Chapter 36 Chapter 36 - A Fractured Persona
Chapter 36 - A Fractured Persona
“Tao Tao, is that you?”
As soon as Su Tao hung up the phone, Chi Xiao Cheng slowly stirred awake from her "coma."
Her voice was hoarse, tinged with a sob.
Su Tao's expression softened, and she asked with concern, "Xiao Cheng, don't speak yet. You're still injured. Dongfang Yang's doctor will be here soon."
Chi Xiao Cheng offered a strained smile. "I'm fine, Tao Tao, my forehead just hurts a bit, and my face too, but otherwise I'm okay."
"Your face..."
Only then did Su Tao notice, gently wiping away the water stains from her face, revealing a clear punch mark. She then gently brushed aside Chi Xiao Cheng's beautiful hair, finally seeing a wide, yet not deep gash on her forehead, still oozing a faint redness.
Su Tao gasped, forcing herself to calm down.
Chi Xiao Cheng had been closely observing Su Tao's subtle expressions; how could she not guess what Su Tao was thinking?
With a tone that was both anxious and relieved, she asked, "Um, Tao... Tao Tao, my face... it should be alright, right? If I become ugly, will you... will you abandon me?"
Her lips trembled, as if she were about to cry. "She just... she just said she wanted to slice up my face. If I hadn't dodged that knife, I would have truly... truly been disfigured, wuwuwu..."
"Tao Tao, please... please don't abandon me!"
Panicked and helpless, Chi Xiao Cheng's acting was in full swing, tears streaming down her face.
Su Tao, who had initially been rational, felt her anger flare upon hearing this.
She reached out and grabbed an apple nearby, exerting force with her arm as if venting her emotions.
*Splat!*
The apple was crushed.
Chi Xiao Cheng, who had been feigning tears, couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.
She knew Su Tao had some physical strength.
But wasn't that a bit excessive?
How had the original owner managed to knock Su Tao unconscious and lock her in that small dark room back then?
Stunned as she was, the act couldn't stop.
The crying had to continue.
It wasn't until Su Tao gently wiped away her tears that Chi Xiao Cheng slowly began to whimper. "Tao Tao?"
Su Tao offered a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. When have I ever said I would abandon Xiao Cheng?"
"Don't ever think like that again," she instructed, then thoroughly checked Chi Xiao Cheng again, confirming that she only had a scratch on her forehead and some faint, lingering marks on her face, but was otherwise fine.
Helping Chi Xiao Cheng onto a chair, Su Tao said softly, "Xiao Cheng, wait a moment. I'll give you some simple first aid."
With that, she walked towards the cabinet below the television, skillfully opened it, and took out the first-aid kit.
However, as she selected the medicine, she couldn't help but pause.
This scene now seemed to have often happened before.
Ever since Xiao Cheng entered her final year of high school and started living here, during a period of cohabitation, Xiao Cheng occasionally came back injured.
She had merely said she fell, but could it be that...
Su Tao's heart sank. She walked towards Chi Xiao Cheng with the disinfectant, cotton swabs, and gauze. "The disinfection process might sting a little. You can endure it, right?"
"It's fine, I'm used to it!"
Chi Xiao Cheng obediently closed her eyes and tilted her head slightly.
The system's intermittent voice echoed in her mind.
[Sentiment points +3...]
[Sentiment points +5...]
[Sentiment points +10...]
She knew Su Tao had experienced a significant emotional fluctuation because of her words, which was why it was captured by the system.
The unfortunate thing was that sentiment points would gradually decrease as the various protagonists adapted.
Chi Xiao Cheng couldn't repeatedly exploit a bug to farm sentiment points through the same situation.
For instance, when she played the victim, Su Tao's initial concern would yield many sentiment points.
Later, even if she played the victim again and Su Tao felt the same concern, the increase in sentiment points would be much weaker.
Calculating it, every single point was crucial!
Stopping the bleeding, applying the medicine, and temporarily bandaging her forehead.
