All I Want Is to Hold the Heroine in My Arms [Transmigration into a Book] - Chapter 10
Warm streetlights lit up the front of the car, making the surface shine like polished obsidian. But inside the vehicle, it was completely dark.
In that darkness, Shi Yi, sitting in the driver’s seat, reached out and gently touched her cheek, the spot where Wan Shuang had just brushed against.
A strange feeling stirred in her heart.
Just as that unfamiliar sensation was about to break through her emotional walls, a buzzing sound suddenly broke the silence.
Her phone was vibrating. The call was from Shi Xiangnan.
The moment Shi Yi saw the caller ID, she already knew why he was calling.
As expected, the moment she answered, before she could say a word, Shi Xiangnan’s angry voice shouted through the phone, “Why didn’t you have dinner with Young Master Jing last night?”
“He had plans with someone else.”
“That’s impossible,” Shi Xiangnan immediately rejected her explanation. He clearly thought she was making excuses. “He personally invited you. Why would he have plans with someone else?”
Shi Yi gave a silent, bitter smile. Then she calmly replied, “He was with his girlfriend.”
There was a brief silence on the other end of the line.
Just as Shi Yi was about to hang up, Shi Xiangnan spoke again, his tone suddenly softer, like a kind elder. “Yi, this collaboration with the Jing family is really important to your father.”
His voice sounded gentle and warm, but Shi Yi knew whatever he said next would only make her despise him more.
“So what?” she asked quietly.
“Young Master Jing really likes you…”
Before he could finish, Shi Yi ended the call.
She switched her phone to airplane mode and tossed it onto the passenger seat.
Her hands gripped the steering wheel tightly as her body slowly leaned back into the seat. A few tears began to slide down from the corners of her eyes.
After a long moment, Shi Yi wiped her face and murmured softly, “Mom, how could you fall for such a disgusting man…”
A few days later, at the flower shop.
“Sis, what are you thinking about so deeply?” came a soft, teasing voice in Wan Shuang’s ear. At the same time, a light tap landed on her head.
The sudden voice and the sting of pain snapped her out of her daydream.
“I wasn’t thinking about anything,” Wan Shuang replied, her cheeks turning slightly red as she explained nervously. “Yao Yao-jie, why are you here?”
“Just passing by. You really weren’t thinking about anything?” Wen Yao pointed at the flowerpot by Wan Shuang’s feet and teased, “You’ve almost turned this pot into a little ocean. Are you trying to make the flowers swim?”
Wan Shuang looked down and saw water spilling over the edge of the flowerpot. She quickly set down the spray bottle, picked up a nearby cloth, and crouched to wipe up the water on the floor.
After standing up again, Wen Yao wrapped an arm around her shoulders and leaned close to her ear. Her voice lowered playfully. “Tell me, are you in love?”
“No, not at all.”
“No? Then why are you blushing?”
Why am I blushing?
Should I tell her I secretly kissed her best friend a few days ago? And that I was just now reliving that moment, wondering if it even counted as a kiss? There’s no way I can say that.
“I’m just hot,” Wan Shuang replied quickly. She bent down, slipped out from under Wen Yao’s arm, and headed outside with the spray bottle to water the potted plants. Her actions made it clear she didn’t want to be asked anything else.
“What’s going on?” Shi Yi’s voice came from behind Wen Yao just as Wan Shuang walked out.
Wen Yao turned to Shi Yi, covered one of her ears with her hand, leaned in, and whispered playfully, “I think your little assistant is in love.”
Shi Yi followed her gaze out the window and looked at Wan Shuang, who was watering the plants.
This time, Wan Shuang wasn’t daydreaming. She was focused, carefully spraying each flower.
Her exposed skin shimmered in the sunlight with a soft, creamy glow. Her slender fingers held the spray bottle gently, and several bandages wrapped her fingertips, likely from getting pricked while trimming flower thorns.
As if sensing someone watching, Wan Shuang glanced back inside. When she saw Shi Yi looking at her, she gave her a bright, cheerful smile.
Joy lit up her face.
Since the amusement park trip, she and Shi Yi had grown even closer, more in sync than Shi Yi ever felt with Wen Yao.
Neither of them had brought up the topic of dating again.
Shi Yi chose to act like nothing had happened. Wan Shuang, on the other hand, was still stuck on the moment when she had secretly kissed Shi Yi’s cheek.
“Really? How can you tell?” Shi Yi asked calmly, turning her eyes away.
“I just asked her if she was in love, and she blushed!”
