My Straight Girlfriend with Skin Hunger Syndrome - Chapter 32
Chapter 32
Ying Yuan’s face flushed crimson, as red as a boiled crab.
She immediately straightened up, ignoring the weight behind her.
Within her small, self-imposed circle, Yi Shanshan’s eyes seemed to freeze on her like inescapable air. Ying Yuan felt that wherever those eyes landed, that part of her body caught fire.
Ying Yuan lowered her gaze, but the distance between them was still too close. All she could see were the edges of their clothes, which brushed lightly against each other with each sway of the subway car.
At that moment, Yi Shanshan’s words echoed relentlessly in her mind:
It wasn’t me who made the first move~
Unable to bear it any longer, Ying Yuan could only… close her eyes.
At least with her eyes closed, she couldn’t see. Even in the crowded air, she could still clearly smell Yi Shanshan’s unique fragrance, a scent that made her feel dizzy, as if in the next moment, she would be transported back to those hidden corners where they had once embraced with abandon.
The ride back to school feels like an eternity.
The subway doors opened and closed, opened and closed, each cycle bringing a fresh surge of jostling passengers.
Ying Yuan braced herself, her arms and legs rooted firmly in place. In her mind, she silently counted the number of stops, just like that night when she had transformed her body into Yi Shanshan’s bed, quietly counting the seconds.
Finally, the last stop.
Ying Yuan opened her eyes, her vision tinted with a strange, dark green. Yi Shanshan gazed at her through this filter, arching an eyebrow slightly.
“Awake now?” Yi Shanshan asked.
Ying Yuan: “…Mmm.”
Yi Shanshan: “Sleeping while standing up? Ying Yuan, you’re so impressive.”
Ying Yuan: “……”
Thank you, I get the sarcasm.
“Get off! Get off!” Mao Mao shouted.
Ying Yuan loosened her grip, took a step forward, and nearly collapsed as her legs buckled.
Yi Shanshan grabbed her arm and pulled her upright.
“Oh my, what happened?” Lina rushed over.
“Yuan was so protective of Shanshan, she barely moved the whole time. She must be exhausted,” Xiaohan said. “It was packed when we first boarded, people were squeezing everywhere.”
Lina: “It got much better after the bridge intersection. There were even seats. Didn’t you guys notice?”
Ying Yuan: “……”
She hadn’t opened her eyes at all.
Yi Shanshan released Ying Yuan’s arm, laughing. “Exactly! Ying Yuan was holding me so tightly, I couldn’t even breathe!”
Ying Yuan: “…………”
Mao Mao patted Ying Yuan’s shoulder. “Ha ha ha! First time playing the guardian angel? Feeling pretty smug, huh?”
Lina: “Just a bit weak in the legs.”
Ying Yuan had completely lost the will to speak to these people.
Every single one of them—just leave me alone!
The subway doors opened, and Ying Yuan bolted out first.
She quickened her pace to put some distance between herself and the others before returning to her normal stride.
The Trio were still chattering happily with Yi Shanshan, and even from several meters away, Ying Yuan could still hear her name occasionally cropping up in their conversation.
“Yeah, yeah, Ying Yuan’s hobbies are basically just hitting the library. Her life is so… simple.”
“Not just her life—her love life too! She’s never even dated, and I bet she doesn’t even know what it feels like to have a crush on someone.”
“But Ying Yuan gets shy pretty easily, don’t you think?”
“Nah, she always looks so composed. Maybe she’s just a bit reserved around strangers?”
“Am I a stranger, then?”
“No way! From today onward, you’re our sister from another mother—blood doesn’t matter!”
A kilometer and a half was a short distance. On an ordinary day, if Ying Yuan were walking it alone, she’d be there before she could even run through a few vocabulary definitions in her head.
But a kilometer and a half could also feel endless. Like now, with the clamor behind her and her thoughts in chaos. The harder she tried to ignore Yi Shanshan, the clearer Yi Shanshan’s voice seemed to cut through the crowd.
Every word Yi Shanshan spoke, her tone, her laughter…
It’s better to distance myself completely, Ying Yuan thought.
As she thought this, her pace quickened unconsciously. The distance between them widened, and the noise behind her gradually faded.
Ying Yuan nearly broke into a run.
And then, someone behind her really started running after her.
“Ying Yuan! Ying Yuan!” Mao Mao called out. “The USB drive! The USB drive!”
Lina: “How did she suddenly sprint so far ahead?”
Yi Shanshan laughed so hard she nearly doubled over, then impulsively struck a runner’s starting pose. “I’ll get her!”
Yi Shanshan burst forward like the wind.
The Trio gasped in unison: “Whoa!”
All that training for the 800-meter race at the sports meet had paid off. With her explosive start and smooth rhythm, Yi Shanshan rapidly closed the gap between them.
Ying Yuan sensed something unusual behind her. She glanced back and nearly jumped out of her skin.
Yi Shanshan was sprinting toward her, a mischievous grin plastered on her face, moving like a bolt of lightning, fierce as a burning flame.
Before Ying Yuan could even process what was happening, her internal alarm system blared, her heart leaped into her throat, and she instinctively bolted forward.
Yi Shanshan: “???”
The Trio in the distance: “Huh?”
It turned into a frantic chase. Ying Yuan darted ahead like a headless chicken, while Yi Shanshan doggedly pursued her, growing angrier with each stride.
The Trio had no idea what was going on, but seeing the two girls hurtling away, they couldn’t help but join the pursuit. Clutching their bags, they swung their arms and legs, sprinting after them.
The bustling street leading to the university was brightly lit by streetlights, lined with vendor stalls, and teeming with groups of students.
