Chapter 202: A Slave to His Daughter? Henpecked
After the secretary left, only Tang Baichuan and Tang Qinru remained in the office.
Tang Baichuan walked over with a cup of coffee.
Placing it in front of Tang Qinru, he murmured, "Qinru, no matter what, I’m still your dad. Can’t you at least let me save some face in front of outsiders?"
"If word of this gets out, what will happen to my authority at the school? How could I expect anyone under me to respect me?"
Tang Qinru shot him a scornful look. "Old Tang, you want to talk about face with me now? Why didn’t you think about face when you were divorcing my mom?"
"I..."
Tang Baichuan was so thoroughly rebuffed he couldn’t get a full sentence out.
It was his own fault, after all. He had been seduced by a little vixen back in the day.
And before anything could even happen, Tang Qinru’s mother found out.
No matter how much he tried to explain, it was no use. They still ended up getting a divorce.
Ever since then, his relationship with Tang Qinru had grown more and more distant.
Unless she needed something, it was difficult for them to even see each other.
"Let’s not talk about the past. I was truly wronged, I swear..." Tang Baichuan tried to explain again.
But Tang Qinru had no interest in hearing it.
"Go tell my mom. What’s the use of explaining it to me?"
"Old Tang, I came to see you today to let you know that Lin Yi is at the university!"
"Who? Lin Yi? He’s here to register?"
Tang Baichuan was surprised.
"Yes, I just brought him over. Old Tang, don’t say I didn’t warn you. I’m not in favor of Lin Yi coming to your Xingwu, and neither is my grandfather. He doesn’t support it either!"
"But we respect Lin Yi’s choice. Since he’s here now, his safety is in your hands.
If I ever find out that Lin Yi has been wronged in the slightest at Xingwu University!"
"You won’t have to wait for my grandfather to come looking for you. I’ll personally come to settle the score. Got it?"
Tang Qinru said in a harsh tone.
Hearing this, Tang Baichuan nodded with a helpless smile.
"No matter what, he’s my nephew, isn’t he? You think I’d let him be mistreated right under my nose? Go tell your grandfather and your mom that Lin Yi is with me. I promise I’ll make sure he’s well-fed and happy!"
Tang Baichuan declared, patting his chest.
Tang Qinru simply nodded and stood up from the sofa.
"Fine. You’d better remember what you said. If he’s wronged in any way, don’t blame me for disowning you as my father!"
After saying her piece, Tang Qinru headed straight for the office door.
Just as she was about to open the door, she stopped.
She glanced back over her shoulder. "Old Tang, do you actually want to save your marriage with my mom or not?"
"Yes, of course I do! Not a day goes by that I don’t think about it..." Tang Baichuan nodded repeatedly, his eyes filled with sincere emotion.
How could Tang Qinru not know her own father’s personality?
In truth, she knew Old Tang had been set up, that the vixen had approached him with ulterior motives.
She had even deliberately taken some photos.
It was just that Tang Qinru’s mother had absolutely refused to listen to any explanation.
That was why things had come to this. Several years had passed since then.
Tang Qinru’s mother kept herself incredibly busy all day.
So busy that it was extremely difficult for even Tang Qinru to see her.
She understood that her mom was using work to numb herself.
In reality, the two of them still had feelings for each other.
Neither of them had wanted things to end up like this.
"If you really want to win her back, then put in some effort. Take the time to sweet-talk her and show her you care. That’s better than anything. Unless, of course, you have another woman in your life. In that case, just forget I said anything."
"How could that be? Your dad isn’t that kind of... person!"
SLAM—
Before Old Tang could get the last word out.
The office door slammed shut.
Tang Baichuan stood stunned for a moment, then a smile slowly spread across his face.
Even though his daughter was still so cold to him.
The fact that she said those things today meant she was still on his side.
His daughter was right. He needed to take more initiative, show her more care. Maybe then he could salvage his failed marriage.
With that, he picked up the phone and dialed a number.
After a few rings, the call connected.
"Hello?"
A crisp, professional female voice came from the other end.
It just sounded a little cold.
Tang Baichuan quickly gathered his thoughts and said, "Hello? Xiaoying, it’s... it’s me..."
"I know it’s you. What do you want? If it’s nothing, I’m hanging up!"
Yi Xiaoying’s tone on the other end was hostile.
Tang Baichuan’s expression changed, and he quickly said, "Wait, wait, wait! I have something to tell you... Your nephew, Lin Yi, he’s here at our university to register!"
"Who? Lin Yi? He went to your Xingwu University?"
Yi Xiaoying’s voice was tinged with surprise.
It seemed she didn’t know about Lin Yi’s situation.
Tang Baichuan quickly replied, "That’s right, you didn’t know? Qinru just left my office!"
"Qinru didn’t tell me about this! I didn’t even know Lin Yi was in the New District!"
"It seems you two are cut from the same cloth. Qinru really takes after you!"
"Couldn’t you have taught her anything good? You just let her learn to hide things from me? And that Xingwu University of yours, is it such a great place?"
"Letting Xiaoyi run off to your school? If anything happens to him, how are you going to explain it to my dad?"
For a moment, Yi Xiaoying just kept berating him over the phone.
