Chapter 18: The Little Pitiful One Eats – 3

Gu Xizhou shook her head, giving no answer.

Su Zhiyi smiled kindly and said to Gu Xizhou, very pleased, “See? You wouldn’t take your anger about Nanfeng out on me, right?”

Gu Xizhou nodded. “Mm.”

Su Zhiyi smiled slightly, looking at the other girl’s youthful, tender face. Her tone held a hint of relief. “Then I feel the same way.”

Perhaps it was the shared experience of catching the voyeur in the subway station, or arriving late together, but Gu Xizhou had a very good impression of Su Zhiyi. At least now, she could completely shed the shadow that face had cast.

To her, Su Nanfeng was Su Nanfeng, and Su Zhiyi was Su Zhiyi.

The same appearance, but a different soul.

What a pity, though, that by the time some people understood this, it was already at an irreparable stage.

0820 observed the interaction between the two young women, her thoughts inevitably drifting to some old matters from the past.

————

In the second semester of her first year of high school, Gu Jing met a very decent divorced Omega and remarried.

The other party’s circumstances were good; they paid off Gu Jing’s debts. The only flaw was that the other party had a daughter around Gu Xizhou’s age.

To integrate into the new family, Gu Jing focused all her attention on pleasing her stepdaughter, paying absolutely no attention to Gu Xizhou.

Having lost her mother’s care, Gu Xizhou realized more deeply than ever that the only person she could rely on in this world was herself. To survive, she integrated herself into Su Nanfeng’s clique.

She was a clever child and knew how to pique Su Nanfeng’s interest. Even her flattery was done subtly, without making a fuss.

Perhaps she overdid it, causing the adolescent Su Nanfeng to briefly develop feelings for her.

The emotion born from torment was an addiction Su Nanfeng couldn’t shake. Even Gu Xizhou hadn’t expected things to evolve to that point.

Su Nanfeng’s same-sex feelings for her were partly a rebellion against Su Tianyu, and partly the uncontrollable hormones of youth.

For over a year, Su Nanfeng’s attitude towards her changed markedly. She even began confiding in her, speaking of her feelings about her family, her concern for her younger sister.

Su Nanfeng hated Su Tianyu, and she hated Mu Zhilan too. But Mu Zhilan had already passed away; she could no longer direct her resentment at her.

Gu Xizhou came to recognize that Su Nanfeng was simply a piece of filth.

Even if Su Nanfeng inflicted harm on her person, she had long stopped caring. It was only when one struck at what she truly valued that she would feel pain.

Young and tender, yet already giving birth to malice, Gu Xizhou hatched a brilliant plan: she would destroy everything Su Nanfeng cared about.

Her sister, her family. She would make her lose everyone’s support, leaving her with nothing.

This plan progressed very smoothly.

She coaxed information out of Su Nanfeng, learning that Su Zhiyi might be sent to Swallow City Medical University to study. So she put it as her first choice on her college entrance exam application.

Through Su Nanfeng, she came to understand Su Zhiyi.

According to Su Nanfeng, her sister was like a little white rabbit: naive, soft, full of goodwill towards all things—a kind and lawful individual, completely her opposite.

Gu Xizhou dismissed this with scorn.

On a rotten vine, could two identical-looking fruits possibly be one good and one bad?

Gu Xizhou didn’t believe it.

Especially since Su Zhiyi had a face nearly identical to Su Nanfeng’s, she was even more suspicious. Perhaps Su Nanfeng’s wickedness was on the surface, in her bones. Maybe Su Zhiyi’s wickedness was inside, in the depths of her soul.

Either way, they were equally disgusting people, unworthy of anyone’s sincere regard.

According to the plan, after that “heroic rescue” in the subway, Gu Xizhou obtained Su Zhiyi’s contact information.

Gu Xizhou gave up her desired major in Law and enrolled in Clinical Medicine. Su Zhiyi, forced by her mother, chose Engineering Medicine.

