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

When they reached the fork in the road downstairs, the group went their separate ways.

Xie Wang and Su Qinghe returned home together.

The elevator stopped on the sixteenth floor, and as soon as the doors opened, Su Qinghe was stunned.

Lin Wanyi was wearing a light gray cardigan. Su Chengyun stood next to her, and his first reaction upon seeing Su Qinghe was to raise his hand and wave.

Su Qinghe was completely unprepared for this scene. She stood at the elevator door, motionless, stunned for several seconds.

"mom?"

"Why are you here?"

Lin Wanyi gently patted Su Qinghe's head.

"We were worried about you guys, so we rushed over. You're taking the college entrance exam, so of course we had to come and cheer you on."

Su Chengyun nodded in agreement: "The plane ticket was yesterday afternoon. Didn't you say you had a day off today? I was thinking of coming over to spend two days with you guys."

Lin Wan casually smoothed a strand of her hair, looked her up and down, and nodded.

"Looks alright, didn't push himself too hard."

Xie Wang followed Su Qinghe out of the elevator. Su Chengyun turned around, glanced at him, and waved.

"Xie Wang, come over for dinner. Wang Ma is cooking today."

Xie Wang responded, "Okay, thank you, Uncle."

Su Qinghe walked in first.

Xie Wang followed and closed the door from the inside.

The dishes prepared by Wang Ma were laid out on the table. The braised pork and bamboo shoot soup was steaming hot, and there was also a boiled shrimp and a stir-fried vegetable dish. The colors were all very simple, but the aroma was wonderful.

Several people sat down around the table, and Lin Wanyi divided the soup into bowls, pushing one bowl in front of Xie Wang.

"Let's relax today and eat first."

"Your exam admission ticket is with the teacher, right?" Lin Wanyi asked, picking up two pieces of food with her chopsticks and looking up at them.

Su Qinghe nodded, "The exam papers are handed out every time, and then collected after the exam, because the teachers are afraid we'll lose them."

Lin Wanyi hummed in agreement, put down her chopsticks, and leaned back in her chair.

"Okay, that's the safest way. Teacher Li will send them to you the day after tomorrow. Remember to check them on the spot, make sure the names and exam numbers match before putting them away."

"it is good."

Su Chengyun ladled out a mouthful of soup and said, "I was so excited when I took the college entrance exam back then."

Su Qinghe looked up. "Dad, were you nervous about your college entrance exam?"

"How could I not be nervous?" Su Chengyun put down her bowl. "I couldn't sleep the night before. I went through all the knowledge I knew in my mind over and over again. The more I went through it, the more awake I became. In the end, I simply sat up and stared at the wall for two hours until dawn."

Su Qinghe's lips curved into a smile. "So how did the exam go?"

"Your father ranked seventh in the province's liberal arts exam back then," Lin Wanyi answered for him.

Su Chengyun wasn't bothered that she stole his lines, but he just touched his nose and said, "Yes, seventh place. So you see, whether you're asleep or not, or how nervous you are, isn't the most important thing. The key is to stay calm and composed."

Xie Wang listened to these words without interrupting, but simply lowered his head and stirred the soup in his bowl.

Lin Wanyi glanced at him and spoke.

"Xie Wang, get a good night's sleep tonight, and just skim through the papers tomorrow. You don't need to study from morning till night. If your brain stays active too late, you won't be able to fall asleep, and that will be more of a waste of time than anything else."

Xie Wang took a sip of the soup, nodded, and said, "I understand, Auntie."

"And one more thing," Lin Wanyi paused, "Qinghe's mind tends to race before exams, so keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn't open any books before 10 p.m.

Su Qinghe put down his chopsticks. "Mom, you already told Xie Wang, didn't you just tell me to stop?"

Lin Wanyi glanced at her, her expression flat. "It's no use talking to you. You never listen. It's more effective to talk to him."

Su Qinghe opened his mouth, but did not say anything in rebuttal.

By the time we finished eating, it was already dark outside the window.

Xie Wang returned to the house across the street from Su Qinghe's house, closed the door, changed his clothes, and sat down at his desk.

Xie Zhengyang sent two messages.

One message was sent at 6 PM sharp: Eat well, sleep well, and remember to bring all your stationery.

One message was just now, at 8:03: Do you want me to come and wake you up? It's the morning after tomorrow.

Xie Wang typed three words: It's okay.

After pausing, he added another line: "Just focus on your work, you don't need to come over."

Xie Zhengyang replied with a single word after a long delay: "Okay."

Xie Wang placed his phone face down on the table and leaned back in his chair.

Also good.

He remembered that during the year of his high school entrance exam, he was alone in his rented room in Tonghe Lane, with a candle lit on the table because the electricity had been cut off due to lack of funds to pay the bill.

It's much better than before.

The next day, Xie Wang drew the curtains tightly and slept until 12:17 noon, when he was woken up by a knocking sound coming from the corridor outside.

He sat up groggily, his hair a mess, and went to open the door. Su Chengyun was standing outside.

