Irreversible - Chapter 46

Chapter 46: A Pitiful Scoundrel (Part 6)

The location Su Tianyu chose to meet Gu Xizhou was a very refined Japanese restaurant.

On the way there, Gu Xizhou had researched a wealth of information regarding Su Tianyu, skimmed through several of her interviews, and combined those with the evaluations provided by Su Nanfeng and Su Zhiyi to form her own general judgment.

This was a traditional, ambitious, and bold middle-aged Alpha. Her business tactics were much like her treatment of her own children—somewhat cold and ruthless. Her worldview aligned with most Alphas: in this society, only the strong survive. Based on this deduction, Gu Xizhou could roughly guess what kind of son-in-law the woman envisioned.

Consequently, Gu Xizhou hoped to seize the initiative.

The car soon arrived at the Japanese restaurant named “Takeya”. Under the guidance of a waiter, Gu Xizhou crossed the main hall and entered a private room. The room was built adjacent to a central courtyard featuring an elegant bamboo water fountain. When the sliding door opened, the first thing Gu Xizhou saw was Su Tianyu sitting upright on a small tatami mat.

Su Tianyu wore a well-tailored women’s suit, her long hair pinned behind her head; her features carried the same sharp authority and majesty as Su Nanfeng’s. Had it been a few years ago, Gu Xizhou would have felt intimidated by such a high-ranking figure. But once a person has crawled through the mud for a long time and discarded much of their human decency and dignity, they no longer suffer internal blows based on external factors like class or status. After all, she had already tasted the bitterness of being powerless.

As they faced each other, Gu Xizhou, as the junior, spoke first: “Hello, Auntie.”

Su Tianyu nodded and pointed forward. “Sit first.”

Gu Xizhou complied, kneeling on the mat according to etiquette. As soon as she was seated, Su Tianyu poured her a cup of tea, pushed it toward her, and said indifferently, “I asked to meet for a meal today primarily because I was too busy yesterday to have a proper chat with you. After all, Zhiyi has never brought an Alpha before me. I want to know exactly what kind of Alpha my daughter has fallen for.”

Gu Xizhou did not take the tea. Instead, she straightened her back and said with neither servility nor arrogance, “I also wished to speak with you.”

Su Tianyu was somewhat surprised and glanced at her. She saw the beautiful Alpha opposite her staring straight at her with eyes like torches: “I came to visit you today also to clarify one thing. What must I do to become Zhiyi’s wife?”

Her goal was clear; she was here for Su Zhiyi.

Su Tianyu had seen many bold young people, but those who dared to say such things to her face were rare. Su Tianyu laughed, her sharp eyes flashing with a shrewd light as she scrutinized Gu Xizhou with a half-smile. “Young lady, in what capacity are you saying this to me?”

Gu Xizhou did not flinch under that gaze. Instead, she said candidly, “As your daughter’s lover, as your student, and as a seeker of knowledge. I want to fight for a chance for the one I love, so I need to understand your stance.”

Good. Neither cringing nor overbearing, and without the hollow pride of the youth. Su Tianyu admitted she felt a spark of admiration for this young person. Her gaze remained piercing, her tone majestic: “I can give you a chance, but it depends on how far you are willing to go.”

Gu Xizhou talked with Su Tianyu at Takeya all afternoon, returning to the apartment she shared with Su Zhiyi around 5:30 PM.

She was carrying ingredients for dinner when she happened to run into Su Zhiyi coming home from work. Seeing her carrying things, Su Zhiyi immediately walked over to take them from her, asking as they walked, “Didn’t you say at noon you were going out to meet a friend? Why are you back at this hour?”

Gu Xizhou didn’t refuse the help, walking into the elevator side-by-side with her. “Of course, it’s to cook for my lover.”

Su Zhiyi’s face flushed. She reached out to poke Gu Xizhou’s cheek and teased, “Sweet talker.”

They returned home together and entered the kitchen to make a steaming hot meal. Su Zhiyi was currently rotating in the ER and was exhausted every day; upon returning, she would share what she had seen and heard with Gu Xizhou. The hospital is a place where most affluent people can witness the various aspects of life. Here, everything—the tragic, the sad, the comical, and the absurd can happen. The more she worked, the more Su Zhiyi perceived human suffering, and she was gradually beginning to love her job.

Sitting at the dining table, Gu Xizhou listened to Su Zhiyi’s daily anecdotes, hesitating for a moment before calling out, “Zhiyi…”

Su Zhiyi looked up at her, her eyes as gentle as ever. “What is it?”

After a moment of thought, Gu Xizhou said, “Actually, your mother came to find me today.”

Su Zhiyi froze instantly, sensing it wasn’t anything good. She put down her chopsticks and looked at Gu Xizhou nervously. “What did she want with you?”

