A week later.
Nan Chen was attending the opening ceremony for the film I Am You.
After the ceremony was over, all the staff and crew members gathered around for dinner and refreshments.
Nan Chen excused himself as he had something else to take care of. Being the lead actress, however, Ning Ran had to be present.
At first, she was somewhat worried that she would be ostracized due to the negative rumors about her.
She soon discovered that her concerns were unnecessary, as everyone, including the production team, came to greet her and congratulate her.
There wasnât a single mention of the negative rumors whatsoever.
Of course, the one that was most excited to see her was none other than Tang Jing.
Ouyang Qing was the one who arranged for Tang Jing to be a part of the film. She was to play the part of Ning Ranâs colleague in a lab, a character responsible for what happened to Ning Ranâs child in the plot.
Tang Jing was very satisfied with her role as it suited the highly educated vibes she gave off.
Ning Ranâs popularity had shot up ever since Sound of Thunder 2 became a huge hit, but that wasnât the case for Tang Jing.
The audience found Ning Ranâs character to be a lot better than Tang Jingâs as the latterâs acting came off as being too forced.
As frustrated as Tang Jing was, she couldnât do a thing about it.
That was simply the norm in the entertainment industry where only a few were famous.
Now that she had Ouyang Qing to back her up, Tang Jing was determined to make a name for herself.
Although she wasnât sure how much it cost Ouyang Qing to get her a role in the film, she knew for sure that it was only possible because of Ouyang Qing.
In return, she had promised to do Ouyang Qing a little favor.
Ning Ran soon found herself overwhelmed by the number of toasts she was receiving from everyone.
Iâll get wasted if I keep drinking like this, and I donât want that! The shooting starts tomorrow, and itâd be humiliating if I were to show up late on the first day!
Tang Jing stood up and helped receive some of the toasts on her behalf. âPlease go easy on Ding with the toasts, guys. She wonât be able to attend the shoot tomorrow if she gets drunk, you know?â
âHow about you drink it for her, then? You guys worked on a show before, so you should help her out!â
âAll right⦠Iâm not really good at holding my liquor, but Iâll do it for Ding! Sheâs the star of the show, after all!â
With that, Tang Jing downed the entire glass in one go.
âWohoo! Yeah!â The crowd cheered in response.
Ning Ran didnât want Tang Jing to keep taking shots for her either. âHey, I think we should stop drinking for today. Weâve got to work tomorrow.â
There were over a dozen departments in the production team, and staff members from each and every one of them kept coming over to deliver their toasts.
Of course, they werenât intentionally trying to get her drunk or anything. They simply wanted to get closer to her as she was rumored to be dating Nan Chen, the man who invested a huge fortune in this film just for her.
To them, Ning Ran was someone closely associated with the Nan family, and they all wanted to get behind that ridiculously strong source of support.
Even by only taking tiny sips for each toast, Ning Ran still found herself getting tipsy as there were simply too many of them.
I shouldnât drink any more⦠I have to stay alert⦠Ning Ran reminded herself.
âIâm sorry, everyone. I told my kids that Iâd be going home earlier tonight, so I have to leave now. Have fun!â Ning Ran said as she prepared to leave the scene.
Naturally, no one dared stop her from doing so.
The weather was a little cold, and she buttoned up her coat when she stepped out of the hotel.
A car then pulled up outside, and Ning Ran got in after the driver opened the door for her.
The car was driving towards the Red Maple City villa when it ran into a roadblock a few kilometers down the road.
It was mandatory for all vehicles passing by to be inspected, so Ning Ran had no choice but to sit through the traffic jam.
A police officer walked up to them, produced his identification, and ordered them to get out of the car for an inspection.
The driver wasnât worried as he hadnât been drinking at all.
âOpen the bag,â the policeman ordered Ning Ran.
Having nothing but her phone and some essentials for women, Ning Ran did as told and handed her bag over to the policeman.
The policeman then retrieved each item from the bag in front of his Bodycam and paused when he found a white bottle of pills.
âWhat is this?â The policeman asked.
Ning Ran was confused. What is that? I donât remember having that in my bag⦠Could it be some painkillers that I left in there a long time ago?
âIâm not sure, it could be vitamins or painkillers.â Ning Ran replied.
The policeman opened the bottle and frowned after taking a sniff from it.
He then poured the pills onto the palm of his hand and took a closer look at it.
âThese are ecstasy pills! Sheâs doing drugs! Arrest her and get her tested at the hospital!â
The policeman waved at a few other officers in plainclothes who rushed over and pinned Ning Ran down on the car.
Being a bodyguard, the driver was about to fight back when he saw Ning Ran getting arrested, but Ning Ran stopped him.
âNo, donât resist arrest! Iâm innocent, so letâs just cooperate with them.â
Hearing that, the driver placed his hands above his head and knelt down beside her.
Ning Ran was then escorted into a police car and taken to a hospital.
She was a little buzzed at first, but the sudden commotion had her completely sobered up.
I was wondering if I had left that bottle of pills in my bag when the police first found it, but the sight of the ecstasy pills confirms that my suspicions were wrong. Iâm absolutely certain that I have never seen, let alone consumed such brightly colored pills my entire life! From what Iâve heard on set, a lot of artistes love taking those as it would lead to hallucinations and give them an inexplicable high. Itâs often secretly distributed to people at parties, but Iâve never been to such parties, so how did that end up in my handbag?
Ning Ran kept thinking long and hard about it, but she couldnât figure it out at all.
âYou know, Iâve been watching your shows. Youâre such an amazing actress, so whyâd you end up doing drugs?â The female officer next to her whispered.
âI didnât. I donât know whatâs going on either.â Ning Ran said.
âSo youâre not on these pills? Were you carrying them for someone else, then?â
âNo, Iâm not doing drugs, nor am I carrying them for anyone. I donât even know how that ended up in my handbag.â
âWell, the tests will show us if youâre truly innocent.â The female officer said.
âThank you, officer. I really am innocent.â Ning Ran said.
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