Irreversible - Chapter 29

Chapter 29: An Angel’s Tenderness (Part 4)

Su Zhiyi sounded as though she were in a terrible mood. No matter how much Zhang Chuchu loved gossip, she knew better than to pester her with more questions at a time like this. Finding it pointless, she shut her mouth and lay back down, falling silent.

Soon, Zhang Chuchu drifted off, and the whispers within the dormitory gradually died down. The light from the base’s lighthouse swept in from afar, passing through the glass and falling across the room like a layer of cold autumn frost.

Lying on her side amidst the sound of light snoring, Su Zhiyi thought she heard a faint noise from the distant training grounds. For some reason, her mind drifted back to the lonely girl standing under the streetlight.

Gu Xizhou…

Su Zhiyi bit her lower lip, silently repeating the name in her heart as a trace of bitterness welled up in her chest. This was the first person she had ever seen being bullied by Su Nanfeng. In the future she had seen in her dreams, it was also this person who personally sent Su Nanfeng to prison.

Is Nanfeng really so beyond saving? Does she have to hurt so many people?

Maybe I should suggest to Mom that we send Nanfeng abroad. If they are separated, perhaps the conflict will end.

As Su Zhiyi’s thoughts wandered, a voice suddenly rang out in her head: “You cannot do that.”

It was a soft voice, yet hauntingly familiar. Startled, Su Zhiyi covered her mouth to stifle a scream and whispered guardedly, “Who is it? Who’s speaking?”

She widened her eyes, searching everywhere for the source of the sound. All her classmates were fast asleep in their bunks; the room was quiet, and there were no suspicious figures by the window. In the pitch-black night, everything was silent except for this exceptionally clear voice inside her head. In that moment, Su Zhiyi thought of the ghostly whispers of midnight tales, and her skin crawled.

As if sensing her thoughts, the voice continued: “You cannot see me. I am not of this world.”

Su Zhiyi’s eyes widened further. She threw off her blanket, grabbed a book from her pillow, and stepped off the bed, looking around nervously. “Come out! Stop playing tricks to scare people.” To avoid waking her classmates, her voice was low and stern.

The voice in her head sighed. “Su Zhiyi… do you remember the dreams you had recently? In those dreams, because Su Nanfeng lacked discipline, she hit a classmate during her senior year…”

Su Zhiyi froze, a chill running down her spine. “How do you know about my dreams?”

“I already told you, I am not from this world.” The voice sounded gentle and ethereal, carrying a faint weariness. “I come from one of the countless possible futures. I am here to help you.”

“…”

Su Zhiyi went stiff. She clutched the book in her hand, her heart racing. “How can you prove that what you’re saying is true?”

The voice laughed softly and spoke warmly: “The fact that you are asking that question means you already believe me, doesn’t it?”

This “person” seemed to know Su Zhiyi very well. In a short span of time, having found no one else in the room, Su Zhiyi quickly accepted the reality of this “haunting.” While ghosts were scary, Su Zhiyi had a clear conscience and didn’t feel much dread. Moreover, this “ghost” didn’t sound malicious.

Feeling somewhat reassured, Su Zhiyi lay back down and communicated with the strange yet familiar voice in her mind. “You say you’re from the future. Who exactly are you?”

The person in her head paused before saying, “A drifting observer. You may call me Observer Zero.”

“Zero…”

Su Zhiyi seemed to accept this explanation and asked cautiously, “You said you want to help me. How?”

Zero paused for a moment before answering gravely: “I know some of your possible futures. I want to use this information to make a trade with you.”

Su Zhiyi frowned. “You want something from me?”

“Yes, I do,” Zero replied candidly. “Because I also need your help.”

Sensing room for negotiation, Su Zhiyi asked, “Help with what?”

Zero replied, “Help me… build a good relationship with Gu Xizhou.”

Su Zhiyi immediately became guarded. “Gu Xizhou… what is your relationship with her?”

Zero thought for a while and replied, “Neither good nor bad, but she can help me do one thing. If you are on good terms with her, it will be easier when I ask you to request her help later.”

It was a pure exchange of interests, but Su Zhiyi hesitated. “This involves someone else. I can’t just agree to this.”

Zero seemed understanding. “It’s fine. You have plenty of time to consider. But I will still choose to help you.”

Su Zhiyi knit her brows. “If I don’t do as you say, will you stop helping me?”

Zero chuckled, denying the suggestion. “No. I don’t want Su Nanfeng to become that kind of person either, nor do I want Gu Xizhou to be hurt by her. Su Nanfeng… what she needs is the care of her family. Just as you thought earlier—if you send her away to be far from Gu Xizhou, will Su Nanfeng truly become a better person? With her personality, she would only harm more ‘Gu Xizhous’.”

