q After meeting each otherâs eyes, Ning Ran shifted her gaze.
Ning Ran did not like this man either because she thought of him as the dumb guy who used his influence to cover up for Luo Fei.
However, the man standing in front of her was the biggest investor of the movie â the Sound of Thunder 2 â and was, therefore, her employer.
Being under his employment, she must admit defeat.
And so she nodded first to greet him.
Then, he nodded in response.
The two of them only nodded as a sign of respect but werenât interested in having an actual conversation.
After that, Ning Ran stood aside to let Nan Chen enter the elevator. She did that as a sign of courtesy.
Nan Chen wasnât in a hurry to get in the elevator either because it was also courteous to let the person inside the elevator to exit first.
In the end, both parties stood there, motionless, waiting for the other to make a move first which, in turn, made things awkward.
After realizing each otherâs intention, Ning Ran stepped forward to get out of the elevator.
Unfortunately, Nan Chen had the same realization at the same time, and he moved forward too, causing both parties to knock on each other.
The hotelâs elevator doors were wide enough to let them both pass easily, but they somehow managed to knock on one another.
Although his outfit made him look like a thin man, Nan Chen was well-built and muscular so Ning Ranâs tiny body couldnât withstand this bump, and fell back a couple of steps.
âDamn it!â Ning Ran cussed.
Nan Chen raised his brows. Having seen how naturally this woman cussed, he believed that she truly was vile.
Ning Ran regretted after cussing because she does not normally cuss. She was definitely influenced by that idiot, Zhen Lunlun.
That being said, she had already cussed out loud, and she wasnât a nice lady anyway.
Besides, itâs not like the man standing in front of her was any better.
Ning Ran kept her head down. She didnât need to look up to know that the guy must have a scowl on his face.
She walked so fast that she was practically fleeing from the elevator with her head down.
After being bumped by that woman, Nan Chen sniffed the perfume on his suit and confirmed that this was the tangerine perfume.
That perfume was like a curse that had been haunting Nan Chen all these years. For some reason, he could never forget that scent.
There was nothing scary about not forgetting that scent, but he was terrified about not knowing why he couldnât forget it.
Annoyed, the knock on the door was heavier than intended.
âI knew youâd come back⦠Uncle?â said Zhen Lunlun.
He wanted to keep talking but after seeing Nan Chen icy glare, he swallowed his words.
âWhoâs coming back?â
âNo⦠No one. I was just singing. Iâm waiting for you to come back, to come backâ¦â
Zhen Lunlun pretended to sing, but even he thought that was an awkward performance.
He stopped singing abruptly because Nan Chenâs glare was horrifying.
Nan Chen didnât barge into the room because he was the uncle, and things would get ugly if there actually was a woman inside.
He asked Zhen Lunlun with his eyes. May I come in?
Zhen Lunlun moved to the side with the door open. âPlease come in, uncle.â
Nan Chen felt a little dizzy. He couldâve sworn he smelled that tangerine perfume again.
Donât think too much. Itâs just in your head. Nan Chen reminded himself.
Nan Chen sat on the sofa and inspected everything in the room.
Nothing seemed off, but the presidential suite was big enough to hide someone, and Nan Chen didnât feel right to inspect every inch of the room.
Zhen Lunlun stood at the side. He didnât understand why his uncle came to visit in the middle of the night.
No one spoke, and the room became eerily quiet.
Zhen Lunlun couldnât stand the silence so he asked, âUncle, what are you doing here?â
âNothing,â Nan Chen answered.
Then what the hell are you doing here in the middle of the night? Thought Zhen Lunlun. What? Did he sleepwalk?
That moment, all Nan Chen could think about was how the housekeeper said that Zhen Lunlun had brought an old lady to the hotel.
Was there an elderly lady hiding in the suite?
Nan Chen denied it. That was impossible. His nephew is a handsome man. Why would he and an elderly lady�
But if that is not the case, the housekeeper wouldnât have said soâ¦
Nan Chen couldnât let it go.
Nan Chen gestured the room and asked, âCan I take a look around?â
Zhen Lunlun was surprised. His uncle had seen it all, why would he be interested in checking out a hotel suite?
Even though he didnât understand it, he agreed to it. âOf course.â
And so Nan Chen inspected every single room in the suite and confirmed that there was no woman â
elderly or young â present.
Moreover, the room was in perfect shape so nothing happened.
Nan Chen calmed down.
âDo you have a girlfriend?â Nan Chen asked all of a sudden.
âNope,â Zhen Lunlun answered then grinned, âDid you come all the way here to see if I brought any woman to the room? Iâm an adult. Itâs normal even if I do have a girlfriend.â
Nan Chen didnât respond to that.
âDonât stay in the hotel, come back home.â
âNo way, I like the hotel. I can be noisy without bothering anyone here,â Zhen Lunlun complained.
To be honest, Nan Chen didnât care. He always thought that the young needed some space to be reckless.
The only thing he wanted to say was, âBe careful when choosing a girlfriend.â
Zhen Lunlun understood then. His uncle thought that the only reason heâd choose to stay in a hotel was so that itâd be more convenient to invite women over.
That was the purpose of this visit.
âLike I said, uncle, I donât have a girlfriend. If I do, I would bring her home and let you judge if sheâs good enough,â Zhen Lunlun promised.
âOkay,â Nan Chen replied.
Then he stood up to leave.
Heâs happy as long as Zhen Lunlun wasnât in the room with an elderly lady.
As Nan Chen was leaving, he saw the secondary director of the Sound of Thunder 2 walking towards the hotel.
âMr. Chen? Youâre here too?â the director greeted quickly.
Nan Chen nodded.
âI happen to have a meeting with a friend to have a discussion here,â the secondary director said.
âOkay, then.â Nan Chen replied.
âGoodbye, Mr. Chen.â
Nan Chen didnât pay much attention to the secondary director and walked out of the hotel with his head held high.
On the way home, Nan Chen kept thinking about Ning Ran and the secondary director.
Then he remembered that during the first screen test, Ning Ran once asked the workers to pass him a note that said she would do anything for that role.
Both Ning Ran and the secondary director showing up at that hotel⦠Was it just a coincidence?
Or did she seduce the secondary director to get some sort of benefit?
Having thought that, Nan Chen made a U-turn and returned to the hotel.
At the hotelâs front door, Nan Chen sat in his car instead of going inside.
She was just a random actress. Her life choices had nothing to do with him.
So why was he furious?
âMr. Chen, shall I park the car for you?â the security asked cautiously.
The security had been standing there for a couple of minutes, but Nan Chenâs face was so grim that the security didnât dare to speak.
Nan Chen didnât answer. Instead, he stepped hard on the gas and his sports car roared and tore through the streets.
Next Chapter q