Peach-Orange! – Chapter 188 – What She Fears Most Is Her Gentleness

“The dream is ending?”

“Xiaocheng, what are you talking about!” Su Tao frantically reached out, trying to grasp Chi Xiaocheng tightly, but no matter how hard she tried, she could no longer touch the girl at all.

The surrounding scenery began to crack like shattered glass, fissures spreading throughout.

Chi Xiaocheng still stood before her, wearing a faint smile.

Faced with this surreal sight, Su Tao’s lunge forward halted. Her body hunched slightly, head bowed, eyes brimming with tears hidden beneath her hair.

Su Tao understood that this wasn’t reality. It was a dream.

She had simply refused to acknowledge it, deceiving herself, even deceiving this dream world, just to stay here forever.

Here, it was spring.

Unlike the cold, lonely winter of reality.

Every time she stepped outside and saw the white snow, Su Tao would think of the pristine white carpet beside her bed at home.

Over half a month ago, that white carpet had been stained crimson with the girl’s blood.

Here, there was a lively Xiaocheng, the one who occupied her thoughts no matter her mood.

Su Tao desperately wished this were reality.

Surely, the painful side is the dream, right?

Tears fell once more, dripping onto the cabin floor.

“This won’t do.” Chi Xiaocheng’s voice carried both helplessness and affection as she stepped closer, attempting to embrace Su Tao.

But her arms passed right through.

Su Tao looked up in shock, meeting Chi Xiaocheng’s eyes.

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Those crimson pupils had frightened her countless times in the darkness.

Yet now, all Su Tao saw in them was tenderness.

Chi Xiaocheng took another step back, gazing softly at the girl. “Seems Tao-Tao forgot our final promise.”

“Promise?”

Su Tao stood frozen, her mind scrambling to recall any last agreement between them.

All she could remember was the sight of Chi Xiaocheng collapsing in a pool of blood.

Back then, she had been saying something….

Su Tao suddenly inhaled sharply, her pupils contracting momentarily.

Noticing this, Chi Xiaocheng smiled gently. “Looks like Tao-Tao remembers. So, after I left… what have you been doing?”

“I….”

Su Tao lowered her eyelids. “I did nothing.”

The beautiful memories from the dream had filled her completely, but it was just a dream after all.

As the dream neared its end, the pains of reality came flooding back, displacing those recollections.

Su Tao’s head drooped even lower, unable to meet Chi Xiaocheng’s eyes.

“Dongfang Yang, Sichen, Brother Chi Song, and so many others who came from afar to help. They’ve all been doing something for you.

“But me? I’ve just been running away, refusing to face the reality that you’re… gone. Wasting my days at home, not even stepping outside…”

Even the revenge had been carried out by Brother Chi Song.

‘Su Tao, what kind of person are you?!’

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‘How could someone like me dare to face Xiaocheng?’

‘How could I deserve….’

‘To enjoy such beautiful things in this dream?!’

Meeting Xiaocheng again wasn’t about indulging in happiness. It was about apologizing!

Tears the size of marbles finally overflowed.

“Hey, Xiaocheng, can you… not be so gentle with me?

“Scold me! Curse at me!

“It’s all my fault, all my fault, all my fault! If not for me, you wouldn’t have died! Saving someone like me wasn’t worth it at all!

“Please, Xiaocheng… won’t you yell at me?

“Wuuu….”

She had come to terms with many things, but she never forgot her own neglect.

Never forgot how she had cold-shouldered Xiaocheng after their summer quarrel.

She craved this gentleness, yet feared it.

‘Hit me, berate me, vent any emotions on me! Just don’t be this gentle, okay?’

‘This kindness only makes the real world lonelier.’

“Tao-Tao, you always overthink things alone, shouldering all the blame yourself.

“Like I’ve said before, I never blamed you.”

The words cleared some of the haze from Su Tao’s vision.

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Chi Xiaocheng walked to the window, gazing outside calmly. “Tao-Tao, I wanted you to look at me. But I’m dead now. I don’t want you fixating on me. You should have your own life.

“Studying, working, trying things you like, striving to improve yourself… I’m already gone. Focusing on me is meaningless.

“Remember our promise?”

Chi Xiaocheng turned, her hair swaying lightly. “At the very end… I hoped you’d forget me.

“By then, I was already happy.

“I didn’t dare ask for more.

“I didn’t want my death to keep affecting you, didn’t want you suffering because of me. Without me, you should live happier, fuller days.”

Chi Xiaocheng smiled blissfully. “Your guilt, regret, longing after I left… While it makes me glad, still….

“I’d rather see Tao-Tao happy every day!”

The dream was fracturing.

The cabin windows shattered simultaneously, sharp cracks accompanying the breeze that lifted Chi Xiaocheng’s hair.

A contented smile graced her lovely face, so endearing.

Yet her body grew increasingly transparent.

Su Tao bit her lip hard, fists clenching tighter.

‘Forget you and live happily?’

‘How could I ever truly forget you—’

‘You who stayed by my side for over a decade?’

‘You who said you loved me with your last breath?’

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Su Tao raised an arm, roughly wiping her tears. “Xiaocheng, don’t think like that, okay? Aren’t you a yandere? Possess me! Lock me forever in this ‘dream’ prison!

“I’d stay here with you forever!

“Aren’t you supposed to be obsessive? Please… don’t become so reasonable….”

Her words trailed off weakly as her arms fell limp.

She knew that some things were irreversible.

How can the dead return?

‘I should be grateful just to have this beautiful dream, to speak with Xiaocheng again, to apologize.’

‘But I can’t help wanting more!’

The girl before her felt so close, yet infinitely distant.

Chi Xiaocheng whispered, “Tao-Tao, let go, okay? Holding on will only hurt you more.”

“Let go?” Su Tao’s gaze sharpened abruptly, fierce and resolute. “Never!”

‘I’ll seize your hand, and….’

‘Keep you!’

‘Possess you!’

‘Make you stay with me forever!’

‘If… if there’s a next life, another chance….’

“I’ll never let go again!”