Chapter 858


    The atmosphere of the dinner turned out to be more awkward than the twodies thought.


    As it turned out, Rong Yi was also someone not fond of talking. He was very quiet.


    That was a shared quality between him and Nan Chen.


    Unfortunately, the only simrity between the two men made it even more challenging for them to get


    along with each other.


    Ning Ran had pulled many strings to get the two of them together for a meal. Seeing that her n was


    about to fail, she began to panic.


    “Ahem.” Ning Ran cleared her throat and raised her ss somewhat awkwardly. “Let''s raise a toast! It''s


    a rare opportunity for all of us to gather together.”


    Yet, neither Nan Chen nor Rong Yi budged. Both parties were waiting for the other person to make the


    first move, for neither of them wanted to drink with the other person.


    To lighten the mood, Rong Rong raised her ss to y along. “That''s right. It''s rare that we gather


    together. Let''s make a toast! Until now, I still remember the time Ran had stood up for me against the


    delinquents back in Livingsfill.”


    Rong Rong was hinting to Rong Yi that Ning Ran was her friend. In other words, Rong Rong was


    expecting Rong Yi to save Ning Ran some face despite his hostility toward Nan Chen.


    As a well-mannered man, Rong Yi caught onto Rong Rong''s hint quickly and reluctantly raised his


    ss.


    Seeing that Rong Yi had raised his ss, Nan Chen followed suit. The four of them clinked their


    sses before taking a sip respectively.


    However, the room fell back into a heavy silence after the toast.


    Unhappy with the progression of the meeting, Ning Ran tried to turn things around. Even if she failed in


    the end, she could tell herself that she had at least tried.


    “Mr. Rong, there are a few things I would like to say. If I say anything wrong, please forgive me,” Ning


    Ran said with a polite smile.


    Rong Yi nodded courteously. “Go ahead, Ms. Ning. I''m not easily offended.”


    Taking a few deep breaths to calm herself, Ning Ran thought over her words carefully. “Firstly, I would


    like to express my sympathy toward the unfortunate incident that had befallen Rong Jilin. Even though


    he initially was the one who insulted me on Weibo, I assure you that we have nothing to do with him


    being beaten up by others.”


    Naturally, the “we” that Ning Ran mentioned included Nan Chen and the rest of the Nan family.


    Ning Ran was familiar with Nan Chen''s pride. She knew that he would never lower his head in front of


    the Rong family over this incident. Thus, she did not even mention Nan Chen''s family name in her


    rification but used the word “we” instead.


    It was an ingenious and cautious way to bring up the subject. Nevertheless, Nan Chen still furrowed his


    brows slightly.


    From Nan Chen''s perspective, Ning Ran''s initiative to bring up the matter was the equivalent of


    admitting defeat.


    He did not like that. There was nothing wrong in admitting defeat, but there was no need for them to do


    so at the moment.


    Even so, Nan Chen held his tongue to save Ning Ran the humiliation. If it were anyone else, he would


    have probably shut them down by then.


    On the other hand, Rong Yi did not respond immediately but mulled over it in silence for a brief


    moment. “When you said ''we,'' Ms. Ning, were you including Mr. Nan as well? If that was the case, why


    didn''t Mr. Nan say anything himself?”


    At first, Nan Chen was still thinking about how he should react. He did not expect Rong Yi to call him


    out so soon.


    Owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    The message was clear. That was an issue between the two men, or rather, the two families. Nan Chen


    should be dealing with the issue at hand instead of hiding behind a woman.


    “Her viewpoint does not represent Nanshi Corporation or me. Therefore, I believe her ''we'' did not


    include me,” replied Nan Chen coolly.


    As expected, the situation was getting from bad to worse. Nan Chen was too domineering. It was


    impossible for him to remain gentle after being called out by Rong Yi. That was not his character.


    Not to mention that it was Rong Jilin''s fault that triggered the entire cascade of events. Moreover, the


    Rong family had revealed the spy that was hiding in Nanshi Corporation, causing the stock price of


    Nanshi Corporation to plummet.


    In other words, the troubles that Nanshi Corporation was facing at the moment were all Rong Yi''s


    doing, and the troubles were unfortunately still ongoing. They had not been solved.


    Nan Chen was the CEO of Nanshi Corporation. If he were to provide an exnation under this


    circumstance, it would no doubt be considered as him waving the white g. It would be as though he


    was saying, “I was not involved in your brother''s injury. Please spare me.”


