Irreversible - Chapter 31

Chapter 31: An Adorable Angel (Part 1)

Having clarified Su Nanfeng’s condition and knowing she hadn’t suffered any major issues, Su Zhiyi breathed a sigh of relief. “So, what exactly happened with you and Gu Xizhou? Why did you get into a fight again? Did you bring people to bully her again?”

Su Nanfeng’s mouth twitched, and she replied with extreme reluctance, “I did exactly what you said; I was prepared to talk to her.”

“She was the one who started the fight. I didn’t hit her.”

Su Zhiyi could hear the lack of remorse and the lingering resentment in her sister’s voice, which gave her a massive headache. “Education” was something that should have been carried out by parents and teachers together, but due to their parents’ inaction, the burden of “educating” Su Nanfeng had now fallen onto Su Zhiyi’s shoulders.

Su Zhiyi took a deep breath, forcing herself to stay calm. “Talk? Wasn’t it supposed to be an apology? And you surrounded her with a whole group of people just to ‘talk’?”

Sensing the change in her sister’s tone, Su Nanfeng bit her lip and feigned grievance. “Zhiyi… my good sister, I’m already in the hospital. Are you really going to keep being mean to me?”

After the previous incident at school, Su Nanfeng had discovered that her sister possessed an abnormally stubborn trust in Gu Xizhou—a trust she couldn’t defeat with mere pretenses. Furthermore, her “good child” mask had been torn to shreds. At this point, no matter what she said, Su Zhiyi likely wouldn’t believe her.

Her only remaining tactic, and her most habitual one, was to show weakness. By playing the victim to her sister, she hoped to win sympathy and snatch her attention back from Gu Xizhou. Thus, she had to be “obedient,” “weak,” and “compliant” to make it look like Gu Xizhou was the one being ungrateful.

But Su Zhiyi did not soften. After discovering that Su Nanfeng had bullied Gu Xizhou for a year and a half, Su Zhiyi had researched extensively and consulted professionals, learning that antisocial personalities make up only a small fraction of the population. Su Nanfeng was clearly not born evil; she simply lacked discipline and a reality check.

Calm down… stay calm…

Despite her self-persuasion, Su Zhiyi still felt angry. Her volume rose slightly. “Sister, I’m not being mean to you; I’m reminding you. Even now, do you still not understand the kind of damage you’ve caused Gu Xizhou? You bullied her for so long and then surrounded her with so many people. Of course she would be scared and fight back. Is that her fault?”

As Su Zhiyi’s tone grew stern, Su Nanfeng shriveled like a quail. “I just brought people to help her wash her clothes. I didn’t mean any harm.”

Su Zhiyi sighed. “If you really want to help her, please do it yourself instead of using others. Whether it’s Gu Xizhou or anyone else, I hope you will respect them from now on. Nanfeng, learning to respect and cherish friends isn’t that hard.”

But Su Nanfeng knew she didn’t actually have any friends. She knew exactly why those people flattered and sucked up to her. In her bones, she was exactly like Su Tianyu: cold-blooded, stubborn, and willing to use any means to achieve her goals.

Su Nanfeng stopped talking and fell silent on the other end of the line. Seeing that she was no longer making excuses, Su Zhiyi’s voice softened. “If you need a friend to keep you company, I can convince Mom to let me move in with you after the semester starts.”

Su Nanfeng’s mood instantly brightened, her volume jumping. “You’re agreeing to live with me!”

Su Zhiyi gave a soft “Mm” but added a necessary condition: “On one condition: I cannot find out that you’ve bullied another classmate. And you must cut ties with those fair-weather friends of yours. For my sake, please study hard, okay?”

Since she hadn’t actually done it yet, Su Nanfeng felt she could promise anything. She agreed enthusiastically, “I can do that!”

The two sisters soon ended their call. Su Zhiyi didn’t mention her own fainting spell, only telling her sister to rest well and strive to turn over a new leaf. Having finished her “parental” duties with Su Nanfeng, Su Zhiyi sent a message to Mu Zhilan, who was currently abroad: “Mom, Sister is at the military training base, and she bullied a classmate again. I don’t know how to guide her. If possible, I hope you can talk to her, take her to see a psychologist, or do anything to teach her. Otherwise, I feel like she’s going to end up on the news one day, getting herself into trouble and meeting a tragic end on the streets.”