Su Tao wasn't a professional doctor, but she had learned some basic first-aid methods.
The specific situation would have to wait for a real doctor's judgment.
Speak of the devil, and he arrives.
The door, which hadn't been closed, swung open, and Dongfang Yang walked in quickly with two doctors. His first reaction was to the pool of crimson on the floor, and his eyes narrowed. "Hey, what's going on here?"
Su Tao stood up and explained, "Some delinquent girls from Xiao Cheng's high school were bothering her. Xiao Cheng was already injured when I arrived. Taking care of Xiao Cheng was the priority, so I didn't chase after those people when they ran off."
Dongfang Yang gestured with his eyes to the two doctors.
The two doctors nodded.
They exchanged a glance, and the female doctor handed the medicine box to the male doctor, taking on the task of examining Chi Xiao Cheng.
"There's a little bleeding, and her face suffered a heavy blow. Thankfully, there are no issues inside her mouth, but to prevent swelling and pain in her face, external application is needed. For now, primarily eat light food, and you'll recover with some rest."
What the female doctor said made everyone present breathe a sigh of relief.
Immediately after, Su Tao arranged, "Xiao Cheng, you rest for a bit, and then go take a bath."
At this, Chi Xiao Cheng looked at Su Tao, her face showing anticipation. "Tao Tao, can you help me wash?"
Dongfang Yang raised an eyebrow slightly at her words.
Chi Xiao Cheng looked at Su Tao's clothes. Since she had just given her emergency treatment, her clothes were also dirty, so she simply said directly, "How about we wash together? Because I also got your clothes dirty, Tao Tao."
Dongfang Yang's mouth twitched uncontrollably.
His gaze darted between Chi Xiao Cheng's face and Su Tao's face.
If it had been before, Su Tao would have agreed without hesitation.
But now, knowing Chi Xiao Cheng's strange feelings for her, and those yandere tendencies.
Reason told Su Tao that she couldn't agree to this request.
She smiled, pressing her lips together. "How about we let the lady doctor help? As a doctor, she'll surely know where you can't get wet."
Seeing this, Dongfang Yang stepped forward and nodded. "If you're recovering, you can wash yourself. In this cramped little place of yours, wouldn't two people be too crowded?"
"Oh... alright." Chi Xiao Cheng looked a little disappointed, but she didn't argue.
Su Tao rubbed her temples, a headache forming. Not only this incident with the delinquent girls, but Xiao Cheng's yandere tendencies were also a big problem. If Dongfang Yang hadn't been here, would she have forcefully insisted on bathing with her?
With an apologetic air, she said to Dongfang Yang, "You've gone to a lot of trouble this time too. Why don't you sit down first? I'll take care of the floor."
Like a diligent wife, she skillfully started doing household chores after putting on an apron.
Dongfang Yang stepped out, looked up at the corridor camera, and said to the bodyguards in the hallway, "Let's go to property management and check the surveillance cameras."
Upon arriving at property management, with his status as a young master, the security guards naturally wouldn't stop him.
Before long, they saw the scene on the surveillance footage where Chi Xiao Cheng and Liu Gui Jia met.
Facing such delinquent girls, Chi Xiao Cheng in the footage was timid and cowering, not even daring to look at the other party.
"Truly stupid."
Dongfang Yang nodded, not noticing anything unusual about Chi Xiao Cheng.
However, there was one thing he didn't understand.
He turned to the bodyguard behind him and asked, "What did you observe about Chi Xiao Cheng?"
The bodyguard paused. "She seems used to being bullied. This doesn't look like someone trying to get their money back."
"Yes, her personality is very timid," Dongfang Yang rubbed his chin. "But what I don't understand is, if she's so timid, why did she dare to commit such a grave offense and kidnap Su Tao back then?"
"Ye Liang must be far more terrifying than these delinquent girls, right?"
Once he calmed down, he felt something was off. Chi Xiao Cheng's reason of sacrificing herself for Su Tao didn't quite hold water.
She had acted too timid. Who gave her that kind of impulsive courage?
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