Peach-Orange! – Chapter 164 – Facing Ye Liang!

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Amidst her constant self-torment, Chi Song’s return finally shifted Su Tao’s focus away from guilt and regret.

She couldn’t face Chi Song. Perhaps Chi Song also knew that meeting Su Tao would only add to her burden, which was why he hadn’t returned home to see her.

But his return did redirect Su Tao’s focus from self-destruction to vengeance.

Ye Liang!

If it weren’t for him, Xiaocheng wouldn’t have gotten into trouble, wouldn’t have fought with her, and might not have even turned into a yandere!

If she couldn’t avenge Xiaocheng, then when she died one day, or if Xiaocheng ever appeared in her dreams, how could she possibly face her?

Ye Liang had to die!

Su Tao was alone, and Ye Liang was watching her. Dongfang Yang and Si Chen were both unwilling to let her take any risks.

But Su Tao didn’t see it that way.

Her eyes burned with determination as she declared, “Xiaocheng died because of me. If I can’t even avenge her without relying entirely on them, then what’s the point of me living on in this world?!”

Before Chi Xiaocheng’s death, she hadn’t understood this truth.

She thought that as long as Xiaocheng was by her side, everything would be fine. She had other friends, work kept her busy, and even if she didn’t mention her hospitalized advisor—

There were still classmates, student council members, university clubs, and teachers who occasionally reached out for help.

These were the tangled relationships that made up her life. She had believed her life was quite fulfilling.

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Always busy, never empty.

Whenever she was overwhelmed and still had to coax this adorable little girl, Su Tao would feel both fondness and exasperation. Sometimes, she even wondered, if Xiaocheng didn’t add to her burdens, would she have more time for other things?

But now, Chi Xiaocheng was gone.

Only then did she realize that those so-called “tangled relationships” didn’t change at all without her.

And if she lost those relationships, her life wouldn’t change either.

But without Chi Xiaocheng, it felt like a piece of her heart had been hollowed out.

Work was busy, studies were exhausting, and life’s relationships were frustrating… but after finishing all those things, the first person she thought of was always her.

It was only after losing you that she understood the motivation to do all those things was simply to see her little orange when they were over!

Her resolve finally wore down Dongfang Yang and Si Chen.

Facing this moonlight heroine, Dongfang Yang saw, for the first time in two months, a glimpse of the person she had been when they first met.

Yet the reason she had regained that strength was because someone important had been taken from her.

The plan against Ye Liang began.

Dongfang Yang restrained some of the Ye family’s forces in the capital, keeping them too busy to support Ye Liang in Jiuzhou City.

Si Chen acted as an intelligence hub, gathering information on Ye Liang and smoothing things over with Jiuzhou’s officials.

Chi Song and Brother Long ruthlessly dismantled Ye Liang’s underground operations. During this time, Jiuzhou City saw frequent “accidental fires” and “gas explosions.”

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The chaos unsettled the public.

But it also yielded major progress. Ye Liang had tried to bring reinforcements from Litchi City, only for Brother Long’s group to intercept them mid-journey, and even extract information about Ye Liang’s many operations in Jiuzhou.

With multiple fronts under attack, even though Jiuzhou was Ye Liang’s stronghold, he couldn’t react in time.

He even abandoned the hospital where he’d been receiving treatment.

As for Su Tao, during the time she’d been on good terms with Ye Liang, she’d gotten to know many of his old acquaintances.

Now, she sought to win them over. At the very least, she could use them to guess Ye Liang’s whereabouts.

But taking risks came with danger.

Everyone knew this.

Including Su Tao.

Originally, she had been walking down a bustling street when a girl suddenly bumped into her.

The collision was so deliberate that Su Tao didn’t even have time to get angry before a note was pressed into her hand.

Suspicious, she stepped into a restroom to read it.

“I’m Ye Liang. I know you’re looking for me. Whether you believe it or not, what happened was done by Lin Fangya behind my back.

“I only just woke up in the hospital and found out she targeted you without my knowledge. But you’ve taken your anger out on me, turning my Jiuzhou into a mess.

“This is my stronghold. No matter what, I’m the one who loses in the end. So I don’t want to fight you. I’m willing to talk things out peacefully and hand Lin Fangya over to you.

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“Also, I’ve already captured and interrogated Xiao Ming. I have news about your father. I also have some of Chi Xiaocheng’s belongings. But since you’ve been coming after me so aggressively, I’ve taken the precaution of ‘protecting’ Chi Xiaocheng’s parents to prevent you from doing anything reckless.

“Si Chen and Dongfang Yang only want my assets. They won’t believe a word I say. But you’re different, Su Tao. If you trust me, come alone to the Grand Hotel at 8 p.m. the day after tomorrow. I’ll explain everything to you in person.

“—Ye Liang.”

Both sides of the note were filled with writing. Su Tao recognized Ye Liang’s handwriting and confirmed it was his.

But….

Su Tao’s expression turned strange.

Did Ye Liang really think she was an idiot? Or that she’d be blinded by hatred?

Still….

This worked perfectly for her!

Su Tao clenched the note, her eyes turning icy.

……

Three days flew by. Su Tao carefully prepared herself, donning a thick black down coat before stepping into the kitchen.

Her gaze lingered on the kitchen knife for a few seconds.

In the end, she slipped the fruit knife Chi Xiaocheng often used into her pocket.

She strode out, hailed a taxi, and said expressionlessly, “The Grand Hotel, please.”

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“Miss Su Tao, it seems you’ve kept your word about the note.”

The driver grinned, his eyes glinting with amusement in the rearview mirror.

Su Tao adjusted her coat collar and replied flatly, “What, afraid I’d tell Dongfang Yang and the others? Planning to change locations? I don’t care. You’ve been watching me outside the neighborhood for three days anyway, haven’t you?”

“Clever girl.”

The driver started the taxi. “For the past three days, we’ve monitored not just the neighborhood but even your phone with our hackers.”

“Originally, we had another location prepared. But you really did behave and didn’t tell a soul about Young Master’s arrangement. So there’s no need to change venues.”

The driver sounded almost mocking, as if laughing at Su Tao’s naivety. He leaned back in his seat, his guard completely relaxed.

He didn’t notice the odd look in Su Tao’s eyes.

She really wanted to ask, are your hackers actually competent?

The taxi drove slowly. Su Tao even felt like the driver took several detours, likely to ensure no one was following them, before finally arriving at the Grand Hotel.

Before she even got out, she spotted a man standing awkwardly by the entrance, legs slightly apart, watching her.

That vile smile made Su Tao tighten her grip on the fruit knife in her pocket.

Ye Liang… today is the day you die!