All I Want Is to Hold the Heroine in My Arms [Transmigration into a Book] - Chapter 24
Jiang Ye patted Wan Shuang’s shoulder firmly and said, “You’ve gotten smarter.”
“What do you mean?”
He tapped his own chest proudly and replied, “Knowing to stay away from that woman proves your intelligence is finally catching up to mine.”
Wan Shuang said nothing.
The two of them joked and played around until the evening before finally parting ways.
Spending time with Jiang Ye was the first time since entering the novel that Wan Shuang felt relaxed and free.
In front of Shi Yi, she was always a little reserved. Around Wan Cheng, she was constantly pretending, afraid of being found out.
But in front of Jiang Ye, she felt confident that he wouldn’t notice anything out of place. That gave her the freedom to be her true self.
She walked home in a good mood.
However, after turning a corner, she was suddenly blocked by several tall figures in a narrow alley.
Staring at the five or six men in front of her, Wan Shuang still had a playful smile on her face as she said sweetly, “What are you handsome guys up to?”
A familiar face stepped out from behind the group. It was the man who always followed Ning Ran around.
“I’m warning you. Treat Ran Ran better.”
To him, Ning Ran was like a goddess.
That morning, Wan Shuang had upset her. To comfort her, he had even bought movie tickets to take her out. He thought it would cheer her up, but they unexpectedly ran into Wan Shuang again after the movie.
And this time, Wan Shuang had been even ruder than before. She didn’t give Ning Ran any face at all.
That night, Ning Ran refused to eat dinner with him and went straight back to the dorm.
Fueled by anger, Wang Chao gathered a few men from the street to block Wan Shuang and give her a warning.
“Alright, alright. But I have one little request. Not sure if you’ll agree,” Wan Shuang said, nodding her head. Her voice trembled slightly, like she was afraid, just as any normal person might be when surrounded.
Seeing her so cooperative, Wang Chao felt a sense of pride and power from being needed.
He looked around at the others nearby, lifted his chin, and asked confidently, “What is it?”
“It’s this,” Wan Shuang said, suddenly changing her tone. She raised her foot and kicked Wang Chao hard between the legs.
As he screamed in pain, two figures flashed out from behind the group.
With swift and powerful moves, they knocked Wang Chao’s men to the ground in seconds.
They were bodyguards that Wan Cheng had hired for Wan Shuang before leaving the city.
Wan Cheng had always worried that someone from the business world might try to harm her, so whenever he couldn’t stay close, he arranged for a few bodyguards to protect her from a distance.
Earlier, the two bodyguards had been following quietly a few meters behind, per Wan Shuang’s instructions. When she was surrounded, they were ready to act.
But just as they were about to step in, Wan Shuang signaled them through a small hand gesture to stay hidden.
Only after she kicked Wang Chao did the two finally appear.
Once everyone was taken care of, the bodyguards respectfully approached Wan Shuang.
“Miss, are you alright?”
“I’m fine, I’m fine. Let’s go,” she said cheerfully.
As they passed Wang Chao, Wan Shuang squatted down beside him and said, “Tsk, I’m still too kind. Let me give you some advice. If you want a decent future, stay away from Ning Ran.”
When she got home, Wan Shuang sat on the sofa, replaying the whole event in her head.
She had grown up navigating the rougher sides of society. There was nothing she had not seen before.
A few local thugs were nothing to be afraid of.
In fact, it had been a while since anyone tried to intimidate her, and it gave her a strange kind of thrill. That was why she told the bodyguards to hold back and let her handle it first.
“They came out too soon. I didn’t even get to use my taekwondo moves,” she said with a disappointed tone as it echoed through the empty room.
She picked up her phone and started typing.
…
Text message:
Sister Shi Yi, I got surrounded by some street thugs. I’m scared. Sob sob sob…
Shi Yi had just finished balancing the shop’s accounts when she heard her phone buzz.
As soon as she read the message, she jumped up from the sofa.
She didn’t even have time to change out of her slippers and rushed out of the house.
Sending that message had just been a sudden thought. Even after more than ten minutes passed with no reply, Wan Shuang didn’t think much of it and went into the bathroom.
The loud pounding on her door echoed through the hallway. Fortunately, Wan Cheng had bought out the entire floor for safety, or Shi Yi would definitely have been reported for the noise.
The door was made from top-quality imported materials. It was not only strong but also soundproof. Still, the knocking was loud enough to catch Wan Shuang’s attention.
Halfway through her shower, she wrapped herself in a white towel and stepped out barefoot. Looking toward the door, she was confused.
Could it be Wang Chao coming for revenge? But weren’t the bodyguards downstairs? How did they let someone in?
Wan Shuang slowly walked to the door, placed her hands on the handle, and looked through the peephole.
The moment she saw who it was, she swung the door open.
Shi Yi was still in the middle of knocking. Her hand was red from the rapid, repeated pounding.
