Due to the dormitory brawl the previous night, Gu Xizhou, Su Nanfeng, and the others were summoned by the school leaders after dinner.
Inside the instructors’ office, the six of them were harshly scolded and ordered to write an 800-word self-criticism essay.
They shuffled out of the office, dejected, with only a sliver of fiery sunset clouds left on the horizon. As they exited the office building, Su Nanfeng called out to Gu Xizhou: “Shorty…”
Gu Xizhou knew Su Nanfeng was calling her, but since a person couldn’t care less about a dog’s barking, she pretended not to hear and kept walking.
Su Nanfeng’s anger flared, and she unconsciously raised her voice: “Gu Xizhou!”
Gu Xizhou took off running, faster than if she were being chased by a dog. Ding Yi, standing next to Su Nanfeng, immediately yelled to their lackeys: “Get her!”
Where there were no cameras, they could beat her to death without consequence.
But unfortunately, despite her small size, Gu Xizhou was very fast. No one knew where she found the energy after running twenty laps the previous night and being drilled by instructors all day, but she vanished in a flash.
Ding Yi and the others chased her all the way. When they reached the assembly point at the training grounds, the whole group was dog-tired.
The massive expenditure of energy had exhausted Gu Xizhou. The moment she reached her class’s territory, she collapsed forward without any grace, sprawled on the ground, panting and too lazy to move a finger.
Her classmates quickly gathered around, looking tense: “Gu Xizhou, why are you running so fast?”
“Did the instructor punish you again?”
Gu Xizhou was out of breath, her heart pounding like thunder, her throat burning from the run. She weakly raised a finger and rasped out: “Water…”
Beside her, Su Zhiyi hastily unscrewed her thermos and poured some water into the cap.
Other classmates helped Gu Xizhou sit up, and Su Zhiyi quickly brought the cap to her lips, saying with concern, “Here, drink slowly.”
Gu Xizhou bowed her head and drank in small sips. After catching her breath for a moment, she pointed towards the direction she had come from, her voice still hoarse: “They were chasing me…”
Following her pointing finger, her classmates looked over. In the deepening twilight, twenty angled light pillars around the training grounds cut through the gloom.
Su Nanfeng, leading Ding Yi, jogged to the edge of the training grounds. She braced her hands on her knees, bent over, completely out of breath. Turning her head towards Gu Xizhou’s direction, she saw Su Zhiyi fussing over her, and she just exploded.
This damn shorty!
Su Nanfeng was furious. Just as she was about to curse, she saw Su Zhiyi shove her thermos into Gu Xizhou’s arms and march towards her with a menacing air.
At that instant, Su Nanfeng felt like a cat grabbed by the scruff of the neck, every nerve on edge.
She involuntarily straightened her back, pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from her forehead, and watched her sister’s approaching figure with rigid seriousness.
Before Su Zhiyi even got close, Su Nanfeng plastered on a smile and greeted her: “Zhiyi…”
Su Zhiyi stopped before her, scanned her over, and seeing no injuries, spoke with undisguised annoyance: “Why are you bullying Gu Xizhou again?”
Su Nanfeng was rendered speechless by the accusation. Her eyes widened slightly, and her tone turned aggrieved: “Bullying her? I haven’t even provoked her, okay?”
Su Zhiyi frowned, clearly disagreeing. She said, unhappily, “You say you didn’t bully her, then why were you leading a group to chase her? And wasn’t it you who had someone pour water on her last night?”
“Nanfeng, how much worse are you going to get? Aren’t you afraid of making Mom angry?”
“I…” Su Nanfeng choked, then pointed a trembling finger far off at Gu Xizhou, full of resentment: “I didn’t do anything yesterday, and she threw a basin of water at me! And she made me run twenty laps!”
“Exactly who is your real sister here, her or me? Why do you protect her so much?”
Su Zhiyi scoffed coldly, her tone harsh: “When you used to hit her, did you ever think she’d throw water at you? I say she should have done it long ago, to teach you a lesson, so you’d stop being such a bully.”
Su Nanfeng was livid. She stamped her foot and said bitterly, “You speak up for her like this… do you like her? I’m going to tell Mom you’re dating!”
Angry as she was, she spouted whatever came to mind, like a kindergartner.
Su Zhiyi found it laughable: “So you think I’m good to her because I like her?”
Su Nanfeng stiffened her neck and said stubbornly, “Why else? Isn’t that just how you Omegas are? Naive and childish… If you didn’t like her, why would you protect her instead of me?”
Su Zhiyi felt her own temper rising, her temple throbbing with anger. She sighed, rubbing her forehead, and it took a moment for her to calm down. She spoke patiently, “Nanfeng, the reason I’m so good to Gu Xizhou is because you were so bad to her.”
“You are my sister, we are family. When a family member does so many wrongs to someone, the family has to offer some form of compensation.”
Su Nanfeng’s voice instantly died in her throat.
The early autumn evening breeze was cool, brushing Su Nanfeng’s cheek, bringing a slight chill that calmed her long-irritated mind.
Su Nanfeng looked up, staring blankly at her sister standing across from her, feeling at a loss.
In the dim night, her sister, almost as tall as her, stood before her, slender, eyes bright: “Mom gave her two million in compensation, and I help her within my ability. Even she understands that my kindness to her is actually helping to fill in the hole you dug.”
