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

"Qinghe, what happened?" Xie Wang gripped the edge of his phone tightly.

Su Qinghe's voice trembled, "Come here, let's talk face to face."

"Beep—beep—"

The dial tone after the phone call ended felt like a sharp thorn piercing my eardrum.

Xie Wang remained frozen in place, still holding his phone.

The July sun beat down mercilessly on the asphalt road, the heat distorting the air, but he felt a chill creep up his spine.

"Su Qinghe?"

He shouted at the black screen.

No one answered.

Lu Wen, who was about to put his sunglasses back on, paused upon seeing this and pushed them up to his forehead.

"What happened? Did your wife get angry after checking up on you? That shouldn't be the case; we were expecting a surprise."

Xie Wang ignored him.

He gripped the newly purchased "star" rough stone tightly in his palm, it hurt terribly from the pressure.

"Lu Wen, take me to the provincial library."

"...Okay, hold on tight."

Lu Wen stopped joking and stepped on the gas pedal.

……

Cullinan was like a wild beast that had gone out of control, charging onto the overpass.

The carriage was deathly quiet, with only the whooshing sound of the air conditioning vents.

Xie Wang stared at the rapidly receding railing outside the window, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.

The fingertips tapped unconsciously on the knees at a very fast frequency.

"What exactly happened?"

Lu Wen gripped the steering wheel and overtook another car, finally unable to resist glancing at him:

"Let me tell you something, buddy."

"I don't know either."

Xie Wang squeezed out these words through gritted teeth.

He genuinely didn't know.

Su Qinghe's voice on the phone just now was so calm.

He was so calm that he didn't seem angry.

……

[30 minutes ago, in the old newspaper and periodical reading room of the provincial library]

The ceiling fan creaked and groaned overhead, stirring up the musty smell of old paper that filled the room.

Su Qinghe sat in the corner.

The newspaper spread out in front of me was yellowed and brittle; it was the Jiangcheng Evening News from November 14, 2012.

In the corner of the seam, the text message about the "car accident on Binjiang Road" was blurred by her fingertips.

She picked up her phone and found the unnumbered one she had glimpsed in Xie Wang's phone.

That belongs to Xie Zhengyang.

She pressed a series of numbers on the screen, her thumb hovering over the dial button for two seconds.

Then, press down hard.

"Beep...beep..."

The phone rang for a long time before it was answered.

The background noise was very loud, with the clattering of mahjong tiles and shouting voices.

"Who is it?!"

A harsh, impatient voice came through the receiver, a voice that sounded like it had been burned by cheap alcohol, with a heavy, phlegmy tone.

"Get lost, you insurance salesmen, in the middle of the day!"

Su Qinghe remained silent.

Listening to the breathing on the other end, she could even imagine the man's flushed face and cloudy eyes.

"Speak! Are you mute?!"

Xie Zhengyang seemed to have lost the game, and his tone became increasingly agitated, "If you don't say anything, I'm hanging up!"

"Xie Zhengyang."

Su Qinghe spoke.

Her voice was soft and cool.

The sound of mahjong tiles clashing over there seemed to have quieted down a bit.

"Who are you?" Xie Zhengyang asked warily.

"I am Xie Wang's girlfriend."

"ha?"

Xie Zhengyang was stunned for a moment, then burst into a shrill laugh:

"Girlfriend? That little brat has a girlfriend? What, he got you pregnant? You want money from me? Let me tell you, you won't get any money from me, go ask him for it, he's loaded now..."

"I'm reading the newspaper."

Su Qinghe interrupted him.

She looked down at the line of printed text, speaking slowly and calmly, without a trace of emotion:

"In 2012, a black sedan plunged into the river from the Binjiang Road overpass."

It sounded like someone on the other end of the phone had suddenly been choked.

All the ridicule and insults stopped abruptly at that moment.

All that remained was the heavy, labored breathing sound, like bellows being pulled.

A full five seconds passed.

"What...what are you going to do?"

Xie Zhengyang's voice changed.

He was no longer the scoundrel he had been moments before, but instead exuded a terror that seeped from the very marrow of his bones.

