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

The next day, at nine o'clock in the morning.

The national competition awards ceremony was held at the Beijing Conference Center.

As the most prestigious academic competition for teenagers in China, the event brought together top students from all over the country, directors of university admissions offices, and countless media outlets.

To further expand its influence, the education channel and online platforms simultaneously launched a live broadcast of the entire event.

[Jiangcheng No.1 Middle School, Classroom of Grade 11 (1)]

Although it was during class time, everyone was distracted, and the teacher turned a blind eye, so he simply turned on the multimedia projector and the whole class watched the live broadcast together.

"It's starting! It's starting!"

Shen Hao, sitting in the back row, slammed his hand on the table with a deafening roar: "Open your eyes wide! Watch how our two gods blow everyone away!"

Xu You, who was standing next to her, was startled by the loud noise. She shrank back like a frightened hamster, gripped her pen tightly, and whispered, "Shen Hao... be gentle, the table is going to collapse."

Shen Hao immediately stopped, scratched his head, and blushed slightly: "Ahem, I was just excited. Xu You, look, that's our class monitor!"

Lin Lu sat in the front row, holding a milk tea in her hand, nervously biting the straw: "I have to win the gold medal... those kinds of occasions look so scary."

Song Yiren from the next class secretly ran over and stood near the back door, speaking calmly: "Don't worry, those two freaks, I can't think of any other possibility besides getting a perfect score."

Jiangcheng, Su's Group

The office was deathly silent, with only the faint sound of the central air conditioning running.

Su's mother, dressed in a high-class home outfit, sat upright on the leather sofa. She was very well-maintained, but her eyes revealed a sharp and cold demeanor befitting someone who had held a high position for many years.

On the huge LCD screen in front of us, the awards ceremony was playing.

"Madam, the eldest daughter is making her entrance," the secretary said cautiously.

Su's mother put down her bone china coffee cup and stared at the screen with a scrutinizing gaze. To her, it was only natural that Su Qinghe had won first place.

……

[Beijing, at the awards ceremony]

Inside the rest area, Xie Wang was struggling with his tie.

He was used to wearing loose-fitting windbreakers, so this tailored black suit made him feel very uncomfortable, especially the collar, which felt tight.

"Don't move."

A clear, cold voice rang out.

Su Qinghe wore a champagne-colored long dress today, with layers of skirt that resembled a flowing galaxy. Her long hair was styled up, revealing her slender swan neck.

She walked up to Xie Wang, raised her hand, and her cool fingertips touched his collar.

She carefully adjusted the position of his tie knot.

In that instant, the surrounding noise seemed to be shut out.

Xie Wang lowered his eyes, looking at the girl so close to him. She wore light makeup and was breathtakingly beautiful.

His Adam's apple bobbed, and his previously agitated mood instantly calmed down. He even lowered his head slightly to make it easier for her to move.

"alright."

Su Qinghe withdrew his hand, casually brushing off non-existent dust from his shoulder, his tone indifferent:

"Stand up straight, Xie, you're going to be on camera today."

Xie Wang curled the corners of his lips into a smile, his eyes filled with a lazy, indulgent look, and lowered his voice:

"Yes, Teacher Su."

……

"The following are the gold medal winners of the 45th National Physics Olympiad for Secondary School Students."

The host's voice was amplified throughout the venue via the microphone.

The list of winners scrolled across the big screen.

The first name listed was none other than Su Qinghe.

"Please welcome Su Qinghe to the stage to receive his award!"

The camera instantly cuts to the audience.

Su Qinghe slowly stood up. Before going on stage, she didn't rush to leave, but turned slightly and nodded gently to Xie Wang beside her.

That look in his eyes lacked its usual aloofness, and instead held a tacit understanding that only the two of them could comprehend.

[Comments float by]

Shen Hao: "Holy crap! That look in his eyes! And Wang Ge's smile! Why do I feel like I'm already full?"

Lin Lu: "So sweet!!!!"

Xu You: Secretly wrote in her notebook: Su Su looks so pretty today.

In her office, Su's mother's smile faded, her brows furrowed slightly, and her sharp gaze swept over the young man next to Su Qinghe.

The boy sat casually, standing out from the upright and serious academic students around him.

Su Qinghe walked onto the podium and stood in the highest position.

The spotlight shone on her as she accepted the gold medal, smiling politely, perfectly embodying the ideal.

But if you look closely, you'll notice that her left hand hangs down naturally, and her thumb unconsciously rubs the plain ring at the base of her middle finger.

……

Next up is the main event.

"The following are the awards for the National Olympiad in Informatics for Youth."

This time, the atmosphere was clearly different.

Everyone in Beijing's social circles knows that this is Gu Yan, the young master of the Gu family, having the opportunity to shine.

For this competition, the Gu family even hired a top international team for pre-competition coaching.

"The silver medalist is... Gu Yan from Beijing Affiliated High School!"

The applause from the audience was thunderous, but the smile on Gu Yan's face instantly froze.

