After Transmigrating, I Became The Heroine’s First Love! - Chapter 26

The two kittens strutted gracefully around the room, like feline officers on patrol, sniffing here and there.

Everything had been moved in. Pei Xiangwan, sweat beading on her forehead, gasped for breath, one hand resting on her waist.

The open neckline of her blouse widened and narrowed with each breath, her flushed cheeks and even the skin of her neck and collarbones glowing crimson. Unaware of the desire she was stirring in Jiang Shiyuan, Pei Xiangwan continued to speak.

“Come on, Jiang Jiang, take a look at all this stuff. Is it enough? If not, I’ll buy more.”

Jiang Shiyuan approached, her gaze sweeping over the floor cluttered with supplies: cat food, canned goods, treats, a variety of toys, a cozy cat bed, litter… everything seemed well-stocked.

“This is more than enough,” Jiang Shiyuan said.

Exhausted, Pei Xiangwan plopped down on the floor, too tired to even sit properly. She just wanted to collapse and laze around.

Jiang Shiyuan pulled out a tissue and crouched down, wiping at the bright red lipstick stain on Pei Xiangwan’s cheek.

“I can do it myself, Jiang Jiang,” Pei Xiangwan reached out, but Jiang Shiyuan evaded her hand.

“Don’t move, I’ll do it,” Jiang Shiyuan said, gently tilting Pei Xiangwan’s chin upward. Pei Xiangwan braced herself on the floor, cooperating with Jiang Shiyuan’s movements.

The two kittens, curious about their new surroundings, kept turning their fluffy heads this way and that.

Jiang Shiyuan wiped away the lipstick stain, her hand still cupping Pei Xiangwan’s chin. After that first touch, she craved more. She wanted to leave a mark on the beauty mark at the corner of Pei Xiangwan’s eye, linger on her full lips, and leave a kiss on her collarbone, which flushed crimson with embarrassment. If it were the collarbone, she longed to leave a deep, indelible mark.

Perhaps Jiang Shiyuan’s gaze was too predatory, her fox-like eyes fixed on Pei Xiangwan like a hunter stalking prey. The intensity of her stare made Pei Xiangwan’s heart pound uncontrollably.

How could this be happening? This gesture, this look… it feels like forced affection. And why is my heart acting so strangely?

“Um… ahem, are you done, Jiang Jiang?”

Jiang Shiyuan hummed in acknowledgment, stood up, and tossed the tissue into the trash can.

That night, there was no strong wind, only the chirping of crickets: “Ho-ho-ho—” Pei Xiangwan fell asleep to their rhythmic calls.

I never imagined you would betray me…

“Please, I beg you, spare me. For the sake of the love we once shared,” the woman sobbed, kneeling on the ground and pleading desperately. Beside her lay another woman, unconscious, her face stained crimson with bl00d.

“But now my pain outweighs my love. I’m sorry, I can’t grant your wish.”

She let out a cracked laugh, like the sound of a broken door slamming against the wall in an abandoned building, howling in the wind—a chilling, terrifying sound.

Her hand gripped a rope tightly, and a mismatched crucifix tattoo adorned her wrist. She advanced step by step.

The kneeling woman’s sobs grew louder, filled with anguish and profound despair.

Pei Xiangwan, jolted awake by a nightmare in the middle of the night, groped for her phone on the bedside table.

“It’s only… 4 a.m…” She tossed the phone back onto the table and retreated under the warm covers. “I really need to stop watching horror movies before bed…”

Pei Xiangwan yawned and gradually drifted back to sleep.

“Shiyuan, let’s go, let’s go.”

Jiang Shiyuan’s hand brushed against a wall before quickly withdrawing. “They’re here.”

How should we play with this toy that’s about to appear?

Jiang Shiyuan walked beside Chen Zui, listening to him rant about the bizarre customers he’d encountered at the barbecue restaurant the previous night.

“That guy finished eating, came up to ask for the total, and I told him it was 87 yuan. He gave me 50… and said to keep the change! I was so furious! Did he think I was an idiot? I argued with him…”

A girl passing by glanced back at Jiang Shiyuan, her gaze lingering until Jiang Shiyuan’s figure disappeared from sight.

The sky hung overhead like a vast blue mirror, reflecting the world below.