The three groups of sprinters drew curious glances, but as soon as onlookers realized they were A University students, smiles of understanding spread across their faces.
College students, they thought, young, energetic, prone to impulsive behavior, easily startled, capable of anything.
The remaining distance was hardly worth running.
Three waves of students surged toward the school gates and flooded the campus. Yi Shanshan was the first to stop, bending over with her hands on her knees, gasping for breath. Her eyes glared ahead, brimming with speechless resentment.
The Trio caught up and collapsed beside her, panting as they exclaimed:
“Why was she even running?!”
“Seriously, what was she running from?!”
“I’ll never call her weak again! She just wanted to prove herself!”
Yi Shanshan: “Ca… call…”
Mao Mao: “Oh, right! We have phones! Why did we even run?!”
She immediately pulled out her phone and dialed Ying Yuan. Ying Yuan answered quickly, her voice also panting: “Hello… hello…”
Mao Mao: “Why were you running?!”
Ying Yuan: “…Why were you chasing us?”
Mao Mao: “We only chased you because you were running!”
Ying Yuan: “I only ran because you were chasing me!”
Mao Mao burst into laughter, chuckling hysterically for a good while before finally getting down to business: “The USB drive! The USB drive! It’s with you!”
Ying Yuan: “……”
Mao Mao: “Come back yourself. Shanshan’s dorm is on South Campus, so we’re splitting up here.”
The call ended. The Trio and Yi Shanshan stood in a row before the school’s statue, alternating between stifled laughter and muttered curses.
Ying Yuan slunk back, pulling her hoodie over her head as if to hide her mortified face.
Yi Shanshan remained motionless, watching Ying Yuan approach step by step.
Ying Yuan kept her gaze fixed on the ground, each step feeling like a walk to the gallows.
Finally, she stood before Yi Shanshan, silent, pulling the USB drive from her pocket and holding it out.
The red drive lay in her flushed palm like a ripe fruit.
Yi Shanshan didn’t take it immediately. She studied Ying Yuan, asking, “Not running away anymore?”
Ying Yuan stared at the paving stones at her feet. “……”
Silence spoke louder than words.
Yi Shanshan stepped closer, her warmth and scent flooding Ying Yuan’s senses like spring itself. She reached out for the USB drive, her fingertips brushing lightly against Ying Yuan’s skin.
The itch was so intense it nearly made Ying Yuan tremble.
Yi Shanshan: “Running away just means you’ll have to come back eventually.”
The shadows of the trees swayed as Ying Yuan’s day with Yi Shanshan finally came to an end.
After taking the USB drive, Yi Shanshan waved goodbye to the others without lingering, turning and heading in her own direction.
Ying Yuan let all her energy drain away, her mind completely blank. She didn’t want to say another word or do another thing.
The Trio surrounded Ying Yuan, like a current of water sweeping her forward.
“Our Ying Yuan is amazing! She’s the woman the campus beauty chased after!”
“Actually, I can understand why Yuan ran. It was just a momentary lapse in judgment, a return to primal instinct. When something’s chasing you, running is the natural reaction.”
“Still, she really hurt Shanshan’s feelings. Besides the sports meet, when else has Shanshan had to chase after someone for so long?”
“Speaking of which, Shanshan is pretty fast, but our Ying Yuan is even faster. After all, Shanshan was after the USB drive, but Ying Yuan was running for her life!”
“Ha ha ha ha ha ha!”
Ha ha ha ha ha ha, Ying Yuan thought bitterly to herself.
Back in the dorm, Ying Yuan washed up and lay quietly on her bed.
Mao Mao was still playing with the prizes they’d won that day, alternating between sticking stickers and fiddling with the water bottle’s buttons. Before long, she was back to playing with the fox, which once again blurted out “I love you~” in some foreign language.
Naturally, Mao Mao and Xiaohan resumed their discussion about Yi Shanshan. They gushed about how unexpectedly approachable, lively, and adorable Yi Shanshan was, declaring themselves “Shanshan fans” and insisting she was perfect in every way.
Ying Yuan let out a long sigh. The day after she had fled from Yi Shanshan, Yi Shanshan had infiltrated her life with an even more assertive and overbearing presence.
Her dorm and her roommates had all been infected by the “Yi Shanshan virus,” transforming her once peaceful sanctuary into a contaminated zone.
Suddenly, Mao Mao walked over to Ying Yuan’s bed, holding up the fox and calling her name: “Ying Yuan, Ying Yuan!”
“Hmm?” Ying Yuan replied.
“Xiaohan, Lina, and I were just talking,” Mao Mao said. “We all agree that since you answered all the questions during the team competition, the prize should be yours.”
Ying Yuan turned to stare at the grinning fox, its large eyes meeting hers in a silent standoff.
Mao Mao nudged the fox closer. “This one’s the best! You absolutely have to take it.”
Ying Yuan’s throat felt parched. “But… aren’t you really fond of this fox?”
“Fond? Who wouldn’t be? It’s so cute and even whispers sweet nothings!” Mao Mao declared with unwavering conviction, “But it belongs to you!”
But it belongs to you.
Mao Mao tossed the fox onto the bed, right onto Ying Yuan’s chest.
The impact startled the fox into letting out a cry—this time in clear, comprehensible Mandarin.
“Love you~”
Soft, sweet, and lingering with a clingy tone, it sounded just like Yi Shanshan’s voice.
Ying Yuan’s heart pounded. This fox was… about to crush her.
“We have another day off tomorrow, Ying Yuan. What are you going to do?” Mao Mao asked.
“Nothing,” Ying Yuan replied, lying stiffly, her voice barely a whisper. “I’m going to lie in this bed… until I die.”