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

The raging storm that engulfed the world last night came and went quickly.

As the first rays of dawn pierced through the gaps in the curtains and fell upon the bedside, the whole world felt cleansed and the sound of the waves softened once more.

Bed.

Xie Wang opened his eyes and subconsciously touched the person beside him to make sure the person in his arms was still there before he breathed a sigh of relief.

Immediately afterwards, he felt a dull, throbbing pain in his side.

"hiss……"

Xie Wang gasped, rubbed his lower back, and looked at Su Qinghe, who was sleeping soundly in his arms with one leg brazenly straddling his stomach, and smiled helplessly.

Who would have thought that the eldest daughter of the Su family, who usually sits upright and walks with a confident stride, would have such a... wild sleeping posture?

"Wake up, little pig."

Xie Wang pinched her nose and mischievously shook it.

Su Qinghe frowned, let out a soft moan, and opened her eyes groggily. Seeing Xie Wang's handsome face looming large, she subconsciously rubbed against him.

"Good morning, has the rain stopped?"

"It stopped a long time ago."

Xie Wang removed her unruly leg from his body, pointed to his waist, and teased her with a half-smile:

"Teacher Su, you slept soundly last night? You almost kicked my kidney and ruined it."

Su Qinghe was stunned for a moment, then instantly came to her senses, and a blush rose to her cheeks:

"Nonsense... I sleep very soundly."

"Honest?" Xie Wang raised an eyebrow, pulled up the hem of his shirt, and pointed to a faint red mark on his side. "The evidence is conclusive, how can I deny it? It's just that I'm tough."

Su Qinghe looked at the red mark, guiltily turned her face away, and muttered under her breath:

"That just means you still need to practice."

Xie Wangqi laughed, rolled over and tickled her:

"So, Su Qinghe, you've learned to talk back, haven't you? Just wait and see how I deal with you..."

"Hahaha... Stop fooling around! Xie Wang, let's go beachcombing, the sunrise is almost over!"

……

【7:00 AM · Rocky Beach】

After washing up, the two of them, carrying the two small red plastic buckets and iron tongs lent to them by the guesthouse owner, excitedly rushed towards the rocky beach after the tide receded.

On the eastern horizon, a red sun is slowly rising.

But the two of them had no time to appreciate the scenery, because—

"Xie Wang! Over there! There's a big one in that crevice between the rocks!"

Su Qinghe pointed to a puddle ahead, his voice trembling with excitement.

Xie Wang followed slowly behind, carrying the bucket, watching the young lady who was wearing sun-protective clothing and wrapped up tightly in her clothes:

"Slow down, don't slip. That's a sea anemone, not a big one, it just sprays water."

"Huh?" Su Qinghe withdrew his hand in disappointment.

But soon, she found a new target. A tiny crab, no bigger than a thumb, was strutting arrogantly across the beach, brandishing its pincers.

"This is a crab! You can catch it!"

Su Qinghe's eyes lit up. He remembered the beachcombing videos he had seen on Douyin and confidently stretched out two fingers, trying to pinch the crab's shell.

However, there is always a gap between theory and practice.

Although the little crab was small, it had never seen such an arrogant human in its life, and it retaliated with a backhand swipe.

"Click."

"what!"

Su Qinghe screamed and flung her hand away, but the little crab held her index finger tightly, swinging in the air with her movements, refusing to let go.

"Xie Wang!! Help!! It bit me!!"

Su Qinghe was in so much pain that tears were about to come out. She shook her hand and hid behind Xie Wang.

Xie Wang looked at the "miniature ferocious beast" hanging on her hand and couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"You're still laughing!" Su Qinghe kicked his shin in anger.

"Okay, okay, I won't laugh, I won't laugh."

Xie Wang suppressed a laugh, grabbed her wrist, and gently pinched the base of the crab's claws with his other hand, applying a little force.

The little crab fell into the bucket with a "plop".

Su Qinghe looked at her fingers, which were red and swollen, and blew on them with a pitiful expression.

"Why are all the creatures in this sea so ferocious?"

Xie Wang ruffled her hair and glanced at the lone little crab in the bucket:

"It's okay, I'll blow it up tonight to avenge you."

The next two hours.

The two searched every single rock on the rocky beach.

Although Xie Wang spoke eloquently, saying things like "there are octopuses in these kinds of holes" and "there are clams under those sandbags," when it came to actually digging...

