Chapter 196: An Infuriated Ling Xiao!
Translator: ryuxenji Editor: H2dH2mr
Ling Xiao's eyes glimmered. Both Ling Qin's demeanour, as well as the manner of the other young man behind him, proved that the barely 16 years old Ling Lan had truly taken charge of the Ling family. He was truly the family head, not just in name. This pleased and surprised Ling Xiao greatly. Some smugness rose faintly in his heart — as expected of a son of his.
Of course, even as Ling Xiao was heartened by this, he could not help the anxiety in his heart. After all, he still had not received the answer he wanted. Thus, he turned his head to look towards Ling Lan, hope in his eyes, wishing for Ling Lan to give him a satisfactory answer.
However, as if not seeing Ling Xiao's beseeching gaze, Ling Lan merely took one step forwards and waved at the sofa, saying politely, "General Ling, please have a seat."
A tendril of rage rose in Ling Xiao's heart, and his presence flared involuntarily. This brat was really giving him no face! Did he not know how anxious he was to find out about his wife?!
Facing Ling Xiao's pressing presence, Ling Lan continued to maintain her icy expression, unmoved. It should be known that after facing Instructor Number One's tremendous force of presence over a long period of time, Ling Lan had already developed some immunity against this sort of pressure. Of course, this was also due to the fact that Ling Xiao's presence still retained some gentleness, not pressing down much harder than Instructor Number One's.
Seeing the unmoved Ling Lan, Ling Xiao could only sullenly take a seat on the living room sofa. Although he was secretly a little annoyed that Ling Lan did not recognise him, he did not dare to fly off the handle. After all, his 17 years of absence gave him no confidence to yell at Ling Lan that he was his father, so he could only quietly tolerate Ling Lan's cold treatment of him.
Ling Lan called the servants to serve up tea. Ling Xiao took a sip of his tea — the familiar taste sent a jolt through Ling Xiao's heart, and he could not help but open his mouth again to say, "Ling Lan, come, let your mother out. There are some things we need to have a good discussion about."
Ling Lan said placidly, "General Ling, my father has been dead for 17 years. As his widow, my mother has always lived a simple and secluded life. It is probably inappropriate for her to meet a strange man. If you have any matters to discuss, you can just tell me. I will pass on a message to my mother."
Ling Lan had already made up her mind. Before she figured out what had happened, she would not let Lan Luofeng out to see Ling Xiao. If she truly found Ling Xiao to be an irresponsible man, or a present-era Chen Shimei 1 , she would definitely chase the other out straightaway to protect her mother. Even if she was no match for Ling Xiao in terms of both power and strength, with Little Four's help, she should still be able to use the influence of the virtual world to bring disgrace and ruin down upon Ling Xiao.
In the mindspace, Little Four was raising his fists high in response to Ling Lan's thoughts, his entire appearance screaming the fact that he would attack and withdraw as his boss commands. But in a place unseen by Ling Lan, he was slumped on the floor, crying, 'Boo hoo hoo, I don't want Dad to be a Chen Shimei ...'
Ling Lan's extremely cold response made Ling Xiao choke on a breath. He suddenly found that this son of his was so mature and cool-headed that it was somewhat annoying ... shouldn't he be overjoyed by his return and be urging Lan Luofeng to come out so their family could reunite? This kind of courteous speech — he was totally treating him as a stranger! No, a stranger may have received better treatment ... the coldness in that brat's eyes clearly showed that he was seeing him as a boss-level enemy.
Ling Xiao could clearly tell that Ling Lan must have recognised him by now. Back when they first saw each other, he had seen the emotional upheaval in Ling Lan's eyes. However, Ling Lan had swifted pushed down those emotions, and after regaining his calm he had begun to react defensively every step of the way, showing no sign that he would like to acknowledge Ling Xiao as his father. This knowledge made Ling Xiao so frustrated that he could almost puke blood.
"Ling Lan, I am your father Ling Xiao!" In the end, Ling Xiao could not hold back, revealing his identity in curt, bitten off words. He had only wanted to come home and be reunited with his family — to hug his wife by a warm hearth, to bounce his son on his knee ... was that too much to ask?
At these words, a trace of contempt appeared on Ling Lan's lips. "Oh? Then, 17 years ago, what was that notification we received from the military informing the Ling family about Ling Xiao's demise?"
Ling Xiao kneaded his forehead, smiling bitterly as he said, "Back then, I was blasted by that magnetic energy turbulence in the death tunnel to an unknown location. Honestly, I was lucky. Due to the intense collisions of energy, a black hole was created, allowing me to escape death. However, through the black hole was an unknown world 2 . I couldn't find my bearings anywhere on a Federation star chart. To find my way home, I spent a whole 17 years. Only 10 days ago, when the black hole I had gone through opened again due to the energy turbulence caused by a battle between the Federation and the Twilight Empire, did I manage to find my way back here."
Ling Xiao briefly explained why he had 'died' for 17 years. Back then, everyone had indeed thought that he was dead. Meanwhile, he had been drifting in a foreign land all this time. Back then, he too did not have the confidence that he would live to return to the Federation.
Hearing this, Ling Lan's hanging hands clenched into fists, her heart rate spiking. Did this mean that Ling Xiao had had no intentions of leaving her mum and herself behind from the start?
"Not long after, the military will publicly announce this matter, and you all will know everything. As for my promotion to general, that's because I was already eligible for promotion to Lieutenant General 17 years ago. But at that time, the Federation wanted to push their advantage to eradicate the Twilight Empire, and so intentionally concealed my rank, letting me lead the 7th Division to attack Twilight before the other nations could react ..." Ling Xiao explained the truth of the matter back then, revealing why he had appeared at the frontlines despite being a god-class operator.
