Peach-Orange! – Chapter 402 – Ambush and Plot

Aside from Ziran, Wei Feng, and the others, there was another concern weighing on Su Tao’s mind: Chi Xiaocheng.

She had practically forced Xiaocheng to participate in this game, and now, in front of three people, she had abandoned the game to kiss her forcefully.

Would Xiaocheng develop a rebellious attitude because of this?

Would she reject and resent her because outsiders were present?

Even though Xiaocheng had been quite enthusiastic when she slipped her tongue in, Su Tao couldn’t help but worry that this beautiful relationship might fall apart.

Holding the shy Xiaocheng, who was burying her face in her chest, Su Tao bid farewell to Ziran and Wei Feng. After telling the NPC sister that they would come back later for the photos, she led Xiaocheng deeper into the courtyard.

Once they were away from the staff and the “ghosts,” Su Tao patted Xiaocheng’s back and softly apologized, “I’m sorry, Xiaocheng. Just now, I… you were just too cute, and I couldn’t help myself.”

Skill: A Straight Girl’s Direct Hit. Damage Type: 100% Critical Strike.

Xiaocheng had originally intended to glare at Su Tao to express her slight dissatisfaction. But when the girl spoke so openly, the glare softened into a bashful, half-hearted resistance.

Her voice was small and soft, “Really… if you knew there were others around, you shouldn’t have done that. Tao-Tao, you’re really… you’re really….”

Xiaocheng seemed at a loss for words and could only let out a light humph. “Anyway, don’t do it again!”

Hearing this, Su Tao grinned. “I won’t do it again in the future.”

‘Xiaocheng didn’t hate me. She didn’t scold me either.’

‘Her embarrassed expression clearly showed she had enjoyed it somewhat.’

‘Heh, did she really think I’d keep my word?’

‘Now that things have come this far, you won’t resist next time either.’

Su Tao felt she was gradually unlocking Xiaocheng’s “password.”

Without a doubt, Xiaocheng was growing fonder of her.

Even if emotions were restrained.

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Even if she had once said, “I only think of you as a sister.”

Her subconscious affection, along with everything that had happened in the past, was slowly breaking through those constraints.

Perhaps what mattered more was how much Su Tao liked her now.

Su Tao took Xiaocheng’s hand again and smiled. “Then let’s keep looking for the beads. We can’t fall behind the others.”

“Okay~”

Their hands intertwined.

Fingers laced together.

The motion was natural and smooth. Su Tao didn’t sense even a hint of resistance from Xiaocheng.

The girl moved her palm slightly, rubbing the soft flesh of her hand against Xiaocheng’s.

When Xiaocheng looked at her in confusion, Su Tao pursed her lips into a happy, affectionate smile.

Meeting that gentle gaze, Xiaocheng froze for a moment.

She turned her head away.

Only the tips of her ears reddened slightly.

She was shy.

But the fingers entwined with Su Tao’s gave a slight squeeze in response.

Neither of them spoke.

Yet both tacitly used these small gestures to express their affection.

As they stepped out of the courtyard, Su Tao took in the eerie surroundings and couldn’t help but feel a flicker of anticipation.

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They had entered the escape room in the afternoon. After two and a half hours, it was almost evening.

Everything would wait until sunset.

Hand in hand, the two continued exploring. Along the way, whenever they encountered any ghost props, Su Tao would punch them one by one.

Later, even the staff received a warning from headquarters:

“Don’t scare this all-girl couple. Just give them the beads if they ask. Otherwise, an ‘accident’ is inevitable.”

It seemed like all they had to do was wait for time to run out.

But the moment they stepped out of the courtyard and entered the castle, Su Tao suddenly felt the hand holding hers tighten slightly.

She looked at Xiaocheng. “What’s wrong? The setup here is a bit creepy, I guess.”

The vampire castle was modeled after the classic medieval castles seen in anime.

Bats adorned every corner.

Who knew if somewhere deep inside, there might be a great lady like Remilia or Bambi-chan?

Xiaocheng stared in the direction of the castle’s second floor and whispered to Su Tao, “Tao-Tao, I think… there’s danger here.”

Her alertness skill had triggered.

If it were just NPC staff, they wouldn’t have hostile intentions, nor would they be able to scare her easily. The alert skill wouldn’t activate at all.

In other words, someone was definitely watching them from the second floor!

Su Tao narrowed her eyes. “Really?”

“My intuition is usually very accurate.”

Su Tao recalled the last time they went shopping together, when it rained and they encountered that strange taxi.

She said seriously, “If that’s the case, the enemy is in the dark while we’re in the open. Let’s leave.”

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Even though she had grown stronger, Su Tao didn’t want to take unnecessary risks.

What if Xiaocheng got hurt?

Just as she was about to pull Xiaocheng away, a faint “whoosh” sound came from the quiet second floor of the castle.

Su Tao instinctively yanked Xiaocheng to the side.

But she didn’t realize that the syringe wasn’t aimed at Xiaocheng. It was aimed at her!

She had only thought to protect Xiaocheng and hadn’t reacted in time to the fact that she was the target.

At the critical moment, a fruit knife was suddenly thrown, accurately hitting the incoming “bullet.”

With a “clink,” the glass shattered, and the anesthetic needle was destroyed.

Only then did Su Tao look at Xiaocheng, who was still shielded beside her, with a mix of relief and fear.

That fruit knife… had Xiaocheng thrown it?

So fast!

“It’s an anesthetic gun,” Xiaocheng quickly said, then gave Su Tao a shy smile. “Just now, when I felt Tao-Tao was in danger, my body moved on its own for some reason. A strange surge of power came over me.”

Su Tao realized that Xiaocheng’s body might also possess special abilities and accepted the explanation.

Right now, the more pressing matter was the sniper hiding on the second floor!

Another “whoosh” sounded as a second needle shot toward them.

Already on guard, Su Tao pulled Xiaocheng aside effortlessly.

At the same time, she grabbed a chair and hurled it toward the second floor.

“Quit hiding and show yourself!”

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Though it was just a wooden chair, it exploded like a bomb when it hit the pile of old books on the second floor. With a deafening “boom,” dust and debris flew everywhere.

Amidst the coughing, a man in a suit crawled out, looking utterly disheveled.

“It’s that male couple!”

Xiaocheng recognized the man instantly. It was one of the two men who had seemed so out of place during the couples’ game.

Had they been targeting her and Tao-Tao from the very beginning?

“Tao-Tao, be careful! There’s another one!” Xiaocheng quickly warned.

Su Tao nodded, her nerves taut as she shielded Xiaocheng behind her. She grabbed another chair, ready to throw it at the man.

Seeing this, the man’s eyes widened in terror.

Why had he shot the needle at Su Tao first?

Because he knew this woman, who had inherited the War Hero’s bloodline, was practically superhuman.

‘Are you sure you’re throwing a chair and not a bomb?!’

With death looming again, the man in the suit panicked and shouted, “We’re already exposed! What are you waiting for?!”

Author Note

Ps: The new adorable Xiaocheng is here~ Hope everyone likes her!

Xiaocheng Pixel Art (Artist: Yuku Miao)

This pixel art of Xiaocheng was commissioned out of my own pocket. Not many authors go this far to spoil their readers, right? QAQ