After getting back into the car, Luo Ziling, who had switched to the front passenger seat, asked Ling Ruonan, "Mom, do you think this Dong Xiaowan is someone we can use?"
"She’s a very intuitive girl, with a sharp mind," Ling Ruonan didn’t hide her opinion from Luo Ziling, "But she’s too young and has her own little schemes, making her a bit hard to control. Her temperament is somewhat similar to Wang Feiyang’s and a bit like Yuqing’s. If you want her to help you, you’ll need to put in the effort."
"She’s quite capable and very scared of Wuyue. I intend to control her through Wuyue!"
"You do what you think is best, but don’t trust her like you trust Wuyue!"
"Understood!" Luo Ziling nodded.
At this moment, Luo Liansheng interjected, "That girl from the Dong Family has quite the ability, the other grandchildren aren’t as good as her!"
"Indeed!" Luo Ziling agreed with Luo Liansheng’s analysis.
"Lately, Ishihara Naka and Xu Zhiyuan have been having constant conflicts," Luo Liansheng informed Luo Ziling, "Originally, their relationship was quite good, but it seems because of Dong Xiaowan, they’ve started quarreling."
"Are they both trying to pursue Dong Xiaowan?" Ling Ruonan looked a bit surprised.
"It seems so!" Luo Ziling nodded, "However, Dong Xiaowan doesn’t fancy them. This woman has a strong sense of nationalism; she doesn’t like the Japanese and the Koreans."
"You’ll have to manage their relationships yourself; perhaps you might be able to utilize it!" Ling Ruonan said lightly.
"It seems Xu Zhiyuan has stopped scheming, focusing wholeheartedly on his training, while Ishihara Naka remains unsatisfied, wanting to stir up more trouble. I’ve had people monitor their movements, and if anything happens, we’ll know right away," Luo Ziling said, chuckling, "Mom, while your collaboration with the Ishihara Family is underway, if we can catch Ishihara Naka in a compromising situation, we could use it as leverage against the Ishihara Family to squeeze more benefits from Ishihara Tarou."
"Your son sure has a lot on his mind now!" Luo Liansheng chuckled, "I never thought he could be such a schemer."
"Grandpa, why are you also mocking me?" Luo Ziling protested, "When have I ever schemed against others?"
"Not often?" Luo Liansheng still had a smile on his face, "But given the circumstances, it’s necessary. If we don’t do the scheming, others will scheme against us!"
Saying this, he turned to Luo Ziling, "Neither Xusheng nor I are adept at playing these games, especially Xusheng. Thankfully, Ziling isn’t like him, and hasn’t become dull and honest after all these years with me in the Northwest. Otherwise, it would be difficult to find his footing in Yanjing."
"Dad, are you blaming me for being too slick?" Ling Ruonan looked a bit awkward, "It’s my personality that got passed down to Ling’er!"
"That’s not what I meant!" Luo Liansheng shook his head, "If you want to achieve great things, you have to be slick; otherwise, you’ll definitely be bested by others."
Ling Ruonan didn’t say anything further, just nodded lightly.
At this point, Luo Xusheng called, preparing to meet up with Luo Ziling and the others.
After Ling Ruonan told him the meeting place, about ten minutes later, Luo Ziling saw a regular-brand Jeep driven by Luo Xusheng enter their view.
After Ling Ruonan’s convoy passed by, Luo Xusheng got out of his car.
Then, Ling Ruonan instructed the driver to disembark so that Luo Xusheng could drive.
"Oh, my dad is playing the role of a driver now." As Luo Xusheng got into the car, Luo Ziling couldn’t help but tease, "This is a bit too ceremonious today!"
"You should think about how you’re going to talk to the Ouyang family about the marriage proposal later!" Ling Ruonan replied to Luo Ziling, not pleased.
Luo Ziling instantly wilted.
Luo Xusheng spoke up, "The matter of the marriage proposal must be clarified, especially since when we tried to break the engagement last time, Ouyang Lingyun didn’t agree, and the Ouyang Family didn’t have a clear stance."
It was a bit unexpected for Luo Ziling that Luo Xusheng would also have a stance on this matter.
He could only muster up his courage and say, "Then I’ll say this: in our times, a mother-arranged marriage proposal is no longer trendy. If young men and women truly fall in love, they can have an engagement ceremony with their parents’ consent. After all, it’s the 21st century; if both sides want to be together, it must be through free love, or they won’t truly be happy. As for me, I’m still a student, and I’m not considering marriage right now. So let’s talk about the marriage proposal later."
"You want to talk about it later?" Ling Ruonan looked somewhat surprised.
"What I mean is, let’s not mention the old marriage proposal. Anyway, neither Ouyang Feifei nor I agree with it. Any future interactions will have nothing to do with the proposal. I think, Sir Ouyang will be agreeable to this arrangement." Though he said this, Luo Ziling didn’t feel confident inside.
Luo Liansheng said nothing, and Ling Ruonan opened her mouth but didn’t say a word after all.
The four of them fell silent and didn’t bring up the matter again.
After a while, Ling Ruonan changed the subject to something else.
After chatting a bit idly, the car drove into the Xiangshan Community, where the Ouyang Family villa is located.
As the car approached the Ouyang villa, Luo Ziling saw that Ouyang Lingyun and Ouyang Feifei were standing at the door waiting.
Standing with them were a few other people, all from the Ouyang Family, including Ouyang Feifei’s father, Ouyang Zhenhua, and his brother, Ouyang Zhengang.
When the car carrying Luo Ziling and the others stopped at the villa entrance, all these people from the Ouyang Family came forward to greet them.
Ouyang Zhengang and Ouyang Zhenhua helped open the car door and guided Luo Liansheng and Ling Ruonan out of the car.
"Ouyang, you’re too kind to roll out such a grand reception," Luo Liansheng laughed heartily as he got out of the car and shook hands with Ouyang Lingyun, "With receptions like this, it feels intimidating to visit next time!"
Ouyang Lingyun laughed too, "It’s been a while since you’ve graced our humble abode, Luo. I figured I had to extend a warm welcome! Please, come in!"
While Ouyang Lingyun greeted Luo Liansheng, Ouyang Zhenhua and Ouyang Zhengang also exchanged pleasantries with Luo Xusheng and Ling Ruonan.
It was somewhat surprising for them to see Luo Xusheng driving personally today.
In their understanding, once someone reaches a certain status, driving oneself is considered lowering one’s standards.
At least, when they go out, they must have a driver.
Even though they have driver’s licenses, they haven’t touched a steering wheel in many years.
While the adults were busy exchanging formalities, Luo Ziling walked over to Ouyang Feifei and looked at her with a cold smile.
"Weren’t you busy with meetings? How did you get back home so soon?" Luo Ziling asked her bluntly, "I called you and asked you to call me back when you had a chance, but I still haven’t heard from you."
Ouyang Feifei was unfazed, calmly looking at Luo Ziling, "I just thought since you’re arriving soon, whatever it is we can talk about it then, can’t we?"
"You should know what I want to ask!" Luo Ziling’s expression turned even unfriendly.
Seeing Luo Ziling’s demeanor, Ouyang Feifei’s expression shifted slightly.