Peach-Orange! – Chapter 242 – Not Enough Yet

The next day, at the hospital.

Chi Xiaocheng stood by the window, watering the flowers with a watering can. Hearing Su Tao’s words, she looked surprised. “We’re going to the banquet too?”

“Mm-hmm. Dongfang Yang said if you want to go, he’ll take us along. We can just treat it as a casual outing.”

“That sounds good. I haven’t been out in so long. Right now…” Chi Xiaocheng tiptoed slightly. “I should be fine.”

Su Tao was still worried. “But Xiaocheng, are you really okay? You can barely walk properly right now, can’t you?”

Chi Xiaocheng reached up to brush aside her hair and smiled softly. “If I really can’t walk anymore by then, you can just carry me.”

Su Tao froze, as if those words were the happiest thing she’d heard in a long time. A smile spread across her face, and she nodded vigorously.

She was overjoyed that Chi Xiaocheng could say something like that.

This was exactly how things should be.

‘When you need me, Xiaocheng, you can rely on me anytime, anywhere.’

Because of those words, she was in high spirits all day. Even when Fang Ning visited again at noon, she didn’t react as poorly as before.

But in her happiness, she forgot something again.

The matter of whether to restore Chi Xiaocheng’s memories still hadn’t been settled.

This time, it wasn’t that she was avoiding it. She was just persistently indecisive.

Subconsciously, she felt it wasn’t yet time to make a real choice.

So there was no hurry.

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Just wait a little longer.

On the night before the banquet, Chi Xiaocheng was already able to walk around the hospital. Her legs had recovered quickly. Only after walking nonstop for half an hour would she near her limit.

Her incredibly resilient “orange cells” had Professor Su exclaiming daily about it being a medical miracle.

Half of him wanted to study Chi Xiaocheng, while the other half had to suppress that urge. The internal conflict left the old professor seeking weekly traditional Chinese medicine massages just to calm his overexcited nerves.

That same night, while chatting with Su Tao and waiting for her to return to her room, Chi Xiaocheng finally had a chance to secretly pull out her “Status Glasses” to check Su Tao’s affection levels.

[Su Tao]

[Height: 166 cm]

[Weight: 96 kg]

[Size: C]

[Current Status: Self-blame, Lack of Confidence, Impatience, Excessive Indecisiveness, Self-Evasion, Mild Mental Distraction, Mild Self-Loathing]

[General Affection Toward Host: 99 (She has completely come to see you as the most important person in her life.)]

[Romantic Affection Toward Host: 67→71 (Even though gender norms still influence her, her feelings for you are gradually being acknowledged. Two months without you have only deepened her longing. Every time she sees you interacting warmly with others, she feels faint regret, even a sour jealousy. There was a perfect opportunity right in front of her before, but she didn’t cherish it. Only now does she feel true remorse.)]

[Possessive Affection Toward Host: 45→65 (When rational, she can think clearly. But your dislike and emotional distance have left her increasingly agitated. The fact that you, who once belonged to her, no longer do is something she struggles to accept. Under this self-imposed pressure, her possessiveness toward you is rapidly increasing. However, she remains highly rational, aware of what she can and can’t do. She isn’t the obsessive type.)]

The data displayed by the Status Glasses was slightly unexpected for Chi Xiaocheng.

She had assumed the possessive affection would surpass the romantic affection.

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But now, even though it had rebounded past the passing mark, it still hadn’t reached 70.

Then again, that made sense. If she didn’t even dare to confront Fang Ning, how high could her possessiveness toward her really be?

Besides….

Chi Xiaocheng narrowed her eyes, her gaze fixed on the first line of the romantic affection description.

—”Even though gender norms still influence her….”

“Tch!

“System, tell me, does Tao-Tao have some kind of problem? 71 affection isn’t low. Normally, if two people reach 80, they could confess. But she’s still hung up on this!”

[Host… she was straight originally. Given that, 71 affection toward you is already pretty impressive.]

“She was practically addicted to kissing me before, and yet she still hasn’t fully acknowledged her feelings.”

She had even planned to give Tao-Tao a little reward after the banquet.

But with stats like these….

More pressure was needed!

[Right now, Su Tao is probably entirely focused on figuring out how to restore your relationship. The fact that her romantic affection is rising at all is purely subconscious.]

[She might not even realize how much she likes you. You could focus on boosting romantic affection instead of possessiveness.]

“No!” Chi Xiaocheng understood the system’s point but refused. “Possessive affection has to go up. Otherwise, even if she likes me, I’m afraid something might go wrong!”

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Plainly put, she still lacked a sense of security.

And stubbornly believed that only when this value met her expectations could she safely embrace Tao-Tao and enjoy their mutual affection.

The system sighed but had no choice but to go along with its host.

[Then what’s next? Are you changing your plans?]

“Mm. A slight adjustment. Tao-Tao can’t keep hesitating like this. She hasn’t even decided whether to restore my memories yet.”

Chi Xiaocheng sat alone in her room, deep in thought. “I’ll have to stimulate her another way.”

[Use Fang Ning?]

“No. I have other plans for Ning-Ning. Besides, Tao-Tao’s combat stats are too high. If Ning-Ning plays the ‘rival’ role to create a sense of crisis, and Tao-Tao loses control, Ning-Ning could be in danger.”

That’s right, Chi Xiaocheng intended to “create” a love rival for Su Tao.

Of course, she wouldn’t actually fall for someone else. She wouldn’t even pretend to.

But she could have someone else pretend to pursue her, giving Su Tao the necessary push.

Back when she first met Fang Ning, she had considered assigning this role to the girl. Once she and Su Tao became friends, Fang Ning could naturally transition into acting like a yandere chasing after her.

Then apply pressure and motivate Su Tao to act.

But plans changed, and the yandere script she’d prepared for Fang Ning had to be adjusted.

So who would play the fake rival…?

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Chi Xiaocheng was still pondering when two knocks suddenly sounded at the door.

She glanced up at the IV drip still hanging. It wasn’t time for a change yet.

“Come in!”

She called out, and a 1.9-meter-tall, bespectacled man with a refined air stepped inside.

“Good evening.”

Si Chen gently closed the door behind him, his eyes glinting with intelligence.

He cut straight to the point. “Chi Xiaocheng, you were faking it, weren’t you? Dr. Lin told me he noticed some small flaws in your act during observation.

“Quite surprising. You even fooled me last time.”

Si Chen took two steps forward, clearly pleased at having uncovered her deception.

To save emotional energy, Chi Xiaocheng hadn’t used an “Acting Skill Card” to boost her performance to peak levels when facing Dr. Lin.

Now was the perfect time to come clean with Si Chen.

The faint smile on her lips gradually took on a slightly eerie edge.

Her crimson eyes gleamed with a faint, cat-like intensity that sent a chill down the spine.

From her hospital bed, Chi Xiaocheng gazed sweetly at the man before her. “Young Master Si Chen, if I recall correctly, back when I was ‘dead,’ you mentioned wanting to marry Tao-Tao, didn’t you?”