The Young Urban Doctor

By the end of the conversation, Ling Ruonan’s once frail appearance had vanished, replaced by a face of resoluteness and determination.

“Ling’er, your mother will always stand by your side, no matter who it is, we should not be afraid of them. I have accumulated enough strength, and you will grow up gradually. You have only been in Yanjing for just over a month and have already turned things into this state; I have even more confidence in you now. But you must be careful and cautious, not fully trusting anyone, not taking anything lightly,” she said.

Seeing Ling Ruonan so full of fighting spirit and confidence, Luo Ziling was also inspired.

“Mom, let’s work hard together, and strive to reunite our family of three as soon as possible,” said Luo Ziling while he gripped Ling Ruonan’s hand tightly.

Ling Ruonan also gripped back just as firmly.

In the time that followed, Ling Ruonan asked about Luo Ziling’s childhood.

Although Luo Liansheng often shared these things with her, Ling Ruonan was not satisfied; she needed to hear them from Luo Ziling himself, his stories from growing up.

Luo Ziling had long wanted to tell Ling Ruonan about his childhood and adolescence. Hearing her request, he didn’t hesitate and started recounting his early years.

He began with the first thing he could remember, speaking mostly about the loneliness he felt growing up, the yearning for parental love, the desire to go to school like other kids, and to play with his parents.

Soon, Ling Ruonan’s tears were once again provoked by Luo Ziling, and they were unstoppable.

Luo Ziling talked for over two hours, while Ling Ruonan wiped her eyes for just as long. By evening, her eyes were so swollen that she could barely see clearly. Speaking of Luo Xusheng wouldn’t make her cry, but Luo Ziling’s matters always touched her tear ducts.

But she still urged Luo Ziling to tell more of the past until she realized, hearing his stomach rumbling, that it was time to cook.

“Ling’er, let’s eat here today, and from now on, we should keep our contact secret so those people don’t notice or find out, to prevent them from making desperate moves,” instructed Ling Ruonan with a face full of maternal love. She wiped the tears from her face with a tissue and stood up, “Mom will go cook for you.”

“Let me help you,” Luo Ziling also got up, “I started cooking for myself when I was five years old, when Grandpa was out or went up the mountain to gather herbs, I would cook and eat by myself.”

After Luo Ziling’s self-praising remark, Ling Ruonan’s tears were once again drawn forth.

She couldn’t imagine how a five or six-year-old child managed to cook for himself.

Luo Ziling’s flawed childhood was a failing on her part as a mother, and every time she thought about it, Ling Ruonan felt so heartbroken she wanted to cry.

For a mother, the softest part of the heart is always her children.

Pity the hearts of parents throughout the world.

Having heard so many of Luo Ziling’s childhood stories, she felt an ever greater debt to her son.

She thought about compensation; she must make up for all these years of neglect, or she would never be at peace.

“Ling’er, you’ve had such a hard life these years.” In the kitchen while preparing dinner with Luo Ziling, Ling Ruonan couldn’t help feeling very emotional as she listened to him. She wished she could give him everything she had now to compensate for the twenty years of maternal love he missed.

“Mom, it’s not really that tough,” Luo Ziling said reassuringly as he comforted Ling Ruonan with a smile. “Grandpa has been very good to me, he taught me so much, including how to be independent and strong. I think if I had always stayed by your side, I might have ended up as a spoiled wastrel, not knowing any of the things I do now.”

This made Ling Ruonan feel sad, but in the end, she could only muster a forced smile and said, “I really should thank Heaven for giving you such a great grandfather; otherwise, I don’t know how we would have gotten by.”

“Mom, it’s all in the past now,” Luo Ziling said, “our hard days will come to an end soon. I believe our wishes will be fulfilled very quickly, and our family won’t need long to reunite and lead a normal life.”

Ling Ruonan was somewhat startled when she saw the knowing smile on Luo Ziling’s face as he spoke.

Before her eyes naturally surfaced the memory of a man who looked a lot like Luo Ziling.

Twenty years had passed, and she hadn’t seen him again; she wondered how that man, just like her, holding on, was doing now?

At the thought of this, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness.

Noticing Ling Ruonan’s slightly absent-minded appearance, Luo Ziling took it upon himself to take over, volunteering to cook that evening and giving Ling Ruonan the chance to taste her son’s cooking. In the end, Ling Ruonan heeded Luo Ziling’s persuasion and, after washing her hands, stood to the side and watched Luo Ziling bustling about.

Seeing her son, dressed in high-end casual clothes and wearing the Vacheron Constantin watch she had bought him, looking handsome and efficiently busy in the kitchen, preparing dish after dish, left her feeling somewhat bewildered.

Having missed her son for so many years, her memory still clung to the image of the little one who used to nurse from her daily, who would cry loudly for food heedless of anything, often keeping her up at night. The young man who was taller than her standing before her now, she felt, was both familiar and slightly strange.

Her son had grown up so much, but she, as a mother, had only taken care of him for three months; it was others who had raised him for the years that followed, and she felt that there were too many voids in the years of her life.

“I hope that in the future, I can make up for all these imperfections.” This was the resolve Ling Ruonan secretly made in her heart.

What made Ling Ruonan very happy was that while Luo Ziling was cooking, he kept talking to her, offering her a taste of each dish he made. Ling Ruonan, who had never experienced this kind of familial warmth, was so moved and excited that she found it indescribable.

When Luo Ziling finished cooking the dishes Ling Ruonan had prepared with very crisp and decisive movements, Wuyue also returned.

Luo Ziling cordially invited Wuyue to taste his cooking, but Wuyue was reluctant to accept the offer.

“Do taste Ziling’s cooking; it’s definitely better than mine,” Ling Ruonan said before Wuyue felt comfortable accepting.

“The person Mom trusts the most by her side is her,” Ling Ruonan indicated Wuyue during dinner. “In the future, you can talk to her about anything. There are times when it’s inconvenient for Mom to show up, so you can ask for her help. Sometime, let Wuyue take you to where Mom works for you to get familiar with the environment.”

“Sure,” Luo Ziling agreed right away, and then turned to Wuyue with a word of thanks, “Sister Wuyue, thank you for taking care of Mom over the years; please continue to help out whenever there’s a need.”

Luo Ziling’s politeness made Wuyue feel a bit at a loss.

The dinner was quite warm and cozy.

After dinner, Ling Ruonan asked Wuyue to take Luo Ziling back.

When saying goodbye, Ling Ruonan once again whispered a reminder, “Before meeting the two elders, you must remain low-key. But being low-key doesn’t mean being afraid, if someone dares to mistreat you, you can fight back. Mom will handle the aftermath.”

“Understood!”