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

"I understand, son, I understand."

Xie Wang didn't say anything more, he just looked at him quietly.

Xie Zhengyang took a deep breath, wiped his face haphazardly with his sleeve, and turned to walk out of the cemetery.

His figure appeared particularly frail in the rain, and his tattered black umbrella swayed precariously in the wind, as if it might be blown over at any moment.

But he didn't turn around.

Xie Wang watched the figure disappear outside the iron gate of the cemetery before turning his gaze away.

Su Qinghe walked to his side and gently tugged at his sleeve.

"Wait a moment."

She pulled a photograph from the inside pocket of her coat.

It was a laminated color photograph, not very large, about the width of a palm.

There are two people in the photo.

One was a boy wearing a black hoodie, with a hint of unruly sharpness in his eyes and a slight smile at the corner of his mouth.

The other was a woman wearing a beige trench coat, with long, flowing hair, gentle eyes, and a serene smile.

The two people stood side by side, with a field of white daisies in the background.

Xie Wang was stunned.

He stared at the woman's face in the photo, his Adam's apple bobbing violently.

That's his mother.

Xie Wan.

"This was prepared in advance."

Su Qinghe's voice was very soft.

"It was created using AI. I found some old photos of your mother and some recent photos of you, and had the tech department help process them."

She handed the photo to Xie Wang.

"I think you would like a photo of you with her."

Xie Wang took the photo, his fingertips trembling slightly.

He has never taken a photo with his mother.

He was only six years old when Xie Wan passed away. In those days, mobile phone photography was not common, and his family did not have a camera.

All he left behind were a few photos of his mother alone, which he salvaged from an old photo album that Xie Zhengyang had found while he was drunk.

He always thought he would never have a photo taken with his mother in his lifetime.

"Teacher Su."

Xie Wang's voice was a little hoarse.

"Thank you."

Su Qinghe didn't say anything, but simply reached out and took his hand.

The rain stopped.

The dark clouds dispersed, revealing a small patch of deep blue night sky.

Xie Wang squatted down and carefully placed the photo in front of the tombstone, under the stem of the white roses.

"Mom, this is the first photo of us together."

His voice was calm.

"I will come to see you often from now on."

He stood up, took Su Qinghe's hand, and turned to walk out of the cemetery.

The two walked back along the wet stone path, their footsteps sounding particularly clear in the quiet night.

When Xie Wang reached the entrance of the cemetery, he suddenly stopped.

He turned his head to look at Su Qinghe.

"Teacher Su, do you think my mom will like you?"

Su Qinghe thought about it carefully.

"Probably, after all, I'm so outstanding."

Xie Wang laughed out loud.

"That's true."

It was quite late when we got back to the music room at Genting Highlands.

Xie Wang pushed open the door to room 1602, and the calico cat Fantuan immediately jumped off the sofa, rubbing against his trouser leg and meowing.

He bent down, picked up the cat, and rubbed its head.

Su Qinghe took off his coat and hung it in the entryway before entering bedroom 1601 and starting to pack his things.

Xie Wang carried the cat to the bedroom door and watched her fold the clothes in the closet one by one and put them into the suitcase.

"What is Teacher Su trying to do?"

Su Qinghe answered without looking up.

"Going home, it's only five days until Lunar New Year's Eve, my parents have already gone back to Jiangcheng."

Xie Wang leaned against the door frame, his eyes filled with resentment.

"Is she leaving me already, Teacher Su?"

Su Qinghe looked up at him.

"We see each other every day at the company, okay?"

Xie Wang remained silent for two seconds.

"May I touch your leg one more time before you leave, Teacher Su?"

Su Qinghe threw the sweater in her hand over.

"Get out of here."

Xie Wang smiled as he took the sweater, then turned and walked out of the bedroom.

He put the cat back on the sofa and took out his phone to send a message to Lu Wen.

"Xie Zhengyang will be reporting to the company tomorrow. Let Zhou Zixu make the arrangements."

Less than ten seconds after the message was sent, Lu Wen called.

"You're not running a fever, are you, Xie Zhengyang?"

Lu Wen's voice was filled with disbelief.

"Has he reformed?"

Xie Wang leaned back on the sofa, his tone indifferent.

"Yes, don't worry, he's very skilled. If he does anything bad again, I'll contact Officer Wang Nan directly to have him taken in."

Lu Wen remained silent for a while on the other end of the phone.

"Okay, I believe you. I'll explain everything to Zhou Zixu tomorrow."

After hanging up the phone, Xie Wang glanced in the direction of the bedroom.

Su Qinghe had already packed his luggage and was dragging his suitcase out.

"I'm leaving."

She stood in the entryway, looking at Xie Wang.

Study hard and don't be lazy.

Xie Wang stood up and walked up to her.

"Teacher Su."

"Um?"

"Happy New Year."

Su Qinghe paused for a moment, then smiled.

"We're not there yet."

"Let me know in advance."