Gu Xizhou’s tone was hesitant. After a while, she said, “She gave me ten million and told me to leave you.”

Su Zhiyi’s eyes widened, and she reflexively asked, “Did you sign a contract? If you take the money without a contract, she can get it back.”

Gu Xizhou: “…”

She couldn’t help but laugh and shook her head. “No, I didn’t take it.”

Su Zhiyi knew she wouldn’t, but hearing Gu Xizhou say it still brought a sigh of relief. To hide her emotions, Su Zhiyi poked at her rice bowl, her tone slightly grumbling, “What? That’s ten million! If you took it and she tried to break us up, couldn’t you just elope with me?”

Su Zhiyi was well-bred, but she occasionally made Shakespearean-style romantic and legendary jokes.

Gu Xizhou’s eyes grew hot. After a long pause, she said, “I thought about it, but I felt it would be wrong. You and I shouldn’t be like that. Zhiyi, you deserve better.”

Su Zhiyi was stunned, her heart leaping into her throat, her tone laced with anxiety: “What do you mean? Don’t tell me that because you didn’t take the ten million, you’re going to break up with me?”

Her worry was so palpable that Gu Xizhou found it hard to bear. The Alpha’s heart throbbed with pain as she looked softly at her lover, whispering, “How could I? You are a reward fate finally bestowed upon me; how could I ever let you go?”

Gu Xizhou reached out and took Su Zhiyi’s hand, her voice tender and firm: “I didn’t take the ten million. I traded those ten million for a chance.”

Su Zhiyi gripped her hand back, asking with curiosity and a sense of knowing, “What chance?”

“A chance to be with you.”

Su Zhiyi’s eyes immediately turned red, her tone complex: “Then what… what did my mother demand of you?”

Gu Xizhou held her hand and softly explained the deal with Su Tianyu: “She wants me to give up my medical school offer. After graduation, I am to work at your family’s company. If, after three years, I can reach the position of a subsidiary manager, she will agree to let us get engaged.”

Su Zhiyi’s expression changed instantly. She looked at Gu Xizhou in shock. “Xizhou, how could you agree to that? You said you wanted to be a good doctor. How could you…”

…give up what you want to do for me?

In her heart, Gu Xizhou didn’t actually mind whether she became a doctor. She had applied to medical school for Su Zhiyi’s sake in the first place. Giving it up now was also for Su Zhiyi’s sake. This was fate; a trick of fortune.

But her girlfriend was very angry, even standing up immediately and grabbing her phone to call her mother. “No, how can she do this? Who I marry is my freedom. She can’t interfere like this; she can’t dictate what my future partner’s profession must be!”

Was it not enough that her mother had stripped away her own dreams? Must she strip away Gu Xizhou’s as well?

Gu Xizhou, however, pulled her back, circling her in her arms and holding her tightly. “Zhiyi… Zhiyi…”

Su Zhiyi’s rationality returned momentarily. She slumped against Gu Xizhou’s cheek, her tone dejected: “It’s not fair, Xizhou… she can’t treat you like this, and she can’t treat me like this…”

Gu Xizhou smiled and nuzzled her hair, coaxing her softly, “Zhiyi, it’s not unfair. Life involves gains and losses. Because people are different, many things cannot be perfectly balanced. Between the choice of doing what I like and having a future with you, I simply chose you.”

When Gu Xizhou spoke such heartfelt words, she was very persuasive. She was speaking from the bottom of her heart, but it was also to consolidate Su Zhiyi’s love for her: “If I chose to be a surgeon, I could still marry you, but you would be tormented between me, your mother, and your family responsibilities.”

It was Su Zhiyi’s “love” that had dragged her out of the darkness, so for the rest of her life, she was willing to live for that love. She was already this kind of useless waste; if she could become a sharp tool for Su Zhiyi, she was more than happy to be so.

Gu Xizhou soothed Su Zhiyi’s emotions, her voice soft: “If I change my career and work hard to gain your mother’s approval, then in the future, I can share your workload. I can even ensure that you get to do the things you actually want to do. I care about you, Zhiyi. And I am willing to make compromises in my life for you.”

Su Zhiyi’s eyes were red, tears slowly sliding from the corners. “Our Xizhou is sacrificing so much…”

It was guilt, pity, and love. Gu Xizhou wanted exactly these things; she wanted Su Zhiyi to owe her, to love her, and to never be able to leave her.

Gu Xizhou turned her around, tenderly kissing away the tears at the corners of her eyes, whispering, “It’s not much. Not much at all. Compared to you, there is nothing in this world worth giving you up for.”

She truly intended to do this, and she would always do so. It was just a pity that life often goes against one’s wishes; through twists of fate and unfortunate turns, things rarely end well.