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

"Okay, there's no time like the present, I'll contact her now."

Xie Wang was also a man of action; he simply pulled his phone out of his school uniform pocket.

As soon as I unlocked the screen, several unread messages popped up on WeChat.

Xie Wang looked closely and saw that one of the messages was actually from Director Gao of the Provincial Department, whom he had just met at the police station.

The two added each other on WeChat in the police station lobby; Director Gao's profile picture was a blooming lotus flower.

[Director Gao: Xiao Xie, this matter today is due to our inadequate internal supervision, and you've been wronged.]

[From now on, if you need anything in Jiangcheng, just contact this old man directly. I'll definitely help if I can.]

Between the lines, one can sense a high-ranking official from the provincial department lowering his stance to appease and win over the other party.

After all, the director knew better than anyone that someone could warrant a direct order from the Ministry of Public Security in Beijing to protect them.

Xie Wang looked at the message and a calm smile appeared on his lips.

He typed with one hand, replying neither servile nor arrogant, and incidentally doing someone a favor:

[X: Uncle Gao, you're too kind. It's good that the matter has been investigated thoroughly. But I really want to thank Officer Wang Nan from the branch office today. She upheld procedural justice despite the enormous pressure. She's a fantastic and very responsible police officer.]

Sending complete.

Xie Wang knew that this seemingly casual remark, in the eyes of that Director Gao, was tantamount to handing Wang Nan a VIP ticket to meteoric success.

After dealing with this high-level social interaction, Xie Wang opened Wang Nan's chat window and made a video call directly.

"Beep—beep—"

The video call connected after two rings.

On the screen, Wang Nan was sitting in the police station canteen, a boxed lunch in front of her. When she saw Xie Wang and Su Qinghe gathered in front of the screen, she paused for a moment, then burst into hearty laughter:

"Hey, Xie, Su, you two made it back to school safely and had lunch?"

"I'm eating! I'm eating! The sweet and sour pork ribs are so delicious!"

Xie Wang zoomed out slightly, making sure Su Qinghe was fully in the frame, and said with a smile:

"Sister Nan, I was in such a rush at the police station that I didn't have a chance to properly thank you. Thanks to you for sending the warning text message today, otherwise we would have been in a very difficult situation."

Su Qinghe also leaned closer to the screen, his cool and aloof eyes filled with sincerity:

"Officer Wang, thank you so much for helping us under those circumstances. We will remember this kindness."

"Hey! It's no big deal!"

Wang Nan waved her hand boldly on the other side of the screen, almost throwing her chopsticks away, her face full of righteous indignation:

"I'm a police officer! I get paid by the government! I'm a friend of justice, I'll help those in need! I can't just stand by and watch you two promising high school students get ripped off by those guys, can I?"

"Friend of Justice, that's an awesome title." Xie Wang smiled and gave a thumbs up.

Shen Hao then squeezed his large head into the screen, asking curiously, "Officer, how are things going with Director Zhang and the others?"

"They've all gone inside for tea."

Wang Nan lowered her voice, a hint of relief in her tone:

"Zhang Jianguo has really messed up this time. The provincial discipline inspection commission has directly intervened, and all the filth he did in the past has been dug up. He probably won't be able to get out of here for the rest of his life."

"Serves you right!" Lin Lu waved her little fist from the side.

After chatting for a while, it became clear that Wang Nan's lunchbox was getting cold.

Xie Wang abruptly changed the subject and dropped a bombshell.

"By the way, Sister Nan."

Xie Wang said casually, "Director Gao from the provincial government just sent me a WeChat message to express his condolences. I casually mentioned to him that you performed exceptionally well today and are a rare good policeman."

"He was quite pleased to hear that, Sister Nan. You can just relax and wait for your reward."

"Clatter."

On the other end of the video, Wang Nan's chopsticks fell directly onto the stainless steel plate.

She was completely stunned, her eyes wide as saucers, and she stammered, "..."

"Director Gao...Director Gao from the provincial government?! You even added him on WeChat?!"

Wang Nan's worldview was greatly shaken.

What kind of amazing high school student is this?! He can just casually utter a sentence and it reaches the heavens?!

Just as Wang Nan was so shocked she was about to have a heart attack, and Xie Wang was preparing to hang up the phone without revealing his accomplishments,

A huge shadow suddenly and without warning enveloped their dining table.

The previously noisy discussions around us suddenly went silent, as if a mute button had been pressed, leaving a deathly silence.

Xie Wang sensed something was wrong and his back stiffened.

"OK……"

A sinister, teeth-gritting voice, as if drifting from the depths of hell, exploded directly above their heads:

"Three men! Three women! Sit together!"

Everyone mechanically turned their heads.

They saw Director Yan from the Academic Affairs Office standing beside their table with his hands behind his back.

His face was so black it looked like ink could drip from it.

Director Yan pointed to the gleaming phone on the table, still engaged in a video call, his fingers trembling violently:

"Men and women are sitting together! And they're playing on their phones in the middle of the cafeteria?! They're even video chatting?!"

"You've all become lawless! Xie Wang! Su Qinghe! You really think you're invincible just because you have good grades?!"

"Holy crap! A living Yama!" Shen Hao was terrified.

"This is an insult to culture! An insult to culture!" Lu Yi grabbed his plate, already prepared for a strategic retreat at any moment.

Xie Wang reacted extremely quickly, grabbing his phone in a flash and shouting at Wang Nan, who was still staring blankly at the screen:

"Officer Wang! Something urgent has happened! Some thugs have shown up! I have to hang up now! Talk to you later!"

With a "beep," the video was abruptly cut off.

