Peach-Orange! – Chapter 112 – Do You Really Like Her?

Over the next two days, Chi Xiaocheng could clearly sense that Su Tao was spending less time with her.

Before, even if Su Tao didn’t stay the night, she would linger until curfew before returning to her dorm, giving Chi Xiaocheng a whole evening together. She didn’t need entertainment. Just sitting quietly beside her, holding hands or hugging was enough.

But now, even that was becoming a luxury.

On December 22nd, Su Tao only stayed for two hours in the evening.

On December 23rd, she merely came for a quick meal, barely chatting before leaving in a hurry after a phone call.

On December 24th, Su Tao didn’t come at all.

Staring at her phone, Chi Xiaocheng bit her lower lip hard, her mood sinking.

Tao-Tao: “Sorry, Xiaocheng, I really couldn’t make it today. Rest well at home, okay? I got my driver’s license already. Tomorrow, I’ll pick you up by car. We’ll go shopping together.”

Words had no warmth, but to Chi Xiaocheng, they felt unbearably cold.

What is Tao-Tao so busy with?

Why does she have so many things to do every day?

Chi Xiaocheng couldn’t understand. Having resolved to be a good girl, she didn’t dare ask too much. She loved the smile Su Tao gave her when patting her head and praising her for being “so well-behaved.”

Even without Dark Xiaocheng’s whispers, the lingering influence made her recall those words anyway.

“Pretending to be good will never get you Su Tao.”

“She has friends, advisors, colleagues, so many things to fill her life.”

Rеaⅾ oո KαtRеaԁіոɡСafе

“She has too much going on, so she can’t spare time for you.”

“Oh? Finally starting to see what I meant?”

A black dress swayed as Dark Xiaocheng leaned against the armrest of the sofa, arms crossed, posture elegant.

Chi Xiaocheng glanced at her and pressed her lips together. “She’s just busy today. Tao-Tao was getting her driver’s license. It’s normal she didn’t have time.

“I can understand….

“Yes, I can understand!”

She added the last sentence as if to steady her own unsettled heart.

Dark Xiaocheng sighed. “You’re so stubborn. It’s already so obvious, yet you still lie to yourself. Are you afraid to accept that Su Tao doesn’t actually care about you that much?”

Chi Xiaocheng’s eyes reddened, the vertical pupils that hadn’t appeared in half a month suddenly glowing crimson. “Who says she doesn’t care?! She’s always telling me how good I am! She must be preparing a surprise for me tomorrow!”

Dark Xiaocheng scoffed lightly. “Please. Look at you. What else is this if not self-deception? What kind of ‘surprise’ could it even be? Holding hands? Shopping? Or her fake little ‘I like you’ act?”

She stepped closer in her high heels, stopping beside Chi Xiaocheng. “She’s said ‘I like you’ so many times, right? Why not test it?”

“Test it?”

“Exactly.”

A snap of gloved fingers. “If she likes you so much and even prepared a surprise, why not confess tomorrow? Ask her to be your girlfriend. What do you think?”

Read οո ΚatRеаⅾіոɡCαfе

Chi Xiaocheng had said “I like you” many times too. Whether forced or otherwise, Su Tao always responded the same way. Setting aside other factors, the words “I like you” had been exchanged between them at least ten times already.

Yet despite that, neither had ever taken the first step to define their relationship.

Dark Xiaocheng wasn’t impatient. She extended a black-gloved finger and poked Chi Xiaocheng’s chest. “And you, you say you like her too, but is this really ‘like’? Pretending to be good, begging for her pity, refusing to truly claim her?

“Do you even have real feelings for Su Tao?

“It’s completely different from how you felt about your ex, isn’t it? You definitely liked your ex more than Su Tao, right?

“If you don’t actually like Su Tao but still want her love, why keep running? Just take her.

“Make her world only you, and yours only her. With time, you’ll become each other’s one and only.”

Her words were logical, striking deep into Chi Xiaocheng’s heart.

‘Have my actions all along… really been out of love for Tao-Tao?’

‘I just want someone to love me… but my feelings now are different from how I felt about Yiran, my ex.’

“No!”

Chi Xiaocheng snapped back to reality, glaring at Dark Xiaocheng, who merely smiled faintly, utterly composed.

Gritting her teeth, Chi Xiaocheng retorted, “You’re misleading me! I’d never treat Tao-Tao as a replacement for Yiran. Yiran isn’t even fit to compare to her!”

Two years of memories had long since faded. Over this past month, Su Tao had completely taken over Chi Xiaocheng’s heart.

“No feelings? “No love?

Rеаⅾ οn ΚαtRеadіոgСαfе

“You’re just a figment of my mind. How would you know whether I like Tao-Tao or not?!

“She pats my head gently;

“Says ‘I like you’ so sweetly;

“Holds an umbrella so snow won’t fall on me;

“Never lets go when we hold hands;

“Even asks for more when we kiss;

“Thinks I can’t cook, so no matter how busy she is, she comes every day to make sure I don’t eat too much takeout!

“No one could ever compare to her!

“How could I not love a girl like that?!”

She glared fiercely. “Just wait. Tomorrow, the surprise Tao-Tao prepared will shut you up for good!”

The last sentence was nearly a scream. Panting heavily, she suddenly realized that there was no elegant figure in a black dress before her.

As if that ever-tempting heart demon had never existed.

Only the usually proud King remained on the sofa, tail curled around herself as she slept.

The empty room felt unnaturally cold and hollow.

Rеaⅾ оո КαtReαԁіոɡCafе

Chi Xiaocheng’s dry lips parted, but no words came out. In the end, she silently walked to the sofa, pulled her knees to her chest, and rested her head on them, waiting for time to pass.

“Tao-Tao… I miss you.”

For half a month, she had played the role of the well-behaved Xiaocheng, never once using her yandere tendencies to pressure the girl.

And Su Tao had indeed given her what she wanted: head pats, sweet words, eating together every day like family.

So why….

‘Why does it still feel so lonely?’

Threads of unease seeped into her along with the chilly air.

As seconds dragged minutes forward, and minutes reluctantly pushed the hour hand along, the agonizing wait finally ended.

December 25th arrived, the day Chi Xiaocheng had been longing for.

Early in the morning, she changed clothes and sat obediently on the sofa, waiting.

At 9 o’clock, the electronic lock finally chimed.

The door opened, and a lovely voice called out, “Xiaocheng, good morning! I’m here to pick you up.”

Chi Xiaocheng immediately jumped up, eyes shining. “Tao-Tao, you’re finally here! We’re going on a date today, right?”

Su Tao blinked, then smiled softly. “Mm, we’re going shopping together!”