In fact, Luo Ziling had already guessed that when Yang Yunfeng drove after Luo Xusheng and Ling Ruonan, there must have been a gunfight, and it was definitely Yang Yunfeng who fired first. Luo Xusheng had merely fought back in self?defense, forced to return fire after being attacked, which ultimately led to Yang Yunfeng’s death in a car crash.
But Luo Ziling hadn’t expected it to be this brutal.
Luo Ziling simply couldn’t picture how wretchedly Luo Xusheng and Ling Ruonan must have looked as they drove to escape.
He couldn’t imagine how the two of them managed to dodge the attacks.
That Luo Xusheng finally fired back was something completely within reason.
It was also a forced move made in utter helplessness.
Before coming to Yanjing, Luo Xusheng didn’t even know how to drive. After he arrived, with Ling Ruonan’s help, he learned to drive and came into possession of a gun. It was because Ling Ruonan saw him often being bullied that she got him a gun permit and helped him obtain a firearm.
Whether in terms of driving skills or shooting skills, Luo Xusheng was nowhere near Yang Yunfeng’s level.
Luo Ziling felt that the fact Luo Xusheng and Ling Ruonan managed to escape Yang Yunfeng’s pursuit, and that he himself was able to be born into this world, was truly a stroke of luck.
Luo Ziling found it hard to imagine how crazed Yang Yunfeng had been.
The guy completely lost his mind after his wife was taken from him.
Luo Ziling felt that even if no accident had happened, given Yang Yunfeng’s crazed behavior of wildly firing his gun, the Ling Family would never have forgiven him.
If Yang Yunfeng hadn’t died, then the Ling Family would also have gone after him to hold him accountable.
"Serves him right!" Luo Ziling spat, to show just how much he despised Yang Yunfeng over this matter.
If Yang Yunfeng hadn’t died, then right now he also wouldn’t have given up on pursuing responsibility for that attempted killing back then.
Luo Liansheng seemed to know exactly what was on Luo Ziling’s mind. With a bitter smile, he said, "Yang Yunfeng really was insanely reckless, and that was indeed one of the reasons your maternal grandfather and I questioned Yang Shangmin at the time. However, the people who went after your parents back then weren’t just Yang Yunfeng. There were Ling Zhengping and a few other members of the Ling Family, as well as Yang Yunlin and some other members of the Yang Family; people from the Chen Family probably joined in the fun too. You can probably guess that the tragedy ultimately playing out had a lot to do with people egging him on. If no one had incited him, Yang Yunfeng might not have lost his reason like that.
The ones inciting Yang Yunfeng were definitely the Chen brothers Chen Yining and Chen Yijing, and possibly Fang Zhonghua as well. Back then, they used to hang out together; Yang Yunfeng got along quite well with Ling Zhengping, Chen Yijing, and Fang Zhonghua.
"Grandpa, why didn’t you tell me these things before?" Listening with a heart full of indignation, Luo Ziling couldn’t help complaining to Luo Liansheng. "In fact, my understanding of all this is still far from complete. There’s so much I only half know, all foggy and muddled in my head."
"I didn’t tell you about these things before because I was afraid you were too young and impulsive and would do something irrational. Back then, I felt that if you were going to learn about all this, it should be after you returned to Yanjing. Before you came to Yanjing, I thought about telling you everything. But after thinking it over, I ultimately dropped that idea. I felt it would be better for your mom to be the one to tell you."
With a sigh, Luo Liansheng went on, "But I didn’t expect that although your mom told you a lot, she never went into the details of how the conflict back then actually unfolded. She was also afraid you’d be too young and hot?headed, go after members of the Yang Family or others to take revenge, and make the situation completely unmanageable."
"My mom did tell me quite a bit, but she deliberately hid some critical things," Luo Ziling said, patting his own head. "I didn’t press her too much either, assuming that was all there was to it. I never imagined there was still so much I didn’t know, deeper layers to everything. And I really didn’t expect that between your generation, and between my parents’ generation, there were so many tightly linked, almost unbelievable incidents. These last few days, I really have had my horizons broadened."
After hearing what Chen Qiaoyu had told him these past few days, and then listening to what Luo Liansheng said, Luo Ziling felt his entire outlook had been turned upside down—the big wealthy clans were overflowing with filth and ugliness.
Behind every glamorous figure, there might be many things hidden away that could never see the light of day.
Every highly respected big shot had had countless disgraceful episodes in their youth.
Those women who clung to these big shots, such as a matriarch like Xie Enhua, back when they were young were just like the girls now gathered around Luo Ziling, with tender first loves and romantic entanglements that everyone loved to gossip about.
Love and dog?blood drama don’t just happen to their generation of young people; they can happen to any generation of young people.
All young people slowly grow old, and once they’ve grown old, some of those melodramatic episodes from their youth become memories they can hardly bear to look back on, yet also turn into stories their juniors relish talking about.
After hearing what Luo Liansheng had said, Luo Ziling felt that his probing into the grudges of the previous generation and the events of those years could finally be drawn to a close.
Those shocking stories between the older generation, while he was very interested in them, he felt that knowing them would change the way he saw those people. It might even negatively affect his judgment. After all, so many years have passed since those events, and digging them up again would distort them; using past events to judge present ones very likely leads to mistakes.
To keep digging into these matters would also be a kind of disrespect toward them.
Unless someone brought it up to him on their own, Luo Ziling would no longer go out of his way to investigate these things.
"Grandpa, what you said has helped me understand a lot," Luo Ziling said with deep emotion. "And thank you for guiding me. As for this investigation, I’ll have them shift focus toward the Fang Family and Fang Xiang. Maybe we’ll find some new leads there."
"Just be careful in everything you do!" Luo Liansheng didn’t try to stop him; he merely reminded Luo Ziling to be cautious.
Luo Ziling agreed.
After talking about all this, Luo Liansheng seemed to have some emotional fluctuations. While eating their late?night snack, he very rarely had a bit of alcohol.
Afraid of stirring up his grandfather’s painful memories, Luo Ziling didn’t say anything more about these matters.
When they finished their late?night snack, Luo Ziling received a message from Wang Guoguo.
Wang Guoguo asked Luo Ziling if he was free to come out for some late?night food; she’d treat.
"I just had a late?night snack with my grandpa," Luo Ziling replied. Even though he knew Wang Guoguo had something to talk to him about, he still wasn’t all that interested in seeing her.
"Then come out and have a little more with me, okay?" Wang Guoguo added several pitiful emojis after the message, then sent another line: "I haven’t eaten anything at all tonight; my stomach’s killing me. I’ll treat you to a late?night snack—give me some face, will you? Turning down a girl’s invitation will really hurt her feelings."
Then another message came: "I’ve got something I want to talk to you about. Do me this favor, okay?"
Luo Ziling hesitated for a moment, but in the end he didn’t turn her down again. "All right, pick a place and send it to me. I’ll be there in a bit."
When Luo Ziling changed his mind and accepted her invitation, Wang Guoguo immediately became cheerful. "Okay, I’ll send you the address in a minute."