Su Nanfeng had no intention of letting it go. “I think you do need it.”
Together with her group, she blocked Gu Xizhou’s path. Ding Yi shot a look at the chubby Wang Yiren, who quickly stepped forward and placed her hands on Gu Xizhou’s basin, her expression timid: “Gu Xizhou, let me wash them for you.”
Gu Xizhou looked at Wang Yiren, at the fear on her face. For a moment, it was like seeing that future version of “herself.”
In that moment, a dull ache rose in her heart.
She asked herself: “If back in the bathroom that day, I hadn’t chosen to bite back, would the person being forced by Ding Yi to wash someone else’s dirty clothes today be me?”
The answer was yes.
If she had worried about Gu Jing’s job and chosen not to fight back, today’s Wang Yiren would be her right now.
She turned to Su Nanfeng, her expression very calm: “Is it true that if I refuse your ‘help’ tonight, you’ll go back and find ways to torment Wang Yiren?”
Su Nanfeng reached out, pulling Wang Yiren into a one-armed hug. She rubbed her head like petting a dog, grinning: “How could you say that? Our Nanfeng is all about class unity now.”
Gu Xizhou laughed scornfully. The experiences of her dreams flashed through her mind, and her eyes held much more fearlessness: “Su Nanfeng, that line is particularly ironic coming from you.”
“Your so-called ‘unity’ is just using your family status and brute force to coerce others.”
Su Nanfeng’s face immediately darkened: “Gu Xizhou, don’t be so ungrateful.”
Gu Xizhou didn’t let go of her basin. Looking at the violence in Su Nanfeng’s eyes, she instead recalled a completely different pair of eyes, and the fear in her heart began to dissipate. “Yes, I’ve just never learned what gratitude means.”
A girl of only sixteen, after sharing the memories of another “future self,” possessed a maturity and world-weariness beyond her years. “So I can’t fawn over you, flatter you, or suck up to you like the people around you, and then help you do evil.”
“Of all the people surrounding you, which one is sincerely your friend because they truly like you?”
Su Nanfeng’s expression grew even darker. Ding Yi’s face twisted, raising her fist, ready to charge at Gu Xizhou: “You damn shorty, what did you say?!”
Su Nanfeng was quick; she released the chubby girl and grabbed Ding Yi. “Shut up!”
Gu Xizhou’s heart went cold. Thinking of the pair of eyes she had met at dinner today, her mind uncontrollably recalled the dream—Su Zhiyi collapsed in the bushes, covered in blood.
The woman, tormented and drained of all life, had just stared up at the sky, eyes wide open and hollow.
Boundless loneliness and regret, along with a despairing night, had enveloped her.
And the origin of it all came from the person before her, who had personally planted the seeds of hatred.
Whenever she thought of that dream, a surge of hatred always rose in the younger Gu Xizhou’s heart. She hated Su Nanfeng, and even more, she hated that younger version of her “other self” who couldn’t protect her.
Threads of blood appeared in young Gu Xizhou’s eyes. She turned to look at Ding Yi, held back by Su Nanfeng’s grip, her gaze icy: “Ding Yi, do you dare say you’re Su Nanfeng’s friend because you genuinely like her?”
“Your family makes small medical device components and needs the vast market the Su family provides. So you obey her every whim, listen to everything she says, and act as her loyal dog.”
“Gu Xizhou!” Ding Yi, completely exposed, flushed crimson and looked murderous, straining to tear the girl apart.
Su Nanfeng burned with rage, but her sister’s words echoed in her mind, forcing her to choke it down.
Gu Xizhou looked at Ding Yi, held back by Su Nanfeng like a dog on a leash.
She scoffed and turned to the others present. “And the rest of you, hovering around her, you must want something from Su Nanfeng too.”
“Even if you don’t, Su Nanfeng’s family is rich and powerful, someone ordinary students wouldn’t dare provoke. You can certainly use her name to boss others around, just like you do Wang Yiren.”
“First it’s running errands, cleaning the classroom, washing clothes. Then it’s using pocket money to buy things, copying homework…”
“Or if that’s not enough, there’s always a bit of punching and kicking to vent your adolescent frustrations.”
The remaining two students’ faces changed drastically. They quickly looked at Su Nanfeng: “Nanfeng, we…”
Su Nanfeng’s face was as dark as water. She stared intently at Gu Xizhou, as if to see what other nasty things she would say.
After her wave of mockery, Gu Xizhou lifted her head to meet that murderous gaze. “See, Su Nanfeng? These are the rotten people around you.”
