My Straight Girlfriend with Skin Hunger Syndrome - Chapter 38

Chapter 38

An awkward silence descended upon the classroom.

What had begun as a debate between public and private concerns during the interview had suddenly transformed into a stage for personal emotions.

Was this really the time to discuss friendship? And what kind of friendship, exactly?

Ying Yuan, pinned by Yi Shanshan’s bright, unwavering gaze, felt the girl’s joy radiating like a flower bud slowly unfurling under the sun, releasing its sweet fragrance.

Yi Shanshan blinked, her eyelashes fluttering in a coquettish manner.

Her sudden about-face left Ying Yuan no room to argue. She could only stammer, “That’s… not the main point…”

Yi Shanshan’s voice soared, “But it’s very important to me~!”

Qi Hongyue, unable to endure the scene any longer, frowned and interjected, “You two can discuss this privately later.”

“Great!” Yi Shanshan chirped, her entire being radiating a fairy-like joy.

“The interview is adjourned. Meeting dismissed.” Qi Hongyue stood up briskly.

“Wait! You haven’t told me the results yet!” Yi Shanshan grabbed her arm. “Will I be joining your project team?”

Qi Hongyue: “Absolutely not.”

Yi Shanshan drawled, “Ah?~~~”

Qi Hongyue retorted, “You’re not interested in our project. Since you’re interested in Ying Yuan, go study her instead.”

“Ah.” Yi Shanshan blushed slightly, caught off guard. She turned to Ying Yuan and giggled sheepishly, “Hehe~”

Ying Yuan: “……”

Yi Shanshan tugged on Qi Hongyue’s arm, shaking it gently. “But Ying Yuan’s in your project group now, working herself to the bone! If she’s so interested, I want to know what’s so fascinating about your project too!”

Qi Hongyue: “……”

An exasperated expression crossed Qi Hongyue’s face, tinged with weariness. Ying Yuan quickly stepped forward and grabbed Yi Shanshan’s wrist, pulling her hand away from Qi Hongyue. “Shanshan, you’re not suited for our project.”

Yi Shanshan: “How would I know if I’m suited for it if you don’t let me try?”

Ying Yuan: “The workload is heavy and the hours are grueling.”

Yi Shanshan blinked innocently. “Don’t I look like someone who can handle hardship?”

Ying Yuan: “……”

Qi Hongyue: “……”

Completely exasperated, Ying Yuan resorted to a stalling tactic. “We don’t usually give interview results immediately. We still need to discuss it further.”

“Alright, you two can discuss it properly.” Yi Shanshan withdrew her hand, but then deftly clasped Ying Yuan’s palm. “Are you finished with work today? What are you up to later? Wanna grab some late-night snacks together?”

Ying Yuan’s face flushed crimson, as red as a monkey’s behind. “I-I-I… still have so much to do. The framework… the framework isn’t even finished yet…”

Yi Shanshan adopted an eager, studious expression. “What’s a framework?”

“It’s… in Unity, using programming languages to architect various modules, then assembling them according to the game’s requirements…” Ying Yuan struggled to explain, but she quickly realized this wasn’t the time for such a technical explanation.

So she resorted to her inadequate delaying tactic again: “I-I’ll explain later. It’s… really complicated to explain properly.”

Yi Shanshan’s eyes curved into crescent moons. “Okay!”

Qi Hongyue was already squinting at the two of them.

Ying Yuan felt that not only would Yi Shanshan fail the interview, but she herself might get fired too.

Ying Yuan swiftly withdrew her hand and nudged Qi Hongyue forward. “Team Leader, let’s go, let’s go.”

Qi Hongyue turned and strode out, Ying Yuan trailing closely behind.

Yi Shanshan didn’t chase after them. She waved goodbye, her voice cheerful. “See you later~”

Then, in a more intimate tone, she called out, “Ying Yuan, text me when you’re done with your work! We still have so much to discuss together!”

“……Mm.”

Ying Yuan let out a muffled groan from deep in her throat. She nudged Qi Hongyue’s shoulder, and the two hurried out of the classroom together.

Only after leaving the teaching building and walking a considerable distance did Ying Yuan finally exhale deeply.

Qi Hongyue gave her no chance to catch her breath. “You like her?”

Ying Yuan: “!!!!”

She stumbled, nearly tripping over her own feet.