Tang Baichuan looked aggrieved. "It has nothing to do with me! Lin Yi filled out the application himself; he wanted to come to our Xingwu University..."
"He fills out an application, and you just approve it? Couldn’t you have just not sent him an acceptance letter?"
"Tang Baichuan, I bet you did this on purpose..."
Facing his ex-wife’s tirade.
Tang Baichuan was suffering in silence, able only to listen quietly.
After a few minutes, Yi Xiaoying seemed to have tired herself out from the scolding.
"What’s done is done, and there’s no point talking about it now. Tang Baichuan, since Xiaoyi has gone to your Xingwu, you’d better take good care of him. If even one thing goes wrong, don’t think I’ll let you off the hook!"
"He’s Xiaoqing’s son, and our old man values him greatly. You’d better know what you need to do!"
Hearing this, Tang Baichuan nodded repeatedly.
At that moment, he was like a pouting child who had just been scolded.
First, he’d gotten an earful from his daughter, and now his ex-wife was laying into him.
’Win her over? Show I care?’
’It’s just too damn hard.’
Especially Yi Xiaoying’s mouth—it was like a machine gun.
She didn’t give him any chance to speak. Clearly, even after so many years, she was still angry with Tang Baichuan.
An anger that had never subsided.
But the more she acted like this, the more it proved she still had feelings for Tang Baichuan; she just wasn’t willing to face them.
"The weather’s getting colder. You need to take care of yourself. Don’t always work yourself to the bone. Rest when you need to. Also..."
"Haven’t you said enough? We’re already divorced. What I do is none of your business.
Just take good care of my nephew. If there’s nothing else, I’m hanging up!"
Before Tang Baichuan could say another word.
The dial tone—BEEP, BEEP, BEEP—sounded from the phone.
After a long moment, Tang Baichuan sighed and shook his head.
’Winning over my ex-wife isn’t going to be that simple.’
’She holds such a grudge against me; she hasn’t forgiven me after all these years.’
"Sigh... It looks like I’ll never shake off my reputation as a doting dad and a henpecked husband!"
Then, he made another call.
"Hello? Director Qiao, come to my office."
...
「At the Freshman Registration Office.」
Qin Zhaoxue led Lin Yi, Wei Nan, and the others to the office.
They registered one by one.
Once their information was filed, they were officially students of Xingwu University.
"Lin Yi? The Martial Arts Examination Champion Scholar from the Old District?"
A teacher looked up from the documents Lin Yi submitted, his eyes wide with surprise.
Lin Yi smiled and nodded. "That’s me!"
"Welcome to Xingwu University. Take good care of this wristband; it’ll be useful.
There’s a welcome package inside with some daily necessities!"
Lin Yi thanked him and took the wristband.
He looked down, examining the wristband.
It looked like a digital watch and could be worn on the wrist.
The craftsmanship was exquisite, and it could also tell time.
Beyond that, this electronic wristband was also a Storage Magical Artifact.
Its storage capacity was just quite small.
It could only hold a few things like luggage or packages; anything more wouldn’t fit.
Even so, Lin Yi was amazed by Xingwu University’s sheer wealth.
A watch-like Storage Magical Artifact like this...
on the black market, it would cost at least 30,000 to 50,000.
Maybe even more.
When Lin Yi came out of the registration office, he saw Wei Nan and Qin Zhaoxue talking about something.
He walked over and said, "Sister Xue!"
"All registered? Congratulations on enrolling! Come on, I’ll take you to the verification office first to get certified."
"Then I’ll take you to the Student Life Department to get your dorm assignments!"
With Qin Zhaoxue leading the way, Lin Yi and his friends saved a lot of time.
No wonder Chu Zhengxiong had made a special call to her yesterday to give her a few instructions.
Xingwu University was simply massive.
Without a guide, getting lost was practically guaranteed.
And during his time on campus, Lin Yi noticed the upperclassmen.
Every single one of them was rushing about, as if they were constantly short on time.
They had none of the relaxed, carefree attitude you’d expect from university students.
When Lin Yi voiced his curiosity.
Qin Zhaoxue laughed. "Relaxed and carefree? That’s something you only find at normal universities!"
"For students at a Martial Arts University, there’s no such thing as taking it easy!"
"From the moment they enroll, they’re constantly accepting missions, completing missions, cultivating, and growing..."
"Let me put it this way: life at a Martial Arts University is incredibly hectic!"
"Every time you complete a mission, you get a corresponding reward, like cash, cultivation resources, and most importantly, academic credits!"
"To them, money isn’t the most important thing. The credits are their real goal!"
"Every semester, you have to earn a certain number of credits to pass. Plus, credits can be used to exchange for martial skills, Cultivation Techniques, compound potions, and more!"
"In short, credits are basically the universal currency here at the university!"
"Furthermore, accepting missions, completing missions, and tracking your credits are all tied to that wristband. Now you understand why the registration teacher told you to take good care of it, right?"
"If you lose it, getting a replacement will be a huge hassle!"
After Qin Zhaoxue’s explanation.
Lin Yi, Wei Nan, and Zhou Qi finally understood the importance of the wristband.
They also gained a completely new understanding of what a Martial Arts University was.
No wonder all the upperclassmen were in such a hurry.
To them, time equaled credits.
And credits equaled everything.