It's all empty.

It's either a hermit crab or one of those inedible sea cockroaches.

When the clock struck eight, the sun had become scorching.

The two stood on the beach, looking at the buckets they were carrying.

In Su Qinghe's bucket: a thumb crab that had pinched her, two pretty seashells, and a stone that looked like SpongeBob SquarePants.

In Xie Wang's bucket: two crabs slightly larger than thumb crabs, a dead fish that somehow got in there, and half a bucket of sand.

"..."

silence.

"Ahem." Xie Wang cleared his throat, hiding the bucket behind his back in an attempt to salvage his dignity. "Well... it must be because of the heavy rain yesterday, which is an unavoidable factor."

Su Qinghe pushed up his sunglasses and exposed him without any mercy:

"Admit it, Xie Wang, we're both noobs."

Xie Wang: "..."

【09:30 AM · Seafood Market】

Since they failed to get rich through their own hard work, the two decided to use their "money power".

The seafood market was bustling with noise, the ground was wet, and the air was filled with a strong fishy smell.

The two stopped in front of a huge glass tank.

A huge king crab was swimming inside, and its meat looked incredibly delicious.

"Boss, how much are these crabs?" Su Qinghe asked, pointing to the crab.

The boss was a bald, burly man with a gold chain around his neck. He sized up the two young, fair-skinned couple, who were clearly from out of town. His eyes darted around, and he gestured with one hand:

"This was just air-freighted in, top-quality! Since you're so keen on it, it's a flat price of seven thousand!"

Xie Wang was watching the mantis shrimps nearby when he heard this number and almost choked on his saliva.

He turned his head sharply, his eyes wide like saucers:

"How many??"

However, before he could speak...

Su Qinghe nodded, calmly took out his phone, and opened the payment code:

"Seven thousand, right? Okay, help me get it out."

Just as the boss was all smiles and preparing to grab the net,

A large hand suddenly pressed down on Su Qinghe's phone.

"Wait a minute!"

Xie Wang pulled Su Qinghe behind him, looked at her as if she were an idiot, and then turned to the boss:

"Boss, isn't that a bit unfair of you? Are you taking advantage of out-of-towners who don't know anything about this place?"

The shopkeeper was taken aback, then scoffed dismissively, "Young man, this is king crab! If you think it's too expensive, go buy clams!"

Xie Wang wasn't annoyed. He circled the water vat and pointed to one of the crab's legs:

"It's definitely a king crab, but this crab is practically lifeless. Look at its legs, it's too lazy to even move. And the water—it's clearly been kept in storage for several days. Seven thousand? Are you robbing me?"

He stretched out one hand, fingers spread, with a resolute expression:

"five hundred."

The air froze instantly.

Su Qinghe stared wide-eyed from behind: "???"

The shopkeeper nearly dropped the net he was holding into the water, his face trembling with anger: "How much? Five hundred? You're dreaming! Five hundred won't even buy you a crab shell! Get out! Get out of here! Stop causing trouble!"

"Six hundred," Xie Wang calmly raised the price. "That's the most I can offer."

"Get lost! Less than six thousand? No way!"

"Eight hundred." Xie Wang wasn't in a hurry. He pulled Su Qinghe and was about to leave. "These crabs don't look very lively. The meat will shrink when we steam them. Qinghe, let's go. The one up ahead looks fresh."

Su Qinghe was dragged outside by him, looking completely bewildered.

"Hey! Come back!"

When the boss saw this, he panicked. These days, it's hard to find a sucker. He had to take advantage of whoever he could. If he let them get away, he would be out of luck.

"Alright, alright! I'll consider it a loss since you're students! Three thousand! That's the lowest I can go!"

Xie Wang stopped, turned around, and gestured: "One thousand."

"Two thousand five hundred! That's the lowest I can go!"

"One thousand and two."

"Two thousand! I've lost everything, even my underwear!"

"Fifteen thousand. Boss, business is all about steady profits. If you can't sell these crabs today, they'll be worthless tomorrow if they die." Xie Wang smiled and threw out his trump card.

The boss gritted his teeth, stared at Xie Wang for a long time, and finally, like a deflated balloon, slapped his thigh hard.

"Fine, fine, fine! 1500! Take it, take it! I'm really impressed by you, so young and yet so sharp-tongued!"

……