Xie Wang reached out and ruffled her hair.

"Be careful on the road."

Su Qinghe dragged his suitcase out the door.

The moment the elevator doors closed, Xie Wang stood at the door watching the figure gradually shrink, and suddenly felt that the entire apartment was empty.

He closed the door, went back to the bedroom, lay on the bed, and stared blankly at the ceiling.

The phone screen lit up briefly.

Su Qinghe sent a message.

"We're home, go to sleep."

Xie Wang stared at those three words for a long time, then replied with a single word.

"Um."

He tossed his phone next to his pillow and closed his eyes.

When Xie Wang woke up at eight o'clock the next morning, he was completely dazed.

He stared at the ceiling for several seconds before realizing that Su Qinghe was no longer across the hall.

No one would knock on his door at seven o'clock sharp in the morning to wake him up, and no one would set out a hot breakfast on the table.

He got out of bed, went to the bathroom to wash his face quickly, changed his clothes, and went out.

When the elevator reached the third floor, he pressed the stop button, walked to the door of room 302, and knocked on the door.

That's perfect, I'll wake up Lu Yi and have him take me to the company.

There was no movement inside.

Xie Wang knocked a few more times, this time with significantly more force than before.

Finally, a rustling sound came from inside the door, followed by Lu Yi's irritable voice, full of morning grumpiness.

"Who is it that's disturbing people's sleep so early in the morning?"

The door was opened a crack, and Lu Yi appeared behind it with messy black hair, his eyes not fully open yet.

Once he saw who was standing outside the door, he became fully awake.

"Xie Wang?"

Lu Yi's voice was filled with disbelief.

"Do you know what time it is? It's only eight o'clock, eight o'clock!"

Hey, Master Lu still has morning grumpiness.

Xie Wang looked at him expressionlessly.

"Take your math test paper with you, let's go to the company."

Lu Yi was taken aback for a moment.

"What?"

"I'll drive to Xinghuo Network with the chopped chili fish head, and also supervise you while you do your test."

After Xie Wang finished speaking, he turned and walked towards the elevator.

Lu Yi stood at the door, completely bewildered.

He took a deep breath.

"The darkness before dawn is the moment when the soul is most vulnerable."

Lu began reciting poetry.

"And you, Xie Wang, are the demon who tolls the death knell before dawn."

Xie Wang turned around and looked at him expressionlessly.

"Five minutes, or I'm leaving."

Lu Yi gritted her teeth, turned around and rushed back to her room, hastily put on a black trench coat, grabbed the stack of unfinished math papers on the table and rushed out.

Inside the elevator, Lu Yi leaned against the wall, her eyes half-open and half-closed, exuding an aura of utter despair.

Why did you do this to me?

Lu Yi's voice was soft and low.

"I'm just a soul who loves art, and I shouldn't be dragged into doing math problems at this time."

Xie Wang glanced at him.

What was your score in math last time?

Lu Yi fell silent.

"Seventy-two."

"so what."

"So I need sleep to regain my inspiration, instead of being dragged by you to do problems."

Lu Yi tried to struggle.

Xie Wang ignored him, the elevator doors opened, and he walked straight out.

In the underground parking garage, the pink "chopped pepper fish head" car was parked in the corner.

Lu Yi opened the car door, threw the test paper on the passenger seat, then got into the driver's seat and started the engine.

"I want to play sad music in my car."

Lu Yi said as he reversed the car.

"To fight against your inhumane behavior."

Xie Wang sat in the passenger seat, watching the scenery rushing past the window, without saying a word.

The car drove out of the underground parking garage and onto the streets of Jiangcheng in the early morning.

Lu Yi turned on the car stereo, and a deep French song flowed from it, enveloping the entire car in a melancholy atmosphere.

Xie Wang turned his head and glanced at him.

"Could you please choose a more normal song?"

"This is a normal song."

Lu Yi refuted this.

"Only souls like yours, bound by worldly conventions, would find this kind of song abnormal."

Xie Wang didn't say anything more, but just took out his phone and started browsing the news.

The car stopped at the traffic light intersection. Lu Yi slumped over the steering wheel, staring at the red light ahead, exuding an aura of utter despair.

"I should be in bed."

Lu Yi muttered to himself.

"Instead of driving you to work from here."

The car drove into the underground parking garage of the Galaxy Science and Technology Park in the High-tech Zone. Lu Yi turned off the engine, picked up the test paper from the passenger seat, and followed Xie Wang into the elevator.

The elevator doors opened, and there were already quite a few people busy in the Xinghuo Network office area on the twelfth floor.

Xie Wang walked into the office, with Lu Yi following behind him, holding the test paper and looking utterly dejected.

Zhou Zixu was standing next to a workstation, giving instructions to a thin, middle-aged man.

The man was wearing a plaid shirt, his hair was neatly combed, and he sat in front of the computer with a focused gaze.

Xie Wang stopped in his tracks.

That's Xie Zhengyang.