Chapter 11: Scum’s Counterattack – 1

Around 11:10 PM, Su Zhiyi had finished her nightly routine. Wearing thin, snow-white silk pajamas, her long, soft hair loose, she lay in bed.

She opened WeChat to see if Gu Xizhou had replied to her message.

Tapping in, she found only her own messages: “Gu Xizhou, if you have time, can you tell me about what happened between you and my sister?”

“If she’s bullying you, you can tell me. I’ll help you.”

Su Zhiyi sat at the head of her bed, scrolling back and forth through her messages without a single reply.

She hesitated for a moment, then sent another message: “Gu Xizhou, are you feeling better?”

Gu Xizhou didn’t answer, but her old middle school friend Mu Zhiqing sent her a link.

Switching screens, Su Zhiyi saw the title “Mu Zhilan’s Daughter Bullies Classmate” and her eyes widened.

Messages from Mu Zhiqing flooded in: “Zhiyi Zhiyi Zhiyi!”

“Quick, look! Listen to the recording, is that your sister? She’s so vicious, bringing a group to hit her classmate.”

Su Zhiyi looked shocked and immediately clicked on the post. She found that the victim was none other than the person Su Nanfeng had kicked into the hospital today—Gu Xizhou.

The post was written from Gu Jing’s perspective. A pitiful working stiff, widowed in middle-age, working herself to the bone with blood, sweat, and tears to raise her only daughter, only to discover today that her child had been bullied at school and beaten so badly she was hospitalized.

The person bullying her daughter was the child of a public figure. The mother was also one of the investors in her own company.

Gu Jing’s words were full of bitterness as she laid out the history of Gu Xizhou being bullied for years.

From the first day Gu Xizhou transferred in her second year of middle school, when she stopped the other party from bullying a classmate, Su Nanfeng had targeted her, starting an endless campaign of torment.

Gu Jing’s words were like bloody teardrops. She bitterly regretted her own reluctance to offend people, ignoring her daughter’s feelings, until her daughter was beaten into the hospital by Su Nanfeng, maybe even close to being beaten to death. Only then did she wake up and expose this scar.

Su Zhiyi scrolled through the post, line by line, and saw many photos of various parts of Gu Xizhou’s body covered in purple and black bruises.

These were all records Gu Xizhou had made after being beaten.

Over the months and years, this weak child, in her own way, had silently gathered evidence, hoping that one day an adult would bring her justice.

In those photos, Gu Xizhou’s thin shoulders, her bony arms, the inside of her slender thighs—all bore purple and black bruises left by Su Nanfeng and others.

“I am 1.82 meters tall, very big as an alpha. Xizhou’s Omega Mother was also tall, at 1.73 meters.”

“But Xizhou is only 1.58 meters.”

In the picture, a family of three stood at the entrance of a park, wearing very happy expressions.

Su Zhiyi continued scrolling to the next line and saw Gu Jing write this: “She’s sixteen, just differentiated as an alpha, and still so small. I used to think she was just a late bloomer. Later, I realized she just couldn’t eat enough.”

“Those kids, Su Nanfeng and the others, never let her eat properly at school. They also stole all her pocket money.”

“Besides her bus pass, Xizhou has no money in her bag, she can’t buy anything.”

Reading this, Su Zhiyi felt a sharp sting in her nose. Tears filled her eyes and fell like beads from a broken string, pattering down.

She clicked on the recording. Amidst the chaotic sounds of hitting, she heard her sister’s shrill voice: “You still dare to glare at me!”

“You’ve got nerve, Gu Xizhou. I see the lessons I taught you weren’t enough.”

Amidst the dull thuds of bodies hitting the floor, Su Zhiyi heard clear grunts of pain.

Mixed with the jeers of Ding Yi and others, Su Nanfeng seemed to yank someone up and drag them forward, letting out a scoff: “Didn’t get enough to eat at noon, did you? Here, big sister will hand out a few more slaps.”

As the words fell, several crisp slapping sounds followed.

Su Zhiyi’s tears immediately fell onto the phone screen. She let out a choked sob, covering her mouth. Tears quickly flowed over the back of her hand. She couldn’t bear to look anymore.

She vaguely knew Su Nanfeng had done bad things, but seeing it confirmed, she realized just how cruel this had been for Gu Xizhou.

No wonder she became like that…

Su Zhiyi immediately exited the app. Through her tear-blurred vision, she seemed to see that Gu Xizhou had replied to her.