“Looks like it,” Qi Hongyue said. “Yi Shanshan seems pretty straight, though.”

The heat that had finally subsided in Ying Yuan’s cheeks flared anew. She waved her hands frantically, trying to explain, “We’re not… there’s nothing between us. It’s not what you think, not that kind of relationship…”

Qi Hongyue: “What kind of relationship do you think I’m thinking of?”

Ying Yuan: “……”

Qi Hongyue: “It’s okay. What lesbian hasn’t fallen for a straight girl or two? At least she cares about you enough to want to be your…”

Qi Hongyue chuckled softly. “…close friend.”

Ying Yuan fell silent, utterly disinclined to speak. Tonight’s events had spiraled completely out of control. She regretted letting Yi Shanshan provoke her into that lengthy, incoherent outburst, feeling mortified by the memory.

Exposing even a sliver of her true feelings, no matter how insignificant, filled Ying Yuan with dread.

Qi Hongyue: “Handle your own relationship issues, okay? Don’t let them interfere with your work or studies.”

Ying Yuan: “Mm-hmm.”

Qi Hongyue: “I definitely won’t take Yi Shanshan. It’s up to you to break the news to her and explain.”

Ying Yuan: “……Mm-hmm.”

Since I’m the one who stirred this up, it’s only natural I should handle it.

The pair reached a fork in the road. Qi Hongyue headed off in one direction on business, while Ying Yuan stood rooted to the spot for a moment before turning toward the Activity Room.

She still had a lot of planned work to complete tonight. Yi Shanshan had said to contact her after finishing up, so she’d deal with it later.

But work consumed her completely, dragging on until 10:30 PM—only half an hour before lights-out.

This was the absolute latest their group members would stay in the Activity Room. Ying Yuan shut down her computer, turned off the lights, and locked the Activity Room’s creaky door that always squeaked when pushed.

She walked out alone into the silent night, where a bright moon hung high in the sky.

Ying Yuan reflected on her actions.

Today’s outburst proved she still harbored resentment and lingering hope toward Yi Shanshan.

She longed to stand on equal footing with Yi Shanshan, at least as friends.

Despite their previous physical intimacy, Ying Yuan felt Yi Shanshan had never truly seen her.

In Yi Shanshan’s vibrant world, she was merely a compliant and useful tool—a nameless emotional remedy stripped of its packaging.

Now, Ying Yuan refused to be that remedy any longer. She had been waiting for the removal of this element, anticipating their connection would fade into indifference and eventually vanish completely.

Instead, Yi Shanshan had become fixated on her, unable to forget her.

If Yi Shanshan’s earlier attempts to rekindle their intimate relationship could be dismissed as manipulative tactics, today, when Yi Shanshan listened to her grievances and her anger vanished instantly, her beautiful eyes widening with delight as she gazed at her, Ying Yuan felt… intensely cared for.

Does Yi Shanshan truly care about me?

Does she genuinely want to be real friends?

Would she ever want to understand my dull past and mundane thoughts?

Or was this all just another one of Yi Shanshan’s manipulative tactics, a refusal to accept defeat as she continued to play with people’s hearts?

Ying Yuan couldn’t decipher it. She couldn’t find the answer.

She could only take things one step at a time, just like how Qi Hongyue guided her through coding a program feature. They didn’t rely on abstract thought; they relied on trial and error. By trying things out, they naturally learned what worked and what didn’t.

In that short time, Ying Yuan felt she had grown considerably, even her courage when facing emotions had become much richer than before.

Ying Yuan took a deep breath in the warm, gentle night breeze and fulfilled her promise by sending a message to Yi Shanshan:

I just finished up with work, but it’s already so late. I only have time to head back to my dorm, wash up, and rest.

Is there anything you wanted to discuss?

Yi Shanshan’s replies popped up almost immediately, one after another:

Wow, it’s really late! You must be exhausted!

Hmm… If you’re not too tired, could you tell me about your project’s genre and gameplay mechanics?

I still don’t quite understand what you mean by “building the framework.” I looked up “Unity” and found it’s a game development engine. But the rest is too technical—I can read the words, but I can’t really grasp the concepts.

Also, how does your team divide the work? Are you handling all the programming yourself? That sounds like a massive workload!

You must have typed a lot today. Could you just send a voice message? I’ll convert it to text and read it slowly.

