Irreversible - Chapter 9

Chapter 9: The Scumbag’s Redemption (Part 4)

Gu Xizhou felt as though she hadn’t heard the words “I believe you” for a very long time.

Ever since she transferred schools and tried to stop Su Nanfeng from targeting the previous victim of bullying, Su Nanfeng had used her own actions to show the students exactly what happened to those who tried to play the “righteous hero.”

It wasn’t that the students didn’t know what kind of person Su Nanfeng truly was; they simply didn’t dare to offend her.

In school, she relied on her good looks and superb acting skills, aided by lackeys like Ding Yi, to cultivate the image of a model student. Even if her academic grades were poor, her exceptional musical talent allowed her to garner endless goodwill from the school administration.

To the outside world and the teachers, Su Nanfeng was the face of the school. Her appearances at various recitals every year brought glory to the institution.

To those inside, Su Nanfeng was a nightmare for many students.

One either joined the small circle led by her to bully others, or took a long detour whenever they saw her to ensure a peaceful coexistence.

Gu Xizhou was the first person to ever defy her so openly.

And it was this “first” that provided Su Nanfeng with a sense of amusement, leading her to toy with Gu Xizhou persistently for all this time.

Su Nanfeng’s family background predestined her to be unscrupulous in this campaign of bullying. Even in the “future” of her dreams, Gu Xizhou had no way to make Su Nanfeng receive the punishment she deserved through the lens of “school bullying”; she could only send her to prison through other methods.

Without sound laws and regulations, and without the supervision of powerful social institutions, Su Nanfeng… and every bully like her, could almost always get away scot-free.

Gu Xizhou had never received an apology or compensation from the other party. Nor did she crave one.

A bully’s remorse is just like a scumbag’s belated affection—cheaper than dirt. Their repentance and atonement are worthless to those they have tormented and the lives they have destroyed.

Even though, in every dark, desolate night following an incident of bullying, Gu Xizhou wished she could give Su Nanfeng a violent beating and send her to jail so her crimes would face justice—every morning when she woke up, she simply wished Su Nanfeng would vanish from her world.

To stay far away from her, to stop stealing her money, to let her have a full meal, and to let her grow up properly.

To let her break free from the mire, so that they would never cross paths again in life or death.

As for whether anyone would dare to stand up and speak for her or express trust in her under the threat of Su Nanfeng—Gu Xizhou had stopped dreaming of such luxuries.

But now, Su Zhiyi had said she believed her. What a weighty sentence that was.

Looking at the tenderness and encouragement flickering on the girl’s face, Gu Xizhou felt a sudden, inexplicable surge of sadness.

She suddenly thought of the week-long nightmare where she had witnessed the other girl’s death. Until the moment she died, that poor woman who had been sacrificed as an innocent victim in “Gu Xizhou’s plot to revenge Su Nanfeng”, could still offer Gu Xizhou a gentle, ethereal smile.

She had said: “Xizhou, in your next life, you must grow up well.”

When Gu Xizhou informed her of the origin of all the retaliation, the woman didn’t resent her; she simply felt pity for her… A pity so deep she could still hold on to a final shred of kindness for her.

That shred of kindness was like the final straw that utterly broke Gu Xizhou, leaving her unable to live yet unable to die.

After Su Zhiyi jumped from the building, Gu Xizhou spent the rest of her life in infinite regret and nightmares.

Gu Xizhou couldn’t help but wonder: if her future would turn out like that, what was the point of her revenge against Su Nanfeng?

Furthermore, was that even “revenge” against Su Nanfeng? It was an attempt to eradicate the shadows of her youth at the cost of all the happiness in the rest of her life. She lost all possibility of joy and buried her entire life.

Gu Xizhou, you lost big time.

As Gu Xizhou sat on the bed thinking this, the voice of 0820 suddenly rang in her mind: “Then how about trying to tell Su Zhiyi?”

“Tell her what a horrible person her twin sister is.”

“How about making her stay away from Su Nanfeng, let her protect you, and be with you?”

But would Su Zhiyi truly choose to believe a stranger and turn against her own sister?

Looking into Su Zhiyi’s expectant eyes, Gu Xizhou’s throat tightened. She clenched her fists and only spoke after a long silence: “I…”

Just as she started her sentence, the ward door swung open with a clatter.

Startled, Gu Xizhou looked toward the door along with Su Zhiyi and Song Qiao.

A female Alpha, about 1.8 meters tall, stood at the door. Seeing Song Qiao, she gave an embarrassed smile and said sheepishly, “Ah, sorry, you must be Xizhou’s homeroom teacher… I’m late because I had to work overtime.”

“Thank you so much for bringing Xizhou to the hospital.”

Looking at that tall figure standing outside the door, the words at the tip of Gu Xizhou’s tongue died; she could no longer say anything to Su Zhiyi.

Around 6:30 PM, Song Qiao left the hospital with Su Zhiyi, who had come to visit.

