Peach-Orange! – Chapter 279 – Who Is the Abnormal One, After All?

The message came from Su Tao, and it was blunt.

Su Tao: “Dongfang Yang, do you like Xiaocheng?”

Before this, even if she knew Dongfang Yang might like Xiaocheng, Su Tao wouldn’t have asked so directly.

It was like borrowing money from someone. Once certain words were spoken, the relationship between the two would inevitably change.

She still saw Dongfang Yang as a good older brother and didn’t want their relationship to deteriorate.

But!

Times were different now.

Chi Xiaocheng’s memory was in disarray, and aside from Fang Ning, Dongfang Yang posed the biggest threat. If she hesitated any longer, kept waiting, kept avoiding. What difference was there from handing Xiaocheng over to someone else?

Su Tao couldn’t waver as she had before. If she wanted to take Xiaocheng back, she had to act!

‘I won’t back down.’

‘The one who should back down is you, Dongfang Yang!’

The girl’s newfound determination seemed to genuinely reach Dongfang Yang, who was currently brooding. He looked at the message and sighed, his expression troubled.

First, Dongfang Yang was a normal man.

Second, no matter how you looked at it, Chi Xiaocheng was a beautiful and adorable girl.

Sure, she was a bit short, flat-chested, and a little slow in the head, and she also looked kind of dumb, but her personality had no real flaws.

She was oddly cute.

To say he really liked her might be an exaggeration, but to say he felt nothing would be a lie. Dongfang Yang wasn’t some eunuch protagonist from a novel. And besides, the preconceived notion that Chi Xiaocheng liked him made it hard not to pay attention to her.

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But this was exactly the kind of situation he least wanted to face.

After wrestling with his thoughts for a moment, Dongfang Yang decided not to hide his feelings, but admitting outright that he had some feelings for Chi Xiaocheng was just too awkward.

He opted for a high-EQ response to avoid embarrassment:

“The one who doesn’t like Chi Xiaocheng is this (thumbs-up).”

However, when Su Tao saw this reply, her face instantly darkened.

‘Dongfang Yang really does like Xiaocheng!’

In the past, she might have faltered, but not now.

Su Tao quickly sent several messages in rapid succession:

“Dongfang Yang, Xiaocheng is mine!”

“The one who truly loves her is me. Even if you two are close, I will never give her up!”

“I’ll restore her memories and make her love me like she used to. Xiaocheng will never like you! Just give up!”

Three sentences in a row, each ending with an exclamation mark, made her feelings crystal clear.

The old Su Tao would never have been this blunt, nor would she have said things that could easily sever ties with a good friend. But now…

After sending those words, Su Tao felt an indescribable sense of relief.

Something that had been bottled up inside her was finally released.

As for Dongfang Yang, reading Su Tao’s messages, he couldn’t help but sigh.

“Su Tao… she’s really changed. Nothing like the untouchable ‘white moonlight’ she used to be.”

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Dongfang Yang clenched his fists.

“I just never expected that Chi Xiaocheng’s two near-death experiences, the blows from Ye Liang and Xiao Ming… that all of it would affect her this much.

“She’s so desperate to possess me that she’s fabricating lies like this!

“She knows Chi Xiaocheng likes me, and since I gave that little idiot a necklace as a gift, Su Tao got jealous. Now she’s spouting nonsense about ‘loving Chi Xiaocheng’ just to hint that I should stop liking Xiaocheng and focus only on her!”

Dongfang Yang struck his chest in anguish.

“Su Tao, Su Tao… if you like me, just pursue me openly! How could you resort to such underhanded tactics just because you feel threatened?”

His worst fear had come true.

Because of his own charm….

The deep bond between these two sisters had cracked.

“But for now, the bigger issue is between these two. Treatment comes first. I need to stabilize them both.”

Dongfang Yang was willing to make sacrifices for this!

So he replied:

“Since you’ve said that, I’ll back off. I promise I won’t actively pursue her.”

After all, that little idiot liked him so much. No matter what, she’d be the one chasing him. Better to resolve the conflict between these two first.

Dongfang Yang had a more relaxed view on romance. Once he sent that reply, Su Tao was left utterly bewildered.

She had been prepared for a frank, possibly even relationship-ending confrontation.

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But….

Dongfang Yang just gave up that easily?

‘He doesn’t like me, right? He likes Xiaocheng, right?’

‘And he just backed off after one sentence?’

Su Tao, who had been on the edge of obsessive, near-blackened thinking, suddenly deflated. She had no idea how to respond.

No matter how she thought about it, she couldn’t understand why Dongfang Yang would give up.

“But given his personality, he probably isn’t lying.”

If she ruled out the possibility of him playing hard-to-get….

‘Was it because Dongfang Yang saw both me and Xiaocheng as little sisters, so he chose to step aside for us?’

Just as Su Tao saw him as an older brother, she believed Dongfang Yang also saw her as a younger sister.

The same logic applied to Chi Xiaocheng, except Su Tao hadn’t expected that, while Dongfang Yang did see Xiaocheng as a little sister, he’d also been charmed by her cuteness.

And now, as an older brother aware of the feelings between his two younger sisters.…

Considering their relationship, he chose to withdraw.

Just like Chi Song, who had hinted that he would unconditionally support whatever choice the two made.

In that instant, Su Tao felt like crying.

‘Dongfang Yang, I misunderstood you! I’m sorry!’

After silently apologizing in her heart, the hostility she had felt toward Dongfang Yang faded significantly.

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She also apologized for her earlier harsh words before asking:

“Then, Dongfang Yang… about helping me restore Xiaocheng’s memories… can I still count on you?”

“Of course,” Dongfang Yang replied immediately, even sending a voice message. “I’m glad you took that step and made this choice. In a couple of days, I’ll have Dr. Chen return ahead of schedule. Don’t worry.”

“Thank you!”

Not only was he unbothered by the rift between them, but his voice remained as bright and cheerful as always.

‘Dongfang Yang, don’t worry. Once Xiaocheng’s memories are restored and we’re together, we’ll definitely, absolutely thank you properly!’

She already owed him so much. Once Xiaocheng’s memories returned and they reunited, they’d repay him together.

But aside from the memory issue, Dongfang Yang also had something to tell Su Tao.

Namely, the worsening of Chi Xiaocheng’s memory disorder.

After comparing notes, the two quickly confirmed that Chi Xiaocheng’s failed memory recovery was due to the disorder intensifying.

From now on, more professional methods would be needed.

And as cover, they’d have to act according to Chi Xiaocheng’s distorted memories.

So Dongfang Yang also arranged with Su Tao for Dr. Chen to give her a quick checkup, just for show, and prepare a medical report.

It was all to placate Chi Xiaocheng, whose worsening memory was making her increasingly erratic.

But in this battle of information asymmetry, where different sides had different understandings….

Who was the abnormal one, really?