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

During the break between the second and third periods, the snow outside the window not only didn't stop, but instead started falling even harder.

In the classroom of Senior Three (1), everyone was listening intently for the verdict.

Sure enough, a minute later, Director Yan's voice rang out across the entire school:

"Notice, notice! Due to a sudden heavy snowfall today, the playground is slippery. For safety reasons, the morning's long morning exercise break is cancelled. Students are requested to rest indoors. Do not..."

"Aaaaaaaahh ...

Director Yan's second half of his sentence was completely drowned out by the cheers that shook the roof off the entire teaching building.

For high school seniors trapped in a sea of ​​exam questions, the cancellation of morning exercises plus heavy snowfall is even more exciting than the Lunar New Year.

"Charge, brothers! Take over the playground!"

Shen Hao was the first to throw his physics test paper into the air, and like a husky that had broken free of its reins, he grabbed Xu You and rushed outside.

Not to be outdone, Lin Lu grabbed a bright red scarf, put it around her neck, and followed the crowd downstairs.

"Shall we go, Teacher Su?"

Xie Wang stood up, zipped up Su Qinghe's long down jacket to its highest point, and pulled her knitted hat down further, revealing only her bright, sparkling eyes.

"Let's go." Su Qinghe nodded without hesitation.

……

[10:00 AM · No.1 Middle School Playground]

The playground has been completely transformed into a battlefield without gunfire.

What was flying everywhere wasn't snowflakes, but snowballs flying in all directions.

"Shen Hao! You dare throw a snowball at me! I'll fight you to the death today!"

Lin Lu screamed, scooped up a handful of loose snow with both hands, and chased after Shen Hao, throwing it at him without a care.

As Shen Hao ran away, covering his head, he cried out in grievance, "I didn't mean to! I wanted to hit Xie Wang! Who told him to laugh at me for looking like a gas cylinder!"

He ran behind Xu You, his massive body trying to hide behind the petite girl: "Youyou, save me!"

Xu You, wearing a pair of fluffy bunny gloves, was squatting on the ground, earnestly rolling a small snowman.

Seeing Shen Hao dodge over, she stood up shyly, gently brushed the snowflakes off Shen Hao's head, and said softly to Lin Lu:

"Little deer, don't hit him..."

Not far away, Xie Wang had one hand in his coat pocket and the other hand holding a snowball that was squeezed so firmly it was comparable to a lead ball.

He stood there lazily, like a max-level veteran watching newbies fight amongst themselves in a beginner's village.

Anyone who dares to throw a snowball within half a meter of Su Qinghe will have their head blown off by Xie Wang's "shot put" like a guided missile.

Su Qinghe stood beside him, hands in his pockets, watching his classmates frolicking in the snow, a faint smile on his lips.

Just then, Xie Wang turned his head, preparing to speak to Su Qinghe.

Suddenly, with lightning speed, Su Qinghe pulled out a small snowball that he had already made from behind his back, stood on tiptoe, and stuffed it into the back of Xie Wang's coat neck!

"hiss--!"

The cold snow slid down his back, making Xie Wang gasp and shiver.

He turned his head and looked at Su Qinghe in disbelief.

Teacher Su was covering her mouth and chuckling to herself.

"Alright, Teacher Su," Xie Wang laughed, gradually cornering her against the backdrop of the stands with nowhere left to retreat.

"So you've learned how to use sneak attacks, haven't you?"

"All's fair in war." Su Qinghe raised his chin confidently, but as his face drew closer, he instinctively shrank back.

Xie Wang braced his hands against the wall beside her, looked down at her, and a mischievous smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

He suddenly raised his hand, which had just been holding snow and was icy cold, and pressed it against Su Qinghe's warm and soft cheek.

"Ouch! It's so cold!" Su Qinghe shrank his neck from the cold and was about to dodge away.

Xie Wang, however, took the opportunity to cup her face in his hands, deliberately rubbing her slightly reddened cheeks with his cool palms, gently squeezing out a somewhat charming and innocent curve from her usually aloof and reserved face:

"We're even."

……

Right at the edge of this chaotic playground.

At the highest point of the stands stood an incongruous figure.

Lu Yi was wearing a thin black woolen coat, with a gray scarf casually wrapped around her neck.

He held his prized Leica camera in his hand, gazing up at the sky at a 45-degree angle, watching the heavy snowfall.

"Snow……"

Lu Yi pushed up his glasses and sighed pitifully at the swirling snowflakes.

"They are the pale tears shed by the sky to cover up the decay of this planet."

He raised his camera, aimed it at the crowd chasing each other on the playground, and prepared to record the scene.

however.

The moment Lu Yi pressed the shutter.

From some unknown direction, a huge stray snowball flew in.

"Snapped!"

A muffled thud.

The snowball hit Lu Yi squarely on the right cheek.

Snowflakes instantly exploded on Lu Yi's melancholy face, covering his head and face.

Even his black-rimmed glasses were smashed and tilted below his nose.

Lu Yi's hand, holding the camera, froze in mid-air.

He slowly put down the camera, adjusted his glasses, and wiped the snow off his face.

He lowered his head, his gaze sweeping across the area below the playground.

Shen Hao was still in a throwing posture, looking at him with a terrified expression.