“She is the victim, and she understands all that. Why don’t you?”
You’re still childishly thinking no one loves you or cares about you, and then you vent that emotion on others.
Her older sister was indeed a brainless moron.
Su Zhiyi let out a heavy sigh, looking at Su Nanfeng with a mixture of disappointment and frustration.
Su Nanfeng bit her lower lip, her eyes rimmed red: “I…”
She had always felt that her mother only cared about her designation, and that Mom favored her younger sister. After the last incident, she thought she had disappointed her mother and sister, and that they wanted nothing more to do with her. She never imagined this was the reason.
Su Nanfeng felt a swelling in her chest; all the grievance, bitterness, and unwillingness were drifting away.
Though they weren’t identical twins, they still shared some level of telepathic connection. Just as now, Su Zhiyi could perceive her older sister’s thoughts.
She sighed and said to Su Nanfeng, “Don’t bully classmates anymore. Stay away from Gu Xizhou.”
“The more you bully her, the better I will be to her. Because the harm you’ve done to her is something I can never make up for in this lifetime.”
“Neither money, nor any subsequent compensation, can undo your bullying of her.”
Su Nanfeng pursed her lips and mumbled: “Okay…”
Seeing this, Su Zhiyi looked at her with a complex expression: “Nanfeng, be a good person. You weren’t always this bad.”
It seemed like all parents of bad kids believed their children could change, they just lacked discipline.
But throwing one’s weight around, being courted and flattered—once you get used to it, it’s like an addiction to poppies, incredibly hard to quit.
And yet, at this moment, faced with her sister’s sincere counsel, Su Nanfeng still wanted to agree. She hoped that under her sister’s supervision, she could try to be the “good child” her parents wanted.
After lecturing Su Nanfeng, Su Zhiyi turned to Ding Yi next to her: “Ding Yi…”
Ding Yi’s scalp prickled: “Yeah…?”
Su Zhiyi looked at her coldly, her tone level: “From now on, keep out of Nanfeng’s business. Don’t use her name to bully people.”
“If you do it again, I won’t hesitate to personally visit your parents and have a good talk about your behavior.”
“And if you’re not afraid of your parents, and your parents won’t discipline you, I will help the students you bully file a police report.”
Let the legal system teach them a harsh lesson.
She could see it now: these idle, rich second-generation kids, without adult supervision, ran rampant, doing whatever they pleased.
Leaving these troublemakers alone was harming other ordinary students.
Now that she’d stepped in, Su Zhiyi didn’t mind managing a few more people.
Even though Su Zhiyi was an Omega, Ding Yi had grown up with her from kindergarten through elementary school. Hearing that tone, she instinctively looked at Su Nanfeng.
Su Nanfeng shot her a subtle glare, and Ding Yi quickly said, “Yes, Sister Zhiyi.”
Having scolded them all and seeing they were still willing to listen, Su Zhiyi breathed a sigh of relief. She thought for a moment and added, “Tonight, remember to apologize to Gu Xizhou.”
“This…” Ding Yi hesitated. The thought of apologizing to that shorty made her seethe with reluctance. Gu Xizhou had beaten them all up yesterday, left them in such a sorry state; they weren’t about to let it go.
But Ding Yi wasn’t the one calling the shots. For now, Su Nanfeng would agree to anything for her sister: “Alright, we will.”
With Su Nanfeng’s promise, Su Zhiyi left, somewhat satisfied.
Su Nanfeng stood there, watching Su Zhiyi’s retreating figure. Thinking about what her sister had just said, she felt a secret little thrill of happiness.
Seeing this, Ding Yi hurriedly asked, “Nanfeng, are we really going to listen to Sister Zhiyi…?”
Su Nanfeng folded her arms, watching her sister’s tall, slender back. Her tone turned cold: “Listen. Why wouldn’t we?”
It was just an apology. As long as things looked peaceful with Gu Xizhou, Su Zhiyi would pay less attention to her.
They could settle their scores later, slowly.
————
After the day’s military training ended, late at night, the students flooded into the bathhouse.
Unbothered, Gu Xizhou took a very refreshing cold shower.
After changing into her pajamas, she carried her basin to the sinks and started washing clothes with soap.
At that moment, Su Nanfeng, surrounded by her group, cornered Gu Xizhou. They shooed away the other students at the sinks and stood before her. Su Nanfeng folded her arms, squinting down at her: “Well, well, doing your own laundry?”
Gu Xizhou grabbed her basin with one hand, eyeing Su Nanfeng warily, ready to react: “What do you want?”
Su Nanfeng smiled good-naturedly: “Nothing, just thinking it must be hard for you.”
“Zhiyi told me to treat you right and make up for my past mistakes.”
She snapped her fingers, drawling lazily: “Ding Yi, get someone to help. Wash all of Gu Xizhou’s clothes.”
The sycophantic Ding Yi promptly kicked the chubby Wang Yiren beside her and barked, “Get on with it!”
Gu Xizhou’s eyes instantly went cold. She shielded her clothes, her voice hard: “Thanks, but I don’t need it.”
“Please move aside, don’t block other students from washing.”
Unprovoked kindness usually hid ill intent. For this pack of curs to be so obedient now, they were surely up to some mischief.
Especially since they were bullying other students. Gu Xizhou didn’t want any part of it; she wished they’d just scram.
