Peach-Orange! – Chapter 377 – An Unexpected Incident

Three more days passed in the blink of an eye.

Chi Xiaocheng felt that Su Tao had been acting a little strange lately, though she couldn’t quite put her finger on why.

On the surface, Su Tao was the same as always: Attending classes, coming home, studying various skills. In fact, thanks to her exceptional learning ability, she had already started taking small commissions to draw portraits for a few dozen yuan each.

Having barely touched drawing before and only self-studying for just over a month, she had already jumped straight to taking paid work. Her learning speed was nothing short of terrifying.

It was precisely because of this that Chi Xiaocheng vaguely sensed something odd about Su Tao.

First, there was the issue of money.

Chi Xiaocheng had already pretended to start writing a novel. Though she had used the excuse that earnings would take a month to materialize, after that month, she could immediately claim that “a reader tipped me right before payday” and hand over the small sum she’d earned through her hacking skills to Su Tao for emergencies.

As things stood, Su Tao’s remaining savings, if spent frugally, were more than enough to last the month.

Yet Su Tao was acting as if she were desperately short on cash.

Chi Xiaocheng couldn’t figure out what recent expenses could possibly require such large sums of money.

The second strange thing was….

Was Tao-Tao being too gentle with her?

Not that Su Tao hadn’t been gentle before, but the subtle changes in her behavior were noticeable.

Take head pats, for example. Chi Xiaocheng was used to being patted daily and had long grown accustomed to Su Tao’s usual method and pressure.

Likewise, Su Tao knew exactly how to make Chi Xiaocheng feel most comfortable.

But recently, Chi Xiaocheng felt that Su Tao’s head pats carried just a little more force.

It still felt nice, of course, but there was an indescribable sense of dissonance.

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Another change was that Chi Xiaocheng sensed Su Tao seemed to be… awakening.

She appeared to be gradually realizing the allure of girls.

She would often sneak subtle touches. Never too bold, just light fingertip brushes.

When helping Chi Xiaocheng change clothes, she’d graze her waist. When blow-drying her hair, she’d skim the back of her neck. At night, Chi Xiaocheng could sometimes feel a hand gliding over her back through the fabric of her pajamas.

Occasionally, when crouching to change her socks, Su Tao would even give her little toe a tiny squeeze.

It seemed she’d developed a hint of naughty thoughts.

But just a hint.

Whether she had the courage to act on them, Chi Xiaocheng wasn’t sure.

Due to her poor health, even now, without relying on system medication, Chi Xiaocheng still hadn’t shaken off her sickly state.

When she fell asleep, she was out.

Chi Xiaocheng knew Su Tao would sneak kisses while she slept.

As for anything more… she wasn’t as certain.

All in all, these changes were a bit odd and dissonant, but perhaps they were a good start?

…

Though pleased that Su Tao was finally showing interest in her body, Chi Xiaocheng’s focus remained primarily on emotional value.

After her recent efforts, her emotional value had reached 2,677 points.

A significant increase, but still far from enough.

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As part of her daily routine, after Su Tao left for class, Chi Xiaocheng contacted Dongfang Yang, planning to grind her daily “NPC quest” for easy points.

A fixed 200 emotional value per day was nothing to scoff at.

If the rich female antagonist took her time appearing, Chi Xiaocheng could farm a massive stockpile.

But plans rarely survive contact with reality.

Just as Chi Xiaocheng called Dongfang Yang to arrange their meetup, a knock sounded at her door.

Approaching the door, Chi Xiaocheng peered through the peephole. “Who is it?”

Outside stood a blue-clad delivery man. “Flash delivery! Are you Miss Chi? There’s a letter for you!”

“A… letter?”

Chi Xiaocheng raised an eyebrow and opened the door.

The deliveryman handed her a grayish-yellow envelope. “Please sign here. Thanks!”

Puzzled, Chi Xiaocheng asked, “Who sent this?”

What era was this? Who sent letters instead of calling?

The deliveryman scratched his head. “Sorry, the sender requested confidentiality. You know how it is, we can’t disclose client info.”

“Got it.”

After seeing the man off, Chi Xiaocheng returned to the couch and beckoned. King immediately leaped onto her lap.

Petting the cat absentmindedly, Chi Xiaocheng muttered, “There’s no money inside. It’s not even thick. If it’s not from my brother, then who?”

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No point overthinking. She tore the envelope open.

Inside was a single slip of paper.

Scrawled across it was a messy, poorly written message.

She read it aloud without thinking.

“Chi Xiaocheng, long time no see. You must be confused receiving this letter, but don’t be. You’ll soon learn who I am.

“Arrive at the following address by 2 PM today. You’ll be watched the entire way. If I suspect you’ve alerted the police, Si Chen, Dongfang Yang, or anyone else….

“Be careful, I might just kill the hostage.”

The words were baffling. Kill the hostage? Who was the hostage?

As Chi Xiaocheng frowned in confusion, a photo slipped from the envelope’s inner layer.

Fluttering through the air, it landed face-up on the floor—

—and both Chi Xiaocheng and King’s pupils shrank to pins.

A disheveled, youthful girl was tied to a stone pillar, her mouth gagged with cloth. Seeming to know who the photo was intended for, her tear-filled eyes screamed “Don’t.”

She wasn’t refusing the photo itself.

She was begging its recipient: Don’t come save me. Don’t walk into this trap.

“Meow!” King was the first to react.

Chi Xiaocheng followed, crumpling the envelope in her fist. “You bastard, how dare you target Ning-Ning?!”

The bound girl in the photo was none other than Fang Ning!

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Chi Xiaocheng’s mind raced. If she called Si Chen and Dongfang Yang, could they—

No.

Her head snapped up. It was already 1:30 PM.

The address given was just far enough that even by taxi, she’d barely make it in time!

“Tch!”

They’d left her no time to think!

“King, guard the house. I’m bringing Ning-Ning back. Let’s see who dared lay hands on her!”

Chi Xiaocheng leapt off the couch, grabbed a hoodie, and rushed to the entryway.

But King didn’t obey. Darting to her side, the cat nipped at her pants leg.

“Meow~”

Patting King’s head, Chi Xiaocheng sighed. “You little… Ning-Ning only fed you a few times, and you’re already attached? Fine, come along.”

She then turned to the pure-white Ragdoll cat lounging nearby. “Xiao Ran, hold down the fort.”

Slipping on her shoes and scooping up King, Chi Xiaocheng hurried out.

Xiao Ran tilted her head, glancing at a framed photo of Su Tao on the table—

—then also ignored orders.

Snatching the envelope in her teeth, she slipped out through the window.