Much later, Erbao was already in her cartoonish pajamas and was laying down when someone knocked on the door.
“Please come in,” Erbao called out in a long, draggy voice, imitating Ning Ran’s usual tone.
Dabao came in with a tablet in his hand.
“Dabao, what’s the matter?” asked Erbao as she got up.
“Look at this!”
Dabao passed the tablet in his hand to Erbao as she peered to take a look. On the screen was the photo of them together with Ouyang Qing.
There were words accompanying the photo. Yet Erbao found it hard to read because firstly, she could not understand, and secondly, she found it troublesome to do so.
Therefore the easiest solution was to ask her brother. “What’s going on?”
“Miss Qing posted the photos of us eating and playing together and shared them among her circle of friends. Somehow the photos were picked up by the media and were reposted online. Now they’re being circulated publicly,” Dabao briefly explained.
“I feel it’s okay. After all, those photos are taken really well. I look pretty, and you look handsome.” Erbao nonchalantly pointed out.
“Even right as we speak, there is a rumor circulating that Ouyang Qing is going to marry Daddy.” Revealing the rumor, Dabao emphasized, “Right now those photos have become the evidence that Ouyang Qing is going to be our stepmother. These things are happening right under our noses!”
Dabao used to call her “Miss Qing”. However, the way he addressed her had changed, as she was now referred to as mere Ouyang Qing.
When Erbao heard the revelation, her expression immediately changed.
“What? She wants to marry Daddy? What about Mommy then?”
“That woman. She does all these on purpose,” Dabao clenched his teeth as he spoke accusingly.
“But why? Why would she do all these?” Erbao still had a hard time comprehending the whole situation.
“She deliberately posted these photos on the internet to make the netizens think that she’s the one going to marry Daddy. She has also flattered Great-Grandpa to please him so that he will agree to her marrying Daddy. All these are her plans. She has plotted all these on purpose!” Dabao gritted his teeth, realizing that they had been manipulated.
Erbao could only nod again and again as she started to feel uneasy. “Then what shall we do now?”
Immediately, Dabao answered firmly, “We have to prevent her from marrying Daddy. By hook or by crook! We will never let her be our stepmother! We already have the best Mommy, and we don’t need a second one!”
“Yes! I agree!” Erbao raised her small fist enthusiastically into the air in agreement.
Just as quickly, her enthusiasm faded as she realized, “But this matter is adults’ business. We are only children. What can we do?”
Dabao frowned, “We definitely have to meddle with adults’ affairs! After all, don’t they always meddle with ours?”
Continuing his crusading speech, he went on. “If Ouyang Qing marries Daddy, we’ll have to call her Mommy in the future. since this matter is related to us, it is only proper that we interfere and take care of this.”
“Yes! We must interfere!” Erbao shook her fist in gusto, echoing Dabao’s sentiment. “But what can we do? Where do we start?”
“Now think, if she wants to marry Daddy, who does she need to agree to the marriage?” Dabao asked Erbao with a glint in his eyes.
Erbao tilted her head to the side and thought for a while, “Daddy is the one who must agree!”
“Naturally! That can’t be denied. Now aside from Daddy, who else needs to agree to the marriage?” Dabao asked again.
Erbao quizzically replied, “Umm… Also Mommy?”
Shaking his tiny head vigorously, Dabao impatiently pointed out, “You’re now confused! If they want to get married they don’t actually need Mommy’s consent!”
“That’s true. Guess I’m wrong. Ah! I know! They’ll need Great-Grandpa and Great-Grandma to agree too! As well as bad Grandpa and bad Grandma’s approval!” Erbao exclaimed.
“You’re almost there. The main person they need the nod from will be Great-Grandpa.” Dabao nodded his head.
“Yes! Great-Grandpa is the head of the family. He needs to give his consent.” Erbao nodded, understanding the whole process by now.
“Therefore, in order to succeed in this matter, we need the two key persons. One is Daddy, and the other is Great-Grandpa. As long as either one of these two disagrees with the marriage, it will not be possible.” Dabao finished his analysis in a single breath.
“Yes!” Erbao nodded, pretending to be in deep thought.
“For our plan to go on to the next stage, we need to contact Ouyang Qing.”
Erbao protested, “But we’ve tried this before. And there’s no result to show.”
“And therefore our methods need to be adjusted,” Dabao reminded. “We can no longer afford to adopt the same method as before.”
“What are we going to do then?” Erbao asked curiously.
“We will let her take us out again tomorrow,” he said.
Looking at him in disbelief, she shook her head. “Ah, not this trick again. I think I heard you say something about changing our methods?”
