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

The grand fireworks display on my birthday night was like a dazzling dream, and life gradually returned to a state of extreme self-discipline and tranquility.

The air conditioner in room 1602 runs day and night, maintaining the indoor air temperature at a constant 23 degrees Celsius.

On the long table in the living room, which was once used to analyze the scandals of Tianlong Group, there are piles of "Five-Year College Entrance Examination and Three-Year Simulation" books, past exam papers for various subject competitions, and scattered draft papers.

"Regarding the work done by friction, if the reference frame is the ground, the displacement of the slider is not equal to the relative displacement..."

The afternoon sun dappled through the sheer curtains, casting dappled patterns on the exam paper. Su Qinghe twirled his pen, explaining a challenging physics mechanics problem to Xie Wang.

As she spoke, her voice lowered, and she couldn't help but raise her hand to rub her stiff neck, letting out a soft sigh. A hint of weariness was showing between her brows; the recent high-intensity mental output was taking its toll on even this "academic genius."

Xie Wang paused, his hand twirling the pen.

He looked at Su Qinghe, whose face was somewhat pale, and suddenly closed the exercise book in front of him with a soft "snap".

"What's wrong?" Su Qinghe looked up in confusion, her eyes filled with a hint of drowsy bewilderment. "You haven't finished yet."

"I'm not going to talk about it anymore."

Xie Wang tossed his pen aside, leaned back in his chair, and glanced up and down at her slender wrists and slightly tired expression, his brows furrowing slightly.

"Teacher Su, your brain is definitely top-notch, but your physical condition is a little lacking."

Su Qinghe frowned: "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is, you're too weak." Xie Wang spoke bluntly, even with a hint of disdain. "Senior year of high school isn't just about brains, it's also about physical strength. With your frail body that catches colds with every change of season and gets headaches from staying up late, it's questionable whether you can even make it to next June. Don't collapse before you even get your score."

Su Qinghe pursed his lips. Although he wanted to refute, he had indeed felt powerless these past two days, so he could only ask in a sullen voice:

"Xie, what should we do?"

"Therefore, starting tomorrow, we will implement Plan B."

Xie Wang stood up, walked to the window, pointed to the winding riverside running track below, turned back to look at her, and a "devil instructor" smile curled at the corner of his mouth:

"From now on, I'll get you up an hour earlier every day and train your physical fitness."

"...Does it really have to be this way?" Su Qinghe looked at the scorching sun and instinctively resisted.

"No discussion." Xie Wang leaned down, placed his hands on the armrests of her chair, and encircled her in the middle, his eyes filled with unwavering determination.

Su Qinghe looked into his earnest eyes, remained silent for two seconds, and finally nodded:

"it is good."

……

【6:00 AM】

"Knock knock knock".

The extremely punctual and rhythmic knocking shattered Su Qinghe's dream.

She painfully covered her head with the blanket, trying to play dead, but the person outside the door was clearly very patient and determined not to give up until they achieved their goal.

"Qinghe, get up."

Xie Wang's voice came through the door, clear, strong, and even carrying a hint of sleepy joy, which sounded like a devil's whisper to Su Qinghe:

"I'll give you three minutes, or I'll use the spare key to open the door, go in, and pull back the covers. Three, two..."

"Get up!"

A minute later, the door was suddenly flung open.

Su Qinghe, with her long, flowing hair, wearing pajamas, and looking grumpy from just waking up, stood in the doorway with a resentful gaze that could kill:

"Xie Wang, it's summer vacation, it's only six o'clock, the chickens haven't even gotten up yet."

"I don't know if the rooster will get up or not, but we should."

Xie Wang had already changed into a black quick-drying tracksuit, making him appear broad-shouldered, long-legged, and energetic. He leaned against the wall, twirling two bottles of mineral water in his hand, looked her up and down, and handed her one of the bottles:

"I'll be waiting for you at the door."

The riverside running track is bathed in the soft light of dawn.

The air hadn't yet been heated by the sun, and it carried the unique moisture of the river.

"Huff... huff..."

Su Qinghe felt as if his steps were filled with lead, and each step required mobilizing all his willpower.

"It's no use... Xie Wang..."

She stopped, hands on her knees, panting heavily, sweat dripping from her chin, her whole body trembling.

"I really... can't run anymore."

Five meters ahead, Xie Wang was jogging backwards, his breathing so steady it was almost like he was breathing out. He looked at Su Qinghe's disheveled yet touching appearance, stopped, and walked back to her side.

"Adjust your breathing, inhale deeply, and exhale slowly."

Xie Wang reached out to wipe the sweat from her forehead, his touch gentle, but his words were sharp:

"Teacher Su, your lung capacity isn't great. If we encounter danger and need to run away, are you planning to make me carry you?"

"Can't you carry it on your back?" Su Qinghe retorted weakly.

Xie Wang smiled and pinched her cheek.

He took her hand, slowed his pace, and led her forward.

"Keep going for another 500 meters, and I'll make you shrimp wontons when we get home."

……

I returned to room 1602, drenched in sweat.

The two took turns showering and changing into dry loungewear. The cool air from the air conditioner brought a refreshing feeling after their workout.

The cramped kitchen became their second battleground.

It was no longer a one-man show by Xie Wang; Su Qinghe had also joined in.

Xie Wang was chopping minced meat on the cutting board, his knife skills were swift and precise, and the "tap tap tap" sound was very rhythmic.

Su Qinghe stood by the sink, carefully selecting and washing the vegetables.

Sunlight streamed in through the kitchen window, illuminating the two figures behind them. One was chopping meat, the other peeling garlic. Occasionally, their arms would brush against each other, their skin glistening with water droplets, sending a cool sensation through their touch.

