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

[15:30 PM]

It was during the break between classes in the classroom of Senior Three (1).

Xie Wang was explaining a physics problem to Su Qinghe when his cell phone, which was in the desk drawer, suddenly started vibrating wildly.

I secretly picked it up and saw that it was a voice message from Lu Wen.

Xie Wang forwarded the first message, and what greeted his eyes was Lu Wen's furious roar:

[Lu Wen]: 【Xie Wang! I'm not taking this cat anymore! It peed on my lap! Peed!!】

[Lu Wen]: [I'm currently in the pet hospital's toilet, and I'm too scared to go out! The nurses are giving me weird looks! They think I'm a grown man who wets his pants!!]

Next came a photograph.

In the photo, Lu Wen stands in front of the bathroom mirror at the pet hospital, looking utterly dejected.

He took off his suit jacket and tied it around his waist, trying to cover that embarrassing area, his eyes losing their light.

"puff--"

Xie Wang couldn't help but laugh, leaning on the table.

Su Qinghe leaned closer: "What's wrong?"

Xie Wang handed her his phone, unable to suppress a laugh:

"It's nothing, it's just that Young Master Lu received a beating from Rice Ball."

After looking at the photos, Su Qinghe couldn't help but smile.

"It seems that the rice ball really likes him, it even uses him as a litter box."

Xie Wang replied to Lu Wen with a smile:

[X]: [Stay calm, it's a boy's urine, it wards off evil spirits.]

[X]: 【Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Lu. I'll treat you to barbecue later. Is the cat alright?】

[Lu Wen]: [The cat is doing great. It just got its shot and is snuggling cutely in the vet's lap.]

[Lu Wen]: [Forget it, I'm not talking to you anymore. I need to hurry and get someone to bring me a pair of pants; this smell is too strong.]

[20:40 PM]

After evening self-study, the two of them bought a large bag of guilt-ridden late-night snacks from "Fatty's BBQ," the most popular restaurant near the school gate.

Enter the underground parking garage.

I saw Lu Yi's car again.

"Click".

The car door opened.

Lu Yi slowly crawled out, clutching the thick book "Thus Spoke Zarathustra".

"Master Lu?"

Xie Wang raised an eyebrow, took Su Qinghe's hand, and walked over, shaking the bag in his hand that smelled of cumin and chili:

"Back so late? Went for a drive in your tank?"

Lu Yi turned her head, glanced at Xie Wang with dreamy eyes, and then affectionately touched the pink car roof:

"I'm experiencing the embers of speed and passion... Although it only has a power of 20 kilowatts, in the dead of night in Wuhan, it is my Noah's Ark to escape the mundane world."

As he spoke, his nose suddenly twitched.

A domineering aroma of oil and spices relentlessly entered his nostrils, interrupting his reverie.

Lu Yi's gaze fell on the plastic bag in Xie Wang's hand, and his Adam's apple bobbed in a very honest manner.

Su Qinghe suppressed a laugh, looked at the melancholy-faced artist, and extended an invitation:

"We bought a lot of barbecue, would you like to join us?"

Lu hesitated for two seconds.

He glanced at the obscure philosophy book in his hand, then at the bag of steaming meat skewers.

Ultimately, hunger prevailed.

"Since it's a gift from the top scholar..."

Once the road was locked, he got into his car and slowly followed.

"Then I'll reluctantly let this tired body participate in this late-night carb party."

……

【Room 1602 - Living Room】

"drop--"

The living room was quiet, with only a dim floor lamp on.

On that large beige leather sofa, a tall figure was curled up.

Lu Wen.

He was sleeping soundly, with obvious dark circles under his eyes, and he was still holding that...cat carrier in his arms?

No, it's holding a cat.

The rice ball that had been running wild on his lap during the day was now lying on his chest, sleeping soundly with his breathing.

This scene possessed an eerie harmony and warmth.

"Shhh."

Xie Wang gestured to the two people behind him and slowed his pace.

He walked over, gently placed the barbecue on the table, and then nudged Lu Wenchui's leg, which was resting by the sofa:

"Wake up, Mr. Lu, dinner is ready."

"……Um?"

Lu Wen suddenly woke up with a start, almost rolling off the sofa. The cat in his arms was also startled and jumped onto the top of the cabinet with a "meow".

"Who?! Is there a meeting?!"

Lu Wen sat up groggily, wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth, his eyes still somewhat glazed over.

Only when he saw clearly that it was Xie Wang and Su Qinghe in front of him, and... a bespectacled man, did he let out a long breath and slump back onto the sofa like a deflated balloon.

"I was so scared... I thought my old man was going to throw documents at me again."

"Why are you sleeping here?" Su Qinghe went to the kitchen and brought over a bowl, chopsticks, and a drink.

"Don't even mention it."

Lu Wen rubbed his stiff neck, his voice hoarse:

"I just wanted to take a nap on the sofa, but I ended up falling asleep instantly."

He glanced at the clock on the wall and gave a wry smile:

"I slept more soundly this time than I do at home."

Xie Wang handed him a skewer of sizzling, oily lamb:

"Alright, stop playing the victim. Eat something to soothe your wounds from your childhood pee."

