Peach-Orange! – Chapter 273 – From Beginning to End, It’s Always Been You

The somewhat hastily drawn sketch depicted two girls who bore an eighty percent resemblance to herself and Su Tao.

Su Tao was seated on the bed, while Chi Xiaocheng nestled against her, her head being gently stroked. The scene looked warm and blissful.

At first, Chi Xiaocheng hadn’t paid much attention to what Fang Ning was drawing, but she hadn’t expected the girl to have such a talent for art.

But what did this drawing truly mean to her?

Soon, Fang Ning provided the answer. “Sister Xiaocheng, you like Sister Su Tao so much and want to stay with her forever, right? Love should be mutual. The way you’re treating Sister Su Tao now… I’m afraid it might backfire in the end.

“And end up having the opposite effect.”

Fang Ning didn’t fully understand what love was. From childhood, she’d never had the chance to love someone. Abandoned by her parents at birth, simply surviving had taken all her effort.

But she still knew one thing: love shouldn’t be about pressure. To be loved like this, or to love someone like this, was obsessive.

Chi Xiaocheng let out a long sigh. “I know what you mean, Ningning. But I just don’t know any other way to make Tao-Tao like me.”

The person she loved was a concrete-and-steel-straight girl.

Following a step-by-step approach to win her over… Chi Xiaocheng had no idea how to do that.

Besides, she didn’t have time to wait.

If this were a normal world, it might be fine. But this world wasn’t normal.

It was the fictional setting of a novel, manipulated and influenced by an unseen hand called the “World’s Will.” Leaving aside the original author’s god-like perspective beyond this dimension, could the World’s Will subtly affect people’s thoughts, aside from certain sudden events?

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Before breaking free from the constraints of “character logic,” would people remain like puppets, controlled by invisible strings?

After all, the original story had too many illogical moments, all forcibly explained away by the author’s whims.

It was like deliberately warping a person’s personality.

Take Chen Qian when Chi Xiaocheng first transmigrated into this world. The moment Chen Qian saw Su Tao, she became hostile, acting like she’d lost all reason. But later, after breaking free from her original role, Chi Xiaocheng interacted with her and realized she was actually a fairly normal girl.

Because of this, she and the System had come up with many theories.

And these theories were precisely why she grew increasingly wary of the World’s Will.

She said to Fang Ning, “Even if it’s a little obsessive, it’s still love, isn’t it? Once Tao-Tao can’t leave me anymore, we can rebuild the missing affection and goodwill. At its core, it’s the same thing.”

Fang Ning looked at the composed Chi Xiaocheng and nodded lightly without arguing.

In reality, considering the concept of “first impressions being strongest,” love after marriage and marriage after love were entirely different things.

But there was no need to say it.

If Sister Xiaocheng believed this was the right way, then she would trust her.

Fang Ning said, “Then I’ll stick to the original plan and pretend to like Sister Xiaocheng?”

“Mm.” Chi Xiaocheng nodded. “No need to overdo it. If Tao-Tao cares about me, she’ll start overthinking on her own. But don’t actually fall for me, okay?”

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Fang Ning smiled easily. “I know Sister Xiaocheng likes Sister Su Tao. I also know my place. I’ve always just seen you as an older sister.”

The two chatted idly. With Su Tao gone, the slightly ambiguous atmosphere from earlier had dissipated.

By midnight, there was still no sign of Su Tao reaching out to Dr. Cheng’s account for help.

With a hint of unease, Chi Xiaocheng eventually grew drowsy.

She yawned. “Let’s call it a day. For the next few days… we’ll see how Tao-Tao reacts tomorrow. As for sleeping….”

Before she could finish, Fang Ning interjected, “I’ll just make a bed on the floor. When we put away the luggage earlier, I saw extra blankets and a mat in the closet.”

The mat might be too cold, so an extra blanket could be added as padding.

Truthfully, since they were both girls and completely innocent, sharing the same bed wouldn’t have been an issue. It was plenty big, and sleeping together didn’t automatically mean cuddling.

But faced with Fang Ning’s proactive suggestion, Chi Xiaocheng merely fell silent for a moment.

Then nodded in agreement.

Even though she was deliberately acting to make Su Tao like her more—

Even if it meant involving another person in this charade—

The spot beside her on the pillow… in her heart, would always belong to that one person.

“Sorry, Ningning.”

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She realized she had nothing to offer Fang Ning in thanks. The words that came out were just an apology.

Fang Ning shook her head with a soft laugh. “No need to say that.”

Besides.…

‘It’s me who should be thanking Sister Xiaocheng. Originally, it would’ve been another lonely New Year’s, counting down the hours alone in a cold, empty room, same as every year before. But now, I get to celebrate together.’

‘A warm environment, an awkward yet joyful atmosphere, hot meals, and even a brief moment of just the two of us back in the room.’

Those two hours playing games, though meant for Su Tao’s eyes, hadn’t she enjoyed them too?

It felt like finally having a family.

Just like the words she’d spoken earlier, Xiaocheng was a sister to her.

Making a bed on the floor was more than enough. How could she dare hope for more?

All she wished was for Sister Su Tao to wake up soon, so that Sister Xiaocheng wouldn’t have to keep feeling so down.

She couldn’t give Chi Xiaocheng a sense of security, nor did she want to see her tormented. So she pinned her hopes on the one person she somewhat disliked, praying she’d reach out sooner.

Even if sleep was slow to come, the night eventually passed.

When morning arrived, Chi Xiaocheng checked her phone and finally saw the message Su Tao had sent to Dr. Cheng’s account.

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The timestamp read: 4:00 AM.

Who knew how long she’d spent thinking or what thoughts had crossed her mind, but in the end, she’d still sought outside help.

Perhaps Su Tao, too, had struggled to sleep all night.

Knock knock. The bedroom door sounded.

Fang Ning, still half-asleep, abruptly sat up. Ignoring her wild bedhead, she turned to Chi Xiaocheng. “Sister Xiaocheng, Sister Su Tao seems to be coming in. What should we do? Should I get under the covers?”

A staged scene of them sleeping together would surely deliver a powerful impact.

But Chi Xiaocheng shook her head lightly. “Just help me brush my hair, Ningning.”

“Okay.”

For some reason, Chi Xiaocheng felt a flicker of anticipation. What action had Su Tao, after a whole night of agonizing, decided to take?

From the messages received by Dr. Cheng’s alternate account, Su Tao hadn’t given up.

She’d toughed it out, not retreating in the face of Fang Ning’s advances.

‘So, Tao-Tao… how will you “reclaim” me next?’

At Chi Xiaocheng’s acknowledgment, Su Tao opened the door and stepped inside.