Irreversible - Chapter 24

Chapter 24: Little Poor One’s Military Training (Part 4)

Ding Yi’s accomplices reacted quickly, reaching out to rescue her. The remaining students pushed open the door to find the instructor. The second floor was in an uproar, and instructors soon rushed in, separating the brawling group and hauling Gu Xizhou and the others away.

In the middle of the night, on the vast, empty training ground, a line of students stood ramrod straight under the floodlights with their hands behind their backs. There were six in total: Gu Xizhou, Su Nanfeng, Ding Yi, two of Ding Yi’s lackeys, and the “little fatty” who had splashed Gu Xizhou.

Gu Xizhou, being the shortest, stood first in line. Su Nanfeng, the tallest, stood last.

The instructor in charge of this floor was a female Alpha named Ning Ying. Standing nearly 1.7 meters tall with a lithe, curvaceous figure, she flicked her training crop and looked the six students up and down with a cold sneer. “Quite brave, aren’t you? Stirring up trouble the moment you arrive!”

The students straightened their backs, afraid of being hit, and didn’t dare to speak. Ning Ying walked up to Gu Xizhou and used her crop to poke her. “Little student, what’s your name?”

The corner of Gu Xizhou’s mouth had been split by Ding Yi’s bite, and her cheek was bruised. Bearing her injuries, she spoke loudly: “Reporting, Instructor! I am a student of Class 17, named Gu Xizhou!”

Ning Ying nodded, her tall frame swaying like a willow, blocking the light in front of Gu Xizhou. She said with satisfaction, “Where did you learn those grappling techniques? They looked quite professional.”

Gu Xizhou shouted, “Self-defense techniques learned at home!” In reality, 0820 had coached her step-by-step. If she hadn’t locked Ding Yi down, she certainly would have been ganged up on.

Ning Ying gave a small “tsk” and lightly kicked Gu Xizhou’s knee, scolding, “Brawling in private… I see you have too much energy to burn. Run twenty laps!”

Gu Xizhou: “Yes, Ma’am!” She stepped out of line and sprinted into the darkness like a lean monkey.

Ning Ying walked toward the next one, the little fatty. “And you!”

The girl answered timidly, “Reporting, Instructor. I am a student of Class 1, named Wang Yiren.”

Ning Ying didn’t kick her but said with a cold face, “Splashing a classmate with water—you run twenty laps too!”

“Yes…”

Next, she went down the line. The students answered in turn: “Li Caiyue, Class 1,” “Wang Youcai, Class 1,” “Ding Yi, Class 1.”

When Ding Yi reported her name, Ning Ying gave her an extra look. For no other reason than the fact that her face was a spectacular sight—Gu Xizhou had hit her so hard with the basin that her nose had bled profusely, her forehead was turning green, and her cheeks were swollen. Ning Ying glanced at her without a hint of sympathy. “Twenty laps.”

Ding Yi was unwilling. “Instructor, she started it!”

Ning Ying didn’t care for such nonsense. These brats had ruined her sleep; they weren’t going to sleep either. She said coldly, “One more word and I’ll add ten more laps!” Ding Yi snorted and reluctantly ran into the night.

Finally, only Su Nanfeng remained. Ning Ying looked at her pretty face and frowned. “And what’s your story?”

Su Nanfeng pursed her lips and answered crossly, “Caught in the crossfire of a brawl.”

Ning Ying tsked and kicked her knee. “No excuses. Twenty laps!” Su Nanfeng was furious; it really had nothing to do with her, but she didn’t want her parents called, so she lowered her head and started running.

Soon, the intermittent thud of footsteps echoed across the playground, sounding like distant thunder in the night as it reached the nearby dormitory. Ning Ying had a fiery temper; since she couldn’t sleep, she made sure the troublemakers couldn’t either. She moved a chair under the streetlight to watch them run.

Whenever someone slowed down, she would kick toward them and bark, “Dawdling like that? Are you a tortoise? Run faster for me!”

“Didn’t you eat?!”

“Do you want to add another lap?!”

Lap after lap they went. By the end, even these high-energy Alphas didn’t have the strength to cause trouble. By the final lap, most of them simply collapsed onto the ground, whimpering. Gu Xizhou lay face-down on the grass like a fish pulled from water, drenched in sweat and too exhausted to even twitch. Ding Yi, Su Nanfeng, and the others weren’t much better, sprawled at the finish line unable to move a finger.

Among the six, only the “little fatty” Wang Yiren couldn’t keep up. When the others finished their twenty laps, she still had six to go. Ning Ying didn’t want to wait, so she kicked the Class 1 students in the rear and growled, “Class 1, get up. Your classmate hasn’t finished. Each of you run one more lap for her.”

Ding Yi and the others groaned, “No way, Instructor! Why do we have to run for her?”

Ning Ying flicked her crop and snapped, “Are you getting up, or are you running all night tomorrow too?”

No matter how unwilling, the leader Su Nanfeng forced herself up and staggered back onto the track to finish the final lap. The other Class 1 students, seeing their leader running, had no excuse to be lazy and followed behind like a line of waddling penguins.

Gu Xizhou sat up and watched Su Nanfeng’s group merge into the night. She felt immensely satisfied. “Serves you right!”

Ning Ying swept her crop across Gu Xizhou’s shoulder with a cold laugh. “You’re quite happy about their misfortune, aren’t you? Want to join them for a few more laps?” Gu Xizhou immediately shut her mouth and sat quietly.

After being tormented all night, the six were not allowed back to their dorms. Labeled as problem students, they were kept in the instructor’s quarters for the rest of the night. Fortunately, no one had the energy to scold each other, let alone fight, and they managed to get some sleep in the latter half of the night.

At 6:00 AM the next morning, the assembly bell rang. Gu Xizhou and the others rushed back to wash up and change into their uniforms. When she reached the playground, the students of Class 17 immediately surrounded her, asking with concern, “How was it? Did the instructor lock you up all night?”

Having slept only three and a half hours, Gu Xizhou was exhausted. She yawned, sat cross-legged on the ground, and answered with dark circles under her eyes, “It wasn’t much, just made us run for half the night.”

The crowd gasped. “Did the homeroom teacher come?”

Gu Xizhou replied, “The instructor said she’d take us to see the school leaders after today’s training.”

“This Su Nanfeng is too overbearing,” people whispered. “How can she order people to do bad things? Isn’t she afraid of the teachers?”

Gu Xizhou explained, “I think this time it might not have been her, but Ding Yi.”

“But isn’t Ding Yi just her lackey? If you ask me, it was still her idea…” The students buzzed like little bees.

When Su Zhiyi arrived for assembly, she heard Su Nanfeng’s name. Seeing her approach, the crowd immediately split into two paths, letting her walk straight to Gu Xizhou. Su Zhiyi looked down and saw Gu Xizhou’s bruised face and her slumped, exhausted posture. Her expression changed instantly.

She quickly crouched down and reached out to touch Gu Xizhou’s face, her tone tense. “Did Nanfeng hit you again?”

The sudden touch made Gu Xizhou freeze. She looked up into those concerned eyes, and her heart skipped a beat. The surrounding classmates were stunned as well. Watching Su Zhiyi’s fingertips rest on Gu Xizhou’s face, their expressions turned subtle—a mix of excitement and awkwardness.

Those who were close to each other exchanged glances, a thought rising in their minds: Well, I guess I understand why Su Nanfeng wants to cause trouble for Gu Xizhou now. Maybe she’s just a sister-con who’s jealous.