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

"This section is guaranteed to be on the college entrance exam! If you can't memorize it, don't eat dinner tonight!"

The teacher stood on the podium, waving the well-worn textbook in his hand, explaining "Li Sao" with great enthusiasm.

In the corner of the last row.

Xie Wang rested his chin on one hand, while the pen in his other hand spun rapidly between his fingers, leaving afterimages. He stared at the "xi" character in the textbook, which looked like celestial script, his brows furrowed so deeply they could trap a fly.

"Have you memorized it?"

A small note was passed to the student in front of me; the handwriting was neat and strong.

Xie Wang unfolded the note, picked up a pen, and replied with messy, unrestrained handwriting:

[Teacher Su, did Qu Yuan have a grudge against the Xi family? I feel like my CPU is about to burn out.]

He gently kicked the leg of the chair in front of him.

Su Qinghe didn't turn around, but simply took the note back. After a while, he handed her another one:

[Stop joking! There will be a spot check before school ends. If you can't memorize it, you won't get meat for dinner.]

Xie Wang looked at the four words "No meat allowed" on the note and closed his eyes in anguish.

This isn't a girlfriend, this is clearly a nun.

But a slight smile crept onto his lips as he picked up the book and resignedly began to silently recite those obscure and difficult sentences.

Sunlight streamed through the leaves outside the window, illuminating his handsome profile. The boy who once slept in class was now clumsily and diligently fighting against his shortcomings for the sake of a promise.

……

12:00 noon.

As soon as the bell rang, the entire teaching building went from dead silence to bustling activity, with hundreds and thousands of students surging towards the cafeteria like a tidal wave.

The second floor of the canteen at Jiangcheng No.1 Middle School.

It was peak dining time, the place was bustling with noise, and the sound of plates clattering was constant.

Carrying two trays, Xie Wang nimbly weaved through the crowd, quickly securing a window seat thanks to his height advantage.

"Sit here."

He put down his plate and wiped the table clean with a tissue.

Su Qinghe sat down opposite him.

Xie Wang pushed the plate with braised pork ribs and stir-fried shrimp in front of her, while he himself had a large bowl of meat and rice.

"Eat more shrimp, it's good for your brain."

As Xie Wang spoke, he very naturally reached out with his chopsticks and picked up all the scallions and ginger slices from Su Qinghe's plate, one by one, and put them into his own bowl.

The students at the surrounding tables were all secretly glancing in their direction.

After all, one is a cold and aloof school beauty who has topped the rankings for years, and the other is a legendary dark horse who just won a national gold medal and turned his life around.

"Hey, look at Xie Wang... isn't he being way too thoughtful?"

"Is the rumor true? Are they really together?"

Whispers could be heard incessantly.

Su Qinghe ignored the stares around her and ate her meal quietly, occasionally putting a piece of rib into Xie Wang's bowl.

Halfway through the meal, Su Qinghe suddenly stopped eating, took out a pack of wet wipes from his pocket, pulled one out and handed it to Xie Wang:

"There's sauce on the corner of your mouth."

Xie Wangzheng was shoveling rice into his mouth when he heard this. He paused for a moment, but instead of reaching for the tissue, he leaned closer, a mischievous smile playing on his lips.

"My hands are dirty, Ms. Su, could you help me?"

A collective gasp filled the air around them.

Is this still the same Xie Wang who was once full of hostility and kept at a distance?

Seeing his expression, Su Qinghe sighed helplessly, but did not refuse. She reached out and gently wiped the sauce from the corner of his mouth across the table.

After wiping, she was about to withdraw her hand.

Xie Wang suddenly raised his hand and grabbed her wrist in full view of everyone.

His palms were large and warm, and his calloused fingertips gently caressed the back of her hand.

Then, sliding down her wrist, his ten fingers forcefully clenched between her fingers.

Hold on tight.

"Thank you, Wang..." Su Qinghe's heart skipped a beat, and he subconsciously tried to pull back, but Wang held him even tighter.

"What are you hiding from?"

Xie Wang looked at her, his gaze open and passionate, his voice not loud, but loud enough for those around him to hear clearly:

Is it illegal to hold your girlfriend's hand?

He raised their intertwined hands and waved them in the sunlight, the two silver Möbius rings reflecting a dazzling light.

"boom--"

The cafeteria seemed to be filled with a silent boiling water.

Everyone's eyes widened.

Is this... an official announcement?!

In this high school campus where puppy love is viewed as a monstrous threat, in the bustling cafeteria, the student who had come from the bottom of the class to become the top student in the province held hands with the top student in the province.

Su Qinghe looked at the boy's arrogant yet affectionate face, and her ears slowly turned red.

She turned her hand over and gently grasped his.

……

School ends at 17:30 PM.

To avoid the evening rush hour congestion, the two chose to walk home instead of taking the bus.

The fresh food supermarkets near the school are bustling with activity at this time of year.

Xie Wang pushed the shopping cart, with Su Qinghe walking beside him.

"What are we having for dinner tonight?" Xie Wang asked.

"Let's make something light," Su Qinghe said, looking at the vegetables on the shelf. "I've been getting a bit of a sore throat from doing so much homework lately."

"Okay, then I'll make you some tomato and beef brisket, stir-fry some seasonal vegetables, and stew some pear soup."

