After the ringing went on for a while, Nan Chen eventually stood up and walked to the side to pick up the call.
Cheng Xiangyun kept shooting glances at Ning Ran, who knew perfectly what she meant.
She was urging Ning Ran to eavesdrop on the conversation and find out who Nan Chen was speaking with.
However, Ning Ran refused to do that. Regardless who the person was, she would not intrude on another’s private conversation.
After Nan Chen finished talking, he walked over and said, “That’s all for today, so I’ll get going first.”
He did not give any explanations for his abrupt departure.
Since his boss was leaving, there was no reason for Jiang Zhe to continue staying. As such, he stood up as well.
Cheng Xiangyun stared at Ning Ran again, spurring her on to find out about the situation.
Ning Ran bolted up from her seat as she was also keen to find out the actual circumstances. She parted her lips, but could not find the right words to say.
“Ms. Ding, feel free to ask me anything,” Jiang Zhe asked attentively.
Ning Ran found it hard to probe into Nan Chen’s private life, so instead of asking what she wanted to ask, she said, “Please get the bill!”
Although it was a reasonable request to make, it still felt odd coming from Ning Ran and turned out comical.
Nan Chen had also stopped in his tracks as he was stunned by Ning Ran’s comment.
“Ms. Ding, please don’t worry, the bill will be placed on our account and the restaurant will invoice us tomorrow. If there is anything else the both of you need, feel free to let the waiter know. Everything will be on our tab,” Jiang Zhe explained.
“Sure, okay.” Ning Ran nodded.
Jiang Zhe then followed Nan Chen out of the restaurant.
Cheng Xiangyun and Ning Ran were the only two people left. Accompanying them was a table full of untouched dishes which looked delicious.
“Why didn’t you find out the reason he left so suddenly?” Cheng Xiangyun looked at Ning Ran.
“Why should I?” Ning Ran frowned, as she threw the question back to her.
“Well, since the children are his, it means he’s your man. How can you not be bothered if your man is going to meet another woman?”
“Firstly, the kids are mine, not his. Secondly, even if he is the biological dad of the kids, it does not mean he is my man. The kids were an accidental occurrence. He and I are entirely separate individuals,” Ning Ran corrected Cheng Xiangyun sternly.
“Fine, you’re so magnanimous and tolerant. Good for you!” There was nothing more Cheng Xiangyun could say.
“So what if I am neither magnanimous nor tolerant? Can I even go after him?” Ning Ran asked Cheng Xiangyun.
“That’s a valid point. He is Nan Chen. Even if he walks into a hotel with a lady blatantly in front of your eyes, there’s nothing you can do.” Cheng Xiangyun appeared to be deep in thought.
Even though she was simply stating facts, Ning Ran was still roused by her remark.
“Let’s not talk about him anymore. Anyway, nothing he does should concern me. Come, let’s eat!” Ning Ran said in a spiteful manner.
“Oh, what did Mr. Assistant tell us just now? If there’s not enough food, we can feel free to order more right?” Cheng Xiangyun suddenly changed the topic.
Ning Ran was shocked. “Aunt, don’t we already have enough food? We haven’t even started eating yet and you are already thinking of ordering more?”
“It’s obviously enough for the two of us, but it won’t be enough if I ask a few more friends to join us,” Cheng Xiangyun said.
Ning Ran was even more startled now. “You’re intending to ask your friends to come over?”
“Yeah, since the two of us won’t be able to finish so much food anyway, why not share the joy with others? My friends are always sharing pictures of crayfish on social media, I’m sure they’d be stunned to see lobsters that are even bigger than their heads! I just want to let them know that our Ran has finally made it big! Right, I’m going to call them now!” Cheng Xiangyun said as she took out her phone.
“Aunt, that doesn’t seem like a good idea. This dinner gathering was arranged by Nan Chen. Even though we don’t have to pay, wouldn’t it be too much if we get others… “
“What too much? Of course, it’s not too much. Are you even aware of how rich that man is? Would he care about a few pennies? I’m going to make some calls now… “
Ning Ran sighed. Since the crazy Xiangyun was already unstoppable, she could only let her do whatever she wanted to.
