Chapter 7: Scum’s Redemption – 2

The afternoon classes ended quickly. Not long after the final bell rang, Su Nanfeng, with Ding Yi in tow, was already blocking the doorway of Class 17.

The late summer sunset was exceptionally sultry. Orange-red sunlight peeked through the clouds, slanting onto the classroom’s white walls, casting a golden shadow.

Su Nanfeng leaned against the hallway railing. Standing at the main classroom door with the sunset behind her, she appeared extraordinarily cold and aloof.

Her reputation was not yet widespread, but she was beautiful. Students from Class 17 couldn’t help but glance at her as they passed.

Realizing she looked strikingly similar to the great beauty in their class, their eyes widened in surprise.

So alike—were they sisters?

Su Zhiyi walked out of the classroom neatly, her backpack slung over her shoulders. Su Nanfeng and Ding Yi immediately straightened up and hurried over. “Zhiyi…”

Su Zhiyi glanced at Su Nanfeng. “I’m going to the hospital to see Gu Xizhou. Are you coming?”

Su Nanfeng, the wound on her face still visible, looked at Su Zhiyi in astonishment. “You’re going to the hospital to see someone like that?” She didn’t care at all that her own sister had been bitten on the face.

Had her sister fallen for that weak Alpha at first sight after differentiating into an Omega?

It had always been like this since they were little. Su Zhiyi particularly loved small cats and dogs. When they weren’t allowed to keep pets at home, she would still crouch in the kindergarten garden to feed the animals with treats she brought.

That was until she got her hand scratched by a cat and was put under strict supervision by their mother.

Her sister was not like her; she was an extremely caring person. But that was precisely what made Su Nanfeng even more vigilant.

Carrying her backpack, Su Zhiyi walked forward, feeling unusually irritated. But then she thought: this is my sister. Although she is wayward, I don’t intend to give up on her.

She sighed and softened her voice to explain to Su Nanfeng. “This morning, when I was taking the subway to school, a pervert almost took voyeuristic photos of me.”

“It was Gu Xizhou who saved me.”

Su Nanfeng, walking beside her sister, widened her eyes upon hearing this. Her beautiful phoenix eyes filled with disbelief. “The subway? A pervert? Didn’t Mom arrange for someone to drive you to school?”

Talking about family matters, Su Zhiyi found a bit of their old sibling closeness.

She answered Su Nanfeng softly. “No. 1 High School is far from where Mom lives, so I’m living near Peaceful Harmony Road now.”

Su Nanfeng was even more astonished. She asked urgently, “Alone? Mom is letting an Omega like you live alone?”

The three had reached the stairwell. Su Zhiyi walked down the stairs with her backpack. “Not alone. Mom had Aunt Li Lai come to take care of my daily life.”

Li Lai was Su Zhiyi’s live-in nanny, a female Omega.

Su Nanfeng’s eyes immediately lit up. She quickly said, “I live alone too. Mother bought a villa near the school. You could move in and live with me.”

Ding Yi also egged her on from the side. “Yeah, Sister Zhiyi, Nanfeng has lived alone since middle school. If you’re together, you can look after each other.”

“Otherwise, it’ll be like last year. Nanfeng was home alone when she got sick, and the housekeeper couldn’t take good care of her.”

The three reached the first floor, and Su Zhiyi stopped. Amidst the students brushing past them, she looked up at Su Nanfeng, very seriously. “Why should I live with you?”

Su Nanfeng pressed her lips together. The bite wound at the corner of her mouth seemed even more prominent, making her look pitiful. “Zhiyi, we’re sisters… sisters living together, that’s only natural.”

Su Zhiyi’s heart softened, but her words remained firm. “But my sister wouldn’t abuse a classmate.”

Su Zhiyi’s words sent a chill through Su Nanfeng’s heart. She stepped back, her expression complex. “You still think I was one-sidedly beating Gu Xizhou?”

Su Zhiyi sighed, deeply pained. “What else? I saw with my own eyes that you kicked her.”

Recalling the scene she’d witnessed at noon, Su Zhiyi’s tone suddenly grew more severe. “She’s such a small person, and you threw her on the ground and kicked her. How could you do that!”

Facing her sister’s questioning, Su Nanfeng felt deeply upset. She pointed at the corner of her own mouth, very indignantly. “Then why don’t you mention that she bit me too!”

“If she’d bitten any harder, I would have been disfigured.”

Su Zhiyi glanced at the teeth marks on Su Nanfeng’s mouth, averted her gaze slightly, and hardened her heart. “But did she send you to the hospital?”

“I…”

Su Nanfeng was choked silent, unable to retort. Ding Yi hurriedly added, “Sister Zhiyi, Nanfeng really was innocent in this. It was Gu Xizhou who stole the watch…”

Su Zhiyi wasn’t buying it. Looking at Ding Yi’s fawning expression, her words turned sharp. “Oh? Is that really what happened? If the watch was put down, could you have put it back on so quickly during a fight?”

