Irreversible - Chapter 30

Chapter 30: An Angel’s Tenderness (Part 5)

Following the doctor’s orders, Su Zhiyi spent the entire afternoon lying in the infirmary. Her mind remained restless as she replayed the absurd experiences of the previous night and the various dire futures that might come to pass. After much deliberation, she decided to call Su Nanfeng to check on her condition.

At that moment, Su Nanfeng was lying in a hospital bed, having just received a video call from her mother, Su Tianyu. She had been subjected to a brutal scolding: “You have the ability to cause trouble, but no ability to settle it? I didn’t give birth to a useless waste like you!”

“If there’s a next time, don’t bother studying. Once you’re of age, you’re going straight into the military!”

“Stop out there making a fool of me!”

From beginning to end, Su Tianyu showed zero concern for Su Nanfeng’s injuries. Once she confirmed her daughter was still “functional,” she delivered a final string of insults and abruptly hung up the phone.

Su Nanfeng sat on the bed, listening to the dial tone, her heart sinking to rock bottom. Ah… it’s like this again. Constant verbal abuse—she was used to it.

Su Tianyu was from a military background and entered the business world after retiring. Leveraging the connections she had amassed, she became highly successful. Her former superior, who admired her greatly, had played matchmaker, connecting her with the Mu family—a clan of scholars. At the blind date banquet, Su Tianyu had fallen in love with the eldest daughter, Mu Zhilan, at first sight.

Specifically, she fell for Mu Zhilan’s family background, and any actual affection was purely a result of the young lady’s superior looks. For an Alpha from a humble background, Mu Zhilan’s status was the perfect “calling card” to enter high society.

Mu Zhilan had no interest in her whatsoever, but at the time, she was being pursued by another person who was difficult to refuse. In those days, Omegas had far less freedom than they do today; even if Alphas entered a rut upon marking an Omega, the Omega faced the permanent risk of losing their autonomy once marked.

Mu Zhilan was in the prime of her youth and had no desire to marry into a wealthy family only to become a secluded socialite. Furthermore, her family was pressuring her heavily to marry since she was “of age.” After weighing her options, she chose Su Tianyu. Before the wedding, they signed an agreement ensuring Su Tianyu would not mark her. They would live separate lives and divorce once the agreed time had passed.

Su Tianyu signed it readily, but on the wedding night, she marked Mu Zhilan anyway. Su Nanfeng and Su Zhiyi were the products of that violent union.

Mu Zhilan’s family values made it impossible for her to terminate the pregnancy. After much suffering, she chose to give birth to the twins. However, the moment the children were born, she moved out of the Su residence with absolute determination. Seeing that even this couldn’t win the Omega’s heart, Su Tianyu’s interest gradually waned, and she poured all her energy into her company.

Their relationship was fire and ice, but they maintained a weekly schedule to accompany the children, pretending to be a loving couple so the twins could have a “warm” childhood. Initially, Su Tianyu cooperated; she wasn’t entirely heartless and felt some pity for her own flesh and blood. But as time went on, she grew bored.

As her career flourished, Su Tianyu began frequenting the social scene, keeping countless lovers. Sometimes, during her weekly visits with the children, she even carried the scent of other people’s pheromones.

When the twins were eight, Su Tianyu crashed her car while driving a famous celebrity lover, causing a massive scandal. Mu Zhilan waited for her to heal before taking the opportunity to divorce her. During the divorce, Mu Zhilan used Su Tianyu’s scandals as leverage to take both children with her.

Su Tianyu, however, became unreasonable: “Those are my children too! They are my seed! Why should they both go with you? Their surname is Su, not Mu!”

Mu Zhilan remained calm and blunt: “I don’t care what their surname is. As long as they came out of my body, I have the right to take them.”

Modern laws were very protective of Omegas; in cases of divorce, any child under fourteen could follow the Omega mother. Even if the mother lacked the means to raise two children, social institutions provided subsidies. In an era of low birth rates, families with children were a blessing to society. From any angle, Su Tianyu had no chance of winning. She exhausted every method, but couldn’t get her children back.

