Peach-Orange! – Chapter 154 – Will There Really Be a Miracle?

Several hours of high-pressure resuscitation, heartstrings trembling countless times with the doctors’ comings and goings made Su Tao fantasize the entire time:

What if… just what if? The judgment of Xiaocheng’s death was only her own one-sided conclusion. The doctors were still trying; perhaps, just like last time, they could bring Xiaocheng “back from the dead.”

But…

“What do you mean by ‘sorry’?”

Su Tao stood before Professor Su, grabbing her collar as she shouted in utter collapse, “Professor Su, what exactly do you mean by ‘sorry’?

“Don’t say things like that, okay…?

“Xiaocheng still has hope, right?

“You’re just lying to me, aren’t you? You always liked joking around, so this must be another one of your jokes, right?”

The hand gripping her collar loosened heavily, and Su Tao buried her head weakly into Professor Su’s arms.

“Why… why couldn’t you save her? Aren’t you doctors? Aren’t you doctors…?

“Wuu…”

A hand clutched the sleeve of Professor Su’s coat from behind.

Tightening harder and harder.

Whimpers rose again, but Su Tao couldn’t shed any more tears.

“I’m sorry.”

Professor Su repeated the words, wrapping her arms around Su Tao, trying to offer a sliver of warmth and comfort to this girl who had reached her limit.

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But to Su Tao, this embrace felt so, so cold.

Only Xiaocheng’s embrace was warm.

But she was gone now!

Her sobs and whimpers gradually quieted. She hadn’t had a drop of water in hours, holding on purely by sheer willpower.

And now that the sky had fallen, she couldn’t hold on any longer.

She collapsed into Professor Su’s arms.

Her face still twisted in agony and regret.

Professor Su bit her lip hard, wiped the tears from the corner of her eye, and waved over a nurse.

“Take her to rest, and monitor her condition. Come get me immediately when she wakes up, understand?”

The nurse supported Su Tao, glancing worriedly at Professor Su. “Professor, you should get some rest too.”

But Professor Su just waved her off, signaling for the nurse to leave first.

Then she sat down beside Dongfang Yang, covering her head in regret.

Dongfang Yang’s heart ached, his own eyes stinging with the urge to cry. “Professor Su… is there really no hope at all?”

Professor Su lifted her gaze to Dongfang Yang and slowly shook her head. “Truthfully, Miss Chi had already lost all signs of life when she was brought to the hospital. We just… removed the bullet while trying our best to resuscitate her.

“The bullet grazed her heart. Though we managed to extract it with great difficulty, the power of a sniper rifle was simply too much. If it had been an ordinary bullet….”

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No. There were no “ifs.”

It had already happened. Chi Xiaocheng’s heart had stopped, and the possibility of shock-induced suspended animation had been ruled out.

Professor Su bit her lip. “As a doctor, I shouldn’t say anything unscientific, but if there’s any chance she could wake up… it would take nothing short of a miracle.”

Dongfang Yang looked at her in confusion. “If her heart has already stopped, what kind of miracle could bring someone back from death?”

This wasn’t a fantasy world. There was no magic.

No immortal lords who could refine life with a single grasp.

Dongfang Yang, as the young master of a prominent family, had access to things ordinary people didn’t: the limits of human potential in this world, martial arts masters from ancient family lineages.

At their peak, they could perform light-footed techniques, maybe dodge bullets.

But there was nothing like the fantastical or mystical elements from novels.

Professor Su gathered herself and explained, “I mentioned this to you before, didn’t I? The cells in Miss Chi’s body are far more active than a normal person’s. This is actually an extremely abnormal phenomenon.

“And now, even though Miss Chi’s heart has stopped and many of her neurons are damaged, cutting off all signs of life… her cells are still active.”

Professor Su clenched her fist tightly. “If, and I mean if, those cells can remain active and repair her body on their own… then perhaps, when a miracle happens, she might really wake up?”

She was a doctor. She shouldn’t be thinking like this.

But when someone was truly desperate, wouldn’t they cling to even the faintest, most unreachable shred of hope?

After hearing this, Dongfang Yang fell silent for a long time.

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Reason told him such a miracle was impossible.

But emotion made a sliver of anticipation rise in his heart.

Professor Su looked in the direction where the nurse had taken Su Tao, forcing herself to stay rational as she suppressed her emotions. “But right now, the more pressing issue is Miss Su.”

“Just in that short time, her condition was terrible. Her emotional breakdown has pushed her to the edge. Do you know what I’m most afraid of?

“I’m afraid she’ll lose her will to live.”

The dead could not return to life.

Chi Xiaocheng was truly gone.

But the problems she left behind were something Professor Su couldn’t ignore.

And Su Tao herself was the most difficult issue to resolve.

Under normal circumstances, Dongfang Yang would’ve argued, insisting that Su Tao was strong and wouldn’t give up on herself so easily.

But remembering the scene at Chi Xiaocheng’s home, he hesitated.

That petite girl had collapsed into Su Tao’s arms. The girl who couldn’t accept reality had tasted the metallic crimson and even turned to ask him: why didn’t that scarlet taste like orange juice?

How could it possibly taste like orange juice?!

Her name was Xiaocheng, but she wasn’t made of orange!

Su Tao hadn’t been right in the head even then.

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Her body was failing, and her mind was breaking.

He turned to Professor Su. “Professor, do you have any ideas?”

Professor Su spoke slowly. “The best approach during her recovery is to give Miss Su a new emotional anchor. So I was thinking… what if we used that ‘miracle’?”

“Miracle?”

“Yes.” Professor Su nodded. “We could tell her a lie, make her believe that Miss Chi still has a chance to live, even if that chance is infinitely close to zero.”

“As long as she holds onto that hope, she won’t give up easily. As for the rest… time will dull the pain.”

Or perhaps, this wasn’t entirely a lie.

Because a miracle was, by definition, something with a possibility infinitely close to zero—yet still not zero.

But after thinking it over, Dongfang Yang’s face twisted with reluctance. “Wouldn’t that… be too cruel to Su Tao?”

She had already suffered so much.

It was already impossible.

And yet they would weave another lie for her.

What if one day the lie was exposed? Even if she had recovered somewhat, wouldn’t she have to endure this pain all over again?

He looked at Professor Su. “Is there any other way? She… she’s already in so much pain. I’d rather she find happiness in the future, not remain trapped in a mental cage because of a lie.”