"Pass me a plate."

"Give."

"Would you like more vinegar?"

"want."

Soon, two bowls of steaming hot shrimp wontons were served. The wontons had thin wrappers and generous fillings, and the soup was clear with bright green scallions and a few drops of sesame oil floating on top.

Su Qinghe took a bite, and the delicious taste instantly soothed the pain of his morning run.

"Is it delicious?" Xie Wang asked.

"It's delicious." Su Qinghe nodded. "For the sake of the wontons, I'll try not to scold you tomorrow morning."

Xie Wang chuckled lightly: "Then I should thank you."

……

During the day, there was intense review and physical training. But late at night, after Su Qinghe went back to his room to rest, Xie Wang's "night shift" was just beginning.

Xie Wang sat in front of the computer, wearing headphones, his hands, which usually held a pen, now flying across the mechanical keyboard.

Instead of rushing to attack the core of Tianlong Group, he was accumulating power—influence. In this gray online world, influence is sometimes more useful than technology.

The screen displays a globally renowned tech forum for geeks. The account with the ID "X" has, in just a few days, dominated the bounty section with astonishing efficiency.

[Help Needed: Deadlock Vulnerability in a Legacy System of a Multinational Bank; Reward: $1500]

—X: Fixed, patch attached.

[Seeking help: Finding a piece of low-level driver source code for industrial control software from ten years ago...]

—X: Link here.

[High reward offered: Crack the logic vulnerability of a new encryption algorithm...]

—X: The algorithm has a flaw; the demo has been uploaded.

In just five days, the name "X" has become synonymous with "all-around master" in the circle. The US dollars in his account are constantly increasing. More importantly, he has established an invisible voice in the circle.

"drop."

The hidden chat box in the bottom right corner is popping up.

It is [K].

[K]: [Young man, making quite a fuss.]

Xie Wang typed with one hand, his eyes cold and stern, the blue light from the screen reflecting on his face, making him appear exceptionally deep and introspective.

[X]: [To catch a big fish, you need enough fishing rods.]

[K]: [Need any help? I see you've made quite a bit on the forum; you could hire a few informants offline.]

[X]: Thank you, I'll contact you if I need anything.

Xie Wang closed the chat window and glanced at Su Qinghe's tightly closed door.

……

[Early morning of August 15th]

Time slips through our fingers like sand, and more than ten days have passed without us even realizing it.

The days flew by in a cycle of waking up early, running, cooking, doing practice problems, and then going about my nighttime activities.

On the riverside running track, two figures walked one after the other with light steps.

After more than ten days of grueling training, Su Qinghe has undergone a visible transformation. Although still thin, his sickly pallor has diminished considerably, his cheeks now have a healthy glow, and his eyes are brighter and more determined than before.

"Huff, huff..."

"Three kilometers, achieved."

Xie Wang glanced at his sports watch, stopped, turned around, opened his arms, and steadily caught the girl who was rushing towards him.

"How was it, Teacher Su?"

Xie Wang casually handed her a bottle of water with the cap on, raising an eyebrow with a hint of smugness:

"I told you you could do it! Your pace is already under 5 minutes per kilometer, so a perfect score on the physical test is no problem."

Su Qinghe drank water in large gulps, nodded while panting, and although she was tired, the feeling of being in control of her body made her feel very at ease.

"Indeed... I feel much more energetic."

The two strolled along the riverbank, relaxing.

The sun had just risen, casting golden rays that shimmered on the river. Early risers began to appear, some walking their dogs, others practicing Tai Chi, creating a vibrant, everyday scene.

"How wonderful." Su Qinghe exclaimed suddenly, gazing at the rising sun over the river.

Xie Wanggang was about to respond when his back suddenly tensed up.

That feeling of being watched, like a thorn in their side, returned. This time, the gaze was cold and sticky, not far from them.

He pretended to help Su Qinghe tidy up her sweat-dampened hair, and under the cover of his body, his gaze swept silently and sharply to the side and behind him.

A man stood in the shade of a sycamore tree on the street corner.

On a day with temperatures over 30 degrees Celsius, the person wore a baseball cap and a black face mask, completely covering their face.

Only a pair of sinister, murky eyes were visible, staring intently at them.

found it.

"Xie Wang?" Su Qinghe noticed the unusual pause in his movements and looked up in confusion.

Xie Wang withdrew his gaze, the coldness in his eyes forcibly suppressed the moment he turned to Su Qinghe, but he did not take her hand again. Instead, he took half a step back, creating some distance between them.

"Qinghe, you go back first."

His voice was steady, but he spoke half a beat faster than usual:

"I just remembered I left something at that convenience store. I'll go get it."

Su Qinghe was stunned for a moment.

As intelligent as she was, her gaze swept casually over the incongruous figure at the street corner, and she instantly understood what was going on.

"it is good."

"Then I'll go back and boil some water. You... come back quickly."

"Yes, very soon."

Su Qinghe turned and left.

Her steps were steady, without a trace of panic, as if she really was just going home first.

It wasn't until he turned the corner of the flower bed at the entrance of the residential area, and confirmed that the street corner was no longer in sight, and that Xie Wang could no longer see him, that he realized he was out of sight.

Su Qinghe's calm expression shattered instantly, his pale face turning icy and murderous.

She quickly pulled out her phone and dialed a number with lightning speed.

"beep--"

The phone was answered after only one ring.

"Hello, Miss?" came an old but steady and powerful voice from the other end of the line.

As Su Qinghe strode quickly toward the elevator lobby, she spoke coldly, her tone devoid of any girlish naiveté.

"Uncle Zhong, bring some men downstairs to the music room at the top of the hill."