Chapter 244 - 244 How could this happen

At this moment, several people stepped down from the Mercedes-Benz SUV next to Ling Haijun.

One of them was a dignified middle-aged man who looked quite authoritative, bearing some resemblance to Ling Haijun.

He heard Ling Haijun greeting someone and immediately looked over in this direction.

Upon seeing Yang Qingyin, the middle-aged man’s eyes lit up, but he didn’t greet her; instead, he gave Yang Qingyin a slight smile.

Yang Qingyin recognized this man, Ling Zhenghui, Ling Haijun’s father, who currently held a vice-ministerial level position at a certain ministry.

It seemed that the Ling family had also taken advantage of the National Day holiday to visit here and coincidentally stayed at the same hotel as Yang Qingyin’s group.

Encountering someone she knew, and moreover, someone with whom they had had unpleasant experiences hundreds of kilometers away from Yanjing, Yang Qingyin could hardly be pleased, but she was not rude and greeted the group: “It turns out to be Mr. Ling and Mr. Ling, what a coincidence.”

Ling Zhenghui nodded slightly to Yang Qingyin in return as a greeting.

However, when his eyes fell on Luo Ziling, who was standing next to Yang Qingyin, his expression changed instantly.

“Who are you?” Ling Zhenghui quickly stepped over to Luo Ziling, frowning as he sized him up, “What’s your name?”

Seeing Ling Zhenghui’s expression change, Yang Qingyin immediately thought of something, and her complexion changed as well.

“Mr. Ling, this is my classmate. We came out together on a trip,” she quickly interceded for Luo Ziling, “We’re about to head out for some fun and won’t disturb you anymore.”

With that, she took Luo Ziling by the hand and walked away.

Luo Ziling also knew why Ling Zhenghui had changed his expression; without saying it, he knew the reason why.

In his youth, Ling Zhenghui must have seen Luo Xusheng—the country boy who had eloped with Ling Ruonan—and Luo Ziling resembled his father, which is why Ling Zhenghui’s expression had changed upon seeing him.

Luo Ziling ignored Ling Zhenghui, and without looking at Ling Haijun, he simply nodded slightly to them and left with Yang Qingyin.

Unexpectedly ignored by Luo Ziling, Ling Zhenghui’s face became even more unsightly.

“Dad, do you know him?” Ling Haijun was utterly surprised, “This guy must be Yang Qingyin’s boyfriend; he even had a fight with my bodyguards last time.”

“What? He has had a conflict with you?” Ling Zhenghui’s just-calmed face changed slightly again, but he did not ask anything publicly, instead gesturing for Ling Haijun to discuss it further in the room.

During the National Day holiday, Ling Zhenghui brought his wife and children to the Bashang Grassland, not far from Yanjing, for a visit. Accompanying them, in addition to father and son, were Ling Zhenghui’s wife, Li Lanying, her sister Li Junying and her husband, as well as their children.

They had booked two deluxe suites, one for each family.

Ling Zhenghui and Ling Haijun entered the room, gestured for the others to tidy up the luggage first, as the father and son wanted to talk in private.

The others had witnessed the scene earlier, and although they were quite puzzled by what they did not understand, in the end, they refrained from asking questions.

“Do you know this person? What’s his name?” Ling Zhenghui got straight to the point as soon as they sat down in the room.

Sitting on the bed waiting for his father’s instructions, Ling Haijun honestly replied, “His name is Luo Ziling, and he is likely Yang Qingyin’s boyfriend. I saw them holding hands.”

Ling Zhenghui’s eyebrows twitched, the shock in his heart indescribable with words.

However, he did not voice his astonishment, instead, he asked Ling Haijun to narrate how they had met and come into conflict.

Ling Haijun said with a hint of frustration, “The first conflict with him happened at a friend’s opening reception. His companion and my friend had a dispute, and the two bodyguards by my side were no match for him. Then, unexpectedly, my aunt called and told me to leave immediately, to avoid conflict with anyone. Later, at a hotel, I encountered them again; he was with Yang Qingyin. We nearly got into a fight, but Yang Qingyin stepped in to stop it.”

After recounting these events, Ling Haijun asked Ling Zhenghui with bewilderment, “Dad, do you know this person?”

Instead of answering, Ling Zhenghui asked back, “Why do you think your aunt made a personal call to stop you from getting into a conflict with him?”

“I don’t know,” Ling Haijun shook his head, unable to find the answer even now and not daring to ask Ling Ruonan.

Ling Ruonan and Ling Zhenghui were cousins, with Ling Zhenghui being three years older than Ling Ruonan. Ling Haijun called her “aunt,” although their relationship was slightly more distant.

“He is Ling Ruonan’s son.”

“What?” Hearing his father say this, Ling Haijun jumped up from the bed, “How could that bastard be Aunt’s son?”

“Indeed,” Ling Zhenghui sighed softly, “You must have heard somewhat about the incident that happened twenty years ago. Ling Ruonan fell for an outsider named Luo Xusheng and refused the marriage alliance with the Yang Family. That outsider, Luo Xusheng, accidentally killed Yang Yunfeng, who was engaged to Ling Ruonan and is Yang Qingyin’s bio-uncle, while they were running away together.”

“Ah?!” Ling Haijun, who had only heard vague mentions of this story, was shocked into a stunned silence, “How could this happen? When did Aunt suddenly have a son? She actually got involved with an outsider back then. No wonder she never married, and such an event had occurred.”

Ling Ruonan was highly esteemed within the family, dearly loved and respected by both the elder patriarch, Ling Jinhua, and the current Family Head, Ling Mingrui. She was also in charge of managing the expansive Northern Group belonging to the family. Hardly anyone among the younger generation of the Ling Family didn’t fear her, and Ling Haijun was no exception. Whether in public or private, he hardly dared to call Ling Ruonan by her full name, always trying to ingratiate himself by affectionately calling her “aunt.”

But he had never dreamt that his aunt had such a legendary past, and moreover, that she had a son.

It seemed this son was illegitimate.

“Indeed, Ling Ruonan did carry and give birth to that outsider’s baby on that year. That outsider’s name is Luo Xusheng, and the person you’ve had conflicts with is named Luo Ziling. He looks so much like Luo Xusheng in his youth that when I first saw him, I thought Luo Xusheng from back then had returned. Interesting,” Ling Zhenghui stood up and paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, looking quite agitated. “You had conflicts with him, and Ling Ruonan personally called you, asked you to leave; you should know by now what the reason is. She doesn’t want her son to get into a conflict with you.”

Having never seen such discomposure in his father before, Ling Haijun was even more surprised and couldn’t help but ask again, “Dad, what on earth is going on? If this guy is Aunt’s son, shouldn’t he be my cousin? Then why don’t we recognize each other? And why would he be together with someone from the Yang Family? Didn’t you just say that Yang Qingyin’s uncle was killed by his dad? How could they still be together?”