Chapter 731 That Is More Awkward
In Livingsfill, Ning Ran returned to the bedroom after settling the two kids down, only to find Nan Chen waiting for her there.
As soon as she walked in, the lights in the room went off suddenly. “What are you doing? I can’t see—”
Before she could finish her sentence, she sensed Nan Chen inching toward her. The next second, she was knocked down and could not retaliate at all.
His kiss was so passionate despite the darkness that even Ning Ran felt aroused. However, when he tried to get more intimate with his hands, she abruptly mustered all her strength and kicked at him.
Following that, she swung her hands wildly. ”Let me go!” An indescribable sense of disgust and humiliation surged within her.
It was a feeling that resembled being close to a venomous snake—she felt suffocated, infuriated, and awfully horrible.
That explained why she had reacted that way. It was such a violent reaction that Nan Chen was caught off guard and thus sustained a painful, bloody scratch on his neck.
Immediately afterward, he switched on the lights and fixed his gaze on Ning Ran, who was on the verge of breaking down.
In truth, that was not the first instance. The same thing had also happened previously. At that time, Ning Ran was quite cooperative as well, but at the crucial moment, she resisted aggressively and attacked him like how she just did.
She even called him disgusting. Since then, Nan Chen could not stop brooding over that word as no one had ever described him that way.
For a very long time after that, he would purposely keep a distance from Ning Ran for fear that she would detest him.
As it had been some time, he thought he could get intimate with her again.
To prevent the same occurrence, he even turned off the lights. Unfortunately, she still regarded him with disdain and even kicked him.
Without a doubt, Ning Ran felt terrible too. Unable to pull herself out of the extreme humiliation, she curled herself into a ball with her hands wrapped around her head as she hid in a corner, shivering.
The anger lingering within Nan Chen dissipated after he saw her reaction. While he had a burning urge to go over and give her a hug and some words of comfort, he dared not move closer to her as he was afraid that would provoke her again.
All he could do was watch her and wait for her to calm down. Just like that, the two faced each other for a long time without saying a word. After finally feeling better, Ning Ran mumbled an apology.
The other time when such an instance occurred, Nan Chen was utterly furious. Yet, he did not feel the same way then.
It was because he realized Ning Ran did not spurn him. Instead, her reaction was due to her resistance to intimate behaviors.
She resists the most whenever I try to proceed to the next stage. By the looks of it, it must be a psychological problem. That means she’s ill. I can’t blame her.
Nan Chen said, “I was too rash just now. Perhaps I—”
“No. It’s not your problem. It’s me. I don’t dislike you. It’s just that I…” Ning Ran was also at a loss for words.
“It’s fine,” he gently reassured.
He did not mind, yet that made her feel even more guilty.
“I really don’t dislike you. Actually, I… It’s just that…” She had no idea how to express herself and thus was rambling incoherently.
“All right. Let’s not talk about this anymore. I’ll take you to meet Qin Lan after we return to Flower City,” he said.
“Qin Lan?”
“She’s a psychological counselor and also a friend of mine. I can bring you to see her. Perhaps she’ll be able to help you,” Nan Chen explained.
“It’s a woman?” Ning Ran queried warily.
“Yes. But is there a need to know about a doctor’s gender?” He threw a question back at her.
“I don’t want to talk about this topic in front of other women. It’s embarrassing,” she answered.
“Then don’t tell me you’d rather talk about this in front of a man? Won’t that be even more awkward?” Nan Chen countered.
Ning Ran found herself unable to answer his question.
“Regardless of whether it’s a man or a woman, I don’t want to elaborate on that topic. It’s too awkward to do so.” She was evidently against that idea.
“Are you concealing your illness because you don’t want to face reality?” Nan Chen asked coldly.
“I don’t have any illnesses. I just…”
“A psychological problem is still an illness,” he asserted.
Ning Ran took the initiative to lean closer to him. “What is your relationship with that female counselor that you’d have so much trust in her? Aren’t you afraid she’ll divulge my secrets to the others?”
“As I said, she is my friend,” Nan Chen uttered sternly.
“Precisely. I find it stranger that you say she’s your friend. Someone like you actually has friends too? And a female one? Don’t tell me she’s your ex-girlfriend?” Ning Ran still had her guard up.
“Will you believe me if I say no?” Nan Chen riposted.
“No, I won’t,” she answered without hesitation.
“In that case, what’s the point in answering your question?”
“You have to answer even if it’s pointless. What is your relationship with her exactly?” Ning Ran was unwilling to let it slide.
Nan Chen felt that the woman before him had become more and more insolent. Since when did she muster the courage to talk back at me with this attitude?
If it were before, he would have taught her a lesson.
Surprisingly, not only did he not find her insolence repulsive, but he also liked how she was. In fact, he even thought it was right of her to be so bold and sassy in front of him.
“Ex-girlfriend,” Nan Chen purposely teased her.
“I knew it. No wonder you wanted to introduce me to her. You want her to learn about my weakness and know that I’m nowhere comparable to her. That way, she can make fun of me!” Ning Ran exclaimed.
“You know her?” he asked.
“How would I know her? She’s your ex-girlfriend. Why should I know who she is?” she retorted.
“If you don’t know her, then how do you know you’re nowhere comparable to her?”
Ning Ran was rendered speechless.
“In any case, I know you’re trying to let her mock me! You’re full of ill intentions!” she snapped.
Right then, Nan Chen’s phone rang. It was Qiao Zhan.
Even though Qiao Zhan knew Nan Chen was in Ning Ran’s room, he decided to make a call first since he did not dare to disturb them.
Nan Chen put on a coat. “Go to sleep first. Qiao Zhan is looking for me. I’ll head out for a bit.”
When he stepped outside, Qiao Zhan was already waiting for him there.
“Something bad happened to that person!” Qiao Zhan urgently reported.
“Who? Make yourself clear,” Nan Chen said.
“That guy who tried to harm Madam at the set. After we handed him to the police, that fellow refused to reveal who ordered him to do such a thing. Instead, he confessed that it was all his doings. The police had no choice but to detain him for further questioning, but he hit his head against the wall nonstop and sustained severe injuries. Then, the police rushed him to the hospital. Over there, he attempted to escape from the restroom but unfortunately fell off the building and died.”
Hearing that, Nan Chen plunged into silent contemplation for a moment. “The whole scenario sounds pretty familiar. His escape tactics were exactly the same as what Ouyang Duo did back then. The accident both happened at the hospital, and they both died.”
“Yes. It is indeed similar. Do you think it’s the tactics of the same person?” Qiao Zhan inquired.
“We can’t be certain yet. But if this guy is dead, doesn’t that mean our only lead has been cut off?” Nan Chen looked at him.
“The police found a tattoo on the guy’s arm. It’s a poppy flower. I asked around in the network and found out about the origin of that tattoo.”
Nan Chen motioned Qiao Zhan to carry on.
“There’s an organization in M Nation that can be either called a company or an association. It has its own armed regiment. Of course, that’s not uncommon in M Nation since there are many civil wars all year round. The rich would usually hire a group of people to protect themselves.”
At that point, Nan Chen waved his hand. “Cut to the chase.”
