Irreversible - Chapter 20

Chapter 20: The Poor Little One Eats (Part 5)

Gu Xizhou was only 1.65 meters tall, a bit shorter than the average Alpha, but she was blessed with excellent proportions—long limbs, a slender waist, and a refined face that could deceive anyone regarding her age. Generally, anyone seeing her for the first time would find her frail.

But Su Zhiyi understood that she was actually lean and strong. When Gu Xizhou had grabbed the voyeur’s wrist at the subway station, her hand had been like a heavy iron clamp, gripping tightly without budging an inch. At that time, Gu Xizhou was wearing a white T-shirt; Su Zhiyi had looked down at her sharp jawline, her gaze falling on shoulders that weren’t broad but were perfectly straight, before sliding down to catch a glimpse of the faint muscle definition on her arms.

Now, with her sleeves rolled up to reveal firm forearms and those ferocious tattoos, she looked quite intimidating. The two bullying delinquents were so terrified by her fierce aura that their legs went weak. Under Gu Xizhou’s pressure, they honestly apologized before grabbing their trays and fleeing in a panic.

After driving away the bullies, the high school girl who had been picked on kept bowing to Gu Xizhou, saying through tears, “Thank you, Big Sister, thank you…”

Gu Xizhou waved her off, not caring much about the incident. At this point, Su Zhiyi stood up and walked over, offering the girl a great deal of comfort. Perhaps Omegas naturally possessed more affinity than Alphas; even though Su Zhiyi was taller than Gu Xizhou and possessed an ethereal beauty that made her seem out of reach, the child still buried her face in Su Zhiyi’s embrace and cried.

Su Zhiyi comforted her and left her contact information: “If this happens again at school, call me. We are part of the Minor Protection Association, and we will help you.”

The young girl’s eyes welled up with moved tears. “Uuuu… Big Sister, you are truly too kind.”

Next, Su Zhiyi began educating the girl on “anti-bullying” measures, guiding her on how to protect herself. Gu Xizhou sat to the side watching, listening to Su Zhiyi’s soft-spoken yet infectious words, feeling an immense sense of awkwardness in her heart. It was strange; it felt like watching a tyrant turn over a new leaf or a demon become a saint—it was filled with a sense of the absurd.

How ridiculous that such high-sounding, sanctimonious words could come from a person wearing “Su Nanfeng’s” skin. This couldn’t possibly be real.

With both Gu Xizhou and Su Zhiyi counseling her, the young girl’s mental state was much better by the time she left. At 9:30 PM, the two of them bought their snacks and walked back toward the school under the neon lights.

Su Zhiyi looked at Gu Xizhou, who was half a head shorter than her, and spoke hesitantly: “If I may ask… the tattoos on your arms…”

Gu Xizhou looked embarrassed. “Oh, these… I went to get them together with Nanfeng back when we were friends.”

Su Nanfeng was a neurotic person; since Alphas cannot mark each other, she had dragged Gu Xizhou to get tattoos on their backs on a whim, treating it like a brand or a marker. That was during the Christmas of their senior year; Su Nanfeng had picked the pattern, and it took so long that the pain was almost unbearable for Gu Xizhou. After Su Nanfeng’s “incident,” Gu Xizhou had originally wanted to laser them off, but it was too expensive, so she gave up.

Moreover, after everything she had been through, the harm Su Nanfeng had caused her was far more complex than just a physical tattoo. The deeper violations were mental, etched into the depths of her soul. Imprints on the soul cannot be erased even if the physical body perishes.

Su Zhiyi felt that something was strange everywhere. She bit her lip, her expression hesitant: “Gu Xizhou…”

Gu Xizhou replied flatly, “Mm?”

Su Zhiyi didn’t stop walking, but she dropped a heavy question: “When you were friends with Nanfeng in the past… did you do a lot of bad things together?”

Gu Xizhou was somewhat surprised; after all, Su Nanfeng had kept her sister well-shielded. Furthermore, the drunk driving incident had been suppressed by Su Tianyu, labeled at most as youthful recklessness. Gu Xizhou felt that the Su family didn’t understand the real Su Nanfeng—and didn’t want to.

Gu Xizhou smiled and asked back, “What kind of ‘bad things’ do you mean?”

Su Zhiyi thought for a moment. “Skipping class, fighting, things like that…”

That was the extent of what a rebellious teenager could do in a “good student’s” mind. Gu Xizhou laughed inwardly with a hint of disdain, but she maintained a shameful facade: “Mm… a fair amount, I suppose.”

“Nanfeng and I took a very bad path. After her accident, I regretted it deeply—that as her friend, I didn’t guide her better. That’s why I joined ‘Youth Companions,’ to help kids who are lost.”

