Chapter 13 : Acting Needs to be Professional
Chapter 13 - Acting Needs to be Professional
The Zhang family.
One could clearly see that Director Zhang and his wife were very happy.
Their chronic worry had been put to rest, so naturally, they were happy.
Furthermore, both of them were very satisfied with Chen Ran, wishing they could treat him as their own son.
If he couldn't be their son, then being their son-in-law was also quite good.
Chen Ran was originally quite guilty; deceiving the two elders always made him feel ill at ease, as if he were doing them an injustice.
But seeing how happy they were, he felt slightly better.
At least it made Uncle Zhang and Auntie Yun a bit happier and gave them less to worry about.
As for future matters, he could only take things one step at a time.
Even married couples divorce if they aren't compatible; they were only dating now, so breaking up would be perfectly normal, right?
During the meal, the couple kept putting food into Chen Ran's bowl.
"Chen Ran, eat more. You're weak from the cold; eat more to nourish your body."
Yang Yun was all smiles, her heart filled with joy.
As the saying goes, the more a mother-in-law looks at her son-in-law, the more pleasing he becomes; she wished Chen Ran and Zhang Fanzhi would hurry up and get married.
On the side, Zhang Fanzhi's hand gripping the chopsticks tightened; usually, when she came home, this was the treatment she received.
Was this guy really that good?
Zhang Fanzhi glanced at Chen Ran and felt he was just so-so.
Yang Yun caught her daughter's look, nudged Zhang Fanzhi with her elbow, and whispered:
"Put some food in Chen Ran's bowl."
Zhang Fanzhi was stunned for a moment, not quite catching on.
"What are you standing there for? He still has a cold; show him some more care." Yang Yun nudged her again.
Zhang Fanzhi's brow furrowed tightly as she gave a reluctant "oh," picked through the dishes, and placed a piece of green vegetable into Chen Ran's bowl.
Yang Yun looked at her daughter with dissatisfaction, thinking this girl had turned silly from singing; she had never been in a relationship, but how could she not even know how to care for someone?
Chen Ran didn't think much of it; given Zhang Fanzhi's temper, it was already not easy for her to give him food. He smiled slightly:
"Thank you, Sister Zhizhi."
Upon hearing this, Director Zhang said in dissatisfaction:
"Why are you still calling her Sister Zhizhi? It sounds so awkward. Since you're dating now, just call her Zhizhi. Anyway, she's only one year older; calling her 'Sister' is too old-fashioned."
Chen Ran glanced at Zhang Fanzhi; compared to this person's tactics, he was just a "little brother," so calling her "Sister" wasn't wrong.
Of course, it was normal for couples to use more intimate names, so Chen Ran didn't object and followed along, calling her Zhizhi.
Zhang Fanzhi felt somewhat awkward, but looking at her parents, she ultimately said nothing, only silently chewing her rice.
Chen Ran ate this meal somewhat uncomfortably; Uncle Zhang and Auntie Yun were even more enthusiastic toward him, treating him entirely like a son-in-law.
If he and Zhang Fanzhi were for real, it would truly be a scene of harmony and family bliss.
But they were faking it...
After finishing the meal, Chen Ran needed to head back.
Today, Director Zhang and his wife didn't keep him overnight but instead had Zhang Fanzhi take him home.
In their view, Chen Ran and Zhang Fanzhi had just started dating and needed some private space, so having Zhang Fanzhi drive Chen Ran back allowed them to be alone together.
Zhang Fanzhi had no objections; she put on her coat, donned a face mask, and walked ahead of Chen Ran.
Looking at her outfit, Chen Ran curled his lips; being a star was a hassle, even going out required fear of being recognized.
Downstairs was Zhang Fanzhi's car—not the one she crashed a few days ago, but a different one.
Chen Ran could only marvel that being rich meant being willful; one could just crash cars at will.
Sitting in the car, the first thing Chen Ran did was fasten his seatbelt.
Chen Ran already had some psychological trauma regarding cars, and after seeing Zhang Fanzhi's "violence" that day, it became even more severe.
He hadn't felt it before getting in, but once seated, he felt uneasy.
