Truth be told, Ning Ran did not want to add Ouyang Qing.
There was no particular reason, she simply did not want to.
But Ouyang Qing was very insistent and had even taken out her phone, just waiting for Ning Ran to add her. It would make her look bad if Ning Ran were to reject her.
If Ouyang Qing were a man, Ning Ran wouldnât mind being blunt.
However, since the person standing across her was a pretty and stunning young girl that was speaking to her in such an adorable way, Ning Ran couldnât bring herself to be harsh with her.
So in the end, she added Ouyang Qing on WeChat.
âThank you, Ran. This way,â with a sweet tone, Ouyang Qing led Ning Ran to her car.
Ouyang Qingâs car was a very eye-catching red sports car.
Just like its owner, her car was the epitome of beauty and class.
Ouyang Qing opened the car door for Ning Ran personally, which made the latter felt a little overwhelmed.
Even though the two of them were acquaintances at best, Ouyang Qing had succeeded in making Ning Ran let her guard down.
It was said that some people were blessed with an inborn innocent look that could quickly win over othersâ trust, and Ouyang Qing was one of them.
âRan, could you please share our location with Chen so that he can follow us? Iâm not sure if he knows the way to the restaurant,â Ouyang Qing said.
âSure.â
Ning Ran shared their location with Nan Chen, but he did not reply.
âRan, what kind of a person is Chen?â
Ouyang Qing continued chatting with Ning Ran as she drove.
It was a rare chance for her to interact directly with Ning Ran, so Ouyang Qing had to seize the opportunity to dig as much information from her as she could.
As the saying goes, one should always keep oneâs friends close and oneâs enemies closer. It was a principle that Ouyang Qing lived by.
It never occurred to Ning Ran that Ouyang Qing would bring up such a question and in an instant, she became wary again.
Why is she asking about this?
After all, sheâs so close with the Nan family. How could she not know what kind of a person Nan Chen is?
If she knows everything but still asks me, does that mean that sheâs trying to fish some information from me?
Maybe she has even placed a voice recorder in the car to record down how Iâd complain about Poker Face so that she could accuse me of itâ¦
At the thought of that, Ning Ran became even more vigilant.
But upon further pondering, she felt that she might have complicated things herself. Iâm probably overthinking stuff, this isnât a TV series, after all. I donât think actual humans could be so treacherous in reality, right?
âRan, what are you thinking about?â Ouyang Qingâs voice pulled Ning Ran back to reality.
âOh, nothing.â
âYou havenât answered my question yet,â Ouyang Qing continued.
âWhat question?â Ning Ran feigned ignorance.
âI was asking, what do you think about Chen?â Ouyang Qing repeated her question.
âMr. Chen? I donât know much about him.â
Ning Ran tried her best to deflect her question. Trying to snoop about and get information from me? I wonât be fooled!
âCome on now, no way thatâs true! Youâre so close with Chen. How can you not know much about him?â
âNo, weâre not close. weâre just colleagues,â replied Ning Ran.
âIâm sure thatâs not true. Chen doesnât really use WeChat and Iâm not even his friend on WeChat, but you are! That proves how close the two of you are.â
Realization dawned on Ning Ran that the reason Ouyang Qingâs request for her to share their location with Nan Chen earlier was to find out if she and Nan Chen were friends on WeChat.
Ning Ran was totally oblivious of that fact until then.
This girl is really something, sheâs definitely not as simple as she seems to be.
âAs I said for the umpteenth time, weâre not close. Being friends on WeChat is only for working purposes, youâre really overthinking things,â Ning Ran muttered.
Ouyang Qing was a little disappointed because she knew she had failed to obtain the information she needed.
âYouâre the prettiest girl Iâve ever met. Thereâre so many girls after Chen but none of them could beat you. Youâre the only person that gives me the impression of being worthy of Chen.â Ouyang Qing decided to change her strategy.
Her words caused Ning Ran to be even more wary.
âNonsense. Mr. Chen and I are strictly colleagues, and thatâs it. Itâs nothing like what you just said.â
âThen do you think youâre good enough for Chen?â asked Ouyang Qing again.
Ning Ran refused to answer this time.
She could sense the malicious intent behind the question, so she remained silent.
Iâm straightforward but Iâm not an idiot!
âHahaha!â Ning Ran laughed out of the blue.
âWhat are you laughing at, Ran?â
âNothing, I just realized something,â answered Ning Ran.
âWhat is it?â
âYou like Nan Chen, donât you?â Ning Ran asked as she chuckled.
Ouyang Qing was taken aback.
She thought she was good at disguising it but never had she expected that Ning Ran would see through her.
âYou must be joking. Me and Chen, weâre childhood friends. We grew up together since young and I see Chen as my own brother.â Ouyang Qing tried to cover up for herself.
âReally? So Iâve overthinking then?â
âYes, thatâs right. Youâre overthinking.â
âWell, if a girl is particularly concerned about a boy, especially in his affairs with other girls, thereâs only one possibility. Which is, she likes him,â Ning Ran laughed as she said that.
âIndeed, I am concerned about Chen. But Iâm only treating him as a brother,â Ouyang Qing muttered as a sense of guilt gnawed at her heart.
âWell, I guess I must have misunderstood then. Looks like weâve both misunderstood each other.
Neither of us is in a relationship with Nan Chen.â
âYou called his name directly just now. Very few people addressed him that way in Flower City.â
Ouyang Qing seemed to have found another âproof.â
Ning Ran knew she had slipped on that as well.
âHaha, thatâs because people like us whoâre working with him have been oppressed for too long so all of us call him by his name when heâs not around. My my, how careless of me to let that slipped. You must promise me not to tell him, or Iâll be in trouble.â Ning Ran pretended to be worried.
Do you think youâre the only one who knows how to act? Mind you, Iâm the actual actress here.
Ouyang Qing found herself speechless all of a sudden.
She had also realized that Ning Ran was not as simple as she thought.
The two of them continued chatting, throwing shades at each other along the way, and after a few rounds of exchanges, they finally arrived at the restaurant.
This time, Ouyang Qing did not open the car door for Ning Ran. She was no longer in the mood.
Nan Chen still had not reached after a long while.
Logically speaking, both Nan Chenâs car and driving skills were no worse than Ouyang Qingâs, making her wonder what was taking Nan Chen so long.
Just then, Ning Ranâs phone rang. It was Nan Chen.
âSomething came up in my company so youâll have to keep my parents company,â Nan Chen said over the phone.
âWhat?â
Ning Ran was completely baffled. What is this about? Youâre leaving me alone here just like that?
âNo way! I donât know them well,â Ning Ran lowered her voice and replied.
âOh? I thought you were very close to them. Turns out youâre not?â Nan Chen was being sarcastic.
Poker Face is definitely taking revenge on me.
Previously, he had asked Ning Ran to help him turn it down but Ning Ran did not do as he asked, so he wanted Ning Ran to pay the price.
Bai Hua was obviously hostile toward Ning Ran. Now that Nan Chen was not around, she would definitely make it difficult for Ning Ran.
No way! I canât let that happen!
âMr. Chen, Iâm sorry. Please donât leave me here alone,â Ning Ran said with a hushed voice.
âWhat did you say?â
âItâs all my fault. I was wrong.â
âWrong about what?â
âWrong about everything. I should not have agreed to this meeting. I was a fool. I donât deserve to be called a humanâ¦â
âIf youâre not human, then what are you?â
Ning Ran was stunned. What a conversation killer.
Who would ever ask a question like that?
Next Chapter q