Su Zhiyi made the matter sound extremely dire. When Mu Zhilan finished her concert and saw her daughter’s message, she was frightened out of her wits. She immediately called Su Zhiyi back, comforting her and telling her not to worry too much about her sister, before calling Su Nanfeng.

Su Nanfeng, naturally, was full of grievances, claiming repeatedly that she had realized her mistake and had only gone to help Gu Xizhou, only to be misunderstood and beaten up.

It seems parents naturally trust their own children. Even after seeing the physical marks of violence Su Nanfeng had left on other children and hearing the aggressive audio recordings, Mu Zhilan still felt that Su Nanfeng had simply strayed from the path.

Mu Zhilan said helplessly, echoing Su Zhiyi’s words: “Nanfeng, after how you treated Gu Xizhou in the past, she’s going to be afraid.”

Su Nanfeng continued to frame herself as the victim: “But I apologized sincerely. I really wanted to make it up to her.”

Mu Zhilan had to remind her: “But Nanfeng, for a child you’ve hurt, what she needs isn’t your ‘compensation’—it’s for you to stay away. Perhaps you are sincerely remorseful, but given your track record, no one is going to believe your sincerity for a long time.”

Mu Zhilan had just finished her concert and was taking a car back to her hotel. Leaning back in the wide rear seat, she rubbed her temples, her voice sounding exhausted. “You bullied someone, and the incident blew up. From now on, no matter what you do, society will label you as such. As you grow up, the title of ‘bully’ will not be removed. Even if you make a thousand amends, it won’t help. And as for me… I will be accompanied by the title of ‘mother of a bully,’ and your sister will be the ‘sister of a bully.’ In the eyes of society, our whole family is tied to you, becoming the bullies who pick on others.”

Su Nanfeng was silent. She was deeply touched, knowing everything Mu Zhilan said was true. She might not care about her own reputation—she wouldn’t even care if she died today—but she cared about her mother and sister. Feeling a surge of fear, she whispered after a long pause, “I’m sorry, Mom. I’ve caused you trouble again.”

Although Mu Zhilan rarely communicated with Su Nanfeng and didn’t understand teenage psychology—and could even be called a failure in terms of family education, she was capable of taking responsibility, unlike the “authoritarian” Su Tianyu.

Mu Zhilan shook her head and said softly, “It’s okay. I’m the one who brought you into this world to face it. It’s my fault for not teaching you well and letting you bully your classmates.”

No one had ever said such things to Su Nanfeng before. Su Tianyu would only blame everything on her. If her grades were bad, it was her fault for playing instruments. Being with Ding Yi and the others was occasionally encouraged with comments about needing to make “useful” friends for business. In her social circle, there were only two options: useful or useless.

She missed her mother and craved her care; the agony of not receiving it for years had turned into resentment. But when her mother spoke so honestly to her, Su Nanfeng was moved. Her nose felt itchy and her eyes filled with hot tears. She choked out, “It’s not like that, Mom. It’s my fault. I’m a bad kid…”

She was crying, and these tears were far more sincere than her previous fake ones. A mother can feel when a child is being genuine. Mu Zhilan finally breathed a sigh of relief. “Nanfeng, no one is born a bad child. You are just young and strayed, but you can still change. The damage caused cannot be undone, and even if you are sincere, you may never receive Gu Xizhou’s forgiveness in this lifetime. You must remember the pain of being hit last night; before you felt that pain, Gu Xizhou had been tasting it for over a year. I feel pained and guilty about this, and I have no way to provide mental compensation to Gu Xizhou. But Nanfeng, you can control yourself. Stop bullying your classmates and making others feel pain.”

Since she had brought Su Nanfeng into this world, she had a duty beyond just protecting her: she had to teach her how to be a person—a kind, upright person who doesn’t hurt others. It was fine if Su Nanfeng ended up being unremarkable or useless, but Mu Zhilan could not accept her child being a bully. It was a mistake that had to be corrected.

“If you can’t control yourself, I can take you to a doctor or for therapy… but please, don’t hurt anyone else, okay?”

