My Straight Girlfriend with Skin Hunger Syndrome - Chapter 25

Chapter 25

This left Ying Yuan… speechless.

Yi Shanshan’s outrageous demand had completely short-circuited her brain.

Who in their right mind, upon breaking up—no, upon friends cutting ties—would demand the other return underwear they’d worn?

The mere thought of taking off her underwear in front of Yi Shanshan sent Ying Yuan’s cheeks blazing crimson, so mortified she wanted to burrow into the earth.

Seeing her demand finally halt Ying Yuan’s next move, Yi Shanshan seized the opportunity to press her advantage: “If you don’t take them off today, you’re not leaving.”

Ying Yuan had no choice but to look at her again. Yi Shanshan stood there, cheeks puffed out with held-back anger, her eyes red-rimmed, and even her cheeks flushed.

For someone like Yi Shanshan, uttering such extravagant words must have been no easy feat.

A sudden wave of sorrow washed over Ying Yuan.

Yi Shanshan stood there, like a child whose favorite toy had been forcibly taken away, throwing a tantrum in vain.

She couldn’t change Ying Yuan’s mind. She had no idea the terrifying black hole lurking in Ying Yuan’s heart, nor had she received a single understandable reason before being sentenced to this outcome.

Ying Yuan’s heart ached for Yi Shanshan.

The two women stood in silence, locked in a silent battle of wills, the room as still as an empty cavern. Ying Yuan opened her mouth several times, but finally all she could say was, “Shanshan, please don’t…”

Yi Shanshan immediately retorted fiercely, “You tell me not to, so I won’t? When I tell you not to, why don’t you obey?”

Ying Yuan was left speechless once again. Yi Shanshan’s phone rang once more, the once-pleasant music now grating on her nerves. Yi Shanshan glanced at the screen and answered the call.

Whatever was said on the other end, Yi Shanshan replied with scathing sarcasm, “Trash that doesn’t appreciate kindness is better off thrown away…”

Ying Yuan felt a thousand needles pierce her heart. Every word, every expression from Yi Shanshan stabbed at her heart, and everything in the room ached with unbearable sorrow.

Ying Yuan desperately wanted to leave.

She turned back to the door, paused for two silent seconds, and then typed in a string of numbers.

With a click, the door unlocked.

Yi Shanshan’s phone call stopped abruptly. She stared at Ying Yuan in disbelief, watching her pause briefly before pulling open the door.

“Next time, don’t use your birthday as the password,” Ying Yuan said softly as she left. “It’s not secure.”

Yi Shanshan nearly threw her phone. A nameless fury burned in her chest, surging violently with no outlet.

Ying Yuan’s footsteps were light but unwavering, leaving no hesitation or pause. She vanished quickly from Yi Shanshan’s world of perception.

On the other end of the line, her friend continued, “But I really think it’s adorable! Its head is so yellow, and those thick eyebrows… Maybe it just needs time to warm up? I don’t really know much about native dogs. They say once they bond with you, they become incredibly affectionate…”

Yi Shanshan’s voice was as cold and hard as stone: “You think it’s cute, but it finds you terrifying. You think adopting it is an act of charity, but it sees it as a restriction on its freedom. How long until it bonds with you? After it bites you a second or third time?”

Friend: “…Let’s not talk about that. Shanshan, what time are you leaving? Everyone’s already gathered and waiting for you. Tiantian mentioned you might bring a friend—from where? Male or female?”

The thought of how cheerfully she’d bragged about bringing someone to hang out in the bathroom just moments ago made Yi Shanshan’s fingers tremble with rage. She snapped, “There’s no one. Just a dog.”

Friend: “……”

Yi Shanshan: “Ungrateful cur! Dump it!”

After barking this, Yi Shanshan slammed down the phone and hurled it onto the sofa.

She paced the room restlessly, her mind a tangled mess. She considered countless ways to retaliate, but none seemed satisfying.

She desperately wanted to punch Ying Yuan twice if she were here.

