As such, the conference room sunk into silence once again.
No one had expected Ning Ran to play hardball on this issue.
Wang Xiaoou was also slightly embarrassed. Given her standing in the industry, she had never expected herself to be declined in such a ruthless manner.
Her guess was, perhaps Ning Ran was nursing a grievance against her over the fact that she was once Luo Fei’s manager.
However, after some further analysis, she was quite certain she had not offended Ning Ran when she was Luo Fei’s manager.
At that time, Ning Ran was still a nobody and did not pose a threat to Luo Fei. As such, there would not have been a need to pay any attention to her.
Could it really be because of sentimental reasons that the woman refused to give up on her current manager?
Doesn’t she know, between friendship and her future, which is more important?
“Let’s revisit this again,” Nan Chen said.
Thereafter, the senior management of Star Entertainment stood up as the meeting was adjourned.
Ning Ran did not move, as she knew Nan Chen would have stopped her from leaving anyway.
Jiang Zhe was able to read the situation and left the room as well, leaving Nan Chen and Ning Ran the only two people in the room.
The atmosphere inside the conference room was rather tense.
“Thank you, I really appreciate your kind intentions.”
Ning Ran felt that it was only right if she expressed her gratitude. After all, the man had put together such a magnificent team and organized this meeting specially for her. It was definitely not a trivial matter.
Despite having to deal with a host of issues every day, Nan Chen had especially taken time off his busy schedule to look into this matter personally. It showed that this was an important matter to him.
So, no matter what, she should still be thankful for his efforts.
However, Nan Chen did not reply, as he was still mad at her.
The meeting had turned out differently from how he had expected it to be. He was looking forward to Ning Ran being pleasantly surprised and grateful at the opportunity.
But that was not the case. It seemed like Ning Ran was totally not appreciative at all.
As such, Ning Ran’s words of thanks sounded sarcastic to him. He couldn’t believe that she had made him look bad in front of the rest just now.
Ning Ran was aware of Nan Chen’s fury just by looking at his face.
However, she could not bring herself to follow his wishes blindly.
“Hey, don’t be mad at me anymore. As you know, I’m indebted to Aunt. She placed her trust in me and has helped me so much during the lowest points in my life. If I abandon her to pursue my own bright future, wouldn’t that be too inhumane? Although I want to be rich and famous, I can’t ignore my principles just to achieve those things. If this is the kind of person I am, I’m sure you wouldn’t like me… “
Ning Ran stopped mid-way once she realized she shouldn’t have said the last sentence.
She wondered why she had even mentioned the word ‘like’ in the first place? Poker Face had never admitted to liking her, it would seem as if it was her own wishful thinking.
“What did you just say?” It had not escaped Nan Chen’s ear.
“Oh, nothing. What I meant was, I am your company’s artiste. If I am someone who can bend my principles for my personal fame and gains, it wouldn’t sit well with you right?” Ning Ran managed to wittily turn the statement around.
Nan Chen did not respond.
He merely stood up and took large strides towards the door.
Ning Ran remained at her spot as she did not know what the situation was.
“You’re not coming along?” Nan Chen asked, as he turned around and looked at Ning Ran.
“Oh, yes, I’m coming!”
Ning Ran stood up immediately and followed Nan Chen out of the conference room.
The few from the senior management of Star Entertainment were still standing outside, as they did not dare to leave without explicit permission from Nan Chen.
“You guys may go now. Apart from the choice of manager which requires further discussion, the other parts of the plan remains unchanged,” Nan Chen said to them.
“OK, Mr. Nan, we understand,” the senior team said in unison before walking out of the room.
Nan Chen then looked towards Jiang Zhe and said, “Make an appointment with her manager.”
Ning Ran suddenly grew anxious as she wondered if Poker Face was planning to take action against Cheng Xiangyun.
“What are you going to do?” the woman asked as she stared at Nan Chen.
“Asking your manager out for dinner,” Nan Chen said indifferently.
“You can’t do that! She has always looked out for me and stayed by my side when I needed help the most. She’s my benefactor!” Ning Ran shouted.
