Peach-Orange! – Chapter 435 – One and Zero

School, and then the next phase of the plan!

Although Dongfang Yang and Si Chen had arranged a long leave for her at school, Chi Xiaocheng believed that attending classes was still a must.

First, to support Su Tao’s career aspirations. Su Tao genuinely wanted to graduate properly, then work to earn money, start a business, and eventually buy a house and a car.

Chi Xiaocheng still remembered how seriously Su Tao had once told her that after graduation, she would start a business to earn money, while Chi Xiaocheng could stay home and “be cute,” while Su Tao would take care of the household.

Being constantly helped by Dongfang Yang and Si Chen had long since bruised her pride.

But that was only one of the reasons.

The more important point was emotional value!

The amount of emotional value Su Tao could currently provide had dwindled to almost nothing. Dongfang Yang, the NPC, was busy, making it difficult to complete daily missions. And extracting emotional value from Si Chen was even harder.

During the boring days at Si Chen’s villa, Chi Xiaocheng had reread the original novel content she had purchased with emotional value. Then, she memorized every named character who appeared in it.

Previously, she had overlooked these seemingly insignificant side characters.

But now she realized that any character with a full name and even a sliver of plot relevance could provide emotional value!

Even Chen Qian occasionally gave Chi Xiaocheng a few points of emotional value when she was in a good mood.

So what about those characters in the original novel who had more interactions with Su Tao?

They could provide even more emotional value!

Right now, she urgently needed emotional value to counter the potential future appearance of the “heaven-sent” female rival.

Chi Xiaocheng’s plan was to accumulate as much emotional value as possible while the world’s will hadn’t yet taken action, allowing the system to gather more energy for upgrades.

As for safety concerns….

On the night before returning to school, Su Tao sat down in front of Chi Xiaocheng.

With a serious tone, she said, “Xiaocheng, do you remember the shared location tracking I mentioned earlier? At school, you must keep it on at all times.

“Also, Brother Chi Song has arranged for two bodyguards to pose as students nearby. If anything happens, you must immediately move toward them.

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“And the most, most, most important thing!” Su Tao raised her voice. “You absolutely must not engage in deep conversations with strangers! Xiaocheng, you’re too naive. You’re the easiest to trick.”

If possible, Su Tao didn’t even want Chi Xiaocheng to go to school at all.

Chi Xiaocheng could only sweat a little at this. “Tao-Tao, relax, okay? It’s not like I’m completely helpless. Want to test my strength with an arm-wrestling match?”

Ever since she had shown some “abnormal” traits, the Darkening skill had become a permanent passive, though only at the lowest threefold multiplier.

But with her current physical condition, she was already comparable to a healthy, fully grown adult man.

She kind of wanted to see how her current threefold Darkening would fare against Su Tao’s War Hero bloodline.

Faced with Chi Xiaocheng’s suggestion, Su Tao sighed in resignation. “If Xiaocheng wants to try, then let’s do it.”

The two sat on opposite sides of the table.

Su Tao extended her hand first.

Her palm was the size of an average adult woman’s, but her fingers were slightly more slender—fair, delicate, and flawless in both proportion and skin texture.

Chi Xiaocheng’s hand was much smaller.

Having eaten the Fine Soft Candy and never lifted a finger for chores, her little hand was nothing short of a captivating treasure.

Though they held hands every day….

But….

Su Tao rarely observed any single part of Chi Xiaocheng’s body so intently.

Last time, her little feet had seemed adorable.

And now, her little hand was….

For some reason, Su Tao felt an urge to gently suck on the tip of Chi Xiaocheng’s index finger.

Would it… have any taste?

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But where did this strange flutter in her chest come from?

Her despicable self seemed to be getting even weirder.

If Xiaocheng knew what she was thinking, she’d definitely hate her, right?

Su Tao used her acting skills to mask the thoughts flashing through her mind.

“Then, let’s begin.”

She clasped Chi Xiaocheng’s small hand.

Was it her imagination, or did this little hand feel even softer and more comfortable than usual?

Before she could dwell on it, Chi Xiaocheng had already looked at her seriously. “Okay, Tao-Tao, I’m going all out from the start!”

“No problem.”

Su Tao responded immediately.

Come to think of it, she’d once read something online.

When two girls were together, there was inevitably the concept of “one” and “zero.”

The more dominant one naturally took the former role. She was supposed to “be the man” and shoulder all responsibilities.

Su Tao had always placed herself in this position.

But now that she knew Xiaocheng also had a similar ability of suddenly gaining explosive strength when angry….

‘If Xiaocheng were stronger than me, more capable than me… wouldn’t that mean this role would…?’

Su Tao didn’t think Chi Xiaocheng was the type to take the initiative. In their relationship, she was used to being the dominant one.

Now, this seemed like a chance to test who was really “on top”?

Su Tao’s gaze sharpened slightly.

‘This is the one thing I absolutely cannot lose!’

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‘This arm-wrestling match might seem like a test of strength, but what it’s really testing is my dignity in front of Xiaocheng!’

Her voice grew steadier. “Come on, Xiaocheng. I won’t go easy either.”

“King, come here for a second!” Chi Xiaocheng waved over King. “Meow when we start, okay? When King meows, we’ll both use our strength.”

“Got it.”

The two braced themselves. When King happily trotted over….

“Meow!”

A cute meow sounded.

Chi Xiaocheng instantly exerted force—

Threefold Darkening!

For a split second, she felt resistance from Su Tao’s hand.

And then—

Thud!

Under Su Tao’s focused gaze, Chi Xiaocheng’s small hand trembled for just one second before being slammed onto the table.

Instant defeat!

Chi Xiaocheng was stunned.

‘Huh? I used threefold Darkening!’

‘And I still had no chance to resist?’

‘Is the War Hero bloodline really that terrifying?’

‘Does this mean if Tao-Tao ever forces herself on me, I won’t even have a chance to fight back?’

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‘…That won’t do.’

‘A little resistance makes things more exciting.’

‘Well… if Tao-Tao really wanted to force me, I probably wouldn’t resist anyway.’

“It seems bodyguards are still necessary.…”

Su Tao was delighted by her victory.

Xiaocheng did have some strength, but she couldn’t resist her.

Next time… maybe try that “wall pin” thing she saw online.

She took Chi Xiaocheng’s small hand again, smiling happily.

“By the way, Tao-Tao, since your strength is so great, can you control it precisely?”

“Of course. I could hold an egg without crushing it.”

“That’s good.”

“Hmm? What’s wrong, Xiaocheng?”

Su Tao looked puzzled, not noticing the faint blush on Chi Xiaocheng’s face.

‘How could I say I’m worried you won’t control your strength and leave me unable to get out of bed in the future….’

‘Tch! Thinking about that now is pointless anyway.’

‘We’re already a couple, but she doesn’t dare do anything beyond kissing.’

‘And every time, I have to take the initiative….’

Hmph!

“You blockhead!”