Before leaving, Su Zhiyi exchanged contact information with Gu Xizhou and repeatedly urged her to tell her if there were any problems.

After they left, Gu Jing placed the takeout to the side and muttered, “Are you in the same class as Chairman Su’s daughter again?”

Gu Xizhou nodded. “Yes.” After a moment of thought, she added, “But this isn’t the classmate from middle school named Su Nanfeng; she is Su Nanfeng’s younger sister, Su Zhiyi.”

Gu Jing realized: “So Chairman Su’s family has twins.”

Gu Xizhou nodded. Gu Jing took out the lunch box, and once opened, the aroma of braised pig’s trotters filled the ward. Gu Jing set up the bed tray, placed the meat down, and said somewhat eagerly to Gu Xizhou, “Just bought it, it’s still hot. Want a few bites?”

Gu Xizhou glanced at her favorite braised trotters, pursed her lips, and said, “My stomach isn’t feeling well. The doctor said I can’t eat greasy things.”

“Oh.”

Gu Jing responded lamely, then had to settle for holding her own meal and eating by the bedside.

The room suddenly fell into silence. The mother and daughter had nothing to say to each other; there were only the summer cicadas chirping outside, accompanying the lingering rays of the setting sun drifting in—a restless, noisy atmosphere.

Gu Xizhou took out her phone and saw that Su Zhiyi had already added her on WeChat. After a moment’s hesitation, she accepted the friend request. Clicking on the little rabbit avatar, she proactively sent a message: “Thank you for coming to see me today.”

Su Zhiyi didn’t reply immediately. Gu Jing, who had been eating silently, spoke up: “Xizhou…”

Without looking up, Gu Xizhou gave a muffled reply: “Hmm?”

Gu Jing thought about what the teacher had said this afternoon—that Gu Xizhou had been sent to the hospital after being struck in the abdomen—and she felt terrible. In fact, from the moment she left the company until she reached the hospital, Gu Jing had been suffering.

She was a typical Alpha. When she reached the right age, she went on blind dates and met Qin Xiang, who was five years older than her. Qin Xiang was a high school art teacher. Although he was older, he fit her criteria for marriage perfectly: good-looking, stable job, and willing to raise children. They had a whirlwind marriage and, a year later, had Gu Xizhou as if completing a mission.

Gu Jing was busy with work, throwing the money she earned back home. She didn’t smoke, drank only for social obligations, and didn’t stay out… she worked diligently for her wife and child.

But when Gu Xizhou was in the first year of middle school, Qin Xiang died of cancer. Gu Jing had sold their house to save him and ended up buried in debt. These past few years had been spent working feverishly to pay it back, leaving her with no energy to look after Gu Xizhou.

When Gu Xizhou was in the second year of middle school, Gu Jing was called to the school for the first time because Gu Xizhou had been in a fight. But the person Gu Xizhou had a conflict with was the daughter of the biggest investor in the laboratory where she worked. She couldn’t say much; for the sake of her job, she had to force Gu Xizhou to apologize.

Later, Gu Xizhou once asked if she could transfer schools, but Gu Jing had no money and couldn’t easily move house, so the idea was dropped.

But today…

Gu Jing took a deep breath, looking up at her daughter’s body, which was much thinner and frailer than those of her peers. Her eyes turned red. “Were you beaten by someone today?”

Gu Xizhou was stunned and looked at Gu Jing in surprise. “Huh?”

Gu Jing took a deep breath, looking at her daughter’s youthful face, and pressed on: “The person who hit you—was it the same person who knocked over your meal tray when you first transferred schools in middle school?”

“The other daughter of Chairman Su. The one named Su Nanfeng.”

Gu Xizhou’s eyes gradually widened as she looked at her mother in disbelief.

Her mother, who was over forty, exhausted by life, and always smelling of alcohol, sat there holding a food tray with one hand and scratching her hair with the other. She furrowed her brows, looking deeply distressed: “If it’s her hitting you, let me transfer you to another school.”

Gu Jing truly had no other options.

When she found out her daughter was being bullied and sent to the hospital, her first reaction was anger—so angry she wanted to grab Gu Xizhou by the collar and tell her to hit them back.

But once she arrived at the hospital and saw such a tiny daughter sitting on the bed, she couldn’t say a word. She was so small, like a rabbit; how could she hit back? Even as an Alpha, strength isn’t guaranteed for everyone. Furthermore, the person hitting her daughter had a wealthy and powerful family and was a major investor in her own research lab.

How could she fight back?

What kind of godd*mn mess is this!

Gu Jing’s fury leaked away like air from a balloon, leaving behind only deep misery. Life had drained all the spirit out of this widowed, middle-aged woman; her only hope for living now was to finish paying off the debt and raise her child.

Living meant enduring all sorts of injustices. Her child was being bullied, yet she didn’t even have the connections or the strength to ask for help.

Transferring schools was the only way out she could think of for Gu Xizhou.