Chapter 228 - 228 Grandfather’s Teachings
“No need,” Luo Ziling rejected the offer without hesitation, “I want to speak to her for the first time when I see her.”
“Alright,” Wuyue was a bit surprised but quickly understood.
Ling Ruonan didn’t dare to call Luo Ziling directly, and Luo Ziling didn’t want his first communication with his mother to be over the phone. Many things can only be expressed face-to-face; standing close together, often no words are needed, and everything can be read from their expressions.
However, Luo Ziling’s acceptance of the gifts Ling Ruonan had bought still relieved Wuyue.
Watching Luo Ziling leave with a bunch of bags in hand and walk toward the entrance of Yan University, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
After Luo Ziling left, Wuyue leaned back slightly and spoke to the temporary camera mounted on the rearview mirror, “Miss, the young master has left, I’ll be back soon.”
She didn’t delay any further, opened the driver’s side door, got in, started the car, and drove away from the eastern entrance of Yan University.
When Luo Ziling arrived at the school entrance with a bunch of bags, he looked back in the direction where Wuyue had parked, saw the car just starting, and couldn’t help but sigh as he quickened his pace towards the dormitory.
On his way to the dormitory, he sent a message to Cao Jianhui. “I’m going back to the dorm first.”
While sending the message, he noticed a message from the WeChat friend named “Yue.”
“Is your military training over? You finally don’t have to suffer anymore.”
The message was sent in the afternoon, but Luo Ziling hadn’t checked his WeChat messages, so he only saw it now.
Upon seeing the message from this friend, Luo Ziling immediately thought of the woman named Wuyue he had just met.
Without any hesitation, Luo Ziling believed that this “Yue” on WeChat was indeed Wuyue.
And he also knew that many messages might not have been sent by Wuyue, it’s very likely that Ling Ruonan had been the one sending them to him.
Thinking this, Luo Ziling felt a rush of mixed emotions.
No wonder this “Yue” on WeChat had always been so caring towards him, saying things that were so considerate, making him trust her unwittingly. But after understanding the truth, he felt conflicted; he didn’t know how to respond to the message.
Words that could be spoken without reservation before might become difficult to utter in the future.
After returning to the dormitory, he thought about it, adjusted his phone to selfie mode, placed it on the upper bunk, and took a picture of himself holding the gifts. He sent the photo to “Yue” and added after the picture, “Thank you for the gifts, I’ve accepted them.”
In the office, waiting for Wuyue to return, Ling Ruonan, upon hearing the WeChat message notification sound, immediately took out her phone to look.
Seeing the picture sent by Luo Ziling and the sentence that followed, she instantly understood what was happening.
Feeling a bit bitter inside, she didn’t know how to reply; the words previously shared easily became difficult to say once Luo Ziling found out her true identity.
After agonizing for more than ten minutes, she cautiously replied, “Do you hate me?”
After sending the message, Ling Ruonan anxiously held her phone, waiting for Luo Ziling’s reply.
But after waiting for a good while, she didn’t receive a message from Luo Ziling, which left her deeply disappointed.
Just as Ling Ruonan was crying from heartache, the notification sound for a message finally rang. Upon opening it, she found only an emoji of an embrace.
But this tiny symbol managed to relieve Ling Ruonan’s burden, and a natural smile spread across her face.
Of course, what she didn’t know was that before Luo Ziling sent this emoji, he had been agonizing over it for a long time. He had written a long message, expressing all his thoughts during this period, but in the end, he didn’t send it and deleted everything, replying to her with just one symbol.
“Many things must be said in person,” Luo Ziling thought when he decided to reply with just a symbol.
As Luo Ziling was preparing to check the gifts, Cao Jianhui called.
“Boss, where have you gone? Why didn’t you come back for the meal?” Cao Jianhui’s loud voice made Luo Ziling’s eardrums buzz.
“Something came up; I went back to the dorm. I’m already full, you guys take your time eating,” Luo Ziling replied, no longer in the mood to go out for a meal.
“Alright,” Cao Jianhui didn’t press him further and said since Luo Ziling didn’t want to come back, they were planning to return as well.
While his three dorm mates were still out, Luo Ziling quickly checked out the gifts Ling Ruonan had Wuyue bring to him.
There were clothes and shoes. Garments for every layer, shoes of various styles, including dress shoes, walking shoes, casual shoes, and more. There were also some food items, many of which Luo Ziling had never seen before.
Looking at all the things Ling Ruonan had someone deliver, Luo Ziling felt a pang of sadness.
After he had hidden all the gifts, Cao Jianhui and the others returned. Seeing that Luo Ziling looked a bit melancholic, Cao Jianhui glanced at him a few times but didn’t ask him anything, and stopped the other two who wanted to inquire, dragging them off to play Dou Dizhu instead.
Luo Ziling sat on his bed, lost in thought, and ignored their noise.
After Wuyue came back, Ling Ruonan left the office and went to see her grandfather, Ling Jinhua.
As the weather had become a bit chillier, Ling Jinhua’s health had slightly improved, but he still wasn’t entirely reassuring.
After speaking some caring words by her grandfather’s bedside, Ling Jinhua broached the subject of Luo Ziling on his own initiative.
“Ruonan, I’ve heard you’ve been very concerned about your son lately, personally intervening in many things,” Ling Jinhua said in a low voice, “Grandfather thinks that this isn’t good for him.”
It was rare for Grandfather to speak to her in such a tone, directly pointing out her mistakes was also very unusual.
Upon hearing this, Ling Ruonan couldn’t help but feel panicked, but she stubbornly explained, “I’m afraid of him being bullied.”
“He lacks life experience, so it’s good for him to be in school. But you should give him the opportunity to toughen up. Without that, he won’t have the chance to grow. If you keep protecting him, how will he be able to face everything? You should let go a little, just like you did in the past few years. He is a golden eagle soaring the blue skies, able to fly on his own.” Ling Jinhua said, smiling gently at Ling Ruonan. “Only through facing setbacks can one grow.”
After listening to this, Ling Ruonan felt enlightened, “Grandfather, I understand.”
Such words were something her father, Ling Mingrui, would definitely not say to her, only her beloved grandfather would.
Grandfather wouldn’t say such things to anyone else, but he would say them to her.
“Grandfather, rest assured, I know what to do now,” she said softly to Ling Jinhua like a promise.
Ling Jinhua didn’t say anything more, just nodded his head slightly.