Irreversible - Chapter 48

Chapter 48: The Little Wretched One Grows Taller (Part 2)

The pain following the differentiation period kept Gu Xizhou confined to her bed for two weeks. By the time she returned to school, it was already late September.

On her first day back, Gu Xizhou was visibly excited. She arrived early, sitting at her desk with her backpack, happily waiting for her classmates to enter the classroom. Whenever a classmate walked in, she would proactively greet them: “Good morning!”

However, every single student would look at her with a bizarre expression, as if they were staring at an alien, before nodding curtly and replying, “Good morning.” After speaking, they would hurry away to their own seats.

This attitude left Gu Xizhou utterly confused, completely unable to make heads or tails of it.

Soon, Yan Qing arrived. Gu Xizhou, sitting in the first row, spoke up with a smile: “Yan Qing, good morning.”

Yan Qing gave her a subtle look. Unlike the other students who avoided her, Yan Qing walked up to her and looked her up and down. “Are you all better?”

Gu Xizhou squinted her eyes and laughed. “I laid in the hospital for two weeks; of course I’m all better.”

The changes brought by the second differentiation were striking. Most notably, the slight baby fat on the little Alpha’s face had completely vanished, replaced by sharp, cold lines that hinted at an Alpha’s imposing aura.

Yan Qing studied her features and clicked her tongue in admiration. “Not bad. Staying in the hospital kept your skin pale. Unlike me—I’m completely tanned.”

After a month of military training under the scorching summer sun, even kids with the best complexions couldn’t withstand the toll. Yan Qing’s once-fair face had turned a wheaten bronze.

Gu Xizhou’s eyes curved into crescents as she comforted her: “You aren’t dark. You’re still very fair and look great.”

Yan Qing sighed, somewhat helpless. “Sigh, don’t just say things to make me happy. I know exactly what kind of ghost I look like right now.” She lowered her hand and pinched her tanned arm, sounding melancholy. “I don’t even know if I can cover this up and get white again over the winter.”

As they were talking, Su Zhiyi happened to walk through the door with her backpack. The moment the corner of Gu Xizhou’s eye caught her figure, 0820 said excitedly: “Su Zhiyi is here!”

Gu Xizhou turned her head instantly, her voice rising unconsciously: “Su Zhiyi!”

The classmates in the room “swish-ed” their heads toward them, their eyes gleaming with the light of gossip.

Su Zhiyi stood at the door and blinked. Meeting Gu Xizhou’s sparkling eyes, she struggled to remain composed under the burning gazes of everyone else. She nodded toward Gu Xizhou: “Good morning.”

“Good morning,” Gu Xizhou smiled at her, looking a bit shy. “Long time no see.”

Having not met for two whole weeks, Gu Xizhou’s perception of Su Zhiyi had completely changed. Through their nightly WeChat contact during those two weeks, she felt she had established a very deep “revolutionary friendship” with her. Seeing her now, Gu Xizhou didn’t feel like she was looking at a stranger who shared Su Nanfeng’s face; she felt she was looking at her closest friend.

0820 called this “the power of adolescent pheromone linking!” A delusion brought on by puberty hormones!

But Gu Xizhou didn’t think so. She stared directly at Su Zhiyi like a little puppy waiting for its owner’s affection. That expression… how should one put it? It was so pitifully cute that even Yan Qing, standing nearby, felt an urge to rub her head.

As soon as that thought arose, Yan Qing rubbed her own arms and shivered: Ugh, so sappy. She’d better leave. Although gossip was fun to watch, she didn’t want to be a third wheel at a time like this.

Still, Gu Xizhou was truly brave. After crying and screaming while hugging Su Zhiyi in front of everyone that day—losing all her dignity, she could still greet her so naturally now. She truly was the first Alpha in their class to have a “scandal partner.” As expected of a woman who could bravely resist school bullying; even her pursuit of people was grand and dramatic.

Yan Qing patted Gu Xizhou’s shoulder. When Gu Xizhou turned to look at her, Yan Qing gave her a thumbs-up: A real woman.

Gu Xizhou blinked, looking completely lost. Yan Qing said no more, gave Su Zhiyi a suggestive glance, and headed back to her seat with her bag.

Gu Xizhou turned back, her eyes bright as she looked at Su Zhiyi.

Su Zhiyi, who had originally intended to use Yan Qing’s presence as a distraction to slip quickly to her seat, found herself unable to resist Gu Xizhou’s puppy-like longing. She forced herself to take a sharp turn and walk up to Gu Xizhou’s desk.

In those few short steps, Su Zhiyi regretted not entering through the back door today; that way, she wouldn’t have run into Gu Xizhou. Once they started talking, who knew what kind of nonsense the classmates and the rest of the grade would start spreading? And Su Nanfeng—whom she had finally managed to coax into a better mood, would probably go crazy again.

But she had known she would see Gu Xizhou this morning, and she couldn’t help wanting to see how she was doing. Within a few breaths, Su Zhiyi built up her mental defenses: Fine, let it be. It’s already been spread to that extent anyway. Am I still afraid of some ‘new story’ with Gu Xizhou?

The most ridiculous rumors already existed—some said she had an abortion for Gu Xizhou, which was why Su Nanfeng was always cornering Gu Xizhou in the bathroom to beat her up. With a hundred and eight versions of third-rate tabloid stories floating around, what was left to avoid?

