Chapter 539 Perfect Daddy
“Go ahead and speak your mind,” Nan Chen said casually with his head still hanging low. “Okay, I shall get to the point and tell you what I think. However, it’s solely up to you whether you want to listen.”
“You don’t have to state the obvious. Spill!” Ning Ran bit her lips and said, “According to the latest script, the conflict will subside. With that, Huang Zichao’s scenes will be significantly reduced to almost nothing left.”
Bang! Enraged, Nan Chen slammed the table. “So, you’re unhappy that his parts are cut?”
“It doesn’t affect me. Conversely, it will put you in an unfavorable position.” Ning Ran knew that her words would upset him, but she did not expect him to hit the ceiling right away.
She had been putting up with him the entire time in order not to step on his toes. Alas, she still failed to avoid a terrible confrontation.
“Unfavorable to me? How so?”
“First, the storyline will be a bore, which in turn will cause the box office to plunge. Second, Huang Zichao is a renowned actor. This is his first movie made in his homeland after venturing into Hollywood. Tons and tons of people are looking forward to watching the show, and I’m sure this is why you guys have hired him in the first place. If you cut his parts now, you will lose the target audience!”
She continued, “Additionally, his worldwide fans will surely boycott this movie, thinking that he has been unfairly treated. You know how it works in the show biz. The fans will persuade their families and friends to do the same. As a result, you will suffer great losses.”
“I already said that the box office is not your problem, so mind your own business,” Nan Chen refuted.
Regardless, Ning Ran continued to push his buttons.
“Though you can’t be bothered if the investment had zero return, it’s still your project. You are the reason why so many investors dumped their money into this. They believe in you and your ability to generate lucrative profits for them. It’s such a golden opportunity. I am clueless as to why you want to ruin it like that. How will others see you? What’s the point of investing in this project when you’re adamant that you should revise the script and turn a worthy piece into worthless trash? Is it just for fun? Is this all a game to you?”
Bang!
Nan Chen was livid and slammed his fist on the table once more.
His seething resentment had finally reached boiling point.
Subsequently, he left his seat and walked toward Ning Ran, causing her to backpedal in fear.
Oh no, I spoke too fast and said many things that I shouldn’t have. She regretted not being able to control her tongue.
“Are you lashing out at me? Trying to tell me what to do?” came Nan Chen’s chilling voice.
He grabbed her chin while starring daggers at her.
Panicked, Ning Ran said, “No, I wasn’t. Let go of me…”
“You lectured me because of another man? Whose side are you on? Why are you standing up for him?”
“Dabao! Erbao!” Ning Ran yelled.
Seeing how Nan Chen was going to teach her a lesson, she figured she had better call upon her little saviors. I’m not so silly to stand here and let him torment me more.
The two children heard her cry and hurried over.
“Daddy, you bullied Mommy again!” Erbao grumbled with displeasure.
“Daddy, didn’t you teach me that guys cannot be mean to girls?” Dabao questioned coldly.
Nan Chen was embarrassed. He did not anticipate such a cunning move from Ning Ran.
“I didn’t do anything. I was just talking to Mommy,” he swiftly denied.
“How could you lie to us? You laid your fingers on her!” Erbao bellowed.
“I didn’t. Mommy said that her teeth were aching, so I checked it out for her.” Nan Chen was exasperated.
He would do anything not to risk his perfect reputation as a father to be labeled otherwise.
“Is that so, Mommy?” Erbao wanted to triangulate with Ning Ran.
“Haha, yeah, Daddy and I were only fooling around. Go on and play among yourselves.” A comforting smile settled upon her face.
“Really?” Dabao was dubious.
“Of course, we were only kidding. She wanted to set up a trial and see if you two would come in and save her in the nick of time. This experiment goes to show that you guys always have her back.”
Ning Ran could tell that the way he reacted was clearly a case of sour grapes.
After that, Dabao and Erbao exchanged a silent glance, and they exited the study, leaving Nan Chen and Ning Ran behind.
“How could you call the kids in?” Nan Chen reprimanded her.
“Well, there are only four of us here. If I can’t fight you, I have to ask for help. I’m the one on the losing end who should defend myself at all costs,” Ning Ran snapped back at him.
“You shouldn’t have involved the children in adult matters.”
“What’s wrong? The kids are one of us. In fact, they are my guardian angels. We’ve been living by ourselves for so many years, and we share a strong bond. In this world, they are the only ones who truly care about me and support me all the way. Who else can I call if not them? Are you still thinking of doing something bad to me? If you dare, I’ll scream again! It’s such a disgrace for the heir of Nanshi Corporation to hit a woman. How shameful!”
Ning Ran plucked up her courage and spoke assertively.
“I didn’t even hit you!” Nan Chen defended himself.
“Then, what were you doing just now? Stroking my face dotingly? That’s considered as taking advantage of me.”
“You…”
“Fine, let’s get back to our topic. Sit quietly and keep your hands to yourself. I only want to get it off my chest. You can decide if you want to heed my advice or not,” uttered Ning Ran.
Nan Chen walked back to his desk and took his seat.
Feeling a little exhausted, Ning Ran moved a chair and sat opposite him.
As they faced each other, Ning Ran felt intimidated by Nan Chen’s towering figure.
No, this doesn’t look good. I can’t let him be the only one looking imposing.
At that thought, she stood up, leaving Nan Chen completely puzzled.
“If you’re not planning to say anything, I shall leave now and continue my work.”
“No, I must continue this.”
She regulated her emotions and thought deeply for a while, picking out the right words to say. “Where did we stop just now?”
Nan Chen looked blank as he could not recall.
“Forget it if you don’t even know what you wanted to tell me.” He waved his hand.
“Oh, that’s right, it was about the adverse effects potentially brought upon by the revised storyline. A negative earning will lead to your personal reputation damage. Don’t you think so? Although it doesn’t matter to you whether the movie makes any money, I do care.”
She continued after a slight pause, “This is my first film. Thanks to you, I got a chance to work with such an A-list crew. I want us all to succeed and not to be a loser, or else people will comment that I’m a small fry who doesn’t deserve the big screen. I don’t want to jinx it. Needless to say, the audience will also criticize you for having such a lousy vision to invest in someone who eventually turns out to be a laughing stock. See, we all lose in this situation. Doesn’t this suck?”
Right then, Nan Chen wanted to say something, but Ning Ran gestured that she was not done.
“In addition, the netizens will analyze everything and make their own conclusions as to why the movie fails. Without a doubt, the story about you shutting Huang Zichao out will surely be brought up. They will say that Sir Chen is narrow-minded, lacks confidence, and has no respect for the actor—”
“Shut up!”
Nan Chen could not tolerate her anymore. She can needle me all she wants, but she can’t say that I have low self-esteem! That’s absurd. I’m most proud of how open-minded I am, and I have abundant self-confidence! If not, how could I have become the leader of Nanshi Corporation?
