Redemption from the Abyss: The School Beauty Insists on Pulling Me Out of the Mire

The sunset at Shichahai is the grandest curtain call of summer in Beijing.

The terrace restaurant is located on the top floor of an antique-style building. It offers a superb view, looking west to see the sunset slowly sinking into the shimmering waters of Houhai, turning the entire area of ​​water into a mesmerizing orange-red hue.

The waiter led the two to their reserved seats.

It was a secluded corner near the railing. The bouquet Xie Wang had pre-ordered was already laid out on the table—

White lisianthus, paired with gray-green eucalyptus leaves, is wrapped in silver-gray matte paper and tied with a dark blue French ribbon. It lacks the gaudiness of red roses, but exudes a cool and resilient sense of sophistication.

"For me?"

Su Qinghe sat down, his fingers gently tracing the pure white petals, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

"Um."

Xie Wang sat down opposite her, looking at her face flushed red by the sunset, his Adam's apple bobbing:

"The meaning of lisianthus is 'sincere and unchanging love'. I think it looks a lot like you. It looks cold, but its petals are actually quite soft, and it has a strong vitality."

Su Qinghe lowered his head to smell the fragrance of the flowers, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly:

"Xie, your romantic side is really taking off lately."

Dinner was served slowly; it was an exquisite French meal.

But Xie Wang was clearly distracted. The arrogant and confident boy who usually ate with gusto was today slowly and methodically cutting the steak on his plate with a knife and fork, barely taking a few bites.

His left hand was unconsciously rubbing his trouser pocket, and his eyes would occasionally drift towards Su Qinghe, only to quickly look away when they met.

tension.

This "X," who dared to hack the server in the national competition and dared to fight three people at once in an alley, was so nervous that his palms were sweating.

Su Qinghe saw through it but didn't say anything.

She ate quietly, occasionally glancing up at the distant scenery, patiently waiting for that moment to arrive.

Finally, it got completely dark.

The lights along the Shichahai shore lit up, blending with the starlight in the sky. The evening breeze dispelled the daytime heat, bringing a touch of coolness.

"Su Qinghe".

Xie Wang suddenly put down his knife and fork, picked up a napkin and wiped his mouth.

His voice was tense, but more solemn than ever.

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"What's wrong?" Su Qinghe put down his wine glass and looked at him.

Xie Wang took a deep breath and stood up.

He didn't walk to her side, but instead stared intently at her across the square table covered with a white tablecloth.

Actually, I have something I want to give you.

He pulled out the black velvet box from his pocket, which he had been clutching all night and which was now warm from his body heat.

turn on.

He gently pushed the box in front of Su Qinghe.

Under the restaurant's dim lighting, two plain platinum rings lay quietly inside, reflecting a cool yet captivating metallic luster.

That's not an ordinary ring, but a Möbius strip that has been twisted 180 degrees and then reconnected.

Su Qinghe was stunned.

She looked at the two rings, her pupils contracting slightly.

As a genius in both physics and mathematics, how could she not recognize this most classic structure in topology?

"This is..." She raised her head and looked at Xie Wang.

"Möbius strip".

Xie Wang braced his hands on the edge of the table, leaning slightly forward. In his dark eyes, only her image was reflected:

"In mathematics, it has only one side. No matter where you start from on the front, if you keep walking along the curved surface, you will eventually find yourself flipping over to the other side and returning to the starting point."

"There is no end, no positive or negative, and no boundary."

Xie Wang paused, his voice becoming low and hoarse, carrying a hint of desperate emotion:

"Su Qinghe, I used to think my life was a jumble of code, a program that could crash at any moment. Until I met you."

"You're like an inescapable 'while(true)' loop."

"I want to tell you that no matter how far apart we are—you are a pampered princess in the clouds, and I am a weed in the mud; and no matter how winding or difficult the road in between may be..."

Xie Wang reached out and gently tapped the ring with his fingertip:

"As long as we're in this circle, we'll eventually meet."

"I want to trap you in this vicious cycle, and never let you find a way out for the rest of your life."

