Peach-Orange! – Chapter 171 – Even If Regretful, Live for Her

The death of Ye Liang was not the end of the story. As one of the leaders of Jiuzhou City, his death left behind an enormous mess.

The local families that had previously lain low began to emerge, doing everything they could to tear a piece of flesh from Ye Liang’s legacy, using it as nourishment to strengthen themselves.

The underground forces, unable to operate openly, also began testing the boundaries between light and darkness.

The Ye family of the capital seemed uninterested in Jiuzhou City’s affairs and did not send a new representative to take over.

With such a major incident occurring, how could the officials of the Great Zhou Kingdom remain inactive? The entire Jiuzhou City was quietly placed under a state of heightened security. At least on the surface, no chaos would be allowed to break out.

But what happened behind the scenes remained unknown.

Lin Fangya and Xiao Ming were still missing.

The Dongfang family began to intervene, forcing Dongfang Yang to step forward and make a public appearance.

Si Chen should have been happy about the opportunity to absorb a large portion of Ye Liang’s forces, but he was extremely dissatisfied with one of Chi Song’s actions.

Standing in the conference room, he shouted at Chi Song and Brother Long, “I told you not to kill Ye Liang! Su Tao’s father’s identity is incredibly important. If we could just find him, your gang wouldn’t have to fear these insignificant families anymore!

“Why couldn’t you understand that?!”

Si Chen was furious. “By killing Ye Liang, you’ve provoked the Ye family in the capital. They care about their reputation and will definitely come after you. Dongfang Yang and I are both too busy to help now. Who’s going to protect you? Su Tao’s father was the only solution!”

There was some selfishness in his words, but he wasn’t wrong.

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Yet Brother Long remained completely unshaken.

To him, everything that had happened recently was as ordinary as drinking tea. He said calmly, “Don’t worry about us. I have my own way of dealing with the Ye family’s retaliation.”

Chi Song, meanwhile, lowered his head. “It’s my fault. I had to avenge my little sister. Every extra day he lived was another day of risk. Even if I had to do it again, I’d still pull the trigger.”

Brother Long seemed to remember something and asked, “By the way, aside from Ye Liang, there was also an old man who died up there. Who was he?”

Si Chen replied irritably, “He was Ye Liang’s guardian. Just another old fossil clinging to the past, unwilling to face reality.”

Seeing their confusion, he reluctantly explained, “Think of him as a martial arts master. Families like ours, with long histories, often have some unique traditions. That old man was a martial arts master, though they prefer to call themselves ‘ancient martial artists.’

“They have decent bloodlines and enhance themselves through training and drugs. But even at their peak, all they can do is dodge bullets. And in this world, there’s no such thing as a true ‘invincibility.’ They sound intimidating, but any gun can take them down.

“Basically, they’re just bodyguards who are a bit better at close combat. Nothing special.”

Si Chen took a sip of tea. “Instead of worrying about that, you should think about someone else. What are we going to do about Su Tao?”

At this, the three fell silent.

Hatred could sustain a person’s spirit. But what happens when that hatred is gone?

Two days had passed since Ye Liang’s death.

Before, Su Tao had struggled to keep herself together. Even though her mental state was poor, she knew she couldn’t let her body weaken if she wanted revenge.

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So she had forced herself to recover.

Otherwise, her frail body wouldn’t have been able to stand against Ye Liang.

Back then, she had still seemed like a “person.”

But now, the target of her hatred was gone.

Chi Xiaocheng was gone too.

Her once-fulfilling life had become monotonous.

She never left Chi Xiaocheng’s home.

When hungry, she ordered takeout. When tired, she slept in Chi Xiaocheng’s bed.

With nothing else to do, she sat on the sofa holding old photos of Chi Xiaocheng, staring blankly. Even when Si Chen and Dongfang Yang visited, she showed no reaction.

Fortunately, there was still a cat in the house. King’s dependence on her occasionally brought a flicker of emotion to her hollow eyes.

But even this cat had become just another “object” of her memories.

After all, that cat café held irreplaceable memories for her.

She had lost all social interaction, all motivation to go outside, and all will to keep living.

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Ding— Su Tao’s phone chimed with a WeChat notification.

It was a message from her friend Chengcheng.

“Hey, Tao-Tao, it’s time to pull yourself together. The dead can’t come back to life. I understand how you feel, but you can’t just stay cooped up at home forever, right?”

Su Tao glanced at the message before lying back on the sofa with King in her arms.

Her gaze fixed on the corner of the rug, still stained red and never replaced.

Sensing that Su Tao wouldn’t reply, Chengcheng called her.

“Hey, Chengcheng. What’s up?”

This wasn’t the first time they’d spoken on the phone.

On the other end was a bright, cheerful voice. “What else? I’m checking in on you! Do you know that Dongfang guy even tracked me down?”

“How’d he find you? Your school’s over ten kilometers away.”

“Who knows what’s wrong with him? He said he wanted to donate a library to my school. I recognized him from what you’d told me before, so I said hi. Next thing I knew, he was more worked up than I was!”

Chengcheng’s tone was exasperated. “He asked me, as your online friend, to talk some sense into you. Said you shouldn’t just sit around overthinking things.”

Su Tao’s voice lacked its usual energy, sounding like an old woman’s. “It’s fine. At least here, I can still smell Xiaocheng’s scent. Outside… there’s nothing.”

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“If I were Xiaocheng and saw you like this, I wouldn’t even recognize you as my sister.”

“Xiaocheng’s not coming back, Chengcheng. If there’s nothing else, I’ll hang up.”

“Wait, hold on!”

Chengcheng hurriedly continued, “Even if Xiaocheng’s gone, you still have to live properly. Otherwise, how can you even remember her? If you don’t live for her sake, how will you face her brother and parents?”

She pressed on, “Didn’t she have things she wanted to do while she was alive? At the very least, you should fulfill her wishes. Are you just going to rot at home forever, thinking about her until you die?

“If you stay like this, she probably wouldn’t even want to visit you in your dreams.”

Perhaps it was the mention of “wishes” that struck a chord in Su Tao. Her slumped body finally moved slightly.

She slowly walked to the balcony, letting the cold wind hit her face. “But what am I supposed to do? Without Xiaocheng, nothing feels worth it.”

“My dear, you still have a life to live! Winter break starts in three days. Are you just going to keep moping at home?”

Chengcheng sighed over the phone. “Fine. I doubt this is getting through to you. Let’s meet up. How about that cat café you told me about last time?”

Su Tao paused. “Meet up? For what?”

“To meet in person, obviously! My advisor gave me three hours off, so I can come out and hang out.” Chengcheng left her with one last line: “Get dressed and leave the house in ten minutes!”