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

[9:40 PM · Convenience store near the school]

After the bell rang to signal the end of evening self-study, the autumn rain in Jiangcheng not only did not stop, but instead showed a tendency to get heavier.

The convenience store's sensor door opened with a "ding-dong," and a mixture of cold air and the steam from the oden hit you.

Xie Wang folded up the black umbrella with one hand, shook off the water droplets, and carefully protected the schoolbag in his arms with the other hand.

Su Qinghe followed behind him, holding a shopping list she had just finished writing.

"Welcome," the shop assistant said listlessly, slumped over the counter.

The two headed straight for the pet supplies section.

Standing in front of the shelf, Su Qinghe picked up a can of kitten formula and carefully examined the ingredient list:

"It's too small, its teeth haven't all come in yet, so I need to buy goat milk powder and this kind of kitten mousse canned food. The first three ingredients must be meat, and there can't be any palatability enhancers..."

Xie Wang stood behind her, looking at her serious expression, and couldn't help but smile.

He was already carrying a large bag of cat litter, and casually waved a pink cat toy in his hand:

"Teacher Su, that's enough."

Despite saying that, he casually tossed a bottle of pet shampoo and deworming medication into the basket:

"You're covered in mud and smell like fish. Don't even think about getting into my bed until you're all clean. Ugh, raising a cat is more troublesome than raising a child."

【10:15 · Genting Music Room 1602】

As soon as you enter, the warm lights come on, and the cozy feeling that belongs to home instantly dispels the chill of late autumn.

Xie Wang put the pile of bags on the ground, carefully placed the schoolbag in his arms on the sofa, and unzipped it.

"Meow~"

The rice ball that had been stuck inside finally poked its head out.

It was still covered in mud and water, its fur matted together, but its eyes were wet and sparkling with a cleverness.

It must have been holding in for too long; as soon as it came out, it tried to squeeze into the crack of the sofa.

"Don't run! That's a genuine leather sofa!"

Xie Wang reacted quickly, grabbing it by the scruff of its neck and lifting it into the air:

"You're filthy! Take a shower first, and you're not allowed to land until you're completely clean."

Su Qinghe rolled up her school uniform sleeves, revealing a section of her fair and slender arm, and asked with some concern, "Do you know how? Cats are very afraid of water, and it's so small, you have to control the water temperature carefully."

Xie Wang flexed his wrists, looking confident:

"Just kidding. I used to wash Lu Wen's Alaskan Malamute, which weighed over 100 pounds. How could a mere cat the size of a palm cause any trouble? Teacher Su, go get the hairdryer. I'll take care of this."

However, five minutes later.

Xie Wang's furious roar echoed from the bathroom, accompanied by the splashing sound of water:

"Damn it! Teacher Su! Come quick! Hold it down! It's scratching me!"

"Don't move! Water's in your ears! Are you a reincarnated loach?!"

When Su Qinghe rushed into the bathroom with a towel, he was met with a brutal scene of a battle between humans and cats.

The small bathroom was filled with steam. Xie Wang was soaked to the bone, his black T-shirt clinging tightly to his body, outlining the thin yet muscular lines of the young man.

He was desperately trying to catch the frantically thrashing kitten. Although the kitten was small, it had an extremely strong will to survive. Its four paws were clinging tightly to Xie Wang's arm, and its nails were about to dig into his flesh.

"Watch out, Xie Wang!"

Su Qinghe rushed over to help, ignoring the water stains on the ground. She knelt down beside Xie Wang, gently cradling the kitten's belly and soothing it softly.

"Don't be afraid, rice ball, it's just warm water..."

"It's not well-behaved at all!"

Xie Wang gritted his teeth; a red mark had already been scratched on his arm, but he kept his grip on the cat tight, afraid of hurting the little creature.

"It was so well-behaved in its schoolbag just now, but it turned into a monster as soon as it got wet. Teacher Su, you take the showerhead and I'll hold it down. I don't believe we can't get rid of it."

The fragrance of the shower gel filled the air with the steam.

"Look at it, doesn't it look like a drowned rat?" Xie Wang couldn't help but complain as he looked at the kitten curled up in a ball.

Su Qinghe carefully scrubbed the dirt behind the cat's ears, then suddenly chuckled softly:

"Thank you for your vain."

"Um?"

"Don't you think..." Su Qinghe turned her head and looked at Xie Wang's face, which was covered in foam:

"When we found him just now, the way he was huddled in that broken box, trembling, reminded me so much of the first time we met?"

