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

The school clinic was filled with a faint smell of disinfectant.

The old school doctor adjusted his reading glasses, carefully examined Xie Wang's swollen ankle, and pressed it a few times until Xie Wang hissed in pain, then he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Alright, stop howling. You're lucky, no bones are broken."

The school doctor took an ice pack from the refrigerator and placed a tube of ointment for bruises and sprains on the table:

"Apply ice for half an hour now to reduce the swelling. After you get home, apply ice for the first two days, then apply heat. Apply this ointment once in the morning and once at night. Avoid walking and strenuous exercise for the next two weeks."

After speaking, the school doctor glanced at Su Qinghe, who was standing next to him with a nervous expression, and then at Xie Wang, who was lying on the hospital bed with his eyes glued to the girl. As someone who had been through it all, he instantly understood.

"Um... I'm going to the pharmacy next door to sort out the inventory."

The old school doctor handed the ice pack to Su Qinghe and smiled meaningfully: "Young lady, why don't you apply it to him? Remember not to leave it in one place for too long, or he might get frostbite."

After saying that, the old school doctor walked out of the clinic with his hands behind his back, humming a little tune, and thoughtfully closed the door behind him.

The room fell silent instantly.

The faint chirping of cicadas outside the window seeped through the glass, making the room seem exceptionally quiet.

Su Qinghe moved a chair to sit on the edge of the bed, tore open the ice pack packaging, and carefully applied the ice pack to Xie Wang's swollen ankle.

"hiss……"

The cool touch stimulated the burning wound, and Xie Wang subconsciously pulled his leg back.

"Bear with it."

Su Qinghe pressed down on his calf. Although her tone was still as cold as usual, her movements were incredibly gentle. Her fingers were long and slightly cool, and occasionally her fingertips would inadvertently brush against Xie Wang's calf skin, sending a tingling electric current through her.

Xie Wang leaned against the headboard, looking down at the girl who was diligently applying an ice pack to herself.

From this angle, you can see her trembling long eyelashes and the slightly tense corners of her mouth, which were a little tight from her anger.

"Teacher Su."

Xie Wang suddenly spoke, his voice carrying a hint of teasing laughter:

"Just now on the playground... it was the first time I'd ever seen you so fierce."

Su Qinghe paused for a moment, without looking up, and said in a muffled voice:

Did I scare you?

"No, not at all." Xie Wang shifted to a more comfortable position, resting one hand behind his head. "It just feels quite novel. Everyone usually says that Teacher Su is like a flower on a high mountain, aloof and calm, unfazed even if Mount Tai collapses before her. I didn't expect that when she started cursing, she even shocked that bastard Zhao Qiang."

Su Qinghe pursed her lips, raised her head, and a trace of lingering annoyance remained in her beautiful eyes, giving her a somewhat "cold and cute" look.

"Because it's you."

She looked Xie Wang into the eyes, her tone earnest and direct:

"If it were someone else, I might just think he was immoral, but because you're the one who got hurt, I'm very angry."

"Zhao Qiang's despicable methods... are unforgivable."

Upon hearing the words "Because it's you," Xie Wang's heart skipped a beat.

He dropped his smirk, his eyes softened, and he gently pinched Su Qinghe's slightly puffed-up cheek.

"Alright, forget it. It's not worth getting angry over someone like that. I'll settle this score with him later."

Mentioning Zhao Qiang, Xie Wang seemed to recall something, his eyebrows slightly raised, and a hint of sourness appeared in his tone:

"Speaking of which, I heard that this guy wrote you a love letter when you were in your first year of high school? And even confessed his feelings to you in public?"

Su Qinghe paused, holding the ice pack, and gave him a helpless look:

"That's all ancient history. I threw the love letters in the trash without even opening them."

"Tsk."

Xie Wang, unsatisfied, continued to press, leaning slightly forward and staring into her eyes:

"Besides him, is there anyone else? Our campus belle from Suzhou University has never been interested in anyone since she was a child?"

Su Qinghe moved the ice pack to a different spot, shook her head, and looked at him with a calm expression:

"no."

"I used to think that dating was a waste of time, and I had never met anyone who could make me feel more interested than solving a challenging math problem."

"Except for you, Xie."

After saying that, she countered with, "And you? Xie, you've been surrounded by countless beauties, haven't any of them caught your eye?"

"I'm innocent!"

Xie Wang raised his hands in surrender, then looked at Su Qinghe with a deep and focused gaze, as if he wanted to draw her in.

Before I met you...

He paused, his voice lowering, revealing an unusual seriousness:

"I've actually been living a pretty muddled life."

"Eating, sleeping, fighting, dealing with exams... my days are just a mechanical repetition, without any color or expectation. I'm like someone walking in the fog, not knowing where I'm going, and not caring where I'm going."

Xie Wang reached out and gently grasped Su Qinghe's hand that was holding the ice pack; the warmth of his palm was intense.

"Until that day I saw you at my house, or even earlier... anyway, it was you who dragged me out of there."

The air seemed to become thick and ambiguous at that moment.

Su Qinghe looked at the boy so close to her, her heart pounding so fast it almost drowned out the cicadas chirping outside the window.

She instinctively wanted to respond, and the distance between them unconsciously closed...

boom!

The door to the infirmary was violently flung open from the outside.

"Brother Wang!! Are your legs still there?!"

Shen Hao's raspy voice instantly shattered the enchanting atmosphere in the room.

Immediately afterwards, Lu Wen, Lin Lu, Xu You, and several others rushed in like a whirlwind, instantly filling the small infirmary to capacity.

Su Qinghe pulled his hand back as if he had been electrocuted, quickly stood up and stepped aside, pretending to tidy up the medicine bottles, but his ears were so red they were almost bleeding.

Xie Wang: "..."

His face darkened as he glared at his friends, who had absolutely no sense of propriety, and gritted his teeth: "...I was still standing, but you guys scared me so badly I almost had to have my limb amputated."

"Oh, it's alright, it's alright!"

Completely oblivious to the awkward atmosphere, Shen Hao casually crowded around to examine Xie Wang's feet:

"You scared me to death! When I saw you fall like that, I thought you were going to retire."

Lin Lu also placed a bag of fruit on the bedside table and grumbled, "You're lucky. If your leg had really been damaged, Qinghe would have been devastated."

"Oh, right!"

Lu Wen plopped down on the empty bed next to him, looking relieved, and said:

"I have good news for you! That bastard's done for!"

Xie Wang raised an eyebrow: "How so?"

"Your director and the physical education teacher just looked at those photos taken by your somewhat strange classmate."

Lu Wen described vividly, "You didn't see it, the photos were absolutely amazing! Twelve in a row! From that sinister look in his eyes to the way he tripped you, everything was captured clearly!"

"The evidence is irrefutable!"

Shen Hao picked up the thread, excitedly waving his fist: "Zhao Qiang looked at the camera screen and his face turned white; he couldn't say a word! Director Yan flew into a rage on the spot, canceled his competition results, issued a school-wide reprimand, and gave him a major demerit! I heard he also has to write a 5,000-word self-criticism to read aloud during Monday's flag-raising ceremony!"

"Serves him right!" Xu You added angrily, "That kind of person is awful!"

Hearing this result, Xie Wang finally felt relieved.

He leaned against the headboard, the image of Lu Yi, who always had a blank expression and spoke incomprehensible verses, floating in his mind.

Xie Wang curled the corners of his lips, glanced at Su Qinghe, and smiled:

"Looks like I'll have to make time to treat Lu Yi to a nice meal once my foot is healed."

"He should be treated to a Manchu Han Imperial Feast, no matter how high or low the standards."