My Straight Girlfriend with Skin Hunger Syndrome - Chapter 4
Chapter 4
How could they possibly answer this?
Saying they were talking about her would make them look like gossiping backstabbers.
Saying they weren’t would make her look delusional and hurt her feelings.
Either way, they’d be wrong. As long as Yi Shanshan didn’t feel awkward, Ying Yuan and Lina would be the only ones dying of embarrassment.
Clearly, Yi Shanshan was doing this on purpose.
She tilted her head, glanced at Ying Yuan, then at Lina, and innocently observed their stunned expressions with amusement.
Unable to answer, Ying Yuan and Lina watched the last sliver of crimson fade from the horizon. A cold wind rustled through the space between them, leaving behind an oppressive atmosphere of awkwardness.
Since they remained silent, Yi Shanshan stayed quiet too.
She now seemed remarkably patient, composed, simple-minded, and utterly unhurried.
Finally, Lina cracked. Her face flushed crimson, and her words came out in a jumbled, stuttering mess: “I’m sorry… we were just… chatting… not that it was meaningless, just… you’re really pretty, like, really, really pretty, and you run… so fast… I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m talking nonsense…”
“Ah, why are you so nervous?” Yi Shanshan interjected, a look of surprise spreading across her face. “I just wanted to chat. Weren’t you all praising me just now?”
Lina’s fingers twisted tightly together, her eyes fixed downward, avoiding Yi Shanshan’s gaze. She repeated her apologies: “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, it was my fault. I… I’ll leave now.”
Lina grabbed Ying Yuan’s sleeve and tugged, trying to pull her away.
Yi Shanshan crossed her arms, her friendly facade vanishing, her tone turning cold and dismissive. “Wait.”
Lina froze mid-step, trembling, but didn’t turn around.
Yi Shanshan: “You can go. The one in the blue jacket stays.”
Lina panicked, desperately pleading for Ying Yuan: “She didn’t say anything! It’s not her fault!”
Yi Shanshan blinked innocently. “I’m not going to do anything. I’m just interested in her. I just want to chat.”
Ying Yuan sighed inwardly. She looked at Yi Shanshan, realizing the other girl had no intention of backing down. This “heaven’s favored daughter” always got her way.
Ying Yuan gently disentangled her sleeve from Lina’s grasp. “You go ahead,” she said.
Lina looked up at her, her face on the verge of tears.
“It’s fine,” Ying Yuan said. “I’ll head to the library in a bit.”
Lina hesitated. “Then I’ll wait for you downstairs.”
“No need,” Ying Yuan replied.
Lina raised her voice, as if speaking for Yi Shanshan’s benefit: “I’ll be waiting for you downstairs. I’ll wait as long as it takes.”
Ying Yuan sighed and didn’t argue further.
Lina shot her a fierce glare before leaving the terrace.
Silence settled over the terrace once more. Yi Shanshan watched Lina’s retreating figure and snorted coldly.
“Such a close relationship! First, she thanks you, then seeks your advice, and now she’s waiting downstairs, refusing to leave until you come down. How touching!”
Ying Yuan walked over to Yi Shanshan. The wind had picked up after dark, and with no shelter around, Yi Shanshan’s fuzzy jacket hung open like a cat sprawled on its back.
Ying Yuan reached out and began fastening the smooth, horn-shaped buttons one by one.
She offered no explanation for the earlier exchange, seeing no need to justify herself.
“Let’s go back,” she said simply. “It’s getting late.”
Yi Shanshan’s face bristled with resentment. “Don’t you have anything else to say?”
“Get some rest?” Ying Yuan suggested.
Yi Shanshan stomped her foot. “Not that!”
“Congratulations on winning a medal today,” Ying Yuan offered.
“It was just a participation award,” Yi Shanshan scoffed.
“Still, not everyone gets a participation award,” Ying Yuan pointed out.
“Are you sticking up for that classmate of yours?” Yi Shanshan asked.
“I’m just stating the facts,” Ying Yuan replied, gazing at her. She suddenly understood what Lina meant about two separate worlds. “There’s no need to scare her.”
“Scare her? How did I scare her?!” Yi Shanshan’s anger flared. She glared at Ying Yuan. “You guys were gossiping about me behind my back for no reason! What did I even do wrong? And I could forgive her for talking about me since she doesn’t know me, but why didn’t you defend me?!”
Ying Yuan frowned, utterly bewildered by her logic. “Because she didn’t say anything malicious. Since she neither belittled you nor misunderstood you, what was there to defend you from?”
Yi Shanshan bit her lip, falling silent.
“Besides,” Ying Yuan continued, “you said our relationship was a secret. If it’s a secret, it’s best we don’t pretend to know each other.”
“Pretend? What do you mean, ‘pretend’—”
Ying Yuan shoved her hands into her pockets. “Go get some rest. You must be tired too.”
Without waiting for Yi Shanshan’s reaction, she turned and walked away.
But before she could take two steps, Yi Shanshan lunged forward, crashing into her back. Without warning, she seized Ying Yuan’s arm, yanked up her sleeve, and sank her teeth into her flesh.
The dull ache was bearable, yet impossible to ignore.
