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

According to Murphy's Law, just when you think tonight is going to be an ordinary night of eating and shopping, fate always has a huge temptation waiting for you on the street corner.

A large crowd surrounded a roadside stall, making it impossible to move.

The stall owner, a middle-aged man with a buzz cut, was standing on a stool, giving a inflammatory speech through a megaphone, spitting as he spoke:

"Push your limits! Challenge yourself! The Digital Marathon has begun!"

"The rules are simple! Write numbers in order on a blank sheet of paper! If you write 500, you can choose any of these trendy plush toys from this wall! If you write 1000, you'll not only get a plush toy, but also a set of Wanda Cinema couple's tickets!"

"Only 30 yuan! For 30 yuan, you won't lose out or be cheated, but you'll buy your girlfriend's admiration!"

Xie Wang originally scoffed at this kind of low-level street scam.

These games make money purely by exploiting people's visual fatigue and short-term memory interference; they fall into the category of "intelligence tax."

He was about to pull Su Qinghe away when he found he couldn't move him.

Turning his head, he saw his classmate Su Qinghe, who usually remained calm even when faced with the most challenging questions in the Olympiad, stop in his tracks and fix his gaze through the crowd on the most conspicuous spot on the stall.

There's a little eight hanging there.

It's that little Hachiko with the blue and white color scheme, the middle parting, and the silly-looking face.

Su Qinghe stared at the doll, a look of longing in his eyes.

Xie Wang had only seen that look in her eyes when she solved an extremely difficult physics problem.

"want to?"

Xie Wang leaned closer, feigning ignorance.

Su Qinghe withdrew her gaze, trying to regain her usual aloof and composed demeanor, but the fingers gripping the milk tea cup unconsciously tightened.

"That little Hachi... is quite cute."

"Alright, Teacher Su."

Looking at her adorable appearance, Xie Wang stuffed the milk tea in his hand into hers, a helpless yet doting smile curving his lips.

He stretched his wrists, walked straight to the stall, and sat down with an air of authority.

"Boss, one round, please."

When the boss saw that it was a high school student in a school uniform with a pretty female classmate standing behind him, he was overjoyed.

These naive young men who throw money away just to show off in front of girls are his favorite customer group.

"Alright, handsome! You know the rules, right? 30 yuan deposit. Any mistake, correction, or pause for more than 3 seconds results in a loss! No refund!"

The boss handed me a pen and a piece of white paper with a smile.

Xie Wang scanned the QR code to pay, took the pen, and remained calm.

Unlike the others, he didn't rush to write; instead, he first glanced at the edges of the paper.

In his mind, a two-dimensional coordinate system was instantly established on this blank sheet of paper.

No horizontal lines? No problem.

"start!"

At the boss's command, Xie Wang's pen fell to the ground.

"1, 2, 3, 4..."

He wrote very quickly and rhythmically.

The size and spacing of each number are so neat it's almost unbelievable.

Su Qinghe stood to the side, holding a skewer of grilled meat, but forgot to eat it, his eyes fixed on the tip of his pen.

When he reached 100, the boss began his "traditional skill".

"Young man, your handwriting is quite good! Which school do you go to? Dating not only costs money but also requires effort!"

Xie Wang turned a deaf ear.

When he got to 200, the boss raised his voice.

"Oh dear! What comes after 225 again? Isn't it 236? No, no, it's 248!"

The onlookers around were all worried for Xie Wang.

But Xie Wang didn't even lift his eyelids.

In his world, there was only the scratching sound of pen tip rubbing against paper.

This is an absolute focus cultivated through countless late nights of coding practice and deriving formulas during noisy self-study sessions.

Finally, we reached 300.

This is the death hurdle for most people.

The boss suddenly slammed his hand on the table and yelled into Xie Wang's ear through a megaphone:

"388! Congratulations on your fortune!!!"

The loud noise startled Su Qinghe, who almost dropped the milk tea in his hand.

However, Xie Wang's wrist only paused for an extremely slight 0.01 seconds.

His pen tip didn't tremble, didn't tilt, and didn't even add more ink.

He wrote down "301" steadily.

The boss was stunned.

Is this kid's nerve made of iron?

400……450……499，500!

Xie Wang paused, then looked up: "500 is here."

The boss looked a little grim, but he glanced at the "Little Eight" on the shelf and thought that the wholesale price of this thing was only a dozen yuan, so he might as well give it away and get rid of this big Buddha statue as soon as possible so as not to delay his money making.

"Alright, alright! You're good, young man!" The boss reached for the plush toy. "Here, take your prize and make room for the next person..."

"Wait a minute."

Xie Wang neither got up nor took the doll.

He flipped the half-written sheet of paper over, twirled the pen in his long, slender fingers, and his eyes held a hint of youthful arrogance and defiance:

"Who said I was leaving?"

"Isn't it written in the rules? If you write 1000, you get a movie ticket."

Xie Wang pointed to the two movie tickets hanging there and smiled:

"Perfect timing! I'd like to invite Su to a movie this weekend. Boss, shall we continue?"

The boss's face instantly turned green.

That movie ticket cost a real over one hundred yuan!

"No... young man, you should be content! There are other people in line behind you..." the boss tried to renege.

This displeased the onlookers.

Everyone was thoroughly enjoying the spectacle; it was like a thrilling story!

"Boss, this isn't fun! The rules are written very clearly!"

"Exactly! He wrote it based on his own ability, why can't he continue?"

"Let him write! Let him write!"

Amidst the commotion, Su Qinghe also took a step forward.

The boss was caught in a dilemma, and could only grit his teeth and sit back down with a dark face.

"Fine! You've got guts! Write! Let's see how long you can hold out!"

Xie Wang lowered his head again.

