Peach-Orange! – Chapter 141 – The Twisted Her, and the Mistaken You

Two days had passed, and another morning arrived.

Su Tao sat exhausted and numb on the sofa, her gaze fixed on a small figure busying herself in the kitchen.

She was preparing “orange juice.”

The sharp, cold glint of the blade slid across tender skin, each stroke feeling as though it were slicing into Su Tao’s heart.

In just one day, Su Tao had come to understand what it truly meant to be possessed by an extremely obsessive yandere.

After breakfast, lunch, and dinner, without fail, Chi Xiaocheng would hand her half a glass of orange juice.

She called it proof of their mutual bond.

During their downtime watching TV, Chi Xiaocheng would curl up in Su Tao’s arms. Every time Su Tao looked down, she would meet Chi Xiaocheng’s gaze.

Su Tao watched the screen, while Chi Xiaocheng watched her.

She said that if her eyes ever lost sight of Su Tao, she would feel uneasy.

Whenever Su Tao spaced out, Chi Xiaocheng would ask what she was thinking, as if afraid she might be thinking of someone else, or worse, planning an escape.

But this wasn’t the same as the black room from a month ago.

Su Tao did have access to her phone.

The door wasn’t locked.

She could move freely around the house. Chi Xiaocheng kept an eye on her most of the time, but not every single second of the day.

Sometimes, Chi Xiaocheng even left the house.

But was this really freedom?

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Even with the door wide open, Su Tao didn’t have the courage to run.

Last time she left, Chi Xiaocheng had attempted suicide, only surviving by sheer luck.

If she left now, what would she find when she returned home?

Or would there even be a Chi Xiaocheng to return to?

If she left, she feared Chi Xiaocheng would be in danger.

But if she stayed, Chi Xiaocheng would keep hurting herself, using it as proof of her so-called love.

She was using herself to shackle Su Tao’s actions!

Su Tao didn’t know how to stop her, either.

The facade of the obedient girl had shattered, and the yandere tendencies had become the new normal.

Curling up slightly, Su Tao numbly watched as Chi Xiaocheng handed her a glass of crimson orange juice.

“Tao-Tao, time for your drink.”

Was this really just a drink?

Why did she insist on calling it that?

‘Xiaocheng, shouldn’t you bandage your arm first?’

Was it Chi Xiaocheng who had lost her mind, or was it Su Tao herself?

Mechanically, Su Tao took the glass, closed her eyes, and downed it in one go.

Though it still disgusted her, her body had gradually grown accustomed to the taste over the past two days.

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Or perhaps it was just her memories of the black room resurfacing, forcing her to readjust.

A drop of red lingered at the corner of her lips. When Su Tao opened her eyes, Chi Xiaocheng was already spreading her arms, pulling her into a gentle embrace.

Warmth pressed against her lips.

An unusual sweetness quickly overpowered the lingering nausea from the “orange juice.”

“This is your reward for being a good girl.”

Chi Xiaocheng’s whisper in her ear made Su Tao shiver.

She felt like she couldn’t hold on much longer.

Even though nothing extreme was happening to her, the suffocating pressure made it hard to breathe.

After the morning passed, Chi Xiaocheng handed Su Tao her phone.

Like a lifeline, Su Tao seized the moment Chi Xiaocheng’s attention was elsewhere and quickly sent a message to Si Chen on WeChat.

Yes, Si Chen.

Dr. Cheng hadn’t responded to her messages. Cheng Cheng had coincidentally gone into seclusion recently. As for Dr. Chen and Dr. Lin, Su Tao only had their phone numbers, but no matter how many times she tried adding them on WeChat, the requests never went through.

Out of everyone she could talk to about Chi Xiaocheng, Si Chen was the only one left who would reply.

They had already agreed on a specific time for Su Tao to access her phone. Right on schedule, Si Chen had sent a message:

“How is Chi Xiaocheng doing now?”

Su Tao read it, deleted the chat log, and replied:

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“Xiaocheng is even worse today than yesterday. I swear, I think she watches me while I sleep at night!”

Message sent. She deleted the chat again, then continued:

“I really think her condition is deteriorating. She fed me that ‘orange juice’ again today. Less than yesterday, but it’s been two days in a row now. I’m terrified her body won’t hold up.

“What am I supposed to do?!”

Si Chen: “Don’t panic. Be careful she doesn’t notice.”

Si Chen: “I compiled a report based on what you told me yesterday. Dr. Lin has already analyzed it.”

Su Tao: “Then why has Xiaocheng become like this? Her yandere tendencies are getting worse. What should I do?!”

Clutching her phone, Su Tao glanced toward the bedroom before looking back down.

At this point, she wasn’t expecting an immediate cure for Chi Xiaocheng.

The priority was calming her down, making her step back from this obsessive state.

Si Chen sent a sighing emoji before typing:

“Honestly, Chi Xiaocheng’s condition is very serious.”

“Before, she was mostly normal, only occasionally slipping into yandere mode when triggered, like when she found out you liked someone and would darkly resent that person.

“Dr. Lin suspects the main cause this time is her suicide attempt two weeks ago.”

Su Tao: “Is it because… that near-death experience scared her?”

Si Chen: “Yes. She had already written a suicide note. She was ready to let you go, to let you live your own life.

“But at the brink of death, what a person craves most, or what they value most, surfaces. Like the life flashes people talk about.

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“Experiencing death might be what twisted her into this.

“Dr. Lin and I think the root of Chi Xiaocheng’s behavior now is fear.”

Su Tao: “Fear?”

She didn’t understand. She was the one who should be afraid. What did Chi Xiaocheng have to fear when she was the one acting like this?

But Si Chen had an answer:

“There are many possibilities.

“She’s afraid you’ll abandon her.

“Afraid of being alone.

“Afraid that if you’re not by her side, something like the incident on Binjiang Bridge might happen again, that you’ll get hurt, or worse.

“Subconsciously, she might believe that only by keeping you close are you safe… and that she won’t be lonely.”

Su Tao stared at the messages, growing more anxious.

“But I’ve always been by her side! Why does she still force me to drink that ‘orange juice’? None of this is normal!”

Si Chen: “It’s only abnormal in your eyes. What if her way of thinking has been distorted by that brush with death?”

“Remember what you told me about your reaction on the rooftop? To stop her from hurting herself, you half-willingly drank the ‘orange juice’ and said you liked it.

“Out of self-preservation, she’s convinced that only by hurting herself and using the ‘orange juice’ can she keep you with her.”

Si Chen: “You and her are both involved. I’m just an observer. None of us can see this from an objective standpoint. Is she wrong, or are you? Who can say?”