Chapter 1798: Chapter 1798: Lin Lan’s Reminder
Luo Ziling prepared a table full of dishes.
When Ling Ruonan and Wuyue returned and saw the table laden with dishes, they appeared quite surprised.
Seeing Yang Qingyin there surprised her even more. But she quickly understood that since Yang Qingyin was joining them for dinner, they’d likely have a long chat to clear things up, so she didn’t mind.
The dinner went rather smoothly without any unpleasantness due to the day’s events.
Luo Liansheng was in high spirits, having consumed about a half a catty of yellow wine.
Luo Yuqing drank a bit with him, but since Luo Ziling couldn’t drink, Luo Liansheng felt a bit like a lone conqueror and wasn’t fully satisfied with the drinking.
After dinner, Yang Qingyin and Ling Ruonan had a private conversation and then departed.
When sending Yang Qingyin home, Luo Ziling received a call from Lin Lan, saying she would come by later to discuss something. Luo Ziling naturally agreed.
During the meal, Yang Qingyin seemed quite enthusiastic, but by the time she left, her spirits seemed to have dampened a bit.
Luo Ziling noticed her low mood and asked softly, "Senior, what’s happened?"
"Ah, with all that’s going on, I’m not sure how to handle it," Yang Qingyin sighed. "Yuqing’s analogy is spot on; our situation is like frogs who, after much effort, climb to the well’s rim only to fall back down, bruised and battered."
"Why use that metaphor?" Luo Ziling glanced at Yang Qingyin and brought up the idea of traveling he had suggested many times: "Let’s not dwell on unhappy things. In a couple of days, let’s go to the South. Let’s not wait for them; we can go explore for a few days, what do you think?"
Yang Qingyin looked a bit surprised at Luo Ziling but soon understood his intention behind the decision.
After thinking for a moment, she agreed, "Let’s do it quickly then!"
"In a couple of days, once things are settled, we’ll leave."
"Alright," Yang Qingyin agreed again, "I’ll arrange the itinerary. I’ll have Xiaoli book train or flight tickets and accommodation."
"We should be economical, so no extravagance," Luo Ziling said with a mischievous smile.
"What do you mean?" Yang Qingyin looked at him warily.
"For example, one hotel room is enough—we can squeeze in, saving a lot of money, right?"
"I knew that’s what you meant," Yang Qingyin kicked Luo Ziling lightly, blushing, and said, "I won’t listen to you. Anyway, you have money. Aren’t you afraid of gossip flying around?"
"I don’t care. I’m not married, and traveling with my girlfriend isn’t something to be afraid of."
"Who’s your girlfriend!" Yang Qingyin kicked Luo Ziling lightly again, "I’m not bantering with you. I need to go back. I haven’t rested well these days and need an early night’s sleep."
"How about I come over and give you a massage, help you sleep well?"
"Isn’t there a lady coming to see you?"
"True," Luo Ziling remembered that Lin Lan was coming over to discuss something. He also knew that if Lin Lan seriously told him she was coming over, it must be something important, so he didn’t press further.
"If I still can’t sleep, just chat with me," Yang Qingyin said with a smile, not showing any jealousy, before walking to her vehicle.
After Yang Qingyin left, Lin Lan arrived.
Luo Ziling met her at the residential complex gate.
"Here to see me, or do you have something important?" Luo Ziling asked Lin Lan with a smile, "Coming to see me so openly, it must be something important. If it were just to see me, you wouldn’t... have such guts."
Lin Lan gave Luo Ziling a slightly resentful look and whispered, "I know I don’t have the privilege to come see you openly and keep you company, okay?"
"What are you talking about? Come inside and sit down."
"Let’s discuss something outside first," Lin Lan gestured for Luo Ziling to walk ahead, and as they walked, she explained, "In the past two days, our team members discovered quite a few unusual actions from Ishihara Naka and Xu Zhiyuan. It’s suspected they’re planning something, possibly targeting your acupuncture bronze man."
"My acupuncture bronze man hasn’t been returned yet," talking about the bronze man he won, Luo Ziling felt a bit dejected.
The bronze man still hasn’t been returned to him.
The embassy is responsible for transporting it, but for some reason, it’s still at the embassy and hasn’t started its journey back.
Luo Ziling was quite worried about any mishaps, and upon hearing Lin Lan’s words, his heart tightened further.
Lin Lan, seemingly understanding Luo Ziling’s concerns, shook her head, "The bronze man at the embassy shouldn’t have any issues. It will be escorted back specifically, and there won’t be mistakes. Their target is probably the bronze man in your collection. They might know where you’re keeping it."
"How could they know that?" Luo Ziling’s expression turned serious as he frowned and asked Lin Lan, "Not many people know where I placed the bronze man."
"We know where it is too. Did you really think keeping it hidden means others won’t know?" Lin Lan looked at him disdainfully, "Move it soon; placing it with your mom is safer than at Yang Qingyin’s place."
"I’ll think about it," Luo Ziling nodded, taking Lin Lan’s advice.
"Also, we want some of the medicine you provided," Lin Lan said a bit embarrassedly, "The medicine you provided last time was very effective; we want more."
After hearing Lin Lan’s description, Luo Ziling knew what medicine she referred to but hesitated, "The material for that medicine is quite rare, and my grandpa surely doesn’t have much. Making a lot would require fresh gathering, plus you’d have to go to the Northeast."
At this point, an idea struck him, and he immediately said, "How about my grandpa takes everyone learning from him to the Northeast to gather herbs? Once they’re deep in the forests, it’ll be hard to communicate with the outside world. If they still contact the outside under those conditions, it’ll be easy to find out. After leaving Yanjing, it won’t be easy for them to target the bronze man. My grandpa mentioned he was planning a Northeast trip this spring for gathering season-sensitive herbs. He originally planned to go a bit later."
Upon hearing Luo Ziling’s suggestion, Lin Lan’s eyes lit up, and she immediately agreed, "That’s indeed a good idea."
"I’ll ask my grandpa; if he’s willing to assist us, I’ll have Wang Zhenjun join him."
Lin Lan nodded, "If your grandpa is willing to take them, that’s a great arrangement. I imagine their contact, knowing they’re heading to the Northeast, will take further action, maybe even follow them. Then we can catch them all."
"I’ll go discuss it with Grandpa!"