Zero had hit the nail on the head. Su Zhiyi fell silent for a long time before asking, “Then what do you think I should do?”

Zero offered a suggestion: “Keep Su Nanfeng by your side and watch over her personally. Also, look after Gu Xizhou and care for her physical and mental well-being. I think… if there is enough love, the futures you dreamed of probably won’t happen.”

Zero’s words were filled with uncertainty. Su Zhiyi was surprised. “Probably?”

Zero smiled gently. “After all, the future has many possibilities, and the human heart is the hardest thing to predict. If you want sincerity, you must trade it with sincerity. You and your sister are still so young; everything can be salvaged, corrected, and made better, can’t it?”

The greatest advantage of youth is that the cost of trial and error is low. Even if one starts down a dark and sinful path, there is still the possibility of choosing a new one. Life is long; as long as they want to, they can say “my life isn’t over yet” at any time. Unless life itself ends, there is always a chance to start over.

Su Zhiyi remained silent for a long while before replying with a single word: “Mm.”

Perhaps she shouldn’t give up on Nanfeng so early. Perhaps she could communicate more and be a bit kinder to her. That was her sister; she needed to pull her back onto the right track. Not just for Su Nanfeng’s sake, but for the sake of those Su Nanfeng might harm.

As Su Zhiyi’s thoughts cleared, Zero let out a sigh of relief, as if a goal had been met. She seemed very weak; her voice became even more ethereal. “When necessary, I will give you reminders. But communicating with you consumes a lot of mental energy, and you will feel uncomfortable afterward… Let’s leave it at this for today. Goodnight, Su Zhiyi.”

The voice faded away. Su Zhiyi felt her body grow heavy and soon fell into a deep, groggy sleep.

At seven in the morning, the students gathered punctually on the training field. Just as Zero had said, Su Zhiyi woke up feeling as if her head were made of lead. Lacking energy, she stood at the end of the line, feeling dazed and out of it.

The instructor shouted at the front: “Forward, march!”

The students began to march in step: “One, two, one… One, two, one… One, two, three, four…”

Su Zhiyi struggled to keep up, dragging her feet at the back of the line, which made her very conspicuous. Seeing this, the instructor immediately called a halt: “Halt!”

Snap! Most students stopped perfectly, but Su Zhiyi, like a little penguin, stumbled forward and walked right into the person in front of her.

The instructor immediately called out: “The pretty girl at the very end on the left of the fourth row, step out!”

Everyone turned, their gazes following the instructor’s eyes. In the bright morning light, the girl with translucent skin looked up blankly, her eyes veiled in a misty daze. Her beautiful face made the instructor lose their temper instantly. Even so, the instructor pointed a finger and ordered, “You. Step out and march back and forth once by yourself.”

No matter how dazed she was, Su Zhiyi understood the situation, and a flush quickly rose to her cheeks. She gave a soft “Ah” and took a step out of the line. But as she moved, she suddenly felt a wave of dizziness. Her body lost control, the world spun, and she began to collapse to the side.

A nearby classmate screamed: “Su Zhiyi!”

In the front row, Gu Xizhou felt her vision go black. In an instant, she lost all autonomy, and her body charged forward. The distance was too great for her to have caught Su Zhiyi naturally. She felt as if her consciousness had been pushed out of her body, exiled into a dark void, watching helplessly as 0820 took command of her physical form. Her body knelt beside Su Zhiyi and reached out to check her pulse.

Young Gu Xizhou could even “see” herself looking up and saying to the rushing instructor: “Low blood sugar. She fainted temporarily.”

The instructor reached out, leaning down to pick Su Zhiyi up. “I’ll take her to the infirmary. You all continue training.”

However, 0820 blocked the instructor’s hand, her gaze exceptionally cold. “Instructor, you are an adult Alpha, right? She is an Omega. It is inappropriate for you to hold her.”

Despite her small stature, her aura was top-tier. The students nearby widened their eyes at the scene. The instructor’s hand froze in mid-air, and they gave a sheepish laugh. “That… indeed it is…” The burly female Alpha instructor scratched her short hair, looking embarrassed. “Should I go call an Omega instructor over?”

0820 swept a glance at her, and amidst the subtle, gossiping gazes of the students, she reached for Su Zhiyi. “No need. I can carry her.” She decisively lifted Su Zhiyi in a bridal carry and headed toward the infirmary. “Let’s go. To the infirmary.”