"Get up, Xiao Xie, let's go eat. Qinghe just woke up too, just like you, you lazy pig."

Xie Wang steadied himself by holding onto the door frame and responded.

A dozen minutes later, he washed his face and changed his clothes. He pushed open the door to 1601 and saw Su Qinghe coming out of the bedroom. His hair was still half-disheveled, his eyes were not fully open, and there was a faint pillow mark on his cheek.

The two people looked at each other.

"Teacher Su is such a lazy pig, hahaha."

"You're the lazybones." Su Qinghe walked towards the dining table, still not backing down.

I've been eating light meals these past two days, without any greasy dishes, so my stomach hasn't been upset and my mind has been clear.

In the afternoon, the two of them spent two hours in their respective rooms reviewing test papers, going over a few points of knowledge that they were unsure about.

After dinner, Lin Wanyi said, "Don't read anymore tonight, go to bed early."

They both nodded.

At 9:00 a.m. on the third day, the six people gathered at the main entrance of Jiangcheng No. 2 Middle School.

The weather was nice, not too hot, and breezy.

Old Li was already there, carrying an envelope. When he saw people arrive, he adjusted his glasses.

"You're all here, okay. Here are your admission tickets. You'll need them to tour the exam venue. Go find your own exam rooms, familiarize yourselves with the area, make sure you know the floors, and return them to me when you're done. I'll give them back on the morning of the exam."

He separated the admission tickets one by one and handed them over by name.

"Xie Wang, first floor, building number three," Old Li said, flipping through the backup sheet in his hand. "Su Qinghe, sixth floor."

Su Qinghe responded, took the admission ticket, glanced at it, folded it up, and put it in the inner pocket of his bag.

This was Xie Wang's first time entering the campus of Jiangcheng No. 2 Middle School. Compared with No. 1 Middle School, the exterior of the teaching building here was a bit darker in color, the corridor handrails were made of iron, the paint was a bit old, the edges of the steps were worn smooth by footsteps, and the corridors were covered with photos of the top scorers in the college entrance examination from each year, one after another, with each photo accompanied by a name and score.

Turning left in the corridor on the first floor of Building 3, Xie Wang found his exam room, pushed open the door halfway, and stood at the doorway to take a look.

The classroom was small, with thirty exam seats. The desks and chairs were the kind where each person had their own desk, and the drawers were empty, with nothing inside.

He went inside, found his seat, sat down in the chair, stretched his legs out a little, and felt the space.

A loudspeaker was hanging in the corridor, broadcasting some kind of announcement, probably exam rules and precautions. The words were clear and echoed in the quiet corridor.

Xie Wang leaned back in his chair, listened to the whole broadcast, and then stood up and walked towards the door.

He paused in the corridor, turned around, and looked out the window.

There's an exam room on the sixth floor, and right now there should be a girl in a white T-shirt looking out.

What will the sun look like two days later when I come out after the English exam?

He imagined it would be a sunny afternoon, with sunlight shining down and the ground bright. Everyone would be walking out of the exam hall with all sorts of expressions on their faces, and he would be standing at the entrance of Building 3, looking up towards the sixth floor.

Then Su Qinghe will appear from the crowd.

Then high school ended.

Xie Wang put his hands in his pockets and walked out of the examination room.

When they met up again, Old Li cleared his throat.

"Have you looked at everything?"

"Alright." Everyone responded almost simultaneously.

Old Li nodded, didn't say anything profound, just put the admission tickets back into the envelopes one by one, and then waved his hand.

"Go back now, get some sleep, see you in the exam hall the day after tomorrow."

Everyone dispersed at the school gate and went their separate ways back.

Back in the Cloud Top Music Room, Xie Wang turned on his phone, and message notifications popped up one after another.

The group chat has exploded with activity; everyone is encouraging each other.

Xie Wang scrolled down and saw that Xie Zhengyang had also sent a message, this time with only one line: Sleep well tomorrow, eat something good, and keep up the good work the day after tomorrow.

Then Su Chengyun and Lin Wanyi each sent a message. Su Chengyun said to take care of yourself and Lin Wanyi said to keep going, Xiao Xie.

Kangping: Victory is certain, we're waiting for you.

Wang Nan: Keep a calm mind, you'll be fine.

Zhao Zixuan sent a long message.

Scrolling down, Chen Xi and Wang Bo also sent messages. Chen Xi said: "You'll definitely be fine, kid. Wait for your results." Wang Bo sent a three-line blessing and then added at the end: "Treat me to dinner if you get into the same school."

Xie Wang replied: Let's cheer each other on.

Then I replied to all the other messages one by one, thanking those who deserved thanks and responding to those who needed to, before putting my phone down.

The rice ball jumped down from behind the sofa, walked towards him, rubbed against his leg, stopped, and looked up at him.

Xie Wang reached out and ruffled the fur behind its ears. The rice ball nudged into his palm and made a low gurgling sound.

"Alright, time to sleep." Xie Wang turned off the light, drew the curtains tightly, lay flat on the bed, and closed his eyes.

I slept very soundly.