Chapter 80 Chapter 80 One Link After Another
Chapter 80 One Link After Another
Sitting in the hospital room, Chi Xiaocheng waited for a while but heard no reply from Su Tao.
She smiled even more brightly.
But the aged voice, generated by the voice mimicry skill, sounded a little lost and incredulous, "Xiao... Xiaotao, Xiaocheng... has something happened to her?"
A mother who saw her daughter as her everything.
Yet received no news from her daughter.
It was as if the sky had fallen.
And it pressed down on Su Tao.
The white moonlight heroine quickly put on a smile and said reassuringly in a light tone, "Auntie, what are you talking about? Of course Xiaocheng is fine. It's gotten very cold here in Jiuzhou City, and Xiaocheng just caught a cold and fell asleep not long ago. Her phone is on silent."
The aged voice on the phone sighed in relief, "That's good, that's good. Xiaocheng's brother has been out for so long without any news, and Xiaocheng... if something else happens to Xiaocheng, your uncle and I wouldn't know what to do."
Su Tao's smile gradually stiffened.
The aged voice didn't stop, old people always liked to repeat insubstantial words, "Xiaotao, it's really good to have you by Xiaocheng's side."
"That child has always had a difficult personality since she was little, and she's easily bullied. And we two old folks only know how to farm. We've already disappointed Xiaocheng's brother. If it weren't for you, we truly wouldn't know what to do."
"Xiaotao, thank you for being a pillar for Xiaocheng, always there for her to rely on. I trust that child to you."
Listening to the relieved tone, Su Tao's stiff smile gradually turned bitter. "No need to thank me, Auntie. You and Uncle raised me when I was little. As an older sister, of course I'll take good care of Xiaocheng."
"Did you just coax Xiaocheng to sleep?"
Su Tao: "Mhm."
"That child, she's really still the same as before, insists on being held by you before she'll sleep, truly an overgrown lass."
Every word, both spoken and implied, was filled with memories and happiness, which made Su Tao's heart feel even more bitter.
She was afraid.
She wanted to escape.
She wanted to forget everything and live a relaxed life alone; that seemed good too.
Yet in her heart, she could never quite let go of that small figure.
It was like a thorny rose; holding it in her hand meant constant pricks and pain.
Even with Chi Xiaocheng, Su Tao had entertained thoughts of escape, but only Chi Xiaocheng's father and mother made her dare not think that way.
As a poor family living on welfare, it was already very difficult for them to raise both Chi Song and Chi Xiaocheng.
But when Chi Xiaocheng brought her home, the elderly couple still accepted her without hesitation.
Because of her, the entire family was frequently talked about by neighbors and villagers.
Even though she was an outsider, the elderly couple still raised her like their own daughter.
They bought her clothes, bought her toys, and supported her education, allowing her, who had been an orphan since childhood, to feel the warmth of family and loved ones.
Only Chi Xiaocheng's father and mother were people Su Tao could not, and dared not, let down.
In her ear, another deep male voice sounded.
It was Chi Xiaocheng's father, with a slightly hoarse, smoker's voice: "It's a pity Xiaotao isn't a boy, otherwise it would be quite good to marry Xiaocheng off to her."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than he was reprimanded by Chi Xiaocheng's mother: "You old fool, what do you know? Chi Song is here for continuing the family line. Do you really want to marry Xiaocheng off like that? I'm willing to raise both daughters together even if it's for a lifetime!"
After reprimanding him, her voice softened when addressing Su Tao. "Xiaotao, don't listen to your uncle's nonsense. Your affairs are for you to decide, okay? I won't bother you any longer."
"It's fine, no bother at all."
"Alright, then I'll hang up. Xiaotao, Xiaocheng is in your care now."
With that, the call ended.
Su Tao sank onto the sofa, lost in thought, her mind filled with Chi Xiaocheng's mother's last words.
—Xiaocheng is in your care now.
The elderly couple's care, expectations, contentment, and happiness were all poured onto her.
"Taotao, with such a heavy love, are you really going to abandon me?"
Hanging up the call and putting down her phone, Chi Xiaocheng's lips curved into a joyful smile.
She thought, she should be able to see Su Tao in this hospital room very soon.
Although the hacking toolkit drawn from the system wasn't advanced, it was simple enough to use the original host's mother's number.
Just as the call had implied.
"I, you see, have entrusted myself to you, Taotao."
Meanwhile, Su Tao, sitting in the living room, leaned back on the sofa and closed her eyes. All the complicated feelings for Chi Xiaocheng, originally hidden deep in her heart, were now brought forth by a single phone call.
Now, what was she to do?
She took out her phone and mindlessly scrolled through the content, not knowing what she was looking at, just swiping aimlessly.
Chi Xiaocheng was still watching the bewildered girl through the monitor.
She took out her phone again. "System, what do you think Taotao needs most right now?"
[Host, your comfort? Or for you to show your normal side?]
"I've always been very normal," Chi Xiaocheng corrected the system's slip of the tongue, saying slowly, "What Taotao needs now is a fulcrum, a belief, a goal to move forward."
"For her to take responsibility for me, the pressure from the original host's parents alone isn't enough. Even if she comes to the hospital, it would just be her 'forced' to come and take care of me."
"She has to come willingly."
[So what's next?]
Chi Xiaocheng smiled faintly. "Next, it's naturally time for Doctor Cheng to make an appearance."
"Taotao has a heart ailment; it needs treatment!"
Just as she was feeling lost, with a 'ding-dong', a familiar person replied with a message.
Su Tao abruptly sat upright, her face filled with joy.
Doctor Cheng: "My apologies, I've been busy all day. How is your friend, Orange, doing now?"
Taozi: "Doctor Cheng, let me first tell you what happened."
Since they were communicating online and didn't know each other in real life, their realities could never truly intersect.
Moreover, Doctor Cheng had provided a lot of help to Su Tao before, so she subconsciously trusted the other party completely.
She told Doctor Cheng the entire sequence of events involving Chi Xiaocheng and Ye Liang, omitting no detail.
After she finished speaking, Doctor Cheng did not reply, seemingly silent.
The waiting time was agony for Su Tao; three minutes felt like half an hour.
Doctor Cheng: "So, you don't know what to do now?"
Su Tao: "Mhm, I... the way she is, I'm a little afraid of her. Doctor Cheng, think about it, this time she harmed herself to make me break up with Ye Liang, but what about next time, or the time after that?"
Su Tao: "I even just thought, 'Perhaps I should just let things be, and not care anymore.' And I can't easily tell anyone about this, it's so hard to keep it bottled up inside."
Doctor Cheng: "I think I understand what you mean."
Su Tao urgently sent a message: "Doctor Cheng, do you have any solution?"
Doctor Cheng: "She makes you feel pain, confusion, oppression, fear, and even difficulty breathing, correct?"
Su Tao swallowed, "Yes, I know she doesn't mean to, but... she just exerts immense pressure on me, invisibly. I... I don't know what to do."
Doctor Cheng: "(Sighs)"
Doctor Cheng: "If things continue as they are, you'll break down first. I only have one suggestion."
Doctor Cheng: "Send her to a mental hospital."
No comments yet
Be the first to share your thoughts!