My Straight Girlfriend with Skin Hunger Syndrome - Chapter 10
Chapter 10
With the bet made, visiting the library was inevitable.
Shortly after finishing their meal, Ying Yuan slung her usual library backpack over her shoulder, while Lina lugged her heavy laptop.
They set off. From the moment they stepped out of the dormitory, Lina began scanning her surroundings with exaggerated alertness. Though Ying Yuan’s movements were less exaggerated, she had already activated her “Yi Shanshan radar.”
Yes, Ying Yuan believed she possessed a radar uniquely tuned to Yi Shanshan. The moment Yi Shanshan entered her line of sight, she could pinpoint her location with pinpoint accuracy in a single second.
It was a familiar, comforting intuition tinged with a heart-fluttering thrill.
Alas, the journey was uneventful.
The campus scenery remained unchanged, the passing students were just that—passing students—and no fresh dramas unfolded outside the library doors.
“She must be inside,” Lina insisted, unwavering in her conviction. “In the section you frequent most.”
Ying Yuan couldn’t help but find her anticipation building with each rehearsal in her mind. She nodded. “Then let’s go.”
The two climbed to the seventh floor and entered the Reference Room. Ying Yuan led Lina to her usual corner.
Lina scanned the room again. “She might not be here yet, but she’ll come.”
Ying Yuan smiled helplessly. “Alright.”
As usual, she first reviewed the day’s lecture material, then tackled all the homework assignments.
At first, Lina vigilantly monitored her surroundings for any changes. But with so little happening, she quickly grew bored, pulled out her laptop, and put on headphones.
Whatever she was watching, it wasn’t long before a silly grin spread across her face.
This is unbearable.
As time ticked by, the likelihood of Ying Yuan winning the bet grew, yet she felt no joy or relief.
Perhaps you only discover your true feelings the moment the coin is flipped.
Ying Yuan stood up, needing to stretch her legs to ease the inexplicable restlessness.
In the old Reference Room, rows of display cases and bookshelves stood neatly arranged, their teak-colored frames resembling taut strings of a well-tuned piano.
Ying Yuan walked into the space between the “strings”—the rows of bookshelves—her gaze drifting across the magazine spines without settling. Her mind flashed with images of Yi Shanshan:
The white gleam that flickered past her shoulder when Yi Shanshan brushed by in the morning. The way Yi Shanshan’s skirt danced in the midday sun as she strolled past. *The silver necklace Yi Shanshan wore that afternoon, each breath causing tiny sparks to glimmer…
Ying Yuan blinked, scarcely believing her eyes—she seemed to see that gleam again.
It flashed past her, urging her to chase after it instinctively.
Ying Yuan stepped to the left, hurrying to round the shelf.
The gleam moved left too, its intermittent flashes like a nearby star.
Before she could blink again, Yi Shanshan burst into her world at the end of the bookshelf. Like plucking a string, the star needed no reaching—it trembled and fell into her arms.
Yi Shanshan tilted her head back, gazing up at Ying Yuan from so close that their chests almost touched.
Ying Yuan froze, staring into Yi Shanshan’s dark, fathomless eyes as if she had fallen into a temporal vortex.
Yi Shanshan remained silent, blinking slowly.
Ying Yuan blinked back.
Yi Shanshan tilted her head slightly to the left, then to the right, observing Ying Yuan as if studying a foreign object.
Ying Yuan had no idea what conclusion she would draw. Suddenly, a smirk tugged at the corner of Yi Shanshan’s lips.
She spoke softly, her voice low and teasing: “Ying Yuan, why don’t you run?”
Ying Yuan jolted awake, as if her mind had only just returned to reality. She realized with sudden clarity that this wasn’t some dreamlike memory flashing through her mind, but the genuine, unvarnished present moment.
Yi Shanshan had actually come to the library and was standing right in front of her.
A teasing note colored her voice as she gazed at Ying Yuan with leisurely amusement.
Ying Yuan’s mouth moved of its own accord, blurting out a pointless question: “Run from… what?”
“From me, like your best classmate does,” Yi Shanshan said, gripping the sides of Ying Yuan’s shirt at the waist. “Pretending you don’t know me, ignoring me—all for her sake.”
Ying Yuan: “……”
Yi Shanshan: “Run now! Jump up and shout, ‘A stranger’s got me! Help!'”
Ying Yuan: “……”
Yi Shanshan: “This is a library! There are cameras everywhere. They’ll capture irrefutable proof of you forcing me.”
Ying Yuan’s heart jolted twice. Right, this is a library. Cameras are everywhere. Every move we make is being recorded. In some surveillance room, someone might be watching us right now.
Ying Yuan felt a surge of panic. “Don’t…”
Yi Shanshan: “You think I’m going to do something to you?”
Ying Yuan struggled to meet Yi Shanshan’s gaze. Those honey-colored eyes were like a trap—once you fell in, you’d never climb out.
She lowered her eyes, but her gaze landed on their bodies pressed together. The silver necklace around Yi Shanshan’s neck rose and fell with her breath, swaying gently like soft waves.
Ying Yuan took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
Yi Shanshan found Ying Yuan’s reaction intriguing. She leaned in closer, her voice almost brushing Ying Yuan’s skin: “What’s on your mind, Ying Yuan?”
