Chapter 536 Nothing More Nothing Less
“Oh, my acting’s bad? In that case, do you have any pointers for me, Mr. Nan?” Huang Zichao was a big shot and not a two-bit actor who would cower in the face of a film investor.
With his career currently on the crest of a wave, he had no lack of movie deals that he could pick and choose. In other words, he had the freedom to take on films that paid the highest and had the best scripts.
With that, Huang Zichao had no fear for Nan Chen.
Worse come to worst, I’ll ditch this film. There are plenty of other big projects waiting for me, anyway. Why stay and be insulted when I can easily earn my money elsewhere?
Nan Chen glanced at Huang Zichao.
The rest of the world might find Huang Zichao devilishly handsome, but Nan Chen found him a complete eyesore.
“Everything about your acting is bad,” Nan Chen said coldly.
This time, it was Huang Zichao’s turn to be stunned silent. Huh? That’s such a prejudiced opinion. My acting skills are widely recognized, so who is he to say otherwise? Besides, he’s just bashing me instead of giving me specific pointers! That’s just unreasonable!
“Mr. Nan, are you doubting my acting prowess?” Huang Zichao asked.
“Yes.”
Ning Ran started to panic. With the way things were playing out, it wouldn’t take long before everything took a turn for the worse.
Nan Chen, as the key investor, had nothing to fear.
But the same couldn’t be said for Ning Ran, who still had to continue working with the production team.
If an internal conflict arose again because of Nan Chen, there was no question that the team would label her as a walking disaster.
With that in mind, Ning Ran suddenly pulled Nan Chen away. “Let’s talk outside!”
Given Ning Ran’s physique, it was near impossible to budge someone as strong as Nan Chen.
However, if he didn’t leave with her, they’d only end up arguing in public, which was something he absolutely hated.
Ning Ran knew that well and thus continued to keep an iron grip on his arm.
Left with no other choice, Nan Chen reluctantly followed Ning Ran out of the filming site.
“Let go of me. What do you want?” Nan Chen grumbled once they were out of earshot.
“Shouldn’t you be at work? Why are you here?”
“I happened to pass by and decided to drop in for a look. Who knew things would turn out this way? Anyway, let’s stop the film production for now.”
“Oh, for crying out loud, why?” Ning Ran protested. “We’ve only just started filming, and with over a hundred staff members, do you know how much it’d cost with an additional day of delay?”
“Of course I do.”
“In that case, why are you stopping it?”
“Because I want to vet the scripts.”
“Haven’t you already vetted them?”
Nan Chen’s face instantly darkened. “Ever since Huang Zichao joined the cast, he has been given a lot of additional scenes that I’ve yet to look through. Also, I want him replaced.”
“Huh?”
“What’s with the shock? Can’t bear to see him go because there are sparks between you and him?” Nan Chen shouted as he burned with anger.
A confused frown quickly crept over Ning Ran’s face. “Me and Huang Zichao? What are you talking about?”
“Then why do you want to stop me from changing the male lead?”
Ning Ran flinched at the acidity in Nan Chen’s voice. She hadn’t seen him so furious in a while, and it terrified her.
Why has he lost his temper? What the hell is going on?
As frustrated as she was, Ning Ran eventually decided not to argue with Nan Chen anymore.
After all, it wouldn’t do her any good to fight with him when he was in one of his tempers.
If she were to push Nan Chen beyond his limits, he’d immediately get the production team to terminate Huang Zichao’s contract. Besides, he wouldn’t give a toss about paying the early termination fee as long as he could get the actor out of his sight.
To Nan Chen’s surprise, Ning Ran suddenly softened her stance. “Fine. Where are you headed? I think I’ll go with you. It’s not like I’ll be filming anymore today,” she said gently.
“Are you sure about that? I’m going to the branch office for an inspection.”
“Yes. Since you want me to stop filming, I’ll keep you company instead. It’d also be a good opportunity for me to discuss the new script with you. Not only are you the boss, but you also have excellent taste, so your opinions are important to me.”
Upon hearing that, Nan Chen calmed down a little.
He was the kind who would give in to persuasion and not coercion, so the more one gave in to him, the more he’d ease up on them.
“Hmph. I don’t need you to tell me about the script. I can read it myself.”
Once they got to the car, Jiang Zhe immediately hopped out and opened the door for Nan Chen.
When he saw Ning Ran still wearing her character’s costume, he couldn’t help but scratch his head in confusion.
He knew his boss wanted to visit the set, but he wasn’t expecting Ning Ran to play hooky from work.
“Why didn’t you remind me to read the script they sent over?” Nan Chen asked.
“I did, but you said there wasn’t any hurry…” Jiang Zhe replied cautiously.
“I want to read it now.”
“Understood.”
The next second, Jiang Zhe took out the tablet, opened the file for the script, and handed it to Nan Chen.
Nan Chen had signaled for the chauffeur to drive off when Ning Ran piped up, “Oh no, I left my bag on set. Can I go back for it? I’ll inform the director about taking a day off too. It’s only right to show some basic courtesy, isn’t it?”
Nan Chen shot her a look before turning to the chauffeur. “Send her back.”
For a moment, Ning Ran was speechless. Oh, my goodness. I can’t believe he actually agreed to it! Sometimes, I really don’t understand him. He’s so unpredictable.
After arriving at the filming site, Ning Ran promptly got out of the car and waved at Nan Chen. “Why don’t you carry on with your work? I’ll head back inside now.”
Nan Chen said nothing as he motioned for his chauffeur to drive off.
When Ning Ran finally got back on set, the director was already preparing for another scene.
Unfortunately, that was no easy feat, especially since the whole set design and props had to be changed.
“Director, let’s continue with the filming,” Ning Ran announced.
“But what about Sir Chen?”
“Don’t worry, I’ve spoken with him, and he’s given us the green light. Come on, let’s get on with it.”
“Ah, maybe I should give him a call—”
“Do you still not believe me? Let’s carry on with the filming,” Ning Ran interjected.
“All right. Get back to your positions, everyone! We’ll take up where we left off!”
Just then, Huang Zichao walked up to Ning Ran with a smile. “I just found out that Mr. Nan’s your husband. So, was that him being jealous?”
“He’s not my husband. We aren’t married,” Ning Ran quickly said.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I haven’t been keeping up with the news since I went abroad two years ago, but I did think you looked too young to be married—”
“I have two children with him, though,” Ning Ran added coolly.
Huang Zichao instantly froze in his tracks with his mouth agape.
After a while, he managed to force a smile as he muttered, “Y-You must be joking, right?”
“No, I’m not. I know there are a lot of rumors about us circulating online, and yes, those are false. But us having kids is a hundred percent true.”
Huang Zichao became even more perplexed at that. “Okay… So what’s your relationship like?”
“He’s the boss, and I’m one of the actresses signed under his company. Nothing more, nothing less.”
