Peach-Orange! – Chapter 428 – “Never Love Cheng Carved on My Body, No One Else Like Me in This World”

“The enemies have increased again.”

Si Chen walked out of Chi Xiaocheng’s room, leaned against the wall, closed his eyes, and couldn’t help but take a deep breath.

During this time, he had talked a lot with Chi Xiaocheng. Though they hadn’t specifically mentioned the unmentionable, he had more or less guessed his current situation and circumstances.

And also… his identity.

A fate predetermined, controlled by others, with no way to resist or escape.

Looking at the entire vast world, wasn’t he just like Yu Hui: a mere small character?

Si Chen didn’t actually care about the truth of this world.

To him, this was simply the world he lived in.

What he wanted to resist, what made his heart heavy and unacceptable, was the fact that he could only live as someone else’s puppet.

For over a decade in the Si family, until he was expelled from the capital and forced to scrape by in Jiuzhou City, he had already had enough of being a puppet in his own family.

‘And now, you’re telling me that even after escaping this family, I’m still just a small, controllable character who could be crushed at any moment?’

“Hah!”

Previously, Si Chen’s loyalty to “Orange” was largely due to interests. He wanted to use the forces behind Chi Xiaocheng and Su Tao’s War Hero father to reclaim his position in the Si family. There was also a small part of it because he had become friends with Chi Xiaocheng and trusted her.

But now, his loyalty to “Orange” was for himself!

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Even if this world wanted to manipulate him, he would never compromise!

Si Chen opened his tightly shut eyes, exhaled a long breath, and the conviction in his gaze grew firmer.

Adjusting his emotions, he returned to his usual demeanor and turned to knock on the door of the lounge where Su Tao was.

After hearing the girl’s calm “Come in,” Si Chen sensed something was off.

Su Tao was sitting on a chair, legs crossed. Though she had to look up to meet Si Chen’s eyes, the girl exuded an overwhelmingly domineering aura.

She looked somewhat angry.

But it wasn’t just that. Her face showed a mix of conflict and hesitation, more pronounced than anything else.

Upon closer inspection, there was resolve hidden beneath her gaze.

Si Chen pulled out a chair and sat across from Su Tao, speaking lightly, “I’ve always felt you were a bit odd, but today it’s especially obvious. Just say it, what do you want to talk about?”

Su Tao closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

With determination, she slowly exhaled. “Si Chen, I’ve always felt we needed to have a proper talk. Let’s do it one at a time.”

Si Chen nodded. “Alright, go ahead. I have time today. I’ll listen.”

Su Tao nodded seriously. “First, there’s the help you’ve given me and Xiaocheng. I’ve always been grateful for that. I want to repay you somehow, but… with my limited strength, there’s not much I can do. So, I wanted to ask first… about my father.

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“Do you have any further news about him?” Su Tao touched the back of her left hand with her right. “If he comes back, I’m not sure how he’ll treat me, but I still want to use his influence to repay you.”

Si Chen’s kindness needed to be repaid.

Even if he didn’t care, Su Tao couldn’t just heartlessly keep accepting his help.

That father of hers, whom she didn’t have a good impression of, had ironically become the only way she could repay Si Chen.

Though Si Chen wanted to give Su Tao a clear answer, thinking about Su Dingtian, he could only sigh helplessly. “There’s no new information about your father. If anything, we’ve found that his organization has had frequent personnel changes recently. Beyond that, nothing else is clear.”

“I see.”

Su Tao pressed her lips together. It seemed repaying him would have to wait.

Si Chen, after all, had studied psychology. He saw through Su Tao’s thoughts at a glance. “You really don’t need to feel embarrassed. Whether it’s you or Chi Xiaocheng, we’re close enough that helping you isn’t a bother.

“Besides, Dongfang Yang and I are already working to maintain Jiuzhou City’s stability. Dealing with rule-breakers like Chu Lingfeng is the main goal. Protecting you and Chi Xiaocheng is just a side benefit.”

It was precisely because of Su Tao’s self-reliant personality that she overthought things.

Anyone else would’ve long since accepted this protection without a second thought.

Some might even have been secretly pleased.

But wasn’t it this very personality that made people want to help her?

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What Si Chen didn’t notice was that after saying this, Su Tao’s previously neutral expression grew even more displeased.

The girl bit her lip, stared straight at Si Chen, and slowly spoke, word by word, “That’s exactly it! The reason you help me and Xiaocheng! That’s the second thing I wanted to talk about!”

“Huh?” Si Chen didn’t understand what she meant.

“What I mean is—”

Su Tao suddenly slammed the table and stood up, her eyes slightly reddening. “You still like Xiaocheng, don’t you?!”

A sharp crack echoed through the room.

Si Chen followed the sound and was horrified to see that the mahogany table Su Tao had slapped now had cracks spreading outward from where her palm had struck.

The entire table seemed to tremble.

Was this the divine strength of the War Hero bloodline?

A bit terrifying, but fortunately, Su Tao was still restraining herself.

However, Si Chen finally understood why Su Tao had been looking at him so strangely these past few days.

He smirked dismissively. “So that’s what this is about? You think I like Chi Xiaocheng?”

He tugged at his tie, then placed a hand on the side of his neck, twisting it slightly to produce a crisp sound. At the same time, a strange, meaningful smile appeared on his lips.

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“Good thing I was prepared!”

With ease, Si Chen yanked hard on his tie. With a swoosh, it slid off smoothly. Then he stood straight, took off his suit jacket, and faced Su Tao directly.

His 1.9-meter-tall frame and the broad chest beneath his white shirt exuded an indescribable pressure.

Even Su Tao, who had nearly shattered a table with one slap, couldn’t help but be intimidated by Si Chen’s confident aura.

She instinctively took a step back. “What are you trying to do?”

“Hmph~!” Si Chen smirked devilishly, did a tactical backward lean, and suddenly gripped his pure white shirt with both hands.

Puffing out his chest, he twisted his upper body dramatically. With a rip, the entire shirt was torn apart!

On his toned pectorals and well-defined abs were sharply etched words:

“Never Love Cheng!”

Besides these words, there were even decorative patterns surrounding them, as if to emphasize the message!

“This….”

Su Tao was stunned speechless, her vision practically blinded.

She pointed at Si Chen, her hand trembling as if from anger. “What do you mean by this? Not only do you like Xiaocheng, but you even wanted to carve her onto your body?!”