To win custody, Su Tianyu eventually resorted to a “bitter meat” tactic. While the lawyers were clashing, she suddenly changed her tone, acting as if she were revealing a painful secret: “This car accident… it has cost me my fertility. Other than Nanfeng and Zhiyi, it is impossible for me to have any other children.”

Mu Zhilan was surprised. Su Tianyu had never been this sincere before. Given Su Tianyu’s playboy lifestyle, logic suggested she should have a crowd of illegitimate children, yet for all these years, there were only the twins. It was truly unfathomable.

As Mu Zhilan wavered, Su Tianyu took the initiative: “Can we have our lawyers leave the room? Let’s talk privately. There’s no need to make this so ugly, is there?”

Mu Zhilan considered for a moment and cautiously replied, “Fine.”

The extra people left, leaving only the Alpha and Omega sitting in silence in the massive conference room. Once she had exposed her own scar, Su Tianyu acted as if nothing mattered. She loosened her tie, leaned back in her chair, and stared for a long time before speaking: “Miss Mu, though we have been married for over eight years, I don’t think I’ve ever spoken about my family.”

Su Tianyu had a very handsome face. Her military background gave her a sharp aura, and her deep, charming phoenix eyes had attracted many to her. It was precisely because of her looks that Mu Zhilan had chosen her despite her difficult family background—at the very least, looking at a handsome face made the marriage bearable.

But after eight years, Mu Zhilan had seen through her. Looking at that face now, she felt no charm, only exhaustion. She spoke calmly: “Your family has nothing to do with the matter at hand.”

“No, it does.” Su Tianyu pointed a finger into the air and looked at Mu Zhilan with a glazed gaze. “If you take both children, it means I have no heir. All my current assets could be snatched away by my younger sister.”

Mu Zhilan found this reason absurd: “Nanfeng and Zhiyi are your biological children. According to inheritance laws, your things will eventually go to them.”

Su Tianyu shook her head. “In other families, perhaps. But in mine… not necessarily.” She slowly began to tell her story.

Su Tianyu was born to an AO family where both parents were in the military, but her Omega mother died early. After the death, her mother remarried—to the younger sister of the deceased Omega. Growing up, Su Tianyu was neglected; her mother favored the child born to the second wife. To please her mother, Su Tianyu joined the military, following her mother’s footsteps. After retiring, she even set aside past grievances to start a company with her younger sister, who had just graduated college.

The current Su Group was actually built by Su Tianyu’s blood and sweat. But as the family business grew, so did the number of people with hidden agendas. Though Su Tianyu held power, many believed her younger sister, Su Haiming, would be the next chairperson. This was simply because Su Tianyu had been too “indulgent” toward her sister in the early stages of the business.

Su Tianyu smiled coldly: “But in truth, I don’t like my sister at all. I hate her. If I hadn’t treated her well, my mother—who never looked at me, would never have praised me. I wouldn’t bother with that idiot waste otherwise.” “Before my mother died, she was still telling me that she is my sister, that I must take good care of her and give her everything.”

At that moment, Su Tianyu realized that the motherly love and family she had spent her life chasing were farcical. Her efforts to earn praise were just a joke.

Mu Zhilan fell silent as Su Tianyu mocked herself: “Miss Mu, I know you look down on me. My previous actions were only to make our relationship more solid; I didn’t mean to force you to have children. But the children are here now, and I will try my best to love them.”

“I need an heir. Su Haiming already occupies the upper management. If I don’t have a reliable heir to contend with her, everything I own will belong to her and her children after I die… I don’t want to spend my whole life building her dowry.”

In all their years of marriage, Su Tianyu had never said anything as moving as this. The pianist, who had been showered with love since childhood, couldn’t fully comprehend the contradictory psychology of a child from such a family, but she heard the resentment and pain. Desiring love, chasing love, yet never obtaining it. Love is a phantom; those who only chase it without cherishing it can never be happy.

