Peach-Orange! – Chapter 178 – Sorry I Forgot, You Don’t Like Oranges

Unlike Su Tao, the petite girl’s eyes were completely devoid of light, her entire being seeming to lack vitality or emotion as she stared at Su Tao in disbelief.

Each step she took felt like it landed directly on Su Tao’s heart.

Looking down at Su Tao, who was sitting on the ground, she asked coldly, “Su Tao jiejie, didn’t you say last time that Xiaocheng jiejie just went somewhere far away and would be back in a couple of months at most?

“What do you mean she died for you?

“Were you lying to me last time?

“You promised me you’d tell me when she came back.”

Her tone was flat. It was impossible to tell whether Fang Ning was blaming Su Tao or not.

Su Tao braced herself against the ground with her hands, lips pressed tightly together as she avoided Fang Ning’s gaze, letting her hair obscure her expression.

Fang Ning grabbed Su Tao’s shoulders, forcing her to look up. “Hey, Su Tao jiejie, tell me, is Xiaocheng jiejie really dead?”

What kind of eyes were those?

Empty, lifeless, filled with the despair of someone who felt the sky was collapsing.

The words Su Tao wanted to say stuck in her throat. In the end, all she managed were three stiff syllables:

“I’m sorry.”

“So you really lied to me?” Fang Ning released Su Tao gently.

Su Tao squeezed her eyes shut, bracing herself for the little loli’s anger, even prepared to be used as an outlet for her rage.

But to her surprise, Fang Ning didn’t lash out or complain. She just asked calmly, “Then where is Xiaocheng jiejie now?”

“She’s… already gone.”

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“I mean her remains. Or her ashes. Or her grave. Anything.” Fang Ning spoke expressionlessly. “I want to see for myself.”

Like Su Tao at first, she didn’t want to accept or face the truth.

A sliver of hope lingered in her heart. Maybe this was all a lie?

But Su Tao had already experienced the pain of hope followed by despair.

Twice.

Gritting her teeth, she said loudly, “Xiaocheng is dead! She died protecting me! That part isn’t a lie!

“You… you don’t need to see her remains.”

Fang Ning tilted her head. “What does it have to do with you if I want to see my Xiaocheng jiejie? I only called you ‘Su Tao jiejie’ because Xiaocheng jiejie wanted me to. Since you couldn’t protect her, don’t tell me what to do, okay?

“Where are her remains?”

“Dongfang Yang’s… private hospital. Great Sun Hospital.”

Without another word, Fang Ning turned and left.

Su Tao watched her retreating back, then clenched her right hand into a fist and slammed it into the ground.

Her teeth bit into her lower lip until blood welled up.

No tears fell, but her words were wrenching: “Why… why won’t you even yell at me?!”

Camera flashes began to flicker around her. The campus sweetheart who had once been adored by so many was now a pitiful sight.

A short while later, as Su Tao tried to stand, a hand reached out to her.

“Why are you sitting here? What happened?”

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Su Tao looked up to see Chen Qian holding lunch and fruit, having just returned from the cafeteria.

Su Tao stared at the outstretched hand and at Chen Qian, who loomed over her, blocking the sunlight. She didn’t take it.

Pushing herself up from the ground, she mumbled weakly, “It’s nothing. I just… fell.”

“Oh. Have you eaten lunch?” Chen Qian, unaware of Chi Xiaocheng’s death, casually pulled an orange from her bag.

“Want some fruit? These things are crazy expensive in the cafeteria.”

Su Tao stared blankly at the offered orange, not taking it.

Instead, she asked slowly, “Chen Qian, can I ask you something? Do you think… I deserve Xiaocheng?”

Chen Qian gave her a puzzled look. “Why ask that now?”

Su Tao frowned. “Can’t I ask?”

It wasn’t that she couldn’t.

Chen Qian just didn’t know what had gotten into Su Tao this time.

But since she was part of the “Team Orange” faction and loved stirring the pot, she answered honestly: “As your best friend, and to spare your feelings, I’d say yes.

“You’re beautiful, and while your personality can be a bit dense sometimes, you’re still way better than most girls these days. Someone like you could deserve anyone, no need to put yourself down.”

Su Tao pressed her lips together, biting the spot where they were already bleeding. “And… if you weren’t speaking as my best friend, and weren’t sparing my feelings?”

Chen Qian shrugged. “Then it’s even simpler. Ever since that fight in college when Chi Xiaocheng argued with Ye Liang and you ignored her for months, I’ve thought you didn’t deserve her.”

Su Tao’s gaze turned vacant. “So that’s… what you really think?”

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“Just being honest. You said her yandere tendencies scared you. Haven’t I told you this a bunch of times?”

Chen Qian glanced sideways at Su Tao. “If you don’t like her, reject her. If you do, accept her and deal with her yandere side. You might feel conflicted, but to outsiders, you just look like a heartless jerk stringing Chi Xiaocheng along.

“You want everything but refuse to give anything in return.”

She tossed the orange in her hand lightly. “Anyway, forget it. No point ruining our friendship over this. Do you want the orange or not?”

“I….”

Just as Su Tao reached out, Chen Qian added:

“Oh, right. Sorry. I forgot you don’t really like oranges.”

The orange was withdrawn.

And with Chen Qian’s departure, the distance between them grew.

Chen Qian couldn’t care less what Su Tao thought. She was only worried whether what she’d said was appropriate.

Probably fine, right?

It didn’t matter what Su Tao had actually done or what she truly felt. As long as Chi Xiaocheng would be satisfied.

She wondered if she’d get another one of those black-tech beauty pills that enhanced looks and body shape before the semester ended.

One by one, her friends left her.

Su Tao’s outstretched hand, still hovering where the orange had been, didn’t lower.

Her expression grew increasingly pained, her movements listless.

“Do I really… not deserve Xiaocheng?”

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She didn’t go home. Instead, she returned to the cat café, skipping both lunch and dinner, sitting there the entire day.

She wanted to sort through her thoughts, but her mind was a mess.

Memories of Chi Xiaocheng flooded her mind.

The happy ones seemed frozen in childhood.

Everything after the basement….

No, even earlier.

After that summer break argument, when she’d taken Ye Liang’s side and ignored Chi Xiaocheng for three months.

From then on, the tea-haired, crimson-eyed girl had brought her nothing but pressure and fear.

Su Tao didn’t remember how she got home. By the time she reached Chi Xiaocheng’s neighborhood, it was already 11 p.m.

Snow fell heavily, dusting her hair white.

Before she could enter the complex, she spotted another small figure waiting at the gates.

Fang Ning, who had left without a word at noon, had been standing there for some time.

Su Tao hurried forward, wanting both to comfort her and explain herself.

But when she reached out to brush the snow from Fang Ning’s shoulders, the little loli shoved her hand away.

The gaze that met hers was no longer empty, just filled with indescribable disgust.

“Miss Su Tao, please don’t come here anymore. This isn’t your home, and you don’t deserve to live in Xiaocheng jiejie’s house!”