"Um... Master Lu, would you believe me if I said my foot slipped and my hand trembled, causing me to throw it off course?"

Shen Hao swallowed hard, feeling like crying but unable to shed a tear.

Lu Yi took a deep breath.

He carefully put his precious camera into a waterproof bag and then placed it on a dry bench in the stands.

Then, this melancholic poet, who always muttered "the body is a heavy shackle" and "art needs restraint,"...

He bent down and frantically scooped up a large clump of snow from the ground, rolling it into a giant snowball as big as his head.

Standing on the stands, Lu Yi looked down at Shen Hao, his eyes burning with a fierce fire of revenge, and roared:

"ordinary man!!!"

"Today, we are determined to determine who is superior and who is inferior, and to decide our fate in life and death!!!"

After saying that, Lu Yi abandoned all his burdens, picked up the giant snowball, and ran wildly down from the stands, heading straight for Shen Hao!

"Holy crap! The poet's gone berserk! Help!!!"

Shen Hao screamed in fright and turned to run away.

The situation was completely out of control.

Although Lu Yi had extremely poor physical fitness and would pant after running only a few steps, his movement was extremely stylish. Relying on the surrounding crowd as cover, he forced Shen Hao into a corner with nowhere to escape.

For a moment, the atmosphere in the senior class (1) was filled with joy.

……

After half an hour.

The revelry during the long break finally exhausted the energy of these teenagers.

The six of them brushed the snow off themselves, lined up, and sat on the steps of the bleachers at the edge of the playground, where they could avoid the wind.

Everyone was panting heavily, their breath steaming in the cold air.

"I'm exhausted..."

Lin Lu leaned on Xu You's shoulder, gazing at the gray sky, and suddenly sighed:

"With this snowfall, I suddenly realized that graduation is really not far away."

One sentence gradually quieted down the originally lively atmosphere.

Yes.

Time flies.

Shen Hao rubbed his frozen hands. His usually carefree face now showed a hint of anticipation and trepidation for the future.

He turned to look at Xu You beside him, his eyes becoming unusually firm:

"I don't care. I've been doing a lot of practice questions lately. I've calculated my score. I don't dare to dream of Tsinghua or Peking University, but I still have a chance of getting into a 211 university in the area around Beijing for science and engineering."

He scratched his head, his cheeks slightly flushed: "Youyou said she wants to apply to Beijing Normal University, so I'll go to Beijing to find her. Wherever she goes, I'll go."

Upon hearing this, Xu You shrank her chin further into her scarf, nodded shyly, and said in a soft, sweet voice:

"Hmm... let's go to the capital together."

Lin Lu rolled her eyes at the two of them, but her eyes were full of envy.

"I want to go to the capital too!"

She clenched her little fist:

"Lu Wen said he's going to expand his business to Beijing, so I'm going to apply to the Communication University of China! I'll check up on him every day and see if he dares to cheat on me!"

"Then you'd better work on improving your math score of 110."

Xie Wang mercilessly poured cold water on the idea.

"Shut up, Xie Wang!" Lin Lu was furious.

Everyone laughed for a while.

Xie Wang turned his head and looked at Lu Yi, who was wiping the camera lens with the corner of his clothes.

"Master Lu, and what about you?" Xie Wang raised an eyebrow.

"With your scores of 145 in Chinese and 75 in math, which temple do you plan to shine in?"

Lu Yi paused for a moment while wiping the lens.

He adjusted his glasses, his gaze sweeping across the snow-covered playground and into the distance. His tone was low and somber, yet it carried a stubborn seriousness:

"If the soul must have a place to belong..."

"I hope it's the photography department at Beijing Film Academy."

Lu Yi hung the camera around his neck again, his eyes clear.

"I want to document the truth about those who are barely surviving in the cracks of capitalism, and tear off the fig leaf of this hypocritical world."

"...Good, good, good." Xie Wang clapped his hands.

"Very ambitious, I wish you win an Oscar soon."

Finally, everyone's attention was focused on the "perfect couple" sitting in the middle.

"You two don't need to ask, right?" Shen Hao said with an "I understand" expression.

"Tsinghua and Peking University!" Lin Lu chimed in. "If you two don't go to Tsinghua or Peking University, the principal might jump off the building."

Su Qinghe leaned on Xie Wang's shoulder, not denying it, but simply nodding calmly:

"Yes, Tsinghua University's School of Physics. I promised that admissions officer before."

"Where's Wang Ge?" Shen Hao asked.

Xie Wang turned his head to look at the girl leaning on his shoulder:

"Wherever she goes, I will go."

"By the way, I also need to take care of some important business in the capital."

Everyone couldn't help but laugh.

This is what an eighteen-year-old boy is like.

I have a lover, friends, and a distant horizon.

"Class One!!!"

At this heartwarming moment, a roar suddenly came from the edge of the playground.

Old Li, holding a large red megaphone, stood in the snow, angrily roaring at the stands:

"The bell rang three minutes ago! What are you all still sitting there like idiots for? Get back here and start class right now!!!"

"Holy crap! Old Li's here!"

"Run! Run!"

Like startled birds, the six laughed and brushed the snow off their backsides. Amidst Old Li's roars, they raced towards the teaching building, braving the swirling snow.

Behind them, on the snow, lay a long, messy trail of footprints, yet they were left side by side.