Chapter 720 Ran Off With His Girlfriend
Sure enough, the look on Nan Chen’s face turned slightly gloomy after he heard that. “Are you defending him?” he asked coldly.
Ning Ran began to panic. “O-Of course not! I told you, Huang Zichao and I have no interactions outside of work! I just think a famous and successful actor like him has no need to kill anyone. I don’t pose a threat to him at all, so he shouldn’t have any reason to do that.”
Of course, Nan Chen understood what Ning Ran was trying to say. He just didn’t feel too happy about things for now. Fearing that Nan Chen would get mad at her, Ning Ran had no choice but to pretend she suspected him as well.
“I understand that everyone in the production team is technically a suspect until we have concrete evidence to prove their innocence, and Huang Zichao is no exception. I was just blurting out what came to mind, that’s all. I’m sorry.”
Nan Chen felt slightly better after hearing that. Qiao Zhan arched an eyebrow in amusement when he noticed the changes in Nan Chen’s expression.
Oh? It seems even Sir Chen is susceptible to emotions like jealousy!
The filming had already stopped by the time they arrived on set, and Qiao Zhan’s men had the perimeter surrounded. No one was allowed to get in or out of there.
All the members of the production team were gossiping among themselves. They saw Nan Chen taking Ning Ran away by force, but they didn’t know what happened after.
Nan Chen shot Qiao Zhan a glance and motioned at him to explain the situation and calm those people down.
“Please stay calm, everyone. Sir Chen was executing a safety drill of some sort because he was worried about Madam’s safety. Make sure to keep a tight lid on what happened today!” Qiao Zhan announced.
The crowd grew even more confused when they heard that. Huh? That was a safety drill? It sure didn’t look like one!
“What do we do now?” asked the director.
“You’ll all take the rest of the day off and continue filming tomorrow. Sir Chen would like to greet the staff in person. Please have them come to shake hands with him,” Qiao Zhan replied.
“Of course, whatever Sir Chen says!” The director then turned around and told the production team, “Listen up, people! Sir Chen wants to greet all of you in person, so get in line and give him a warm welcome!”
The staff got even more confused when they heard that. What is going on here? First, a safety drill where he grabs his girlfriend and runs off, and now, we’re having a meet-and-greet? Rich people sure are weird!
“Thank you all for your hard work,” Nan Chen said as he came over and glared coldly at them.
He then started shaking hands with everyone, starting with the director.
While the male staff didn’t think much about it, the female staff were losing their minds from the excitement. After all, it wasn’t every day they got to shake hands with a man like Nan Chen.
They all reached their hands out the moment Nan Chen walked up to them. Some even tried to take advantage of him by squeezing his hand as tightly as possible.
Had Qiao Zhan not forbidden them from taking pictures, they would surely have done so and bragged about it on social media.
Nan Chen maintained an expressionless look as he continued making his way down the line, with Qiao Zhan following closely behind.
One of the staff, who was a young man in his twenties, had a rather stiff and awkward handshake. He even blinked nervously and avoided making eye contact with Nan Chen as he shook his hand.
Upon completing the handshake, Nan Chen turned around and shot Qiao Zhan a glance before continuing to shake the hands of the other staff.
The staff were dismissed after the “meet-and-greet” was over.
Instead of leaving with everyone else, however, Nan Chen sat down in the break room and waited patiently.
The director didn’t dare leave while Nan Chen was still around, so he waited alongside him.
A few minutes later, Qiao Zhan dragged the young man from earlier into the break room.
“What’s his job?” Qiao Zhan asked the director.
“Um… I think he’s…” The director wasn’t too sure as there were hundreds of people on the production team. The team was split into a few departments, each with its own assistant director and leader.
“If you’re not able to confirm this, then find me someone who can,” Qiao Zhan said sternly.
“On it!” The director quickly pulled out his phone and made a call.
Moments later, a guy came in and took a look at the young man but was still unable to identify him either.
Nan Chen got mad when he saw that. “So, you just let random people waltz in here without proper identification?”
The director was starting to panic. “N-No, Sir Chen! It’s just that some departments have a really higher turnover rate. We have lots of work to do here on set, so we sometimes hire people on short notice to help out.”
“Starting today, registration shall be required for every single person upon entry. Do not let anyone in without proper identification, or you can all kiss the entertainment industry goodbye!” Qiao Zhan yelled.
“Y-Yes, sir! We’ll make sure to be extra careful next time!” the director replied while wiping the sweat off his forehead.
Qiao Zhan waved at the two and said, “You guys can wait outside.”
The director pointed at the young man and asked, “So, who is that guy—”
“Get out!” Qiao Zhan was not in the mood for explanations.
The director didn’t dare say another word. He quickly ran out of the break room with the other guy, leaving Nan Chen, Qiao Zhan, and the young man inside.
The young man had dark skin and seemed to be in great physical condition. He refused to say a single word and simply sat there staring intensely at Nan Chen.
“Bring Ning Ran over,” Nan Chen ordered.
Ning Ran, who had been waiting in the car the whole time, had no idea what was happening when she came in.
“Take a look at this guy. Do you know him?” Nan Chen asked while pointing at the young man.
Ning Ran took a good, long look at the young man and shook her head.
“He’s the one who poured that flammable substance on your costume. Take a closer look and see if you recognize him,” Nan Chen said.
Ning Ran shook her head again. “I’m positive that I haven’t seen him before.”
Nan Chen then turned toward Qiao Zhan and motioned for him to take a step back. The next thing they knew, Nan Chen delivered a powerful kick to the young man’s chest, knocking him to the ground instantly.
As the young man tried to get back on his feet, Qiao Zhan knocked him down with another kick and stepped on his head. “Tell us who sent you!”
“What did I do? Why are you doing this to me?” the young man exclaimed in some kind of strange dialect.
“Oh, you want to do this the hard way, huh?”
Qiao Zhan then gestured at his men, prompting two of them to rush over and beat the young man up.
Despite the brutal beating he was taking, the young man kept his mouth shut and refused to give up any information.
Nan Chen then ordered them to stop, as he didn’t want the young man to get beaten to death on set.
“Bring me his phone,” Nan Chen said.
After searching the young man, Qiao Zhan pulled out a phone from one of his pockets.
It was the latest model and appeared to be brand new, as it still had the protective film on the screen.
Nan Chen took the phone over and forced the young man to unlock it.
He then handed it over to Ning Ran and said, “Check his call log and see if you recognize any of the numbers.”
After spending a few minutes scrolling through the call log, Ning Ran shook her head as she didn’t find any familiar numbers.
