Peach-Orange! – Chapter 239 – Who Is the Third Wheel?

Chi Xiaocheng wasn’t sure how she had fallen asleep. She only remembered feeling incredibly warm, the most at peace she’d been since waking from her coma.

Though upon waking, her lumbar spine and neck ached terribly.

Su Tao had held her all night, and she had slept nestled in Su Tao’s arms the entire time. While she had managed to sleep, the awkward posture left its mark.

The result? When Dongfang Yang came to visit Chi Xiaocheng early in the morning, he found her sitting on the bed, scolding Su Tao with pointed fingers.

Meanwhile, Su Tao sat obediently on a chair, head bowed as if in shame, letting Chi Xiaocheng vent her minor morning grumpiness.

From Dongfang Yang’s perspective, Su Tao might as well have had the words “Sumimasen, sumimasen” ¹ Japanese for “sorry” floating above her head while bowing apologetically.

But in reality, Su Tao wasn’t bowing out of guilt. She was secretly rejoicing, her lips curled into a faint smile that Chi Xiaocheng hadn’t noticed.

Last night….

It was a bit embarrassing to admit.

She had woken up groggily in the middle of the night and couldn’t fall back asleep. Yet Chi Xiaocheng was nestled in her arms, sleeping soundly. After poking her lightly and confirming she wouldn’t wake, Su Tao….

Well, some things were better left unsaid. Surely everyone here was a proper gentleman who wouldn’t care for the details. ² They kissed

Noticing that neither had spotted him at the door, Dongfang Yang knocked and asked in confusion, “So… are you two roleplaying something?”

His voice finally drew their attention. The sunny young man had traded his usual flamboyant red outfit for a more subdued gray-black today.

Without his usual goofy tone, he almost gave off the aloof aura of a CEO.

As if caught doing something shameful, Su Tao flushed slightly, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “It’s nothing. I just helped Xiaocheng freshen up, but I didn’t do a very good job.”

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“Oh, that’s all? I’m glad to see you’ve resolved your misunderstanding.”

Dongfang Yang walked in with a smile, then stood beside Chi Xiaocheng like an older brother lecturing his sister. “But Xiaocheng, as the younger sister, you shouldn’t scold Su Tao like that, okay?”

Chi Xiaocheng rolled her eyes at him, barely stopping herself from calling him an idiot.

But she had to maintain the act.

After being held by Tao-Tao all night, her current “memory-confused” self wasn’t supposed to like her that much. She had to throw a small tantrum!

So she wiped the you’re-an-idiot look off her face and flashed Dongfang Yang a sweet smile instead.

Su Tao sat near the door, while Dongfang Yang stood by the window. Just then, sunlight streamed in, illuminating Chi Xiaocheng and Dongfang Yang’s profiles.

Both wore faint smiles.

The heartwarming, picturesque scene looked like a sibling moment, or perhaps….

A couple’s intimate exchange.

Su Tao, who had been secretly pleased earlier, suddenly felt as if doused in ice water, her entire body turning cold.

‘Right. So what if I schemed my way into holding Xiaocheng for one night? So what if she threw a small tantrum this morning without truly being angry? What’s there to celebrate?’

‘She still feels uncomfortable when I get close.’

She didn’t know the exact reason, but Chi Xiaocheng’s smile at Dongfang Yang made it clear that the barrier between them remained.

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That distance still lingered.

Even though last night, they had talked for hours. Even though this morning, they had interacted normally.

On the surface, everything seemed fine, didn’t it?

But Su Tao hadn’t heard the “Tao-Tao” she longed for.

Not even a single “Su Tao jiejie.”

All replaced with “Hey” and “You.”

Such underhanded methods only led to self-indulgent consolation.

‘I didn’t even let Xiaocheng recover properly, made her sleep uncomfortably all night, leaving her neck and body sore this morning.’

“Su Tao, are you okay?”

Dongfang Yang’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

She quickly looked up, forcing a smile. “What do you mean? I’m fine!”

Her grin stiffened.

‘Yes. I’m fine.’

‘Dongfang Yang is naive anyway. He only sees Xiaocheng as a little sister.’

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‘Progress takes time. Meals are eaten bite by bite.’

‘At least now, I can take care of Xiaocheng. I can feed her breakfast, peel fruit for her, sit by her side and chat.’

After finishing her own breakfast, Su Tao couldn’t wait to consult Dr. Cheng.

‘If the misunderstanding is resolved, why does Xiaocheng still feel uncomfortable around me? Why does that distance persist?’

Dr. Cheng replied, “It’s a lingering effect of her amnesia. While your misunderstanding is cleared up, her jumbled memories may still associate you with deep hurt. Her current reconciliation likely stems from longing for past affection rather than true resolution.

“More critically, the pain preceding her amnesia was so severe her mind suppressed it. But blank memories demand filling, hence the confusion.

“However, human subconscious and memory aren’t so simple. Amnesia doesn’t erase everything, leaving a blank slate to imprint new beliefs onto.

“Her capacity for independent thought remains. Habits, reflexes, and subconscious impressions from before the amnesia still manifest.

“Her discomfort around you suggests her subconscious associates you with the pain she’s fleeing, thus the aversion.”

In short: Her subconscious fears you’ll bring more pain, breeding rejection.

Su Tao never imagined this explanation.

She pressed urgently, “Then how do we fix it?”

Dr. Cheng: “You’d need a professional psychologist for that. My suggestion? Attend to her every need unconditionally. You understand how familiarity breeds affection.

“Erode all her defenses. Make her believe you’d never harm her. Only then can you dispel that subconscious fear.

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“Or… restore all her memories.”

Su Tao fell silent, staring at her phone.

“Restore her memories….”

She sighed deeply, torn between desire and dread.

It wasn’t fear of Chi Xiaocheng’s yandere tendencies. Recovering those memories meant reliving the pain before reaching past happiness, didn’t it?

The amnesia stemmed from that agony. To reclaim the good, she’d have to endure the bad first.

But Su Tao feared… what if those painful memories broke Chi Xiaocheng completely?

The ending of the old man’s story about that girl remained vivid in her mind.

At noon, Su Tao headed to feed Chi Xiaocheng lunch, only to find someone she shouldn’t dislike, yet instinctively recoiled from, already there.

Fang Ning.

She usually visited mornings and afternoons. For some reason, she hadn’t come this morning.

But now, she had arrived first.

And… she was already feeding Chi Xiaocheng.