My System Forces Me to Live off Women

Chapter 303 - 258: Love Separated by Mountains and Seas

"Are you okay?"

Li Peifeng quickly ran to the men’s locker room, retrieved his glasses, bought three bottles of mineral water, and swiftly returned to the indoor hot spring hall. He placed one bottle beside Zhao Qingge and asked with concern, "What did Auntie talk to you about?"

Zhao Qingge put down her phone, turned off the screen, and said nonchalantly, "It’s none of your business."

"How could it not be my business..."

"Get out."

Li Xin’s appearance interrupted their conversation. She was now draped in a bath towel, her expression still stern, "Did I permit you two to converse?"

"I was just... bringing you water." Li Peifeng offered the bottle of mineral water in his hand, but Li Xin didn’t take it, so he had to place it by the pool.

"Clueless and lacking in propriety!"

Li Xin criticized, "You come here to soak in the hot spring, what if you run into acquaintances? Have you considered what consequences that might lead to?!"

Then she turned to Li Peifeng and commanded indisputably, "Prepare to transfer to another school, and it’s best if you don’t see Qingge anymore from now on."

"What?"

This news was like a bolt from the blue to Li Peifeng, leaving him dumbfounded, "I... I change schools?"

He truly did not expect Zhao Qingge’s parents to go to such extremes, directly transferring him away from Capital University just to sever his relationship with Old Zhao.

It is possible to transfer schools during graduate studies, that would be called joint training, but the school name on the final diploma would still be your alma mater.

Otherwise, countless students wouldn’t need to study hard in high school, set their sights on prestigious universities, and could just slack off, attend an ordinary college, and still become distinguished scholars through shortcuts. That would be chaos.

Moreover, even in this case, the difficulty of transferring schools for joint training in graduate studies is substantial.

Transferring from School A to School B, even if the student themselves is outstanding, ordinary associate professor-level mentors at the two schools have no say in the matter. The first step is to get agreement from the presidents of both schools.

Once the two presidents agree, the primary mentor at School A is willing to let their student go, and the secondary mentor at School B is willing to accept them. Only then can the necessary procedures be processed, and this matter can be accomplished.

If the two presidents of Schools A and B do not have this intention, but a dean or a distinguished professor within a school requests joint training due to research or personal reasons, the president might also approve. However...

"It’s not necessary, it’s too troublesome, and I never planned to go to Yandu University." Li Peifeng complained bitterly.

Li Xin ignored him and simply said, "Hurry out and give him his glasses."

"Mom!" Zhao Qingge was also angry, "Why do you make him change schools? I... I’ll quit my job tomorrow, isn’t that enough?"

"You shut up." Li Xin looked at Li Peifeng again, frowning, "Why aren’t you leaving yet?"

"This..."

Li Peifeng’s mind was in a whirl. He glanced outside, where Zhao Haiqi was waving, and saw Li Xin still giving him a look to leave. He gritted his teeth and went out.

"Uncle, just now Auntie said that I should change schools, what’s going on?"

Zhao Haiqi didn’t respond immediately. He took the glasses, put them on slowly, then took a bottle of mineral water from Li Peifeng. After opening the cap and taking a sip, he casually pointed across, "Sit."

"I think it’s really unnecessary."

Li Peifeng sat down nervously and said quickly, "I’ve already applied for early graduation. In half a year, I won’t be a student anymore, and certainly not Qingge’s student. It’s truly unnecessary to go to such lengths..."

"Your Auntie used to advise you to pursue a doctorate under Qingge, but you didn’t agree. Was that also because of your relationship with Qingge?"

After putting on his glasses, Zhao Haiqi seemed much more relaxed. His eyes, focused through the lenses, carried an authoritative air, but what he said had nothing to do with Li Peifeng’s most pressing concern.

"Yes, but..."

Zhao Haiqi nodded slightly, "I heard from your Auntie that you’re writing online novels? Your performance seems pretty good? Some kind of platinum writer?"