    How could Nan Chen disy such submissive behavior?


    If the crisis faced by Nanshi Corporation had been resolved and Nan Chen was not at the losing end,


    perhaps he would have been calmer and made it easier for everyone.


    After all, Nan Chen genuinely admired Rong Yi. Not many people would receive such high regard from


    Nan Chen.


    The atmosphere of the dinner was getting increasingly tense. Frozen in ce, Ning Ran wanted to cry


    out of frustration, not knowing what else to do.


    It looks like some things really can''t be resolved just by the desire to resolve them. Ning Ran felt


    extremely defeated.


    “Yi, Mr. Nan, I think you two are being unfair to Ran!” All of a sudden, Rong Rong spoke up. “Ran had


    asked you guys here so that everyone would ce harmony above everything else and clear up the


    misunderstanding, not for you two to banter with each other and leave the two of us to suffocate in


    awkwardness. Don''t you think that you''re putting Ran and me to shame by acting in this manner? No


    matter what, wee from a good ce of wanting to resolve the issue. Don''t you two think you guys


    are being inconsiderate of our efforts?”


    Even though Rong Rong was young, her speech was confident and powerful. It was no wonder she


    was Rong Yi''s favorite sibling.


    “That''s right. If you two want to act all high and mighty, you can do so elsewhere. I''ve invited everyone


    out for dinner out of good intentions so that you two have a chance tomunicate with each other,


    yet you left no room for negotiation. This is disappointing!” Ning Ran chimed in.


    “I apologize, Ms. Ning, but I believe the key to this discussion is still Mr. Nan. Mr. Nan, are you really


    not going to give any exnation for the fact that my brother has been severely injured?” Rong Yi


    turned to look at Nan Chen.


    “There''s nothing to exin. You can take it however you want,” Nan Chen stated icily.


    Ning Ran screamed internally. Why is it so hard for Poker Face to talk nicely? The whole thing was


    Ruan Anxi''s doing and has nothing to do with the Nan family. Will it kill him to exin? Why couldn''t he


    just rify the situation?


    Nan Chen, however, was singing another tune. Rong Yi has already taken his revenge on Nanshi


    Corporation. He has already attacked me, so why do I have to exin things to him? Since he dared to


    attack me, then I shall retaliate! Fight first, talkter! Since he was already convinced that I was the one


    behind it, what else was there to it? So what if I was behind it? Rong Jilin was the one who insulted my


    woman publicly. So what if I caused him to be crippled? Even though, in reality, it was Ruan


    Anxi''s doing, just treat it as though he was doing it on my behalf. Since the Rong family has already


    attacked, then they should give me their best shot! Why should I beg for mercy? Furthermore, our two


    families have a long-standing grudge. Since we''re already enemies, what''s one more fight? We would


    still hate each other in the end. It wouldn''t make any difference!


    Rong Yi smiled slightly and turned to face Ning Ran before spreading out his hands in a gesture of wry


    resignation.


    Ning Ran turned to look at Nan Chen in hopes that thetter would y nice.


    To her dismay, Nan Chen pretended not to see her signal and rose to his feet instead. “Check, please!”


    The waiter walked over. “Sir, our boss has mentioned that this meal is on us—”


    “Are you not treating them to a meal? What''s the point of a treat if you''re not paying?” Nan Chen


    interrupted the waiter by looking pointedly at Ning Ran.


    “I''ll pay. I''ll pay,” Ning Ran answered immediately. “It''s just that we haven''t even finished eating...”


    “I have other things to do.”


    Nan Chen''s statement was not referring to only himself. He was not excusing himself from the table,


    but rather, he was implying that the dinner was over. He wanted Ning Ran to pay so that they could


    both leave.


    Ning Ran was upset to see that her n had failed in the end.


    “Ms. Rong, I apologize for interrupting your meetup with Ning Ran today. I''ll see to it that she invites


    you out some other time,” Nan Chen assured Rong Rong.


    He wanted to make it clear that the hostility between him and Rong Yi was a separate matter from


    Rong Rong''s friendship with Ning Ran. Even though Nan Chen wanted to go against the Rong family,


    he reassured the women that they could still be friends and not let the enmity between the two families


    be a hindrance to their friendship.


    A trace of disappointment was written all over Rong Rong''s face as well, but she forced herself to


    smile. “Thank you, Mr. Nan.”


    Nan Chen turned and nodded curtly at Rong Yi. “We''ll make a move first.” With that, he yanked Ning


    Ran out of the private room without turning back.