Mentioning this, Lu Wen's expression changed, and he subconsciously squeezed his legs together, pointing indignantly at the cat on top of the cabinet:

"Xie Wang! You cat are definitely doing this on purpose! I've already changed my pants, but I still feel the smell!"

"That's just psychological."

Lu Yi suddenly spoke in a low voice.

He was sitting on a small stool, holding a skewer of grilled chives, eating slowly and deliberately.

Lu Wen was stunned for a moment before noticing that there was another person in the room. He looked him up and down.

"Are you...that photographer?"

Although we only met once at the sports meet, Lu Yi's unique melancholy temperament left a deep impression on me.

"Road One".

Lu Yi swallowed the chives, adjusted his glasses, looked at Lu Wen, and gave a highly philosophical evaluation:

"A cat's urine is its declaration of territory. The fact that it leaves its mark on you means that it has accepted you on a spiritual level."

"It's a bond that has a flavor..."

Lu Wen: "..."

He nearly dropped the meat skewers in his hand, his face contorted with a look of utter disgust.

"Dude, your way of comforting people is really... unique and unconventional."

Xie Wang and Su Qinghe were laughing so hard their shoulders were shaking.

……

Four people sat around a coffee table, with a large pile of barbecue and iced cola in the middle.

Outside the window, autumn rain drizzled, while inside, the air was thick with heat.

Lu Wen was clearly starving, and he didn't care about his image. He held a chicken wing in his left hand and a beef skewer in his right, eating with his mouth full of oil.

"Eat slowly, no one's going to take it from you." Su Qinghe handed him a tissue.

"Sister-in-law, you don't know..."

Lu Wen swallowed the meat in his mouth, took a big gulp of cola, burped, and his tone revealed deep exhaustion:

"These past few days have been absolutely unbearable."

"I used to think my dad's company was just an ATM, but after sitting in on a meeting these past few days, I realized it's a gladiatorial arena."

He pointed a bamboo skewer at the air, as if trying to pierce something:

"Isn't there some project in the southern suburbs lately? They're having meetings every day, from eight in the morning until two in the morning, with a bunch of old foxes making a racket."

"My dad... isn't in good health either, but he had to force himself to stay strong during the meeting."

At this point, Lu Wen's eyes dimmed slightly, and the meat skewers in his hand no longer tasted appetizing.

Xie Wang simply pushed a bowl of peeled shrimp meat in front of Lu Wen.

Eat more.

Xie Wang's voice carried a calming power:

"You need to be full to have the energy to listen to their arguing."

"If you really can't understand, just sleep in the conference room. Anyway, you're the young master, they won't dare to do anything to you."

Lu Wen stared at the bowl of shrimp for a moment, then grinned, his eyes welling up with tears.

"That's right! Who am I?! The number one playboy in Jiangcheng!"

He picked up a piece of shrimp and stuffed it into his mouth, saying indistinctly:

"Don't worry, if the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up. I'm just in charge of the internship... oh no, now I also have to scoop the litter for your cats."

"That's called 'the capable should do more'," Lu Yi added unexpectedly from the side, casually taking the last skewer of grilled chicken wings in front of Lu Wen.

"Hey! Those are my chicken wings! Lu Yi, you robber!"

"No, this is a redistribution of matter."

……

We ate our late-night snack until 11 p.m.

The bamboo skewers on the table were piled up like a small mountain, and several Coke cans were empty.

"Buzz—"

Lu Wen's phone, which was on the coffee table, suddenly vibrated, breaking the silence that had just begun.

He glanced at the caller ID, and his previously relaxed shoulders visibly slumped.

"well……"

Lu Wen sighed deeply, answered the phone, and his tone was full of helplessness:

"Hey, Uncle Liu... I know, I'll go right away."

Hanging up the phone, Lu Wen resignedly stood up, picked up the dark gray suit jacket, and muttered to himself as he put it on:

"Let's go, let's go."

Xie Wang glanced at the clock on the wall and raised an eyebrow, saying:

"Going home so late? Why not just stay here for the night?"

"Go home my ass."

Lu Wen buttoned up his clothes, tidied his hair in front of the mirror, and looked utterly dejected.

"I'm going back to the company; my dad wants me to go and sit in on the meeting too."

"Now?" Su Qinghe asked, somewhat surprised. "A meeting at eleven o'clock?"

"you do not say."

Lu Wen gave a wry smile:

"In the capitalist world, there is no sleep. Alright, I have to go and endure the torture."

After saying that, he waved to the group and turned to walk out the door.

"Then I'll leave too."

Seeing this, Lu Yi slowly picked up his copy of "Thus Spoke Zarathustra".

Before leaving, he casually took the last unopened can of Coke from the table and adjusted his glasses:

"This jar of black liquid will recharge my inspiration for the night. Farewell."

……

After everyone left, the room became quiet again.

The aroma of barbecue still lingered in the air.

Xie Wang closed the door and turned to look at Su Qinghe, who was helping to tidy up the table.

"Let me handle it."

Xie Wang walked over and took the trash bag from her hand.

"You've had a long day, go wash up and go to bed. I'll wake you up tomorrow morning."

"Okay, goodnight."

Su Qinghe snuggled against him, then turned and went back to the apartment across the hall.

The autumn rain is still falling outside the window.

The boys thought it was just an ordinary rainy night.

The lights went out, and the long night was about to begin.