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

"Teacher Su."

Xie Wang closed the wooden door to the attic, and only after confirming that Director Yan hadn't followed did he breathe a sigh of relief, lean against the bookshelf, and a mischievous smile curled at the corner of his mouth:

"Since we're already here, just sunbathing is so boring, why not play a couple of games during our break?"

As he spoke, he took his phone out of his pocket.

Su Qinghe pushed up his glasses, looked at the bright sunshine outside the window, and his rationality only struggled for a second before snapping completely.

"……OK."

She also took out her phone, logged into the game with practiced ease, and regained the calmness she had when solving problems:

"But let's make this clear first, I only play mid lane, and if you dare to steal my lane, I'll draw a turtle on your physics test paper."

"Yes, ma'am."

Xie Wang logged into his account with a smile, instantly selected Li Bai, and said, "Leave the carrying to victory to me."

"Go! Go! Go! Teacher Su, get him under control!"

"Don't rush, my magic-piercing staff isn't finished yet."

"…Teacher Su, just unleash your ultimate move and slap him in the face!"

Just as the two were working together seamlessly—

"Squeak—"

Suddenly, the wooden door to the attic was pushed open with difficulty from the outside.

"Quick, quick! Youyou, come in! It's absolutely safe here!"

Although Shen Hao lowered his voice, it was still very penetrating. He peeked in furtively, with a blushing Xu You behind him.

"Shen Hao... is there really no one here?" Xu You asked nervously, holding a jump rope. "What if Director Yan catches us..."

"Don't worry! Old Yan's old, rheumatic legs won't be able to climb up!"

Shen Hao closed the door with a confident expression and turned around.

He met three pairs of eyes.

Xie Wang and Su Qinghe were engrossed in playing games on their phones.

And Lu Yi, lying in a pile of books, just woken up, with a look that says "I want to destroy the world".

After seeing who was inside, Shen Hao let out a long sigh of relief, patting his chest with an expression of relief that he had escaped a disaster.

"Phew... That scared me to death! They were allies."

He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, pulled the still somewhat timid Xu You behind him inside, and gently closed the door behind him.

"I thought it was Old Yan, that sixth brother, lying in wait here to entrap law enforcement."

Xie Wang didn't even look up, his fingers flying across the screen, and casually asked, "What, are you here to escape disaster too?"

I guess so.

Shen Hao chuckled and pointed to the counting jump rope in Xu You's hand:

"Youyou signed up for the jump rope competition at the sports meet, but she's too shy to practice on the playground. Plus, Director Yan downstairs is really going crazy, so we figured this place was secluded and suitable for... cough, suitable for secret training."

Xu You blushed, greeted everyone quietly, and obediently walked to a quiet corner of the attic to untie her jump rope.

"Come here, little one, don't be nervous."

Shen Hao leaned closer, giving him earnest instructions:

"Land softly, very softly, land on the balls of your feet."

"Hmm..." Xu You nodded, biting her lip, and began to carefully swing the rope, jumping as lightly as possible.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

The sound of the rope cutting through the air was exceptionally clear in the quiet attic.

Shen Hao squatted down beside him, lowering his voice and counting passionately:

"One, two, three... Great! Good rhythm! Keep it up! You're the best!"

The once quiet and peaceful attic, filled only with swirling dust, suddenly became somewhat eerie.

Lu Yi, lying in the middle, finally couldn't take it anymore.

He sat up abruptly, the painting of "The Flowers of Evil" slipping from his face and falling to the ground. His face, which was always etched with melancholy, was now covered with dark lines.

"It's so noisy, it's making my soul ring."

He picked up the tattered book, looking disgusted, and prepared to leave this troublesome place.

However, just as he stood up, Shen Hao suddenly pointed out the window and let out a suppressed gasp:

"Holy crap! Who's that?! Isn't that Lu Wen?!"

"What?"

Xie Wang's hand trembled, and Li Bai delivered a head to the enemy. Su Qinghe also raised his head.

Even the path they were about to take stopped in their tracks.

The group gathered around the window and looked down in the direction Shen Hao was pointing.

Directly below the attic is a small garden overgrown with grass and wildflowers, rarely visited by anyone.

At that moment, hidden by the dense bushes, two familiar figures stood face to face.

It was Lu Wen and Lin Lu.

……

The midday sun shone through the leaves and fell on the two of them.

Lu Wen had clearly dressed up specially today, his hair was combed meticulously and he even sprayed some hairspray, but the usually dashing man was so nervous at this moment that he didn't know where to put his hands and feet.

"Um... Lu Wen, why did you call me here?"

Lin Lu kicked at the pebbles at her feet, her eyes darting around, not daring to look at him. Although she was usually carefree, at this moment, even a fool could sense the sticky, ambiguous atmosphere in the air.

"Little deer".

Lu Wen took a deep breath, recalling Xie Wang's words from last night—"Don't be a coward, just go for it."

He glanced at Lin Lu's ears, which were slightly red from nervousness, and steeled himself, handing her the white rose in his hand.

"These flowers... I bought them for you."

"Oh... thank you." Lin Lu reached out to take it, her fingertips accidentally touching the back of his hand.

Like being electrocuted, Lin Lu instinctively tried to pull her hand back, and even habitually raised her other hand, ready to slap him on the shoulder as usual to ease the embarrassment:

"Thanks, bro..."

"Don't move!"

Lu Wen suddenly shouted, startling Lin Lu, whose hand froze in mid-air.

"I'm not going to be a brother anymore."

Looking into her eyes, Lu Wen saw no trace of his usual nonchalant attitude, only the undisguised sincerity of a young man.

"I thought about it all night, and I think... high-fives are hurtful."

Lin Lu was stunned: "Huh?"

"so……"

Lu Wen took a step forward, giving Lin Lu no chance to escape.

He reached out and grabbed Lin Lu's hand, which was dangling in mid-air.

That was a real hand-holding.

Their fingers intertwined, holding each other tightly.

"Don't give me high-fives anymore." Lu Wen looked at her flushed face, his heart pounding in his chest.

I want to hold your hand, openly and honestly.

The wind rustled through the treetops.

Lin Lu looked at their tightly clasped hands, her face turning as red as a ripe tomato. She opened her mouth, as if wanting to say something harsh, but in the end, she just lowered her head, looking at her toes, her voice barely audible, like a mosquito's hum.

"...Sure, you can hold hands. I didn't say you couldn't."

……

[In the attic]

"It's done!!!"

Shen Hao was so excited he almost tore the window apart. If Xu You hadn't desperately covered his mouth, his shout would have definitely attracted Director Yan downstairs.

Xie Wang looked at the scene downstairs, shook his head with a smile, and his eyes were full of satisfaction.

Su Qinghe pushed up his glasses, looked at the two hands tightly clasped together, and couldn't help but smile.

"It's so sour."

A faint voice came from the side.

Although he said he was disgusted, his actions told a different story.

He raised the film camera, pointed it at the two young and clumsy figures in the flower bushes downstairs, and pressed the shutter.

"Click."

The image freezes.

Sunshine, wildflowers, a boy bravely taking hands with his girlfriend, and a girl shyly bowing her head.

"The name of this photo..."

Lu Yi put down his camera, looked at the dazzling sunlight outside the window, and a smile curved his lips:

"Let's call it 'Two Fools in Summer'."