My Straight Girlfriend with Skin Hunger Syndrome - Chapter 121
Chapter 121
Having someone you truly love makes birthdays feel entirely different.
The moment midnight struck, the world seemed to sway and heave, as if they had plunged into a boundless ocean or were drifting freely through a universe where only they existed.
Unrestrained, at ease, utterly comfortable—body and soul laid bare.
Only in her embrace did she feel truly safe.
Only with her did true joy blossom.
When exhaustion struck, they collapsed together to rest; when strength and desire returned, they roused themselves to experiment anew.
In the spacious room, every corner seemed to bear traces of their passion.
The props Yi Shanshan had bought were used sparingly on Ying Yuan, while most ended up being used on Yi Shanshan herself.
A flicker of resentment stirred in her heart, but her body betrayed her. In the end, she stopped caring who got more or less—as long as they were happy.
After a night of frenzied passion, the bedsheets were drenched in sweat and desire.
The harsh light, as bright as the sun, illuminated their wild abandon and playful absurdity.
The piercing light stung Yi Shanshan’s eyes, forcing her to shield them with her hand, leaving only a narrow slit to peek through.
Through that sliver, she watched Ying Yuan, naked and diligent, changing the bedsheets and duvet cover. The corners of her lips curled upward, her entire heart trembling with laughter.
They finally fell asleep just as dawn was beginning to break.
Nested in the warm, clean covers, cradled in her lover’s soft embrace, she drifted into a blissful slumber, as if there were nothing left to dream of, because the best parts of her dreams had already come true.
They slept together until noon, when the sun was at its zenith.
The first thing Yi Shanshan saw upon opening her eyes was her lover’s gentle gaze.
“Are you hungry?”
“Tired?”
“Did you sleep well?”
“What do you want to eat later?”
“Want to invite some friends over?”
“Fancy going shopping or somewhere further away?”
Ying Yuan had so many questions—small, tender, each one centered on Yi Shanshan, as if she feared even the slightest discomfort, or that Yi Shanshan might ever grow to dislike this world.
“Hehe,” Yi Shanshan chuckled, raising her arm to drape it around Ying Yuan’s neck.
She first leaned in to kiss her girlfriend’s cheek before slowly answering her questions.
“Slept like a log~ Sex really is the best sleep aid…”
“Surprisingly, I’m not very hungry. Maybe I was well-fed last night…”
“I’ll eat anything. Just not with any friends. Not even one~”
“I want to take you somewhere, if you’re up for it.”
“I’m up for it!” Ying Yuan replied immediately, then asked, “Where?”
“It’s a bit far, though. By the time we get there, it’ll probably be dark. And we won’t be back until midnight.” Yi Shanshan pondered for a moment. The idea had just occurred to her, starting when Ying Yuan began celebrating her birthday last night. After a night’s sleep, the urge to go through with it had only grown stronger.
“That’s okay,” Ying Yuan said. “If we can’t make it back, don’t worry too much. I’ll just ask Qi Hongyue for another day off.”
Yi Shanshan: “And then you’ll work overtime like crazy to make up for it when your vacation ends?”
Ying Yuan: “……”
My girlfriend really understands me better and better.
“I’m not too worried about that. I trust your time management skills.” Yi Shanshan lowered her eyelashes, a rare hint of hesitation in her voice. “I’m more worried about it affecting your mood.”
“That won’t happen,” Ying Yuan replied with unwavering conviction. “Being with you is when I feel my happiest.”
Yi Shanshan gazed into Ying Yuan’s eyes. Before, she had always thought of them as a bottomless, tranquil lake. Now, the water was crystal clear, and she could easily trace its gurgling source.
Every ripple bore the mark of her love.
“Alright then~” Yi Shanshan smiled, cupping Ying Yuan’s cheeks and playfully kneading them. “Let’s go~”
And go they did.
Once their destination was decided, their efficiency was astonishing.
Packing, buying tickets, figuring out the fastest route, planning how to maintain their energy and rest well on the journey—Ying Yuan plotted, Yi Shanshan decided, their minds moving in perfect sync, their understanding seamless.
