Peach-Orange! – Chapter 399 – Let’s Eat the Chocolate Bar Together

Firm tone, dashing profile, the warmth transmitted from her palm made one feel utterly secure. The last sentence Su Tao spoke sounded more like a cool vow.

In fact, she was indeed showing off.

She was looking forward to praise from the girl beside her.

What Su Tao didn’t expect, however, was that Chi Xiaocheng was completely stunned.

Truth be told, Chi Xiaocheng had prepared to put on an act.

She planned to act startled by the sudden appearance of something, then throw herself into Su Tao’s arms, letting out some cute sounds while fully enjoying the protection of her girl.

But before she could even act, Su Tao had already disposed of the doll.

Chi Xiaocheng knew that Tao-Tao, who had inherited the War Hero’s bloodline, was strong, but… wasn’t this a bit too overpowered?

Did she even consider the possibility that there might be staff beneath this fake prop?

Oh no, if they ever got into an argument in the future, would she even stand a chance against Tao-Tao?

Lost in thought, Chi Xiaocheng’s attention was no longer on the popping-up doll. Su Tao, assuming the girl was frightened, gently pulled Chi Xiaocheng into her arms and softly reassured her, “Don’t worry, Xiaocheng, I’ll protect you.”

The carefully built atmosphere was gone.

Chi Xiaocheng sighed inwardly but still nodded lightly.

Her response was quiet, yet Su Tao sensed something off.

Xiaocheng… didn’t seem scared?

She stared at the doll’s face and couldn’t help but ponder so.

Honestly, even she found the doll quite terrifying.

Yet Xiaocheng wasn’t afraid!

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Nor did she show any admiration or praise for her.

‘Was it because of the way I threw that punch earlier?’

Su Tao couldn’t figure it out but continued leading Chi Xiaocheng forward.

The place they were in was clearly the interior of a cave. The further they walked, the more distinctly they could feel the flow of air, indicating they were gradually moving toward the exit.

The cave was damp, and the path was rather dirty, so neither of them bothered searching much. Yet, through sheer, heaven-defying luck, they managed to obtain two beads.

One was picked up while walking.

The other was originally placed atop a fake mountain, requiring teamwork to climb up and retrieve it. But the staff member disguised as a ghost on the fake mountain suddenly sneezed—

Inadvertently knocking the bead, which then rolled right to Su Tao’s feet.

The girl’s weight in the world might be decreasing, but this kind of luck still clung to her.

The cave wasn’t labyrinthine, and soon, the two walked out.

Outside the cave was a desolate scene resembling a deserted village. At the far end stood a wall, enclosing what seemed to be a courtyard. The sheer scale of it left both of them dumbfounded.

At the same time, it appeared another team had exited earlier than Su Tao and Chi Xiaocheng.

It was that quarreling couple.

Before the game even started, they had seemed to be at odds. Now, a ghost NPC was scaring them.

This ghost seemed to be played by a child. Given the guy’s 1.8-meter-tall frame, he could probably easily take down this ghost and snatch the red bead from it.

But the guy didn’t act.

Instead, he shielded the girl behind him, confronting the ghost.

Terrified, the girl clung tightly to his waist, screaming and urging him to drive the ghost away.

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The guy played along perfectly, deliberately letting the ghost linger to frighten the girl while enjoying the feeling of protecting her and boosting her affection for him.

Su Tao glanced at Chi Xiaocheng, who was watching idly with an indifferent expression, and instantly realized her earlier mistake.

She had acted too fast. Xiaocheng hadn’t felt any sense of danger at all!

Thinking this, Su Tao quickly pulled Chi Xiaocheng into the courtyard.

She positioned Chi Xiaocheng in front of her. “Xiaocheng, you go first. I feel a chill behind me.”

Chi Xiaocheng’s lips twitched. “Tao-Tao, didn’t you say you’d protect me? Now you’re— AHHH!!!”

Before she could finish, she stepped on a hidden trigger. A ghostly face suddenly sprang up from the floor, nearly smacking right into Chi Xiaocheng’s face.

Even if she wasn’t afraid of ghosts—

This kind of sudden surprise would still give anyone a fright.

Instinctively, she stumbled back, forced to throw herself into Su Tao’s arms.

And right then, Su Tao finally got the emotional payoff she had envisioned.

She immediately pulled Chi Xiaocheng behind her. “Xiaocheng, stay behind me! I’ll protect you!”

Thump! A punch!

The spring-loaded mechanism was sent flying.

Chi Xiaocheng’s eyebrows jumped again. “Tao-Tao, you’re… you’re just too strong.”

A rather plain compliment.

But….

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Su Tao felt thoroughly satisfied.

So this was the right way to play the escape room. First let Xiaocheng get scared, then protect her!

From then on, Su Tao repeated the tactic. Whenever they encountered any monsters or ghosts, she’d hold back at first, waiting until Chi Xiaocheng got startled before swooping in to save the day.

Though Su Tao noticed that sometimes, Chi Xiaocheng’s reaction time seemed a bit… delayed.

The monster would be right in her face for several seconds before she’d let out an exaggerated “Ah!” and throw herself into Su Tao’s arms.

It seemed a little fake.

But maybe Xiaocheng was just that slow and adorable.

After a few rounds, the two had collected quite a few beads. Since this was a couple’s scenario, the side quests were especially blush-inducing.

And completely unrelated to the setting!

This was an ancient haunted mansion. Normally, the side quests would tie into the eerie backstory.

But when Su Tao and Chi Xiaocheng encountered an NPC, they were dumbfounded.

NPC: “I have a couple’s challenge here. You can attempt it three times. Each success earns you a bead. Would you like to try?”

Naturally, the two nodded.

The NPC continued, “The challenge is simple.”

She pulled out a 20-centimeter-long chocolate bar. “The chocolate bar game. Each of you bites one end. If the bar doesn’t break before reaching the last 3-centimeter light-colored edge, and your lips don’t touch, it counts as one successful challenge.”

A classic couple’s game.

But the participants were Su Tao and Chi Xiaocheng.

The two exchanged glances, both feeling a little embarrassed.

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At home, being affectionate was one thing.

But this was a public place!

The NPC girl was watching.

There might even be other staff hidden in the dark or security cameras around.

It felt shamefully exposed.

Su Tao looked at Chi Xiaocheng and asked, “Xiaocheng, for the sake of the beads and ultimate victory… we have to go for it, right?”

Chi Xiaocheng: “???”

‘You say it like you’re reluctant, but why do you look so eager?!’

Not that Chi Xiaocheng wasn’t curious to try it herself.

Her face reddened as she nodded lightly. “Then… let’s try?”

Su Tao’s eyes lit up.

‘At home, Xiaocheng doesn’t refuse kisses.’

‘She didn’t object when I brought up couple outfits.’

‘When scared, she throws herself into my arms.’

‘And now she’s agreed to this chocolate bar challenge.’

‘Could it be…?’

Su Tao gulped, her heart pounding uncontrollably faster.