This time, he was even faster.

501, 502...

But Xie Wang's mindset became increasingly stable.

800...900...

The boss was completely desperate.

He sang "Good Luck" on the side, banged on a pot, and even started telling lame jokes in an attempt to distract Xie Wang.

But Xie Wang seemed to be welded to the chair, and even had a mocking smile on his lips.

998, 999, 1000.

"Smack."

The pen was slammed on the table.

Xie Wang let out a long breath, rubbed his slightly numb wrist, leaned back in his chair, and looked at the ashen-faced boss:

"Boss, let's inspect the goods."

The audience erupted in applause.

The shop owner's hands were trembling as he held the densely packed, yet neatly arranged paper, which looked like printed text.

He just couldn't understand it. Why would male high school students go to such lengths to save a hundred or two hundred yuan when they're dating?!

"Okay...okay."

The boss gritted his teeth and swallowed his anger, the paper covered in numbers rustling in his hands.

He thought to himself that he hadn't checked the almanac before going out today and had run into a tough nut to crack. He should just get rid of this plague god as soon as possible.

"Here you go! Movie tickets are yours! And you can take that lousy cat too!"

The boss slammed the two movie vouchers on the table, looking like he had nothing to lose.

Xie Wang was in a great mood. He reached for the movie ticket and was about to hug the little eight doll when Su Qinghe, who had been standing behind him, suddenly reached out and gently pressed his wrist.

"Wait a moment."

The cold, clear voice sounded particularly out of place in the noisy night market.

Xie Wang paused for a moment, then turned around: "What's wrong, Teacher Su?"

Su Qinghe raised her hand, her slender, fair finger pointing directly at the other two dolls on the stall shelf.

A pale yellow creature with rabbit ears, whose mental state appears unstable.

A snow-white, round-faced, and seemingly easy-to-bully Gigi.

"One family."

Su Qinghe looked at the two lone dolls:

"The most important thing is to keep everything neat and tidy; Hachiko will be lonely by herself."

After speaking, she turned her head, her eyes, which appeared exceptionally innocent and harmless behind her non-prescription glasses, quietly looking at her boss, who was now on the verge of collapse.

"Boss, I want to try it too."

Upon hearing this, the boss's eyelids twitched violently.

He sized up the girl in front of him.

He was fair-skinned, thin, wore glasses, and was quiet and reserved. He seemed afraid to even speak loudly, completely different from the arrogant man from before.

These female students usually get tired after writing 200 words, and they'll cry if you scare them even slightly.

The boss's mental calculations started working again instantly.

Maybe we can make back the money we lost on the movie tickets and the cat by spending it on this little girl?

"Sure, beautiful!" The boss's bitter expression vanished instantly, replaced by a creepy uncle's smile as he tried to seduce a little rabbit. "But as you've seen, our rules are quite strict..."

"I know."

Su Qinghe interrupted his nonsense, took out his phone from his pocket, and smoothly scanned thirty yuan into the purse.

"No movie tickets needed. If I write down 1000, those two," she pointed to Usachi and Giy, "are mine, okay?"

"Deal!" the boss agreed readily, as if afraid she would change her mind.

Xie Wang raised an eyebrow, consciously gave up the throne, and stood aside with his arms crossed, a wicked smile on his lips as he watched a good show.

He knows Su Qinghe too well.

This boss is going to lose everything today, down to his last penny.

Su Qinghe sat down.

"Start!" the boss commanded.

Su Qinghe made a move.

"1, 2, 3..."

When the number reached 300, the boss got anxious.

Why doesn't this girl stop?!

He resorted to his old trick and slammed the broken gong hard: "Bang—!!!"

"Beautiful lady! Look at this lantern, it's so big and round..."

Su Qinghe didn't even raise his head.

She even wrote faster because she found him noisy.

Xie Wang watched from the sidelines, thoroughly amused.

This is a passive skill: The Absolute Domain of a Genius.

500...800...

The boss has completely stopped talking.

His hand holding the megaphone fell limply to his side as he looked at the frail-looking girl, his eyes filled with awe for intellectuals.

Is this guy really here to find love?

Is this person here to cause trouble?!

A few minutes later.

"Finished writing."

Su Qinghe put down his pen.

She even neatly arranged the papers and handed them to the petrified boss with both hands:

Boss: "..."

That's like killing someone by breaking their spirit!

The boss took the paper with trembling hands.

"I...I lost."

The boss felt a wave of dizziness, realizing that he had not only failed to consult the almanac before leaving home today, but might have also offended the God of Literature.

……

[19:30 PM · Pedestrian Street Exit]

That night, a legend circulated on the pedestrian street that a male and female duo had robbed a doll stall.

Xie Wang held the two movie tickets in one hand, and with the other hand he was loosely protecting Su Qinghe's side, afraid that the pile of spoils in her arms would fall out.

Su Qinghe was holding three lively children in his arms, which were piled up to the brim.

The three little ones huddled together in her arms, a big, soft bundle.

Xie Wang leaned closer, reached out to catch Usachi who was about to fall, and gently bumped her with his shoulder:

"You won back three at once... Is your room a bit cramped? Especially this rabbit, it's so noisy."

"It's not crowded."

Su Qinghe looked up, the streetlight shining brightly in her eyes:

"If there's no room on the bedside table, you can put them over there and let them sleep with you."

"...So I'm your warehouse manager?"

"You don't want to?"

Xie Wang chuckled softly at her "you dare say no and try" expression.

"Yes, it would be my honor."

The two walked side by side, their shadows stretched long by the streetlights.

Behind me, the stall was already deserted.

It is said that the blond-haired boss changed the signboard overnight to: "Small business, only for those with affinity; those with high aspirations, please turn right and rob a bank."