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Ning Ran froze for a moment as she gazed at Shi Jie's pretty face. In response, Wang Xiaoou coughed slightly,
hinting at Ning Ran to pay attention to her conduct.
Many people were already wondering about the two's relationship when they went on trending topics
simultaneously. They simply didn't voice their speculations out loud.
Ning Ran's stare only made people suspect them even further.
Even though she was gazing at Shi Jie, she was actually thinking about her son.
Wang Xiaoou's cough pulled her back to reality.
The director proceeded to inform everyone of the mission that day. The stars would be learning a local opera that
was on the verge of dying out in the old town. After that, they would perform the opera on stage. Lastly, the
audience and a few researchers of local opera would rate each performance. Whoever got the highest score would
be the winner.
The losing group would receive a punishment even more severe than yesterday's.
Ning Ran had never performed an opera before.
Learning an opera was significantly more difficult than singing, especially if it was a local niche.
Those sorts of operas were often sung in the local dialect. Practicing the dialect was extremely challenging, even
more so when the dialect had no relation to the language they used in their everyday life. It was no different from
learning a completely foreign language.
Clearly, the director planned to increase the difficulty of each subsequent challenge to make the show more
competitive and exciting to watch.
However, that meant the stars were going to suffer. The moment they heard about the mission, they began
complaining about it.
“Oh my god. I listened to a part of the local opera yesterday, and I have no idea what they were singing. There's no
way we can learn it in such a short time,” Shi Jie commented.
“Yeah, this is too hard!” Ye Meng sighed.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtIn response, the director explained, “Yes, I know it's impossible for everyone here to master the opera in such a
short amount of time. That's why you only need to be able to perform it. As long as the audience knows what you're
singing, that's good enough.”
While the stars complained about the mission, it was fair to everyone. No one knew how to perform the opera, so
they had to learn it on the spot, which meant they had to rely on their talents.
Upon receiving the opera score, the stars began to practice.
However, even after learning it for half a day, most were still struggling and saying it was too hard, except for Ning
Ran.
She didn't think it was too difficult or unfamiliar because she recalled her mother singing that when she was little.
While the others were still struggling to pronounce the words accurately, she was able to grasp them with little
effort.
Huang Zichao and Tang Jing were impressed by Ning Ran. They were confident she would lead their team to victory.
Meanwhile, Ning Ran was quite surprised that she could learn so quickly.
Just as she memorized the score and was about to practice her performance, Wang Xiaoou approached her
anxiously. “Qiao Zhan's here, and he's going to bring you back to Flower City.”
Ning Ran panicked, too. “Nan Chen knows I'm working right now, so why is he in a hurry to meet me?”
“It's probably because you're featured in a trending topic again.”
That perplexed Ning Ran even further. “Didn't you already tell me about the trending topics this morning? Why does
he want me back in Flower City for that?” Is he getting jealous again? Because I sang a song with Shi Jie? Shi Jie's
just a child!
“It's a new trending topic, and it's currently on the number one spot.”
“A new trending topic? What's it about?”
“Someone found out that of the money you donated to the poverty area, twenty million was in cash on a truck.
With that news spreading, people are saying the money came from an unknown origin and that you're involved in
money laundering.”
“Eh? I don't know anything about that. Who still uses cash nowadays? Don't people transfer money through banks?”
“You don't know?”
“Yeah! I'm not the one who donated the money. I thought it was... Oh crap!” Suddenly, Ning Ran recalled
something.
“What is it?”
“I just remembered something I need to report to Nan Chen. I have to leave now. Please explain my situation to the
director and tell him that I'm willing to compensate for any losses incurred.” As Ning Ran spoke, she ran outside and
called Nan Chen.
However, Jiang Zhe was the one who answered the call. “He's meeting with an important figure right now, so he
can't receive any calls for the moment. Also, he says that you should wait until you're back to tell him what you
want to speak about.”
Upon entering Qiao Zhan's vehicle, Ning Ran saw a serious expression on his countenance. It seems like the
situation is very serious. “What's the status right now?”
Qiao Zhan answered, “Rumors on the internet are saying the performers working under Star Entertainment are
using charities to help Nanshi Corporation launder money and avoid paying taxes. Someone has already reported
the company to the relevant departments, so, according to my contacts in the government, you may be
summoned to cooperate in the investigation. If this matter is handled badly, not only will you be negatively affected,
but Star Entertainment, the new movie, and even Nanshi Corporation will, too.”
Oh no. Another big trouble. Ning Ran inquired in a panicked tone, “What do we do now?”
“I don't know. Sir Chen is taking care of it. I'm here because he ordered me to take you back home. For the
moment, you can't leave the house or accept any interviews or—” Before he could finish his sentence, he was
interrupted by a call Ning Ran received.
It was from an unknown number.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmIn response, Qiao Zhan reminded, “Sir Chen said you mustn't accept any calls right now because it may be from a
reporter or relevant departments asking you to cooperate in their investigation. In any case, just let Sir Chen take
care of everything.”
“Okay.” She turned off the phone.
Upon arriving in Flower City, he sent her back to Raining Pavilion and installed guards at the gate to prevent anyone
from approaching the building.
The children were pleasantly surprised to find their mother back home when they returned from school. Erbao
leaped in joy and inquired, “When did you come back, Mommy? You wanted to surprise me, didn't you?”
While the incident still weighed heavily on Ning Ran's mind, she didn't want her children to know about it, so she
smiled and picked Erbao up.
Dabao calmly questioned, “Did something big happen, Mommy? You suddenly came back, and Uncle Qiao Zhan
even stationed guards outside.”
“It's nothing serious. Just some minor work issues. It'll be taken care of soon enough, so no need to worry.” As she
spoke, she shot a glance at him.
The boy knew how to use the internet, so it was only a matter of time before he found out she was featured in a
trending topic. The reason she shot him a glance was that she didn't want him to tell Erbao about her predicament.
While Dabao could understand many things, Erbao couldn't and would only get worried, which Ning Ran was trying
to avoid.
Dabao understood his mother's intentions and stopped asking questions.
After a while, she went to the kitchen to prepare dinner.
However, her mind was still occupied by the trouble looming over her, so she let the housekeeper do it instead.
Nan Chen didn't return even after she had finished her meal.
When she surfed the internet, she saw the news that the performers employed by Nanshi Corporation's
entertainment company were suspected of money laundering had begun to spread.