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

[The following morning, 08:00]

Before the alarm clock even went off, my phone, which was on the bedside table, started vibrating wildly, as if it were having a seizure.

Xie Wang groggily reached for his phone, squinted at it, and saw that his WeChat list was covered in red dots.

Officer Wang Nan was at the very front of the line.

[Wang Nan]: [Xiao Xie, the whole bureau knows about yesterday's incident. Well done!]

[Wang Nan]: The parents' thank-you letter has been sent to the bureau, and they've decided to issue you a "Heroic Act" banner. I'll personally deliver it to your school when you return from the National Day holiday, so the entire school can see it!

Xie Wang's lips twitched as he looked at the words "admire," and his fingers flew across the keyboard in response:

[Xie Wang]: [Sister Nan, keep it low-key, keep it low-key. The banner is fine, but I'll pass on the honor. I want to live a few more years. Thank you, Officer Wang!]

I just replied to Wang Nan, and then Lu Yi's message came right away.

Without saying anything, they just sent me a picture.

In the photo, under the setting sun, Xie Wang is half-submerged in water. His face, contorted with pain and helplessness as the little girl chokes him, is captured perfectly. The photo is accompanied by a caption:

[Lu Yi]: [Title: "The Hero's Suffocation," perfect composition, full of emotion. I've already printed it overnight on the best photographic paper, and it also comes with a frame. When can I pick it up?]

Xie Wang looked at the comical yet unusually handsome photo and laughed in exasperation:

[Xie Wang]: 【Why are you everywhere? I have reason to suspect you're following me.】

[Xie Wang]: 【But keep the photos... I'm busy right now, I have to catch a flight. I'll come find you when I get back.】

After replying to the message, Xie Wang got out of bed, washed up, and changed into a refreshing set of casual clothes.

As I pushed open the door, Su Qinghe came out from the opposite side. She was wearing a pale yellow halter dress and a wide-brimmed straw hat, and her whole body was glowing white.

"Good morning, Teacher Su."

Xie Wang walked over, took her suitcase, and casually took her hand:

"Let's go."

[Unnamed island, 16:00 local time]

After a long journey by plane and a bumpy boat ride, the two finally set foot on the unnamed island.

Here, there is only a crystal-clear sea as blue as jelly and pristine white sand beaches undisturbed by the world.

The air was filled with the scent of wildflowers and sea salt, primitive and pure.

The front desk of a seaside guesthouse.

Xie Wang handed over his two ID cards, even though he had a million thoughts of wanting to stay in the same room.

But under Su Qinghe's ambiguous gaze, he still very politely (and timidly) held up two fingers to the boss:

"Two rooms, with the best view."

Upon receiving the keys, we found two detached log cabins, right next to each other.

Pushing open the wooden window, you see vast stretches of wild coconut groves and waves crashing against the rocks. The sea breeze blows in unhindered, making the curtains flutter loudly.

"Get ready and change your clothes."

Xie Wang leaned against the terrace between the two wooden houses and shouted to the neighbor:

"I'll take you around the island."

……

Ten minutes later.

A rented electric scooter was parked on the dirt road.

Xie Wang, wearing sunglasses and with two buttons undone on his floral shirt, revealing his attractive collarbone, propped his long legs on the ground and patted the back seat, which was warm from the sun:

"Get in the car, I'll take you for a ride."

Su Qinghe changed into a lighter white short skirt, walked barefoot on the sand, carrying sandals in her hand, and jumped onto the back seat with a smile, naturally wrapping her arms around his lean waist.

"Hold on tight!"

Xie Wang turned the handle, and the little electric scooter sped off with a "whoosh".

The sea breeze was salty and damp, carrying a sweltering heat as it swept over us.

The electric scooter traveled along the island's ring road, with tropical plants and unidentified wildflowers growing freely on both sides, and the sea in the distance was an unreal blue.

"Xie Wang, slow down!"

Su Qinghe called out behind him, the wind ruffling her long hair, strands brushing against Xie Wang's neck, tickling him.

"Not slow!"

Xie Wang responded loudly, his voice full of youthful exuberance:

"There are no traffic police on this island! And no Director Yan either! The roads are all ours!"

He deliberately lowered the car body when going around the corner, which startled Su Qinghe, who cried out and hugged him even tighter.

The warmth from his body seeped through his thin shirt, and Xie Wang felt his heart beating faster than a motor.

He looked through the rearview mirror at the girl who was pressed close to him, her eyes crinkling with laughter.

Here, she was no longer the eldest daughter of the Su family who carried the expectations of her entire family.

She is just Su Qinghe.

It was a treasure hidden in this unknown corner of Xie Wang's heart when he was eighteen.

"Qinghe!"

Xie Wang shouted into the wind:

"Are you happy?!"

"happy--!!"

Su Qinghe also opened his mouth, his voice clear and melodious, carrying far in the sea breeze and dissipating in the wind of the wilderness.

……

The electric scooter passed through a dense coconut grove, and the view suddenly opened up.

A pristine, undeveloped white sandbar appeared before me. It was deserted; the waves gently lapped against the shore, and the setting sun painted the sea a dreamy pinkish-purple hue.

"arrive."

Xie Wang parked the car in the roadside bushes, too lazy to even take the keys out.

"Walk!"

He grabbed Su Qinghe's hand and, without even waiting for her to put on her shoes, pulled her barefoot and rushed towards the soft sand.

"Ah—the water is cold!"

The seawater reached his ankles, and Su Qinghe smiled and shrank back slightly, but quickly stepped back in.

The two ran on the beach, leaving a trail of footprints of varying depths, which were then smoothed out by the waves.

Run until you're exhausted.

The two stopped at the beach, panting, facing the vast and boundless sea.

The sea breeze made their clothes flutter, and the world seemed so vast that it felt like only the two of them remained.

As Xie Wang gazed at the magnificent seascape, an overwhelming surge of emotion welled up within him.

He suddenly cupped his hands to his mouth, faced the sea, and with all his might, let out a cry befitting an eighteen-year-old boy:

"Su-Qing-He-!!!"

The sound was deafening, startling a flock of seagulls.

Su Qinghe turned her head to look at him. The sea breeze ruffled her hair, and her eyes shone like stars in the sky.

"What?" she asked with a smile.

Xie Wang turned his head and looked at her, his eyes burning like fire:

"I love you--!!!"

At this moment, these three words were spoken without any hesitation or shyness.

Only openness, only passion.

Su Qinghe was stunned for a moment.

Immediately, her eyes reddened slightly, and her smile blossomed in the sunset, more beautiful than any other sight in the world.

She followed his example, cupping her hands to her mouth, facing the sea, the sky, and this unknown world, and called out the name hidden deep in her heart:

"Thank you—for your arrogance—!!"

"I love you too--!!!"

Two voices intertwined and echoed in the sea breeze.

This is the grandest confession of youth.