Ying Yuan paused, waiting for Yi Shanshan to mention the things she truly cared about—”friends,” “meeting up”—but Yi Shanshan didn’t say a word about any of that, as if those questions had already been answered in her own mind.

Ying Yuan was genuinely surprised. Yi Shanshan actually wanted to discuss the project with her.

But Qi Hongyue had no intention of letting Yi Shanshan join the team, and Ying Yuan immediately felt a pang of guilt.

Her fingers hovered over the phone screen, hesitating for a long moment before she finally sent:

Shanshan, this project really isn’t a good fit for you. The workload is incredibly intense, and the Team Leader’s expectations are extremely high.

I can’t discuss the specific details of the project with you—they’re still confidential.

Knowing this would hurt Yi Shanshan, Ying Yuan desperately searched for a reassuring emoji and sent:

Rabbit holding a “Thank You” sign.gif

Yi Shanshan replied almost instantly, her tone still bright and energetic, as if none of this had affected her.

Okay, then tell me about the parts you can share.

Just explain some of the basic theories~

Cat spinning and making a heart with its paws.gif

Of course, she could share that. Ying Yuan let out another long sigh of relief.

Yi Shanshan took it well, which eased Ying Yuan’s mind considerably. Holding her phone to her lips, she began explaining the fundamentals of programming as she walked. To ensure Yi Shanshan understood, Ying Yuan kept her explanations conversational and used plenty of analogies.

Yi Shanshan was remarkably attentive. She would quickly transcribe Ying Yuan’s voice messages into text, absorb the information, and then ask insightful follow-up questions—a bright and eager student with a thirst for knowledge.

Ying Yuan answered her questions until, without realizing it, she had returned to her dorm.

They continued chatting as Ying Yuan packed her things. Just as lights-out approached, Ying Yuan said, “I’m going to take a quick shower.”

Yi Shanshan: Okay!

Ying Yuan showered in just five minutes, changed into her pajamas, and lay down on her bed as the room plunged into darkness.

She grabbed her phone. Yi Shanshan hadn’t sent any new messages urging her to reply, but neither did she seem ready to end the conversation. Ying Yuan understood—they had indeed reached a particularly interesting part of their discussion.

Clutching her phone, she began typing:

Regarding variable marking, we typically define variables, input conditional code, and automatically read their values. Based on the different variable values, we output different results to achieve this.

They chatted until midnight.

When Ying Yuan glanced at her phone and realized how late it was, she was startled. She’d never talked to Yi Shanshan for so long before.

And they were even discussing programming!

Perhaps… Yi Shanshan wasn’t as ill-suited for game development as she thought…

Time for bed. Gotta get up early tomorrow.

She began to end the conversation.

Alrighty! Me too. I have a sight-reading class tomorrow. Ugh, I’m dreading it.

Ying Yuan couldn’t resist prolonging the conversation a little longer:

Sight-reading and ear training? You should be good at that.

I’m good because I practiced so much! The process is actually quite tedious. Especially recently, with practicing polyphony—it’s utter chaos!

Collaboration? Yeah, that really depends on your teammates.

Totally! I have this classmate who always gets paired with me, but he keeps messing up the timing…

They continued chatting for quite a while longer.

Finally, Yi Shanshan abruptly ended the conversation with a voice message: “Ugh, I can’t explain it properly this way. I’ll record them singing tomorrow so you can hear for yourself!”

“Good night, Ying Yuan~” she added. “I had so much fun today~”

Ying Yuan initially read the message as text and replied: Good night.

But as she lay in bed, trying to fall asleep, Yi Shanshan’s voice message burrowed into her mind like a persistent little worm, rustling incessantly and refusing to be dismissed.

Ying Yuan turned on her side and forced herself to close her eyes for a few seconds. After ten seconds, she sighed in resignation and grabbed the headphones hanging by her bedside.

With both earbuds in place, the sound traveled through the most intimate channel.

Yi Shanshan’s tone had started out open and natural, like friends sharing gossip—relaxed and casual.

But when she said good night, her voice softened, becoming gentle and tender. The way she called Ying Yuan’s name, with its lingering melody, was especially lovely.

Good night, Ying Yuan~ I had so much fun today~

The corners of Ying Yuan’s lips curled upward. She couldn’t help it—she felt inexplicably happy too.