"Qinghe, I like you. Will you be my girlfriend?"

The wind stopped.

The surrounding noise seemed to disappear at that moment.

Su Qinghe looked at the sincere young man in front of him.

Endless loop.

Love with no outlet.

Su Qinghe felt his eyes getting hot.

She took a deep breath, pushed up her glasses, trying to hide her momentary lapse in composure, but the tremor in her voice betrayed her:

"Thank you for your vain."

"There's a flaw in your logic."

Xie Wang was stunned, his heart leaping into his throat: "What?"

Su Qinghe took out the slightly smaller women's ring from the box.

She stood up and extended her left hand to Xie Wang across the table.

Under the dazzling night sky of the capital, she looked at him and revealed the gentlest and most touching smile Xie Wang had ever seen in his life:

"In programming, an infinite loop without a termination condition will cause the system to crash."

"But what if it's a vicious cycle between two people..."

She shook her slender fingers, her tone firm:

"That's called—eternal operation."

"I've approved this bug."

Xie Wang's pupils trembled violently.

Overwhelmed by immense joy, he was instantly engulfed.

He couldn't resist and strode around the table to stand in front of her.

His hands trembled as he took the ring.

Somewhat clumsily, yet with utmost solemnity, she pushed the cold, hard metal ring into the base of her left middle finger.

The size is just right.

Su Qinghe picked up the larger men's ring and took Xie Wang's left hand.

The boy's hands were well-defined, long and strong, with calluses from years of typing on a keyboard.

She slowly slipped the ring onto the base of his finger.

The two Möbius strips completed their mission at this moment.

This completely locked two people from parallel worlds together.

Xie Wang looked at their tightly clasped hands and at the rings that shimmered faintly in the moonlight.

"Su Qinghe".

Actually, I've never dared to tell you this.

"Before I met you, I thought my life was a complete mess. I lived in a moldy attic, had a gambling father, and every day I woke up to endless debts. I thought I was destined to live in the gutter, never to see the light of day."

He looked up, his eyes slightly red, his gaze filled with the relief of surviving a disaster:

"But that day in the pouring rain, everyone thought I was a joke, except you."

"Only you didn't mind the mud on my hands, or the hostility I exuded. You knelt in the mud to wipe my face, telling me, 'As long as your bones aren't rotten, you're clean.'"

Xie Wang gripped her fingers tightly with his other hand, the force so great it felt like he was trying to knead them into her bones:

"You're the one who dragged me out of that muddy mess."

"Thank you for wanting me."

Su Qinghe's heart felt as if it had been struck hard by something, a bittersweet feeling mixed with tenderness.

She reached out her free hand, cupped the boy's face in her hands, and gently stroked his sharp brow bone with her fingertips, her eyes filled with a tenderness she had never shown before.

"Xie Wang, listen to me."

"In my eyes, you've never been anything like trash."

"You are a star covered by dust."

She looked into his eyes, speaking each word with utmost seriousness:

"Standing at a high place for a long time is actually very cold. You made me realize that the feeling of being protected by someone risking their life for you is so warm."

"Now, the dust is wiped away." Su Qinghe smiled, tears glistening in her eyes. "From now on, you will shine brighter than anyone else."

Xie Wang looked at her, and the last trace of gloom in his eyes caused by his background was finally completely dispelled by this beam of light.

He could no longer restrain himself, and stretched out his arms to hug her tightly and forcefully.

This was an embrace devoid of any lust, yet more reassuring than any kiss.

He buried his face in the crook of her neck, inhaling her faint fragrance:

"Okay, then from now on, my star will only revolve around you."

Su Qinghe closed her eyes, hugged the boy's waist, and gently rested her chin on his shoulder.

On this sweltering summer night, two young and passionate hearts pressed tightly together, resonating in unison.

In the distance, the melodious sounds of folk songs drifted from the Houhai bar street.

"Meeting in this world is the most romantic thing we've ever done."

The two silver rings shone brightly in the moonlight.

You are the starting point, and you are the ending point.

Life goes on and on, until death do us part.