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

Employees who received generous year-end bonuses left in twos and threes, and the once lively and spacious venue quickly became empty.

Lu Wen leaned against the glass partition, watching the departing figures, a genuine smile appearing in his eyes.

Xie Wang's gaze fell on a corner not far away.

Xie Zhengyang was packing his backpack. He wiped the keyboard until it was spotless, and then sorted the scattered files on the desktop into folders. Only after he finished doing all this did he put on his backpack.

The middle-aged man turned around and walked somewhat awkwardly to Xie Wang's desk, where he stood.

"Xiao Wang, I'll head back now."

"Um."

Xie Zhengyang prepared to turn and leave.

Su Qinghe stood beside Xie Wang, looking at Xie Zhengyang's slightly hunched back, and gently squeezed Xie Wang's knuckles resting on the armrest.

This is a silent reminder.

Xie Wang felt a slightly cool touch on his fingertips as he watched the middle-aged man walk towards the glass door.

"Happy New Year."

Xie Zhengyang's hand, which was pushing the door open, froze in mid-air, and he stood still.

He turned around.

"Why."

Happy New Year, Xiao Wang.

The glass door closed again.

The atmosphere at that moment was originally warm and pleasant.

Lu Wen, however, inappropriately approached and pulled over an office chair to sit down.

"Wangzi, sister-in-law, do you have any plans?"

Xie Wang raised his eyelids and glanced at him.

"Stay at home."

Upon hearing this answer, Lu Wen immediately let out an exaggerated sigh.

"What's the point of staying home during the Lunar New Year? I'll take you somewhere nice tomorrow."

Su Qinghe released Xie Wang's hand and brushed the long hair that had fallen in front of her shoulder behind her head.

"Where to?"

"Lin'an Temple." Lu Wen patted his chest.

"The most efficacious century-old temple in Jiangcheng. Tomorrow is Lunar New Year's Eve, let's go and draw a fortune stick to ring in the new year. It's so meaningful."

Xie Wang chuckled and looked at him.

"Why didn't you bring Lin Lu along? You've dragged the two of us along to be your third wheel."

Upon hearing Lin Lu's name, Lu Wen's face, which had been beaming with excitement, immediately fell.

He was like a deflated balloon, resting his chin on the back of the chair.

"Don't even mention it. Lin Lu was packed up by her parents this morning and taken back to her maternal grandmother's house in the countryside to visit relatives."

Xie Wang's lips curled up slightly.

"So you came here to bring trouble to us."

Lu Wenzhi stood up and straightened his expensive coat.

"I'm just asking you guys if you're going or not. You're all bored anyway, so just think of it as a trip to the temple to soak up some Buddhist energy."

Su Qinghe turned to look at Xie Wang.

She usually had no concept of these gods and Buddhas.

But on this eve of the Lunar New Year, when we bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new, visiting a temple doesn't seem like a bad thing.

"Shall we go, Xie Wang?" She left the decision to the boy beside her.

Xie Wang noticed the sense of novelty in Su Qinghe's eyes, a sense of not being repulsed by the novelty.

He stood up, took the black coat draped over the back of the chair, and picked up the brown tote bag for Su Qinghe.

"go."

Xie Wang looked at Lu Wen's face, which had instantly regained its radiance, and ruthlessly added a condition.

"Tonight's New Year's Eve dinner is on Mr. Lu."

Lu Wen waved his hand and agreed with great enthusiasm.

"No problem, I've already made a reservation at the best private restaurant in Jiangcheng. Let's drink until we drop tonight!"

The three people turned off all the lights in the office area, confirmed that the door lock system was in overload security mode, and then took the elevator downstairs.

The cold winter wind swept through the underground parking garage.

Xie Wang got into the driver's seat of the G63, and Su Qinghe skillfully opened the passenger door and got in.

Lu Wen originally wanted to drive his own Ferrari, but after seeing Xie Wang's car, he decisively gave up the idea.

He opened the back door of the G63 and got in.

"This large box is still the most spacious to sit in. Wangzi, you certainly have good taste."

Xie Wang stepped on the gas and drove out of the garage.

On the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, Wuhan welcomed a light snowfall.

Lin'an Temple is located on a branch of Qingyun Mountain on the outskirts of Jiangcheng City and has a history of incense offerings spanning eight hundred years.

Su Qinghe sat in the passenger seat, looking out the window at the outlines of the ancient temples and deep mountains stretching into the distance.

Lu Wen, who was in the back seat, had long lost his energy and was sleeping soundly against the car window.

As the vehicle entered the open-air parking lot at the foot of Lin'an Temple Mountain, the surrounding flow of people and vehicles began to become denser.

There were so many worshippers here today to celebrate the New Year and pray for blessings that the parking lot was almost completely full.

Xie Wang, with his unparalleled reverse parking skills, managed to park that boxy car in an extremely narrow gap between two vehicles.

