Irreversible - Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The Scumbag’s Self-Rescue (Part 3)

Exiting the police station, it was already 9:00 AM. The autumn morning sunlight shone intensely onto the tree-lined path of the green belt in front of the station.

Gu Xizhou took out her phone, opened the navigation, and focused entirely on heading toward the subway entrance. Being late on the first day of school would inevitably leave a poor impression on the teachers, and she feared drawing unwanted attention.

Gu Xizhou’s mind was a mess, but Su Zhiyi, who had been following her, called out: “Hey…”

Gu Xizhou turned around, looking somewhat dazed at the girl standing before her, who was significantly taller than herself: “Hmm?”

Like Su Nanfeng, Su Zhiyi was half a year older than her. Coupled with her family’s wealth, her height was quite impressive among her peers.

Gu Xizhou was the opposite, she was slender and frail. Under Su Nanfeng’s constant bullying, her originally cheerful personality had become quite introverted. Compared to Su Zhiyi, she looked like an underdeveloped little bean sprout.

Su Zhiyi looked at the pitiful little bean sprout before her, bit her lip gently, and after a long moment, said in a soft voice: “Gu Xizhou, thank you.”

Even though 0820 had stuffed so much information about the “future” into her head, seeing Su Zhiyi’s face which looked so much like Su Nanfeng’s, still made Gu Xizhou subconsciously afraid.

Hearing the thanks, Gu Xizhou felt like a mouse meeting a cat. She subconsciously took two steps back and stammered: “It…it was nothing…”

She gripped her phone, fearful of any contact with the other girl, turned, and walked toward the subway station: “Take care of yourself in the future.”

Su Zhiyi reached out subconsciously, wanting to call her back: “Hey…”

But as Gu Xizhou heard her voice, she acted as if she had seen a ghost, scrambling in a panic down the path and never looking back.

Su Zhiyi stood where she was, watching the frail back of the girl fleeing with her schoolbag, and remained silent for a long time. It wasn’t until the wind blew her long hair, sticking a few fine strands to her lips, that Su Zhiyi raised her hand, brushed the hair away, and chuckled softly.

After a long while, she turned, hailed a taxi, and left in the direction of the school.

Inside the subway station, Gu Xizhou hugged her schoolbag in a corner, wearing headphones and clutching her stomach, suffering from intense stomach pain.

Though she felt miserable, 0820 was still chattering away in her mind: “Why did Su Zhiyi come to the First High School? Shouldn’t she have gone to the International School?”

Through 0820’s countless descriptions, Gu Xizhou knew the Su family situation: When the sisters were ten, their Alpha mother, Su Tianyu, cheated, and their mother, Mu Zhilan, filed for divorce. Su Nanfeng lived with Su Tianyu, while Su Zhiyi lived with their mother, the pianist Mu Lanzhi.

After Su Zhiyi presented as an Omega, due to the domestic environment being less tolerant of Omegas, Mu Lanzhi planned to take her abroad once she came of age, hence enrolling her in the Yinglan International School.

But everything this morning deviated far from what 0820 had described.

Gu Xizhou hugged her bag, eyes closed, and retorted in her mind: “It’s obvious. As a hallucination, all your assumptions about the future are wrong.”

“I didn’t run into Su Nanfeng at 9:00, and Su Zhiyi didn’t go to the International School like you said.”

“My life has already changed. Can you leave my head and stop torturing me?”

It had been a week, a full week of auditory hallucinations. If this continued, she wouldn’t need Su Nanfeng to send her to a mental hospital; 0820 would drive her to the psychiatric clinic first.

0820 retorted excitedly: “No, this only proves that my interference has started to cause slight fluctuations in the world line.”

“As for what those changes are, they require observation.”

0820 sounded agitated, shouting in Gu Xizhou’s mind: “Gu Xizhou, you must sign a contract with me. Otherwise, you will never escape Su Nanfeng’s clutches!”

Gu Xizhou endured the pain throughout her body, gritting her teeth: “I’ve told you, I won’t sign a contract with you.”

“And things didn’t happen as you said. 9:00 has passed, and I didn’t meet Su Nanfeng.”

Everything was changing!

0820 interrupted her: “But you met Su Zhiyi, didn’t you?”

Gu Xizhou’s voice got stuck: “I…”

0820 pressed the advantage: “Before I bound myself to you, did you know Su Nanfeng had a sister? Doesn’t this prove that part of what I told you is true?”

“That was your original, fixed fate, but now, because of my observation, it has changed slightly.”

“Even so, I am certain you will meet Su Nanfeng and that the tragedy will happen.”

Gu Xizhou pursed her lips tightly and said nothing more.

0820 sensed her bluffing panic and continued its seduction: “I said, I am here to help you change your destiny.”

“Sign the contract with me…if you do, you can…”

Before 0820 could finish, the subway announcement interrupted: “The train is arriving at the First High School station. Passengers heading to First High School, please prepare to disembark from the left doors; mind the gap between the train and the platform.”

Gu Xizhou forced herself to stand up, pushing through the crowd and stumbling toward the train doors: “I said it already, I don’t need it.”