Director Yan was furious when he saw him hang up the phone right in front of him: "You dare hang up?! Confiscate your phones! All of you, come with me to the disciplinary office—!"

"Run!!!"

I don't know who shouted it.

Xie Wang, who was a max-level expert just moments ago, was now completely powerless against the headmaster's roar.

He grabbed Su Qinghe's wrist and sprang from the chair.

Shen Hao, Xu You, Lin Lu, and Lu Yi, with perfect understanding, carried their unfinished plates and scattered in all directions.

"Director Yan! We're going back right now to cram for the '53' practice exam! We're smashing our phones tonight!"

Xie Wang dragged Su Qinghe along the aisle of the cafeteria, shouting without looking back.

"Stop right there! You little brats, don't run away!!!"

"Split up and run! Target: Class 1, Grade 12! Those who survive are lucky!"

Xie Wang made a decisive move, pulling Su Qinghe and drifting into the north staircase;

Taking advantage of his physical strength as a member of the sports committee, Shen Hao grabbed Xu You's plate and protected her as they forced their way through the south gate.

Lin Lu was also an expert in escape techniques. Like an eel, she slipped into the crowd of people getting food and disappeared without a trace.

Director Yan chased them to the very center of the cafeteria and, seeing the group of little brats bursting into a frenzy like a shower of flowers, his blood pressure soared with anger.

But soon, his gaze settled on the slowest of his prey.

Road 1.

This melancholy poet, who usually believes that "stillness is the highest state of the soul" and recites poetry every two steps, is now struggling to move his legs in the aisle while holding his iron plate.

His ideals were lofty; he wanted to transform into a gust of wind. But reality was harsh; his body, lacking carbohydrates and protein, made him look like a stick figure about to fall apart when he ran.

He had only run less than thirty meters when Lu Yi started panting heavily and his steps became unsteady.

"Hey you, the one with the black-rimmed glasses! You stop right there!"

Director Yan sped up and, like an eagle catching a chick, grabbed Lu Yi by the back of his collar.

"Uh..." Lu Yi was forced to stop, and staggered forward due to inertia, causing the plate to groan.

Director Yan, panting heavily, stared intently at the slowest-running "accomplice" in his hand, and sneered:

"Running? Why did you stop running? You were running so fast just now!"

Lu Yi adjusted his black-rimmed glasses, which had been tilted by Director Yan, his chest heaving violently.

He didn't struggle, but looked at Director Yan with a world-weary, compassionate gaze, and sighed softly:

"Director Yan, life is inherently a futile sprint. I stopped not because I feared power, but because my soul felt that this body should not be excessively consumed in the pursuit of worldly escape..."

Director Yan paused for a moment, his brows furrowing into a tight knot:

"Stop giving me that nonsense! Speak like a human being! Who was holding the phone just now? Besides Xie Wang and Su Qinghe, which other classes were involved? Give me all their names!"

Lu Yi looked up at the incandescent light on the cafeteria ceiling at a 45-degree angle, his eyes unfocused.

"Mobile phones are nothing more than digital shackles used by humans to imprison their spirits. As for who they are? They are the wind, nameless travelers passing through my desolate youth. You can only imprison this heavy body of mine, but you cannot interrogate me to find out where the wind is going."

Director Yan's head was buzzing, and he felt as if his intelligence had been subjected to a dimensional reduction attack.

"What...what are you chanting for me here?!" Director Yan slapped his thigh in anger, pointing at Lu Yi's nose.

"Which class are you in, senior year? I'm asking you what their names are!"

"A name is nothing more than a label engraved on a tombstone." Lu Yi's expression was solemn, and he even closed his eyes in sorrow.

"Director, if you insist on an answer, then consider me the scapegoat and let this ignorant tyranny befall me."

"..." Director Yan looked at this lunatic who couldn't utter a single decent word, and his temples throbbed with anger.

He figured it out; this guy was a bit of a nutcase with a screw loose.

"Fine! You won't talk, huh? You get back here and write a 1000-word self-criticism! Hand it in to the disciplinary office tomorrow! You're not allowed to attend evening self-study until you finish it!"

Director Yan loosened his collar in disgust and waved his hand as if avoiding a plague.

Lu Yi bowed slightly, carrying the tray, and walked away in a daze.

……

Ten minutes later, in the classroom of Senior Three (1).

Xie Wang and Su Qinghe had returned early and were sitting in their seats calming their breathing.

Shen Hao and Xu You also arrived safely, and Lin Lu even bought two packs of instant noodles on the way.

Except for Lu Yi, everyone else survived.

"Squeak—" The back door of the classroom was pushed open.

Lu Yi, leaning against the door frame, came in panting and pale, exuding a tragic aura of "I have died in battle."

"Pfft—Hahahaha!" Upon seeing his pathetic state, Shen Hao immediately slapped his thigh and burst into laughter.

"Master Lu! Did Director Yan drain your yang energy? Why are you only just getting back?!"

Lu Yi walked weakly to her seat and slumped down, adjusting her glasses and giving her group of heartless friends a resentful look:

"A bunch of treacherous mediocre people, while I face the abyss of tyranny alone, using my poetic soul to delay the hounds of hell for you, you dare to mock a great martyr."

Xie Wang sat in the front row, lazily turned around, still holding a bottle of mineral water that Su Qinghe had just handed him.

He looked at Lu Yi's half-dead, listless state, and a mocking smile curled at the corner of his lips:

"Stop making a scene, Master Lu." Xie Wang unscrewed the bottle cap and added a cool, sarcastic remark.

"I told you long ago to recite less poetry and eat more braised pork in the cafeteria, but you wouldn't listen. Now you know what's good for you, right?"