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

The cicadas were chirping desperately in the camphor tree outside the window, trying to drown out the creaking sound of the overhead fan in the classroom.

There are only three days left until the end of the second semester of the second year of high school.

This is not an ordinary final exam, but a province-wide unified ranking. For students about to enter their senior year of high school, this is the first practical exercise before the college entrance examination, and its value is extremely high.

The air in Class 1 of Grade 11 seemed to freeze.

No one was chatting or playing around; even the usually bustling corridors after class were deserted.

The air was filled with a peculiar smell that was a mixture of medicated oil, instant coffee, and old exam papers.

The corner at the back of the classroom, which used to be a popular spot for sleeping, has now become the most inspiring sight in the class.

"Honey... why do we need to differentiate the tangent equation in this derivative problem first?"

During the long break, Shen Hao, sporting huge dark circles under his eyes, clutched a crumpled math test paper in his hand and pitifully turned to ask Xu You a question.

In the past, Shen Hao would have already grabbed his basketball and rushed to the playground, or chatted with the boys in the back row about games.

But now, it's as if his butt is glued to the chair.

Xu You was organizing her notebook of incorrect answers when she heard this and stopped writing.

Seeing Shen Hao's bloodshot eyes, her heart softened. She picked up a pencil and demonstrated step by step on the draft paper:

"Because the geometric meaning of the derivative is the slope of the tangent line. Look, let's substitute the coordinates of this point first..."

Shen Hao listened intently, his brows furrowed so deeply they could trap a fly, while he kept taking notes.

He wasn't as bright as Xie Wang, and his foundation was weaker, but he had been risking his life these past few days.

"Do you understand?" Xu You asked, looking up at him with a gentle voice after she finished speaking.

"Understood!"

Shen Hao gulped down a large mouthful of strong tea, his eyes filled with a determination akin to someone about to join the Party.

"Youyou, thank you so much for your help these past few days. I'll treat you to a big meal after your exams!"

Xu You blushed slightly and whispered, "No need for a big meal... just do well on your exam."

Beside him, Lin Lu was carrying a creature on his back, looking utterly hopeless.

She was memorizing something about "top dominance" while pinching her thigh hard to keep her mind from wandering.

"Waaaaah... I want to eat the egg tarts that Lu Wen gave me."

Lin Lu slumped onto the table and let out a wail, but the next second she suddenly sat up and slapped her face:

"No way! Lin Lu, you have to live up to expectations! We can't let that academic underachiever Lu Wen look down on us! I'm going to aim for a 985 university too!"

She picked up a red pen, wrote a big "拼" (pin, meaning to strive/work hard) on the back of her hand, and continued to bury herself in memorizing.

Xie Wang no longer needs to review his science subjects; these past few days he has focused all his energy on Chinese and English, the two subjects that could boost his score.

Su Qinghe devised a grueling study plan for him.

"Check".

During evening self-study, Su Qinghe stretched out his hand, palm up.

Xie Wang skillfully slapped his completed English composition paper into her hand and casually pushed a box of peeled walnuts onto her desk:

"Please check, Ms. Su. The handwriting is neat and the grammar is advanced. I request bonus points."

Su Qinghe picked up the red pen and scanned the lines one by one.

The boy's handwriting used to be very messy, with a wild, cursive style, but in the past few days, in order to get a good score on the test, he deliberately toned down his handwriting and made it much neater and straighter.

All words were spelled correctly, and the relative clauses were used fluently.

"This inverted sentence is used well."

Su Qinghe drew a circle on it, his tone indifferent, but a smile appeared in his eyes:

"Looks like you've put in a lot of effort these past few days."

"Absolutely."

Xie Wang leaned back in his chair, twirling a pen; his profile looked exceptionally striking under the light.

"After all, I already bragged to Shen Hao that I'm going to be in the top ten of the grade. If I mess up the exam, how will I make you look good?"

Su Qinghe handed the corrected paper back to him and whispered:

"You don't need to make me look good."

"You are already shining."

Xie Wang paused for a moment.

He looked at Su Qinghe's profile as he lowered his head to continue working on his problems, and his heart felt as if it had been gently tickled by a feather.

He stopped talking and silently picked up his Chinese textbook, beginning to memorize the dry and tedious "Li Sao".

……

July 5th, 8:30 AM.

The provincial unified examination has officially begun.

The atmosphere at Jiangcheng No. 1 Middle School, the main examination venue, was frighteningly serious.

The cordon was set up, a signal jamming vehicle was parked at the school gate, and all the proctors were transferred from other schools, with sharp eyes.

"Candidates, please enter the examination room and undergo security checks."

The corridor was bustling with people, yet unusually quiet.

Xie Wang stood in the line of Class 1, Grade 11, carrying a transparent file bag on his back.

He glanced at Shen Hao, who was ahead of him in line. The guy was so nervous his legs were shaking, and he was reciting ancient poems to himself.

Xie Wang walked over and patted Shen Hao on the shoulder:

"Why are you shaking? Don't you want to confess anymore?"

When the topic of confessing his feelings came up, Shen Hao took a deep breath, and his eyes instantly cleared:

"Yes! Brother Wang, I'm going!"

After saying that, he strode into the examination room with a look of resolute determination.

Xie Wang smiled.

He turned his head and looked at the line in the next examination room.

Su Qinghe was standing there, her hair tied in a high ponytail, wearing silver-rimmed glasses, still with that aloof and composed demeanor.

As if sensing Xie Wang's gaze, she turned her head, and their eyes met in the air.

He didn't speak.

Su Qinghe simply raised his hand and made a gesture that only they understood—he gently clenched his fist and then relaxed it.

It means: to have a calm and ordinary mindset.

Xie Wang smiled and raised an eyebrow in response.

"Ring ring—"

The bell rang to signal the start of the first Chinese exam.

Xie Wang walked into the examination room and sat down at the table with his photo on it.

Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains, illuminating a corner of the exam paper.

He picked up the pen and uncapped it.

"The exam has begun. Please begin answering the questions."

The broadcast ended.

Xie Wang picked up his pen and wrote with lightning speed.

The battle begins.