After Transmigrating, I Became The Heroine’s First Love! - Chapter 22

Qiao Yanxin stopped and stood beside Pei Xiangwan.

“Don’t you remember? Back in freshman year, you said you were going to take photos of Jiang Shiyuan and chose a village as the location. After you finished shooting, you spotted a huge blueberry field and, craving a taste, went down to pick some.”

Qiao Yanxin clapped her hands. “Hey, what’s this? The old farmer was still in the field, and you didn’t even look before you started picking! He accused you of being the ‘blueberry bandit’ who’d been stealing his blueberries every day. You offered to pay, but he refused, saying he wanted to teach you a lesson for your repeated thefts. I had to bail you out with my own money back then.”

Pei Xiangwan listened, finding the story strangely familiar yet somewhat amusing. She never imagined that idiot had done something like that.

“What does this have to do with Jiang Jiang?”

“Of course it’s relevant! She wanted to eat them. You’ve never liked blueberries—you think they’re too sour and astringent.”

Qiao Yanxin sighed softly. “Ugh, you spoiled her rotten. Even if you didn’t like something, you’d eat it with her without a second thought. But when you weren’t spoiling her, you weren’t even human. That woman just now was your ex-girlfriend, Liu Zhixu. You started dating her after your fight with Jiang Shiyuan. I thought you were just trying to make Jiang Shiyuan jealous, but later events proved me wrong.”

The sheer volume of information overwhelmed Pei Xiangwan. A former girlfriend had suddenly appeared, but the original Pei Xiangwan had always been a scumbag—a volatile, inhuman monster. This whole mess was undoubtedly her doing.

The only mystery was why she had suddenly grown to despise Jiang Shiyuan.

“Are you even listening to me?”

“Huh?” Pei Xiangwan turned her head, her eyes vacant.

Qiao Yanxin rolled her eyes. “You’re not even paying attention. What’s with you spacing out all the time lately? I was saying, do you think Liu Zhixu looks like Jiang Shiyuan? Is that why you dated her?”

“What the hell…? Jiang Jiang is Jiang Jiang. She’s her own person, no one looks like her. Everyone is unique, and Jiang Jiang is one of a kind.”

Qiao Yanxin scoffed. “Yeah, yeah, she’s the most unique… Whatever. They’re just the same type—cold and aloof. Back then, I really thought you were trying to make Jiang Shiyuan jealous. But later I realized you never actually liked her.”

Ding-a-ling—ding-a-ling-a-ling— The ringing of the bell drowned out Qiao Yanxin’s voice. Pei Xiangwan could only see her mouth moving, unable to hear the words. When the ringing stopped, everything around them fell silent.

“Let’s go in,” Pei Xiangwan said.

She gazed out the window at the world outside, a world that resembled an oil painting. In that moment, she felt drained of color. The people here were all monochrome, existing in shades of black and white. The books, the people, the clothes—everything was black and white. She felt disconnected from this world.

Have I truly grasped everything?

“How many times has this happened? Why are these notes always stuck to your locker? Paper cranes, stars…” Chen Zui’s voice dripped with impatience as she ripped off the note. “The handwriting is always the same. What’s the school even doing? They still haven’t fixed the security cameras. They never do what they’re supposed to, but they’re always meddling where they shouldn’t be.”

The note’s contents were the delusional ramblings of a fanatic obsessed with fantasizing about a romantic relationship with Jiang Shiyuan.

It had started with reminders to eat on time and compliments on her dancing, but now it had escalated to madness and extremism. The note warned Jiang Shiyuan to stay away from Pei Xiangwan. This had been happening frequently lately.

Today’s note was particularly vicious and brazen, threatening to kill Pei Xiangwan. This finally angered Jiang Shiyuan, who had previously dismissed the incidents as trivial. She realized she had been too lenient, allowing the stalker to grow increasingly arrogant and lawless.

She knew these types were all talk and no action, but no one could say such things, let alone act on them. Jiang Shiyuan smiled as she took the note from Chen Zui’s hand. “It’s fine. Class is important, right?”

Chen Zui glanced at Jiang Shiyuan, pulled out her dance shoes from the locker, and thought to herself, As expected of Jiang Shiyuan. Even in this situation, she’s still focused on studying. It’s strange how she becomes so rational when it comes to academics, completely abandoning her romantic tendencies.

“Let’s go, let’s go.”

Because Chen Zui was walking ahead of Jiang Shiyuan, she didn’t see Jiang Shiyuan pick up the note. The dark, bloodthirsty glint in Jiang Shiyuan’s eyes made her resemble a beast trapped in ruins, overflowing with pent-up resentment and hatred. Her patience had reached its breaking point.

