Chapter 74
Erbao And Dabao turned to one another and became quiet all of a sudden.
This was not what they had planned. They wanted Uncle Nan Chen to be mommy's boyfriend, but that would no longer be possible if Uncle Nan Chen was their third uncle. Erbao didn't like the phrase 'third uncle' because it sounded weird and uncool.
The sudden silence from the kids got Nan Chen worried because he didn't know what he had said to upset them.
"What's going on?" Nan Chen asked, terrified.
Erbao pouted with tears circling in her eyes.
It's not fair!
All that time spent to get mommy a rich and handsome boyfriend was wasted.
'Uncle Nan Chen' was gone and replaced by the term - third uncle - that sounded absolutely terrible, and they had to settle for a daddy from Africa!
Erbao had seen the people in Africa on the TV before. There were lions, grass fields, and everyone there was tall and black, and none of them were as handsome as her Uncle Nan Chen.
Erbao thought that her daddy being from Africa must mean that he was tall and black, and looked scary. That was too much, and she was sad.
"What's wrong?" asked Nan Chen who was truly worried when he saw Erbao's watery eyes. That turned out to be a terrible mistake.
"I don't want third uncle, and I don't want a daddy from Africa..."
Nan Chen started to panic and was heartbroken. He quickly grabbed a tissue paper to dry Erbao's tears, "Why not?"
Erbao didn't answer. Only Dabao understood how disappointed and sad she felt to watch her perfect plan falling apart. Unfortunately, Dabao had always been quiet and he didn't know how to explain things either so he could only frown.
Ning Ran didn't understand why Erbao reacted that way either.
Why was the kid so reluctant to have a dad?
She walked over to pick Erbao up and said, "it's okay, baby, it's okay."
"Why is she sad?" asked Nan Chen who honestly had no idea what was happening and was practically begging Ning Ran to explain.
"Mr. Chen, you're a powerful man. Please give my kids and me some time and stop bullying helpless families like ours," said Ning Ran coldly.
Nan Chen felt wronged. How was what I did 'bullying'? I was being nice and sweet when I welcomed her into the family, but Erbao cried all of a sudden! I never bullied her! Also, you're not exactly 'helpless' either.
"Dabao, let's go," ordered Ning Ran.
That was a great opportunity to leave and Ning Ran wasn't about to waste it.
Dabao's eyes were filled with complicated emotions when he turned to look at Nan Chen. Then, he sighed and followed Ning Ran out of the office.
Looking at the crying Erbao, Nan Chen didn't dare to refute or stop them so with a heavy heart, he watched them leave.
Before Dabao exited, he turned back to look at Nan Chen one more time.
Nan Chen felt like the kid's eyes were trying to send him a message, but he couldn't decipher them.
Jiang Zhe personally sent Ning Ran and the kids back home with tons of childcare products that he was ordered to deliver. Among these products were high-end snacks, supplements, and toys. Due to the large number of products given, Cheng Xiangyun's living room was filled.
Cheng Xiangyun's jaw dropped and she asked, "What's going on here?"
Ning Ran had too much on her plate, and she didn't want to explain so she laid down on the sofa and closed her eyes. Cheng Xiangyun didn't need to ask Ning Ran because she could ask Erbao who was the most talkative one in the family. "What's wrong? Is your Uncle Nan Chen's illness very serious?"
Erbao shook her head and answered, "He's not sick, but he transformed."
"Transformed? What do you mean?" asked the confused Cheng Xiangyun.
"He's no longer Uncle Nan Chen! He's third uncle now!" said Erbao who upon mentioning it started to cry again.
"Third uncle?" said Cheng Xiangyun who became even more confused, "Oh, sweetie, don't cry."
"He said we're his brother's kids so he's not Uncle Nan Chen anymore, he's our third uncle," said Erbao between sobs.
"You seem upset about this. You don't want Nan Chen to be your third uncle?" said Cheng Xiangyun who finally figured out what was happening.
"That's right," said Erbao with her chubby cheeks turned up.
"Why not?" asked the curious Cheng Xiangyun.
Ning Ran opened her eyes upon hearing that. She wanted to know the answer to that question too.
Erbao peeked at Ning Ran then kept quiet.
Cheng Xiangyun understood then. She remembered the kids talking to her about finding Ning Ran a boyfriend.
Nan Chen was their ideal candidate but he could not be Ning Ran's boyfriend if he was their third uncle.
Cheng Xiangyun wanted to laugh after realizing that.
"So did you get to meet your daddy?" asked Cheng Xiangyun, "What does he look like?"
The mere mention of daddy got Erbao even more upset.
"No, we haven't but he's African," said Erbao who wanted to cry thinking about a tall and black daddy approaching her.
"African?" said the surprised Cheng Xiangyun, "Nan Chen's brother is a foreigner? That's not possible. At most, he'd be mixed blood. How could he be black?"
"Daddy is, for sure, black," said the upset Erbao.
Ning Ran's bad mood suddenly took a turn because she finally understood what Erbao meant.
So Erbao was upset because she was worried that her daddy would be a black African who wouldn't be as handsome as Nan Chen.
Cheng Xiangyun walked over to knock Ning Ran on her head. "Why are you smiling? What's going on?"
Ning Ran waved and gestured the kids to go back to the room because the adults need to have a conversation.
The kids packed their things up obediently and prepared to return to their room. Erbao snuck a piece of chocolate into her bag when the adults weren't looking but Dabao caught her.
Dabao coldly took the chocolate out of her bag and placed it on the table before saying, "Eating at night, toothache."
Erbao turned to her mommy who didn't spoil her. Instead, Ning Ran nodded at Dabao and said, "Your brother is right. Go to your room now."
Erbao had no choice but to go to her room with Dabao.
"Alright then, what's going on?" asked Cheng Xiangyun after the kids went into their room, "how did Nan Chen's brother come into the picture? The person you slept with was Nan Chen's brother?" "How would I know?" said Ning Ran who then sighed and continued, "They ran some tests and the DNA report states that the kids are related to the poker face's brother. I'm still in a daze like I'm in a dream." "But how could Nan Chen's brother be African?" asked Cheng Xiangyun, "did he come all the way from Africa just to bang you?"
"Would you please watch your language, woman?" said Ning Ran with a frown.
"I don't need to watch my language when I talk to you," said Cheng Xiangyun, "Tell me already, what is going on?"
"Nan Chen's brother is Nan Xing. They're twins," explained Ning Ran, "The kids misunderstood because they heard that he was coming back from Africa."
"Oh, that makes sense!" said the relieved Cheng Xiangyun, "I thought it was weird that an African came up all of a sudden. I mean, I'm not saying that Africans are bad or anything, and there are plenty of handsome Africans, but the kids can't handle having a dad who's so different from them."
"Woman," said Ning Ran as she rubbed her temple, "Nan Chen wants to take my kids away. What do I do?"
"Take them away? Why? And on what grounds?"
"Yeah, on what grounds? I gave birth to the kids and raised them," said the furious Ning Ran, "what right did he have to take them away from me?"