Peach-Orange! – Chapter 277 – The Beginning of Obsession

A heavy heart, like a person falling into an abyss, sinks endlessly amid loneliness and cold.

Looking up, not a single ray of light can be seen.

Su Tao left the room dejectedly.

She didn’t dare to scold Chi Xiaocheng loudly, and the words of rebuttal stuck in her throat, unable to be spoken. Clutching the suicide note in her hand, she unconsciously tightened her grip.

Her nails pierced through the thin paper, then dug deeply into her palm, leaving behind dark red marks.

Su Tao stood in front of the living room sofa, her head lowered as she stared at the floor. Her once-neat high ponytail had loosened, strands of hair falling messily over her face, obscuring her expression.

The method of restoring memories had completely failed.

Xiaocheng was impatient with her again.

She reacted to the hairpin, so why is she still stuck in that memory-distorted state? Could it be that her memories can’t be restored at all?

Deleted?

No… no, the doctors said this was related to her subconscious.

‘Does her subconscious really hate me that much?’

‘Am I really that detestable?’

‘Do none of the beautiful moments we shared together mean anything?’

‘I’ve regretted.’

‘I’ve made up my mind.’

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‘I’ve even tried to love you properly.’

‘I’m willing to accept your yandere side.’

‘If only you could love me again.’

‘So why can’t we be together like before?’

‘Is being with me nothing but pain now?’

Su Tao lowered her gaze, and a sentence Si Chen had said yesterday suddenly flashed through her mind.

—Why don’t you just quit?

“Quit….”

Su Tao murmured the word, the weight in her chest growing heavier.

The pressure, the heartache, the pain… always exhausting herself over Xiaocheng’s memories. If she quit, she wouldn’t have to worry about any of this.

If she didn’t provoke Xiaocheng, she wouldn’t regain her memories, wouldn’t feel pain, and could live on smiling.

And the intimate, “love”-filled relationship they once had would simply return to how it was in middle school.

Xiaocheng following behind her, affectionately calling her “Tao-Tao.”

‘Come to think of it, wasn’t my old wish for Xiaocheng to go back to how she was as a child?’

‘Saying fake words of love, thinking of ways to make her stop being yandere, just to return to a peaceful life.’

‘Nothing like now, where the words “like” and “love” leave me utterly exhausted.’

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“When did I change… when did I start loving Xiaocheng too?”

Su Tao slumped onto the sofa, leaning her head against the backrest, staring blankly at the ceiling.

‘Was it after her suicide attempt?’

‘Or after she died protecting me?’

‘Or did I always love her and just never realized?’

‘Or was it hearing her obsessive declarations of love over and over, until I started believing I loved her too?’

“We’re both girls.…”

Muttering this to herself, Su Tao couldn’t remember exactly when she fell for Chi Xiaocheng. But one thing was certain: she did love her.

At first, being around her felt comfortable, intoxicating in her scent, in the softness of her lips. Then, she realized she couldn’t live without her. And now, because of Fang Ning, Dongfang Yang, and others, she felt jealousy, anger, unhappiness.

If she quit now, if she and Xiaocheng went back to being just sisters, could they still be together?

Su Tao tried to imagine that future.

And found she couldn’t. Every time she thought of Xiaocheng marrying someone else, her heart twisted in refusal.

Her gaze wandered around the living room.

Then landed on the lemon-colored slippers by the entrance.

Fang Ning, that petite girl who had temporarily left would return, and tonight, she would sleep with Xiaocheng again.

The hesitation in her eyes suddenly sharpened into something fierce.

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“Quit? Never!”

Su Tao crumpled the suicide note into a ball, stood up, and hurled it into the trash bin!

This wasn’t like the angry words she’d spat at Si Chen. Now, she truly understood that she couldn’t lose Xiaocheng. From childhood to university, even during their months of fighting, she had never been truly happy.

Only by Xiaocheng’s side did she feel even a little at ease.

The sachet, her embrace, their dates… those were proof enough.

“No… no, it’s Xiaocheng who can’t leave me.”

Su Tao’s gaze shifted from the lemon slippers to Xiaocheng’s room. Her hair was disheveled, her eyes bloodshot.

“Since we were kids, even in university, Xiaocheng would get hurt without me. Bullied as a child, bullied by roommates in college.

“Si Chen doesn’t act without gain. If he’s pursuing Xiaocheng, it’s because he can benefit from her.

“Fang Ning is an orphan, saved by Xiaocheng. She’s just obsessed with the feeling of being saved. She doesn’t love Xiaocheng. She absolutely cannot be with her!

“Dongfang Yang… Dongfang Yang is… an idiot. If his powerful family targeted Xiaocheng, he wouldn’t be able to protect her. She’d be dragged into their schemes.”

As if everything had become clear, Su Tao’s expression grew firmer. “Right. Xiaocheng will only be safe with me. So it’s not that I can’t leave her, it’s that I can’t let her get hurt.

“So I won’t quit!”

She couldn’t give up yet. Just because memory restoration failed now didn’t mean the doctors couldn’t succeed. There were other ways.

As for Xiaocheng’s pain….

It couldn’t be helped. It was necessary. Only through suffering could she appreciate happiness again.

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‘Sorry, Xiaocheng. This time, let me be a little selfish.’

‘For my sake… and yours.’

She took a deep breath, then slapped herself hard across the face.

The pain steadied her. Covering the red mark on her cheek, she knocked on Chi Xiaocheng’s door.

Her expression was calm, her apology sincere, as if none of what had just happened had occurred at all.

And Su Tao knew her limits. Aware that Xiaocheng might still be upset, she didn’t immediately beg for forgiveness after apologizing. Instead, she stated her stance, then turned and left.

It was all so normal.

Too normal.

And it was only then that Chi Xiaocheng had the chance to secretly put on her status glasses.

This time, the refreshed status truly surprised her.

[Su Tao]

[Height: 166cm]

[Weight: 97kg]

[Size: C]

[Current Status: Guilt, Extreme Lack of Confidence, Impatience, Excessive Indecisiveness, Mild Mental Confusion, Mild Self-Loathing, Moderate Stress, Moderate Delusion, Loss of Appetite, Sleep Deprivation, Internal Heat, Menstruation, Low Self-Control, Self-Deception, Mild Obsession]