After meeting each other’s eyes, Ning Ran shifted her gaze.
Ning Ran did not like this man either because she thought of him as the dumb guy who used his influence to cover up for Luo Fei.
However, the man standing in front of her was the biggest investor of the movie – the Sound of Thunder 2 – and was, therefore, her employer.
Being under his employment, she must admit defeat.
And so she nodded first to greet him.
Then, he nodded in response.
The two of them only nodded as a sign of respect but weren’t interested in having an actual conversation.
After that, Ning Ran stood aside to let Nan Chen enter the elevator. She did that as a sign of courtesy.
Nan Chen wasn’t in a hurry to get in the elevator either because it was also courteous to let the person inside the elevator to exit first.
In the end, both parties stood there, motionless, waiting for the other to make a move first which, in turn, made things awkward.
After realizing each other’s intention, Ning Ran stepped forward to get out of the elevator.
Unfortunately, Nan Chen had the same realization at the same time, and he moved forward too, causing both parties to knock on each other.
The hotel’s elevator doors were wide enough to let them both pass easily, but they somehow managed to knock on one another.
Although his outfit made him look like a thin man, Nan Chen was well-built and muscular so Ning Ran’s tiny body couldn’t withstand this bump, and fell back a couple of steps.
“Damn it!” Ning Ran cussed.
Nan Chen raised his brows. Having seen how naturally this woman cussed, he believed that she truly was vile.
Ning Ran regretted after cussing because she does not normally cuss. She was definitely influenced by that idiot, Zhen Lunlun.
That being said, she had already cussed out loud, and she wasn’t a nice lady anyway.
Besides, it’s not like the man standing in front of her was any better.
Ning Ran kept her head down. She didn’t need to look up to know that the guy must have a scowl on his face.
She walked so fast that she was practically fleeing from the elevator with her head down.
After being bumped by that woman, Nan Chen sniffed the perfume on his suit and confirmed that this was the tangerine perfume.
That perfume was like a curse that had been haunting Nan Chen all these years. For some reason, he could never forget that scent.
There was nothing scary about not forgetting that scent, but he was terrified about not knowing why he couldn’t forget it.
Annoyed, the knock on the door was heavier than intended.
“I knew you’d come back… Uncle?” said Zhen Lunlun.
He wanted to keep talking but after seeing Nan Chen icy glare, he swallowed his words.
“Who’s coming back?”
“No… No one. I was just singing. I’m waiting for you to come back, to come back…”
Zhen Lunlun pretended to sing, but even he thought that was an awkward performance.
He stopped singing abruptly because Nan Chen’s glare was horrifying.
Nan Chen didn’t barge into the room because he was the uncle, and things would get ugly if there actually was a woman inside.
He asked Zhen Lunlun with his eyes. May I come in?
Zhen Lunlun moved to the side with the door open. “Please come in, uncle.”
Nan Chen felt a little dizzy. He could’ve sworn he smelled that tangerine perfume again.
Don’t think too much. It’s just in your head. Nan Chen reminded himself.
Nan Chen sat on the sofa and inspected everything in the room.
Nothing seemed off, but the presidential suite was big enough to hide someone, and Nan Chen didn’t feel right to inspect every inch of the room.
Zhen Lunlun stood at the side. He didn’t understand why his uncle came to visit in the middle of the night.
No one spoke, and the room became eerily quiet.
Zhen Lunlun couldn’t stand the silence so he asked, “Uncle, what are you doing here?”
“Nothing,” Nan Chen answered.
Then what the hell are you doing here in the middle of the night? Thought Zhen Lunlun. What? Did he sleepwalk?
That moment, all Nan Chen could think about was how the housekeeper said that Zhen Lunlun had brought an old lady to the hotel.
Was there an elderly lady hiding in the suite?
Nan Chen denied it. That was impossible. His nephew is a handsome man. Why would he and an elderly lady…?
But if that is not the case, the housekeeper wouldn’t have said so…
Nan Chen couldn’t let it go.
Nan Chen gestured the room and asked, “Can I take a look around?”
Zhen Lunlun was surprised. His uncle had seen it all, why would he be interested in checking out a hotel suite?
Even though he didn’t understand it, he agreed to it. “Of course.”
And so Nan Chen inspected every single room in the suite and confirmed that there was no woman – elderly or young – present.
Moreover, the room was in perfect shape so nothing happened.
Nan Chen calmed down.
“Do you have a girlfriend?” Nan Chen asked all of a sudden.
“Nope,” Zhen Lunlun answered then grinned, “Did you come all the way here to see if I brought any woman to the room? I’m an adult. It’s normal even if I do have a girlfriend.”
Nan Chen didn’t respond to that.
“Don’t stay in the hotel, come back home.”
“No way, I like the hotel. I can be noisy without bothering anyone here,” Zhen Lunlun complained.
To be honest, Nan Chen didn’t care. He always thought that the young needed some space to be reckless.
The only thing he wanted to say was, “Be careful when choosing a girlfriend.”
Zhen Lunlun understood then. His uncle thought that the only reason he’d choose to stay in a hotel was so that it’d be more convenient to invite women over.
That was the purpose of this visit.
“Like I said, uncle, I don’t have a girlfriend. If I do, I would bring her home and let you judge if she’s good enough,” Zhen Lunlun promised.
“Okay,” Nan Chen replied.
Then he stood up to leave.
He’s happy as long as Zhen Lunlun wasn’t in the room with an elderly lady.
As Nan Chen was leaving, he saw the secondary director of the Sound of Thunder 2 walking towards the hotel.
“Mr. Chen? You’re here too?” the director greeted quickly.
Nan Chen nodded.
“I happen to have a meeting with a friend to have a discussion here,” the secondary director said.
“Okay, then.” Nan Chen replied.
“Goodbye, Mr. Chen.”
Nan Chen didn’t pay much attention to the secondary director and walked out of the hotel with his head held high.
On the way home, Nan Chen kept thinking about Ning Ran and the secondary director.
Then he remembered that during the first screen test, Ning Ran once asked the workers to pass him a note that said she would do anything for that role.
Both Ning Ran and the secondary director showing up at that hotel… Was it just a coincidence?
Or did she seduce the secondary director to get some sort of benefit?
Having thought that, Nan Chen made a U-turn and returned to the hotel.
At the hotel’s front door, Nan Chen sat in his car instead of going inside.
She was just a random actress. Her life choices had nothing to do with him.
So why was he furious?
“Mr. Chen, shall I park the car for you?” the security asked cautiously.
The security had been standing there for a couple of minutes, but Nan Chen’s face was so grim that the security didn’t dare to speak.
Nan Chen didn’t answer. Instead, he stepped hard on the gas and his sports car roared and tore through the streets.