The moment she saw Wan Shuang, she grabbed her and pulled her inside, inspecting her carefully.
Wan Shuang had never seen Shi Yi like this and felt a little flustered. She called out softly, “Shi… Sister Shi Yi?”
“Are you hurt? Do you need to go to the hospital?”
“Huh? No… I’m fine…”
Once Shi Yi saw that she had no visible injuries, she relaxed a little. “Did you call the police?”
Call the police?
Wan Shuang, still feeling a little confused, suddenly remembered the message she had sent.
But that was twenty minutes ago. Was Shi Yi nearby at the time? How did she get here so quickly?
She gently placed a hand on Shi Yi’s shoulder and said quietly, “Sister Shi Yi, I’m really fine. As soon as those bad guys surrounded me, the bodyguards my brother hired stepped in and took care of everything.”
Bodyguards?
When Shi Yi heard that, she immediately thought of the two men who had opened the gate for her downstairs.
Although the building wasn’t considered high-end, its security measures were decent.
People couldn’t enter without being let in by a resident. The other way was if someone inside opened the door for them.
Shi Yi had parked her car at the entrance and realized after running up that she didn’t even know which unit Wan Shuang lived in, so she wouldn’t be able to get in.
Just as she was about to call and ask, the door opened.
Two tall men stood at the entrance.
The bodyguards recognized Shi Yi.
Before Mr. Wan assigned the bodyguards to stay by Wan Shuang’s side, he had shown them a photo of Shi Yi.
At the time, he told them, “Aside from keeping men away from Xiaoshuang, you need to pay special attention to this woman too.”
They had no idea who she was, and Mr. Wan didn’t explain.
So, when they first arrived to protect Wan Shuang, they asked her about the woman in the photo.
“She? She’s family. You don’t need to worry about her.”
The two bodyguards were completely thrown off. One person said to stay alert, while the other said there was no need. Who were they supposed to listen to?
In the end, they decided to follow Wan Shuang’s instructions.
So when they saw Shi Yi arrive, out of breath and anxious, they immediately guessed she had come for Miss Wan. Without asking for permission, they opened the door.
Shi Yi let out a deep breath and frowned slightly. “As long as you’re alright. Do you know who those people were?”
Wang Chao had ended up in the same situation as the original host. They were both stuck in unfortunate circumstances. Because of that, Wan Shuang didn’t want to go as far as calling the police on him.
She quickly made up an excuse. “I already asked the bodyguards to look into it.”
Since she was lying, she lowered her head awkwardly. That was when she noticed Shi Yi’s shoes.
She was still wearing her house slippers, and they were covered in dirt.
Wan Shuang realized right away that Shi Yi wasn’t nearby when she sent the message. She must have come rushing from home.
She didn’t even stop to change her shoes. That meant she had been truly worried.
Touched and a little ashamed for sending the message just to mess around, Wan Shuang tightened the towel around herself, crouched down at the entryway, and pulled out a pair of clean slippers from the shoe cabinet.
She looked up and said in a soft voice that she had never used before, “Sister Shi Yi, lift your foot.”
The warm light in the entryway fell on Wan Shuang’s face. Because of the towel, her back was slightly exposed.
The soft glow and her delicate features created a gentle and blurry kind of beauty. Shi Yi found herself dazed for a moment.
Without thinking, she lifted her foot and placed it in Wan Shuang’s hand.
Shi Yi’s ankle felt soft and smooth, almost too perfect to forget.
When she came back to her senses, her dirty slippers had already been replaced with a fresh, white pair.
Shi Yi stared at them, her thoughts suddenly unsettled.
She looked at Wan Shuang and said quietly, “Since you’re okay, I’ll head back now.”
“Wait.”
“Stay here tonight. It’s too late. Driving at night isn’t safe.”
Wan Shuang held her wrist firmly. The look in her eyes was calm but unreadable.
Shi Yi tried to pull away, but she couldn’t. No matter how hard she moved, Wan Shuang wouldn’t let go.
Her actions weren’t aggressive. She was just genuinely worried about Shi Yi driving alone this late at night.
But in the middle of their tugging, Wan Shuang’s towel began to loosen.
It slowly slid down.
Neither of them said anything.
Both froze in place.
In the end, Shi Yi still left.
Wan Shuang gave in and told the bodyguards to drive her home safely.
Lying flat on her bed, Wan Shuang stared at the ceiling in despair and groaned loudly, “I’m so dead.”
She had changed into a pink pajama set with cartoon prints.
Just thinking about the moment, the towel fell made her want to disappear.
“Does Xiao Yiyi think I was trying to seduce her?”
“Should I send her a message to explain?”
“But what if that just makes it worse?”
“Still, if I don’t explain, will she think I’m a total weirdo?”
Turning over and over in bed, Wan Shuang couldn’t stop thinking about it.
Eventually, she fell asleep without making a decision.