She crumpled the note and tossed it away. The person who wrote it would meet the same fate.

“Shiyuan, why aren’t you moving? Didn’t you say class was important?” Chen Zui had just spoken to Jiang Shiyuan but received no response. When she turned around, Jiang Shiyuan was gone. She doubled back to find Jiang Shiyuan hadn’t moved at all.

“Okay, I forgot something,” Jiang Shiyuan replied as she started walking.

“Did you get it?”

“Got it.”

Pei Xiangwan was about to get into the passenger seat of Qiao Yanxin’s car when Qiao Yanxin stammered, “Did you tell Jiang Shiyuan…? It’s terrifying… You’re trying to get me killed.” She had just glanced up and spotted Jiang Shiyuan standing rigidly by the parked electric scooters ahead, her gaze piercing through the windshield like a laser beam.

This wasn’t even the place they were supposed to meet, and Jiang Shiyuan wasn’t looking at Pei Xiangwan—she was staring at Qiao Yanxin with a murderous intensity.

Pei Xiangwan buckled her seatbelt, retorting, “What nonsense are you spouting? Of course I told her! Terrifying? What’s terrifying about it?” She glared at Qiao Yanxin. Jiang Jiang is so adorable, what’s terrifying about her? How tasteless.

Qiao Yanxin’s body trembled slightly, her trembling finger pointing ahead. “There…”

Pei Xiangwan followed her gaze. The familiar face, framed by long, slightly curled black hair, swayed in the breeze along with the blue floral pattern on her white dress. As if sensing Pei Xiangwan’s gaze, their eyes met and locked, an invisible thread winding between them.

Pei Xiangwan lowered the car window and leaned out. Instead of asking why Jiang Shiyuan was there, she said, “Jiang Jiang, you’re here too! Where are you headed?”

Her eyes seemed brighter than usual, piercing Jiang Shiyuan’s heart. Jiang Shiyuan had no strength left, none at all.

Just then, Chen Zui approached Jiang Shiyuan with a bag in hand. “Shiyuan, let’s go.” He turned and noticed Pei Xiangwan leaning out the window. “No wonder you couldn’t move.”

“Pei Xiangwan.”

Pei Xiangwan patted Qiao Yanxin. “Drive up ahead, right next to them.” Qiao Yanxin complied, parking the car beside Jiang Shiyuan and Chen Zui.

“So you’re going out with Chen Zui?” Pei Xiangwan asked.

Pei Xiangwan had somehow unbuckled her seatbelt. She leaned halfway out the window, reaching out to pat Jiang Shiyuan’s head.

“Have fun, Jiang Jiang! Be careful and don’t stay out too late.” She took the opportunity to pinch Jiang Shiyuan’s cheek a few times before withdrawing her hand.

“Well, I’m off then. Bye-bye!” Pei Xiangwan re-buckled her seatbelt. Jiang Shiyuan’s sudden words made her pause.

“I should be the one saying that to you,” Jiang Shiyuan said, her voice unusually cold—so cold that even Chen Zui, standing closest to her, couldn’t help but shiver.

Pei Xiangwan looked up at her. “What do you mean?”

Her heart was like a sailboat adrift on a blue ocean. The once-calm sea had turned turbulent, with towering waves threatening to capsize the vessel. Lost and disoriented, the boat swayed wildly, its balance shattered, its sense of direction gone.

“You should have come back sooner.”

Pei Xiangwan sighed in relief and nodded. “I understand, Jiang Jiang. Don’t worry.” She turned to Chen Zui. “Please take care of Jiang Jiang for me. Thank you, Chen Zui.”

Chen Zui muttered under his breath, “You didn’t need to tell me that.”

The rising glass partition separated them. The face she loved gradually faded from view until the car disappeared entirely.

Qiao Yanxin drove, her mind racing. Jiang Shiyuan’s sudden appearance felt too convenient, too deliberate. That look in her eyes…

“Did you really tell her where you were going?”

Pei Xiangwan leaned back in her seat, tapping her phone screen. “I just said I had something to take care of.”

Qiao Yanxin clicked her tongue. “You didn’t give her any details?”

“Nope. What’s the point of a surprise if you spoil it?”

Qiao Yanxin couldn’t tell if Pei Xiangwan was genuinely naive or pretending. Usually, she could pick up on the slightest cues, yet when it came to Jiang Shiyuan, she seemed completely oblivious. Qiao Yanxin had initially assumed Pei Xiangwan’s earlier coldness and detachment meant she knew something and was deliberately pushing Jiang Shiyuan away in the most hurtful way possible.

But now, that theory seemed wrong. It was as if Pei Xiangwan truly had no idea…

“Don’t you find Jiang Shiyuan’s behavior toward you… strange?”