“Because you yourself are a rotten person, you attract so many human scumbags.”
Her words were vicious, and Su Nanfeng was livid.
Su Nanfeng released Ding Yi, walked up to Gu Xizhou, grabbed her by the collar, and half-lifted her up, aggressive and threatening. “So what!”
So what if no one was sincerely with her? She did whatever she wanted. Whoever upset her, she’d have them dealt with.
At school, she was the center of attention, an untouchable “empress.”
Sincerity? It was worthless, something not even a dog wanted. As long as she had company, who cared if they were gods or ghosts? As long as they were useful, that’s all that mattered.
That’s just how she was. What was the problem?
Su Nanfeng gritted her teeth, her mind consumed by the anger of being hit on her raw nerve.
She clutched Gu Xizhou’s collar, grinding out through clenched teeth, “Gu Xizhou, believe me when I say I’ll beat you so badly this time, you’ll be spitting teeth and unable to even wipe your own ass!”
Her mother and sister already knew she was a bad kid, so what did it matter if she got a little worse?
She’d been pretending too long. Unable to vent her pent-up violence, it was better to just let it all out.
Her mothers were divorced and had never bothered with her. Wasn’t it a bit late now to say they loved her?
Her life was shaped by her mothers. Even if she beat Gu Xizhou to death and went to jail to make her mom suffer, it would only be normal.
Her existence, her viciousness, her badness—it was all a form of revenge against irresponsible parents!
In that fleeting instant, Su Nanfeng, her sanity burned away by rage, conceived every possible justification for her short, young life.
But someone was a step ahead of her.
Without a second thought, Gu Xizhou lifted the heavy basin and smashed it down on Su Nanfeng’s head. “Then let’s fight!”
“Bang!” The basin, heavy and solid, crashed onto Su Nanfeng’s head.
Stunned by the blow, Su Nanfeng staggered. Water dripping from her hair, she looked up at Gu Xizhou in utter disbelief. “You’re asking for it, aren’t you?”
No matter her self-control, Su Nanfeng couldn’t stand it anymore. She yanked Gu Xizhou towards her, raising her fist to smash it into Gu Xizhou’s face.
In that very instant, 0820 reached an agreement with the young Gu Xizhou. “Temporary Contract. Let me take over your body.”
“I know combat!”
The young Gu Xizhou didn’t hesitate, replying lightning-fast: “Okay!”
The moment they switched, young Gu Xizhou’s aura completely transformed.
She was like a wolf lurking on the wilderness, and as Su Nanfeng’s fist came smashing down, she sidestepped, dodging the punch, and struck with lightning speed, swinging a fist straight at Su Nanfeng’s face.
The heavy punch landed, and Su Nanfeng let out a pained yelp.
Before she could steady herself, Gu Xizhou seized her wrist, reversed the hold, and shoved her hard against the sink counter, forcing her head down to slam against it.
“Oww…”
Su Nanfeng hit the tiles on the sink counter wall heavily, her forehead instantly swelling into a large, purple-red lump. Blood seeped from the broken capillaries.
Since the age of seventeen, 0820 had practiced freestyle combat and other martial arts. Her physical skills were excellent, with a natural talent for fighting.
Facing Su Nanfeng, who had brute strength but no technique, 0820 handled her with absolute ease.
Her moves were as fast as lightning, leaving Ding Yi and the others completely dumbstruck.
Ding Yi snapped out of it quickly, aiming a kick at Gu Xizhou. “Shit, you shorty!”
Gu Xizhou moved fast, yanking Su Nanfeng up to use as a shield.
With that move, Ding Yi’s foot landed squarely… between Su Nanfeng’s legs.
Su Nanfeng immediately let out a deathly howl: “AAAAAAHHHHHH…”
Ding Yi froze, terrified, her face ashen.
Gu Xizhou held Su Nanfeng’s arms twisted behind her back, using her tall frame as a shield. She sneered coldly, “What do you call this? A good strike, or a good catch?”
She released Su Nanfeng, shoving her towards Ding Yi. Her voice was icy: “Get her to the infirmary, fast.”
“Otherwise, if it’s broken, I wonder what kind of price your family will have to pay.”
Ding Yi hastily caught Su Nanfeng, completely flustered. “Nan… Nanfeng…”
Su Nanfeng’s tall body slumped against Ding Yi. Her long black hair was disheveled, her face deathly pale, her body hunched over, breaking into a cold sweat from the pain. “Get…”
“Get the car…”
In a panic, Ding Yi propped up Su Nanfeng and yelled at the other lackeys, “Go get the instructor!”
