Peach-Orange! – Chapter 116 – Your Love For Me… Was It All a Lie?

“I love you. Can I be your girlfriend?”

The howling wind that had roared through the car was now nothing more than a gentle breeze over the river.

The words that had been drowned out by the gale, the confession that had been interrupted by accident were finally spoken aloud.

Su Tao stood frozen, looking down at Chi Xiaocheng, who was so close to her.

What kind of expression was on that small face?

Love, anticipation, sweetness, and even a trace of possessiveness. Even through her tears, the smile and faint dimples at the corners of her lips couldn’t be suppressed.

She had said “I love you” many times before.

But this was the first time she had so clearly asked to establish a romantic relationship.

‘Right now, I’m pretending to love her.’

But what about later?

Going even further, pretending to be her girlfriend?

Wanting to protect Chi Xiaocheng, this feeling was nothing unusual for Su Tao. It had been this way since childhood, and she never considered this kind of protection to be love.

But there was no denying that, for a long time now, the memory of Xiaocheng from her childhood had slowly been separating from the Chi Xiaocheng in front of her.

More than once, she had felt something, whether it was a heartbeat or something else, because of the affection and adorableness this person showed her.

Her lips.

Her beautiful hair.

The smile she always directed at her.

The unique softness of her skin.

And the little habit of scratching her palm when they held hands.

The little details in life made Su Tao unsure whether she wanted the Xiaocheng from her childhood back or if she was falling for the Xiaocheng in front of her now.

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But maybe… it wasn’t love either.

Just like the strange emotions that arose from going through life-and-death situations together. It was more likely an illusion caused by the suspension bridge effect.

And besides….

Su Tao reached into her pocket, touching a crescent-moon jade pendant that was missing half.

This was the only thing the old woman who adopted her had found on her as a child.

Su Tao had always believed that this pendant might be connected to her parents.

She had carried it with her for years, treating it as a lucky charm.

She had long forgotten about her parents, treating Chi Xiaocheng’s family as her own.

But who could have expected….

The silence felt like the wind was crying. The fireworks in the sky gradually faded.

Su Tao avoided Chi Xiaocheng’s hopeful gaze, lowering her eyes to the ground.

“I’m sorry, Xiaocheng.” ¹ Rejecting a yandere on a broken bridge… what could go wrong?

The fireworks across Binjiang had stopped.

The last glimmer of light in the sky disappeared.

As the clouds covered the full moon, the moonlight shining on Chi Xiaocheng dimmed little by little.

Chi Xiaocheng held the white roses, just like in her past life at the traffic light, her gaze blank. “Tao-Tao, you… what did you say?”

“I’m sorry, Xiaocheng.” Su Tao repeated, “I… I do love you, don’t overthink it!”

“If you love me, why can’t you say yes?”

Drip… drip….

Tears fell onto her boots, following Su Tao’s line of sight.

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Su Tao quickly looked up, but Chi Xiaocheng’s smile was already gone.

Her eyes were hollow, tears overflowing uncontrollably.

Panicked, Su Tao hurriedly said, “Hey, Xiaocheng, there’s no doubt that I love you. With the relationship we have now, living together, eating together, sleeping together, even kissing so many times… even if….

“Even without that label, it’s the same, right? I still love you.”

Chi Xiaocheng clutched the roses tightly with one hand, the other gripping the fabric over her heart as she shouted, “If you’re saying all this, then if it’s just a label, why can’t you say yes?!”

Today had been so wonderful.

Driving around, chatting while shopping, going to a café, playing with cats at a cat café, shopping together at the mall, you buying me the perfect little orange hairpin, you affectionately telling me:

—I love you.

When the accident happened, you picked me up. No matter how scared or worried you were, you still comforted me, telling me not to worry. You said:

—I’ll protect you.

Even at the brink of life and death, you never gave up, not wanting to drag me down. If the worst outcome was inevitable, you also said:

—I just want to hold you one last time.

Birthday… such a distant word. Even in my past life, from childhood to adulthood, I never received a single blessing or a cake. It was just a cold number on my ID card, recording how many days I had lived alone since birth.

But you remembered. You wanted to surprise me, wanted to give me a gift. Under this sky full of fireworks, you told me:

—Happy birthday.

I love you. I love you so, so much.

I thought you felt the same way.

But why?

Why! Why! Why! Why! Why!

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“If you love me, why won’t you accept my confession?!”

Chi Xiaocheng’s voice echoed across Binjiang Bridge.

But it was soon drowned out by the sirens of approaching police cars.

Su Tao lowered her head completely, unable to meet Chi Xiaocheng’s eyes.

She kept questioning herself in her heart.

‘Do I really love Xiaocheng?’

‘Can I really bear her obsessive, suffocating love?’

“Girlfriend” may just be a simple word.

But to Su Tao, it carried an unbearable weight.

She knew that once she nodded, there would be no turning back. She would lose any chance of curing Chi Xiaocheng’s yandere tendencies.

Because even if she were mostly “cured,” the mere mention of breaking up would send her spiraling into the abyss.

It wasn’t just a label.

It was a cage.

A cage called “love.”

And besides, there was another reason she couldn’t say yes.

Clutching the jade pendant that had always brought her luck, Su Tao took a deep breath and looked firmly at Chi Xiaocheng. “Xiaocheng, I love you!”

Would she lose control and spiral into her yandere tendencies?

Her eyes showed no signs of that.

Then, just like before, she could say “I love you” to calm her down, then kiss her.

Once she had settled, they could talk properly. Everything would be fine.

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After all, Xiaocheng had been very well-behaved these past two weeks.

There hadn’t been a single sign of her yandere tendencies.

Thinking this, Su Tao added, “I love you, I really do….”

Pretend to love her, then… kiss her.

This method of calming a yandere’s emotions, suggested by Dr. Cheng, had never failed before.

But to Su Tao’s surprise, the hand she reached out was slapped away by Chi Xiaocheng.

The wind tousled her beautiful chestnut hair as Chi Xiaocheng gave a self-deprecating smile.

Beside her, a shadowy figure in a black dress appeared.

A small hand gently rested on Chi Xiaocheng’s shoulder as a soft voice whispered, “See? I told you Su Tao was just pretending to love you. She won’t even accept your confession~”

If the time up until now could be called “heaven,”

then this moment was “hell.”

Chi Xiaocheng wasn’t spiraling into yandere madness. She hadn’t lost her rationality.

She just couldn’t accept this reality.

The anxiety and unease she had long cast aside surged back, gradually filling her with despair.

The clouds obscured the moon, leaving only a sliver of moonlight to illuminate the white roses in her hands, now damp with tears.

The gloomy night slowly enveloped Chi Xiaocheng, as if trying to merge her with the Dark Xiaocheng beside her.

Standing in the shadow of the bridge, she murmured,

“Hey, Tao-Tao… you’ve just been pretending to love me all this time, haven’t you?

“Right?”