Su Zhiyi calmed her thoughts and gave a gentle, shallow smile: “You’re here so early. Did you eat breakfast?”

Gu Xizhou nodded and replied: “Mhm, I ate!”

Maintaining her “big sister” image, Su Zhiyi advised softly: “That’s good. Drink more milk in the morning to supplement your protein; that way your legs won’t hurt.”

Su Zhiyi exchanged a few more pleasantries, trying to figure out how to return to her seat at the far end of the classroom politely without losing her smile. Sigh, why is she so tall? Why is her seat in the very back? Why did she walk through the front door? Why can’t she reject Gu Xizhou and feel compelled to greet her? How frustrating.

Gu Xizhou smiled and said “okay.” Under the constant chattering of 0820, she opened her backpack, pulled out a small gift box, and held it out to Su Zhiyi: “Here, this is for you.”

Su Zhiyi looked at the item presented to her, feeling surprised. “Why?”

Gu Xizhou smiled, her expression bashful. “You’ve helped me a lot. My mom said… you are different from your sister. You don’t owe me anything, yet you treat me so well. I felt I should show some appreciation and cherish our friendship. This is to thank you for looking after me at the start of school.”

Of course, these words were provided by 0820, not Gu Jing. Gu Jing would never think that Su Zhiyi was different from Su Nanfeng; even if Su Zhiyi was a good kid, having such a family background meant she was just another “bad bamboo” in Gu Jing’s eyes.

Su Zhiyi was stunned and didn’t reach out for the gift immediately. Gu Xizhou looked up at her with extremely sincere eyes and nudged the gift forward again. “It’s not anything expensive, just a small token of my heart. Please accept it.” By the last few words, her voice even carried a hint of pleading.

Su Zhiyi’s hesitation didn’t last long because the classroom was filling up. Every student who entered fixed their burning gaze on her and Gu Xizhou. If they kept pushing the gift back and forth, several more versions of the gossip would probably emerge. She reached out, took the gift, and gave a sweet smile: “Thank you. Then I won’t be formal with you.”

Carrying Gu Xizhou’s gift, Su Zhiyi returned to her seat under the watchful eyes of the crowd.

Successfully getting Su Zhiyi to accept her gift made Gu Xizhou very happy; she felt their friendship had taken another step forward.

The changes brought by military training were obvious. Spending over half a month together was enough for a group of students to get to know one each other. During the break, Gu Xizhou clearly perceived that the atmosphere in the class had changed significantly.

Students were in small groups of three to five, chatting with familiar classmates and going to the restroom together. The Omegas centered around Su Zhiyi; during the ten-minute break, her seat was always surrounded. The Alphas and some Betas centered around Yan Qing, whose area was also lively whenever the bell rang.

Sitting in her seat, Gu Xizhou opened her textbook, looking toward Yan Qing and then toward Su Zhiyi, feeling a sense of being left behind. Her absence from military training had made her feel out of place in the class from the very start. It was just like when she transferred schools in the eighth grade.

Gu Xizhou was used to this. She quickly adjusted her mindset, flipped open her book, and began doing practice problems during the break. Friends could be maintained outside of school; inside school, the most important thing was studying. Only learning belonged truly to oneself. Only by striving to absorb knowledge could one have a bright future.

Seeing her able to adjust her emotions so easily and dive into the most important task at hand, 0820 felt quite gratified: As expected of her. Even if her younger self was a bit naive, she was still just as proactive and driven.

The morning classes ended quickly. When the bell rang, the students swarmed out toward the cafeteria. Gu Xizhou packed her desk and put her textbooks back into the drawer. Just then, Yan Qing came to her side and knocked on her desk.

Gu Xizhou looked up at her, her eyes full of surprise. Seeing her expression, Yan Qing laughed and said casually, “You’ve been looking over here all through the breaks. Did you need something?”

Gu Xizhou didn’t expect her to notice. “You knew I was looking at you?”

Yan Qing raised her hand and couldn’t resist rubbing Gu Xizhou’s hair. “I knew. You were staring with those puppy eyes; it’s hard not to notice.”

Gu Xizhou: “…”

Yan Qing pushed her glasses up her nose and explained, “My friends are too clingy. I wanted to ask you during the third period, but I couldn’t get away. Don’t mind it.”

Gu Xizhou said, “I don’t mind.”

“So, tell me, why were you looking for me?”

Gu Xizhou felt a sense of warmth and smiled. She said to Yan Qing, “I brought a small gift for you.” She opened her drawer, searched for a moment, found a small box, and handed it over. “Su Zhiyi told me that on that morning, you were the one who found out I had a high fever and took me to the infirmary. Thank you for helping me.”

Yan Qing looked at the box in shock. “So I get one too?”

Gu Xizhou nodded. “Mhm, you have one too.” She gave an embarrassed smile. “I meant to give it to you this morning, but you walked away so fast I forgot.”

Taking the gift, Yan Qing beamed with joy. “You’re too polite! I’ll talk to my mom later and see if I can get you a 90% discount on that combat training enrollment.”

The two were laughing and talking. Su Zhiyi, who had been sitting in the back and intended to come over to check on Gu Xizhou, saw this scene of Gu Xizhou giving Yan Qing a gift. A thought rose in her mind: Oh, so the gift wasn’t just for me. Other sisters have them too.

She felt relieved. Children were just like that—they liked giving gifts to people they felt close to. What was there to care about?