Nan Chen was perusing some documents in the study room when Dabao and Erbao came in.
Erbao's face was wet with tears as she sobbed and rushed toward him. “Daddy...”
Leaping to his feet, he picked her up in his arms immediately. “What's wrong, Darling?”
“Someone hit Mommy,” said Dabao, his expression cold and intimidating. It was fortunate no one else was around. Otherwise, they would have been frightened by the child's terrifying aura because Dabao was furious.
“Who hit her? What happened?” Nan Chen asked, alarmed by the news. Why would she get hit while appearing on a show? It's outrageous!
Erbao was so distraught that she could not even speak. After all, she adored her mother.
“It was a mean lady. Mommy and I were talking when that mean lady knocked on the door. Then, she slapped Mommy!” Dabao's voice quavered with anger as he spoke.
Upon hearing Dabao mention a mean lady, Nan Chen guessed the person was Liyi Danfeng. What? That little nobody? How dare she lay her hand on Ning Ran! Are all celebrities this insolent nowadays?
“Don't cry, Darling. I'm calling your mother right now. You don't have to worry about a thing. I'll protect her and won't let anyone bully her.” A cold glint flashed in Nan Chen's eyes.
“I hate that mean lady!” Erbao uttered through her tears.
Although Nan Chen did not wish for a child to harbor feelings of hatred, he knew she was a smart kid and that it was impossible to stop her from feeling certain emotions.
Meanwhile, the production crew had been alerted to what happened and was trying to calm things down.
Feigning concern, Ye Meng chilled a towel in the freezer and helped hold it against Ning Ran's cheek.
Despite her anger, Ning Ran did not fly off the handle. She knew the matter would not end just like that. Instead, she was more concerned about a certain someone definitely losing his cool if he found out what happened. The new movie will be released soon. Even if it means suffering a little now, I should still finish shooting this show. If too much bad press pops up at a time like this, it'll affect the movie's box-office performance, and I don't want my first big-screen work to be a flop.
Hence, she exercised restraint and did not fight back much.
However, her phone rang just then, and she knew she was in trouble when she saw the phone number. Oh, no... He found out.
Trying her best to keep her tone light, she answered the call. “Hello?”
“Was it that nobody? The one with the surname Liyi?” Nan Chen's voice was glacial.
“You heard about it? Actually, it's no big deal—”
“I'm asking you if it was her!” he demanded, his voice growing colder.
Finally, she answered weakly, “Yes, it was her.”
“Why didn't you give her a taste of her own medicine? Are you an id*ot? Why would you suck it up after getting slapped by someone? Are you no match for her?” he raged.
She was silent.
“Go and slap her right now and leave once you've done that. I'll have Qiao Zhan go and pick you up. Wang Xiaoou will handle the rest,” Nan Chen continued.
Ning Ran walked to a corner to continue talking on the phone and spoke softly, not wanting others to overhear her. “There's no need for that. She didn't hit me that hard. I'm fine. I'll go back after I finish filming this episode—”
“Do you have trouble understanding me? I told you to come back right now. And before you do, pay her back for what she did!”
The crew would not allow them to go up, saying they did not want to alarm the other artists upstairs and that it would be better to resolve any conflicts elsewhere.
As for the director, he was also at his wit's end. “Ms. Wang, it's true what happened was an oversight on our part, but Ms. Ding can't withdraw from filming now. If she does that, where will we find someone else to take her place on such short notice? Filming resumes early tomorrow morning, and it's late at night now. We won't be able to get another artist to fill in for her. I'll apologize to Ms. Ding first, then persuade Liyi Danfeng to do the same after this. Would that be okay with you?”
“No,” Wang Xiaoou and Cheng Xiangyun answered at the same time.
Considering the severity of the situation and the fact that it had reached Nan Chen's ears, even if the pair agreed to reconcile, they knew Nan Chen would not allow it.
After all, one of our company's artists was slapped, and that person happens to be Nan Chen's woman. No matter whether it's from a business or personal perspective, there's no way he'll let the matter slide. With that in mind, Wang Xiaoou was firm in her stance. There was no room for discussion. Ning Ran had to withdraw from the show.
Realizing she was not about to change her mind, the director hardened his tone and said, “Ou, we've worked together before, and you know what I'm like. I don't usually like to get lawyers involved, but should you insist on backing out now, I'll have no choice but to resort to legal action.”
“Do as you wish. We'll fight you to the end,” Wang Xiaoou replied icily.
Using his tall, strapping frame to force his way to the front, Qiao Zhan strode to the director and asked, “Do you think you have the final say in this?”
“I'm the lead director—”
“How dare you threaten to get your lawyer involved? Why don't I beat the living daylights out of you? That way, you can sue both of us together.”
Looking up to see Qiao Zhan towering over him, the director asked weakly, “Who are you?”
“I'm the head of Nanshi Corporation's security team. My surname is Qiao. Someone struck Mrs. Nan, yet you're unwilling to let her leave? Get out of my way. Otherwise, I'll smash your nose with a single punch. Feel free to sue me.” As Qiao Zhan spoke, he stretched out a hand and lifted the director by his collar as though he weighed nothing, then flung the latter aside.
The director, frail and far from being in the same league as Qiao Zhan, was stunned. The Nan family is overbearing indeed. We can't afford to provoke them.
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