Lu Wen was just woken up by a slight bump after the car came to a stop.

He rubbed his eyes, pushed open the door, and got out of the car.

Before us was a long staircase of 999 bluestone steps, leading to the main gate of the temple hidden in the clouds.

"I take back what I just said. Coming here is just asking for trouble." Lu Wen looked at the endless staircase and let out a desperate sigh.

After an hour of climbing, all three were exhausted, but seeing the temple nestled in the clouds made it all worthwhile.

Amidst the swirling smoke of incense, many people knelt in devout worship.

"Let's go inside first," Su Qinghe tugged at Xie Wang's sleeve.

The three followed the flow of people into the main hall.

Inside the hall is a tall, golden Buddha statue. Prayer flags flutter gently in the breeze, and the rhythmic sound of wooden fish drums echoes through the hall.

Lu Wen somehow obtained a thick bundle of incense sticks, ran to the prayer mat, and knelt down with a thud.

He clasped his hands together, closed his eyes, and muttered something for a long time before finally getting up.

"Let's go, let's go to the back hall to draw lots." Lu Wen's eyes sparkled with anticipation.

There was a long queue at the fortune-telling area of ​​Lin'an Temple.

Lu Wen squeezed through the crowd, paid the incense money, and then, holding an old bamboo divination stick container, closed his eyes and shook it wildly.

With a crisp, metallic clanging sound, a thin bamboo skewer fell onto the bluestone pavement.

Lu Wen couldn't wait to pick up the bamboo skewer and bring it to his eyes.

Xie Wang and Su Qinghe stood beside him, watching him.

Lu Wen's expression shifted in an instant, from anticipation to bewilderment, and finally to utter disbelief and terror.

"This is impossible."

Lu Wen's hands were trembling as he held the lot.

Xie Wang walked over, took the bamboo stick from his hand, and glanced at the inscription.

"The wind sweeps away the clouds and leaves, a lone goose flies south on a long and arduous journey, its desires remain unfulfilled and its heart is filled with obstacles, let us wait for the east wind to melt away the ice and snow."

After reciting the doggerel, Xie Wang raised his eyelids slightly.

"This is a terrible fortune, it's bad."

Lu Wen snatched the bamboo stick and ran towards the master fortune teller who was interpreting the sticks.

The old monk, dressed in a gray robe and wearing reading glasses, took the fortune stick and glanced at it.

"My lord, this is the worst possible divination slip," the fortune teller said calmly.

"Judging from this divination slip, you may face financial loss in the near future, and your love life will be full of ups and downs. You cannot force things."

These words were like a bolt from the blue for Lu Wen.

He didn't care about losing money, after all, the Lu Group was a large and powerful enterprise.

However, his love life was full of ups and downs, which directly hit his Achilles' heel.

Lu Wen thought of Lin Lu, who was far away in the countryside. The sense of peace he had felt vanished, replaced by complete panic.

"Master, I don't believe in this superstition. Do you have any way to resolve this? I'm willing to pay any price."

The fortune teller uttered a soft "Amitabha."

"Sincerity is all that matters. You can ask for a red prayer ribbon under the wishing tree outside the door, write your wish on it, and hang it at the highest point. It may help to ward off disasters and misfortunes."

Upon hearing that there was a solution, Lu Wen finally felt relieved.

Su Qinghe stood beside Xie Wang, watching Lu Wen's anxious and flustered appearance.

She gently shook her head, her cool voice echoing amidst the incense smoke.

"From a probability perspective, there are one hundred divination sticks in a divination box, and the percentage of the worst divination sticks is usually around ten percent."

"Since it's a random event, it's perfectly normal to get this result; there's no actual causal relationship."

Xie Wang looked at his materialistic, academically gifted girlfriend beside him, a helpless smile spreading across his eyes.

"Ms. Su, don't teach him math at a time like this. Just let him do whatever he wants."

Lu Wen had already run to the stall next to him and swept all the blessing ribbons from the little monk's hands in one go.

He ran back carrying a full twenty red ribbons.

"Quantitative change leads to qualitative change. One tree may not be enough. I'm determined to wrap that tree completely today."

Seeing Lu Wen's somewhat comical appearance, Xie Wang couldn't help but laugh and curse.

"Aren't you afraid of blindfolding Buddha?"

Lu Wen ignored him completely, picked up a calligraphy brush and began to write crookedly on the blessing ribbon.

Almost every one of them had Lin Lu's name written on it.

The surrounding worshippers cast strange glances at the young man in the high-end custom coat frantically writing on the roadside.

Xie Wang turned to look at Su Qinghe.

"Why don't you try your luck with a fortune stick?"

Su Qinghe looked at the crowded lot-drawing container.

She didn't believe in these things to begin with, but in this solemn atmosphere and amidst the winter bells, she had the idea to give it a try.

"Okay." She nodded.