Shi Yi looked at Wen Yao and placed a hand lightly on her shoulder. “My little gossip reporter, what brings you here today?”
Wen Yao didn’t seem surprised by the change in topic. That was how they always talked, saying whatever came to mind.
“I won’t stay long. I’m meeting a client nearby.”
“Oh, right!” Wen Yao suddenly remembered something. She looked at Shi Yi with a grin. “I met a guy recently. Super arrogant. I’ve decided he’s going to be my next target.”
“Congratulations.”
“Seriously? That’s all I get?”
“Congratulations, congratulations.”
Wen Yao had been eager to share more about her new romantic target, but after hearing Shi Yi’s indifferent response, the words caught in her throat. She flipped her hair back, picked up her handbag from the table, and said with exaggerated frustration, “You’re so boring. I’m going to find my happiness elsewhere.”
Her “happiness,” of course, referred to her new romantic interest.
With that, she turned and walked away.
Even as she stepped out the door, she didn’t forget to blow a kiss and call out cheerfully, “Bye-bye, little sister!”
“Why did Yao Yao-jie leave so quickly?” Wan Shuang asked as she returned to the shop after waving goodbye.
“She went to find her happiness,” Shi Yi replied casually.
“Huh?” Wan Shuang blinked, confused. As a die-hard fan of “Beloved Wife in My Arms,” how am I not following this plotline? Her face showed her puzzlement.
Shi Yi was standing behind the counter, flipping through the account book. Without looking up, she asked offhandedly, “Yao Yao said you’re in love?”
“What?” Wan Shuang exclaimed in surprise. Then she smiled and answered, “Shi Yi-jie hasn’t agreed to be my girlfriend yet. Who else would I be in love with?”
Shi Yi froze. Upon hearing that, a wave of relief swept through her. She paused her flipping and looked up from the ledger to glance at Wan Shuang.
“Go trim the thorns off the roses,” she said calmly.
“Okay.” Wan Shuang’s reply was quiet and disappointed. She hadn’t heard the response she wanted.
What she longed to hear was a simple sentence from Shi Yi: “I’m willing to be your girlfriend.”
But she knew that sentence might never come.
The bell above the door jingled.
Wan Shuang looked up and quickly set down the scissors. She ran over, excitedly asking, “Dr. Jian, what brings you here?”
Oh my gosh, it’s been so long since I’ve seen my son. Why is he still so handsome? Wan Shuang looked at Jian Xizhuo with sparkling eyes.
“Miss Wan, long time no see,” Jian Xizhuo greeted her with a polite smile.
“Yes, it’s been a while. Are you here to buy flowers?”
“No,” he replied, shifting his gaze from her to someone inside the store. His eyes softened as he looked at Shi Yi and said gently, “I’m here to see Shi Yi.”
Wan Shuang froze. Watching Jian Xizhuo’s affectionate expression, it suddenly hit her like an explosion in her mind.
Oh no. I forgot something very important.
My son likes Little Yi Yi too!
And I remember now… my original goal was to help him win her back from that scumbag Jing Yijie!
So now I’m competing with my own son for the same woman?!
She stood there, completely stunned.
Shi Yi walked over to them and asked, “Xizhuo, is there something you need?”
“It’s nothing urgent. I just wanted to have lunch with you,” Jian Xizhuo replied. He glanced around the shop and, seeing that there were no customers inside, added softly, “That is, if you’re free?”
“Right now?”
He nodded. “Is that okay?”
“Of course.” Shi Yi already saw him as a friend, so she had no reason to turn him down.
Hearing her response, Jian Xizhuo smiled warmly. He looked incredibly gentle and composed.
“Wait a second!” Wan Shuang suddenly shouted, breaking the friendly mood between them. Her voice startled both of them and disrupted the soft gaze Jian Xizhuo had directed at Shi Yi.
Shi Yi looked over, startled. “What is it?”
“I want to come too!” Wan Shuang had made her choice. Between her son and the woman she liked, she picked the latter. As soon as she heard they were having lunch together, she couldn’t stay calm. “It’s lunchtime anyway. Shi Yi-jie, you wouldn’t leave me here all alone, would you?”
She looked at Shi Yi with a pleading expression. Shi Yi turned to Jian Xizhuo, silently asking for his opinion.
At that moment, Wan Shuang knew this lunch date was no longer a two-person affair.
Because if she understood Jian Xizhuo’s personality, she knew he would never refuse.
“Let’s all go together then,” Jian Xizhuo said, still gentle as ever.