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

School ends in the evening.

Xie Wang actually doesn't really like sending messages that sound like a father figure.

After all, we're all seventeen or eighteen-year-old teenagers. Who hasn't had a time when they were all hot-blooded and only wanted to date rather than study?

The problem is that Lu Wen has been a bit too unrestrained in his relationship.

As Lu Wen's father, Xie Wang felt it was necessary to manage the risks.

He stood in front of a bubble tea shop with a long queue, one hand in his pocket, the other tapping on his phone screen, carefully choosing his words.

X: [Young Master Lu, I have something to remind you. Lin Lu dropped out of the top ten in the grade for this mock exam.]

X: [I'm not aiming to be the dean of students, but you need to be aware of this. Your family is wealthy and powerful; whether you go abroad or inherit the family fortune is up to you. Lin Lu is different; she has to get into a top university.]

X: [At times like this, if you really care about her, stop dragging her into those "youthful angst" truancy scenarios every day. Get her focused and help her review her studies.]

X: [If she regresses again next time, Teacher Su will really clean house.]

After sending this series of messages, Xie Wang breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that the red scarf on his chest was even brighter.

"Finished sending?"

A cool, clear voice came from the side.

Xie Wang turned his head and saw Su Qinghe studying the number slip in his hand.

She didn't tie her hair in a ponytail today; it was down and hanging on her sweatshirt, giving her a softer look that's appropriate for her age.

"Okay, all sent." Xie Wang put his phone back in his pocket. "The wording is precise and the emotions are sincere. He's practically a great Chinese father."

"..."

Xie Wang clicked his tongue.

As they were talking, the call number machine at the milk tea shop went off.

"Customer number 1024, please collect your order."

"I told you our number is auspicious, 1024, the lucky number for programmers." Xie Wang walked over and took two cups of milk tea from the clerk.

Both cups are large, but the colors and ingredients are completely different.

One cup is Xie Wang's, with succulent grapes, 70% sugar, no ice, and popcorn.

One cup is from Su Qinghe, cheese matcha, 30% sugar, hot, no toppings.

This is the difference between people.

Xie Wang inserted the straw and took a deep drag on his own drink.

The cool, sweet and sour grape pulp mixed with 70% sugar in soda instantly washes away fatigue.

Sweetness is justice.

Then, he turned his gaze to the cup of matcha in Su Qinghe's hand, which looked bland and tasteless.

"Teacher Su."

Xie Wang chewed on the crispy popsicles, making crunching sounds, and looked at her with a puzzled expression:

"I've always had a question: if you order only 30% sugar, or even nothing at all, what's the difference between that and drinking plain water?"

This is like going to a hot pot restaurant and ordering only clear broth, going to an internet cafe just to look up information, or going to an amusement park just to ride the carousel.

It's practically a desecration of the word "milk tea".

Su Qinghe held the warm cup, warming her slightly cold fingers. Upon hearing this, she merely glanced at him indifferently, then lowered her head and took a sip.

"70% sugar is too sweet and will mask the aroma of the matcha. Besides..."

She paused, then said in a little girl's tone:

"Excessive sugar intake accelerates skin oxidation, which means aging. I'm doing this to combat sugar."

"..."

Xie Wang looked at the girl in front of him who was beautiful even if she was wearing a burlap sack, and thought to himself that if your face needs to resist sugar, then Shen Hao's face probably needs to resist floods.

"I don't believe it." Xie Wang leaned closer. "Let me have a taste."

Su Qinghe didn't dodge; she simply handed the cup over slightly.

Xie Wang took a sip through her straw.

It's bland, too bland.

It has only a faint, almost imperceptible sweetness, with the majority of the flavor being the bitterness of matcha.

"...I take back what I just said."

Xie Wang swallowed the tea and commented with a complex expression:

"After drinking it, one feels completely at peace, and may even want to become a monk."

Su Qinghe looked at his expression, which seemed as if he had taken poison, and the corner of her mouth curled up almost imperceptibly.

Then, without any hesitation, she took another sip through the straw Xie Wang had just used and commented:

"I think it's just right, but it's you..."

She pointed to the purplish-red liquid in Xie Wang's hand:

"It's so sweet, you'll need some insulin."

"This is called a sweet burden," Xie Wang said confidently.

