Chapter 321: Chapter 321 It Should Be the Doing of the Ling Family
(Chapter Seven)

When Luo Ziling returned to his dormitory, he found that all three roommates were gone, not knowing whether they had gone out to play or had gone next door to visit.

With no one in the dormitory, he breathed a sigh of relief and didn’t have to worry about their questions.

He lay on the bed with his clothes on, only taking off his trousers, ready to go to sleep early.

Just as he had taken off his trousers, Ling Ruonan’s call came in.

Seeing that the incoming call was Ling Ruonan’s private number, Luo Ziling, who had been feeling a bit gloomy, was suddenly very happy, so much so that his voice trembled a little as he answered. Hearing Ling Ruonan’s concern filled with deep maternal love, Luo Ziling nearly shed tears.

In front of a mother, a son is always a son, especially for a young boy like Luo Ziling who had grown up without maternal love. When he wasn’t yet fully mature and faced with grievances or trouble, he longed even more for his mother’s caring.

Facing the thugs brandishing knives, he didn’t panic but counterattacked calmly; however, when facing Ling Ruonan’s concern, he found it hard to control his emotions.

But he didn’t want Ling Ruonan to worry too much and simply said he had suffered superficial injury, which would be unnoticeable in a couple of days—deceiving Ling Ruonan wasn’t a big deal.

When Ling Ruonan asked why he didn’t call her after the incident, Luo Ziling replied a bit sheepishly, “Mom, weren’t you away on business? I was afraid of disturbing you, so I didn’t let you know. I’ve just returned to the dorm and was about to send you a message to update you!”

Luo Ziling hadn’t actually thought of telling Ling Ruonan about it immediately. With Yang Qingyin taking care of him and after getting hurt, plus Ling Ruonan being away, he didn’t think to inform her.

Even if Ling Ruonan had been in Yanjing, he wouldn’t have taken the initiative to call and tell her about it. He felt too embarrassed to bring it up.

As much as he craved Ling Ruonan’s caring, he didn’t want to ask for it but rather hoped Ling Ruonan would give it willingly.

“I’ll be back in Yanjing by tomorrow afternoon at the latest. Tomorrow night, I’ll have someone pick you up, and we’ll have dinner together. I want to see for myself the injuries you’ve sustained,” Ling Ruonan actually wanted to return to Yanjing immediately. However, Wuyue said that Luo Ziling had gone back to his dormitory on his own and didn’t seem to be seriously hurt, and now he was alright. Plus, she had an important arrangement tomorrow morning, so she decided to return in the afternoon instead.

Of course, she very much wanted to see Luo Ziling now and check on the extent of his injuries.

Since Luo Ziling’s return to Yanjing, he had encountered trouble several times, which fanned the flames of guilt already burning inside the remorseful Ling Ruonan.

Ling Ruonan had originally considered biding her time, after hearing advice from her father and grandfather. But she feared that her restraint might be perceived as weakness or submissiveness by those who wanted to harm her and her son, so she decided she needed to strike back.

To kill a chicken to scare the monkeys, or to beat a dog to alarm its master, she wanted to let those people know she wasn’t that easy to bully.

Therefore, she immediately instructed Wuyue to plan a retaliation.

Though Ling Ruonan was a woman, she was very decisive in her actions. Over the years, to protect herself and plan for her future, and with the tacit approval of her father and grandfather, she had accumulated considerable power. She had already used that power more than once to do things for herself that couldn’t be handled through legitimate channels, and Wuyue was a close confidant she had personally promoted to take charge of these confidential matters.

Wuyue had never let her down before. This retired Marine Corps woman was her most capable lieutenant and the most trustworthy person.

After entrusting the revenge operation to Wuyue, she wasn’t worried about the plan failing.

But she hadn’t told Luo Ziling, fearing it would burden him psychologically.

“Okay,” Luo Ziling, having been injured, actually did want to see Ling Ruonan. Hearing his mother say this, he certainly wouldn’t refuse.

Ling Ruonan asked Luo Ziling to take a few photos of his injuries for her later, as she wanted to understand what kind of wounds he had, but Luo Ziling refused. “Mom, my injuries are on my back; I can’t take pictures of it. I don’t want my classmates to know about this. When you come to pick me up for dinner tomorrow, you can take a look then.”

Today the wounds were still quite frightening, but Luo Ziling believed that by this time tomorrow, the wounds would have healed quite nicely. Even if Ling Ruonan saw them, she wouldn’t be shocked. Although he hoped to receive Ling Ruonan’s care and love, he didn’t want her to worry too much.

After hearing his explanation, Ling Ruonan found it reasonable and didn’t insist.

After asking about some other matters, Ling Ruonan also instructed Luo Ziling to rest well. If he was too exhausted to handle the first day back at school tomorrow, he could ask for leave.

If he was reluctant to ask for leave, she would have someone give a heads-up to Luo Ziling’s academic advisor about the situation. There definitely wouldn’t be any trouble.

But Luo Ziling still politely declined Ling Ruonan’s offer, saying he was fine and that he could attend classes as usual the next day.

After hearing Luo Ziling say all this, Ling Ruonan really thought he was alright and didn’t say much more. She instructed him again to rest well and then hung up the phone.

After hanging up, Luo Ziling checked the call duration and realized he had actually been on the phone with Ling Ruonan for nearly twenty minutes.

Having spoken on the phone for so long for the first time, Luo Ziling felt a bit inexplicably moved.

“Having a mother is like being treasured,” he suddenly thought of this song lyric.

While Luo Ziling was on the phone with Ling Ruonan, Yang Qingyin was discussing with Ye Xiaoli the events that had occurred that evening.

“Miss, I don’t think tonight’s incident was orchestrated by the Yang Family,” Ye Xiaoli said after hearing about the case from Yang Qingyin and inquiring about the police investigation. Without waiting for Yang Qingyin to ask anything, she immediately explained her reasoning, “The last time Luo Ziling encountered trouble at the school gates, Dragon Rise people helped him out. I think our Yang Family people already understand that teaching Luo Ziling a lesson through such means won’t work, thus they definitely won’t take action again in the short term. I believe the Ling Family people are the most likely suspects.”

Yang Qingyin looked indifferent and simply asked lightly, “Why do you think the Ling Family people are the most likely?”

Ye Xiaoli immediately continued explaining, “The Ling Family people already know our Yang Family wants to deal with Luo Ziling, and they want even less for him to return. Many are dissatisfied with Ling Ruonan and don’t want to see their family reunited and becoming more powerful. Hence, there are many in the Ling Family who would wish death upon Luo Ziling and Ling Ruonan. If they were behind the assassination attempt on Luo Ziling, even if it failed, everyone would assume it was the Yang Family’s doing since they have the most reason. So, they can act without worry. Whether successful or not, they can blame the Yang Family.”

“That sounds somewhat reasonable,” Yang Qingyin approved of Ye Xiaoli’s analysis.

But she hadn’t completely ruled out the possibility of the Yang Family orchestrating this event; she simply hadn’t mentioned it to Ye Xiaoli.