Xie Wang paused for a moment, his movements slowing down slightly.

My memory was instantly pulled back to that rainy night.

Miss Su, looking disheveled, was hiding in a pile of broken cardboard boxes outside his door.

At that time, she was also soaking wet, wary and vulnerable, like a stray cat with nowhere to go.

"It does look quite similar."

Xie Wang lowered his head, looking at the trembling little life in his hand, a playful smile appearing on his lips:

"Back then, you were hiding at my doorstep, just as filthy and fierce as I was, and you even tried to negotiate with me."

No way.

Su Qinghe retorted, rinsing away the foam with the showerhead:

"You're the one who's more aggressive, and besides..."

She looked at the kitten, whose fur was gradually revealing its true color, and then at Xie Wang:

"Look how beautiful it is now, all the mud washed away. But you, you got covered in mud while trying to catch it..."

Su Qinghe paused, raised her eyes, and gently wiped away a bit of foam from his cheek. Her voice was very soft: "Just like Xie Wang back then, even though you were in a mess, you still showed me your cleanest side."

Xie Wang's heart was jolted.

"Teacher Su." Xie Wang grabbed her wrist and pressed it against his warm cheek: "Are you trying to make me doomed for life by saying something like that now?"

Su Qinghe's eyes darted away, her face flushed as she tossed the towel into his arms. "Hurry up and dry yourself, the cat's going to catch a cold."

[11:30 PM · Living Room]

After undergoing a baptism, the rice ball finally revealed its true form.

After drying its fur, it turned out to be a long-haired calico with excellent appearance.

Its white fur was fluffy and soft, with orange and black markings on its back. Its eyes were like two amber beads. It was lying comfortably on Xie Wang's lap, purring loudly.

Xie Wang sat cross-legged on the carpet, holding a hairdryer, looking at the little cutie on his lap with a complicated expression:

"Isn't this guy a little too overly familiar? He was scratching me just now, and now he's refusing to leave?"

Su Qinghe sat opposite him, applying bandages to the scratches on Xie Wang's arm.

She lowered her head, her expression focused:

"Animals are very perceptive; it knows that you saved it, that you are its savior."

After applying the band-aid, she gently blew on it.

"alright."

Xie Wang looked at the cartoon-patterned band-aid on his arm, smiled helplessly, and then took Su Qinghe's hand in return.

"Qinghe".

"Um?"

"It's too late, and the rain hasn't stopped outside." Xie Wang glanced at the pitch-black night outside the window. "And... look at it."

He pointed to the cat sleeping soundly on his lap, then to a pile of unopened cat food and medicine next to it:

"I still need to feed this little one and observe for any stress reactions. I really can't handle it all by myself."

He looked at Su Qinghe, his eyes filled with a hint of roguish pleading:

"Ms. Su, could you... stay and help with the night shift tonight?"

Su Qinghe was stunned for a moment.

She looked into Xie Wang's open and expectant eyes, then glanced at the fragile little cat.

Finally, she nodded slightly.

"...I'll go get a change of clothes."

……

Late at night.

Su Qinghe had already gone to sleep in the master bedroom. In order to take care of Fantuan, she put the cat bed on the bay window of the bedroom.

The main light in the living room was off, leaving only a dim floor lamp.

Xie Wang did not sleep.

He took a shower and sat down at the long table in the corner of the living room.

All three monitors lit up simultaneously.

He put on his headphones and skillfully logged into the Linux system.

[X]: [K, I'm trying to bypass the firewall of Tianlong Group's logistics subsidiary, but I found that their encryption protocol has been updated.]

He typed a line in the dialog box and sent it.

There was no reply; K is always elusive.

Xie Wang didn't wait; instead, his fingers flew across the mechanical keyboard as he began writing a new sniffing script.

He needs to find the flow of funds hidden in the massive logistics data stream in order to find clues to the destroyed evidence left by his mother years ago.

"As long as we can catch that IP address..."

Xie Wang muttered to himself, his eyes focused and sharp. The light from the screen reflected on his high nose, making him appear exceptionally cold and aloof.

The code is being generated line by line, and the logical chain is closing.

This is the most crucial step.

Just as the script was about to reach 99% and break through that critical port—

"Click."

A faint sound rang out in the quiet living room.

Followed by.

"Sizzle—"

The three screens in front of me went black simultaneously without warning.

The cool RGB lighting on the computer case went out instantly, and the humming of the fans stopped abruptly.

The whole world was plunged into a deathly silence and darkness.