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

The dining room of the Su family villa is spacious and bright, with a long solid wood table filled with dishes carefully prepared by the housekeeper.

As the lid of the white porcelain bowl of the seafood hot pot was lifted, the scalding steam carrying a rich and savory aroma wafted out, and the red shells of the Boston lobster and king crab stood out against the milky white broth.

Next to it were steamed grouper and matsutake mushroom stewed chicken soup, as well as several plates of exquisite cold vegetable platters.

My little cousin Su Yu couldn't wait any longer. He stood on tiptoe and leaned over the edge of the table, his two round eyes fixed on the bright red king crab, his saliva almost dripping onto the tablecloth.

"Brother Xie Wang, please sit next to me. I want to sit with you."

Su Yu grabbed Xie Wang's sleeve and pulled him to the chair next to her.

Su Qinghe originally intended to sit to Xie Wang's left, but her cousin beat her to it, so she had no choice but to sit opposite him, a hint of helplessness in her eyes.

Lin Wanyi served everyone a bowl of chicken soup, and handed it to Xie Wang first.

"Xiao Xie, drink more soup. You've lost a lot of weight lately. Have you been staying up too late for final exams?"

Xie Wang accepted the soup bowl with both hands.

"Thank you, Auntie. I have been quite busy lately. The company is just starting out, so there's a lot to do."

Su Chengyun poured himself a cup of tea and became interested upon hearing this.

"By the way, Xiao Xie, how's your Spark Network going? I heard from Qinghe that you've gotten quite a few orders recently."

Xie Wang put down his spoon and considered his words.

"The company's monthly revenue has now stabilized at a positive cash flow level. Last month, Uncle Lu from the Lu Group invested 30 million yuan in our angel round, acquiring a 20% stake."

Su Chengyun nodded, his gaze scrutinizing but mostly approving.

"A 30 million angel round, Lu Zhenhua is not someone who spends money casually. The fact that he's willing to spend real money shows that your technological barriers are indeed very strong."

Xie Wang smiled.

"Mainly, Lu Wen is the one who runs the business diligently, Zhou Zixu and I are in charge of the technical side, and Qinghe is in charge of financial auditing. Each of us is in charge of our own area, and the efficiency is pretty good."

Su Yu, standing to the side, was gnawing on a crab leg, his mouth dripping with oil, and he mumbled something indistinctly.

"Brother Xie Wang, what does your company do? Is it related to playing games?"

Xie Wang helped him crack open the crab shell, picked out the crab meat, and put it on his plate.

"It has nothing to do with playing games. We work in cybersecurity. Simply put, we help people protect their homes and prevent bad guys from stealing things."

Su Yu nodded as if he understood, and then threw out a question that caught everyone at the table off guard.

"Brother Xie Wang, what do your parents do? Do they know how amazing you are?"

The atmosphere at the table was quiet for about a second.

Su Qinghe's chopsticks stopped in mid-air. She looked in Xie Wang's direction, her eyes filled with a soft worry.

Xie Wang put the crab shell down, wiped the juice off his hands, and spoke in a calm but not heavy tone.

"My mother passed away when I was very young, and my father now works as a junior technician in my company."

Su Yu was taken aback. Although he was young, he was not stupid and immediately realized that he had asked a bad question.

The little boy put down the crab leg he was holding, grabbed Xie Wang's sleeve with his oily little hands, and looked up earnestly.

"I'm sorry, Brother Xie Wang, I didn't know, but you have your sister, me, your aunt and uncle, you won't be alone."

Xie Wang looked down at the chubby little face filled with sincerity, and reached out to rub Su Yu's fluffy head.

"It's okay, kid, you're right."

Lin Wanyi changed the subject at the right time. Looking at Su Yu's messy face after eating, she helplessly handed him a napkin.

"Su Yu, while your mother is away for the next few days, could you please watch your eating manners? Don't let Xie Wang see you and make a fool of yourself."

Su Yu took the tissue and wiped his mouth haphazardly, which only made it smudge worse.

"Auntie, I eat very well. I'm much cleaner at home than this."

