Peach-Orange! – Chapter 537 – The Truth Laid Bare on the Table

Life is like a dream, fleeting and transient.

Several months passed in the dream, but when Su Tao woke with a start, she clutched her head and looked towards the window, only to find it pitch black outside.

How long had she been asleep?

Could it have been months, just like in the dream? Was it possible that Xiaocheng had been captured by them too?

“That’s right, my phone…”

Su Tao, ignoring her pounding headache, immediately fumbled around and finally spotted her phone on the table.

“May 16th…”

Memories flooded back, and Su Tao finally let out a long sigh of relief.

It was indeed the day she and Xiaocheng got injured together, the day they counter-attacked the special ops squad, the day Ye Er fled in disgrace, the day Xiaocheng took a bullet for her, got shot in the shoulder, and then was admitted to the hospital.

And she, exhausted, had fallen asleep.

“It’s 5:20 AM now, meaning I’ve slept for less than five hours?”

Su Tao put down her phone, covered her still-throbbing head again, slowly closed her eyes, and took deep, measured breaths.

Her mind was a mess, but first, she needed to get her bearings.

After clearing her mind for about three minutes, Su Tao’s heart rate gradually steadied. She opened her eyes again, only to see a dark figure standing in the corner of the hospital room.

Rеаd oո KαtRеadiոɡСafе

Dressed entirely in black…

Hei Tao?!

That person from the dream?

Su Tao’s hair stood on end instantly, but then she heard the figure speak, “Awake, I see. From the look of you, you didn’t get lost in that dream.”

The figure stepped forward, revealing a petite girl wearing a black dress, with a black rose accessory pinned in her hair.

This person was not Hei Tao.

Hei Tao’s aura was dark and oppressive. Although she looked identical to Su Tao, her grimacing expression and heavy dark circles made her seem like someone who had suffered a family tragedy and then gone without sleep or grooming for a long time.

But the girl before her now, who looked exactly like Chi Xiaocheng and was dressed in a black dress, exuded an elegant, unapproachable aura.

For a moment, Su Tao wondered if this was also Hei Tao in disguise, aiming to lure Chi Xiaocheng or even harm her.

But remembering Chi Xiaocheng’s trust in this figure and the earlier life-saving incident, Su Tao dismissed the thought.

Since Xiaocheng chose to trust her, then she should too.

Su Tao calmed herself and sat upright on the hospital bed. “Although we briefly saw each other before, may I ask, who are you?”

Xiao Hei waved her hand lightly. “No need for formalities. Just think of me as Xiaocheng’s guardian spirit, or a second personality. However, I can also interfere with reality to some extent.”

Rеαԁ οn КatReαԁіոɡСαfe

“My name is Xiao Hei.” Xiao Hei lifted her head and met Su Tao’s gaze. “From my perspective, I’m quite familiar with you.”

Su Tao could sense that, despite having the same face as Xiaocheng, this person was completely different from Chi Xiaocheng.

Did she… not like her very much?

Sensing this, Su Tao became a bit more reserved. “I’m just a little slow to react, after all, Xiao… Xiao Hei, your existence is too supernatural.”

“But I can feel your affection for Xiaocheng.” Su Tao offered a slight smile, smoothly changing the subject. “So, what did you mean earlier about getting lost in that dream? This strange dream… were you in it too?”

Xiao Hei raised an eyebrow, initially satisfied with Su Tao’s ability to grasp information, then shook her head and explained, “I wasn’t in the dream, but I influenced your dream slightly.”

“Influenced…” Su Tao suddenly remembered the words that the Hei Tao in the dream seemed to have said.

That she was supposed to experience the original ending, but it was disrupted by two rats?

She quickly asked, “In the dream, there was someone who looked exactly like me but was surrounded by a dark aura. She said this dream was the original ending I was supposed to experience, but due to some circumstances, it was disrupted? She can’t truly control me anymore.”

“Quite clever.” Xiao Hei’s voice lifted a notch. “It seems that person revealed quite a bit of information to you in the dream.”

Su Tao’s expression turned serious. “That person… what exactly is she?”

Xiao Hei countered, “What do you think it is?”

Su Tao lowered her head in thought. “An existence that can slightly influence reality?”

Rеаԁ οn ΚatReаⅾinɡCαfе

Based on what Hei Tao said in the dream, this was a reasonable inference.

Hearing this, Xiao Hei finally felt a degree of satisfaction with Su Tao.

Although she, along with the system, had influenced the dream, they had only prevented it from completely following the World Will’s intentions, forcibly pulling it slightly towards the original story’s outcome.

But in reality, if Su Tao’s will wasn’t firm, or if she collapsed, became stubborn, felt hopeless, and immersed herself in the dream like before, she still wouldn’t escape being influenced in reality upon waking.

Now, it seemed instead that the World Will had suffered a bit of a setback?

Xiao Hei gained a bit more patience and slowly explained, “That entity is more terrifying than you think. It is the World Will. You could say it is the only god of this world.”

“The… god of the world?”

Su Tao’s expression turned blank.

Having lived nearly twenty years in this world, leading an ordinary daily life, could such a world really have supernatural developments like gods?

Xiao Hei nodded faintly. “Let me see. After this dream, your character weight has dropped another 15 points consecutively. You’re down to 20% now. Not bad.

“In that case, I can tell you some of this world’s secrets.”

Hearing this, Su Tao’s expression became a bit more serious.

It wasn’t that she felt nothing, but as a native of this world, without external intervention and constantly influenced by the World Will, Su Tao alone could never have realized this world’s abnormalities.

Reaⅾ oո KαtRеаԁіոɡСаfе

And Xiao Hei happened to be the one who could clear things up for her. “First, this world is a Truman Show world. Whether it’s you, Chi Xiaocheng, or even Dongfang Yang, Si Chen, they are all characters in this world.”

“Characters?”

“Correct. We… all live inside a novel. We are members of this novel’s world.”

Xiao Hei stated this bluntly. At that very moment, a terrifying clap of thunder suddenly roared through the clear night sky outside.

But she merely glanced out the window before turning her gaze back to Su Tao. “Does it feel unbelievable? But that’s the fact. Xiaocheng knows about this, Si Chen knows too. They have already shaken off the World Will’s control.

“And now you have basically broken free from Its control as well, which is why I can mention this to you.”

Such words, for anyone, would carry an explosive amount of information.

Those in high positions would be terrified.

Ordinary people would be shocked.

Those poisoned by chuunibyou might get excited.

But for Su Tao, after the shock came another pressing concern. “So, that means the World Will, that mysterious young lady, all those people who want to capture Xiaocheng… it’s all because they know this truth?”

Targeted by the entire world, would Xiaocheng still end up like in the dream, unable to escape that fate?