Qiao Yanxin noticed the faint bluish circles under Pei Xiangwan’s eyes, which stood out sharply against her pale complexion.

“Are you okay, Xiangwan? You’ve got dark circles. Did those cats keep you up all night?” It must be those two clingy felines!

Pei Xiangwan shook her head. “It’s not the cats. They’re actually quite well-behaved, but they still need time to adjust to their new environment.”

“Then why the dark circles? They’re really noticeable.”

“It’s because of a dream,” Pei Xiangwan explained, recounting the entire dream to Qiao Yanxin. “It was like this…”

Qiao Yanxin, holding her tray, listened intently as Pei Xiangwan finished, “You should really watch less of that stuff. You were the one who recommended it to me in the first place, and now look what’s happened—I’m having nightmares! Who watches horror movies before bed every night anyway?”

“Alright, let’s sit over there,” Pei Xiangwan said, pointing to the empty seat next to Ma Wanqing. Qiao Yanxin grabbed her arm. “What are you doing… there?”

As if struck by a sudden realization, Qiao Yanxin released her grip and said nothing more, following Pei Xiangwan to the seat beside Ma Wanqing.

No one ever wanted to sit with Ma Wanqing; she was used to it.

“May we sit here, Ma Wanqing?” Pei Xiangwan asked with a smile.

Ma Wanqing slowly lifted her head, a faint light appearing in her eyes. After a few seconds of hesitation, she nodded.

“Thank you,” Pei Xiangwan said, and the two girls sat down.

The surrounding students spoke in hushed tones, afraid to raise their voices. Ning Xuemo and her friend, having just gotten their food, noticed Pei Xiangwan sitting across from Ma Wanqing, chatting and laughing as if they were close friends.

Meanwhile, Qiao Yanxin was focused on eating her meal in silence. Ning Xuemo felt a growing sense of unease; too much had changed in this life.

The biggest change was in Pei Xiangwan… Now, Ning Xuemo worried that if she let her guard down again, everything that belonged to her would be stolen away.

Ma Wanqing was a stepping stone on her path to success, an indispensable tool.

“What are you looking at, Xuemo? Oh, it’s Pei Xiangwan. Has she gone mad lately? Such an arrogant person playing with the lowest of the low… no, the animals in this school. Doesn’t she worry about catching their poverty?”

“You should worry about yourself. You don’t seem any better than Ma Wanqing.”

“Damn it! Who’s sticking their nose in?” Luo Fei snapped, her arrogant facade vanishing to be replaced by panic as she turned around.

Liu Zhixu handed her tray to her friend Yang Wei beside her and stepped forward, the aquamarine pendant between her collarbones swaying with a dazzling glow.

“What’s wrong? Am I wrong? Or do you think clinging to Ning Xuemo will really let you escape everything?”

When Liu Zhixu smiled, dimples appeared on both cheeks, drawing people in with her innocent and pure appearance. She was like a hallucinogenic rainbow mushroom.

Ning Xuemo disliked her looks intensely, and she hated it when people said Liu Zhixu resembled Jiang Shiyuan. One was as pure as moonlight, while the other was merely a hermit crab hiding in a borrowed shell.

Yet, wary of the woman before her, she pulled her best friend aside and said, “Zhixu, what are you saying? You’re becoming quite the jokester.”

Liu Zhixu’s smile faded slightly, her aristocratic aura radiating an intimidating presence. She leaned close to Ning Xuemo’s ear and whispered, “Whether I like to joke or not, I don’t know. But…”

The drawn-out tail of her sentence, like a saw grating against Ning Xuemo’s patience.

“You can play however you like, but if you displease me, there will be consequences. Understand?” With that, her smile bloomed again as she turned to Yang Wei. “Let’s go, Weiwei.”

Gossipers: OMG! A sweet girl! Why is Pei Xiangwan living so well? These scum girls deserve to die!

Yang Wei was used to this. Her best friend was a master of changing faces. She quietly asked, “Didn’t you hate Pei Xiangwan? Why did you help her?”

“I didn’t help her.”

Yang Wei: ……

After they left, Ning Xuemo’s expression darkened. Her tone carried a sharp rebuke as she said, “Luo Fei, I don’t want this to happen again.”

“Understood,” Luo Fei replied, her voice barely audible, more like she was speaking to herself. Their relationship, too, was something she could only acknowledge to herself.