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

After a night of travel and emotional rollercoaster, Xie Wang did not rest.

He acted as if nothing had happened and appeared in the reading room on the top floor of the library as usual.

The sunlight was still bright, even a bit dazzling.

Xie Wang sat at the table, a pen in his hand, an English book open in front of him. But he had been staring at the same page for a full half hour, without turning a single page.

Those eyes, which usually carried a hint of arrogance or laziness, were now bloodshot, and a deep, unyielding melancholy lingered in their depths.

"Smack."

A soft sound.

Su Qinghe closed his physics book, took off his glasses, and rubbed his temples.

"Thank you for your vain."

She turned her head, her gaze calm yet sharp as she looked at him:

"The book is upside down."

Xie Wang was taken aback and looked down.

Sure enough, the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary was upside down.

He gave a self-deprecating twitch, tossed the book aside, leaned back in his chair, and raised his hand to shield his eyes.

"Sorry, Ms. Su, my brain is a bit sluggish today, I can't think straight."

"Because you didn't sleep last night?"

Su Qinghe didn't let him off the hook; though her voice was cold, it carried a hint of barely perceptible concern.

"Is it still because of... that 'trouble'?"

Xie Wang's hand stiffened for a moment.

He slowly lowered his hand, revealing a pair of somewhat tired eyes, staring straight at Su Qinghe.

If someone else asked him, he would definitely reply with "None of your business."

But when facing Su Qinghe, he showed his most authentic self.

"Su Qinghe".

Xie Wang's voice was hoarse, and his Adam's apple bobbed:

"I went to see my mom last night."

Su Qinghe was taken aback, then realized that he meant to go to the cemetery.

She didn't speak, but simply looked at him quietly, being the best listener.

"I always thought I was destined to rot in the mud for the rest of my life."

Xie Wang turned to look out the window, his tone as calm as if he were telling someone else's story:

"My dad was a gambling addict who would beat people when he was drunk, and my mom... died in a car accident when I was very young."

"I only found out last night that my dad wasn't like this before. He was a normal person too. He was driven crazy. And my mom..."

He omitted all details about the "Tianlong Group".

Those things are too dangerous; they could even lead to death.

He couldn't bear to drag Su Qinghe into this mess; he only hoped that she would always remain pure and innocent on the cloud.

A deathly silence fell over the reading room.

Sudden.

A slightly cool hand gently covered the back of his hand.

Xie Wang trembled and raised his head.

Su Qinghe looked at him, her eyes showing no disgust or pity, only a calm empathy.

"Xie Wang, you think I'm very happy, right?"

Su Qinghe suddenly spoke up and asked a completely unrelated question.

Xie Wang was taken aback for a moment: "Isn't that right? The eldest daughter of the Su family is showered with love and affection, and can have whatever she wants."

"Yes, you can have whatever you want. Except for company."

Su Qinghe withdrew his hand, gave a self-deprecating laugh, a smile tinged with a bitterness he had never shown to anyone before:

"As far back as I can remember, the people I saw most often were nannies and drivers. My parents were always flying all over the world, negotiating multi-million dollar deals."

"They provided me with the best material conditions and hired the most expensive personal trainers for me. In their eyes, I was the perfect heir to the Su family, a perfect score on the exam, but not a daughter who needed a hug."

She stood up, walked to the French windows, and looked down at the bustling students below:

"I feel like I'm locked in a cage. I look glamorous on the outside, but I'm freezing cold inside, and I don't even have anyone to talk to."

Su Qinghe turned around and stood with his back to the light.

At that moment, Xie Wang saw in her the same loneliness he had experienced.

That is the resonance between kindred spirits.

"Therefore, thank you for your presumption."

Su Qinghe walked up to him, leaned down slightly, and placed her hands on the armrests of his chair, trapping him between herself and the chair.

This pose is both aggressive and protective.

"Don't talk about whether it's dirty or not."

"It was you who made me feel the warmth of family."

She looked into the boy's eyes and said, word by word:

"If it's a quagmire, I'll pull you out."

"If I'm too cold, come up and shield me from the wind."

"Neither of us should look down on the other."

Su Qinghe's voice was as light as a feather, yet it struck Xie Wangxin with tremendous force:

Only you understand my coldness, and only I understand your pain.

Xie Wang looked at the girl who was so close to him.

In that instant, all the anger, hatred, and exhaustion in my heart seemed to be soothed by the light in her eyes.

He is not fighting alone.

She was there for him.

"OK."

Xie Wang suddenly reached out, wrapped his arm around her waist, and gently rested his head on her abdomen.

This is an extremely dependent and extremely vulnerable posture.

He closed his eyes, inhaling the faint jasmine scent emanating from her. His voice was slightly muffled, yet it carried an unprecedented tranquility.

"Teacher Su, you said it yourself."

Su Qinghe's body stiffened for a moment, then softened.

She reached out and gently ruffled the boy's slightly prickly short hair.

"Um."

A long time passed.

Xie Wang's tense nerves finally relaxed completely.

"Teacher Su."

"Um?"

"Let me charge my battery for a bit, just five minutes."

"……good."

Sunlight streamed through the glass window, falling on the two people embracing.

One is a scarred young man who has just acquired a sharp blade and is ready to take revenge;

One is a girl who feels lonely at the top and longs for warmth.

On this quiet afternoon, they filled the void in their souls with each other's body heat.

Xie Wang closed his eyes, and finally a genuine smile appeared on his lips.

妈。

Did you see that?

The world doesn't seem so bad after all.

Because I found that person... someone who's willing to be with me in hell, gazing at heaven.