According to Su Tianyu’s reasoning, without a basic medical background, studying management wouldn’t equip her to take over a medical device group.

Therefore, throughout her university years, Su Zhiyi’s coursework was always extremely heavy.

Despite this, Su Zhiyi still participated in club activities.

The club she joined was rather niche; not a large organization like the Red Cross, but an association called “Youth Companion.”

It was a chapter established by the Minor Protection Association at various universities. The primary activity was assisting the Minor Protection Association in giving relevant youth mental health lectures at middle schools.

Lecture topics included “Sex Education, Anti-Bullying, Anti-Domestic Violence,” and so on.

The first time she went to the club to introduce herself, Su Zhiyi was surprised to see Gu Xizhou. “What a coincidence.”

Gu Xizhou wasn’t surprised. She had come precisely for her, but to mask her intentions, she also smiled and said, “What a coincidence.”

After that, everything progressed naturally.

Since they were in the same club, they naturally ended up in the same department, both as members of the Publicity Department, meeting almost weekly for club meetings.

The first month involved group activities. Starting the second month, Gu Xizhou, seeing through Su Zhiyi’s warm-hearted nature, used the pretext that she needed to give a speech but lacked confidence to ask Su Zhiyi to guide and practice with her.

Their practice spot was the Half-Slope Forest behind the library.

Because the vegetation was thick and lush, and the environment was quiet and secluded, it was especially suitable for campus couples’ secret rendezvous.

Hence, that place was also known as “Lovers’ Slope.”

Their first practice session together was on a Friday evening in early November.

At 7:30 PM, Gu Xizhou waited for Su Zhiyi downstairs at the Omega dormitory. After meeting up, she led her to a monitored pavilion on Lovers’ Slope and recited her speech manuscript in front of her.

Although it was a private meeting between an Alpha and an Omega, Gu Xizhou’s appearance was too delicate and frail, nothing like a typical Alpha. Coupled with her assistance on the subway, Su Zhiyi had almost no guard against her.

Even so, Gu Xizhou didn’t act rashly.

Throughout the entire process, she played her role perfectly—a person seeking help.

The surrounding area was quiet, with only the occasional whispers of lovers and the buzz of early autumn mosquitoes drifting into the pavilion.

Su Zhiyi had a constitution that attracted mosquitoes.

In such late autumn, she wore a white, asymmetrical slip dress with thin straps. Her long, jet-black hair was casually clipped up with a shark clip, and she draped a light-colored blazer over her shoulders. Wearing matching low heels, she sat in the pavilion amidst the dense forest, raising her hand every so often to wave away the mosquitoes around her, her delicate brows furrowing in clear distress.

Gu Xizhou’s delivery of the speech was halting and stumbling, and Su Zhiyi listened, restless and uneasy.

Gu Xizhou’s original intention had been to vex her a little, but seeing her sitting in the pavilion, stomping her feet slightly from the mosquito bites, she unexpectedly felt a pang of sympathy.

Gu Xizhou sighed, stopped the script, and said apologetically, “I’m sorry, I didn’t expect there to be so many mosquitoes here. Maybe we should just call it quits for today and head back.”

Su Zhiyi paused, her hand stilled mid-air as she waved away a bug, and smiled nonchalantly. “It’s fine, I can bear it.”

“You were almost done, weren’t you? Just the last paragraph left. Go on.”

The young woman, somewhere between stranger and acquaintance, lifted her head and offered a bright smile.

Maybe it was because the grove was too dark, or the bright moon too dim. As Gu Xizhou looked at her fair, pale face, she felt as if all the moonlight had gathered on her, her entire being radiating a hazy silver glow.

Gu Xizhou pursed her lips, forced to admit inwardly: the two Su sisters truly had beautiful shells.

Especially Su Zhiyi; even on a moonlit night, she seemed to glow white, as if emitting light.

Damn it, why did devils always appear in the mortal world with the faces of angels? The world was just too unfair!