90 points. Silver medal.

He gritted his teeth and stood up stiffly under the gaze of everyone present.

As the second son of the Tianlong Group, he lost on his own turf.

"The gold medalist, and the only perfect scorer in this competition, is—"

The host's voice suddenly rose:

"Jiangcheng No.1 Middle School, Xie Wang!"

Whoosh—!

The audience gasped in astonishment. A perfect score? That core algorithm question had stumped countless people!

Xie Wang stood up.

Compared to Su Qinghe's elegance, he appeared more composed, even carrying a hint of nonchalant arrogance.

He strode onto the stage with one hand in his pocket.

As he passed by Gu Yan, he didn't even pause for a moment, as if the person standing there was just a wisp of air.

The award presenter was the president of Tsinghua and Peking Universities. He smiled and hung the heavy gold medal around Xie Wang's neck, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "You are a promising young man. That core algorithm was written so beautifully."

……

After the awards ceremony, as is customary, the top three winners in each subject were required to stay on stage for a group photo.

This became the most awkward moment.

Su Qinghe and Xie Wang stood side by side in the center, in the C position.

Gu Yan, who held the silver medal, could only stand to Xie Wang's side and slightly behind.

The three stood close together.

Gu Yan looked at Xie Wang's tall and straight back, and the jealousy in his eyes was almost overflowing.

While adjusting their positions and waiting for the photographer, he lowered his voice and spoke coldly in a volume only the three of them could hear:

"Lucky you, perfect score."

"But Xie Wang, you can only win once within the rules of this ivory tower."

"Once you step out of this door, in the capital city, in the face of capital, you'll still be an ant with no background. You won't even be able to touch the threshold of the Su family's house."

This is an extremely malicious and realistic insult.

If it were the Xie Wang of the past, he might have taken direct action.

But now.

Xie Wang didn't even turn his head.

He was bending down to adjust his cuffs.

As he moved, his sleeve moved up slightly, revealing a Möbius strip ring gleaming coldly on the middle finger of his left hand.

At the same time, Su Qinghe, as if on the same wavelength, raised his left hand and gently tucked a stray hair behind his ear.

The same ring, in the same spot, gleamed under the spotlight.

The two rings dazzled Gu Yan's eyes.

"Gu Yan."

Xie Wang finally spoke.

He still didn't turn around to look at Gu Yan, his gaze remaining fixed on Su Qinghe beside him. His tone was lazy, with a hint of nonchalant mockery:

Has anyone ever told you that you talk too much on stage?

After saying that, he turned slightly to the side and took half a step closer to Su Qinghe.

That was a posture that exuded extreme protectiveness and possessiveness.

The two men stood shoulder to shoulder, their black suits and champagne-colored dresses blending perfectly in the shot.

"Qinghe, are you tired?" Xie Wang asked, seemingly oblivious to everyone else, his voice unusually gentle.

Su Qinghe didn't even glance at Gu Yan behind her, but simply smiled faintly at Xie Wang: "A little, shall we go eat after filming?"

"Okay, whatever you say."

Complete disregard.

Gu Yan is just a background figure standing behind us, whose name isn't even worthy of being mentioned by me.

click-

The flash went off.

This moment was frozen in time:

Xie Wang laughed arrogantly, while Su Qinghe laughed gently.

Gu Yan, standing behind him, had a livid face and looked as embarrassed as a clown.

Jiangcheng No.1 Middle School Classroom:

The ring's reflection at that moment was captured by the high-definition live stream camera.

"Holy crap!!!" Shen Hao jumped onto a chair, pointing at the screen, "A ring! Look! A ring!!"

Lin Lu covered her mouth and screamed, "Same style! Left middle finger! This is an official announcement! This is a direct, face-to-face attack!"

The whole class erupted in chaos. The English teacher pushed up her glasses, pretending not to see anything, but couldn't help but smile.

[Su Family Villa]

Su's mother's hand, holding the coffee cup, froze in mid-air, her gaze fixed on the screen.

She saw Gu Yan's ashen and defeated face.

I also saw that boy named Xie Wang, with his arrogance and confidence that emanated from his very bones.

I also noticed the pair of rings that were not at all shy about.

"That kid from the Gu family actually lost?"

Mrs. Su took a sip of her coffee, her tone devoid of anger, but rather carrying a hint of amusement and surprise:

"The Gu family spent so much money to cultivate their heir, and he can't even get a silver medal... He's really getting worse as he gets older."

She looked at Xie Wang again.

Despite having no connections, he single-handedly crushed the Gu family in Beijing, his home turf.

"That's interesting."

Su's mother put down the cup and gently tapped the leather armrest with her fingertips.

"Secretary Wang," Su's mother said calmly.

The secretary, who had been standing in the corner, stepped forward: "Madam."

"Go and look up this Xie Wang."

Su's mother looked at the spirited young man on the screen:

"Investigate more thoroughly. If his background is clean... perhaps we can let him come to our house for a visit this summer."