But Ying Yuan wasn’t here. Not only was she gone, but there wasn’t a single trace of her in the room. Yi Shanshan could stomp the floor until it cracked, but she couldn’t find a way to vent her anger.

Furious, Yi Shanshan wanted to cry.

She threw herself onto the bed.

When Ying Yuan left this bed, she had even smoothed the blanket. She treated a hotel bed with such tenderness, yet she could say such heartless things to her.

Yi Shanshan couldn’t understand. She thrashed and howled on the bed.

As she tossed and turned, the blanket became disheveled, releasing Ying Yuan’s lingering scent. Right here, in this very spot, Ying Yuan had lain for an entire night, held tightly in her arms. She had been so obedient, so soft, so warm… and now she had suddenly changed.

“Ugh…” Yi Shanshan finally couldn’t hold back her tears.

She buried her face in the pillow, which still carried Ying Yuan’s scent. After a futile two-second resistance, she finally hugged the pillow tightly to her chest.

She held it tightly, curling into a ball, clutching it close.

She took deep, shuddering breaths, drawing in the last lingering traces of Ying Yuan’s presence.

Only after a long while did the turmoil of emotions finally subside.

Yi Shanshan crawled out of bed, her hair disheveled, clothes wrinkled, and her eyes and nose red and puffy, looking like a forgotten old doll abandoned in a dusty storage room.

She was ravenously hungry, as if all her energy had been drained away. Her limbs felt weak, and she had no spirit.

She pressed the call button to have room service deliver a meal and tipped the housekeeper to help pack her luggage. After checking out of the hotel, Yi Shanshan got into a car and headed for the high-speed rail station to continue her trip.

The plan must be executed, she told herself. Ying Yuan has already ruined several hours of my mood. She doesn’t deserve to affect me any longer.

Yi Shanshan arrived at Zhishan, B City, in the evening.

As soon as she stepped out of the car at the guesthouse entrance, her friends swarmed out, laughing and teasing as they surrounded her.

“My Lady, we’ve finally waited for you! It’s just not the same without you here.”

“Yeah, yeah! The fruit wine brewed by the innkeeper is heavenly. I saved a bottle for you.”

“Oh my, Lanlan’s such a devoted simp! When Shanshan’s away, she never stops going on about her, but as soon as Shanshan arrives, it’s immediately, ‘I saved a bottle for you~'”

“Bullshit! Aren’t you just the same? Who was it saying at lunch how lonely it was without Shanshan, with no one to toast?”

“All talk, no action! Comrades, make way! Let me take Shanshan’s luggage upstairs. It’s time for this loyal old servant to prove his worth!”

See? Without you, there’s a whole queue of people lining up to fawn over me.

Yi Shanshan walked through the crowd, her spine straight, wearing a perfunctory smile.

The mountain activities were packed, leaving her no free time from the moment she arrived.

She joined the group to watch the sunset, built bonfires, sang and danced to the chirping of night insects, feasted on the freshest ingredients, and drank with reckless abandon.

They were so rowdy they had to book the entire courtyard in advance just to accommodate their antics.

Nonstop laughter filled Yi Shanshan’s ears, and she was enveloped in constant attention. Everyone kept bringing her up in conversation, allowing her to forget everything—even to do nothing at all.

Swept along by the boisterous energy, she drifted through the cracks in time, and before she knew it, the agonizing days had vanished.

Exhausted from the revelry and drained of energy, Yi Shanshan raised her hand, signaling she was returning to her room.

Her room was the largest and finest in the entire guesthouse, decorated with an exquisite artistic flair. A massive floor-to-ceiling window framed the mountain vista behind the building, the very reason Yi Shanshan had booked this place.

Originally, she had planned to celebrate late into the night with everyone, then lie on this bed and quietly watch the sunrise through the window.

As the sun rose, golden light would bathe the thin mist shrouding the mountains, transforming the mist into ethereal clouds swirling around the trees. Dew-kissed azaleas, their buds still tightly furled, would dot the scene like precious gems.