“When I saw you, Nanfeng’s watch was still properly on her wrist.”

Su Nanfeng: …

Her sister’s keen insight made Su Nanfeng’s body stiffen. But clearly, Su Zhiyi had no intention of letting her off, pressing relentlessly. “Nanfeng, how many times has this been?”

“You said she was your middle school classmate. You said so many bad things about her in your texts. That’s not like your usual behavior.”

“You’re anxious to explain to me, or rather, to defend yourself. You slandered her. Others might not see through it, but I know.”

Su Nanfeng stepped back again, clenching her fists. “I…”

Su Zhiyi looked at her, deeply disappointed, and said through gritted teeth, “How did you become so bad? How could you treat a good kid like this?”

“This is school bullying, you know that?”

Of course, Su Nanfeng knew. For three years of middle school, she had led a group in this bullying game. They locked onto their target and savored the cat-and-mouse game to their heart’s content.

When teachers sought accountability, her pure appearance and the coordinated tactics with her lackeys easily fooled them.

Parents…

Hah… her parent didn’t care at all what she did at school.

The only thing said was: fool around however you want before university, then after university, obediently go to business school and inherit the family business.

The only person she cared about was this twin sister who had been forcibly separated from her since childhood.

So she would rather play the victim than let her sister know what kind of person she truly was.

But on the very first day of their reunion, she had let her sister see her ugly side.

And she couldn’t even gloss over it.

Her sister was just too smart.

Su Nanfeng’s mind raced, frantically searching for a way out. After a moment, she found an excuse. “Gu Xizhou… she had a crush on me in middle school. She peeped at me in the locker room several times…”

“She acted crazy and disgusting.”

“This time in the restroom…”

Before Su Nanfeng could finish, Su Zhiyi cut her off, unable to bear it any longer. “Enough!”

“Not a single true word comes out of your mouth. I don’t want to hear it!”

Su Zhiyi decided she wouldn’t speak to her for the rest of the day. She walked away with her backpack, her little face set stubbornly. “No matter what, you hit someone. You should at least apologize.”

“To this moment, you don’t even think it was wrong for you and Ding Yi to beat someone up. I have nothing to say to you.”

“Sister, you’ve disappointed me so much!”

Su Zhiyi tossed these words over her shoulder and walked towards the school gate, heading into the sunset.

Su Nanfeng watched her sister’s back as she left without a shred of hesitation. She turned to Ding Yi, her face dark. “Find someone to investigate. Check if Gu Xizhou had any contact with Zhiyi beforehand.”

She wanted to see exactly what methods Gu Xizhou had used to make her sister trust her so completely.

—

The few blows Su Nanfeng had landed out of control at noon left Gu Xizhou in agony. Fortunately, there was no internal organ damage—just stimulated pain, and Gu Xizhou’s already weak stomach had become much worse.

The entire medical examination process was incredibly hard on Gu Xizhou. After everything was done, she was moved to a ward, where she miserably leaned over the bedside, vomiting violently.

The young homeroom teacher, Song Qiao, was frantic with worry at the sight. She tugged at the doctor, asking urgently, “Doctor, are you sure there’s no damage to her internal organs? How can it be this severe?”

The doctor patiently explained to her. “This child’s health is poor. She has some gastric ulcers. Being struck can trigger this kind of reaction under nerve stimulation.”

“Let her rest well.”

Only after the doctor’s repeated assurances did Song Qiao breathe a sigh of relief.

After seeing the doctor out, Song Qiao sat down by Gu Xizhou’s bedside. Looking at her pale, weak appearance, she said with some heartache, “Xizhou, I called your guardian. She can only come after work.”

“I’ll stay with you here at the hospital until she arrives.”

Gu Xizhou, her face pale, looked at Song Qiao and said very weakly, “Thank you, teacher.”

Song Qiao sighed. “This is what a teacher should do.”

Song Qiao lifted her wrist to check her watch. Seeing it was already half past five, she asked, “Okay, it’s dinner time. Is there anything you’d like to eat?”

Gu Xizhou shook her head.

Song Qiao assumed she was just shy and smiled. “Your stomach is upset. Let me order you some congee. How about Sampan Congee?”

Gu Xizhou was just about to reply that it wasn’t necessary, when the ward door was suddenly pushed open.

Gu Xizhou and Song Qiao turned their heads together, looking towards the door.

There stood a girl with long, straight black hair, wearing a neat ribbon, her posture upright with a backpack on her back, framed in the doorway.

The sunset’s light and shadow drifted around her, dazzlingly bright.

The girl was laden with bags of fruit and food in both hands. Her eyes curved into a sweet smile. “Hello, Teacher Song Qiao. I’m Su Zhiyi.”

“Here to visit Gu Xizhou on behalf of the whole class.”

Gu Xizhou stared at the girl’s poised demeanor and the sweet smile on her face, her eyes widening.