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

The group walked in a grand procession from the school toward the "old street corner" outside the school.

Shen Hao pushed the cart ahead, his head covered in sweat, but the thought of someone treating him to a meal made his steps light.

"Brother Wang, which restaurant are we going to?" Shen Hao called out as he turned around.

"Let's go to Zhang's restaurant; Lu Wen is waiting there."

Xie Wang put one hand in his pocket and casually held Su Qinghe's hand with the other, following slowly behind.

As they were talking, as they passed a milk tea shop next to the school, the sharp-eyed Lin Lu suddenly stopped and pointed to the shade of a tree not far away, shouting:

"Hey! Aren't those Song Yiru and Lin Lan?"

Under a sycamore tree not far away, Song Yizhi, wearing a basketball jersey and carrying two cups of milk tea, was talking to the girl next to him. The girl, wearing a short skirt and with chestnut-brown wavy hair, was Lin Lan.

The two were recognized as a model couple at school, and they were sharing a straw to drink milk tea, looking very affectionate.

"Song Yibian! Sister Lin Lan!"

Lin Lu had a loud voice, and she waved from across the street: "Come on over! A big shot is treating us!"

Upon hearing the sound, Song looked up and saw the large group of people. He raised an eyebrow, especially when he saw Xie Wang and Su Qinghe being surrounded in the middle. He then pulled Lin Lan over.

"Hey, isn't this our double gold medalist?"

Song smiled and punched Xie Wang lightly, his gaze sweeping over their clasped hands as he whistled.

"I just saw the group chat explode with people saying you two started showing off your love as soon as you got back. Looks like it's true?"

Lin Lan smiled gracefully at Su Qinghe, her eyes sparkling with a hint of ambiguity: "Congratulations, Qinghe, on your double success in career and love. Is this gold medal heavy to carry?"

Su Qinghe made a rare joke: "Not bad, not as bad as Xie Wangchen."

Everyone was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.

Xie Wang squeezed her hand helplessly: "Teacher Su, please save me some face in front of outsiders."

"Let's go! Let's go together!" Xie Wang enthusiastically invited. "My friend reserved a table at Zhang's, it'll be more lively with more people!"

So, the original five-person team became a seven-person group, and the team grew even larger, making a lot of noise as they headed towards the hot pot restaurant.

……

"Zhang's Hot Pot".

Before even entering, I could smell a strong aroma of butter and hear a cacophony of voices.

As soon as I entered, I heard someone say, "Here you are!"

Lu Wen.

Today, this guy was wearing an extremely flashy floral shirt, with sunglasses perched on his nose and a fan waving around in his hand, looking every bit the spoiled rich kid.

"Why are you taking so long? I've already finished three plates of sunflower seeds."

Lu Wen took off his sunglasses and waved to the crowd below: "Hurry up and come up! I've already ordered the dishes, all the hearty ones!"

The group went upstairs and pushed open the door to the private room.

Sure enough, it was Lu Wen's style—the huge round table was already piled high with plates. Premium tripe, marbled beef, goose intestines, beef aorta... piled up like a small mountain, with two bottles of red wine that looked very expensive next to them.

"Lu Wen, are you feeding a pig?" Lin Lu couldn't help but complain as she looked at the table full of food.

"Tch, what do you know?"

Lu Wen slammed his fan on the table, stood up, and gestured with his chin toward Xie Wang:

"I told my dad that my brother had won the national championship and that it would be disloyal of me not to go and welcome him back. As soon as my dad heard it was you, he kicked me out and told me to max out this credit card before I went back."

As he spoke, he slammed a black card on the table, exuding an air of extravagance:

"Nobody's going to take this meal from me today! It's on me!"

"OK."

Xie Wang didn't stand on ceremony with him, pulled out a chair for Su Qinghe to sit down first, and then sat down next to Lu Wen with an air of nonchalance:

"Since Young Master Lu is so sincere, then I'll accept without hesitation. I'll lend you the gold medal to touch a couple of times to settle the debt later."

"Really?!" Lu Wen's eyes lit up instantly. "That's great! I'm going to post it on my WeChat Moments!"

Everyone sat down amidst laughter.

Eight people sat around a large round table, and the atmosphere instantly became lively.

The red oil broth was bubbling away, and the spicy aroma filled the air.

"Come on, let's have one first!"

Lu Wen, as the leader of the atmosphere-building team, raised a cup filled with cola:

"The first toast is to our two pillars of Jiangcheng! Rejecting Tsinghua and Peking University—that's so cool! And to that summer that's still going strong!"

