Peach-Orange! – Chapter 316 – The Jinx

The sun was scorching, sirens blaring.

Chi Xiaocheng was lifted into the ambulance, where medical staff immediately began assessing her condition with the available equipment to determine if emergency treatment was necessary.

Su Tao knelt on the ground, her gray-black hair stained with blood, sticky and disheveled, covering half of her delicate face. She stared motionlessly in the direction of the ambulance, her eyes filled with a numbness that followed rage.

It was as if all life had drained away, everything returning to stillness.

Si Chen could somewhat understand Su Tao’s state of mind. After all, this accident, like the last time Chi Xiaocheng was nearly assassinated, had come without warning.

Su Tao had endured Chi Xiaocheng nearly leaving her twice, but what about this third time?

The second time, she had lost her memory. Now, with both Si Chen and Dongfang Yang back, the chance to recover her memories seemed within reach, only for another unforeseen disaster to strike.

What was even more crushing was that ever since Chi Xiaocheng had “come back to life,” Su Tao had stayed by her side without leaving for a moment, from the hospital to her discharge, then through the New Year at home.

This time, they had been apart for less than half a day.

And in that short time, the girl she cared about so deeply had almost left her forever again.

Fear, trauma, withdrawal, and hostility toward everyone… this was why Su Tao couldn’t even bring herself to acknowledge the doctors.

After hesitating for a moment, Si Chen reached out to Su Tao. “Can you get up?”

Su Tao glanced at him, clenched her teeth, and pushed herself up from the grass. “I can do it myself.”

But even standing was a struggle for her. The dark awakening earlier wasn’t something she could sustain. Now that her rationality had returned, the exhaustion in her body hit her belatedly.

Su Tao patted her legs to steady herself, then asked Si Chen, “Why did you and Xiaocheng… come here?”

“Chi Xiaocheng waited for you for a long time but didn’t hear back. She checked your location and realized you never went to the airport. Worried you might be in danger, she followed the trail here.”

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“Location?”

Su Tao was stunned, having never considered this possibility.

Si Chen nodded awkwardly. “Yeah, if close friends share specific addresses, the location feature can show it. You didn’t give WeChat permission, but Chi Xiaocheng must’ve been especially concerned about you.”

“That’s not the point.” Si Chen didn’t give Su Tao time to dwell on it. “The point is, when we got to the farm, we found traces of you and ran into Chu Lingfeng. That’s when we realized he was trying to kidnap you.

“Chi Xiaocheng acted impulsively out of worry and chased after him. I followed, afraid she’d get hurt. But Chu Lingfeng showed no humanity. He used this being his territory to try and ensure neither of us left alive.”

Su Tao’s fists clenched tightly. “Why… why would he target Xiaocheng? She doesn’t even know him!”

Si Chen glanced at her, hesitating before speaking slowly. “Capturing me would give Chu Lingfeng some of the Si family’s influence. Capturing Chi Xiaocheng would let him use her as leverage against you.”

He didn’t need to say more.

No matter how it was framed, the fact remained that this incident happened because of Su Tao.

And that realization would probably make her never dare to let go of Chi Xiaocheng’s hand again.

Recalling the plan he and Chi Xiaocheng had initially devised, Si Chen wasn’t sure if this outcome was what she had wanted.

—To intensify Su Tao’s possessiveness until her eyes saw nothing but her.

With this accident, the goal had likely been achieved.

But this increasingly obsessive Su Tao….

Her obsessive possessiveness toward Chi Xiaocheng….

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Was this really the right thing to do?

No one could say. But the slight tremble in Su Tao’s shoulders showed just how furious she was now.

She turned her gaze to the other security personnel handling the scene.

The lone dead body, the guard she had killed with a thrown fruit knife, still lay on the ground.

Blood pooled around him, the grass near his head dyed crimson.

She had killed someone.

But Su Tao felt no regret or belated fear.

That man had hurt Xiaocheng. He had almost killed Xiaocheng. He deserved to die!

And Chu Lingfeng! He deserved to die too!

No matter the society or the circumstances, from a psychological perspective, killing someone changes a person.

Elevates them.

A shift in mindset affects everything about them.

Just then, Chi Song stumbled in on a motorcycle. “I saw an ambulance forcing its way in. What happened? Where’s my little sister?!”

Su Tao looked at the concerned older brother, opening her mouth but saying nothing.

Si Chen asked Chi Song, “Did you secure all the exits? Did anyone force their way in?”

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“No, not at all. We even had control over some of the farm’s perimeter facilities.”

Chi Song’s answer made Si Chen’s heart sink.

Today had been sheer bad luck. Si Zhenliu had coincidentally been vacationing at the estate, and the many bodyguards he brought had coincidentally saved Chu Lingfeng’s life.

Glancing at Su Tao, Si Chen walked over and patted Chi Song’s shoulder. “Let’s go over there. I’ll explain what happened. Let Su Tao… have some time alone.”

…

The ambulance siren still wailed. The sounds of the security team cleaning up the scene were grating, and the occasional fearful glances thrown her way were all too clear to Su Tao.

Even the near-spring sunlight, carrying a hint of warmth, stirred the breeze, brushing against her sticky, blood-stained hair.

Not alone, yet feeling utterly alone.

Su Tao raised her head, staring directly into the blinding sun.

Once again, she didn’t know what to do.

Once, twice, and now a third time.

Xiaocheng had nearly left her for the third time.

If not for the chance return to the farm, if not for that inexplicable surge of power within her, Xiaocheng might truly have been killed by that bodyguard.

Ever since that summer vacation argument, it felt like an endless cycle.

Injury, hospitalization, discharge.

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More injuries, another hospitalization, then discharge.

Every time, before her body had fully recovered, she was back in a hospital bed.

Lying there in pain, for who knew how long.

“Really, just like a jinx.”

Su Tao smiled self-deprecatingly and lowered her head again.

She numbly walked toward the ambulance, where the doctors had stabilized Chi Xiaocheng’s injuries with emergency equipment. Seeing Su Tao, the attending doctor asked, “The ambulance is preparing to return to the hospital. Will you be coming along?”

Su Tao pressed urgently, “How are Xiaocheng’s injuries?”

The doctor removed her mask. “Severe trauma to the abdomen, serious internal injuries, but no life-threatening danger. But… even with top-tier medical care, she’ll need at least three months before she can leave the bed.”

“Three months….”

And that was at Si Chen’s private hospital.

Su Tao murmured the timeframe, then abruptly changed the subject. “Can we go to Great Sun Hospital? That’s Dongfang Yang’s private hospital. There’s a doctor there who knows Xiaocheng’s condition well.”

“Ah, I’ll have to ask Young Master Si Chen.”

“Don’t ask him. Take her to Great Sun Hospital!”

Su Tao’s unyielding gaze left no room for refusal.