After Transmigrating, I Became The Heroine’s First Love! - Chapter 24

“What’s with you, Qiao Yanxin? Why do you keep sneaking glances at me?” Pei Xiangwan finally snapped.

Ever since Qiao Yanxin finished talking with her cousin, she’d been acting strangely, stealing glances at Pei Xiangwan every few minutes. Her mouth had opened several times, but not a single word had come out.

“What do you want?”

“Huh? No… nothing. I was just looking around,” Qiao Yanxin replied awkwardly, staring straight ahead with an air of feigned busyness.

“Tch.”

Pei Xiangwan gave up asking and pulled out her phone to text Jiang Shiyuan. None of her previous messages had received a response. Is she busy?

“Whoa, what suddenly made you think of me?”

The woman removed her headphones and tossed them aside. Rows of code on her computer screen cast a faint glow across her cheek. As if struck by a sudden thought, she pushed back from her chair, sending it sliding a few steps backward.

“Sorry, sorry, I didn’t turn on the lights.” The room instantly brightened, its white decor creating a clean and comfortable atmosphere.

“Look at you, who pissed off the big boss this time?” The woman glanced at Jiang Shiyuan before slinking back into her chair.

Jiang Shiyuan withdrew her hand from her pocket, removed the dark gray baseball cap from her head, and let strands of hair fall freely across her face, adding a touch of disheveled beauty to her already captivating features. She extended her hand indifferently.

“Give it to me.”

“Aiyo, alright, alright. There’s really no need for this. These people only dare to talk, not act. I can handle them with a flick of my wrist. You don’t need to get involved personally.”

The woman took a small, black circle from a wooden box—no larger than a fingernail—placed it in a transparent container, and handed it to Jiang Shiyuan.

Jiang Shiyuan accepted the container. “Not even talk.” The word “kill” was forbidden—no one could utter it, no one could even think it. If anyone dared to act, they would soon discover who would fall first.

The woman shrugged. “Fine, fine. You really worry about her, don’t you?” She swiveled her chair, her curiosity piqued about what Jiang Shiyuan would do.

“If you had to find her, what would you do?”

Jiang Shiyuan looked up, a sudden smile spreading across her face. “I would…”

The smile was terrifying, causing the woman to freeze mid-swivel, swallowing nervously.

“That’s not something you need to know, Chen Cheng. Just focus on doing your job properly, understand?”

Jiang Shiyuan’s gaze was so cold, devoid of any emotion, like soup cooked without salt—as indifferent as looking at a dead person.

Chen Cheng broke out in a cold sweat under that stare. “Y-yes, I understand! I’ll do my best!” She immediately sat back down at her computer and began typing furiously.

The only sound in the room was the clatter of the keyboard. Jiang Shiyuan glanced at the time. “I’m leaving now. Don’t slack off.”

Chen Cheng chuckled nervously, perhaps to hide her embarrassment at being caught slacking off. “How could I, boss? I’m working hard every day!”

Jiang Shiyuan glanced at her computer screen but didn’t call her out. “Let’s hope so.”

Only after Jiang Shiyuan left did Chen Cheng finally release the breath she’d been holding.

“That was terrifying… even more terrifying than usual. Who would have thought someone so beautiful could be like that underneath…?” Chen Cheng’s hands flew across the keyboard as she muttered to herself.

Jiang Shiyuan returned to her bedroom and picked up her phone from the desk.

“She’s back.”

“Jiang Jiang! Jiang Jiang!”

“Come out quickly!”

Qiao Yanxin leaned against the car, watching Pei Xiangwan jump and shout like a complete fool. “Stop yelling,” she said. “She’s probably asleep. Don’t disturb her.”

“You sleep with the lights on so bright,” Pei Xiangwan retorted, utterly exasperated with Qiao Yanxin.

Suddenly, the curtains of the window she had been staring at slowly parted, revealing the person she had been waiting for. Dressed in a slightly loose, gray-pink plaid shirt, Jiang Shiyuan’s slender waist was subtly outlined in the soft light.

Pei Xiangwan touched her chest, feeling her heart race. She waved at Jiang Shiyuan.

“Jiang Jiang, come down! Come down!”

Jiang Shiyuan watched Pei Xiangwan bouncing below like a tireless puppy, her energy seemingly boundless. After a few seconds, she turned around, curious to see what this “surprise” was.

Qiao Yanxin crossed her arms and said slowly, “Ah… so you were looking for Jiang Shiyuan all along.”

“Yeah. Just wait a bit longer, she’ll be down soon.”

“Alright,” Qiao Yanxin replied, figuring she had nothing better to do and didn’t mind waiting.

A rich fragrance rode on the wind, swirling up pale pink petals that were swept into dark corners. The lingering scent lingered, as if waiting for a lover who would never return.

The door opened, and Jiang Shiyuan stood radiant under the silvery moonlight, like a fairy stepping out of an ancient painting—dignified, elegant, and undeniably noble.

“Jiang Jiang,” Pei Xiangwan managed to call out with difficulty. The little deer in her heart felt like it was about to crash to its death, and she was certain she had a fever; her face burned, the heat rising steadily.

“Hmm? What’s the rush to show me?” Jiang Shiyuan gazed at her, noticing Pei Xiangwan’s tie had somehow ended up draped over her shoulder during her excited movements.

How could someone be so adorably clumsy? Jiang Shiyuan lifted her hand and gently removed the tie from her shoulder.

Pei Xiangwan swallowed hard before saying, “Jiang Jiang, close your eyes. Don’t open them, no matter what! Absolutely not!”

She stared at Jiang Shiyuan with such earnestness, as if opening her eyes would unleash some catastrophic event.

It was such a childish request, but Jiang Shiyuan complied. Pei Xiangwan continued, “Keep them closed like that!”

Jiang Shiyuan responded softly, her eyes tightly shut, leaving her in complete darkness—as if the world itself were shrouded in black.

This heightened her hearing. She could hear footsteps gradually receding, and panic surged through her. She wanted to open her eyes…

She feared this was another prank. The wind whispered in her ear, and she now dreaded its sound, as if it were mocking her.

She tried several times to open her eyes, but couldn’t. Fortunately, the footsteps returned, allowing her tense body to relax and her tightly clenched hands to loosen their grip on her clothes.

Jiang Shiyuan breathed cautiously. The footsteps stopped, but Pei Xiangwan remained silent. She finally asked, “Is it done?”

“Almost, almost! Just a moment,” Pei Xiangwan replied, always worried that holding Snowball this way or that might make him uncomfortable.

Her concerns were unfounded. Snowball showed no discomfort at all, instead rubbing against her incessantly and purring loudly.

In the quiet night, the purring seemed amplified, reaching Jiang Shiyuan’s ears. A faint smile tugged at her lips, so subtle it went unnoticed.

How could someone like this exist? she wondered. So clumsy, yet able to capture my heart.

“Okay, Jiang Jiang, you can open your eyes now.”