After Transmigrating, I Became The Heroine’s First Love! - Chapter 42

“Of course I was waiting for you to come back.”

Jiang Shiyuan’s heart pounded in her chest. She never imagined Pei Xiangwan would wait for her, never thought anyone would be foolish enough to wait outside for so long.

Her heart warmed, and even her tone softened. “You must have been waiting a long time.”

Pei Xiangwan shook her head. “No, I was just relieved you were safe. Now I’m going back to sleep.”

“What if I hadn’t come back? Would you have kept waiting?”

Pei Xiangwan replied quickly, “I’m not stupid, Jiang Jiang. If you didn’t come back, something must have happened. I wouldn’t just wait around; I’d go find the people you’d been with, go to the places you’d been. I would definitely find you.”

The distance between them gradually closed. Pei Xiangwan leaned down, meeting Jiang Shiyuan’s eyes at eye level. “Have you ever heard this saying?”

Her warm breath, like steam rising from boiling water, burned Jiang Shiyuan’s face, making it flush. Flustered, she stammered, “Wh… what saying?”

“We can’t keep waiting in the same place forever. It may be beautiful, but it’s also bitter. Waiting too long means losing even more—the opportunities that belong to us.”

Jiang Shiyuan didn’t understand at all. This had nothing to do with waiting for her.

“I don’t get it.”

Pei Xiangwan smiled indulgently and gently pinched the Little Fox’s cheek. “It has many meanings, but to me, there’s only one: I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Earlier, she had secretly activated Jiang Shiyuan’s phone’s location tracking. She knew it was wrong, but it was just in case—all for the Little Fox’s safety.

The world isn’t all beauty and joy; it has another side.

A dark side, where gutter rats thrive, committing every evil imaginable.

They never believe they’re wrong or evil, only that they should dominate everything, forcing the virtuous to submit to them.

In recent days, Lin Su had barely slept soundly. She was on the verge of being driven mad by the online backlash.

Her eyes were bloodshot and her gaze hollow, like a zombie mindlessly devouring humans in the apocalypse. She gnawed on her thumbnail, the sound waking Li Miao, who was sleeping beside her.

“What are you doing?” Li Miao snapped impatiently. “Aren’t you tired enough already?”

Lin Su shook her head frantically, muttering like a madwoman, “No, no, no, no! This time is different from all the others. I’m definitely finished. Absolutely finished.” She repeated the last sentence over and over.

Previously, Lin Su had been confident that these leaks wouldn’t affect her. She believed she could escape unscathed, just as she had before. But this time, her usual methods only provoked increasingly violent counterattacks.

The leaked content consisted of videos she had filmed herself. How had they gotten out? What terrified her most was another video—if Li Miao saw it, everything would be over.

She threw all her money at the leakers, demanding to know who was behind the leaks. But the money was returned, and they all said the same thing:

“Someone you can’t afford to cross.”

The torment drove her to the brink of madness. Lin Su didn’t believe she had done anything wrong, but she was terrified of dying—no one wants to die.

The coffee on the table steamed gently as Sheng Xing sat down across from Jiang Shiyuan. She was still wearing her white dress, her face pale and gaunt.

“Thank you,” she said, her smile tinged with sorrow.

“You’re welcome,” Jiang Shiyuan replied.

A knock sounded at the door. “Come in,” Jiang Shiyuan called out.

Chen Cheng entered, clutching a file. She glanced at Sheng Xing and said, “Boss, it’s about Li Miao.”

Jiang Shiyuan stood up and turned to Sheng Xing. “Wait here, I’ll be right back.”

“No problem, go ahead,” Sheng Xing replied.

To Sheng Xing, Jiang Shiyuan was a savior. Not only had she helped her, but she had also assigned people to protect her. A faint smile touched Sheng Xing’s lips.

“Yueyue, someone’s helping us.”

Just then, her phone lit up on the table. Sheng Xing grabbed it. It was a friend request from Li Qi, the landlord who had been an accomplice in Qiao Yue’s death. Anger shook her body, but she still accepted the request.

She clung to a sliver of hope that Li Qi might apologize and repent, allowing her to forgive her. All she wanted was for that demon to pay dearly. In the end, she had overestimated the goodness in people’s hearts.

Immediately, a long voice message arrived.

“Damn it, you worthless piece of trash! So what if someone died? You ants can be crushed anytime, anywhere. She’s dead, and you’ll die too. You two are the ones who deserve to die most, ruining my business!”

Another message popped up quickly.

“The tenant moved out, and when I went to rent it, a whole crowd of people chased me away. They wouldn’t sell it to me, damn it! Did you send my information out, you bastard? I’m telling you, this isn’t over. If you won’t let me live in peace, you won’t get any peace either.”

Sheng Xin’s heart felt like it had been doused with ice water. She had forgotten that these people were incapable of kindness.

She replied with just two words: “Very well.”

Crimson threads filled her eyes. A chilling smile spread across her deathly pale face, transforming Sheng Xing in an instant, as if she had been possessed by a vengeful spirit.

“Boss… this…” Chen Cheng, monitoring the surveillance footage, heard Li Qi’s vitriol and grew increasingly worried about Sheng Xing’s state. In her eyes, Sheng Xing was like Dou E, and the surveillance footage only showed the woman’s back.

Jiang Shiyuan tapped her fingers lightly on the desk. “It’s fine. Let’s leave it as is for now.”

Fully armed and wrapped in layers of disguise, Sheng Xing slipped out of the protective house in the dead of night. Believing she had evaded the bodyguards’ notice, she hailed a taxi.

“Take me to Happiness Building, please.”

The driver, an older man, immediately cautioned her, “Young lady, that’s not a place you want to go. Haven’t you seen the news?”

“It’s fine, I need to go. Thank you for your trouble.”

Seeing the girl’s resolute attitude, the driver didn’t press further.

“Boss, Miss Sheng really went. What should I do, Boss?”

Jiang Shiyuan toyed with the petals of a gladiolus, as if the flower were blushing, its petals trembling.

“Just ensure her safety.”

Sheng Xing used a wire to pick the lock on Li Qi’s door. After Qiao Yue’s death, she had wanted to do this countless times. She had learned the skill but hesitated to act, giving Li Qi chance after chance.

A drill-like snore echoed from inside. Sheng Xing tiptoed in, opened the bedroom door, and swiftly clamped a towel over Li Qi’s mouth and nose.

“Mmmph!”

Li Qi’s eyes widened to their fullest extent.

The next morning:

“We’re here at Happiness Tower, recently boycotted and at the center of controversy. Li Qi perished in the fire. This building…”

The camera panned to the charred, blackened remains of the tower.

Sheng Xing sipped her tea with elegant composure, as if oblivious to the news report. Jiang Shiyuan remarked meaningfully, “Is this retribution?”

Sheng Xing’s hand trembled slightly as she held her teacup, nearly spilling the liquid. She quickly regained her composure.

“Those who commit great evil will always face retribution,” she said, setting down her cup.

Jiang Shiyuan smiled. “Indeed, everything comes at a price.”

Sheng Xing’s gaze toward Jiang Shiyuan was complex. She murmured softly, “As long as there’s no regret, that’s enough.”

For the first time, a genuine smile bloomed on her face.

“Do you know, I’ve always hated my name?”

“I’m not a star filling the sky, but a pebble buried in the earth.”