Chapter 517

Qi Ming took a deep breath and dialed his father's number.

The call connected quickly, and a middle-aged man's voice came through: "Hello?"

Qi Ming nodded; it was Old Qi's voice.

As a typical middle-aged cadre within the system, Old Qi's thinking was conservative, believing in the life philosophy that "stability overrides everything."

So, naturally, he wasn't used to Qi Ming's "naive ideas," always criticizing him for being "unorthodox and lacking proper form."

Qi Ming, of course, didn't like him condescendingly denying his life plans and creeds.

So when Old Qi started with "If you don't follow my arrangements, you'll have plenty to regret in the future," Qi Ming would always retort, "What can a section-level official arrange? Live your own life clearly first."

However, although their relationship wasn't very harmonious, they were family who had been together for twenty years.

Hearing his voice after returning from the arduous mixed world, Qi Ming couldn't help but feel a sense of closeness.

Qi Ming: "Old Qi, it's me."

The other side was silent for a long time before asking in an uncertain tone: "Xiao Ming?"

Qi Ming: "Yeah, it's me. I have a legitimate reason for not contacting you for over half a month; listen to me..."

Just as he was about to explain, Old Qi's roar came from the other end of the phone:

"You bastard, you still know how to breathe!"

"I couldn't find you no matter how I looked; do you know I almost went to the police station to cancel your household registration, damn it!"

"You go missing without a word; are you trying to piss me to death!"

Qi Ming listened to the roar, which had a decibel level comparable to a jet plane, and thought Old Qi's health seemed fine, so he returned to his usual way of talking:

"Yo, about to be pissed to death already?"

"Your psychological endurance as a deputy bureau chief is too poor; are you worthy of the heavy burden entrusted to you by the Party and the people?"

Old Qi: "You, you, you, you're still trying to justify yourself!"

"Couldn't you have left a note saying you went to Africa to mine? Is your phone a brick? Are your fingers broken so you couldn't send a WeChat message?"

"I think you're just used to being lazy, not studying properly, and now that you know you can't pass the exams, you're acting like an ostrich burying its head in the sand!"

"You're over twenty years old, and you're still playing these three-year-old tricks; aren't you ashamed?!"

Qi Ming had "traveled" on a night when he was burning the midnight oil to prepare for final exams; now that he had traveled back, he had missed them.

Over half a month had passed, and the school had long since finished exams and started summer vacation.

From the perspective of an ordinary person, Qi Ming had skipped all exams, causing him to fail all courses this semester; among college students, he was the king of slackers.

Qi Ming felt heartbroken after hearing this; although he was confident he could pass the make-up exams, he had failed, so the scholarship and honors he had maintained for three years were gone...

The price paid for saving the world was truly heavy.

"Actually, I'm already twenty-two." After thinking for a while, Qi Ming replied: "Don't worry, I'll definitely pass the make-up exams; you don't need to worry blindly."

Old Qi's voice rose another few decibels: "You call this worrying blindly? Do you still have me as a father in your eyes?"

Qi Ming: "Still have a little bit, otherwise I wouldn't have come to care about your life or death the first chance I got."

Old Qi's tone was urgent: "Care about my life or death?! You, you, you..."

There was no movement on the other end of the phone for a long time. Qi Ming wondered if he had pissed his dad into a faint, so he quickly said: "Hello, hello, Old Qi, are you okay? Don't get pissed to death; I'm very busy right now and don't have time to arrange a grand funeral for you."

Old Qi was so angry he wanted to hang up: "You, how did I give birth to such an unfilial son! If you have the guts, never enter this house again!"

Qi Ming: "Not coming back for a lifetime is unnecessary, but I'll probably go 'missing' again in a few days."