Feeling the shift in Zhao Haiqi’s attitude, Li Peifeng, originally anxious, calmed down, "It’s okay."

"If by relying on this job alone, do you have the confidence to establish yourself in the Capital?"

Zhao Haiqi’s question was relatively tactful, and Li Peifeng understood. After thinking for a moment, he replied equally tactfully, "There shouldn’t be any problem because if we calculate based on my manuscript fee from last month, it would take about four months to earn enough for the minimum down payment on a hundred-square-meter apartment near Capital University."

Zhao Haiqi said nothing, his mind calculating this math problem he hadn’t figured out.

It’s known that the average market price for housing near Capital University is eighty thousand per square meter. One hundred square meters would be eight million, with a minimum down payment of twenty percent, that would be one point six million. Earning one point six million in four months?

"Currently, my savings are around three million."

Seeing Zhao Haiqi’s eyebrows raise slightly, Li Peifeng added, "At present, I’m also partnering with two classmates in a short video startup, and the returns are reasonable, over forty thousand in profit within a month."

Zhao Haiqi responded ambiguously with an "Hmm," "No wonder, no wonder you’re so bold, it’s all because of money."

It’s because of love!

Li Peifeng silently retorted in his mind, but his nervousness didn’t lessen, "Uncle, you know about the school transfer Auntie mentioned just now, right?"

Zhao Haiqi seemed to be organizing his thoughts and, after three or four seconds, slowly said, "I’ll give you two choices."

This was the important part!

Li Peifeng gathered his thoughts, "Please tell me!"

Zhao Haiqi said solemnly, "First, next week I’ll arrange for you to enter the Chinese Department of Yandu University through joint training. You’ll complete your master’s degree at Capital University in half a year, then continue your doctoral studies at Yandu University. Without me having to intervene, given your credentials and abilities, you can basically stay on to teach at Yandu, and with good performance, the professorship is not too far off. The future is bright. But the cost is, you will never have contact with my daughter again."

Without a second thought, Li Peifeng asked, "What’s the second option?"

Zhao Haiqi adjusted his glasses, staring at him as if trying to discern something, then spoke each word clearly, "Second, you continue staying at Capital University. To avoid speculation, you also don’t need to change advisors, and Qingge will still guide you. However, you must maintain your distance from her and have no private contact. Should we find out, I’ll give you a ticket to Ningyuan City, and you’ll return home that day."

Saying this, Zhao Haiqi’s expression softened slightly, "If you listen and go home, my daughter won’t be greatly impacted. You’ll still get your diploma when you return for the defense, but if you continue to act recklessly, causing Qingge to lose reputation within the school, I don’t want to say what the consequences would be. With your intelligence, you should be able to guess. Even if you flatter me, even if you praise me, for the sake of my daughter’s future and reputation, I’ll have to resort to underhanded methods."

"Since you claim I’m your teacher, I’ll also teach you those dark and brutal lessons of society that you can’t learn in school."

Confronted with this complete threat, Li Peifeng didn’t doubt Zhao Haiqi could carry it out, but he didn’t care; instead, he felt a glimmer of joy in his heart, "What if I graduate?"

"Even if you graduate, you cannot pursue a romantic relationship with my daughter, absolutely not."

Zhao Haiqi’s tone was firm, "Neither I, nor Duoduo’s mother, nor her grandfather would allow such a situation to occur!"

Li Peifeng felt like cold water was being poured over his head, struggling to speak, "These two options make no difference to me, and have you and Auntie ever asked Qingge for her opinion when making such a decision?"

Having said that, he glanced inside where Zhao Qingge and Li Xin were still talking, but their gestures were large, and their emotions seemed extremely agitated. It appeared more like arguing than conversing.

Perhaps Qingge at this moment was also facing a similar tough choice?

The two were only ten meters apart, which felt close because at his speed, he could reach her in three or four seconds, yet so far.

Erecting a mountain and laying an ocean in between.

The love is separated by mountains and seas, mountains and seas cannot be leveled, and my intentions are even harder to level.