Peach-Orange! – Chapter 126 – So the Abnormal One Was Me All Along

The icy water rose past her nose and mouth. Su Tao felt her breathing grow increasingly labored.

Someone stood on the shore watching her struggle. No matter how desperately she flailed or cried for help, they refused to extend a hand.

The agony, the suffocation, the sensation of her body sinking bit by bit as warmth steadily drained away. It all made her skin crawl. She thrashed violently until finally, she could make out the figure on the bank.

That person’s face… was her own?

Then who was the one drowning in the water?

Su Tao looked down. The suffocating feeling of drowning had vanished.

The frozen lake surface before her gradually transformed into a bathtub. The submerged figure had somehow become Chi Xiaocheng.

This figure stared at her with hatred.

As if screaming accusations: “Why didn’t you save me? You could have reached out! Why did you watch me drown without helping?”

Su Tao’s lips cracked. She clutched her head and shook it wildly, “No… it’s not that I didn’t want to save you, it’s not that I rejected you, I… I….”

Before the words could form, the Xiaocheng in the bathtub had already been completely swallowed by crimson water.

“Xiaocheng!”

Su Tao jolted awake. She sat up abruptly, hands grasping at empty air, finding nothing to hold onto.

Gulping down lungfuls of air, her blurred vision gradually cleared. The splitting headache and familiar living room confirmed it had only been a nightmare.

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After steadying herself, she suddenly shouted, “Xiaocheng! How is Xiaocheng?”

A long-legged woman in a sweater yawned from the opposite sofa. “You’re awake. Your Xiaocheng’s out of critical condition. She’s at Dongfang Yang’s private hospital now. No need to worry.”

Su Tao’s tension eased. “Really?”

“I stayed precisely because I feared you might do something rash upon waking. Feeling better?”

Without her sachet, sleeping hadn’t restored much energy. It only left her more exhausted.

Cradling her forehead, she forced herself to process reality. “I’m so sorry for troubling you. May I ask who…?”

“Qian Qing.” The woman stood to pour hot water. “One of Dongfang Yang’s few friends. He asked me to look after you.”

“Thank you.” The scalding water warmed her body slightly. Hesitantly, she asked, “Miss Qian… do you know Xiaocheng’s specific condition?”

“Successful resuscitation, still unconscious. She’ll live, but potential aftereffects remain unclear.” Qian Qing studied her curiously. “This might bring up painful memories, but I have to ask, what did you do to drive that girl to such despair?”

She pointed at the suicide note. “May I?”

Su Tao handed it over, guilt thick in her voice. “It’s all my fault. Xiaocheng… she loves me. When she confessed, I rejected her.”

“What?!”

Qian Qing nearly dropped the letter. “Dongfang Yang said she saw you as family! How could—”

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“He misunderstood.” Su Tao had never explained Chi Xiaocheng’s feelings to him. “The truth is, Xiaocheng loves me… in a pathological way. She has dissociative identity disorder, yandere tendencies… When she confessed, I couldn’t accept it.

“Then, even though I never mentioned the marriage contract or Xiao Ming, she somehow found out.

“Finally… she broke down. Thought I’d abandoned her. So she….”

Qian Qing now understood.

She’d heard of yanderes before and thought they were just anime fantasies. She never imagined they existed in reality.

Seeking validation, Su Tao continued, “You agree it’s abnormal, right? I’ve always treated Xiaocheng like a little sister. Never had those feelings.

“And her loving me… even setting that aside, two girls together is just… strange, isn’t it?”

Qian Qing flipped through the note dispassionately. “Not strange at all. Perhaps your upbringing was too sheltered. In elite circles, we’ve seen everything.

“Take elite schools for example. To outsiders, every young master and lady appears impeccable. But insiders know even the most refined debutantes will drop their pants for fun at school.”

Ignoring Su Tao’s shock, she continued, “Don’t find it odd. What seems inconceivable to you is just another form of recreation for them.

“The decadence of the wealthy exceeds your imagination, and I hope it stays that way.

“But I can confidently say this: most seek thrills, but your Xiaocheng simply sought genuine love.”

Qian Qing herself had abandoned family privileges to escape that debauched world. Like Dongfang Yang, preferring to be the “useless young master” mocked by elites rather than conform to their ugliness.

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Su Tao fell silent, recalling Dr. Cheng’s words:

‘Girls loving girls, as a doctor, I’ve seen too many cases.’

Even Chen Qian and Xiao Wei considered it normal.

So the abnormal one… was me all along?

And this became the basis for how I kept avoiding Xiaocheng?

Qian Qing set the note down. “Can you stand?”

“Yes…”

“I’ve cleaned the bathroom. Try not to dwell on it. Wash up, rest properly, and visit Xiaocheng tomorrow when you’re refreshed. I’m exhausted, may I use a guest room?”

“Let me prepare it for you.”

Su Tao wished she could follow Qian Qing’s advice and stop obsessing. But the moment she saw the bathtub, the image of Chi Xiaocheng lying there resurfaced….

She dry-heaved repeatedly, unable to recover.

The shower left her more drained than before.

Eventually, she stumbled into Chi Xiaocheng’s room. While the living room and kitchen showed signs of chaos, this space remained immaculate, as if preserved for her to remember.

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Collapsing onto the bed, she caught faint traces of Xiaocheng’s lingering scent in the sheets.

That comforting aroma… just like the sachet.

Tears blurred her vision once more.

Had none of this happened….

Had she accepted Chi Xiaocheng’s confession….

Would she be lying here now, holding that petite, soft body close?

But life offered no do-overs.

If such a reality existed, it could only be in dreams.

Rolling onto her side, Su Tao noticed a figurine on the nightstand. She stared blankly.

“When did this exquisite figurine appear here?

“Are these two people… me and Xiaocheng?”