Qin Siyang let out a sigh.
He didn't feel any joy at all.
The whole situation with Sally had left him unsettled.
He had thought he would never see Sally again.
At the very least, not often.
That was how it should have been. But things don't always go as planned.
Buttscarred Zhao somehow agreed to Sally's transfer application without even knowing the full situation.
Seeing Qin Siyang so troubled, and not putting on an act, Li Tianming realized this kid wasn't some fickle playboy. He stopped laughing.
Then, in the tone of an elder, he tried to comfort him, "Little Qin, as the saying goes, 'Those who accomplish great things don't get bogged down by trivial details,' and 'Heroes are often brought low by romance.' As long as the matter of the thesis hearing can be settled, you don't need to worry about all these minor issues. Could Sally really be more troublesome than Xiao Zhigang?"
"Easy for you to say. Then why are you so overwhelmed because of Ye Hongqing and Li Pengfei's troubles?"
Li Tianming replied calmly, "Because I'm neither someone who accomplishes great things, nor a hero. Little Qin, you're different from me. You're different from everyone. You have your own path."
'Different from everyone?'
That wasn't wrong. Ever since his rebirth, he really had been walking a path with no reference, one no one else had taken.
Qin Siyang wanted to pull himself together, to push forward in one go and take down Chu Zhongxiong as well.
But when he thought about Sally transferring schools, he sighed again.
'How am I supposed to explain this to Wen Shu…'
Just thinking about the bowl of porridge Wen Shu had personally made for him before he left made him sigh even more.
Qin Siyang considered himself someone who had struggled and fought for over half a year, someone worthy of being called a hero doing great things. Yet he still cared about these small matters of the heart.
After a long while, he muttered to himself, "Maybe what people say isn't always right."
But life had to move forward, and the road still lay ahead.
After digesting these complicated emotions a bit, Qin Siyang tucked them away in his heart.
He rubbed his face, took a deep breath, and focused again.
After quickly running through several possible directions for his conversation with Chu Zhongxiong, Qin Siyang dialed his number.
"Dean Chu, sorry to disturb you. I'm calling to report the results of my efforts."
Chu Zhongxiong's tone clearly carried a hint of surprise, ["So fast? You've already succeeded?"]
"Yes. It went more smoothly than I expected."
["Alright, go ahead. I'm listening."]
"To pass the thesis hearing, I need to secure the support of your seven-member executive council for thesis review."
["That's correct."]
"Zhu Haifeng is outside the safe zone, whereabouts unknown, and basically never attends meetings. This time is no exception. Zhong Dingming doesn't want to get involved in messy affairs, so he won't attend the hearing either. So, I only need to secure the majority among the remaining five executive council members."
["Correct."]
"Right now, Gu Weihong, president of the Humanity Research Institute, and Jerry Warren, vice president of the Warren Chamber of Commerce, both support me. With one more vote, I can secure a majority among the executive council. This is the result of my efforts, Dean Chu. I wonder if you're satisfied?"
There was a brief silence on the other end before Chu Zhongxiong asked, ["In less than an hour, you obtained the support of President Gu and Chairman Jerry?"]
Qin Siyang spoke with deliberate meaning, "Dean Chu, it's not that I obtained their support. It's that I confirmed their support."
["Confirmed… I see."]
Chu Zhongxiong fell silent again for a few seconds before speaking, ["Student Qin, this is truly remarkable. Among the younger generation in the safe zone, if anyone carries the aura of a future ruler, you would be first."]
"You flatter me, Dean Chu. Since you've acknowledged my results, can we discuss your support for me at the hearing?"
["If I support you, what do I get?"]
"That depends on what you need, Dean Chu."
Chu Zhongxiong said, ["Time is tight, so I won't waste words with you. I don't know what the Gu family and the Warren Chamber of Commerce asked for, but I know the price you paid for their support must not be small."]
["I'm not like them. I'm alone, with no backing, no allies. The conditions I ask for will all be applied to myself. Either improving my current situation or enhancing my strength. So, the quantity of what I want will be less than theirs, but the quality will be higher. Any problem with that?"]
Qin Siyang shook his head, "What you said makes sense, Dean Chu."
["Good that you understand. Then I'll be direct. Give me three grams of Crimson Crystal, five grams of Vine Core, sixty kilos of Corrosive Black Centipede remains, and one square foot of inner leaf fragments from Titan Foxtail Grass. Meet these conditions, and I'll support you at the thesis hearing."]
However, upon hearing Chu Zhongxiong's conditions, Qin Siyang's brows slightly furrowed, and he said nothing.
After waiting for quite a while without a response, Chu Zhongxiong spoke again, ["Student Qin, if you think my conditions are too high, or you don't want to agree, you should at least give me an answer."]
After thinking it through, Qin Siyang said, "I'm wondering if I can offer you other conditions instead."
["Other conditions? Student Qin, besides the materials you have on you, what else can you offer me?"]
Although Chu Zhongxiong's tone carried a trace of disdain, what he said was the truth, a truth widely acknowledged by most people.
Qin Siyang, carrying rare materials, was like a piece of cloth soaked in an oil vat. With just a bit of pressure, some oil would seep out. If you pressed hard enough, you might squeeze out three to five jin of oil.
As for Qin Siyang, just a piece of cloth. If not for the oil inside him, these top figures in the safe zone wouldn't even spare him a glance.
Only those familiar with him, like Li Tianming, Qian Wenzhao, Zhao Longfei, believed that this unremarkable piece of cloth was actually woven with threads of gold within.
Qin Siyang wasn't surprised by Chu Zhongxiong's attitude.
"Dean Chu, I'm wondering if offering to cooperate with you in dealing with Xiao Zhigang would be enough to earn your support."
["Deal with Xiao Zhigang?"], Chu Zhongxiong's voice grew even more perfunctory, ["Little Qin, Minister Xiao and I are both officials of the United Government. We both work for all humans in the safe zone. I don't understand what you mean by 'deal with.' But I suggest you say less of such things."]
Qin Siyang sensed the rejection in Chu Zhongxiong's words, yet he showed no intention of backing down, "Xiao Zhigang hired someone to kill me. I killed them instead. Between him and me, it's already a feud to the death."
"Dean Chu, not just in front of you, even in front of Minister of Justice Cui Canxun, I would say the same."
Chu Zhongxiong's interest was clearly piqued, ["Xiao Zhigang hired someone to kill you? Do you have evidence?"]
"The body of Yamamoto Taro, Snake Card [Heart 7], is in my possession."
Hearing Qin Siyang speak so clearly and without hesitation about specific details, Chu Zhongxiong knew this was most likely true.
He fell silent for a moment before speaking again.
["Student Qin, you nearly lost your life. Now that you know who's behind it, why don't you report it to the Ministry of Justice?"]
"Dean Chu, your own younger brother is already dead. Now that you know who's behind it, why don't you report it to the Ministry of Justice?"
[🎉 Shoutout to Eric and Cash for joining p@treon. Thank you for keeping me motivated.🤗]
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