“This is my plan…” Dabao quickly whispered the whole idea to Erbao. The more she listened to it, the more excited she became.
Finally, she nodded again and again enthusiastically, “Yes! Yes! I agree to that wholeheartedly!”
As Dabao and Erbao were discussing their big plan, Ning Ran was on a video call with Cheng Xiangyun.
“Let me first reprimand you here. What do you have to say now? I warned you last time, telling you not to let Ouyang Qing approach Nan Chen. See what happens now? Not only have you handed over your man, but you’ve also given up on your children! That’s very generous of you indeed!” scolded Xiangyun.
“How would I know what’s going on? I just received a sudden notice that there’s an event that requires my attendance. Then I called Qiao Zhan to arrange for someone to pick up the kids, but I have not expected Ouyang Qing to be the one fetching them!” Ning Ran sounded upset.
“See, you’re such an idiot! You’ve fallen into her trap! You’re merely dancing to her tune!”
Xiangyun took a breath in and continued, “Aren’t you very smart? How come you’ve been fooled to such an extend? Not only do you want to give up on Nan Chen, but you also want to gift your children to their potential stepmother?”
Xiangyun hated Ouyang Qing and cared for her niece, hence she could not restrain her outrage when she heard the news.
“I do not want it either. I’m not the one who arranged this. Do you think I would be so stupid?” Ning Ran could not hold back her anger anymore.
Xiangyun retorted, “Then you must have been misled by other’s advice! Do you know that the netizens are saying that Ouyang Qing is going to marry into the Nan family? That is the hottest trending topic currently! The photos of her and the children are everywhere on the internet,” and after taking in a huff, she added, “That sly vixen is really something else. She manages to create all this hype!”
“Who she marries is her own business. Who Nan Chen wants to marry is his decision too. Not that I care. But I definitely won’t let them have my children!” Ning Ran voiced stubbornly.
“Are you stupid?” Xiangyun questioned before continuing, “Once Nan Chen marries, can your children still remain by your side? At that time, he will no longer support you, and may even stop you or put you in cold storage. You’ll not have any chance to shine, or develop your career further! You’ll end up relegated to becoming just a normal artist!”
Pausing for a breath, she lamented, “You’ll drop out of the limelight. No one will care about you. There will be no more endorsements or advertisements. Then, no more jobs or casting calls. Your life will be difficult, just like the way it was before!”
Without wasting a moment, Xiangyun prodded further, “When that happens, do you think you can to for the custody of your children? I mean fight against the Nan family for them? You can dream on!”
“The Nan family itself is already powerful. A conglomerate giant. Once it combined with the Ouyang family, you’ll become a mere ant – easily trampled to death!”
Cheng Xiangyun got more and more agitated as she spoke. As she rambled on, Ning Ran could not find any chance to interrupt.
“C’mon! Speak up! What are you pretending to be dumb for? Aren’t you usually fierce? Has your aggression been tamed?” Xiangyun was practically screaming over the call before halting to catch her breath.
Finally finding the pause to speak her mind, Ning Ran rebutted, “Do you even give me a chance to speak?”
“Okay! I’ll give you a chance now. Speak up! What is your plan now?” challenged her aunt.
Taking up the challenge, Ning Ran snapped, “I don’t know yet. Anyway, no matter what, I won’t let my children follow Ouyang Qing. Not a chance! Over my dead body!”
“Then you’ll have to stop this marriage! If you let them go on, you’ll have no say as to who the children belong to once they are married. The decision will be out of your hands by then!”
Emphasizing the severity of the situation, Xiangyun repeated once more, “Don’t you know how powerful the Nan family is. Coupled with that wily vixen Ouyang Qing, do you think you can obtain custody of your children? Stop dreaming and start taking action now!”
With that, a strong sense of crisis suddenly overwhelmed Ning Ran.
Trying to sound calm, Ning Ran asked, “Then what do you think that I should do now?”
“You go and stop Nan Chen and Ouyang Qing. No matter what means you use, you must prevent them from getting married by hook or by crook. If none of that work, then you might as well just kill Ouyang Qing,” Xiangyun gravely advised.
“Huh? Are you out of your mind?” Ning Ran was shocked by the suggestion.
“Of course, it’s a joke. I’m merely exaggerating. In summary, you have to stop Nan Chen and Ouyang Qing at all costs. Stop them from marrying each other. Otherwise, you and I are done for. Everyone is done for!”
Hearing that, Ning Ran sighed, “It’s too difficult a task for me. Those two are from two prominent families of similar social standing. Truly a match made in heaven. How can I stop them? What right do I have to stop them?”
