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

Dinner was steamed scallops with garlic and vermicelli and sweet and sour pork, made by the housekeeper. Su Yu was woken up by the aroma halfway through the meal, rubbed her eyes and ran downstairs to continue eating while clinging to Xie Wang's arm.

After dinner, Lin Wanyi carried a fruit platter into the living room and saw Xie Wang playing chess with Su Chengyun.

"Xiao Xie, it's too late to drive back today. I've already had the housekeeper prepare the guest room on the second floor."

Xie Wang put down the chess piece in his hand and glanced at Su Qinghe.

Su Qinghe was sitting on the sofa next to him, flipping through an original English textbook on quantum physics.

"If my mom wants you to stay, then stay. It's so cold outside, and it's not safe to drive at night."

Su Chengyun nodded and placed a black piece on the chessboard.

"It's settled then. Your car is safe parked in the yard, and you can leave tomorrow."

Xie thought for a second, then nodded in agreement.

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Uncle and Aunt."

At 8:30 p.m., Su Yu was coaxed and tricked by the housekeeper into going back to her room to play games, leaving only Xie Wang and Su Qinghe in the living room.

Su Qinghe closed the textbook, which was so thick it could be used as a weapon, stood up, and grabbed two coats.

"Let's go for a walk."

Xie Wang took the dark gray wool coat she handed him and followed her out of the villa's side door.

Outside the courtyard is a cobblestone path, lined with holly and ginkgo trees, their withered yellow leaves forming a thin layer under the streetlights.

The night wind was cold, and Su Qinghe's white breath was clearly visible under the lamplight.

Xie Wang stopped when he reached the old ginkgo tree at the end of the courtyard.

He turned around and lowered his head, his nose almost touching the wisp of hair that had been blown by the wind on Su Qinghe's forehead.

Su Qinghe raised her head, her clear eyes seemingly filled with stars under the soft glow of the streetlights.

Their breaths mingled in close proximity, the white scents lingering in the air for a moment before dissipating.

Xie Wang cupped her slightly cool chin with his fingers and slowly lowered his head to kiss her.

Su Qinghe's eyelashes trembled slightly, and she quietly closed her eyes.

Behind the floor-to-ceiling curtains in the study on the second floor of the villa.

Su Chengyun held a small pair of binoculars in his hand, the lenses accurately focused on the ginkgo tree at the end of the courtyard.

His lips were pursed into a tight straight line, and the veins on his temples throbbed faintly twice.

"That brat."

Standing behind him was Lin Wanyi, who was holding a cup of hot milk. Her tone was a mix of amusement and helplessness.

"Alright, stop watching. You're making it sound like a spy movie when these young people are just having a relationship."

Su Chengyun put down the binoculars, his expression one of great reluctance.

"No, I have to keep an eye on him tonight. I absolutely cannot let that kid cross the line."

Lin Wanyi placed the milk on the desk and reached out to take the binoculars from his hand.

"Don't worry, this kid knows what's good for him, much more proper than you were back then."

Su Chengyun was speechless after hearing this, and could only pick up the milk and take a sip in silence.

After washing up, Xie Wang returned to his guest room at the end of the second floor.

The room was large and decorated in a simple and clean style. A brand new light blue four-piece bedding set was laid on the bed, and a pair of folded white cotton slippers were placed on the pillow.

Xie Wang changed into the pajamas prepared by the housekeeper, sat on the edge of the bed, and took out his phone.

He opened his WeChat chat with Su Qinghe, thought for two seconds, and typed a message before sending it.

Ms. Su, may I come to your room to play?

After the message was sent, the other party displayed a typing status for about five seconds.

Then a word popped up.

roll.

Xie Wang looked at the crisp reply on the screen, put his phone on the bedside table, pulled the covers over himself, and prepared to go to sleep.

Xie Wang closed his eyes, savoring the warmth he had never experienced in his previous rented rooms, a sense of comforting warmth rising in his heart.

As his consciousness began to fade, he heard a very faint sound.

The click sound of the door lock being slowly turned open.

Xie Wang opened his eyes in the darkness.

The door to the room was pushed open a crack, and the dim light from the corridor shone in, outlining a slender figure.

Su Qinghe was wearing a loose white nightgown, barefoot on the wooden floor, her hair loose and softly draped over her shoulders.