"However, at the time, the marshal had suddenly fallen deeply ill, causing the main authority of military headquarters to fall to those below him. Who knows whether it was because of the resulting power struggle, but the plan to attack Twilight was leaked. Or perhaps there were already spies in the highest ranks of the military ... In any case, the Twilight Empire found out that the eradication plan would be carried out by me, and so created a series of plots and schemes targeting me ..."
"Although the marshal took back military control post-haste after he recovered, it was too late. I had already been led skilfully to the spot they had crafted ..." Regret was clear on Ling Xiao's face. This sequence of unfortunate events had thus caused him to be separated from his wife and son for 17 years.
Ling Qin's face was filled with true emotion. He looked towards Ling Lan, waiting for her to soften.
"A very interesting story ..." Ling Lan sipped her tea and then continued calmly, "I am very interested in your 17 years of life in that unknown world. What kind of world was it?" Who knew if Ling Xiao hadn't been able to bear the loneliness and had found some pleasure companion or whatnot to be by his side ... it was better to figure all of this out before deciding whether or not to let her mother Lan Luofeng come out.
At Ling Lan's words, Ling Xiao paused for a moment, startled at this avenue of questioning. He smiled wryly and said, "That was a primitive world. It did not have the technological advancements of our Federation. You could even say that there were no starships, no aircrafts, and no mecha. When I first landed there, those people thought I was a god ..."
"A god, is it?" Ling Lan abruptly lifted her head up to look straight at Ling Xiao, her gaze cold and piercing. "I would like to ask you — in these 17 years, did you find a new woman there?"
Ling Xiao flew into a rage at these words, barking, "How could that be?! I already have your mother."
"You've said before, back then you too did not know whether you would be able to come back. Did you never consider building a new family there or something?" asked Ling Lan with a quirk of her brow. It was clear to see that Ling Lan did not believe Ling Xiao's denial.
"Other than your mother, I do not want any other woman." Ling Xiao abruptly stood up, his gentle air completely gone. In his rage, Ling Xiao could not restrain himself from releasing the dominant air hidden within his bones, "I, Ling Xiao, am definitely not that type of unfaithful, two-timing person."
Ling Lan's suspicious questions had undoubtedly caused Ling Xiao to feel deeply affronted. In these past 17 years, there had indeed been women who had flirted and confessed to him, but his heart had always been true to Lan Luofeng and that child in her belly. Thus, he had resolutely turned away all temptation, putting all his mind and effort on getting back. In these 17 years, he had been hard at work in every waking moment, even making many concessions in his quest to return.
Although Ling Xiao was extremely angry, he still remembered that this was the Ling family. He did not unleash all of his force of presence, only focusing it on Ling Lan. He felt that this obnoxious brat really needed a good lesson, actually daring to question his integrity and feelings. It was outrageous!
Ling Lan gave a muffled grunt, the vital energies in her chest roiling, almost forcing out a mouthful of blood. She knew that this was the pressure from Ling Xiao's focused rage, an outcome she had prompted, but she did not regret it at all. Knowing for sure that Ling Xiao had not betrayed Lan Luofeng, she could then hand over Lan Luofeng to Ling Xiao without worry.
"Ling Xiao, how impressive of you! Bullying us, mother and child, the moment you return?" A crisp voice rang out from above, tone filled with subtle anger. A bolt of joy ran through Ling Xiao's heart at this familiar voice; his rampaging spiritual pressure was instantly retracted.
"Luofeng!" Ling Xiao walked forwards emotionally, reaching out to try and wrap his arms around Lan Luofeng who was coming down the stairs.
Lan Luofeng fiercely pushed aside Ling Xiao's arms, completely ignoring him to run to Ling Lan's side. Face filled with worry and distress, she asked, "Ling Lan, how are you? Are you hurt?"
Ling Lan circulated her Qi through her body once along the pathways of the Qi exercises, and her initially heavy and tight chest felt much better. Ling Xiao had only wanted to give Ling Lan a small lesson and had not been trying to hurt her — Ling Xiao still remembered that Ling Lan's body was currently injured, so he dared not use too much force.
Seeing Lan Luofeng's teary and frantic manner, Ling Lan quickly reassured her, saying, "Mummy, I'm fine!"
Seeing that her precious daughter was fine, Lan Luofeng could then turn to addressing the culprit who had almost hurt her daughter. She instantly morphed into a maternal beast protecting her offspring, charging over fiercely to Ling Xiao's front, and pressed a forceful finger onto Ling Xiao's chest, scolding, "Ling Xiao, you bastard, you dare to bully my child? Do you really think I, Lan Luofeng, am so easy to bully?" That said, she rolled up her sleeves, and threw her fists at Ling Xiao in rage, as if beating at a drum.
In response, Ling Xiao could only run for his life, dodging as he apologised and pleaded for mercy. Right then, he did not look any bit like the god-class operator and general he was.
Ling Lan's face twitched uncontrollably. She lifted her head to look up at the great chandelier hanging above them, wondering if she could disappear from here now to show that she really did not know this couple before her ...
Inside Ling Lan's mindspace, Little Four was gaping in shock and bewilderment. That man fleeing so gracelessly, repeatedly begging for mercy all the way ... was he still that gentle and dashing, unbelievably handsome daddy of his? Also, was that ferocious female warrior chasing and beating him in a frenzy still that so-gentle-she-seemed-to-be-made-of-water mummy of his memory? He felt as if his whole world had been turned upside down.