“Go!”
This was going to be a death!
————
In the ensuing chaos, instructors rushed over, loading Su Nanfeng onto a stretcher and into a vehicle.
The commotion from the bathhouse quickly traveled upstairs. The disturbance started on the second floor, and soon students poured out, leaning over the railings, staring down at the military vehicles on the first floor, buzzing with talk.
“Su Nanfeng cornered Gu Xizhou again.”
“I heard she brought ten people this time, and Gu Xizhou beat them all off.”
“And Gu Xizhou kicked her… down there.”
“Nonsense, she didn’t kick her, it was Su Nanfeng’s own lackey who hit her by mistake.”
“Tsk, rough.”
“Real rough.”
The students, loving the drama, quickly spread the rumors everywhere.
Hearing the news, Su Zhiyi hurriedly threw on a jacket and rushed down from upstairs. She arrived just in time to see Su Nanfeng lying curled up on a stretcher, being carried down by the instructors.
Su Zhiyi quickly walked over, looking worriedly at Su Nanfeng on the stretcher. “Nanfeng, what happened?”
Su Nanfeng had been kicked badly. Her forehead hurt, her face hurt, and down there hurt even more. She suspected she might be hemorrhaging internally.
Hearing her sister’s voice, Su Nanfeng lifted her head from the stretcher, her eyes brimming with tears as she tattled, “Gu Xizhou hit me.”
Gu Xizhou?
Su Zhiyi immediately looked up, searching for Gu Xizhou.
Gu Xizhou, along with a few female Alphas, was being held with her arms pinned behind her back by the instructors, pressed against the open ground on the first floor.
In the dim night, the orange glow of the streetlamps fell on her face, making it look frail and pale. Su Zhiyi suddenly found herself meeting a pair of reddened eyes, and she instantly understood the whole story.
Oh, Gu Xizhou did it. Then it’s fine.
Su Zhiyi quickly composed herself, reached out, and patted Su Nanfeng’s shoulder, comforting her: “Go to the hospital and get some good rest. And don’t cause any more trouble during this time.”
“I’ll notify Mom to go to the hospital and see you.”
Her concerned tone turned flat, sounding terribly cold. Su Nanfeng’s lip curled down, so upset she was almost crying.
Su Zhiyi sighed, unable to say anything more. She stood at the stairway, watching Su Nanfeng being loaded into the vehicle.
Just then, it was bedtime. An instructor blew a whistle and shouted sternly, “What are you looking at?! All of you, get back to your dorms and sleep!”
“Anyone who’s late will have points deducted!”
The gawking students scattered instantly. Su Zhiyi clutched the jacket draped over her shoulders, glancing at Gu Xizhou standing under the streetlamp.
The small, thin Alpha girl stood with her arms pinned behind her back by the instructor, solitary and gaunt—a pitiful sight indeed.
Su Zhiyi couldn’t help but look a moment longer before turning away, biting her lip, and silently going back upstairs.
The dormitory lights were quickly extinguished. Instructor whistles sounded incessantly, herding the students into bed.
Su Zhiyi lay back down, her heart racing as she recalled the glimpse she’d had downstairs.
The hallway lights were on. The instructors patrolled a few times, and once they were sure the students had settled, they retired to their own quarters.
The moment the instructors were gone, the previously silent dorm stirred with ripples.
Zhang Chuchu, sleeping beside Su Zhiyi, reached out in the darkness and tapped her bed. “Hey…”
Sensing the movement, Su Zhiyi turned towards her, her dark eyes flickering with light in the gloom.
Zhang Chuchu shifted, leaning half-out of her bed towards Su Zhiyi, practically hanging off the edge. She whispered, “Zhiyi, why does your sister keep clashing with Gu Xizhou?”
“Gu Xizhou didn’t dig up her ancestral grave. Why does she target her every single day?”
Su Zhiyi’s heart sank. She thought of Su Nanfeng’s actions in those prophetic dreams, and her chest ached. “I don’t know either…”
She let out a heavy sigh, her voice tinged with sadness. “Maybe… my sister is just really bad.”
“No matter if someone provokes her or not, no matter how good a person is, if she doesn’t like the look of them, she’ll step on them.”
“That’s just how she is…”
A rotten person!
But such a rotten person was her older sister. What could she do about it?