Su Qinghe chuckled across from him.

"You can eat braised pork at home and get rice stuck behind your ears, and you call that clean?"

Su Yu was so angry that her sister exposed her shortcomings in public that she puffed out her cheeks and glared at Su Qinghe, but she didn't dare to talk back. Instead, she continued to bury her head in dealing with the unfortunate king crab in front of her.

Su Chengyun took a sip of tea, looking at the lively scene at the table, and was in a good mood.

"Xiao Xie, how is your father doing now? I heard he used to be a tech guy."

Xie Wang nodded.

"He did development work when he was young, but he didn't do it for many years. Now he's picked it up again and he's quick to get back to work. Our company's technical director said he has a lot of talent."

He paused for a moment.

"I arranged a junior position for him so that he could start from scratch and have a chance to get back on his feet."

Su Chengyun put down his teacup, his tone carrying the感慨 of someone who had been through it all.

"Being able to get back up and start over when you've hit rock bottom is no easy feat, and you've done a great job."

Lin Wanyi nodded in agreement.

"Your mother, Xie Wan, was a renowned talented woman in college. The tenacity you have is exactly the same as hers back then."

When Xie Wang heard his mother's name, his fingers curled slightly under the table, but his expression remained calm.

"What kind of person was my mother when my aunt met her?"

Lin Wanyi's thoughts drifted back to a long, long time ago.

"She's cheerful, smart, and has a never-give-up attitude. When you're stuck on your graduation project, go to her, and she'll stay up all night helping you fix the code, and the next day she'll still be full of energy to go to her early morning class."

She looked at Xie Wang's sharply defined profile, and her gaze softened.

"You look more like your father, but the essence of you comes from your mother."

Su Qinghe quietly looked at Xie Wang's profile. His expression was calm, but she knew that at this moment, his fingertips must be gently tapping his knees under the table.

She didn't say anything, but quietly rubbed her toes against his shoes under the table.

Xie Wang felt that tiny touch, and the corners of his mouth lifted up by half an inch.

Completely unaware of the undercurrents beneath the table, Su Yu finished gnawing on the crab leg and, with his greasy hands raised, announced a momentous decision.

"Brother Xie Wang, after dinner, will you take me out to play? I want to ride in your super cool black car."

Xie Wang glanced at Su Qinghe.

Su Qinghe picked up a piece of steamed fish with his chopsticks and put it into his bowl, his expression calm and composed.

"Taking him out for a walk would be fine. This kid has been cooped up at home for days. If he doesn't get some fresh air soon, he might just tear your house down."

Su Chengyun also spoke up.

"Go ahead, go ahead. Anyway, there's nothing much to do during winter break. Take Su Yu out for a stroll. That kid keeps pestering me to play chess at home every day. I'm getting so annoyed with him."

Su Yu jumped off the chair and excitedly spun around the restaurant.

"Great, I want to sit in the passenger seat."

Su Qinghe put down her chopsticks and gave him a cold look.

"You sit in the back."

Su Yu's lips moved slightly. After glancing at her sister's expression, she decisively revised her statement.

"Okay, I'm fine with sitting in the back."

Xie Wang chuckled at the interaction between the siblings, and stood up to help Lin Wanyi move the empty soup bowl aside.

"Uncle and Auntie, let's go for a walk after we finish eating, and come back before dinner."

Lin Wanyi smiled and waved her hand.

"Go ahead, drive carefully on the road, and keep a close eye on Su Yu to make sure he doesn't run around."

Xie Wang nodded in agreement, bent down and scooped up Su Yu, who was scurrying around on the ground, tucking him under his arm and walking out the door.

Su Yu was lifted into the air, his two short legs kicking excitedly, and he let out a deafening laugh.

Su Qinghe followed behind, taking her off-white cashmere scarf from the coat rack in the entryway, shaking her head as she walked.

"Xie Wang, don't spoil him."

Xie Wang turned around and glanced at her.

"Haven't I spoiled you too?"

Su Qinghe rolled her eyes at him, quickened her pace and walked past him, the tips of her ears turning a light pink.