Chapter 10: Scum’s Redemption – 5

Gu Xizhou looked at her mother in some astonishment. She truly hadn’t expected her to say such a thing.

After all, she had brought this up with Gu Jing before. Due to financial reasons and various other considerations, Gu Jing had presented it as a difficult issue.

She had even gently told Gu Xizhou that if she ran into Su Nanfeng, she should just try to stay out of her way.

Most parents, relying on their own life experience, react in one of two ways when faced with school bullying:

One: If fighting back is possible, they try to make their child fight back. Using violence to counter violence is the magic spell against school bullying.

Two: If fighting back is impossible, they try to protect themselves, avoid provoking the other party, and stay out of their way.

At least these two types of parents still show concern for the victim. The third type of parent is far, far worse.

They excel at victim-blaming. When their child is bullied, their first reaction is: “It takes two to clap. Didn’t you do something wrong?”

For example, if bullied for their appearance, they’ll say: “Who told you to be so fat/ugly/sloppy/messy? People don’t like the look of you, so of course they’ll hit you!”

Then comes: “I told you not to act like that. Can’t you just stay out of her sight?”

In another case, standing up for justice leads to retaliation, and the child gets a cold splash of criticism: “Who told you to stick your nose into other people’s business? It wasn’t your problem, and now look, you’ve made yourself a target.”

Bullies exploit the passivity of bystanders and the selfishness of human nature to isolate and utterly trample those children who cannot protect themselves.

Some parents seem to believe that misfortune always has an internal cause. They forget that those who bully the weak will never miss a chance to vent their cruelty.

The ingrained human tendency to fawn over the powerful, in a sense, fuels a bully’s arrogance.

They fail to understand this fundamental truth—eliminating the strong’s abuses and punishing evil, while aiding the weak, is true strength.

For a time, Gu Xizhou had thought Gu Jing was the third type of parent.

Thinking she was weak, useless, unable to fight back, asking for trouble, and that’s why Su Nanfeng bullied her so viciously.

She had never discussed with her mother in depth how to solve this problem.

Fundamentally, Gu Xizhou and Gu Jing weren’t close. Before Qin Xiang died, her alpha mother was just a numb money-making machine, working constant overtime, rarely coming home.

After Qin Xiang’s death, Gu Jing worked frantically to pay off debt, drinking for business socializing, leaving her with no extra capacity to understand Gu Xizhou’s mental state.

Given Gu Jing’s abilities, just providing for Gu Xizhou was already a monumental feat.

Transferring schools—this was the first time Gu Jing had considered Gu Xizhou’s position and offered the most constructive suggestion.

Gu Xizhou pursed her lips. She felt like her chest was submerged in a vat of warm water—warm and astringent, making her want to cry.

“I…”

Before she could answer, 0820 started shouting in her mind: “Don’t even consider transferring schools! Are you just going to run away and let Su Nanfeng off the hook?”

“At the parents’ meeting tomorrow, who knows what other dirt she’ll throw on you!”

“After you leave, who knows who she’ll sink her demonic claws into next? Are you really going to let this devil roam your school, tormenting one student after another, just like you?”

“Gu Xizhou, I have a way to solve the Su Nanfeng problem!”

“Don’t be afraid, don’t be a coward! Face her head-on!”

0820 was shouting hysterically, like a complete breakdown. Gu Xizhou endured the sharp pain in her head, gripping her phone tightly, and met her mother’s expectant and uneasy expression with a strained face.

“I think…”

She hesitated. One part of her wanted to flee, to escape this nightmare of her youth. Another part was influenced by an unknown force, feeling reluctant to leave.

Truth be told, after fighting back against Su Nanfeng today, she was no longer as afraid of her fists and malice.

If Su Nanfeng kept treating her like this…

As Gu Xizhou wavered, the phone she’d placed on the bed tray vibrated.

She looked down and saw a new message from Su Zhiyi: “You’re welcome, we’re classmates.”

“If you ever have any trouble, I’ll help you.”

Gu Xizhou quickly scanned her message, and a surge of immense strength rose in her heart.