The two of them strolled leisurely down the pedestrian street, each holding a cup of milk tea.

Actually, there's nothing I really want to buy.

Xie Wang's shopping logic is usually: what he needs - where to buy it - pay - leave.

The entire process was smooth and efficient, taking no more than twenty minutes.

But it's different when I'm with Su Qinghe.

Even just staring blankly at a helium balloon vendor on the roadside, or discussing who is dressed better among the couples in front of you, seems to become meaningful.

This is probably what is known as the theory of relativity.

Are you hungry?

As I approached a takoyaki stall, the rich aroma of bonito flakes and mayonnaise forcefully filled my nostrils.

Xie Wang stopped and glanced at the little dumplings sizzling on the hot plate.

"It's alright." Su Qinghe rubbed his stomach. "I had pan-fried dumplings for dinner, so I'm not very hungry yet."

He said he wasn't hungry.

But Xie Wang clearly saw that her gaze lingered on the golden-brown, crispy meatball sprinkled with seaweed flakes for about 1.5 seconds.

For someone with Su Qinghe's strong self-control, a 1.5-second glance is basically equivalent to an ordinary person's "Holy crap, I want to eat this!"

I'm hungry.

Xie Wang acted decisively, offering a perfect way out:

"But I can't finish six in one serving, Teacher Su, you have to help me share some of the food."

This is called the art of language.

This satisfied his girlfriend's desire to eat but her shyness in asking, while also demonstrating his thoughtfulness.

I suggest that the book "High Emotional Intelligence Chatting Skills" should directly print Xie Wang's photo on the cover.

"...Since you can't finish them, I'll reluctantly eat two for you."

Su Qinghe pushed up his glasses, his tone reserved, but the little bit of excitement in his eyes was impossible to hide.

"Boss, one plain one, extra bonito flakes, extra sauce."

Xie Wang skillfully scanned the code to pay.

While waiting, a young couple, probably also in high school, were arguing next to me.

Girl: "I already told you I don't eat scallions! Why did you let him put them in?!" Boy: "Couldn't I just pick them out? Besides, scallions smell good..." Girl: "Let's break up! You don't care about my feelings at all!"

As Xie Wang listened to this story of "a bloody incident caused by a scallion," he couldn't help but turn his head to glance at Su Qinghe beside him.

Su Qinghe was intently watching the owner flip the meatballs when he noticed the gaze and turned his head:

"What's wrong?"

"It's nothing." Xie Wang smiled and nudged her lightly with his shoulder. "I just suddenly realized that Teacher Su is really easy to please. She's not picky about food, doesn't cause trouble, and will follow you wherever you want as long as you're fed."

Su Qinghe thought for a moment, then earnestly corrected him:

"First of all, I don't eat cilantro. Secondly, if someone wants to take me away, food alone won't do."

"Okay, okay, okay."

Xie Wang took the steaming hot paper boat box from the shopkeeper, picked up a dumpling with a bamboo skewer, blew on it, and held it to her lips:

"Then I'll use this three-dollar meatball to bribe you first."

Su Qinghe opened his mouth and bit down.

The outer layer is crispy, the inside is soft and chewy, and the piping hot octopus meat bursts on your tongue.

"Is it tasty?"

"Hmm." Su Qinghe puffed out his cheeks, like a hamster eating, and nodded vaguely. "The sauce here is pretty good."

Watching her eat, Xie Wang felt a greater sense of satisfaction than if he had gotten a perfect score on a test.

He ate one himself, then glanced at his phone.

Lu Wen hasn't replied yet.

He's probably busy explaining to Lin Lu why he took her to an internet cafe instead of a library.

"It looks quite lively up ahead."

After finishing the meatballs, Xie Wang threw the empty box into the trash can and pointed to a place not far away where a large group of people had gathered.

The place was bustling with noise, and exclamations of "Holy crap!" and "Awesome!" could be heard from time to time.

"Shall we go take a look?" Xie Wang suggested.

Xie Wang took her hand, put it in his coat pocket, and said lazily:

"Let's go, we're just killing time anyway. If we find something fun, I can win you a prize so you won't keep saying I'm not romantic enough."

"When did I say that?"

"Your eyes said it all."

"..."

The two chatted and joked as they slowly walked away.

The evening breeze was a bit cool, but my hands were warm in my pockets.