Meanwhile, at the Nanshi Corporation headquarters, there was a sweet and innocent-looking beautiful young lady sitting at the reception area. She was the second daughter of the Ouyang family, Ouyang Qing.
The woman, who had always admired Nan Chen, was the one who called him at dinner just now.
Nan Chen only rushed back to the office because Ouyang Qing had told him that she had news from Tokyo and needed to talk to him face-to-face.
Nan Chen walked towards his office straight away after exiting the elevator.
Whereas Jiang Zhe went to the reception to bring Ouyang Qing to Nan Chen’s office.
The moment Ouyang Qing stepped into the office, she started exclaiming exaggeratedly, “Wow! This is such a pretty office! Chen, your office must be one of the most enchanting office I’ve ever walked into.”
That was the reaction most people had when they first entered Nan Chen’s office. The only person who did not share the same opinion was Ning Ran.
She was not fond of the way his office was decorated as she felt it was too lavish.
An office should look like an office. It’s not supposed to be a place for one to flaunt his wealth. If it was decorated like a palace, it wouldn’t feel like an office anymore.
What’s more interesting was that Nan Chen also did not like his office. He too, felt that it looked way too luxurious, to the extent that it was decorated in poor taste.
As such, Nan Chen felt rather awkward at the way Ouyang Qing envied the place.
He did not understand how could so many people fancy the things he disliked.
Nan Chen sat down and instructed Jiang Zhe to pour Ouyang Qing a glass of water.
However, Ouyang Qing whipped out a thermos flask from her bag and said, “Chen, I know you are busy and have to work late often. So, I have specially brewed you some coffee. I made it personally!”
Since the young lady was so thoughtful, Nan Chen felt bad to reject her good intentions and accepted it.
The coffee tasted mediocre. Either the brewing time had been too long, or there had been a procedure which wasn’t well taken care of.
But that was not important as Nan Chen did not come for the coffee. He only wanted to hear about the news from Tokyo.
“Do you like the cup of coffee? Is it nice?” Ouyang Qing looked at Nan Chen with her big eyes in anticipation, hoping to get a compliment from him.
“It’s not bad,” Nan Chen replied politely.
“Thanks for the praise, Chen!” Ouyang Qing beamed.
But Nan Chen had not given her any praise. He merely said it was not bad out of courtesy.
Nan Chen looked at Jiang Zhe, who took the hint and left the room, shutting the door behind him.
However, Ouyang Qing did not bring up the main topic. Instead, she kept making small talk while pacing around the room, complimenting the interior of the office.
She seemed to have forgotten the reason she was here, and acted as though she was a visitor who was touring the office.
Nan Chen was concentrating on going through some work documents and did not broach the subject as well.
“Chen, where did you go just now if you just came back from outside?” Ouyang Qing asked.
Without lifting his head, Nan Chen answered, “Dinner.”
“Who did you have dinner with? You even brought your assistant along,” Ouyang Qing probed further.
“ A friend,” Nan Chen gave another one-word answer.
“Wow, that person must be really lucky to be Chen’s friend. Chen, you rejected me when I asked you out for lunch this afternoon, but you had time to meet your friend for dinner. Hmph! I’m so sad you do not like me.”
The coquettish manner in which Ouyang Qing spoke stunned Nan Chen for a moment. In fact, he had completely forgotten that the young lady had requested to have lunch with him.
However, he was not intending to explain himself, because Nan Chen did not have to account for his actions to anyone.
As such, he did not respond to Ouyang Qing’s comment.
Ouyang Qing realized that her tactic to act girly wasn’t working. In order to grab Nan Chen’s attention, her best option was to talk about the purpose of her visit. “Chen, I received news from Tokyo.”
Only then did Nan Chen shift his gaze from the documents on his desk to Ouyang Qing.