Xie Wang skillfully picked through the tomatoes, his meticulous and calculating manner making him look like a domestic man, completely unlike the ruthless figure who hacked into the servers of a multinational corporation.

"This beef brisket is good, with nice marbling."

He tossed the meat into the car, turned to look at Su Qinghe, and raised an eyebrow as if to claim credit:

"Ms. Su, since I'm so virtuous, could you please skip memorizing ten English words tonight?"

Su Qinghe was checking the expiration date on a carton of yogurt when she heard this. She glanced at him, adjusted her glasses, and ruthlessly shattered his illusions.

"No. Not only can it not be omitted, but we also need to add a cloze test."

Xie Wang: "..."

"This is too cruel." He wailed, burying his head in the shopping cart handle. "Is this the love of a top student? It's too heavy."

Su Qinghe couldn't help but laugh, reaching out to ruffle his fluffy head:

"Good boy/girl, there'll be a reward after you memorize it."

"What reward?" Xie Wang instantly revived, his eyes sparkling.

"Keep it a secret."

……

Back to the Cloud Top Piano Room.

In the kitchen of room 1602, the range hood was roaring loudly.

Xie Wang, wearing that comical Shiba Inu apron, was busy at the stove, chopping vegetables, stir-frying, and flipping them with fluid movements, displaying the demeanor of a master chef.

Su Qinghe sat at the dining table with the two of their homework books spread out in front of him.

As she helped Xie Wang organize his wrong answers, she would occasionally glance up at the busy figure in the kitchen.

Warm light shone into the living room.

This scene is probably what is meant by "two people in one house, three meals a day, and four seasons in one".

"Dinner's ready!"

Xie Wang carried out a clay pot, and the rich aroma of tomato and beef brisket instantly filled the entire room.

"Try it, I simmered this soup for an hour today."

He ladled a bowl of soup and placed it in front of Su Qinghe, looking at her expectantly.

Su Qinghe took a sip; the sweet and sour flavor was just right, and the beef was tender and flavorful.

"It's delicious," she praised sincerely.

"Drink more if you like it." Xie Wang put some food on her plate, his eyes gentle. "Senior year of high school is mentally taxing, you need to replenish your energy."

After finishing your meal, clean up the dishes.

There are no after-dinner entertainment activities; the nights for senior high school students belong to exam papers.

Two tables were pushed together.

Su Qinghe was working on physics competition problems, while Xie Wang was... painfully memorizing vocabulary.

"Abandon, abandon..."

Xie Wang bit the pen handle, looking at the vocabulary book, feeling as if every letter was mocking him.

"Stop chanting scriptures."

Su Qinghe interrupted him helplessly, took his English book, and turned to the vocabulary list for this unit:

"I'll read the Chinese, you spell it. For every mistake, you have to do five push-ups."

"Huh?" Xie Wang glanced at his full stomach. "I'll throw it up."

"Then let's kiss," Su Qinghe suddenly said.

Xie Wang was stunned.

He looked at Su Qinghe's aloof and ascetic face, thinking he had misheard:

"What?"

"One mistake, one kiss."

Su Qinghe remained unfazed, even turning a page of his book, his tone as calm as if he were saying, "One point deducted for each mistake."

"Do you dare?"

Xie Wang's Adam's apple bobbed suddenly.

He threw down his pen, leaned forward, and braced himself on the edge of the table, his eyes instantly becoming extremely dangerous and aggressive:

"Teacher Su, are you rewarding me or punishing me?"

"Let's see what you can do." Su Qinghe looked up at him.

"OK."

Xie Wang smiled, a smile that was somewhat mischievous:

"I'm afraid I won't be able to memorize a single word tonight."

……

Of course, Xie Wang didn't intentionally make all the mistakes in the end.

But he still managed to "make" several mistakes by his own skill.

This sweet punishment only ended when Su Qinghe pushed him away, her face flushed.

Late at night at 23:30.

Su Qinghe went back to room 1601 next door to rest.

Xie Wang took a cold shower to suppress the burning sensation in his heart.

He dried his hair as he walked out of the bathroom, but didn't go to sleep.

He skillfully switched systems and entered that hidden, encrypted channel.

A few new messages lay quietly in the chat box.

[K]: [Good news.]

[K]: [Since the last money laundering case was exposed, Gu Tianlong has been frantically selling off his commercial real estate to fill the billions of yuan hole, but this is not enough to completely collapse the Tianlong Group.]

Xie Wang looked at the text on the screen, a cold smile curving his lips.

Immediately afterwards, the chat box popped up again, sending a message that made his breath catch in his throat:

[K]: [Also, regarding your mother's "accident" more than ten years ago.]

[K]: [Now that you've joined "Apocalypse," this is a matter for us all. The organization is already investigating for you. We're trying to repair some of the underlying data and old files from back then. It's difficult, but we should be able to find some clues.]

Xie Wang's fingers suddenly stopped, hovering above the keyboard.

His mother's matter was the deepest and most painful thorn in his heart, and it was also the truth he had to uncover no matter what.

a long time.

He took a deep breath, his fingertips fell, and he typed out two words:

[X]: Thank you.

[K]: You're welcome.

Xie Wang closed the dialog box.

Outside the window, the night in Jiangcheng was deep and the neon lights were flashing.

Goodnight, Qinghe.

Xie Wang spoke softly to the wall.

Then, he turned off the screen and fell into a deep sleep in the gentle night.