Cannon Fodder – Chapter 78 – Su Tao’s “Future”

The moment the words “orange juice” came to mind, Su Tao felt an indescribable wave of nausea rise within her.

Yet this sudden sensation surprisingly made her feel considerably more clear-headed!

It was as if all negative emotions paled in comparison to such intense physical awareness.

Su Tao reached out and opened the refrigerator without hesitation, pulling out a bottle of Pulpy Orange.

Disregarding the drink’s natural chill, she grabbed a glass and quickly poured herself a full cup.

Like grasping the last straw before complete collapse.

She tilted her head back and drank.

Her throat moved as the familiar orange juice flavor spread across her taste buds.

“Mmm….”

After only half a glass, Su Tao covered her mouth and rushed to the bathroom.

“Ugh…!”

She knelt on the floor, vomiting up both the juice and her lunch from earlier.

While gasping for breath, she wiped away the tears that had welled up in her eyes.

The massive endorphin release created an unusual euphoria that made Su Tao feel significantly better.

All the previous stress, confusion, hesitation, and fear were momentarily pushed aside. After resting briefly, Su Tao rinsed her mouth and took a shower.

Hot water flowed over her head, soaking her hair before running down her smooth skin.

Su Tao emptied her mind, breathing shallowly like a drowning victim just rescued, avoiding any thought of what had brought her to this state.

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After showering and drying her hair.

‘What’s done is done. Time to sleep.’

‘No need to think about anything, no need to deal with anything.’

‘This feeling… is truly liberating.’

Since vomiting after drinking that half-glass of orange juice, Su Tao had entered an extremely relaxed state.

As long as she could stay in this house, this place full of memories, that was enough.

She left her phone, watch, sachet and other items in the living room, staggering alone into Chi Xiaocheng’s room.

Falling onto the bed, she hugged the giant panda pillow that Chi Xiaocheng often slept with. Burying her face in the pillow, she took a deep breath.

“Xiaocheng’s scent.”

Love it~

‘What am I holding right now?’

A pillow?

No.

‘I’m holding Xiaocheng.’

‘Yes, it’s time to sleep with Xiaocheng now.’

‘No need to think about anything, just being with Xiaocheng like this feels so comfortable.’

Pulling the blanket over herself, her exhausted eyes gradually closed.

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Her lips moved drowsily in self-talk.

“So sleepy… want to sleep.

“Xiaocheng seems to be at the hospital, is she waiting for me there?

“But going to the hospital would make me uncomfortable again, and she’d show her yandere side, wouldn’t she?

“Xiaocheng or whatever… this is definitely more comfortable.”

The sachet’s fragrance smells so nice.

As if having shed all burdens from her shoulders, Su Tao fell into deep sleep.

She was too exhausted. After continuous high stress, Ye Liang forcing her to make a choice had finally snapped her last thread.

Her subconscious began protecting both body and mind.

No more thinking.

Escaping reality.

While Su Tao slept, Chi Xiaocheng happened to wake up groggily in the hospital. Opening her eyes to look for familiar figures, she found no one.

“Tao-Tao isn’t here.”

Chi Xiaocheng’s voice carried some regret as she struggled to reach for her phone on the bedside table, opening a mysterious small app.

[Host, you should rest first]

“Rest?” Chi Xiaocheng skillfully spent 100 emotional points from the system store to exchange for a healing pill, tossing it into her mouth.

She said slowly, “I don’t like resting in empty hospital rooms. The disinfectant smell here is awful. If I’m resting, I want to sleep in Tao-Tao’s arms.”

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Opening the phone app, a blinking location indicator showed a familiar place on the map.

“Tao-Tao is at my house?”

This was a custom app Chi Xiaocheng had created using a hacker toolset won from a system lottery draw. During the three days she’d confined Su Tao in the small dark room, she’d linked it to Su Tao’s phone.

No matter where Su Tao went, the location would display here.

Moreover, if needed, Chi Xiaocheng could even listen to her calls or remotely check various records on her phone.

But what puzzled Chi Xiaocheng now was, why was Su Tao at her house?

After checking her room’s surveillance feed, Chi Xiaocheng discovered Su Tao hugging her giant panda pillow, sleeping soundly.

Reviewing the surveillance records, Chi Xiaocheng understood the whole sequence.

Instantly, her eyes took on a terrifyingly eerie look. “Choosing to run away… Tao-Tao really disappoints me~”

At this moment, the system in her mind spoke up.

[H-Host, isn’t it normal for Su Tao to escape? Between your pressure, Si Chen, Chen Qian, and Dr. Cheng… there are multiple forces pressuring her. She’s long reached her limit]

[Ye Liang was just the fuse that ignited the explosion. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if Su Tao had a complete breakdown]

“She won’t break down that easily.” Chi Xiaocheng smiled faintly. “Remember, she’s the female lead. In the original story’s plot that I know, she only broke down twice.

“The first time was after learning about the original host’s drowning. Because the original host had slashed her face, stabbed her chest, while vicious words made her briefly lose reason and feel despair. With slight encouragement from Ye Liang, she let him deal with the original host.

“Perhaps the book’s version of her thought Ye Liang would just punish the original host.

“But who could anticipate Ye Liang’s cruelty? After being beaten near death for days, the original host was drowned by Ye Liang’s lackeys.

“All childhood memories became relics with the original host’s departure. Su Tao blamed herself for neglecting the original host, leading to her corruption and death at Ye Liang’s hands. Overwhelmed by emotions, she broke down.”

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Chi Xiaocheng had spent considerable emotional points recently to fill in the original plot. Though she hadn’t finished the entire book, she’d completed the first fifth plus Su Tao’s ending segment.

“The second breakdown was during the final ending.

“No matter how pure the female lead, she’s no match for the author’s pen.

“A sudden rich female rival appeared, repeated cycles from hope to despair, yet she resiliently endured immense pressure.

“Only at the very end, in a tiny rental room while looking at an old photo with the original host, did she have an epiphany.

“The ones who cared most about her were actually the original host’s family.

“And Chi Xiaocheng, including her family, had in some sense died because of her.”

Chi Xiaocheng leaned against the headboard, looking at the ceiling. “System, from a results perspective, in Su Tao’s view, the original host might never have actually hated her.

“Not allowing her to interact with Ye Liang… because in the mid-late story, Ye Liang did betray Su Tao, could the original host’s actions have been protecting her?

“Thinking Ye Liang only pursued Su Tao for her looks, so ruining her face and chest, would that make Ye Liang lose interest?

“Confessing to all the male leads, couldn’t that have been sacrificing herself to expose their true natures?”

These weren’t Chi Xiaocheng’s speculations, but the original story’s ending. Su Tao, recalling all these events, had this epiphany and deduction.

Every word Chi Xiaocheng said was written in the original work.

Perhaps the author’s conscience, while killing off Su Tao, whitewashed the original host to become Su Tao’s sole love, preventing a female lead spanning thousands of chapters from ending completely unloved.

Deducing the process from the original’s outcome.

The original host, elder brother Chi Song, parents who cared for her, her war hero father… these early-deceased “cannon fodder side characters” were among the very few in thousands of chapters who truly loved her.