"To Summer!"

Everyone raised their glasses, which clinked together in the air with a crisp sound.

Su Qinghe took a sip of iced cola, and the carbon dioxide hit his nose, causing him to frown involuntarily.

The next second, a pair of chopsticks picked up a piece of freshly cooked tripe and placed it into her dipping sauce.

"Seven up, eight down, just the right amount of heat."

Xie Wang put down his chopsticks, turned his head and whispered to her, "Eat something warm first, don't drink cold things on an empty stomach."

This scene was spotted by the sharp-eyed Lu Wen.

"Tsk tsk tsk."

Lu Wen exaggeratedly clutched his chest, looking at Lin Lu beside him: "Little Lu, is this appropriate? Where did that aloof and arrogant guy who used to ignore everyone go? This level of thoughtfulness is almost as good as mine, isn't it?"

Lin Lu laughed and teased, "This is true love, didn't you see the point?"

"The key point?"

Lu Wen was taken aback: "What's the main point? Not enough meat?"

Lin Lan gestured with her lips, indicating that he should look at their hands.

Lu Wen hadn't noticed on the way, but Xie Wang was peeling shrimp for Su Qinghe, his left hand just sticking out of the table.

The Möbius strip ring gleamed with a subtle yet luxurious light under the warm yellow lights of the hot pot restaurant.

"Holy crap!"

Lu Wen jumped up, nearly knocking over the dipping sauce bowl: "A ring?! You two... you're engaged already?!"

He pointed at Xie Wang with a betrayed expression, then at Shen Hao and Song Yizhi: "You all knew? So you only kept it from me?"

While stuffing meat into his mouth, Shen Hao mumbled, "We just found out too."

"I don't care!" Lu Wen cried out in anguish, "Wang-ge, we agreed to be single together, but you secretly..."

Xie Wang slowly and methodically placed the peeled shrimp meat into Su Qinghe's bowl, without even lifting his eyelids:

"Who said that was okay with you? It's just that nobody wants you."

The whole table burst into laughter.

Lu Wen felt like he'd been hit with a thousand points of damage, and turned to Lin Lu for comfort: "Little Lu, look at him bullying people..."

Lin Lu rolled her eyes, picked up a piece of scalding hot tofu and stuffed it into his mouth: "Just eat yours! Talking so much, be careful no one will want you in the future."

Steam rose from the pot, which bubbled and gurgled.

Outside the window is the night view of Jiangcheng; inside are my best friends.

Shen Hao was sweating profusely as he ate, while awkwardly trying to help Xu You beside him: "Xu You, this pig brain is delicious, would you like to try some?"

Xu You stared at the horrifying brain matter, shaking her head frantically like a frightened little rabbit.

Song and Lin Lan were like an old married couple, serving each other food and occasionally whispering a few words to each other.

Xie Wang and Su Qinghe.

Although they didn't talk much, the atmosphere between them was so intense that no one could break in.

Su Qinghe was in charge of eating, occasionally picking out the cilantro that he didn't like.

Xie Wang didn't mind and naturally picked it up and ate it.

By the end of the meal, everyone was quite full.

Shen Hao slumped in his chair, rubbing his round belly, and stared at the ceiling with a sigh:

"Wow, we're already in our final year of high school... It feels like we just started school yesterday. In the blink of an eye, we're all heading towards the college entrance exam."

"Yes." Song shook his glass. "This time next year, we'll all be going our separate ways."

The atmosphere was slightly melancholic.

After all, after this summer, everyone will have to work hard for the future and go to different cities.

Xie Wang put down his chopsticks, picked up a tissue to wipe Su Qinghe's mouth, then looked at his friends and spoke calmly:

"What's the rush?"

"There's another summer, another autumn, another winter, and another spring."

He took Su Qinghe's hand and placed it on the table; the two rings gleamed under the light.

"As long as people are alive, the road will be there. No matter where we go, we, this group..."

He paused, raised his glass, and his eyes held a youthful determination:

"It won't break up."

"Yes! It won't break up!"

Shen Hao was the first to respond, raising his glass: "We're brothers for life!"

"It won't break up!"

Everyone raised their glasses again.

"Here's to the senior year!"

"Salute to Youth!"

Outside the hot pot restaurant, the night was gentle, and the moon quietly climbed to the treetops.

The laughter of the children pierced through the noisy, bustling atmosphere and drifted into the far, far future.