Chapter 677 Not Like Other Girls âUncle Xing? Whereâs Uncle Xing?â queried Dabao. After a split second of hesitation, Qiao Zhan explained to the little boy, âUm⦠Master Xing came to Livingsfill to visit you guys, but you were all asleep. He didnât want to wake you up but was also feeling bored, so he went for a stroll. He should be back soon.â
âAre you saying that Uncle Xing came to the inn? What did he do to Ms. Lu when he saw her, then? Did he anger her and make her leave?â Dabao analyzed the situation clearly.
The boyâs words scared Qiao Zhan out of his wits. He quickly waved his hands and denied, âI didnât say that. In fact, I donât know anything at all!â
âYou were the one who said that! Are you trying to go back on your words?â Dabao glared at the man, unrelenting.
âLittle Master, youâre putting me in a difficult spot. I canât afford to anger Master Xing. If he were to hear about this, heâd flay me!â Qiao Zhan panicked.
The bit about Nan Xing flaying Qiao Zhan might have been an exaggeration, but it was definitely true that Nan Xing would never forgive the latter.
Dabao gave it some thought and nodded, appearing rather understanding. âDonât worry. If you tell me the truth, I wonât let Uncle Xing find out it was you who snitched,â he said reassuringly.
Nonetheless, Qiao Zhan reiterated, âThe truth is, I have no idea. I really donât!â
âYou know, yet youâre insisting that you donât. Clearly, youâre deliberately hiding it from me. Youâre not planning to talk, huh? In that case, Iâll give Daddy a call.â After threatening the man, Dabao turned around and was prepared to leave.
Qiao Zhan hurriedly grabbed him, asking, âWhat are you going to tell Sir Chen?â
âOf course, Iâm going to tell him all about how you bullied Ms. Lu. You like her, so you did something bad to her while no one else was around, and she left out of anger!â
Hearing that, Qiao Zhan loudly professed his innocence, âLittle Master, Iâm innocent! Iâm a stickler for rules. Even if I have the courage, I would never do such a thing!â âThen, tell me the truth about what happened.â
âI really donât know what happened. Ms. Lu stormed out just as I came back. I asked her what was wrong, but she didnât say a word to me. After that, I came inside and saw Master Xing, who was also in a bad mood. Thatâs why I deduced that there mustâve been a conflict between the two of them, but I have no proof of it at all. This is everything that I know, Little Master, so please donât pressure me anymore. Iâm really at my witâs end,â said Qiao Zhan as a bitter expression hung on his face.
Dabao furrowed his brows and fell into deep thought. A moment later, he piped up, âForget it. It mustnât have been your fault. I just wanted you to tell me the truth, so donât worry too much.â
Later in the day, Ning Ran had just gotten off work when she received a call from Lu Jingyuan, asking her to go out for a drink.
Ning Ran felt it was a little odd. Sheâd asked Lu Jingyuan to look after her children that day and thought sheâd be able to meet the woman when she returned to the inn. As such, Ning Ran didnât expect Lu Jingyuan to contact her first.
âAre you not at the inn? Arenât we having a meal together later tonight?â
âIâm not at the inn anymore. Iâll send you my location, so come over and have a meal with me, just the two of us. Iâd like to have a chat with you,â said Lu Jingyuan.
Ning Ran thought that Lu Jingyuan must have something important to say to her and readily agreed. If that wasnât the case, the latter wouldnât ask her out alone.
Lu Jingyuan requested to meet at a small and quaint restaurant. The atmosphere was extremely quiet, so it was the perfect place for a chat.
Lu Jingyuan ate very little at night, so the two women ordered a couple of snacks and a bottle of wine to enjoy as they talked.
Unexpectedly, after talking for a long while, Lu Jingyuan didnât mention anything important. They had only been making small talk thus far.
Nevertheless, Ning Ran felt that Lu Jingyuanâs purpose in inviting her here was to tell her something.
