Chapter 882
Chapter 882 Shirking Responsibilities
Without turning around, Ning Ran motioned for Nan Chen toe over. “Bring the soup to the dining
hall. It''s time for dinner.”
It was rare for someone to order Nan Chen around, so he froze for a second before walking over to
take the soup bowl.
Ning Ran then walked to the living room, asking Dabao and Erbao to wash their hands and get ready
for dinner.
However, Erbao remained seated as she asked again, “Mommy, you''ll let me and Dabao go to the
competition, won''t you?”
“We''ll talk about thatter,” Ning Ran told her, unsure what decision to make since she did not know
what was on Nan Chen''s mind.
“Mommy, you promised me this! You can''t go back on your words,” Erbao responded, huffing.
It was not that Erbao loved joiningpetitions but that she liked the liveliness of the environment.
There were many kindergartens in the city, and even if each kindergarten only sent out one team, the
competition site would still be filled with children. It would be a bustling scene, and that was something
Erbao looked forward to seeing.
“Are you trying to say that you won''t eat if I say no?”
As Erbao''s mother, Ning Ran naturally knew what was on her daughter''s mind.
Erbao huffed and pouted.
“Wash your hands and eat, or else this is a definite no,” said Ning Ran, putting on a serious face.
“Fine! You''re breaking your promise, Mommy.”
Erbao then jumped off the couch and ran barefooted to the room, angry.
As soon as she stomped inside, she mmed the door shut behind her.
“Hey, what''s with that attitude? Do you think I''d let you get away with this? How dare you talk back to
me?” Ning Ran angrily said before marching over to smack the door.
Right then, Nan Chen walked over and asked, “What are you doing?”
“She''s forcing me to relent by starving herself. Am I supposed to give in to that?” Ning Ran gritted out.
“So you''re actually going to fight against a child?”
“I want her toe out and eat; I''m not saying that I''m going to fight against her. She''ll go hungry if she
doesn''t eat, and I don''t want her to starve herself. Do I really need to spell this out for you?”
“Go to the dining room first. She''s a kid, after all. We''ll need to coax her and reason with her,” Nan
Chen said to her.
A nce at Nan Chen told Ning Ran that he seemed confident, so she left it in his hands.
After taking a few steps to the dining room, Ning Ran started wondering how Nan Chen was going to
convince Erbao toe out of the room, so she turned around to observe him, hoping to learn a trick
or two.
In the next second, she heard Nan Chen knocking on the door and saying, “Erbao, Mommy''s been
working too hardtely, so she''s a little muddle-headed. You have to be more considerate of her...”
Anger thrummed through Ning Ran''s veins when she heard that.
What the h*ll? Are you seriously doing this? Me? Muddled in the head? You''re the one who has a
shrunk brain!
Then, she heard Nan Chen continue, “I''ll try my best to convince Mommy about thepetition, okay?
Erbao, you''re a reasonable girl, so you won''t hold a grudge against Mommy for this, right? Come on,
open the door. We''ll have our dinner, and we''ll persuade Mommy to let you go to thepetition
together after that, all right?”
Ning Ran was rendered speechless. Nan Chen was twisting the facts, for he was the one who
disagreed with letting the children join thepetition. That was why Erbao was angry.
Now he''s making himself out to be the good guy? Just how cunning can he be?
Just as Ning Ran was about to confront Nan Chen about the matter, the door opened, and Erbao came
out.
So he managed to coax her out of the room by sacrificing my image. Great.
Nevertheless, Ning Ran decided to drop the matter since her daughter was finally out.
Dinner was a somber event as everyone was dwelling on their own issues in silence.
Nan Chen was the kind of man who could stay silent forever if no conversation was initiated, so there
was no way he could liven up the atmosphere. That responsibility rested on Erbao''s shoulders.
“Erbao, have this. Do you really want to go to thepetition?” Ning Ran asked, putting a boneless
piece of fish into Erbao''s bowl.
“Yes, Mommy. I''ve already told my teacher that I''ll be joining it. We have to make good on our
promises,” Erbao answered.
That was a perfect reason, for she was also subtly hinting to Ning Ran that both adults and children
had to stick to their promises.
“I''m fine with you performing, but Daddy isn''t. Why don''t we hear what he has to say first?”
As she spoke, she turned to Nan Chen. The thoughts in her mind went unspoken. You think I don''t
know how you made me the scapegoat earlier?
Property ? N?velDrama.Org.
Nan Chen only hummed in response, but no one knew whether that was a response in the affirmative
or negative.
Ning Ran knew that Nan Chen was giving a vague answer so that he could pass the buck to her. That
way, the children wouldn''t resent him.
The man was the CEO of a multinational corporation, but he was shirking responsibilities when it came
to family matters. Ning Ran was irked, and she was not going to let him get his way.
“So, why are you against the children joining thepetition?” Ning Ran persisted, forcing him to
express his thoughts.
Nan Chen had no choice but to put down his chopsticks and wipe his mouth before answering, “I didn''t
say no. I just said we should discuss this another time.”
“You only say that if you disagree. If you agree with it, why would you need to discuss this another
time?” Ning Ran retorted.
She''s getting harder and harder to deal with. I only said she''s muddled in the head because of work,
but she''s already holding a grudge against me. How petty. Fine, I''ll be the viin this time.
“Dabao and Erbao aren''t like other normal kids. They can''t avoid the crowd inrger-scaled
competitions like this. Safety is already an issue, and there are so many staff members hired for the
event. Who knows whether or not one of them would be bribed to do something to hurt the kids?” Nan
Chen remarked.
Sure enough, appearing in public meant that bad people would have a better chance at hurting the
children.
“Mhm,” Ning Ran agreed. “Daddy''s right.”
rm bells rang in Erbao''s head at that. She could not believe her parents were now on the same side,
and that was bad news for her.
Hence, she put down her chopsticks and was about to run back into the room in anger. However,
Dabao stopped her and told her, “Listen to everything Daddy has to say first.”
“Also, no matter how well you sing in thepetition, you''ll always be the winner. It''s because we''ve
always been the title sponsor of the television station. Much of their profits from advertisinge from
us, so if they know that you''re my children, they''ll make you the victors. What is the point of joining an
unfairpetition? If you perform well, then your win would be justifiable. However, if you perform
poorly but still win thepetition, the other children would be upset. They would think that you pulled
strings to win thepetition, and they''ll think you''re dishonest people. They''ll hate you. You won''t
enjoy apetition like this, will you?”
Ning Ran finally understood why Nan Chen disagreed in the first ce.
Thepetition would be rigged so that the children of Nan Chen, the star patron of the television
station, would win.
Nan Chen went on, “Even if you did win thepetition due to your skills, people will still think that you
won it because of your father''s connection with the television station. They''ll still be jealous and hateful
of you. Therefore, there''s no point in joining apetition like this.”
Dabao understood what his father meant, but Erbao did not seem to. The only thing she was sure
about was that they were definitely not going to join thepetition, so she was miserable.