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

The composition of the photo is very tricky.

The background is a dead-end alley behind the school's equipment room, dimly lit with only a single, cold light shining in the center.

That was a boy wearing a smart school uniform suit—Gu Yan.

In the photo, he is leaning gracefully against the wall with a gentle smile on his lips, but his foot is firmly planted on the face of a kneeling student.

The student's face was covered in blood, his glasses were shattered on the ground, and he opened his mouth in terror, begging for mercy.

Gu Yan held a cigarette between his fingers, the butt hovering above the student's eyes, seemingly enjoying some kind of thrill of controlling life and death.

Sunshine and violence, elegance and cruelty.

This stark contrast, combined with the graininess of black and white film, is striking.

"This is... Gu Yan?"

Seeing Xie Wang staring at the photo without moving, Lu Yi leaned closer and adjusted his glasses.

He glanced at the photo.

"The composition is perfect, isn't it?"

Lu Yi softly recited a line of poetry, her tone ethereal:

"He builds golden temples in the sunlight, but raises man-eating beasts in the darkness."

[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name: 10 ...

He extended his pale finger and touched Gu Yan's face in the photo from a distance:

"That's why I transferred schools. I couldn't stand the stench of hypocrisy filling my lens, but I had to record it. Because the shutter isn't just a machine; it's the guillotine of judgment, justice delayed."

Xie Wang turned his head and looked sharply at this usually eccentric and artistic young man:

"Did you take this photo?"

"Yes." Lu nodded. "I don't produce evil; I'm just a porter of evil."

Under the dim red developing light, the black and white photograph looked particularly glaring.

Xie Wang turned his head and stared at Lu Yi:

"Lu Yi, how did you meet Gu Yan?"

"Is that the school uniform in the photo from Beijing Affiliated High School? You used to go to school there?"

Lu Yi's gaze fell on the photograph.

"Yes, the Affiliated High School of Beijing, the so-called cradle of the aristocracy."

Lu Yi said softly, his tone tinged with mockery:

"I stayed there for two years. It was a very interesting place, with a strict hierarchy and a survival-of-the-fittest environment."

"The person being stepped on in the photo was simply because his sneakers got dirty by accident."

Xie Wang frowned: "So you took a picture, and then what? He found out?"

"certainly."

Lu Yi shrugged:

"I didn't notice it at the time, but I underestimated his informants."

"The next day after school, he and a few others ambushed me and stole my schoolbag."

Lu paused, recalling the scene. There was no fear in his eyes, but rather a cunning and triumphant glint.

"He took out a lighter right in front of me, lit the roll of rubber, and watched it burn to ashes."

He thought fire could destroy all evidence of his crimes.

Lu Yi looked at the photo and chuckled softly:

"What he burned were just the scraps I deliberately left in my bag, while the real evidence has already been immortalized in the cloud."

Xie Wang listened to these words.

Nice job.

"Lu Yi, you're fucking handsome."

"Do you mind if I take a picture?"

Lu Yi adjusted his glasses and made a polite "please" gesture.

"Take photos. Art is not only for appreciation, but also for judgment."

"Click."

The flash went off, and a high-resolution photo was captured on Xie Wang's phone.

After doing all this, Xie Wang put away his phone, feeling great.

"Road One".

Xie Wang suddenly spoke, his voice less casual than usual and more serious:

"You were doing well at that high school in Beijing, and then suddenly you were asked to leave and transfer to Jiangcheng... Is it because of this?"

Lu Yi paused slightly as he sorted through the negatives.

"To be precise..."

"It's because I refused to cooperate with their act of a prodigal son returning home."

"The next day, Gu Yan brought the dean of students to me. They gave me a written letter of repentance, in which I stated that I took those photos because of my twisted mentality, spying on my classmates' privacy, and spreading false rumors on campus."

"Then what did you do?" Xie Wang stared at him.

"I?"

Lu Yi suddenly raised his head, his eyes burning with an almost obstinate flame, and said proudly in an epic-reciting tone:

I told them—

"If surviving in this false Eden requires having my spine removed, then I'd rather be an exiled heretic."

"I tore up the letter of repentance in front of them and threw it in their faces. I will never sell my soul."

At this point, Lu Yi's tone shifted back to that helpless, teasing tone:

"And then... you know how it ended. I was forced to resign and sent to Jiangcheng overnight."

After hearing these words, Xie Wang remained silent for two seconds.

"Road One".

"You look like you have kidney deficiency, but you're actually quite strong."

"Don't worry, we'll avenge you."

After speaking, Xie Wang flexed his wrist:

"Alright, that's the end of the story. Now there's one more thing."

"What?" Lu Yi asked, bewildered.

"Eat! Look at you, you're so skinny you look like a dried-up corpse. People who don't know better would think our school is abusing transfer students."

Without saying a word, Xie Wang bent down again and hoisted him onto his shoulder.

"Hey, hey, hey! Xie Wang! Let's talk this out! A gentleman uses words, not fists!"

"Stop talking nonsense."

Xie Wang completely ignored his protests, carrying him out with long strides, and casually patted him on the butt:

"Come on, upstairs! I'll show you what true culinary delights are all about!"

……

As soon as you enter, a rich and fragrant aroma wafts over you.

The table was already full of plates. The king crab, brought back from the island, was now lying in the center of the table, its color bright red. Next to it were boiled prawns, steamed grouper, and a large plate of stir-fried clams.

It was practically a seafood feast.

"You're back?"

Su Qinghe came out of the kitchen carrying the last plate of garlic oysters. When she saw Lu Yi being carried in by Xie Wang, she couldn't help but laugh.

"Wash your hands and eat. Everything we brought back from the beach today is very fresh."

Xie Wang placed Lu Yi on a chair and pointed proudly to the table full of dishes:

"How is it, Master Lu? A feast, isn't it?"

"I and Teacher Su personally went to the seafood market to bargain and buy this."

As Xie Wang spoke, he deftly broke off a large crab leg and handed it to Lu Yi:

Here, this is for you to have the first bite.

Lu Yi looked at the crab leg that was emitting an enticing aroma.

His expression changed.

He slowly leaned back, looking at something with a melancholy air, as if gazing at some deadly poison.

"The sea..."

When Lu opened his mouth, it was in that aria-like tone again:

"The ocean is the cradle of all life, and also the final resting place of all corpses. These crustaceans, they devour decay in the deep sea, their bodies carrying the stench of original sin..."

He shook his head, refusing with a look of pity:

"I can't eat it. It's a desecration of the spirits of the deep sea. My soul will be allergic to it and have a rejection reaction."

Xie Wang: "..."

Su Qinghe: "..."

Xie Wang's hand, holding the crab leg, froze in mid-air, his lips twitching: "Lu Yi, can you speak like a human being?"

Lu Yi sighed, took off his glasses, rubbed his temples, and finally spoke in a normal tone:

"I am allergic to seafood."

"puff--"

Su Qinghe was drinking water when he heard this and choked on it, quickly turning around to cough.

Xie Wang was stunned for two seconds, then burst into laughter and bent over, throwing the crab leg back into the plate.

At last.

At that sumptuous seafood feast.

Xie Wang and Su Qinghe were enjoying the delicious and sweet crab meat.

Lu Yi, on the other hand, was holding a bowl of clear soup noodles that Su Qinghe had specially cooked for him.

He ate his noodles while watching the two peel shrimp, occasionally offering a comment:

"What a waste... However, the taste of this noodle is acceptable, with a kind of minimalist simplicity."

"Master Lu, don't be sad, I'll treat you to hot pot tomorrow."

The laughter inside, mingled with the aroma of food, dispelled all the gloom.