Peach-Orange! – Chapter 223 – The Growing Distance

As soon as Si Chen uttered this coded phrase, Chi Xiaocheng couldn’t help but pause.

The two stared at each other, wide-eyed, and then Chi Xiaocheng, with a hint of confusion, asked in return, “Forever… forever don’t love Tao-Tao?”

Si Chen nodded seriously. “Yes, forever don’t love Tao-Tao.”

Chi Xiaocheng looked utterly baffled. “What does that mean, Young Master Si Chen? Do you not like eating peaches? It’s true that peaches aren’t really in season right now.”

“Tsk—”

Si Chen sucked in a sharp breath, which Chi Xiaocheng immediately commented on. “Also, Young Master Si Chen, you’ve been acting weird since earlier. And it’s not just you, Dongfang Yang and Dr. Su have been asking me all sorts of questions too. Did something happen? I just took a nap because I was sick, right?”

She even forgot about the gunshot incident. Her scrambled memories had filled in the gaps with her being sick?

At this point, Si Chen truly couldn’t tell if Chi Xiaocheng was pretending or not.

He had studied some psychology, and because of Chi Xiaocheng’s situation, he had recently consulted Dr. Lin extensively. It was no exaggeration to say that he could easily work as a psychologist in a regular hospital.

Precisely because of this, he didn’t dare make a definitive judgment about Chi Xiaocheng’s condition.

In the past, no matter how much she acted or pretended, Si Chen could always sense some inconsistency. He could always tell that “Chi Xiaocheng was lying.”

Now, however, that feeling was completely gone.

At this point, he believed there was only one way left to confirm whether Chi Xiaocheng was faking it or not.

The activation password!

Chi Xiaocheng was a yandere. As long as he said he liked Su Tao, no matter how much she pretended, her true nature would reveal itself!

But… this activation password was a bit life-threatening.

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He had used it a few times already, and each time, he felt like he was one step closer to death. The last time he tested it in the hospital room, if Chi Xiaocheng hadn’t been in a “dead” state, she probably would’ve jumped up and tried to kill him.

Not to mention the note left by that doll, which had kept him up for several nights, afraid that if he fell asleep, he might never wake up again.

Now….

Si Chen made a move to take off his shirt, ready to try speaking the password. But when he looked at Chi Xiaocheng—

She tilted her head slightly, as if puzzled by his action of removing his shirt.

Yet, a faint, adorable smile lingered at the corner of her lips.

That smile sent chills down Si Chen’s spine the longer he looked at it.

His shirt-removing action froze for three seconds.

“Never mind, I’m fine.”

This activation password… maybe it was better to forget about it. He had a premonition that if he actually said it, he might not escape alive.

Still, he didn’t give up on one last attempt. He decided to lay his cards on the table. “Chi Xiaocheng, it’s just the two of us here now. There are no cameras or bugs in this room. We’ve worked together for so long. Surely I’ve earned your trust by now, right?

“Just tell me straight: our plan to deal with Su Tao… we’re still going through with it, aren’t we?”

Si Chen stared intently into Chi Xiaocheng’s eyes, trying to discern whether her answer would be a lie or the truth.

Yet, her response still disappointed him.

Those slightly reddish but now-clear eyes reflected nothing but confusion.

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“Young Master Si Chen, what on earth are you talking about? I can understand your words, but I have no idea what you mean.

“And this ‘plan to deal with Su Tao’… I may not have strong feelings for her, but she’s still the sister I grew up with. Even if I don’t like her, you can’t go harming her.”

A somewhat indifferent but expected answer.

Given Chi Xiaocheng’s current feelings toward Su Tao, even if she found her annoying, scary, or wanted to reject her, she still wouldn’t wish harm upon her.

They might argue, they might clash, but it wasn’t to the point of wanting the other dead.

Yet, for Si Chen, this answer wasn’t good news.

Right now, he didn’t dare test the activation password. But if Chi Xiaocheng’s memories were truly scrambled….

Didn’t that mean his plan was ruined?

There was no telling when Su Tao’s War Hero father would return. Maybe tomorrow, maybe after the New Year?

But she was still Chi Xiaocheng, a yandere!

If she was capable of faking her own death, something so extreme, then losing her memories now wasn’t out of the question.

Surely, she’d recover her memories one day, right?

And until then, all he had to do was make Su Tao fall for Chi Xiaocheng. Whether she was faking it or not, that part wouldn’t change!

After perfunctorily responding to Chi Xiaocheng a few more times, Si Chen left the room with a grim expression, deep in thought.

‘Su Tao, Su Tao… if you neglect Chi Xiaocheng, things are going to get very difficult for me.’

After leaving the hospital room, he was immediately questioned by Su Tao and Dongfang Yang.

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His answer was the same as theirs: Chi Xiaocheng’s memories were scrambled. To what extent, they didn’t know. How to treat it, they didn’t know either.

But he offered another suggestion: it would be best to wait until tomorrow for Dr. Chen and Dr. Lin to assess her condition.

The three of them bombarding her with questions had already made Chi Xiaocheng suspicious.

She had scrambled memories, but she wasn’t stupid.

If Professor Su, Dr. Lin, and Dr. Chen came at her one after another, even an idiot would realize something was wrong.

Tonight, they’d give her a heads-up, and tomorrow, they’d use treatment as an excuse for the two doctors to question her.

After discussing it, the three of them, along with Professor Su, agreed on this plan.

The only thing that disappointed Su Tao was that Dr. Cheng still hadn’t replied to her messages.

She really wanted to ask Dr. Cheng to come to Jiuzhou City.

…

That night, Su Tao left the hospital and headed home.

The sky was overcast, with no stars or moon in sight.

The weather forecast had said it would be clear, turning cloudy in the afternoon with possible rain. But after spending the whole day at the hospital, Su Tao hadn’t seen a single drop. In fact, the day had been bright and sunny, without even a trace of clouds.

“The weather forecast is as unreliable as ever,” Su Tao muttered.

She blew warm air onto her slightly reddened, freezing hands, then let out a bitter laugh. “In a way, though, it’s actually pretty accurate.”

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The clouds hadn’t blocked out the sun in the sky.

But they had blocked out the sun in her world.

And in her world, it was pouring.

Xiaocheng had woken up, but her memories were messed up, and her attitude toward Su Tao was completely different from before.

What would the future hold?

Su Tao looked up at the sky, reaching out as if trying to grasp the moon high above.

But after searching for a long time, she couldn’t find the moon behind the clouds.

Not even a single twinkling star was visible.

In the latter half of the night, when she couldn’t sleep, the rain began to pour.

Amidst the rumbling thunder, even the straw doll, the keepsake she relied on for comfort, failed to provide her with even the slightest sense of security.

King was afraid of thunder and had hidden somewhere in the house.

Xiaocheng had woken up. Logically, the distance between them should have grown smaller, their bond tighter.

But right now, Su Tao only felt an overwhelming loneliness closing in from all sides.

If she couldn’t sleep, it meant she couldn’t even dream.

The girl she cared about so deeply seemed to be drifting further and further away.