Chapter 678 Banknote
“F*ck!” Ning Ran fumed. Seeing her friend on the verge of a breakdown made Lu Jingyuan feel rather guilty. “Should I not have told you all this?”
Ning Ran drew in a deep breath. “Don’t worry about it. It’s a good thing you told me. I’ll call him and ask him about it right away.”
However, Lu Jingyuan quickly stopped her from doing so. “If you give him a call right now and interrogate him, won’t I be put in an awkward situation?”
“Well, I can’t pretend nothing happened, right? Fine, I’ll call him when we get back and question him then.” Ning Ran sat down and grabbed the bottle that was sitting on the table. She then chugged a few mouthfuls of wine straight from the bottle.
Lu Jingyuan took the bottle back from her and chided, “Don’t drink so much.”
While Ning Ran and Lu Jingyuan were talking and the former was on the brink of a full-blown meltdown, the director of I Am You and Huang Zichao were also having a drink in a nearby restaurant.
Huang Zichao was an award-winning actor and a household name. Any director, regardless of their popularity, would still have to treat a big shot like him respectfully.
Therefore, it was no surprise that the director would personally pour Huang Zichao a glass of wine and utter words of flattery.
Huang Zichao had been forcing himself to accept the director’s blandishments, but in the end, he couldn’t take it anymore.
A crease formed between his eyebrows as he queried, “Do you have anything to say to me? Is there an issue with my performance? Go ahead and speak your mind. I’m happy to accept criticisms. After all, it can help me improve.”
“Oh, no! You’re great! Your performance matches perfectly with Ding Mi’s. It’s outstanding, really!” The director laughed, once again, filling Huang Zichao’s glass with wine.
At that point, Huang Zichao was done with the endless pleasantries. We’ve been socializing for half a day, yet he’s not saying anything important. What the h*ll does he want?
“Please don’t be like this. Just say what you have in mind. I’d feel uneasy if you won’t be frank with me.” He didn’t bother drinking the wine and stared intently at the director.
“It’s nothing. I’m just chatting with you. Oh right, what do you think of Ding Mi as a person?”
“I think she’s great. She’s pretty and talented, so I’m sure she has a bright future ahead of her,” Huang Zichao praised. “What else?”
“Uh, what else? Her personality’s great, too. Why are you asking, though? What’s the meaning of this?” Sensing something was amiss, Huang Zichao instantly became more cautious.
The director merely laughed, seeming as if he was trying to pick and choose his words. “Just say what you have in mind,” Huang Zichao reminded him once more. “Ding Mi… is pretty likable, huh?”
“Of course. Plenty of people on the production team likes her, but alas, she’s not a banknote, so not everyone would like her.”
“You like her too, I suppose?” An ambiguous smile crept up on the director’s face.
“Indeed. It’s an honor to be able to work with her,” Huang Zichao revealed honestly.
The director nodded in understanding. “I like her as well, but outside of work, I wouldn’t dare ask her out for a meal and whatnot. Do you know why?”
“Why?”
“Because she’s Sir Chen’s woman, and Sir Chen’s the main investor of this movie, so we can’t afford to offend him.”
Huang Zichao was no fool and seemed to have caught onto what the director was implying.
“So what you’re saying is that I’ve gotten too close to her, and I shouldn’t be doing that, correct?” he asked.
“I heard you asked her out for a drink and caused a little incident in the end. Is that true?”
“It did happen, but it was an accident. She was being too rash and wanted to seek justice for a girl who was singing there. That’s what resulted in the entire ordeal,” explained Huang Zichao.
“Sir Chen didn’t ask about the nitty-gritty details, nor does he care about excuses. All he knows is that your actions brought danger upon his woman. He’s furious about it and said that if you do something like this again, he’d take action on you.”
After going in circles for such a long time, the director finally went to the point.
Huang Zichao remained silent while staring at the director.
“Don’t look at me like that. These aren’t my words, but Sir Chen’s,” the director hurriedly explained.
“He’s the one who wanted you to warn me?”
“No, his assistant gave me a call, saying that if you can’t keep your distance from Ding Mi, then you’d have to leave the production team. They don’t mind taking on the losses that might be incurred by your exit.”
Huang Zichao set his glass on the table.
Although he was a well-mannered man, he would still feel uncomfortable after listening to such blatant threats.
“So you think this is an issue as well?”
“Of course, not. I believe in your character, but the incident did bring about some negative implications. In fact, there were some rumors going around the production team, but I’ve already given them a warning.”
“That means I can’t have a meal with Ning Ran in the future, and I can’t talk to her, too?” Huang Zichao was slightly irate.
Alas, there was nothing the perplexed director could do about the matter. “I’d advise you to have less contact with her outside of work, for everyone’s sake.”
“All right, I understand. Nan Chen’s the investor, so obviously, I’d have to show him some respect.”
As soon as the words left his lips, Huang Zichao stood up and prepared to leave.
“Why are you leaving already? You haven’t finished your wine yet. Hey, don’t be mad!” the director coaxed.
However, Huang Zichao paid him no heed and strode out of the restaurant.
The troubled director could only shake his head helplessly. My hands are truly tied. They’re both big shots, and I can’t afford to offend either one of them.
As soon as Huang Zichao got out of the restaurant, he instantly gave Ning Ran a call, telling her he needed to see her right away.
When Ning Ran asked him what it was about, he merely said it was urgent and sent his location to her.
Unfortunately, Ning Ran was a no-show. She wasn’t in a good mood and didn’t want to see anyone, let alone Huang Zichao. Instead, she headed straight to Mountview Inn and rang Nan Chen’s phone.
This time, the call was connected almost instantly. Nan Chen was still in the office working overtime.
“I’m a little busy right now. I’ll call you back,” he said.
His response made the woman feel as if he was trying to avoid her after having done something shady.
“Nan Chen, I had dinner with Lu Jingyuan and she told me some things. Do you have anything to say to me?” Ning Ran asked.
“I do, but I don’t have the time to talk right now. I’ll hang up first, okay?”
“Don’t hang up. I didn’t expect you to be a person who would do something behind my back! Are you not ashamed?”
All of the fury and rage that Ning Ran had been holding in was released in an instant, stunning Nan Chen.
Do something behind her back? Is she referring to the incident where I asked the director to give Huang Zichao a warning? I’m trying to preserve her pride here. That’s why I asked Jiang Zhe to call the director and had the director warn Huang Zichao. How dare she say I’m shameless?
The irritation in Nan Chen’s heart grew at the woman’s words.
Am I shameless or are you the one who’s shameless?
“What about you, huh? Do you want your pride at all?” Nan Chen queried coldly.
“Of course, I do! But I really didn’t expect you to be so disgusting that you’d do such a thing behind my back! Do you think you’re all that, hmm? In that case, why not admit to your mistakes?” Ning Ran roared.
Instead of answering her, Nan Chen posed several questions of his own, “Did I deny it? What do I have to be ashamed of?”
Ning Ran truly hoped that the man would at least try to explain his actions, but who would’ve guessed that he would straight-up admit to his wrongdoings instead?
This caused Ning Ran a great deal of heartache as anger threatened to overwhelm her.
