Chapter 354: Chapter 354: I’m Really Sorry
“Of course, collaborating with the Ouyang Family wouldn’t be a bad thing,” seeing Luo Ziling staring dumbfounded, Ling Ruonan affectionately touched his face, then added, “The Ouyang Family is economically very strong, and their assets, both domestic and international, can be described in astronomical figures. Now that they are offering such generous partnership terms, it’s certainly worth considering; at the very least, you’re sure to benefit greatly.”

“Mom, actually, I think that giving these profitable ventures to you would be for the best,” Luo Ziling asked, somewhat puzzled, “If you were to develop them, you’d definitely make a lot of money. Grandpa once said that just one medicine recipe could bring in an endless fortune.”

“The Northern Group under my name is a heavy industry enterprise, unrelated to pharmaceuticals,” Ling Ruonan said with a wry smile, shaking her head, “Moreover, I can’t guarantee that I will always be in control of the Northern Group. If your great grandfather and your grandfather decide to take the Northern Group away from me, then I wouldn’t be able to protect it. After all, I am just a woman surnamed Ling, with my own man and son bearing the Luo name; there are too many in the Ling Family who won’t tolerate me.”

In fact, what Ling Ruonan wanted to say was, with Luo Ziling absent, people’s guard would have been lower, but now that he had returned, many who were once indifferent would start to worry, fearing that she, while living with the Ling Family, would favor the Luos and turn the Northern Group into an asset of the Luo Family.

Hearing Ling Ruonan speak like this, Luo Ziling no longer had any doubts, but still, he curiously asked, “Mom, are you saying that as long as the two elders don’t ask for the Northern Group, others won’t be able to take it away, is that what you mean?”

“Others have tried to take the Northern Group from my hands more than once or twice, even my own brother has had his designs on it,” Ling Ruonan said with a bitter laugh before her expression turned cold, “But for them to take the Northern Group from me, it won’t be easy. This is a super multinational group I built with my own hands; anyone who wants to take it away will have to pay a huge price.”

Seeing Ling Ruonan’s expression change so rapidly, Luo Ziling was once again dumbfounded.

This gentle and loving mother of his was not someone easily handled.

What Luo Ziling didn’t know was that Ling Ruonan was not just a tough negotiator, but an extremely difficult one to deal with. Otherwise, she would not have been revered as the queen of the Northern Group, a superwoman who struck fear into many. Even her capable brother, Ling Zhengping, had no way of controlling her.

Seeing the stunned look on Luo Ziling’s face, Ling Ruonan once again smiled, “Ling’er, in the future, I will make the Northern Group belong to our family; it will be our shared asset.”

Luo Ziling didn’t know how to respond to Ling Ruonan’s words and could only chuckle shyly. Watching Luo Ziling chuckle with that adorable expression, Ling Ruonan’s demeanor became slightly distant as she reached out to touch his face again and sighed, “Ling’er, do you still remember your birthday?”

“Of course, I remember: it’s June 5th in the Gregorian calendar, and the tenth day of the fifth lunar month,” Luo Ziling said with a hint of pride, “Every year on my birthday, Grandpa would cook a bowl of longevity noodles for me and drink with me while saying a lot.”

Hearing Luo Ziling talk so happily about it, Ling Ruonan suddenly had tears welling up in her eyes.

“Ling’er, you’re twenty years old now, and Mom has never celebrated a single birthday with you. Not only have I never celebrated your birthday, but I’ve also never spent the Mid-Autumn Festival with you,” she said, her tears falling again, “You were taken from my arms by your grandfather on the fourteenth day of the eighth lunar month, the day before Mid-Autumn Festival. It’s pitiful that we, mother and son, were separated the day before Mid-Autumn. At that time, you were just over three months old, just so big. When your grandfather took you away, you had just been fed and fallen asleep, Mom doesn’t dare to think about how you would have cried when you woke up and couldn’t find me.”

Ling Ruonan, gesturing with her hands to indicate how small Luo Ziling was at that time, eventually couldn’t continue, her tears flowing uncontrollably.

Tears were also involuntarily drawn out of Luo Ziling by Ling Ruonan’s words.

Grandpa had never told him these things; he had said very little about the past, so Luo Ziling knew very little.

All he roughly knew was that he had left his parents’ side when he was very young and had grown up under his grandfather’s care. To him, Grandpa was a combination of both father and mother, his only kin—at least that was what he had believed for the past twenty years.

He had never imagined that his separation from Ling Ruonan had happened the day before Mid-Autumn Festival.

The Mid-Autumn Festival and New Year are traditional Huaxia festivals for family reunions, and these times often evoke special thoughts and feelings.

Birthdays are also one of the most important days in a person’s year. All these years, Ling Ruonan hadn’t been with her to celebrate her birthday, nor had they spent the Mid-Autumn Festival together. Since mother and son were separated the day before the Mid-Autumn Festival, it’s no wonder that talking about it is so heartbreaking.

“Mom, from now on I’ll be with you every Mid-Autumn Festival, and on every birthday. We’ll celebrate together, eat the dishes you cook, and have longevity noodles,” Luo Ziling picked up a tissue and wiped away the tears on Ling Ruonan’s face.

But Ling Ruonan’s tears continued to fall incessantly, no matter how much he wiped, he couldn’t get them all.

She had originally thought that after seeing Luo Ziling and crying intensely once, she wouldn’t cry again, but to her surprise, she still shed tears when speaking of the past.

Ling Ruonan also took out a tissue, wiping the tears from the corners of Luo Ziling’s eyes, and while wiping his tears, she forced a smile and said, “Yes, today we celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival together. Next year on your birthday, Mom will personally make you a table full of delicious dishes, cook you a bowl of longevity noodles, make you a cake myself, and buy you lots of gifts.”

Her smile was many times uglier than her crying, and those words touched Luo Ziling’s tear ducts, causing him to cry once again.

In the past, he had always eagerly anticipated his parents visiting him on his birthday and buying him lots of gifts, but he was disappointed for so many years.

Today, hearing Ling Ruonan saying this, all the years of pent-up emotions came surging up, overwhelming him.

“You turned twenty this year, and I couldn’t be there with you to celebrate this significant birthday, I am truly sorry,” Ling Ruonan said with tearful eyes, “Thankfully, this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival, we can spend it together. The day after you were taken away, the Ling Family celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival, and in front of everyone, I said harsh words, warning them that if anyone dared harm you, I would fight them to the end.”

As she reached the end of her words, Ling Ruonan’s tears stopped, and her expression became resolute, “I would say the same thing to them now, if anyone wants to harm you, I will fight them to the end. About the incident where you were stabbed on the street last time, once Mom finds out who did it, I will take his life to avenge you.”

Ling Ruonan suddenly transformed from a tearful, vulnerable woman into a strong, formidable queen, which Luo Ziling was not quite accustomed to.

He stared blankly at Ling Ruonan, not knowing what to say.

But he knew that her words conveyed a profound maternal love.

The most selfless love in the world is that of a mother’s, which Luo Ziling had read about in books, but at the time, he didn’t believe it.

Back then, he hated his own mother for abandoning him and never coming to see him.

Today, or rather, in this period of time, he truly felt his mother’s intense, extreme love and believed what the books said.

“It’s so good to have a mom!” This phrase suddenly sprang to mind for Luo Ziling, and he couldn’t help but think of the tear-provoking song “There’s No One Quite Like Mom.”

Ling Ruonan was determined to protect him at all costs, and he also resolved to guard his mother well, not allowing anyone to bully Ling Ruonan—this was Luo Ziling’s firm thought deep inside.