"Who told you to investigate this? Xie Wang? Was it that little bastard who told you to investigate?!"

"Myself."

Su Qinghe's fingers gripped the edge of the table, his nails turning white:

"I just want to know whether the car accident back then was an accident or not."

"None of your business! Get lost! Don't cause me any trouble!"

Xie Zhengyang suddenly roared hysterically:

"You little brat, shut your mouth if you don't want to die! There are some things you shouldn't pry into!"

"I am a member of the Su family."

Su Qinghe calmly threw out his final chip.

"My name is Su Qinghe. My mother's name is Lin Wanyi, and she is also a graduate of Jiangcheng University in 05."

There was complete silence on the other end of the phone.

Even the sound of mahjong tiles seemed to have disappeared.

"The Su... Su family?"

Xie Zhengyang's voice trembled slightly, as if he had heard some unbelievable name.

Through the electric current, Su Qinghe heard the "click" sound of the lighter failing to light several times.

Xie Zhengyang suddenly burst into a hysterical laugh, a laugh that was both shrill and sorrowful:

"So it was her daughter... No wonder, no wonder..."

"Tell me," Su Qinghe pressed, "What exactly happened back then?"

"Miss Su, the Su family can fight them, right?"

"What happened? What else could it be?"

Xie Zhengyang seemed to have collapsed, or perhaps the secret he had suppressed for too long had finally found an outlet.

He lowered his voice, his tone filled with despair and resentment:

"It's Tianlong Group! It's that mad dog, Gu Tianlong!"

"Ah Wan... Ah Wan has their money laundering ledgers! She wanted to report it, and as a result, the car was tampered with!"

"Beep—beep—beep—"

The phone was abruptly hung up.

Holding his phone and listening to the busy tone, Su Qinghe felt as if all the blood in his body was flowing backward.

The air conditioning in the library was too strong.

Her hands and feet were freezing cold.

She slowly put down her phone, her gaze returning to the old newspaper in front of her.

In the photo, a young Xie Wan stands with a radiant smile.

So that's the truth.

……

"squeak--!"

The screeching sound of brakes echoed downstairs from the library.

Before the black Cullinan had even come to a complete stop, the door was suddenly pushed open.

Xie Wang practically jumped out of the car.

Without waiting for Lu Wen, he rushed up the steps and pushed open the heavy revolving door.

The hall was quiet.

Xie Wang was panting heavily, his chest heaving violently.

He spotted Su Qinghe sitting in the corner at a glance.

Newspapers were piled up all around.

Xie Wang slowed his pace.

The anxiety and panic I felt on the road have now transformed into a cautious, tentative approach.

He walked over.

The sound of shoes hitting the floor made Su Qinghe's shoulders twitch slightly.

"Qinghe".

Xie Wang shouted.

Su Qinghe did not turn around.

She held the cut-out newspaper photo in her hand, slowly stood up, and turned around.

There was a reading table between the two.

Xie Wang saw her face clearly.

There was only a deep, unfathomable heaviness in her eyes that he couldn't understand.

"What's wrong?"

Xie Wang took a step closer, wanting to take her hand.

"Thank you for your vain."

Su Qinghe looked at him, her voice hoarse.

She pushed the clipping in front of him and tapped the name "Xie Wan" with her fingertip.

Then, she raised her head, and for the first time, a hint of scrutiny appeared in her phoenix eyes:

"You already knew about the Tianlong Group, didn't you?"

Xie Wang's pupils suddenly contracted.

He opened his mouth, but the "What's wrong?" he had prepared got stuck in his throat, turning into a deathly silence.

"You're investigating them, hacking into their system, you want to find out the truth."

Su Qinghe took a step forward, her gaze intense, giving him no chance to dodge:

"This is a very big matter, a matter of life and death."

Why did you hide it from me?

Xie Wang was stunned.

He looked at the girl in front of him, who was usually aloof but was now trembling slightly because she had learned the truth.

In that instant, the meteorite in his pocket, which he was preparing to polish into a "star," became incredibly heavy.