Pink azaleas, blood-red azaleas, their gnarled branches supporting tender petals—wild and free.

What a breathtaking sight that would have been!

Yes, that had been Yi Shanshan’s plan all along: to lie here alone, watching nature’s grand screen transform from darkness to light, revealing its morning surprise.

But now? The fading echoes of the party still lingered behind her, yet standing here alone already felt isolating.

Lonely and despondent, she couldn’t shake her melancholy.

When did things turn out this way? Yi Shanshan didn’t want to think about Ying Yuan, but the answer leapt into her mind with stark clarity: because of Ying Yuan.

Last night, she had used Ying Yuan as her bed, sleeping atop her, nestled in her arms. In Ying Yuan’s warm breath, she had sunk into a deep, sea-like tranquility, drifting into the most blissful slumber she had ever experienced.

When she opened her eyes and saw Ying Yuan’s face, she even felt grateful to the world.

It was this illusion—this overwhelming illusion of joy—that made her reconsider her plans. This grand mountain bed should also hold Ying Yuan, with Ying Yuan lying beneath her, and she lying within Ying Yuan’s embrace.

With Ying Yuan holding her, she wouldn’t need a blanket. And if she insisted on keeping Ying Yuan awake, Ying Yuan would stay with her until dawn.

Then, as the first rays of morning sunlight filtered in, they would watch the breathtaking view of azaleas together.

Ying Yuan’s scent would be more intoxicating than the fragrance of the flowers.

Hmm… she thought, that sounds perfect. And now, she could no longer bear her old life.

She felt utterly dissatisfied, like tasting a sublime delicacy only to be denied a second bite, like hearing a perfect melody only to forget the tune the moment it ended.

This dissatisfaction gnawed at her, leaving her feeling ravenous, her chest hollow and empty, with nothing inside but the icy wind.

Her body itched unbearably, her heart and liver burned with longing, yet she couldn’t scratch the itch, fueling her fury.

“I know this is a mental illness. I hope you’ll seek proper treatment for it—or… find someone else who can provide you with this service.”

Ying Yuan’s words echoed in Yi Shanshan’s mind like a curse.

Yi Shanshan gasped for breath and turned to leave the room.

She stepped into the lingering crowd. Amidst their startled gazes, she casually grabbed the nearest person and pulled them into a hug.

In an instant, she shoved the person away.

Next, she tried again. The smell was unbearable.

Next, bones dug into her hands.

Next, too short.

Next, just irritating to look at.

Next… Yi Shanshan’s fingers trembled. She couldn’t even bear to touch someone’s arm, let alone hug them.

Three-legged toads were rare, but two-legged people were plentiful.

So many two-legged people surrounded her, their expressions varied—shock, shyness, greed, lustful fantasies… all repulsed her.

The world suddenly felt disgusting.

Yi Shanshan thought of Ying Yuan’s face.

Ying Yuan’s calm, gentle face.

Ying Yuan waiting patiently for her, waiting for her hug.

Ying Yuan standing quietly, enduring her embrace.

Ying Yuan lying on the bed, flattened beneath her, transformed into a dreamlike, warm cradle.

She rejected her, spoke such cruel words to her. Her downcast eyes brimmed with sorrow as she unhesitatingly entered the password formed from her birthday.

Beep. The door unlocked.

Yi Shanshan clenched her fists. In that moment, she had to admit: Ying Yuan was indeed the three-legged toad—the most special person of all.

“Shanshan, what’s wrong?” Someone stepped forward to ask.

Yi Shanshan retreated, avoiding all contact. She slipped through the crowd and returned to her room.

Her suitcase had just been opened, so there was nothing to pack.

The beautiful window view remained unlit, because Yi Shanshan hadn’t found the person she wanted to share it with.

She pulled her suitcase out of the room. Her friends circled around her, none of them knowing what she was thinking.

Yi Shanshan raised her hand and pointed to the friend with the best driving skills—the one who never drank alcohol: “Take me back to school before the girls’ dormitory opens.”