"How about I go back on my own and not trouble you?" Chen Ran asked tentatively.
Zhang Fanzhi saw his somewhat fearful expression and couldn't help but frown, saying coldly:
"I'm not exactly keen on driving you, either."
"Then that's perfect, I'll just head back myself." Chen Ran was delighted and moved to open the door to get out.
Pa-ta.
The car door was locked.
Chen Ran turned and asked: "What's the meaning of this?"
“You need to be a bit professional even when acting,” Zhang Fanzhi said flatly.
Then, without giving Chen Ran a chance to speak, she started the car and drove straight out of the parking space.
“Slow down, slow down!” Chen Ran panicked a little, reaching out to grab the seat.
Zhang Fanzhi ignored him and drove out of the residential compound.
Fortunately, though Zhang Fanzhi had a short temper, her driving wasn't too outrageous; her speed was average, steady and smooth.
In the car, Chen Ran didn't speak with Zhang Fanzhi, and she continued to drive in silence.
It had to be said that she was quite good-looking when she was acting cold and aloof; just from the reflection of her facial contours, her exquisite profile looked somewhat dreamlike.
On the radio.
Her hit song "As Such" was playing.
Her singing voice was very pleasant, and her vocal range was very wide; her high and low notes each had their own charm when sung.
"As Such" was a love song.
The abundant emotion in the voice was completely different from her current performance.
Chen Ran glanced at her; could such an emotional voice really come from her mouth?
Zhang Fanzhi seemingly hadn't expected the radio to be playing her song; she glanced at Chen Ran nonchalantly, her earlobes turning slightly red.
“Next, we will play the new song ‘Between Us’ by singer Lin Hanyun. The song was released yesterday and tells a story of love and non-love between couples...”
Chen Ran was listening with interest when Zhang Fanzhi suddenly reached out and turned off the radio.
“Why did you turn it off?” Chen Ran asked in confusion.
Zhang Fanzhi said flatly: “The song doesn't sound good; it’s a bit noisy.”
Is it noisy?
Chen Ran blinked his eyes and suddenly came to his senses.
The singer of that song just now was Lin Hanyun.
Wasn't this Lin Hanyun the one he saw in the news who was fighting for resources with Zhang Fanzhi?
No wonder she cut it off immediately without even listening to the song.
Chen Ran had no intention of tempting fate or prying into gossip.
Silence followed all the way until they finally reached the place where Chen Ran lived.
“I won't invite you up to rest; be careful on the road.” Chen Ran got out of the car and said a few words to Zhang Fanzhi.
Zhang Fanzhi watched Chen Ran leave, her brow slightly furrowed, unknown what she was thinking.
Only when Chen Ran's silhouette was no longer visible did she drive away.
……
Returning to his rental, Chen Ran boiled some water, took his medicine, and then lay on the bed.
He tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep no matter what.
It was mainly today's events that had left his heart feeling a bit complicated.
A fake boyfriend—it was pretty much like what happened in TV dramas.
The partner was a big star; Chen Ran didn't feel joy, but rather felt it was a hassle.
If Uncle Zhang accidentally found out one day, how would he explain?
Uncle Zhang was, after all, the first person he met after transmigrating; unless there was no choice, he didn't want to ruin their current relationship.
As for Zhang Fanzhi, Chen Ran had neither a good nor bad impression of her; although he was pretending to date to deceive Uncle Zhang, he had never thought about anything happening between them.
She was a singing star, resting at home right now, and once she left Zhaonan in a few days, they would likely see very little of each other.
Ding-dong.
Chen Ran's phone rang.
He picked it up and glanced at it; it was a friend request.
A Lone Branch Standing Out...
“Blacklisted me, and now she's adding me again?”
Chen Ran originally wanted to refuse directly, but after thinking about it, he still agreed.
Ding-dong.
A Lone Branch Standing Out: “Thank you.”
Chen Ran glanced at it, tossed the phone aside, and didn't reply.
Don't think about it anymore; the bridge will naturally straighten when the boat reaches it.
To hell with all that "luxuriant foliage" or whatever!