She squeezed through the crack in the door, turned around and closed it with her other hand, so quietly that the sound of the lock resetting was almost inaudible.

Xie Wang propped himself up against the headboard, watching the shadow groping its way towards him in the darkness.

"Didn't you tell me to get lost?"

Su Qinghe paused for a second, then continued walking forward.

"That meant you shouldn't come to my room, not that I couldn't come to yours."

She walked to the bedside and sat down. The hem of her white nightgown spread out on the dark sheets, revealing a section of her fair calves below the knees.

The room was dark, and the moonlight filtering through the curtains barely illuminated the silhouettes of the two people.

Xie Wang stared at her profile, which appeared exceptionally soft in the dim light.

"Since you're already here, Ms. Su, what are you planning to do?"

Su Qinghe turned to look at him, his clear eyes in the darkness carrying a temperature completely different from that of the daytime.

"I can't sleep."

Su Qinghe moved closer to him, and Xie Wang took the opportunity to lift a corner of the blanket, allowing her to slip inside and curl up in his arms.

His body temperature was transmitted through two thin layers of clothing, carrying the refreshing and clean scent of shower gel.

Xie Wang tightened his arms around her, resting his chin on her soft hair.

The two of them pressed together quietly, their breathing rhythms slowly synchronizing in the silence.

About half a minute later.

Su Qinghe felt the hand resting on her waist starting to become restless.

Xie Wang's fingers slid down a little along the edge of her nightgown, his fingertips touching the warm, smooth skin above her knees.

Su Qinghe's body stiffened visibly for a moment, and his breathing quickened by half a beat.

"Thank you for your presumption."

Her voice carried a vague warning.

Xie Wang's hand stopped at that spot and did not move downwards.

He knew exactly where his bottom line was, and Lin Wanyi's admonition to guard the boundaries was like a steel cable firmly binding his reason.

But he didn't pull his hand back.

"Teacher Su, your skin is smoother than the fuzz on a rice ball."

Su Qinghe was both annoyed and amused by this utterly tasteless analogy, and she reached out and gave him a shove in the chest.

Xie Wang didn't move an inch, but instead pulled her even tighter.

His palms rested on her knees, and the warmth of his touch caused tiny goosebumps to rise on the skin beneath his fingertips.

Su Qinghe buried her face in his chest, her cheeks flushed to a temperature that made her feel ashamed.

"Touch it if you like."

Her voice was muffled by his clothes, sounding like a defiant compromise.

Xie Wang's breath hitched above his head.

He took a deep breath, brushed Su Qinghe's loose long hair to one side, and lowered his head to place a very light and restrained kiss on the crown of her head.

Moonlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains, casting a thin, silvery outline on the two figures pressed together.

Right at this moment.

The door to the room was pushed open from the outside.

The sound of the door hinges turning was particularly jarring in the quiet room, and the warm light from the corridor poured in through the crack in the door, shining like a searchlight towards the bed.

Standing at the door was Su Yu, dressed in a cartoon dinosaur pajama set.

His right hand was still on the doorknob, and his left hand was rubbing his sleepy eyes; he had clearly just woken up.

Su Yu's eyes slowly widened in the darkness. He first looked at his sister, whose face was flushed, and then at Xie Wang, whose expression was subtle.

This seven-year-old boy processes information far faster than his age should.

He lowered his right hand from the doorknob, took a half step back, and a knowing look on his face that far surpassed that of his peers appeared.

"Then I won't bother you any longer, brother."

After saying this, Su Yu closed the door again.

The sound of dinosaur slippers pattering away echoed down the corridor.

The room was plunged into darkness again.

Xie Wang and Su Qinghe maintained their respective postures, neither of them speaking first.

"You must gag Su Yu tomorrow. My parents can't know about this."

Xie Wang turned his head and glanced at her.

"Don't worry, we're both upright and have nothing to hide."

Su Qinghe glared at him and then pulled her face back under the covers.

Listening to Su Qinghe's breathing gradually slow down beside him, Xie Wang also held her and slowly fell asleep.

At the other end of the corridor, Su Yu slipped on her dinosaur slippers and returned to her room. She climbed into bed, pulled the covers over herself, and turned on her tablet again.

"I was originally planning to ask my brother to play King of Glory."