Chapter 78 Chapter 78 Su Tao'S
Chapter 78 Su Tao'S "Future"
The moment the words "orange juice" came to mind, Su Tao was overcome with an indescribable wave of nausea.
Yet, this feeling, surprisingly, made her feel much better mentally!
It was as if all negative emotions paled in comparison to such a strong, visceral sensation.
Su Tao reached out and opened the refrigerator. Without a moment's hesitation, she took out a bottle of pulpy orange juice.
Ignoring the coldness of the drink itself, she grabbed a glass and quickly poured it full.
It was as if, on the verge of collapse, she had grasped at the last straw.
She tilted her head back and drank.
Her throat worked, and the familiar taste of orange juice spread across her taste buds.
"Ugh..."
After drinking only half, Su Tao covered her mouth and rushed into the bathroom.
"Blech—"
She knelt on the floor, vomiting up her lunch along with everything else in her stomach.
As she gasped for breath, she also wiped away the tears welling in the corners of her eyes.
A large amount of endorphins flooded her system, and a strange sense of pleasure made Su Tao feel much more comfortable.
All the previous stress, struggle, confusion, and fear were cast aside at that moment.
After resting for a while, Su Tao rinsed her mouth and took a shower.
Hot water streamed down from her head, soaking her hair and flowing over her smooth skin.
Su Tao let her mind go blank, like someone saved from drowning, taking shallow breaths and avoiding the root cause of her predicament.
After showering, she blow-dried her hair.
Since things had come to this, it was best to sleep first.
There was no need to think about anything, no need to care about anything.
This feeling was truly relaxing.
Ever since she drank that half-glass of orange juice and vomited, Su Tao felt as though she had entered a state of extreme clarity and ease.
As long as she could stay in this house, in this place filled with memories, that was enough.
She tossed her phone, watch, and sachet into the living room, then drifted alone to Chi Xiaocheng's room.
She threw herself onto the bed and hugged the large panda pillow that Chi Xiaocheng usually slept with.
She buried her pretty face in the pillow and took a deep breath.
"Xiaocheng's scent."
Lovely~
What am I holding now?
A pillow?
No, that's not right.
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 is truly comfortable.
She pulled the quilt over herself with one hand, and her tired eyes gradually closed.
Her small mouth mumbled, half-asleep.
"So sleepy... I really want to sleep."
"Xiaocheng seems to be at the hospital. Is she waiting for me there?"
"But going to the hospital would be uncomfortable, and she'd show me her yandere side again, wouldn't she?"
"Xiaocheng... definitely isn't as comfortable as being here."
The scent of the sachet, it smells so good.
As if all burdens had been lifted from her shoulders, Su Tao fell into a deep sleep.
She was too tired; after continuous high pressure, Ye Liang had forced her to make a choice, finally snapping her last string.
Her subconscious began to protect her body and mind.
Don't think.
Escape reality.
While Su Tao was in a deep sleep, Chi Xiaocheng slowly awoke at the hospital.
She opened her eyes, searching for a familiar figure, but saw no one.
"Tao Tao isn't here."
Chi Xiaocheng's voice held a hint of regret. With difficulty, she reached for the phone on the bedside table and then opened a mysterious small application.
[Host, please rest first.]
"Rest?" Chi Xiaocheng skillfully spent 100 emotional points from the system store to exchange for a healing pill, which she popped into her mouth.
She slowly said, "I don't like resting in an empty hospital room. The smell of disinfectant here isn't good at all. Of course, I want to sleep in Tao Tao's arms when I rest."
The small application on her phone opened, showing a blinking location marker on a familiar spot on the map.
"Tao Tao is actually at my house?"
This was a small application Chi Xiaocheng had customized using a simple hacker's toolkit provided by the system's lottery draw. As early as the three days she confined Su Tao in that small room, she had linked it to Su Tao's phone.
No matter where Su Tao went, her location would be displayed to Chi Xiaocheng.
Not only that, if needed, Chi Xiaocheng could even monitor her calls and remotely view various records on her phone.
However, what puzzled Chi Xiaocheng at this moment was why Su Tao was at her house.
After checking the surveillance footage in her own room, Chi Xiaocheng discovered that Su Tao was hugging her large panda plushie, sleeping soundly.
Reviewing the surveillance records, Chi Xiaocheng understood the entire process.
Instantly, her eyes became eerily sinister. "To actually choose to escape, Tao Tao is truly disappointing~"
Just then, the system in her mind spoke up.
[Ho-Host, it's normal for Su Tao to escape, isn't it? It's not just the pressure you gave her; Si Chen, Chen Qian, and Dr. Cheng's various aliases – multi-party pressure. She had already reached her limit.]
[Ye Liang was just the fuse that lit the dynamite. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Su Tao had completely broken down from this.]
"She won't break down that easily," Chi Xiaocheng said with a faint smile. "You know, she's the female protagonist. In the original novel, from what I know of the plot, she only broke down a total of twice."
"The first time was after learning the news of the original character's drowning. Because the original character had slashed her face and scarred her chest, along with venomous words that briefly made her lose her mind and feel despair, she was slightly swayed by Ye Liang and allowed him to deal with the original character."
"Perhaps the version of her in the book thought Ye Liang would just punish the original character."
"But who could have anticipated Ye Liang's ruthlessness? After several days of being beaten to within an inch of her life, the original character was then drowned in the sea by Ye Liang's subordinate."
"Everything from her childhood became a memory with the original character's demise. Su Tao believed it was her neglect of the original character that led to the original character being led astray and then killed by Ye Liang. Countless emotions surged within her, leading to her collapse."
Chi Xiaocheng had spent a lot of emotional points recently to catch up on the original plot. Although she hadn't read the entire book, she had finished the first fifth, plus the part about Su Tao's ending.
"And the second collapse was at the very end of the story."
"No matter how idealized the female protagonist, she couldn't contend with the author's pen."
"A wealthy female rival, appearing suddenly, pressured her relentlessly, and those around her betrayed her one by one, moving her from hope to despair countless times. Even so, she bravely endured immense pressure."
"Only at the very end, while in her small rented room, when she found an old photo of herself with the original character, did she realize with a jolt."
"The ones who cared about her the most were actually the original character's family."
"And Chi Xiaocheng, including her family, in some sense, died because of her."
Chi Xiaocheng leaned against the headboard, looking at the ceiling. "System, do you know? From the perspective of the outcome, in Su Tao's view, the original character might never have hated her."
"She didn't allow her to interact with Ye Liang, because in the mid-to-late stages, Ye Liang did betray Su Tao. Couldn't the original character's actions be considered protecting Su Tao?"
"She believed Ye Liang was only entangled with Su Tao because of her beauty, so by scarring her face and chest, wouldn't Ye Liang stop liking Su Tao?"
"Confessing to the male protagonists – couldn't that also have been a way of putting herself in harm's way?"
These were not Chi Xiaocheng's conjectures, but the outcome described in the original novel. Su Tao, upon recalling these events, realized and deduced them.
Every word she spoke was written in the original novel.
Perhaps it was the author's conscience; while writing Su Tao's death, they also whitewashed the original character, making her Su Tao's only true connection, ensuring that a female protagonist written for thousands of chapters did not end up with no one to love her.
From the outcome of the original novel, the process could be deduced.
The original Miss, Brother Chi Song, her caring adoptive parents, and her battle-god father – these "cannon fodder side characters" who died early were, out of the thousands of chapters in the entire book, the few who truly loved her.
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