She didn’t know exactly what this feeling was. Perhaps it was because of that week of nightmares, making her feel that as long as there was one person named Su Zhiyi in the whole world who understood her, she could try to become better.

For that virtual person in the dream who still worried about her even as death approached, Gu Xizhou looked up at Gu Jing, who was seated by the bed holding her food container, looking at her expectantly. Gathering her courage, she said: “Today… Su Nanfeng hit me.”

Gu Xizhou took a deep breath, and as Gu Jing’s eyes widened, she held up five fingers: “She punched me five times.”

Gu Jing couldn’t even eat anymore. Her voice instantly rose: “Five times! Where did she hurt you?”

She quickly put her food aside and stood up, reaching to lift Gu Xizhou’s clothes to see where she was injured.

The old mother was tall and sturdy, like Tarzan, picking up Gu Xizhou like she was a scrawny monkey, ready to pull her clothes open and inspect the hit areas.

Embarrassed, Gu Xizhou’s ears flushed red with urgency: “Mom…”

“It was my stomach… she punched me in the stomach… a bit of bruising…”

Only then did Gu Jing put Gu Xizhou back down, looking a bit at a loss: “Does it still hurt?”

Gu Xizhou nodded, then shook her head.

Biting her lip, she looked timidly like a rabbit at her teary-eyed old mother, her tone very hesitant: “This time when she hit me, I fought back…”

“I bit her shoulder and face. They’ll probably call you in tomorrow.”

Gu Jing sat back on the edge of the bed, a bit dazed. She made an “Oh” sound before remembering something and praising: “Good that you bit her. If she hits you again, hit back next time.”

Gu Xizhou hadn’t expected this response. Her eyes, numb for so long, now glistened with tears as she looked uneasily at Gu Jing: “But I bit her so hard, I think her family will make me pay for it.”

At the mention of having to pay money, Gu Jing’s heart chilled a bit too.

But one look at her daughter, already on the verge of crumbling from anxiety, made her quickly say: “Don’t be scared, how much could a bite cost to pay for!”

The line had already been crossed. Gu Xizhou had been hit hard this time, and Gu Jing was feeling a spark of anger too.

She was a person destined to always be running a frantic race through life. People like her were best at facing terrible situations while still maintaining an optimistic mindset.

What hardship could compare to losing your spouse in middle age?

Gu Jing made a resolute decision: “She hit you. This can’t just end here. We’re calling the Police!”

Gu Xizhou’s eyes lit up even more, nodding vigorously: “Yeah!”

0820, silent in her mind for a long while, added at that moment: “Didn’t you secretly record things before… and the photos of your bruises after being hit? Get them all out and show your… Mom.”

Realizing her mother was on her side, Gu Xizhou’s gloomy mood brightened, and she became proactive: “Actually, she’s ganged up on me with others before. So I started carrying a recording pen. I also took photos of the bruises she left on me.”

Gu Jing said urgently: “Let me see.”

Gu Xizhou told her: “The stuff is in my schoolbag.”

With a plan in mind, Gu Jing started dialing 110 to report the incident. Efficiently recounting the situation, she then began contacting her old classmates and social media contacts for help.

0820 didn’t forget to give advice: “Gu Xizhou, weren’t your grades really good in middle school? Tell your mom about that.”

Good grades could help establish the image of a top student.

When she heard Gu Jing preparing to use the media, fighting magic with magic, 0820 egged her on: “If we use the internet to amplify this, we need to pick a peak time.”

“Su Nanfeng’s mother is Mu Zhilan, who has a very strong public profile. If you’re exposing her, you must include her mother.”

“Also, don’t forget that you and Su Zhiyi caught a pervert on the subway today.”

“And you have to be fast. Ideally, get this story fermenting online tonight…”

Spurred on by 0820, a post titled “Famous Pianist Mu Zhilan’s Daughter Bullies Classmate for Years” rapidly went viral online around 11 PM that night.

Simultaneously, Su Nanfeng’s mother’s secretary received a phone call from the Police Station.