particular, she needed to eat more during breakfast, just in case her lunch hours were pushed to the late afternoon.
Nan Xing did not have that great of an appetite but when she saw how Ning Ran enjoyed her food, he was envious, “I want to try yours.”
Ning Ran rolled her eyes at him, “Shoo! Go order one yourself.”
Feeling dejected, Nan Xing pulled his hand back and continued munching his sandwich without enjoying the taste.
Ning Ran was done with her breakfast, and was ready to depart.
Nan Xing followed closely, “I’ll send you to the filming site.”
“Never mind, I can call a cab. Go do your work.”
“No worries, the most important task of the day for me is to be your chauffeur…”
They stepped out of the hotel lobby, and saw a black Rolls-Royce parked right there.
A man got down from the car. He’s tall, all businesslike, sophisticated and exuded an air of a royalty.
“Brother?”
Nan Chen was also stunned; he did not expect to see Nan Xing and Ning Ran walking out of the hotel together. Last night, did they…
“Brother, are you her to pick Ran?”
“Nope.” Nan Chen walked towards the hotel’s administrative office after answering him.
He could only walk towards that direction to hide the intention of his trip.
Nan Xing looked at Nan Chen’s back as he walked away, and was confused by his action.
No doubt Nanting No.1 Hotel was one of the subsidiaries under the Nanshi Corporation, but most of the senior management members would not report for duty at this hour. Why did he come in so early?
As he was pondering, Nan Xing’s bright eyes turned lackluster for a moment, but was quick to return to his normal self not long after.
After getting into Nan Xing’s car, Ning Ran remained quiet throughout the journey.
Her mind was busy processing the incident at the hotel lobby. She was not sure if Nan Chen was there to pick her, but felt there was such a possibility.
And Ning Ran could not quite understand his expression when he looked at her in the eyes. But one thing for sure was, he was unhappy.
This seems to be more and more complicated.
Upon arriving at the filming site, Ning Ran immediately got into the working mode. She did not have time to think of relationship problems now.
Despite her tight schedule, Ning Ran managed to call it a day by 6 p.m.
“I’ve found a house. Let’s go and check it out.” Cheng Xiangyun said excitedly.
Ning Ran was extremely exhausted, but house hunting was an important matter to be looked into immediately. She could not be staying in the hotel forever.
So Cheng Xiangyun took her to a villa in the southern part of the city.
The minute Ning Ran saw the villa she became anxious, “Excuse me madam, do you think with my income, I can afford this villa?”
“Calm down, this house belongs to… a friend of mine. He’s going to study abroad soon and this house will be vacant.” She explained. “When he knew we needed a place to stay, he decided to rent to us for a really good rate. 3000 a month, how about that? Can you afford it?” Pride was written all over Cheng Xiangyun’s face.
“3000 for a villa? Don’t tell me this is a roughcast house? Even a roughcast house would cost more than this.” Ning Ran could not believe what she heard.
“Of course it is not. He wants us to take care of the house on his behalf, and manage the facilities here. So he just charges us a nominal fee for rental.”
Ning Ran’s eyes glowed up immediately when the gate to the villa opened.
A pathway made of pebble stones appeared before her eyes, with two marble benches installed at both sides.
Above the benches were an assortment of exquisite ornamental plants, which were aesthetically pleasing and gave out floral fragrance.
On the left hand side of the pathway, there was a moon-shaped arch, and once they passed through the arch, a garden appeared before their eyes.
The floral scent here was even more overwhelming, and the garden also had Ning Ran’s favorite bamboo.
The villa contained some Chinese elements in its design. Elegance and luxury most definitely were the best words to describe the view.
“This is a three-story building, with top notch craftsmanship and decorative items, and your friend is renting it out for 3000. Does he treat money like dirt?” Ning Ran asked in disbelief.
“I’ve already told you; he’s leaving the country and needed someone to look after his property. He’s basically allowing us to stay for a nominal rental fee, on the condition that we take good care of everything here.”
Ning Ran looked at Cheng Xiangyun, “Woman, who’s the owner of this villa? It’s Nan Xing, right?”
“Tsk, I knew you wouldn’t take up his offer, so I’ve turned him down. The owner of this villa is Ou Yang. If you don’t believe me, go check with the property management office.”
“This is really not Nan Xing’s house?” Ning Ran stared at Cheng Xiangyun.
“Nope! Go find it out yourself if you don’t believe me!” Cheng Xiangyun said it with a loud and clear voice.
“3000 for this house is really a good deal, but this makes me feel a little uneasy. I don’t want this house.” Ning Ran said.
Cheng Xiangyun panicked, “You wanted me to find a house for you. Just when I found one that is nice and cheap, you said you don’t want it? What do you want?”
“I don’t deserve this, and my heart doesn’t feel right with the rental rate.”
“Are you mad? You can’t afford when it’s too expensive, and when it’s too cheap, you’re worried. Why don’t you offer to pay more then?”
“The rent for a villa like this, according to Flower City’s market rate, can easily go up to thirty thousand a month. I can’t afford this. I give up. Let’s look for other houses.”
‘You’re mad, you’re really mad. This belongs to a friend, I’ve told you. He needs our help to take care of it too, otherwise it’s going to be left empty. Why wouldn’t you listen?” Cheng Xiangyun became more anxious.
At this time, someone wearing the property management office’s uniform came up to them.
“Mr. Ou Yang said, we have to come check on the house regularly when he’s not around. We heard a commotion, and came to find out what’s happening here.” The person said.
“Oh nothing, we are Ou Yang’s friend. We will be staying here in the future, thank you very much.” Cheng Xiangyun said.
Upon hearing this, Ning Ran contemplated. So… this house really belongs to Cheng Xiangyun’s friend who is going overseas, and is not Nan Xing’s?
If this is the case, then this house is really cheap! It’s almost like I’ve hit the jackpot!
