Peach-Orange! – Chapter 142 – The Two Who Must Change

No one was entirely wrong, or perhaps, everyone was at fault in some way.

Chi Xiaocheng didn’t want to be a replacement for the original Xiaocheng. Her near-death experience had left her terrified. Afraid of losing Su Tao, afraid that Su Tao would abandon her due to the influence of the plot or the will of the world.

Just like in her past life, where she had given everything, only to be betrayed in the end.

As Dark Xiaocheng had said, possessing Su Tao, keeping her tightly gripped in her hands… this was both a comfort to herself and a way to protect Su Tao.

When fear overwhelmed reason, rationality faded.

So much so that Chi Xiaocheng had forgotten: How could Su Tao possibly grow to like her under such relentless pressure, especially when she wasn’t even offering the same glimmer of hope as before?

She had even closed off her own heart.

Had the fake suicide plan succeeded, things might have been different. Chi Xiaocheng would have used a substitute, and everything would have proceeded as she intended.

But because it failed, she had personally experienced the slow draining of life, the feeling of the person she loved slipping further away.

Even knowing she had a second chance at life, the fear and panic remained, leading her to shut herself off, becoming increasingly obsessive.

Was Su Tao wrong?

Others might not know, but Su Tao had always believed the fault lay with herself.

She was the one who had nurtured Xiaocheng’s yandere tendencies. She had ignored her over and over, pretending to like her as a form of “treatment,” only for the results to grow worse each time.

Countless escapes, countless regrets.

Yet, faced with those glasses of “orange juice” and the terror of Xiaocheng’s obsessive love, regret was quickly overtaken by fear.

Her mind went blank.

Both of them had stopped reaching out to each other.

This was a scene neither Su Tao nor even Si Chen wanted to see.

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He and Dr. Lin had carefully analyzed Chi Xiaocheng’s case. Without exaggeration, the failed suicide attempt had caused Chi Xiaocheng to deviate from her own plan.

No matter how many times Su Tao said she “liked” her, Chi Xiaocheng would dismiss it as pretense.

She had begun fixating on a single idea:

The only “true” love was obedience, as in doing exactly as she said.

If things continued like this, would Su Tao’s war hero father still be willing to help when he returned?

Right now, Su Tao’s rationality was hanging by a thread. The chances of her breaking down completely were higher than the odds of her falling in love with Chi Xiaocheng.

If neither of them changed, being together would become nearly impossible.

Si Chen hadn’t expected that, on top of being a mole and a tool, he’d now have to play matchmaker and therapist for these two lost souls.

Was there still hope?

It wasn’t impossible to try.

In response to Su Tao’s question, Si Chen typed:

“The only solution now is for you to genuinely love her, to make her feel your love, not just your fake ‘liking.’”

Su Tao bit her lip as she read the message.

“Is it even possible at this point? To love her sincerely… I don’t know how.”

What even was love? What was “liking”?

Did it have to be like Xiaocheng’s relentless possessiveness and obsession?

Si Chen: “Whether it’s possible or not, there’s no other choice. Unless you knock her out, pump her full of sedatives, or check her into a psych ward.”

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Whether Su Tao’s superhuman combat skills could overpower a fully “darkened” Chi Xiaocheng was debatable.

Si Chen: “Like I said last time, force yourself to love her!

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand love. Just understand what love means to Chi Xiaocheng.

“To her, love is possession. It’s being the center of each other’s world. It can even be ‘orange juice.’

“So, play along with her logic. Act like you want to possess her too, like you want mutual devotion forever. Take the initiative to drink her ‘orange juice.’ Her frail little body can’t produce much. Once she’s weakened, she won’t be able to fight back, and you can resolve this.

“Don’t think about the future. Right now, the priority is calming her down!”

Si Chen’s wall of text left Su Tao trembling.

‘I… possess Xiaocheng?’

Go along with her, even take the initiative to drink her “orange juice”?

‘What does that mean? Do I have to become a yandere too, just to match her?’

As Su Tao’s overwhelmed brain struggled to process this, her phone suddenly rang.

The sound made Chi Xiaocheng peek out from the bedroom.

Su Tao didn’t dare continue chatting with Si Chen. She quickly deleted all the messages before forcing a stiff smile at Chi Xiaocheng, who had walked into the living room.

“It’s my supervisor from my part-time job.”

Chi Xiaocheng simply smiled. “Go ahead and answer. I said I wouldn’t interfere during your phone time, remember?”

She sat down beside Su Tao, watching her with obvious interest in the call’s contents.

Su Tao had no choice but to answer.

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“Hello, Sister Long? Is something wrong?”

Though she addressed her politely as older sister, the voice on the other end was a shrill, middle-aged woman’s, yelling immediately:

“Su Tao! Where the hell have you been skipping off to this time? Do you even want this job anymore?!”

Su Tao paled. “Sister Long, I took three days off! Manager Feng approved it—”

“That Feng bastard doesn’t call the shots here! I do! How many days a month do you even work, huh? If you don’t wanna work, just quit! If you’re not here tomorrow, don’t expect last month’s or this month’s pay!”

“Sister Long, I—”

Click. The call ended.

Su Tao slumped back on the sofa, staring blankly at the ceiling.

The snack store where she worked wasn’t bad. Shifts were usually half-days or short evenings, and the owner was kind to part-time student workers.

As long as she showed up, didn’t slack off, and didn’t make mistakes, a half-day shift paid 100 yuan, which was same as the two-to-three-hour evening shifts.

Her coworkers were all students, and they got along well.

But the branch manager, Long Mian, for some reason, had it out for her.

Even when busy, Su Tao had to endure constant scolding.

She had gotten approval for her leave.

But in her current situation, how could she go back to work?

Su Tao glanced at Chi Xiaocheng, then her phone rang again.

This time, it was her academic advisor.

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“Su Tao, how’s the paper coming? The journal’s submission deadline is next week. You should send me a draft in the next couple of days. I know it’s tight, but I’m confident in your abilities.”

She was only a freshman. Since the semester started, she’d already written two papers. This would be her third.

Her advisor’s so-called “mentorship” and high expectations had become pure pressure.

She didn’t want to write that damn paper at all.

“I’m so tired….”

Slumping back, Su Tao thought again about Si Chen’s words.

She was so tired….

Tears welled up again, but Chi Xiaocheng quickly wiped them away. The loli had climbed onto the sofa, bending down to pull Su Tao into a hug.

“Xiaocheng, I… wuu….”

Su Tao couldn’t hold back anymore. She clung to Chi Xiaocheng, burying her face in her chest as she cried.

This warm, comforting embrace was something she loved so much.

And something she feared just as deeply.

Chi Xiaocheng gently stroked Su Tao’s hair. “Cry, cry… Let it all out. You’ll feel better.”

‘Anything that makes you unhappy… I’ll take care of it for you.’

Once Su Tao had cried herself to sleep, Chi Xiaocheng carried her to bed.

Then, hiding the fruit knife, she quietly slipped out the door.