“So?” Nan Chen frowned.
“So, you are not allowed to hurt her!” Ning Ran raised her voice even louder.
“Is buying her dinner considered hurting her?”
Ning Ran realized the man had a point. How did treating someone to dinner amount to hurting her?
“Other than treating her to a meal, are you going to use the opportunity to threaten her and chase her away from Flower City? Or even the entertainment industry?”
“I never knew you had such a rich imagination,” Nan Chen said coldly.
“Ha! I have guessed it correctly, right? You can’t treat my friend this way!” Ning Ran was prepared to defend her manager with her life.
“Would I have to go to the extent of buying her dinner if my intention was really to threaten her?” Nan Chen asked as he creased his brows.
Ning Ran agreed the man had made a good point. If Young Master Nan Chen wanted to deal with someone, he did not have to do it in such a roundabout manner. He could simply instruct his men to take action directly.
“Then what exactly are you planning to do?”
“Didn’t you say she’s your benefactor and your friend? Is there anything wrong with treating her to a meal if that’s the case?” Nan Chen questioned again, still frowning.
Ning Ran downcast her eyes and thought about what he said. Indeed, it didn’t seem like there was any problem with that.
Just then, her phone rang. It was Cheng Xiangyun.
The woman stepped away to pick up the call. The moment she answered, Cheng Xiangyun started screaming into the phone, barely able to contain her excitement. “Ranran! I just received a call from Assistant Jiang!”
“Aunt, why are you so thrilled?”
“You know what? He told me Young Master Chen wants to buy me dinner! Nan Chen is treating me to dinner! Nan Chen will personally be there!”
It was not difficult to figure out Cheng Xiangyun was already going crazy with excitement.
“Aunt, can you calm down a little? Why do you have to make such a big deal out of it? You’ve lived for so long, has no one ever bought you a meal before?” Ning Ran found herself slightly disappointed at the woman’s reaction.
“How could those be compared to this? It’s Nan Chen who wants to buy me dinner. Do you know how many people would die to have a meal with Nan Chen? But I am going to have dinner with Nan Chen tonight, and he was the one who asked me to dinner! OK, I don’t have time to talk to you now, I need to get changed! I need to dress well and make a splendid appearance… “
Ning Ran coughed lightly a few times to stop Cheng Xiangyun from continuing.
“Aunt, you don’t have to get so excited, it’s just a meal… “
Before Ning Ran could complete her sentence, Cheng Xiangyun had already hung up.
Ning Ran could only let out a long sigh.
“Let’s go now,” Nan Chen said to her.
“I’m also going?”
“You don’t want to?” Nan Chen asked.
“Oh! No, no. I’m coming along,” Ning Ran answered at once.
Nan Chen walked in front and Ning Ran followed cautiously behind him, while Jiang Zhe walked behind Ning Ran.
The three of them entered the elevator in that sequence.
“Have you made the arrangements?” Nan Chen asked his assistant.
“Everything is ready,” Jiang Zhe replied carefully.
The fact that Nan Chen was taking Jiang Zhe along meant it wasn’t purely a private dinner, but had work elements involved as well.
Ning Ran started worrying for Cheng Xiangyun again. She was afraid the man would force Cheng Xiangyun to give up being her manager.
If Poker Face really did that, Ning Ran would definitely side with Cheng Xiangyun.
They will not submit to force and would fight till the very end!
Just then, Ning Ran’s phone rang again. It was a video call from Cheng Xiangyun.
Ning Ran did not accept the video call but switched it to a voice call instead.
“Ran, I need your help to tell me which dress looks nicer on me,” Cheng Xiangyun said urgently.
“Aunt, don’t be so anxious, just take it easy and wear what you would normally wear. It’s more important that you feel comfortable,” Ning Ran said softly.
“But I’m having dinner with Nan Chen, how can I dress casually? Of course I have to dress up!”
“Don’t give it too much importance, I will be there too. Someone else will also be there. Aunt, just relax,” Ning Ran replied, lowering her voice even more.