Ning Ran had a straightforward character. She didnât like going about things in a roundabout way, so she got straight to the point. âYou must have something to say to me. No matter how troubling it is, Iâm willing to listen, so thereâs no need for you to be so courteous to me.â
Lu Jingyuan hesitated for a moment before asking, âAre you planning to marry Nan Chen?â
Coupled with the fact that she couldnât figure out the other womanâs intention, Ning Ran felt her heart skip a beat at the sudden question about marriage. âWhat do you mean?â
In truth, Lu Jingyuan was gripped by hesitancy. If she were to tell Ning Ran how awful and frivolous Nan Chen was, she could potentially hurt Ning Ranâs dignity, no matter how tight-knit their friendship was.
But at the same time, she felt that she couldnât keep this from Ning Ran. Caught in a dilemma, Lu Jingyuan couldnât decide whether or not she should come clean to Ning Ran.
âWe donât have any plans to get married for now. We talked about it in the past, but nothing ever came of it. You probably know this, but thereâs a huge difference between him and me. Some differences canât be shortened just by getting close to one another. On the contrary, we might even drift further apart,â Ning Ran explained.
Lu Jingyuan said nothing and mulled over her options. If youâre not getting married to him, then just forget about it. Itâs better if I donât tell you so it wouldnât affect your mood.
After coming to that decision, she said, âItâs all right, then.â Although Lu Jingyuan brushed the topic off, Ning Ran was still bothered by it.
Anyone would be hung up over something that had piqued their curiosity. âSo it wouldnât be all right if he and I were to get married?â Ning Ran riposted.
âYes.â Lu Jingyuanâs response was direct. âInteresting. Youâre afraid weâd get married?â
âYes.â The womanâs response made Ning Ran even more nervous. Could it be that thereâs really something going on between the two of them? Otherwise, why would she be afraid of Nan Chen marrying me?
âWhy?â âI donât think heâs suited for you,â said Lu Jingyuan matter-of-factly. She wasnât one to be hesitant, and since everything had been laid out, there was no need to hide anything anymore.
âWhy is that so? Perhaps you think Iâm not worthy of him?â At that point, Ning Ran was rather infuriated, but she endured the rage surging within her and kept her composure.
She had long suspected the two of them but felt that both Lu Jingyuan and Nan Chen werenât indecent people. Hence, she gradually tamped down her jealousy over time.
Sheâd thought her jealousy was almost gone at that point, yet Lu Jingyuanâs actions took her by surprise. At that point, Ning Ran didnât just feel jealous but also hurt.
âItâs quite the opposite. I donât think heâs worthy of you,â stated Lu Jingyuan, her tone firm and resolute.
Ning Ran sneered at that. âIs this sarcasm? Iâm just an actress, while heâs a CEO, and yet youâre saying heâs not worthy of me?â
âThatâs right, he isnât. His personality is trash.â
Once again, Ning Ran was stunned to hear that remark about Nan Chenâs personality.
Now thatâs just impressive! Lu Jingyuan is not like other girls at all. She has no qualms speaking about whatâs on her mind.
Ning Ran forced herself to stay cool-headed and queried, âWhy do you say so?â
âI didnât want to tell you, but weâre friends, so thereâs no need for me to hide it from you. If I kept this a secret from you, then itâd be a form of betrayal. Earlier today, Nan Chen acted as if he didnât know me, said I was pretty, and even asked if I had a boyfriendââ
Before Lu Jingyuan could finish speaking, Ning Ran jumped out of her seat in shock. âWhat?â
Her intense reaction scared Lu Jingyuan a little.
âCalm down and donât be like this. If you continue to act this way, I wonât dare to continue talking,â said Lu Jingyuan weakly.
âNan Chen dared to flirt with you? Is that what you were saying? I didnât misunderstand, right?â Ning Ran bellowed.
Helpless, Lu Jingyuan nodded. âYes, thatâs an apt description of what happened. Basically, he was hitting on me.â
âWhat a shameless, despicable, perverted, hypocritical jerk!â
Consumed by rage, Ning Ran hurled every insult she could think of off the top of her head.
Alas, that wasnât enough to quell her hatred. She then kicked the chair but accidentally stubbed her toe in the process, causing intense pain to tear through her body.
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