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

Four days later, on Friday morning.

Time flies.

The two weeks of intensive training were like purgatory, but for Xie Wang and Su Qinghe, it was a high-intensity process of building tacit understanding.

Xie Wang scored full marks on all the mock national competition questions, and under his guidance, Su Qinghe rarely had trouble with any of the national competition physics questions.

School gate.

A van bound for the airport was parked on the side of the road.

Teacher Li, dressed in a brand-new suit that she only wore during the Lunar New Year, with a "Team Leader" badge around her neck, was beaming with excitement.

"Did you bring all your documents? Your admission ticket? Your ID card? Especially Xie Wang, don't forget anything!"

Xie Wang carried a shoulder bag and was still dressed in all-black casual wear, looking relaxed and carefree.

"I brought it, I brought it, Lao Li, you've asked eight times already."

The farewell team has also arrived.

Lin Lu clung to Su Qinghe's arm, her eyes brimming with tears:

"Qinghe, you absolutely must bring back a gold medal! Let those arrogant people in Beijing see the strength of the beauties from Jiangcheng!"

"And Xie Wang, if you... if you dare bully Qinghe, I'll... I'll have Lu Wen beat you up!"

Lu Wen, leaning against the cool motorcycle next to him, took off his sunglasses upon hearing this and gestured with his chin towards Xie Wang:

"Did you hear me? Take good care of Goddess Su."

Shen Hao and Xu You also arrived.

Shen Hao scratched his head and chuckled foolishly, "Brother Wang, School Beauty Su, good luck! When you return victorious, I'll treat you to barbecue!"

Xu You blushed and whispered, "Good luck..."

Xie Wang looked at his group of friends and a smile appeared on his lips.

He used to think farewells were sentimental, but now he thinks it's not so bad to have someone see you off.

"I'm gone."

Xie Wang waved his hand, opened the car door, and gestured for Su Qinghe to get in first.

"Wait for our good news."

……

Jiangcheng International Airport, Terminal 3.

Teacher Li was holding three ID cards and was about to join the long queue at the economy class counter.

"There are too many people... We need to hurry up and line up, otherwise there won't be any space on the luggage racks." Teacher Li muttered while wiping her sweat. As a teacher with a salary, her travel expenses were limited, and she always had to be careful with her money.

"Old Li, over here."

Xie Wang didn't go towards the economy class area, but went straight to the quieter, less crowded first-class/business class check-in counter.

"Hey? Xie Wang, you're going the wrong way! That's first class!" Teacher Li shouted anxiously from behind.

Xie Wang stopped and turned back to wave his phone at Teacher Li, looking completely nonchalant.

"I didn't go to the wrong place, I upgraded my ticket."

"Three first-class tickets, no need to queue."

Teacher Li was stunned, her eyes widening like saucers:

"Upgrade...upgrade to economy class? That would cost so much! The school only reimburses economy class fares!"

"Could it be Xiao Susheng's?"

He knew Xie Wang's family was poor, so where did this kid get the money?

Su Qinghe looked at Xie Wang with some surprise and patted him on the shoulder: "Xie Wang, don't waste money. I should have just let Uncle Zhong buy it."

Xie Wang, with one hand in his pocket, explained the reason:

"To allow you to get some rest, I took on a programming job for the past two weeks."

"The exam is coming up soon. How can we win a gold medal if we don't get enough rest? I'll pay for it; consider it a sponsorship fee for our team."

In fact, this is nothing compared to his five million dollar account.

But he didn't want Su Qinghe and Lao Li to be crammed into the cramped economy class for three hours.

While Teacher Li was still feeling the pinch of the money, the ground staff member smiled and led her to the VIP channel.

"Please come this way, you three. You can use the VIP lounge."

Teacher Li walked on the red carpet in a daze, feeling as if she were dreaming.

Students these days... can fly first class just by doing a "small job"?

……

At 10,000 meters altitude, in the first-class cabin of an airplane.

The plane flew smoothly.

After all, Teacher Li is getting on in years, and she was exhausted from worrying about the training camp these past few days. After drinking a cup of hot milk brought by the flight attendant, she put on an eye mask, lay down on the spacious seat, and soon began to snore.

The first-class cabin was quiet, with only the occasional sound of newspapers being turned.

Xie Wang and Su Qinghe sat next to each other.

Xie Wang adjusted the back of his seat and took out his old phone, whose screen was cracked into a spider web and whose edges were badly painted.

Sudden.

An exquisite white gift box was pushed onto his small table.

It has the bitten Apple logo printed on it; it's the latest flagship model, the top-of-the-line version.

Xie Wang was taken aback and turned to look at Su Qinghe.

Su Qinghe was looking down at an aviation magazine, his expression indifferent, as if his previous action was merely casual.

"For you."

Why?

Xie Wang looked at the box but didn't open it immediately.

He's not short of money now; he could easily buy a hundred of these phones.

But this was... a gift from her.

Su Qinghe closed the magazine, turned his head, and his gaze fell on the tattered old cell phone in his hand:

"Your screen has been broken for too long, it's hard to see and it's affecting your eyesight."

"Besides, once we get to Beijing, we'll need to use all sorts of apps to look up information and contact the organizing committee. Your phone is so slow and laggy, I'm worried I won't be able to reach you."

Actually, she had noticed it a long time ago.

He always had to squint to see the words on his phone screen when doing practice problems; sometimes when replying to messages, the old phone would take several seconds to respond.

She didn't say she felt bad, only that it affected efficiency.

Xie Wang's Adam's apple bobbed.

He tossed his old phone into his bag and reached for the brand-new gift box.

open.

The black fuselage is cold, sophisticated, and suits him perfectly.

"Teacher Su."

Xie Wang fiddled with his new phone, then turned and leaned closer to her, lowering his voice:

"Such an expensive gift... Are you planning to keep me as a sugar daddy?"

Su Qinghe glanced at him and pushed up her glasses:

"Just think of it as an angel investment."

Xie Wang laughed out loud.

That was a joy that came from the bottom of my heart.

He didn't care about the value of the phone; what he cared about was that she had been silently watching his predicament and had thoughtfully helped him solve it in a way that was least hurtful to his pride.

"OK."

Xie Wang opened the packaging, turned on the device in front of her, and set a password.

He showed Su Qinghe his phone screen:

"Since it's invested by Teacher Su, why don't you choose the wallpaper?"

Su Qinghe glanced at the bare default desktop.

She thought for a moment, took out her phone, and sent him a picture.

Thank you for accepting.

It's a photo she secretly took in the library.

There is only one hand in the photo—the hand Xie Wang held that day, writing the last line of formula on the draft paper.

Sunlight falls on fingertips, long, strong, and full of hope.

"Use this," she said.

Xie Wang looked at the photo on the screen, and his heart felt as if it had been gently tickled by a feather.

He set the wallpaper, then turned to the side and looked at the girl beside him who was resting with her eyes closed.

"Su Qinghe".

"Um?"

"Thanks."

Su Qinghe's lips curled slightly upwards. Without opening his eyes, he simply said softly:

"Get some sleep. Once we get to the capital, it will be a battlefield."

Xie Wang hummed in agreement.

He held the new phone tightly in his hand; it was the most precious gift he had received, besides the wealth left by his mother.

The plane pierced through the clouds and roared northward under the sunlight.