Within an hour and a half, they were aboard the high-speed train to their destination.
L City: an obscure town with neither bustling commerce nor renowned scenic spots.
Yi Shanshan hadn’t specified what they were going there for, and Ying Yuan didn’t ask.
I’ll find out when we get there, she thought. For now, I just need to take care of Shanshan on the journey.
From yesterday to today, Yi Shanshan’s phone had rung countless times.
Many times meant the phone would ring, but Yi Shanshan wouldn’t answer, immediately hanging up instead.
Just now, she had hung up again.
Tossing her phone back into her bag, Yi Shanshan gazed out the car window at the passing scenery.
“Ying Yuan, Ying Yuan, what’s that? The yellow patch over there—it’s so pretty!”
“Looks like… soybeans?” Ying Yuan squinted. “The leaves have turned yellow, meaning they’re ripe and ready for harvest.”
Yi Shanshan’s eyes sparkled. “Wow, you know so much! I’m so impressed, so so impressed!”
Ying Yuan ruffled her hair, finding her attempts to cheer her up incredibly endearing.
Yi Shanshan continued, “Hey! Mountains! There are purple wildflowers! You probably don’t know what those are, do you?”
“Too fast—I couldn’t get a good look,” Ying Yuan replied.
“There’s more! Try to see them clearly this time…” Yi Shanshan insisted.
The two could play this game of identifying things for hours.
No matter how long or rushed the journey, they never found it dull.
After disembarking from the high-speed train and switching to a car, they arrived at their destination just as the afternoon sun began to sink.
The sky was clear, bathing the world in a golden twilight. Yi Shanshan’s hair and cheeks glowed with a soft, ethereal radiance, breathtakingly beautiful.
Hand in hand, they walked along a path strewn with fine gravel, ascending a low mountain.
The mountain slopes were ablaze with a riot of color: emerald green, crimson red, and golden yellow mingled in a breathtaking tapestry. But as they entered the cemetery, all that met the eye was an endless vista of evergreen pines and cypresses, their towering forms rising like pagodas, row upon row.
“Didn’t expect me to bring you all the way out here, did you?” Yi Shanshan said with a smile. “Ying Yuan, are you scared?”
“No,” Ying Yuan replied, the mountain wind brushing past her cheek and lifting her hair. “I feel… peaceful.”
“Me too,” Yi Shanshan said, her eyes sparkling with tiny flecks of light as she gazed at Ying Yuan, her gaze full of delight. “I feel so calm when I’m with you. It wasn’t like this before.”
“Hm?” Ying Yuan squeezed her fingertips, urging her to continue.
“I used to be so angry all the time,” Yi Shanshan said. “If it wasn’t this, it was that. So much anger, but it never seemed to have a clear target.”
Yi Shanshan pointed ahead. “That’s the spot. We’ll turn right after we go up.”
“Okay,” Ying Yuan said.
“You’ve probably figured it out by now, right? I’m bringing you to see my mom.”
“I only guessed when I saw the navigation while calling a taxi,” Ying Yuan said.
Yi Shanshan’s lips curled into a smile. “Nervous?”
“Actually, yes, a little,” Ying Yuan admitted.
Yi Shanshan was touched by Ying Yuan’s sincerity toward her.
Yi Shanshan recalled her memories, her heart aching with sadness.
“Don’t worry, don’t worry,” Yi Shanshan reassured her, patting the back of Ying Yuan’s hand to comfort her instead. “It’s not a big deal. My mother passed away many years ago. I’m twenty today, so she’s been gone for nearly nineteen years.”
“I don’t remember her very well, just vague shadows. Last night, you told me you wanted to be with me from the very beginning—even before I was born, as my mother…”
Yi Shanshan lowered her lashes, the wind carrying the scent of pine and cypress, bringing with it a hint of melancholy.
“I thought it was a wonderful idea. That’s why I wanted to bring you to meet my mother.”
Ying Yuan’s heart clenched, feeling deeply for Yi Shanshan.
