Peach-Orange! – Chapter 162 – What Will Be the Price of Lies?

“Sister Su Tao, where is Sister Xiaocheng?”

The innocent, clueless, and sweet voice made Su Tao’s beating heart stop for an instant.

Since Chi Xiaocheng’s departure, what she feared most was facing Chi Xiaocheng’s friends and family.

She had hesitated for an entire day, not even daring to tell Chi Song about it.

Because she didn’t know how to answer.

Where had Xiaocheng gone?

When would she come back?

Could she really say that Xiaocheng had gone to another world and would never return?

That kind of expectation was like a heavy hammer striking Su Tao’s heart.

It reminded her that Chi Xiaocheng had died because of her while also adding another layer of burden and pressure.

It felt like someone was choking her, making it hard to breathe.

While she was lost in thought, Fang Ning had already voiced her confusion. “What’s wrong, Sister Su Tao?”

Su Tao snapped back to attention and quickly changed the subject. “By the way, how did you meet Xiaocheng? She never mentioned you to me.”

She unlocked the door with her fingerprint and handed Fang Ning a pair of slippers. “Come in first.”

This was Fang Ning’s second time entering this familiar house, and she was immediately enveloped by warmth. She replied, “I met Sister Xiaocheng a month ago. I almost froze to death in the snow, and she saved me.”

“Saved you?”

Su Tao was surprised, her pupils contracting slightly.

“Yeah.” Fang Ning, sensing that Su Tao recognized her, said somewhat sheepishly, “Before, I used to follow Liu Guijia. Later, she abandoned me, and I was thrown outside. The snow was really heavy at the time.

“I had nowhere to go and almost froze to death. Then Sister Xiaocheng happened to pass by and saved me. She comforted me and said she’d help me survive. Later, she contacted Brother Dongfang.

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“Brother Dongfang saw that I wasn’t in school, so he arranged for me to work as a dorm supervisor.”

Fang Ning walked into the house, her smile still bright. “Now, the school has already paid me for half a month’s work. I wanted to buy some gifts to thank Sister Xiaocheng.

“If it weren’t for her, I might have died already.”

She spoke as if recalling something tragic, yet her tone was filled with happiness.

As though, if she hadn’t nearly died back then, she wouldn’t have met Chi Xiaocheng.

Her smile was innocent and radiant, but to Su Tao, it was heartbreaking.

So much so that she froze while pouring water.

Only when the hot water overflowed and scalded her hand did Su Tao gasp in pain and snap back to reality.

“Sister Su Tao, are you okay?”

Su Tao forced a smile. “I’m fine. I just haven’t been resting well lately. Sit for a while, I’ll pour you another cup of hot water.”

Perhaps because she hadn’t properly talked to anyone in days, or perhaps because Fang Ning’s figure reminded her a little of Chi Xiaocheng, Su Tao soon became friends with her as they sat on the sofa.

She tried, consciously or unconsciously, to avoid topics related to Chi Xiaocheng.

But Fang Ning kept steering the conversation back to her.

As if, to her, Chi Xiaocheng was everything.

The intensity of this emotion was not lost on Su Tao.

And because of that, it hurt even more.

This child had been saved by Xiaocheng. How could she possibly tell her such a tragic truth?

How could she ever say it out loud?!

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But what had to be faced still had to be faced.

After chatting for nearly an hour, Fang Ning asked again, innocently, “Sister Su Tao, you still haven’t told me when Sister Xiaocheng will be back.”

Su Tao lowered her head, gripping the cup in her hands slightly tighter. Her hair fell over her eyes, hiding her guilty gaze. “Xiaocheng… went on a long trip. It might take a while before she comes back.”

Fang Ning pressed further, puzzled. “Did something happen?”

Su Tao replied, “Dongfang Yang needed Xiaocheng’s help with something, so she went back to the capital with him. I’m not sure when she’ll return, but it’ll probably take at least a month or two.”

Fang Ning didn’t seem to doubt her, though her voice grew noticeably more disappointed. “Okay. When Sister Xiaocheng comes back, you must tell me, okay?”

“Mm.”

Relieved that the lie had worked, Su Tao quickly stood up. “By the way, it’s so late. Are you going back? Should I prepare a guest room for you?”

“No need!” Fang Ning smiled sweetly. “I have an early shift tomorrow, so I’ll just go back to the dorm. Don’t forget to tell me when Sister Xiaocheng returns, okay?”

“Okay!”

With a smile, Su Tao saw Fang Ning out of the neighborhood before slowly returning to the house.

Bang—

The door shut heavily behind her. Despite the air-conditioned warmth, the living room still felt icy and desolate to Su Tao.

For now, she had only deceived Fang Ning. But what would happen if the truth came out?

Su Tao didn’t dare to think too deeply about it. The pressure weighed on her once more.

Forcing smiles in front of others, burying the pain inside… when she looked ahead, all she saw was endless loneliness and torment.

“So this is what it feels like to lose someone….”

Su Tao walked back to the sofa, her gaze landing on the dried bloodstain on the carpet.

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The shattered glass door had already been replaced by the neighborhood security. Even all the windows had been upgraded to bulletproof glass while she was hospitalized.

But some things could never be erased.

Just like before she met Chi Xiaocheng as a child, she’d had many friends, but none of them had ever looked at her the way Xiaocheng did, as if she was their whole world.

“What if I had loved her from the very beginning? What kind of ending would that have been?”

Or was this the unique ending fate had chosen for her?

Xiaocheng hadn’t fully succumbed to her yandere tendencies, hadn’t killed everyone around her.

Nor had she suffered the same fate as in the second dream, tortured to death by Ye Liang.

But this third path still led to the same unavoidable conclusion—death.

As Su Tao sat blankly on the sofa, lost in thought, something furry brushed against her foot.

Meow.

A cute sound, followed by a gurgle from King’s stomach.

While she was away, King had been hunting for his own food. He hadn’t eaten cat food in three days.

Meow~

Another sweet meow, and Su Tao instantly understood what this proud cat wanted.

He wanted a treat.

Su Tao sighed and picked King up, forcing an envious smile. “I wish I could be as carefree as you.”

The cat’s presence brought a sliver of warmth to the empty house.

King’s bed was in a corner of Chi Xiaocheng’s room. After carrying him back, Su Tao fed him.

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The comforting presence of the cat eased some of her tension.

But the room, filled with memories, still felt suffocating.

Su Tao reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone.

A small pill accidentally slipped out with it.

It was Chi Xiaocheng’s stress-relief pill.

Su Tao stared at it blankly, then suddenly felt a bitter amusement.

If she had taken this pill back then, would things have turned out differently?

If she had obediently let Xiaocheng lock her in the room, maybe they wouldn’t have fought. Maybe that incident on the balcony wouldn’t have happened.

Su Tao picked up the pill and tossed it into her mouth.

Consider it… a belated apology.

As the pill dissolved, Su Tao turned and collapsed onto the bed, clutching the large brown teddy bear tightly.

As if holding Chi Xiaocheng, she hugged it tighter and tighter.

In the depths of the night, tears… fell once more.

But she didn’t notice, in the pile of dolls in the corner, a cute straw doll was silently watching her.

Even after she fell asleep, the doll miraculously took out a pair of glasses.

The Status Glasses.

As she put them on, lines of data and text slowly appeared before Chi Xiaocheng’s eyes.