Ying Yuan sighed dejectedly. “Yi Shanshan, stop playing around.”
“Ah…” Yi Shanshan pouted, clearly displeased. “You used to call me ‘Shanshan.’ Now it’s ‘Yi Shanshan’? What did I do to upset you? I’ve always been so good to you.”
Unable to give Yi Shanshan a genuine answer, Ying Yuan instinctively dodged the question. “You’ve been great, it’s just that lately I’ve been…”
“You’re actually going to give me the ‘nice girl’ speech? Shut up already!” Yi Shanshan was genuinely angry, her nose wrinkling in displeasure. “It’s not that big a deal! I’m not short on friends anyway. If you ignore me, I’ll ignore you too!”
Ying Yuan opened her eyes and saw a pair of furious eyes glaring back at her.
Yi Shanshan released her grip on Ying Yuan’s waist and stepped back sharply. “You saw it all today—I have plenty of friends!”
You saw it all today… So those “chance” encounters today had been staged by Yi Shanshan for her benefit.
Ying Yuan felt utterly stunned. How exhausting… how childish.
She couldn’t help but blurt out, “Don’t ever…”
Yi Shanshan cut her off with a forceful hmph, turned on her heel, and strode away.
After taking only two steps, she whirled back around, raised her hand, and with a gesture like a slap, roughly… patted Ying Yuan’s cheek.
“Pay your taxes!”
With those words, she finally left for good.
Ying Yuan stood rooted to the spot, watching Yi Shanshan’s retreating figure until the Reference Room was empty again, devoid of its twinkling stars, leaving only the rigid strings of the instruments behind.
The air around her was cold and still, while her cheek burned.
The faint, sweet fragrance of Yi Shanshan lingered in her nostrils. But when she tried to inhale deeply, the scent vanished.
After an indeterminate amount of time, Lina approached her. “Ying Yuan, what are you doing here?” she asked.
Ying Yuan could have won the bet by keeping silent. But she wanted to tell the truth. Her heart pounded, her defeat transforming into an uncontrollable exhilaration.
“I lost,” she said. “I saw Yi Shanshan. She did come to the library.”
Lina gasped, covering her mouth in shock. Her eyes darted around frantically. “Where? Where is she?”
“She’s already gone,” Ying Yuan replied.
“Did she talk to you? Did she do anything to you while I was away?”
Ying Yuan’s face still burned. She couldn’t answer.
Lina’s mind was a whirlwind of questions. “Ying Yuan, why are you… smiling?”
Ying Yuan coughed, lowered her head, and covered her face, composing herself before turning to walk toward the study area.
“She didn’t do anything. She just told me she won’t acknowledge me.”
“So, she came here today to prove she was just passing by and wouldn’t bully you?” Lina asked.
“She’s got way too much time on her hands!” Lina exclaimed.
“She’s so childish!”
Lina glared at Ying Yuan, her eyes wide. “She’s way too obsessed with you!!!”
Ying Yuan’s chest tightened, and she coughed again.
The day, which Yi Shanshan had stirred into a dramatic frenzy, finally came to an end.
Back from the library, Ying Yuan collapsed onto her bed, unconsciously replaying the day’s events in her mind. She remained awake for most of the night.
The next day was Saturday. Lina went shopping, so Ying Yuan simply picked up another temporary part-time job. She spent the entire day at the mall, dressed in a panda costume, selling cuteness.
Throughout the day, Yi Shanshan neither appeared before Ying Yuan nor sent her any messages or calls. It seemed she really intended to ignore Ying Yuan completely.
Sunday was the day of the technology exhibition. Ying Yuan had no intention of wasting the ticket Yi Shanshan had given her.
The exhibition was richly diverse, dividing artificial intelligence applications into various modules and providing dining areas and rest zones. She could wander until tired, eat when hungry, and then resume exploring—a setup Ying Yuan thoroughly enjoyed. She could easily spend the entire day there.
At 2:30 PM, there was a sharing session by a tech company Ying Yuan had been following closely. She arrived at the conference hall early and secured a mid-row seat with an excellent view.
Pulling out her notebook and pen, she jotted down her observations and questions from the exhibition, eager to absorb more insights during the upcoming session.
As she was engrossed in writing, the conference hall gradually filled with attendees, who took their seats one by one.
A low murmur spread through the hall, indistinguishable from the atmosphere of a large lecture at school.
Someone approached and sat to her left, brushing the edge of her clothing.
Ying Yuan tugged her backpack onto her lap to avoid encroaching on her neighbor’s space.
She continued writing, her pen scratching crisply across the paper with quick, rhythmic strokes: swish-swish.
Her neighbor remained perfectly still after sitting down. A faint, familiar fragrance drifted into Ying Yuan’s nostrils, striking a soft, secret chord in her heart.
Her pen froze. Ying Yuan glanced up, and the soft strike turned into a heavy hammer blow.
Seated beside her was Yi Shanshan, with her smooth, glossy black hair and demure sweater vest—the very image of a model student.
Shock sent Ying Yuan’s heart racing, but Yi Shanshan seemed oblivious to her presence, idly fiddling with the shimmering chain dangling from her phone, staring ahead with bored nonchalance.
Ying Yuan gripped her pen tightly. The once relaxed sharing session had suddenly transformed into a silent, tense battlefield before her eyes.