How beautiful those words sounded—a child who had been bullied for years, forced to join the group to survive, committed many wrongs, and finally turned over a new leaf… Any “silly, sweet” girl would feel a surge of pity and trust.

Sure enough, Su Zhiyi turned around, her eyes sparkling as she looked at her. “Me too…”

“I also want to help these children. Whether it’s someone like Nanfeng or the child we just met, I hope they can grow up healthy in mind and body and move toward a bright future.”

She spoke with such sincerity that Gu Xizhou couldn’t help but look at her seriously. In the cool autumn night, on a street flickering with neon lights, a light breeze blew. The nearly-mature girl wore a white lace-trimmed slip dress with a pale green knit cardigan over her shoulders. Her slightly wavy hair was partially clipped back, with the rest spilling over her shoulders like sea grass. A tempting, sweet girl-scent drifted through the air, carrying a hint of warmth.

Gu Xizhou looked at that face—identical to Su Nanfeng’s—yet saw a completely different temperament and smile, and her heart felt stifled. Why did Su Nanfeng have a sister with such a personality? Was this the other side of a true demon—a hypocritical angel?

Gu Xizhou felt disgusted; her stomach even began to cramp with a wave of nausea. But she still put on a sincere act and praised her: “Zhiyi, you really are a good person.”

As if! How could the sister of a demon be a sweet, innocent angel? Even if she were, she’d be a fallen angel with filth-stained wings!

“Blargh…”

On the road toward Haiyan Island, a student sitting a few rows ahead of Gu Xizhou got motion sickness. The sour, rotten smell of vomit filled the cabin, making the already stomach-unsettled Little Gu Xizhou nearly retch. Even with every window open, she felt miserable. She leaned back against the headrest, covering her nose and mouth with her hand, her expression pained.

Beside her, Su Zhiyi opened her backpack and handed medicine to the sick student: “I have motion sickness pills here. I don’t know if they’ll help, but try some…”

“Thank you…”

The students passed Su Zhiyi’s medicine along like a relay race. Gu Xizhou’s head was spinning; hearing Su Zhiyi’s soft inquiries to their classmates, she thought privately that this girl was certainly well-prepared. She really was a busybody, considering every single detail.

0820, knowing exactly what was happening, tsked sarcastically: “You’re jealous.”

It was unclear if all Alphas were like this, but even someone as tolerant as Gu Xizhou could become exceptionally petty regarding certain matters. Gu Xizhou was too dizzy to bother replying.

Finding no interest in a one-sided conversation, 0820 snorted and fell silent. Just then, Su Zhiyi, having finished distributing the medicine, turned around and nudged Gu Xizhou, asking softly, “Are you okay?”

Gu Xizhou opened her eyes to meet a pair of concerned ones. “Do you want a pill too?”

Her head was spinning, and her body felt awful. Gu Xizhou originally wanted to refuse, but she bit her lip and thought about it before nodding. “Mm.”

Su Zhiyi popped a pill out and handed it to her. Gu Xizhou took it, put it to her mouth, and swallowed it in one go without even using water. Su Zhiyi, who had just taken out her thermos, was stunned. “You don’t need water to take medicine?”

Gu Xizhou didn’t think it was a big deal; she blinked innocently, as if asking, Is that strange?

The sixteen-year-old girl had beautiful peach-blossom eyes and long, raven-wing lashes that trembled, making her look both pitiful and adorable. Su Zhiyi couldn’t help but laugh. she poured a cup of hot water into the lid and held it out to Gu Xizhou. “Drink it. You’ll feel better with some hot water.”

Gu Xizhou looked down at Su Zhiyi’s cup. It was a bright red thermos with a pattern of a chubby little tiger, now covered in various charms and straps, looking quite silly. The lid in Su Zhiyi’s hand was green, and the whole combination looked very childish—a “children’s travel water bottle” that didn’t match the elegant aura of a wealthy young lady at all.

It was… actually quite cute.

Thinking this, Gu Xizhou reached out to take the cup and said softly, “Thank you.”

She blew on the water to cool it and took a slow sip. The warm water flowed down her throat and into her stomach, soothing the sharp, rolling nausea. Whether it was the medicine kicking in or purely psychological, Gu Xizhou felt much better. She finished the water in one breath, returned the lid, and said quietly, “I’m better.”

Su Zhiyi laughed, her smile brighter than the September autumn sun outside the window. “That’s good. If you still feel unwell later, you can lean on my shoulder.”

Gu Xizhou lowered her gaze to Su Zhiyi’s shoulder, which was slightly higher than her own, and thought silently: She’s so tall.

Exactly how much milk did she have to drink to become taller than Su Zhiyi!