Inside her own body, young Gu Xizhou was witnessing everything and was nearly hysterical: How can you suddenly swap bodies with me! You’re not a ‘system,’ you’re a ghost capable of possession!

0820 ignored her. For a brief moment, she held the warm body in her arms and walked forward steadily. She walked so fast yet so surely, as if she were solemnly carrying the weight of an entire future.

Under the gaze of everyone, Gu Xizhou felt the heavy weight in her arms and the stares on her back. She felt that if she were a target, she would have been pierced through by those gazes. After about 60 seconds, young Gu Xizhou snatched back control of her body.

Her drained consciousness returned abruptly. Her body stumbled, nearly dropping Su Zhiyi. Fortunately, after her secondary differentiation, her physical fitness was strong. Carrying Su Zhiyi—who weighed less than 50kg, was a bit of a strain, but she could grit her teeth and endure it.

She steadied her steps, hearing 0820 mocking her relentlessly in her mind: “Su Zhiyi might be your wife in the future, after all. Are you really unwilling to help out? Are you even an Alpha?”

0820 felt she was worrying herself to death for this young blockhead.

Gu Xizhou gritted her teeth. Carrying Su Zhiyi out of the training field, she thought bitterly: I thank you. Now I won’t be able to clear my name even if I jump into the Yellow River. Next time Su Nanfeng attacked her, the story would likely turn into “Gu Xizhou seduced Su Zhiyi, so Su Nanfeng beat her,” rather than “Su Nanfeng is a bad person”! The focus would be completely wrong!

0820 remained completely detached. “It’s fine. None of this is real anyway.” Since everything was an illusion, why couldn’t she be a little nicer to Su Zhiyi within these limited bounds? She had never truly cherished her before, had she?

Under 0820’s urging, young Gu Xizhou quickly delivered Su Zhiyi to the infirmary. She handed her over to an Omega doctor and bolted.

0820 couldn’t even stop her. “Why are you running? You’ve already delivered her; wouldn’t it be good to stay and keep her company for a bit?”

Gu Xizhou’s ears were scarlet. she raised her hands to cover them, screaming in her mind with grief and indignation: “Shut up! Don’t say another word! And you can’t use my body ever again! If there is a next time, I’ll ignore you!”

0820 gave a small “tsk” and said calmly, “Don’t worry, I can’t occupy your body often. We only have a temporary contract, so I can only use your body for one minute a day. It won’t affect your daily life. Also, I’m not a demon; I really am just a system.”

Young Gu Xizhou didn’t believe a word of it. She sprinted back to her class’s location, feeling mortified. What kind of ‘system’ causes trouble like you do! Ah, how annoying. After this stunt, she and Su Zhiyi would be the talk of the school.

0820 knew exactly what the little Alpha was thinking and even felt quite pleased. She did it on purpose; she wanted everyone to know that Su Zhiyi belonged to her. From their youth, no matter which Su Zhiyi it was, she should belong to Gu Xizhou. More importantly, she was testing the waters. If her Zhiyi noticed such a strangely behaving “Gu Xizhou,” would there be any other reaction? Resistance or acceptance? Drawing closer or pulling away? Some things had to be made clear eventually.

Su Zhiyi soon woke from her faint. Opening her eyes to see a snowy white ceiling, she couldn’t quite react for a moment.

A surprised voice came from nearby: “Child, you’re awake?”

Su Zhiyi turned her head and saw an Omega doctor with her hair in a bun standing by the bedside table, mixing glucose with plain water. Su Zhiyi was a bit dazed. She propped herself up on the bed and asked in confusion, “Where is this?”

The doctor replied, “The infirmary. You fainted during training, and your classmate brought you here.” Speaking of Gu Xizhou, the doctor teased as she stirred the glucose: “That classmate of yours is quite something. So small, yet I didn’t expect her to bring you here in a bridal carry.”

Su Zhiyi was stunned. “Bridal carry?”

The doctor nodded and handed over the glucose. “Yes, quite impressive.” The kindly doctor wore an ambiguous expression and added gossipingly, “High schoolers these days are really something. She cares so much about you; she must be your little girlfriend, right?”

Su Zhiyi: “…”

The usually straightforward girl didn’t know how to respond for a moment, so she just held the paper cup in silence. Seeing her not drinking, the doctor kindly reminded her, “It’s glucose; drink it first. Honestly, you young girls should eat more during training. Fainting from low blood sugar is not healthy.”

Su Zhiyi gave a vague response and took a small sip. She thought to herself that she didn’t faint because of low blood sugar from skipping meals. It must have been as “Zero” said—the consumption was too great, so she couldn’t hold on.

So, was the “Zero” from last night real? And what kind of future did she come from?