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

The second period was Lao Li's English class.

For Class 1 of Senior Three, those forty-five minutes felt longer than standing at attention under the scorching sun.

Old Li was passionately analyzing a very long and difficult sentence containing three clauses on the podium, his spittle flying everywhere.

Shen Hao, sitting in the back row, had already pinched his inner thigh until it was bruised, but he still couldn't help but nod his head like a chicken pecking at rice. Every time he was about to hit the table, he would suddenly wake up with a start and look at the podium with a look of horror.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1...

"Ring ring—!!"

The moment the bell finally rang for the end of get out of class, most people went straight to sleep.

Old Li closed his textbook, but instead of leaving with his lesson plan as usual.

He stood on the podium, unscrewed the stainless steel thermos, and took a slow, deliberate sip.

Old Li's eyes, which seemed to see through everything, swept around the classroom, finally settling on the middle rows.

"Shen Hao."

Old Li's voice, neither loud nor soft, was like a thunderclap, instantly exploding in the already somewhat noisy classroom:

"Come to my office."

"boom--"

Shen Hao, who was just about to take a nap, froze in his seat, his face turning two shades paler in a visibly rapid manner.

Xu You, sitting next to him, was so startled that she dropped her pen on the ground with a "clatter." She hurriedly bent down to pick it up, her eyes behind her glasses filled with nervousness.

The whole class cast sympathetic glances at him.

During this sensitive senior year of high school, being "called up for a talk" by the homeroom teacher usually has only two reasons: either your grades have plummeted, or you've been caught dating someone.

Although Shen Hao and Xu You's affair wasn't as blatant as Xie Wang and Su Qinghe's, it wasn't exactly a secret in the class.

"We're doomed..."

Shen Hao swallowed hard, feeling his legs trembling. He glanced at the big shot in the back row for help.

The last row.

Xie Wangzheng was lazily leaning back in his chair, twirling his pen, while Su Qinghe was organizing his notes. When they heard Old Li call their names, the two exchanged a knowing glance.

"Looks like Old Li is planning to break through from within?" Xie Wang lowered his voice, his tone tinged with schadenfreude.

"Don't jinx it." Su Qinghe poked him with the end of her pen, and looking at Shen Hao's stiff back, she whispered, "Shen Hao's mental fortitude isn't good. What if he confesses everything as soon as he goes in?"

Lin Lu at the next table was so nervous that she didn't even dare to eat her potato chips, and leaned over to whisper in his ear:

"Oh no, oh no! If Old Li breaks them up, Xu You will definitely cry her eyes out. Should we start preparing how to get her out?"

Under the watchful eyes of dozens of students, Shen Hao stood up slowly as if heading to his execution, and followed Lao Li out of the classroom, glancing back every few steps.

……

[Senior Three Grade Office]

The air conditioning in the office was on full blast, but cold sweat kept pouring down Shen Hao's forehead.

Old Li sat behind his desk, slowly put down his thermos, and took out the notebook that terrified countless students from the drawer, then opened it.

"Teacher...I..."

Shen Hao felt like he was suffocating. He frantically rehearsed his plan in his mind: If Old Li asks about Xu You, I'll say it was me who harassed her! I absolutely can't let her get involved! At worst, they'll call my parents; I'm tough enough to take a beating…

Just as Shen Hao was about to muster the courage of his life to speak up and "take the blame".

Old Li raised his head, adjusted his glasses, and frowned slightly as he looked at the sports committee member in front of him, who was trembling like a leaf.

Why are you shivering? Are you cold?

"Huh?" Shen Hao was stunned. "No, I'm not cold."

"Stand up straight if you're not cold! What kind of behavior is this, a grown man like you!"

Old Li tapped the table, his tone serious, but what he said next almost caught Shen Hao off guard:

"I called you here because of the autumn sports meet next week."

"……ha?"

Shen Hao opened his mouth wide, the "I was wrong" that was already in his throat got stuck.

"Sports...sports meet?"

"Yeah, what else did you think it was?" Old Li looked at him strangely. "You're the sports committee member, of course we'd come to you for this."

Old Li pushed a registration form in front of him and said earnestly:

"Although we're in our final year of high school now, with heavy workloads and tight schedules, health is the foundation of everything! I've noticed several classmates seem listless in the afternoons lately, which is a sign of lack of exercise!"

"The school has decided that not only will all senior students participate in this sports meet, but all students will be involved! We must compete with style and skill! We need to shake off that lifeless, dreary study atmosphere!"

Old Li took a sip of tea and continued:

"This task is assigned to you. Go back and mobilize everyone, try to get everyone to sign up for a project, stop them from just studying all day. Do you understand?"

A huge surprise overwhelmed Shen Hao.

His soul seemed to return to his body in that instant; his legs were no longer weak, and his back straightened.

"I understand! I understand!" Shen Hao was so excited he almost saluted Old Li. "I guarantee we'll complete the mission! Our class will definitely get first place!"

"Alright, go ahead and take the registration form back. Give it to me before school ends tomorrow."

Old Li waved his hand and looked down at the lesson plan again.

As Shen Hao walked out of the office with that light piece of paper in his hand, he felt as light as a feather.

……

[Classroom of Senior Three (1)]

When Shen Hao walked into the classroom with that piece of paper, the atmosphere in the class was eerily quiet.

Everyone stared at his face, trying to deduce the "judgment" from his micro-expressions. Xu You was so nervous that he couldn't speak, clutching a tissue tightly in his hand, ready to receive bad news at any moment.

Shen Hao took a deep breath and walked straight up to Xu You.

"Shen Hao..." Xu You's voice trembled with tears, "Is the teacher...?"

"It's alright now."

Shen Hao suddenly grinned, revealing his signature big white teeth. In front of everyone around him, he boldly reached out and gently patted Xu You on the head.

"Don't worry, it's not about that. Old Li didn't swear."

"Ew~~~~"

A chorus of sighs erupted from the surrounding area.

"You scared me to death! Seeing your face, I thought you were going to be expelled!" Lin Lu patted her chest dramatically, then rolled her eyes. "And the first thing you did when you got back was to bombard us single people with PDA. Did you even consider how we single people feel?"

Xie Wang sat in the back, watching the scene unfold before him, a slight smile playing on his lips. He turned to Su Qinghe and said:

"Looks like this kid isn't such a coward after all."

Su Qinghe smiled faintly, lowered his head and continued working on his problems, but a hint of amusement flickered in his eyes.

After calming down the "family members," Shen Hao felt full of energy. He strode to the podium, slammed the registration form on the blackboard, picked up the chalk, and wrote a few large characters: "[Autumn Sports Meet]".

"Ahem! Classmates! Please be quiet!"

Shen Hao, displaying the authority of a sports committee member, tapped the blackboard:

"Old Li just called me to deliver a royal decree! The fall sports meet is next week! Old Li said this is the last big celebration of our high school life, everyone has to participate, let's get this party started!"

"oh!!!"

The classroom erupted in chaos.