To gain someone’s help, one must pay a certain price. This hallucination calling itself 0820 had unknown origins; it might be a devil from hell. Furthermore, she had moved past the stage of needing help.

She had presented, she was growing up, and she could take care of herself.

It was just Su Nanfeng…even if she met her again…even if she encountered her again…

Gu Xizhou stepped off the train, enduring the physical pain, and looked at the people passing by. She gripped her fist and thought to herself: This time, she would learn to resist.

By the time Gu Xizhou sprinted to school, it was already the second period. Because of her tardiness, she was dragged to the Academic Affairs Office and criticized.

The dean was a sharp-featured female Beta who wore her hair in a high bun, looking as solemn as a nun, and she gave Gu Xizhou a hard time. Gu Xizhou gripped her bag straps, bit her lip, and explained in a low voice why she was late. When she mentioned it was because she had witnessed a crime and gone to the police station to give a statement, the dean’s expression softened.

The stern dean softened her tone: “I won’t pursue this further. The opening ceremony is over, but new students still need to greet their classmates.”

“Go to your class.”

Gu Xizhou nodded: “Yes.”

Seeing her looking clean and composed, not particularly lively, the dean asked with concern: “You know which class you’re in, right?”

Gu Xizhou hummed and said faintly: “I know, Class 17.”

Hearing she was in Class 17, the dean gave her an extra look before saying: “Then go back to class.”

Gu Xizhou bowed her head, scuffing her shoes against the carpet, and said timidly: “Thank you, teacher.”

After thanking her, she scurried out of the office with her bag. Stepping out of the air-conditioned office into the sweltering autumn heat, Gu Xizhou felt herself come alive. She let out a long breath and headed toward her classroom according to the signs.

The bright sunlight shone on the corridor, and Gu Xizhou’s pace became quite light. 0820, sensing her good mood, chuckled: “Happy because you weren’t scolded? Gu Xizhou, why are you such a coward?”

“Your behavior just now was like a rabbit. If you act like this when you meet Su Nanfeng, she won’t let you off.”

Gu Xizhou ignored 0820. The system didn’t get angry but continued chattering: “The ABO world is inherently one built on pheromones, establishing hierarchies, crushing and infringing upon one another—a world of survival of the fittest.”

“If you aren’t strong, you can only become the sacrifice on Su Nanfeng’s altar, waiting to be devoured, just like the fate originally destined for you.”

“Defiled, marked, destroyed…”

Gu Xizhou didn’t stop walking. She came down from the administration building and entered the teaching building. Nearby, the new students, sorted by their entrance exam scores, were gathered into various classes. Gu Xizhou glanced to the side and saw in a classroom a girl standing tall, introducing herself with confidence. The students below were applauding enthusiastically, the sound like thunder.

Gu Xizhou pondered for a moment and asked in her mind: “0820, then what do you think ‘strength’ is?”

Seeing she was loosening up, 0820 hurriedly spilled out words: “Take your class sorting for example, there are 19 classes in your grade.”

“Class 19 is the legendary ‘Pointed Blade’ class. Those who can get into this class have exceptional talent in academics; that is strength.”

Gu Xizhou nodded, stepping onto a stair: “Mhm.”

0820 continued explaining: “In terms of gender, Alphas are the dominators of pheromones; that is strength.”

“Physical resilience, superior athletic ability, outstanding talent—these are all signs of strength.”

“Only by becoming strong can one live well!”

By then, Gu Xizhou had reached the third floor. She emerged from the dark stairwell, walking step by step toward her classroom facing the sunlight, her eyes determined and serious: “But I don’t think the world should be like this.”

“In this world, many people aren’t Alphas, and many aren’t students of Class 19, without outstanding talent.”

“Do these people not deserve to live well?”

0820 was like a screaming rubber chicken being strangled; it immediately fell silent: “…”

Gu Xizhou was almost at the classroom door when she heard a very familiar voice. She looked up and saw Su Zhiyi, with her waterfall of hair loose, standing on the podium, introducing herself generously to the students below: “I like track and field, I like tennis…I like everything that is vibrant and alive…”

The morning sunlight from after nine o’clock reached the door, refracting onto the girl’s face, casting a hazy golden glow over her soft hair. Gu Xizhou watched the girl’s profile, and couldn’t help but remember many years later, when the other party stood on a podium, delivering a speech for a child who had been bullied to death. The sunlight that day seemed the same, spilling crazily over her as if afraid that this girl wouldn’t shine brightly enough.

Gu Xizhou sat below the podium, watching the gentle woman who had grown into a graceful young lady, listening to her say: “In a world of survival of the fittest, weakness might be an original sin.”

“But in a society that prides itself on civilization, the strong bullying the weak is a disgrace that the entire society should bear.”

Gu Xizhou’s heart tightened. She bit her lip, hesitated for a moment, and finally threw the final question at 0820: “The world is so big, and everyone’s personality is so different. Can it not accommodate people like us? Must it force us to grow into the exact same mold?”

If so, what kind of civilized world can this even be called?