Yi Shanshan’s lips were warm, her sharp teeth nipping like a puppy’s. She bit Ying Yuan, even letting out a small “mrr” sound. Her fluffy head nestled right in the crook of Ying Yuan’s arm, within easy reach.
Ying Yuan stared at her blankly, utterly bewildered. “What are you doing?” she asked sincerely.
“I’m biting you…” Yi Shanshan mumbled through her bite, the words muffled.
“Why are you biting me?” Ying Yuan persisted.
Yi Shanshan finally looked up, her upward gaze making her eyes seem even brighter and more beautiful. Even her angry glare only emphasized the striking effect of her thick, downward-sweeping eyelashes.
Like two little fans, Ying Yuan thought silently, searching for the perfect simile.
“You were going to hug that person,” Yi Shanshan accused, her voice a mix of resentment and wounded pride.
Ying Yuan didn’t immediately understand. “Huh? Who?”
“The one from earlier! Your classmate!”
“I didn’t hug—” Ying Yuan started to protest, then suddenly remembered: Yi Shanshan must be referring to the competition.
Ying Yuan was astonished. Yi Shanshan had been so busy at the time; there was no way she could have noticed them.
Yi Shanshan stared intently into her eyes, confirming her thoughts: “I saw it.”
Each word was enunciated slowly, through gritted teeth.
Ying Yuan’s face crumpled into a bitter gourd. She genuinely couldn’t understand what connection these things could have. She had no idea what Yi Shanshan was thinking, but just as she couldn’t comprehend what many people were thinking, she had no desire to delve into the origins and processes of others’ thoughts.
Her habit was simple: if there was an urgent problem, solve it.
So she asked, “So what?”
Yes, so what? State your objections and needs, and we can discuss solutions.
Yi Shanshan was taken aback by the question, then grew even angrier, throwing off Ying Yuan’s arm. “So you can’t hug her! Only I can hug her!”
Ying Yuan: “What kind of logic is that?”
Yi Shanshan: “……”
Ying Yuan: “We have no agreement governing the exclusive right to my hugs.”
Yi Shanshan wrinkled her nose.
“The unpredictability of this situation is too great,” Ying Yuan said. “Each specific case must be handled accordingly. For example, today, as a member of our class, offering an encouraging and comforting hug to the athletes was perfectly reasonable.”
Yi Shanshan’s mouth puckered into a pout, her expression on the verge of tears.
“Besides,” Ying Yuan added, “someone else already refused my hug.”
“Therefore, I won’t grant your request.”
“That’s all for today. I’m going to the library to study.”
This was her third attempt to leave. Yi Shanshan stared at her, silent.
Ying Yuan finally managed to slip away. She left the terrace, descended the staircase, and exited the faculty cafeteria.
Lina was waiting outside, just as she had promised. The moment she saw Ying Yuan emerge, she rushed over, scrutinizing her friend’s expression before glancing behind her.
“Let’s go,” Ying Yuan said.
Lina trailed beside her. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Ying Yuan replied. “Nothing happened.”
Lina scrutinized her from head to toe, left to right, then leaned in, lowering her voice. “Did you-know-who give you any trouble?”
Ying Yuan hesitated. “…Let’s not talk about people we don’t know.”
Lina: “Oh my god! We didn’t even say anything! The more I think about it, the more it seems wrong. What right does she have to act like that? If she was bullying you earlier, you should’ve told me. I would’ve gone to the student counselor.”
Ying Yuan: “……”
Lina: “I know her family is rich and influential, but surely the university wouldn’t just let her bully ordinary students, right? We’re college students now…”
Ying Yuan cut her off: “We’re college students now, so let’s stick to the facts. I’ve said it a million times—I’m fine. You’re fine too. Let’s just drop it here, okay?”
Lina opened her mouth to argue, but swallowed her words and fell silent.
She followed Ying Yuan down the long, shaded path, past the small basketball court, and finally to the library entrance.
Ying Yuan asked, “Are you going to the library?”
Lina looked up, startled. “Oh, you’re still going? I’m not.”
“I am,” Ying Yuan nodded. “See you later, then.”
Lina stood frozen in place for a long moment.
Ying Yuan entered the library and went to her favorite reference room, settling into a quiet corner.
The archives reeked of aged paper. Ying Yuan sat alone at the massive walnut table, enveloped in silence, where no one would disturb her.
She opened a 2009 journal and began reading a nonsensical paper on the inhibition of polyethylene films. The words flowed through her mind, leaving no lasting impression.
In her daze, she kept feeling a throbbing ache in her arm.
But there was no pain, really. If she were to give an honest assessment, it wasn’t pain at all—it was heat.
Finally, her gaze drifted downward.
She looked at her right hand, and in a hidden corner of her mind, she issued a silent command: Roll up your sleeve.
Her hand moved faster than her thoughts. Ying Yuan saw the patch of skin where Yi Shanshan had bitten her.
Despite the force of the bite, only faint teeth marks remained.
Tiny, neat, pink teeth marks.
Yi Shanshan’s teeth must be very healthy—tiny, pearly grains of rice.
When Yi Shanshan had bitten down, at the center of the bite, there had been a soft, wet sensation.
Ying Yuan’s heart emptied, and a sudden realization struck her like a thunderbolt: That was Yi Shanshan’s tongue.
Yi Shanshan’s tongue had touched her skin.