Peach-Orange! – Chapter 412 – The Awakening of Si Chen’s Self-Consciousness

Luck?

Or perhaps it could be called fortune.

Si Chen didn’t understand much about this, but what terrified him was that, based on the facts he had investigated, Chu Lingfeng had become extremely unlucky ever since he ate the apple and went to the capital.

Before that, Chu Lingfeng’s life had been almost entirely smooth sailing.

Coming from some obscure corner of the mountains, he happened to see an elderly man hit by a car on the roadside. Amidst the skepticism of others, he casually saved the old man, only to later discover that the old man was a senior member of a prominent family in Jiuzhou City.

The elder expressed his gratitude and introduced him to higher social circles.

He made money by stumbling upon rare finds, beautiful women threw themselves at him, and a perfectly healthy elder from a major family suddenly fell ill, only to be miraculously cured by his Thirteen Taiyi Needles.

Bit by bit, he gained fame and wealth.

If this kind of luck had continued, Chu Lingfeng could have made a name for himself even in the capital’s elite circles.

In fact, legends about him had already begun circulating in those circles.

During his New Year’s visit home, an elder in the Si family was critically ill, and many suggested inviting the Miracle Doctor Chu for treatment.

As if cursed, they distrusted top-tier domestic and international medical teams in favor of trusting some wild man who had emerged from the mountains.

This was why Si Chen speculated that the mysterious apple had completely destroyed Chu Lingfeng’s fortune.

Otherwise, why would Chi Xiaocheng, who had been thrown by a bodyguard and was on the verge of death, still insist on giving that apple to Chu Lingfeng?

What frightened Si Chen even more was his discovery during the investigation: Ye Liang, who was already dead, had also eaten an apple before his death!

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During his hospitalization, possibly due to nutritional considerations, Ye Liang had eaten apples almost every day.

Was it possible that one of those apples was also abnormal?

More importantly, before that, Ye Liang had also enjoyed smooth sailing and incredible luck.

But after becoming hostile with Chi Xiaocheng, his fortunes took a sharp downturn.

Then, Si Chen reflected on his own past.

To his astonishment, he realized that he, too, had been extremely lucky.

Even Dongfang Yang was the same.

The four of them seemed to share this common trait deeply.

It was precisely because of these discoveries that he could easily connect many seemingly illogical events in reality.

The more he thought about it, the more chilling it felt.

Coupled with the inexplicable thoughts that had recently surfaced in his mind,

And the fact that Chi Xiaocheng and Su Tao were always being targeted—

After laying out his entire analysis,

Si Chen swallowed hard, his voice trembling with lingering fear. “Chi Xiaocheng, I have this feeling… as if the world is being manipulated by an invisible hand.”

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The moment he uttered those last words, Si Chen suddenly felt that eerie sensation again.

Goosebumps erupted all over his body, and he froze in place, as if his hair were standing on end.

Chi Xiaocheng hadn’t expected Si Chen to so bluntly guess the truth of this world and even voice it aloud.

She jumped down from her chair and quickly asked, “Are you okay?”

[Don’t worry, Host. Si Chen was just noticed by the World’s Will for a moment. I’ve now shielded him from its gaze.]

Si Chen also swallowed hard, his voice uneasy. “I… I’m fine. It’s just that strange feeling I mentioned earlier… it came over me again.”

Seeing Chi Xiaocheng’s relieved expression, he quickly asked, “Do you know something about this?”

She sat back in her chair and said slowly, “Some things can’t be spoken. Even if you know, you can’t say them out loud.”

Si Chen’s pupils shrank. “You mean…?”

He immediately covered his mouth but gestured to confirm what he had just said.

Chi Xiaocheng nodded slightly.

Si Chen’s character weight wasn’t low enough yet. If he knew certain things, it could lead to dire consequences.

The system’s shielding of the World’s Will was essentially a direct confrontation between it and the World’s Will.

With the World’s Will distracted, it could no longer focus on Si Chen, hence the eerie sensation disappeared.

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If Chi Xiaocheng were ruthless, she could outright reveal everything, making the World’s Will target Si Chen instead of Su Tao.

Letting Si Chen bear the brunt of it all.

But….

Si Chen was still one of the male leads, utterly loyal to her. Chi Xiaocheng couldn’t bring herself to sacrifice a friend as a scapegoat.

Perhaps Xiao Hei could do it, but certainly not her.

Chi Xiaocheng sighed. “Si Chen, for now, I can only tell you this: try doing things that don’t align with your established character. It might lessen that feeling you described.”

Si Chen adjusted his glasses, deep in thought. “That’s difficult. As someone who studies psychology, I know my personality is already fully formed. Changing it… won’t happen overnight.”

As he spoke, he glanced at the girl in front of him and paused. “Chi Xiaocheng… what’s with that look?”

“N-Nothing. Just make sure you understand what I mean. Also, tell me, what did it feel like when that thought about kidnapping me popped into your head?”

Si Chen recalled for a moment. “It was an inexplicable impulse, like a subconscious thought. You could compare it to a simple reflex, or an unconditioned reflex. Like when your hand touches something hot, your first instinct is to pull it back.

“But if you’re holding a plate of food and get burned, you’d realize that pulling back would make the plate fall. So you endure the pain and prioritize setting the hot dish down safely.

“I’m the latter. I’m fully aware that such thoughts shouldn’t exist.”

Chi Xiaocheng pursed her lips and nodded slightly.

Her worst fear had come true.

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The World’s Will had the power to influence a person’s thoughts!

If even a self-aware, rational character like Si Chen could be affected, what about Tao-Tao?

If the World’s Will amplified her inner impulses, could she stay true to herself?

“System, what do you think?”

[There’s nothing we can do. My role is more about prevention. Before the World’s Will directly manifests, I can’t detect its actions. And there’s another truth: it’s much stronger than me.]

After countless cycles of effort, the system had grown slightly stronger.

But this was the World’s Will’s domain.

[Another solution is for you to find a way to reduce Su Tao’s character weight below 50%.]

Lowering character weight—

The simplest way was to act in ways that broke character or severely deviated from the original plot.

Chi Xiaocheng gritted her teeth and suddenly thought of a method to quickly reduce Su Tao’s character weight.

But… she wasn’t sure if their relationship had reached that stage yet.

Tao-Tao secretly kissed her every night. When hugging her, she sometimes sniffed her hair or stealthily touched her waist.

At this thought, a faint blush crept up Chi Xiaocheng’s ears.