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

The sea breeze became rather biting.

Xie Wang stared at the screen, the chill in his eyes even deeper than the night.

He calmly cut off the script and opened the encrypted black chat software.

[X]: [K, are you still awake? Tianlong Group's actions this time are suspicious. Their whitewashing is too fast; even the regulators seem to be giving them the green light. Do you have any inside information?]

The chat window lit up less than ten seconds after the message was sent.

[K]: 【I knew you'd ask that; I was just about to reach out to you.】

[K]: [Something's definitely not right. Apocalypse's intelligence network just intercepted news—Gu Nan, the eldest son of the Gu family, is back.]

Xie Wang stared at the name "Gu Nan," his fingers unconsciously tapping the touchpad.

[K]: [This person is very difficult to deal with. He brought back a top-notch PR team, and... there seems to be an unseen force supporting him behind the scenes.]

Xie Wang's heart sank.

[X]: 【What about the previous evidence of money laundering?】

[K]: [That incident really damaged their cash flow and crippled them.]

[K]: [But Gu Nan is too ruthless. As soon as he returned, he secured a huge overseas financing deal, effectively plugging the hole in the cash flow.]

[K]: [X, although I hate to admit it, because of his meticulousness, Apocalypse is currently powerless against him.]

Looking at these lines of text, Xie Wang felt an unprecedented sense of oppression.

Just then, K's message popped up again:

[K]: 【However, you don't need to worry.】

[K]: Apocalypse will definitely guarantee your safety.

[X]: Thanks, K.

[K]: [You're welcome. Get some sleep, junior programmer. Don't die before you get your revenge.]

After shutting down the computer, Xie Wang did not return to his room.

He sat in the wicker chair on the terrace all night.

……

[The following morning at 07:00 AM · Sunny]

The sky was turning a pale white as the rising sun pierced through the clouds.

Su Qinghe woke up groggily.

"Xie Wang?"

She rubbed her eyes, sat up, and saw a tall, slender figure standing quietly on the terrace outside the French windows, facing the sea, motionless, not knowing how long he had been standing there.

The sea breeze ruffled the hem of his clothes, making him appear somewhat lonely.

Su Qinghe jumped off the bed barefoot, opened the French windows, and went outside.

"Why are you up so early?"

Su Qinghe walked behind him, hugged his waist from behind, pressed her face against his back, and spoke in a soft, sleepy voice.

Xie Wang's body stiffened for a moment, then quickly relaxed.

He turned around, and in the process, he put his arm around Su Qinghe and kissed her on the forehead.

"Good morning, Teacher Su. Isn't this the last day? I want to see more of the sea."

"Yeah?"

Su Qinghe tilted her head back in his arms, looking at him suspiciously:

"Did you sleep well last night?"

"OK."

Xie Wang is lying through his teeth.

Su Qinghe stared at his face for three seconds.

Then, she broke free from his embrace.

She stood with her hands on her hips, her brows slightly furrowed, her phoenix eyes scanning Xie Wang's face before finally pointing at his eyes, her tone a mixture of exasperation and amusement:

"Xie Wang, do you think I'm blind?"

Su Qinghe stood on tiptoe and reached out to poke the obvious dark spot under his eye:

"So what's with those dark circles under your eyes? Are you preparing to become a national treasure?"

Xie Wang: "..."

Careless.

He subconsciously touched the corner of his eye, trying to make an excuse:

"This...this is a 'silkworm' under the eyes, it might have gotten a little bigger recently."

"Keep making things up, keep making things up."

Su Qinghe rolled her eyes at him, but the heartache in her eyes was undeniable.

She took a deep breath, not dwelling on the joke, but instead suppressing her smile. Her clear eyes looked directly into his, cutting straight to the point:

"Is it because of the Tianlong Group?"

Xie Wang's smile froze for a moment.

He sighed helplessly, his shoulders slumped, and he no longer put on that indifferent air.

He reached out and gently pinched her puffed-up cheek, his voice low and gentle:

"Teacher Su understands me best."

"Yes," Xie Wang admitted, his tone tinged with weariness. "Gu Nan is back. He's completely shut down the news online, and even tried to shift the blame. Tianlong Group is now completely undetected."

Su Qinghe remained silent.

She listened quietly, her brows slightly furrowed.

The sea breeze swept across the terrace, ruffling the two people's hair.

After a while.

Su Qinghe's tightly furrowed brows suddenly relaxed, and a sharp glint flashed in his eyes.

"Thank you for your vain."

She stepped forward, extended her finger, and gently poked Xie Wang's chest:

"Are you getting carried away? Who said we have to confront them head-on right now?"

Su Qinghe reached out and gently smoothed his furrowed brows with her fingertips, her voice as soft as a sea breeze caressing the heart:

"Xie Wang, don't rush, we'll take it slowly."

Su Qinghe stood on tiptoe and whispered in Xie Wang's ear.

Her breath was warm, her voice low, carrying a confident air and a hint of a secret that belonged only to them:

"How about we... leave it like this for now..."

She whispered in his ear, her voice growing softer and softer:

"...and then like this...and like this again...finally, when the time comes, we'll do it like that..."

As she spoke, Xie Wang's previously dim peach blossom eyes gradually brightened.

How could he not have thought of that?!

He was caught up in the urgency of "revenge," always thinking of killing with one blow, forgetting that the best hunters are often the most patient.

Xie Wang lowered his head and looked at the smiling, clear-eyed girl in front of him, feeling an overwhelming sense of shock.

He pulled her close, his forehead touching hers, and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Teacher Su..."

"Um?"

"How did you even get your head shaped like that?"

Xie Wang looked at her, his eyes filled with amazement and undisguised love, a mischievous smile playing on his lips.

"Teacher Su, you're really clever! That trick is even more insidious than mine."

Su Qinghe proudly raised his chin:

"That's right, otherwise how could I teach you?"

"Alright, now that the plan is set," she patted Xie Wang on the shoulder and commanded, "there's only one task left—we're going home so you can catch up on your sleep."

"Yes, sir!"

Xie Wang scooped her up in his arms, his laughter hearty, all traces of gloom gone.

"Listen to Teacher Su! Go home!"