Su Nanfeng was guilty, but she was still a minor. Even the law gives them a chance to correct their mistakes, let alone Mu Zhilan. This rare show of care made Su Nanfeng choose to obey. She gave a muffled “Okay,” and Mu Zhilan said comfortingly, “I’ll be done with my performances soon. I haven’t cooked for you in a long time. If you behave, I’ll cook for you when I get back.”

With a combination of the stick and the carrot, Su Nanfeng felt the clouds had cleared. “Okay!” Even after being lectured, receiving the care of her sister and mother made her feel like things weren’t so bad. She had thought they would give up on her, but they hadn’t. Su Nanfeng began to reflect seriously, deciding to turn over a new leaf.

Of course, this was just a mental resolution. She hadn’t actually taken any action yet. For instance, she hadn’t told Ding Yi to leave Wang Yiren alone or disbanded her little gang. Nor had she stopped having Ding Yi keep an eye on Gu Xizhou. After hanging up with her mother, Su Nanfeng sent a message to Ding Yi: “Since I’m not there right now, keep a close eye on Gu Xizhou for me. Make sure she doesn’t seduce my sister.”

By the time Ding Yi saw this message, the afternoon training had ended. Crimson clouds burned on the horizon, dyeing the blue sky vividly.

Gu Xizhou walked toward the infirmary in the sunset, carrying two lunch boxes. Su Zhiyi was just getting off the hospital bed, preparing to head to the cafeteria. Just as the girl’s feet hit the floor, a thin figure appeared at the door.

Their eyes met, and Su Zhiyi was surprised. “Gu Xizhou… why are you here?”

Gu Xizhou had come under 0820’s nagging. With 0820 saying things like “you already gave her a bridal carry, delivering a meal isn’t too much,” she had endured her burning ears to come see Su Zhiyi.

This is going to be the death of me, Gu Xizhou thought, her cheeks flushing red—even more prominent than the sunset clouds. She entered the empty infirmary, placed the lunch box on the bedside table, and said to Su Zhiyi, “I brought you food. Zhang Chuchu found your lunch box for me. Here, eat.”

She thoughtfully opened the lunch box and handed over the chopsticks, her expression calm. Su Zhiyi sat on the bed and looked up at her flushed cheeks, feeling touched. The girl looked up at her with clear, bright eyes like a fawn, a blatant smile in them. “Thank you.”

Gu Xizhou looked down at her face, vaguely understanding why she didn’t feel any resistance toward Su Zhiyi, even though she looked eighty percent like the person she hated most. Perhaps it was that dream; in that dream, it felt like she had lived sixteen years, fourteen of which were spent with Su Zhiyi. From age eighteen to thirty-two, those innocent, dazed fawn eyes were enough to wash away the face she hated most.

Su Zhiyi’s eyes were too clean, her gaze too gentle—like a clear stream that invited one to linger, or like an ocean that embraced everything yet pulled one into the abyss. At that moment, Gu Xizhou tasted a sudden, intense burst of hatred, but it didn’t seem to belong to her; it felt like it came from the thing attached to her soul.

It drove her to think: If only Su Zhiyi weren’t Su Nanfeng’s sister. If only that thought had never occurred. If only they had never met. If only… she hadn’t denied falling in love.

But there are no “if onlys” in life. Su Zhiyi was Su Nanfeng’s sister; that was an unavoidable fact and a truth she had to digest. If she wanted to continue being friends with Su Zhiyi, she had to accept the family she came from. This was fate, unavoidable.

But it was okay. Thanks to those glimpses of the future, Gu Xizhou understood one thing: Su Zhiyi is Su Zhiyi, and Su Nanfeng is Su Nanfeng. Su Zhiyi is Su Nanfeng’s sister—she hated that, and that was normal. Su Zhiyi is a good person, she liked that, and there was no conflict. Their interaction was normal; everything was fine.

She absolutely… absolutely would not be like the “self” in her dream, trapping herself in a fortress of hate for revenge, trampling an innocent person and becoming another “Su Nanfeng.” She would not become Su Nanfeng, so she would accept Su Zhiyi.

In the name of friendship.