Peach-Orange! – Chapter 236 – As Humble As Her

Distress, heartache, hesitation, overwhelming distress.

Su Tao held the candied hawthorn behind her with one hand while clutching her chest tightly with the other. Despite the turmoil of emotions, she hadn’t forgotten her purpose for coming here.

To apologize!

‘Even if Xiaocheng still hates me!’

‘I still have to say it. Even if I get scolded, I just want to talk to her!’

Su Tao suddenly raised her head, her eyes so resolute they were even tinged with faint red streaks. She took a step forward and spoke with utmost seriousness and volume, “Xiaocheng, I… I came to apologize!”

After saying this, she bent at a 90-degree angle, extending both hands to offer a candied hawthorn skewer.

It was as if she were presenting flowers in a confession.

Su Tao didn’t dare lift her head, stammering as she spoke, “This… this gift is something I just bought. I… I’m out of money. Lately, I’ve been shamelessly getting meals at… at Dongfang Yang’s café, so….

“So, I’ll definitely prepare a better, more important gift for you later!”

After saying this, Su Tao didn’t even dare to breathe loudly.

Originally, she had planned to list all the mistakes she’d made in the past, explain how she would correct them in the future, and approach it with the same seriousness as writing an academic journal paper, all to earn Xiaocheng’s forgiveness.

But the moment she saw Chi Xiaocheng and heard her say she didn’t want to see her, Su Tao’s mind turned into a tangled mess.

Her apology had only amounted to saying “I’m sorry,” without even specifying what she’d done wrong.

Now, she was fully prepared for Chi Xiaocheng to reject her further, even to despise her.

Yet, what reached her ears was that same calm, indifferent voice: “Alright, I forgive you.”

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“Huh?”

Su Tao looked up in shock, her eyes filled with disbelief.

What did Xiaocheng just say?

‘Did I… just hallucinate?’

Chi Xiaocheng said plainly, “Why are you still standing there?”

“It’s not that… I…” Su Tao slowly straightened up, still not daring to look directly at Chi Xiaocheng, only stealing a few glances. “Xiaocheng forgave me just like that? I thought….”

“Oh, if you say so, then I won’t forgive you after all.”

Chi Xiaocheng cut Su Tao off, her tone still indifferent.

But this sent the girl into a panic.

She hurried to Chi Xiaocheng’s side. “No, Xiaocheng, please forgive me, okay? I really know I was wrong. Before… well, everything I did before was wrong. I’ll definitely correct myself in the future. Please don’t hate me anymore, okay?”

Her voice was urgent but carried a hint of humility.

The emotional rollercoaster of the past few days had made it impossible for her to maintain rational thought.

The corner of Chi Xiaocheng’s lips curled up briefly before she quickly suppressed it. She said to Su Tao slowly, “Then peel the wrapper off the candied hawthorn for me, and I’ll forgive you.”

Su Tao’s face lit up with joy.

Even someone as slow as her could tell that Chi Xiaocheng was now in a slightly sulky, petty mood, not like before, when her eyes couldn’t hide their disdain.

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She quickly tore open the wrapper of the candied hawthorn.

This skewer only had four pieces, but each was large.

When Chi Xiaocheng took it, her small cherry lips parted wide to take a full bite.

Su Tao cautiously asked, “Is it sweet?”

“Just okay.”

Chi Xiaocheng chewed the candied hawthorn, this time unable to suppress the slight curl of her lips. Like Su Tao, she had a sweet tooth.

And this candied hawthorn was so sweet it was almost cloying. It tasted wonderful.

‘But… I can’t tell you it’s sweet.’

Seeing Chi Xiaocheng fall silent again, Su Tao began organizing her words. Following Professor Su’s earlier advice, she started apologizing to Chi Xiaocheng.

Drawing from her fragmented, confused memories, she distanced herself from the now-deceased Ye Liang.

She hadn’t known what kind of person Ye Liang was.

She’d been deceived by him, which was why she hadn’t taken care of Xiaocheng.

This time, Su Tao didn’t try to absolve herself entirely. She admitted many of her mistakes.

Though many of her memories were jumbled, one thing remained clear:

After high school, during summer break, she had argued with Chi Xiaocheng.

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After that, for various reasons, she hadn’t visited Xiaocheng for several months.

And so, the once-lovable girl gradually became a yandere.

Now, recalling that period, Su Tao couldn’t help but feel so guilty she could barely lift her head.

Originally, Chi Xiaocheng’s parents had only planned for her to attend a local, low-tier college, somewhere close to home, where she could return anytime.

It was Su Tao who had pushed against all opposition, bringing Chi Xiaocheng to a big city like Jiuzhou to attend a good university.

At the time, Chi Xiaocheng’s parents, who had raised her for over a decade, had entrusted her to Su Tao with complete confidence, urging her to take good care of their daughter.

But what happened? Before college even started, they had a falling out.

Alone in a strange place, in an unfamiliar environment….

Now, Su Tao was filled with regret, wishing she could slap herself hard. She couldn’t understand how she could have been so terrible back then, how she could have neglected Xiaocheng, her real family, because of a scoundrel like Ye Liang.

If she had taken one wrong step after another in the past, now she would do everything in her power to make amends.

While she spoke, Chi Xiaocheng had already finished two pieces of the candied hawthorn.

When Su Tao fell silent, Chi Xiaocheng also slowly lowered her head. “Actually… I never really blamed you.”

“Really, Xiaocheng?!”

Su Tao excitedly grabbed one of Chi Xiaocheng’s hands, her eyes brightening slightly.

Chi Xiaocheng gave a slight nod. “I knew you wouldn’t abandon me. I just… found it annoying. Back then, you promised you’d always be on my side, but then you scolded me.”

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Su Tao wasn’t sure which memory Chi Xiaocheng was referring to with “scolded,” but admitting fault first couldn’t be wrong.

Chi Xiaocheng continued, “And then I misunderstood you too. I’m sorry….”

“No, no, no! It was all my fault. Xiaocheng, you don’t need to apologize.”

“And also…” Chi Xiaocheng hesitated before finally pulling her hand back from Su Tao’s grip. “I don’t know why, but I always feel this urge to reject you. Even though I know in my heart that you’ve always been good to me….

“But I just can’t help it. Whenever you get close, I feel a little uncomfortable.

“I can’t really control this feeling.”

Chi Xiaocheng exhaled. “So… can you give me a little more time to adjust?”

Su Tao listened, watching as Chi Xiaocheng turned her head away.

The light in her eyes dimmed slightly, replaced by a hint of confusion.

The misunderstanding had been cleared up, so why was it still like this?

She didn’t fully understand, but the fact that Xiaocheng could say this much was already enough for her.

Things had to be resolved step by step. Whatever she didn’t understand now, she could ask Dr. Cheng about it later.

She smiled softly and nodded. “Mm, as long as Xiaocheng doesn’t hate me. And also… can I take care of you like before from now on?”

As she spoke, her face brimmed with hope.

How humble she was, even wanting to care for someone now required permission.