Despite her distaste, the kind Omega felt a pang of pity. After a long silence, she spoke: “But Su Tianyu, a child is not your tool.” Not an object for inheriting a company.

Su Tianyu knew she had successfully opened a crack in the other’s heart. She held the winning hand, yet she still put on a look of a begging dog: “I know. I will love her too. At least give me Nanfeng. She will be my only child from now on. I will learn to love her well.”

Her flowery words eventually moved Mu Zhilan. After some hesitation, she gave her answer: “Fine, I agree. But if Nanfeng is not doing well, I will take her away.”

Su Tianyu won, and she won completely. She flashed a satisfied smile: “Deal. I’ll let you take her then.”

But how could a wolf simply let someone take away what it had fought to seize? Once she gained custody, she predictably broke her word again, starting to surreptitiously block contact between Su Nanfeng and Mu Zhilan. At the time, Su Zhiyi wasn’t close to Mu Zhilan either; building a relationship with the daughter she did have took up most of Mu Zhilan’s energy. Combined with her world tours, she had no capacity to watch over the child her ex-wife had taken.

By the time this incident happened, it was too late. Su Nanfeng was sixteen; until she reached adulthood, she had to live with Su Tianyu. And under Su Tianyu’s “discipline,” she had been molded into a completely different person.

The young Su Nanfeng knew nothing of her parents’ past grievances. In her heart, she still believed that Mu Zhilan had chosen Su Zhiyi and abandoned her. She loved her sister, yet simultaneously envied her, thinking that if only she had been the one taken away back then. At least then, a mother would care for her instead of ignoring her, sending a secretary whenever something happened, and screaming at her whenever she was angry.

Why… do I have to live with a mother like this?

Su Nanfeng couldn’t figure it out. There was a knot in her chest that she couldn’t cough up or swallow. Holding her phone, she fantasized about the end of the world—a zombie outbreak where Su Tianyu was surrounded, and she would descend from the sky with a baseball bat to save her. Then her mother would finally realize she was a devoted daughter. Or perhaps she would go out now and beat up anyone she saw. Then it would be on the news, the group’s stock would plummet, her mother would go bankrupt, jump off a building, and break her legs. Then it would be just the two of them, and she would work odd jobs to support the family. Then her mother would know she was a good child.

In short, let there be some world-ending event—an earthquake, a flood, a volcanic eruption, an asteroid strike! In the face of death and suffering, she would have her “grand outburst” and make her mother regret ever treating her this way!

The hormones of a young body and the restlessness of an Alpha clouded her mind, filling it with nothing but destructive thoughts. After sitting alone for a while, the phone in her palm buzzed, snapping her out of it.

She looked down and saw “Sister” flashing on the screen. She answered without thinking: “Hello…”

Her sister’s soft, concerned voice came through the phone, sounding as if it came from a misty, illusory world: “Sister, are you okay?”

Upon hearing the word “Sister,” it was as if a bucket of water had been splashed on Su Nanfeng’s head; she calmed down instantly. Her nose felt stingy, and she replied in a muffled voice: “I’m fine. So you still know how to care about me? I thought your heart was only full of Gu Xizhou.”

Su Zhiyi heard the grievance in her voice and comforted her with a laugh: “Not at all. You’re my sister; how could I not care about you? So, how is it really?”

She spoke carefully, testing the waters: “It’s not a big problem, right?”

Su Nanfeng felt her chest swell with the warmth of her sister’s concern. She gave a huff and whispered, “It’s nothing… just swollen…”

Ugh… Sister is still the best.

She took back her earlier thoughts. Let her sister be taken away by Mom. How could her adorable sister endure the destruction of their failed mother? If one of them was destined to suffer because of an unhappy family, then let her be the one to bear it all. She was willing to give all the happiness in the world to her sister, as long as she could remain naive, kind, and carefree forever.