Su Zhiyi hastily wiped her tears and opened Gu Xizhou’s WeChat. She saw the other girl had replied with several messages: “Thank you for your concern. I’m very happy you said you’d help me. You’re the only person in all these years who has proactively offered me help. I’m very grateful to you.”

“Su Nanfeng is your sister, but what’s between her and me really isn’t your business. You don’t have to do anything for me.”

“I’ll use my own way to protect myself.”

“Some methods might affect your family. I hope you can understand my actions.”

“I just want to live well.”

Grow up well.

Su Zhiyi’s tears instantly flowed even more fiercely. Amidst faint sighs of sorrow, the young girl pursed her lips, and with tears streaming, typed out a reply on the screen: “A wrong done deserves punishment.”

“No matter who it is, I will always stand on the side of the person needing help.”

She knew what consequences Gu Xizhou’s actions would bring to her family, to Su Nanfeng, but she was willing to stand on Gu Xizhou’s side.

After all, this was the single turning point in Gu Xizhou’s tragic life. May her life from now on have no more dark clouds.

————

Mu Zhilan was a very famous young pianist in China. Coupled with her upcoming global tour, there had been a very strong promotional push recently.

With the public having a strong memory of her, the sudden news of her daughter bullying a classmate undoubtedly added even more attention to the incident.

Very quickly, the matter spread from a forum post to various social media platforms.

With “school bullying” as a social hot topic, many caring people flocked to Mu Zhilan’s social media accounts to demand why her child wasn’t properly raised.

Some busybodies happened to be on the same subway as Gu Xizhou that morning and recorded the scene of her confronting the voyeur. They uploaded it online.

Seeing this, netizens became even more furious.

“Such a good kid, bullied for so many years, yet still daring to stand up when seeing a social problem. The adults around her are less than her.”

“The thought that she was targeted by bullies because she helped a classmate… it breaks my heart.”

“She’s so small but has so much strength. Let her eat well, she’ll grow up to be someone useful to society.”

The people’s anger turned into a flood, surging toward Su Tianyu’s family.

They dug up Su Nanfeng’s personal social media accounts, even mistakenly targeting her twin sister, Su Zhiyi.

Soon, Su Zhiyi’s social media was packed with private messages, stuff like: “School bully, huh? Little gangster, let me show you what social bullying is! Why don’t you just die!”

“Think being rich and pretty is everything? One day society will teach you how to behave, and you’ll pay a heavy price!”

Anyone would feel terrible reading these comments. Facing the barrage of private messages and tags, Su Zhiyi shut down her Weibo account in the middle of the night.

At midnight, the busiest time for social media, Gu Xizhou finally registered an account, verified her identity, and tagged Su Zhiyi, posting her first Weibo message:

“Hello everyone, I am the bullied student, Gu Xizhou. Thank you all for your concern and for demanding justice on my behalf. The reason my mother and I chose to expose this matter is not only hoping that the bully Su Nanfeng will apologize to me, but also, more importantly, hoping no other child has to suffer the same torment I did.

“I know everyone is very angry, but please address the issue specifically. @The Little Mushroom-Picking Girl is NOT Su Nanfeng herself. It is Su Nanfeng’s twin sister, Su Zhiyi.”

“Su Nanfeng comes from a divorced family. After the mothers separated, the two sisters had very little contact. Su Zhiyi was also unaware of Su Nanfeng’s situation.”

“Su Zhiyi is different from Su Nanfeng. She is a very good classmate. This morning, she was the one who caught the pervert with me on the subway. After I was beaten, she came to visit me on behalf of the class.”

“She is an innocent, good girl. I hope everyone does not mistakenly target her.”

…

Gu Xizhou spoke earnestly, hoping to do everything possible to remove Su Zhiyi from this online courtroom atmosphere where all of the Su family were deemed guilty.

In the darkness, Su Nanfeng sat against her headboard, looking at the screen full of curses directed at her name on social media. Her eyes nearly burst from their sockets with rage.

“Gu Xizhou…”

Su Nanfeng clenched her fists, grinding her teeth: “You’ve got guts!”

Fine, very fine! She had some tricks up her sleeve!

She even felt a faint regret—why hadn’t she hit harder? Completely crushed that little rabbit’s backbone, so she wouldn’t be in this mess now, dragging herself into it.