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

The Presidential Suite on the top floor of the InterContinental Jiangcheng Hotel.

It was completely different from the cheerful atmosphere of Class 1, Grade 12.

"Gu Tianlong, you senile old fool! You're more trouble than you're worth!"

Gu Nan's chest heaved violently as he unleashed a torrent of words into the phone before abruptly ending the call.

He closed his eyes, took two deep breaths, and forcibly suppressed the anger that was about to overwhelm his reason.

As the true core brain of Tianlong Group, Gu Nan's success overseas is due to his ability to quickly detach himself from extreme anger and regain absolute rationality.

He walked to the floor-to-ceiling window and looked down at the gray city.

"Zhang Jianguo has been taken away by the provincial authorities..."

Gu Nan tapped lightly on the windowsill, his mind racing.

However, he was not worried that Zhang Jianguo would expose him.

He still has the video of that old fox's son using drugs and speeding in his hands. Even if he had ten times the courage, he would only dare to swallow this blame.

What truly troubled Gu Nan was Xie Wang.

Did the provincial department director personally intervene?

Gu Nan sneered. This is the kind of treatment an ordinary high school student in Jiangcheng should receive?

There's definitely a huge force behind this kid!

"A head-on confrontation won't work," Gu Nan muttered to himself.

Since the background is as hard as a titanium alloy steel plate, we can only change the way we play.

"Xiao Wang." Gu Nan turned around.

The assistant, who had been outside the door, quickly pushed the door open and came in:

"Mr. Gu, what are your instructions?"

"Go check when Jiangcheng No.1 Middle School starts its winter break."

Gu Nan walked to the liquor cabinet and poured himself half a glass of whiskey:

"When they have their holiday, I'll book a table at the best restaurant in Jiangcheng in my own name and send Xie Wang an invitation. I want to treat him to a meal alone and see if he'll actually do me the honor."

"Yes, Mr. Gu." The assistant swallowed hard and quickly made a note of it.

"What about the meeting in the capital..."

"My flight back to Beijing was canceled, so I'll have to stay in Jiangcheng for a few more days."

Gu Nan shook the ice cube in his hand, his eyes filled with a terrifyingly sinister light:

"Also, investigate two people. One is Xie Wang's gambling-addicted father; I need all his current information."

"The other one... go and dig out the whole story of that car accident from twelve years ago, package it into a file, and send it to me."

……

[Evening - Outside the gate of Jiangcheng No.1 Middle School]

After the school bell rang, the sunset on the horizon was scattered by the cold winter wind.

"Smack."

Xie Wang had just stepped out of the school gate when he received a light but not heavy blow to the forehead.

"Ouch!" Xie Wang exaggeratedly covered his forehead, turning to look at Su Qinghe walking beside him.

"Teacher Su, are you addicted to flicking heads?"

Su Qinghe pulled her hands back into the warm pockets of her down jacket, tucked her chin into her scarf, and only revealed her crescent-shaped eyes:

"Who told you to laugh at me in the hallway just now for walking like a penguin?"

Xie Wang wasn't angry at all. Instead, he leaned closer and, taking advantage of his long arms, lightly flicked Su Qinghe's forehead.

"It was like that all along, all wrapped up tightly."

"Thank you, Wang!"

Su Qinghe glared at him, embarrassed and annoyed, and raised her hand to flick it back.

The two acted like two immature elementary school students, flicking each other's fingers on the bustling street, their childishness was outrageous, yet they seemed to enjoy it immensely.

After joking around for a while, the two walked side by side toward a large bookstore in the old town, intending to buy some practice exams for their final exams.

The streets were rather deserted in winter.

Su Qinghe glanced at the shops next door that were lit up with neon lights and casually asked:

"Xie Wang, do you usually enjoy reading?"

"I don't like it," Xie Wang answered decisively, his hands in his coat pockets, his tone languid.

"Aside from code and those classical poems that I have to memorize, I get sleepy when I see densely packed text."

"But you seem very familiar with this place?" Su Qinghe tilted his head to look at him.

Xie Wang slowed his pace.

He looked at the familiar bookstore sign not far away, a rare emotion flashing in his eyes.

"When I was a child, I actually came to this bookstore quite often."

Xie Wang's voice was very soft, carried away by the cold wind:

"Back then, that house... was filled with the smell of alcohol. When I was tired and heartbroken, I didn't want to go back to that run-down house, nor did I want to see Xie Zhengyang's face."

He twitched the corners of his mouth, revealing a self-deprecating smile:

"I would go to this bookstore. I would sit under the bookshelf in the far corner, sometimes looking at the illustrations, but more often I would just fall asleep."

"The bookstore owner is a good person. He never kicks me out, and sometimes he'll even leave me a hand warmer as if it were just a casual gesture."

As Su Qinghe listened, his heart felt as if something had gently tugged at it, and a subtle, bittersweet feeling welled up inside him.

She stopped in her tracks.

Under the dim streetlights, Su Qinghe took out her warm hands and gently touched Xie Wang's forehead, which she had just flicked.

It was as if they were comforting a little boy who had once been homeless.

"I often sneak off here too."

Su Qinghe looked at him, her eyes reflecting the shimmering starlight:

"When no one is home, I like to sneak out and wander around to explore the whole city of Jiangcheng."

As she recalled the past, a smile involuntarily crept onto her lips:

"Poor Uncle Chung, he had to search for me all over the streets with his bodyguards every time, and he was sweating profusely with worry."

Xie Wang paused for a moment, then looked at the aloof, well-behaved, model student in front of him and couldn't help but smile.

He took the opportunity to grab her hand that was resting above his head and cupped it in his palm:

"Who would have thought that Teacher Su was such a mischievous child?"

Su Qinghe arrogantly withdrew her hand and tucked her chin into her scarf:

"Hmph ╯^╰."

……

The two pushed open the glass door of the bookstore.

Xie Wang accompanied Su Qinghe as they browsed through the "educational materials area".

Su Qinghe was comparing the value of the two physics cram school practice books, while Xie Wang leaned against the bookshelf out of boredom, casually flipping through a popular science book about astrophysics.

Just as the two were halfway through their selection...

Out of the corner of Xie Wang's eye, he inadvertently glanced at the bookshelf next to him labeled "World Classics and Foreign Poetry".

At the deepest part of that bookshelf stood a conspicuous figure.

The man was wearing a long black trench coat and a gray scarf around his neck.

He was holding a thick book in his hands.

He exuded a melancholic aura of someone who had seen through the illusions of the world.

Xie Wang: "..."

This Jiangcheng is really tiny.

Xie Wang nudged Su Qinghe, who was looking at the exam paper, with his elbow, gestured with his chin, and lowered his voice:

"Teacher Su, look over there, who has that conspicuous bag?"