Chapter 680: 680: Come with Us to Meet the Old Master

Chapter 680: Chapter 680: Come with Us to Meet the Old Master

(Chapter 16)

After slipping the recording device into his pocket and watching Lin Jiaming scramble out of Ling Ruonan’s office, Luo Ziling looked at his mother with a serious expression and said cheerfully, “That’s good, he didn’t wet himself out of fear. Otherwise, it would’ve polluted your office, and my sin would be great.”

Ling Ruonan didn’t expect Luo Ziling to be joking at this time and gave him a somewhat annoyed glance.

“You shouldn’t hit people,” Ling Ruonan finally voiced her concern, “You beat both Lin Jiaming, who was sent by our family, and Ling Haining at the Northern Group headquarters. The Ling Family’s resentment towards us will only deepen. Your Great Grandfather and maternal grandfather will certainly have more prejudices against you. Actually, since we already have the evidence, we could have used other methods to contend with them.”

“Mom, you’re wrong,” Luo Ziling seriously corrected Ling Ruonan, “I only hit Lin Jiaming who called me a bastard, and didn’t hit Ling Haining. If you say this in front of Great Grandfather and maternal grandfather, then even if I jump into the Yellow River, I couldn’t clear my name. Mom, you can’t sabotage me like this!”

Seeing Luo Ziling’s deliberately pitiful look, Ling Ruonan couldn’t help but laugh, “You little rascal, I had no idea you were such a good actor. How can you not take after your dad? Or me!”

...

“Mom, could it be that I was switched at birth in the delivery room?” Luo Ziling looked at Ling Ruonan with feigned shock, “Should we do a DNA test?”

“You little rascal, getting carried away, are you?” Ling Ruonan reached out and grabbed Luo Ziling’s ear, “You dare to doubt that you’re my own flesh and blood? Do you believe I’ll beat you to death?”

As she spoke, she dragged Luo Ziling over to a mirror and, pointing at their reflections with resentment, said, “Take a good look at yourself. Other than the eyes, which part of you isn’t like me?”

“Mom, it really does look alike.” Luo Ziling had only said half of his sentence when the sound of knocking interrupted them and Wuyue’s head popped in.

Seeing Luo Ziling’s ear being held by Ling Ruonan, Wuyue couldn’t help but be stunned, unsure whether to enter or retreat.

Lin Jiaming, whose defenses had just been completely shattered, had not closed the door behind him when he fled from Ling Ruonan’s office.

Thus, when Wuyue came over and knocked, she could easily see the situation inside.

She never would have imagined that Ling Ruonan would be reprimanding Luo Ziling by pulling on his ear and quickly withdrew her head, then closed the door.

“Mom, my reputation is completely ruined because of you,” Luo Ziling said dissatisfied, after struggling to free his ear from Ling Ruonan’s grasp, “Look, Wuyue saw my embarrassing state, and now I’m really shamed. If Lin Jiaming and Ling Haining saw you disciplining me by pulling my ear, where would my authority stand?”

“Your dad is a man of few words in front of others and never likes to talk much. I really don’t understand how you could be so talkative?” Ling Ruonan’s mood brightened significantly with Luo Ziling’s intentional fussing, lightening the heaviness she felt in her heart. Enjoying the playful banter with her son, she didn’t immediately get to the serious matters but started to chat about trivial things with Luo Ziling, “I can’t figure it out. How did you manage to get by in the Northwest? Were you always frolicking and squabbling with a bunch of people, so you also improved your eloquence?”

“Mom, why don’t you say that I started to talk more because I didn’t have anyone to talk to before, so after getting in touch with outsiders, I just enjoyed chatting?” Luo Ziling looked seriously at Ling Ruonan, “Back when I was in the small village in the Northwest, I had no playmates and hardly anyone to talk with, most days were spent just with Grandpa. I wished so much to have someone to play with, to talk freely and have fun with, but sadly, that opportunity never came.”

Hearing Luo Ziling say this, Ling Ruonan immediately felt she had misspoken and was wracked with guilt, quickly apologizing, “Ling’er, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have brought it up.”

“Mom, it’s okay, I was just blowing off some steam,” Luo Ziling had been joking from the start, intending not to let Ling Ruonan fret, but his words inadvertently triggered her guilt, so he quickly changed the subject, “Mom, how about we go to the old house a bit early? I want to start treating Great Grandfather sooner. Now that it’s cold, after the sun sets, the temperature drops quickly. The best time for treatment is in the afternoon; that’s when acupuncture has the best effect, and it’s getting late now.”

Ling Ruonan knew well that Luo Ziling wasn’t eager to treat Ling Jinhua, he just wanted to get his grievances off his chest in front of Ling Jinhua.

These sorts of things favored those who spoke first; primacy is human nature. If Lin Jiaming and Ling Haining got their version of events out first, the situation could become much more troublesome.

Just now, Luo Ziling had forced Ling Haining to write down his account of the incident and leave a fingerprint, and after intimidating Lin Jiaming, he got him to spill everything as well. While their confessions were not exactly the same, they did agree on one point: they wanted to make Ling Ruonan lose favor, and that’s why they had brewed up this incident. Next, they had a series of moves ready to kick her while she was down, taking advantage of the public email’s ripple effect to further tarnish Ling Ruonan’s reputation and ultimately oust her. Ling Ruonan knew that the old man and Ling Mingrui might already be aware of this and might even condone it, but it would mean something entirely different if she brought it up openly.

Therefore, she immediately agreed and called Wuyue in, asking her to get ready to go to the old house.

Wuyue agreed and immediately set about preparing for the journey.

After Wuyue had arranged everything, she came back in and quietly asked Ling Ruonan, “Miss, there’s a lot of talk inside the company, do you want to make a statement?”

“No need,” Ling Ruonan shook her head, “Let the rumor mill run a few more days. In time, everyone will see just how despicable Lin Jiaming and Ling Haining are. They’re doing all this dirty work just to take my place, to drive me out of Northern Group and take control of the company. I won’t hold it against them, nor will I bother with it. I believe that in a few days, everyone will know what to do.”

Wuyue didn’t fully understand, but she didn’t ask further, just nodded, indicating she got the message.

Ling Ruonan quickly got ready, then called Luo Ziling to leave.

Luo Ziling freshened up once more before following Ling Ruonan out of the office. As they left, Luo Ziling noticed Ling Haining hadn’t gone, but was sitting obediently at his own desk, though with a blank look, as if he had become stupid.

“Cousin, come with us to see Great Grandfather,” Luo Ziling went over and patted Ling Haining on the shoulder, then, without waiting for a response, pulled him up, “Let’s go see how Great Grandfather is recovering, maybe we can have dinner at the old house.”

Ling Haining was stunned at the idea of going to the old house with Luo Ziling.

Ling Ruonan was also taken aback.