Yi Shanshan looked up, trying to lighten the mood with a joke. “Mom versus Girlfriend’s Mom—the ultimate showdown! Make sure you put on a good show later!”
How was she supposed to “put on a good show”? Having had no prior knowledge of their destination, she hadn’t prepared anything.
They hadn’t brought flowers, fruit, or even a clean cloth to wipe the tombstone.
As they rounded the bend, the wind grew stronger, swirling Yi Shanshan’s skirt around her. Ying Yuan zipped up Yi Shanshan’s jacket a little higher.
The two stood before the tombstone.
There were no offerings at the grave, but it was immaculately clean. The pure white marble shimmered under the setting sun, like crystalline sand.
In the photograph on the tombstone, the woman was young, her beauty as delicate as a gracefully blooming, understated flower.
“My mother was beautiful, wasn’t she?” Yi Shanshan murmured, gazing tenderly at the woman in the portrait. “That’s where I get my looks from.”
“Mm,” Ying Yuan replied. “Your aunt was very beautiful.”
“Too weak, though,” Yi Shanshan’s tone remained gentle, but her words grew increasingly irreverent. “Growing up in this small town with no family connections—not even a single relative who truly cared about her. Yet she dared to marry a wealthy, powerful widower—an old man who had lost his first wife—at such a young age.”
“Her good days didn’t last long… Given my father’s sanctimonious, cunning, and cruel nature, I doubt she ever had many to begin with. When she was alive, she was just a young, pretty decoration, paraded around at banquets and salons, spending most of her days confined to the house, never stepping outside. Now she lies here, the grave cleaned by hired help, holiday flowers delivered by courier. Even though no one truly cares about her, she chose this spot herself, claiming she wanted to remember her hometown…”
Yi Shanshan chuckled softly. “My dad always said what he loved most about my mom was how obedient, simple, and pure she was. He said she wouldn’t waste money even if she had it, that she was kind and naive, and that any child she raised would surely turn out well.”
Yi Shanshan released Ying Yuan’s hand and crouched down, her gaze meeting the pure, beautiful eyes on the tombstone. “When I was forced to come here for memorial days as a child, I used to wonder: if my mom were still alive, would my life be better? The answer was always no. I didn’t think she could protect me. She seemed too weak, not at all like someone who could keep me safe.”
“But now…” Yi Shanshan paused, tilting her head thoughtfully. “Ying Yuan, ever since I met you, ever since I rushed into your arms, I’m suddenly not so sure about that answer anymore…”
“You must have researched my condition. Yes, my Skin Hunger Syndrome is likely due to unmet needs for maternal intimacy in childhood. The fragments of memories I have of my mom—they’re mostly from when she held me. Those were… truly comforting moments…”
Ying Yuan crouched down beside Yi Shanshan, listening intently to every word she said, watching the sunlight and wind dance across her, feeling the emotions radiating from her like warmth.
Yi Shanshan turned to her and smiled. “Ying Yuan, you really do smell like my mother.”
“Like peace of mind?” Ying Yuan suggested.
“No,” Yi Shanshan replied. “Like love.”
This was a realization Yi Shanshan had only just grasped. From the very beginning, what had drawn her so irresistibly to Ying Yuan?
Peace of mind and comfort were merely surface manifestations; the essence was love.
When a person truly possesses the capacity to love, every gesture, every scent, every quality becomes a priceless treasure to Yi Shanshan.
Her intuition had never failed her.
The Ying Yuan she had chosen had never disappointed her, and continued to surprise her with unwavering devotion and pure, wholehearted love.
This was something Yi Shanshan hadn’t experienced since the fading memories of her mother had vanished.
Unable to attain this ultimate form of love, she had once disguised her world with others’ rules. Only now, having finally obtained it, did she realize that love was the most precious thing of all.
Love nourished her body and mind, giving her solid ground beneath her feet and bathing her in warmth like sunlight.
Love gave her courage and hope, and even made her start to like herself—after all, this version of herself had won Ying Yuan, had won the greatest love.
“Mom,” Yi Shanshan said, gazing at the woman’s face on the tombstone, “I’m certain that with you watching over me, I’ll be okay.”