My Straight Girlfriend with Skin Hunger Syndrome - Chapter 47
Chapter 47
A strange silence descended upon the bedroom.
After uttering those words, Ying Yuan kept her gaze fixed on Lin Feng’s hand.
Only when Lin Feng released her did she resume walking toward the door.
As soon as she was out of the room and her footsteps faded, Lin Feng immediately shouted, “Hey, Yi Shanshan! Did I squeeze too hard? Just that little grip and I hurt you?”
Yi Shanshan’s earlier fury had completely vanished, replaced by an expression of pure delight.
She glanced sideways at Lin Feng, rubbed her arm, and retorted with a teasing lilt, “Of course it hurt! Your grip felt like a chicken claw. What did you expect?”
“You’re talking complete nonsense!” Lin Feng retorted, exasperated. “Don’t you know your own strength? When you kicked me, did you even ask if I was in pain? I’m doing all this for your own good, My Lady. I even skipped my mentor’s dinner to come take care of you when you’re sick, and this is the thanks I get?”
“Whether it hurts or not isn’t something I decide,” Yi Shanshan said, leaning against the headboard with a dismissive air, not even looking at Lin Feng. “I have people who care about me. You don’t.”
Lin Feng: “……”
Yi Shanshan peeked her head out of the bedroom door. “With your ‘serving skills,’ you can’t even mix a simple medicine properly. How dare you even bring it up?”
Lin Feng: “……”
Lin Feng: “I wasn’t born to be someone’s servant.”
Yi Shanshan: “Then go hang out wherever you’re happy. Stop sticking around here.”
Lin Feng: “So you’re kicking me out as soon as she gets here?”
Yi Shanshan: “Yeah, you’re useless here anyway.”
Lin Feng’s face twisted in fury, she was about to explode. “You’ve only known her for a few days! I’m way more worried about you than you are about me. I’m staying right here.”
“Then stay if you want,” Yi Shanshan finally glanced at her. “As if I could physically drag you out of here.”
Lin Feng: “……”
Lin Feng turned and paced the room, eventually plopping down on the chair in front of the vanity.
“Even with a mute tongue, you’re still so sharp,” she snapped. “I can’t wait to see how she pampers you.”
Yi Shanshan rolled her eyes dramatically and slid back under the covers.
Ying Yuan returned swiftly, having procured a small tray from somewhere. The tray held medicine, water, a handful of brightly colored candies, and a plump…
Lin Feng squinted, straining to identify it. Is that… a green pomelo?
Ying Yuan moved nimbly to Yi Shanshan’s bedside. Setting the tray down, she knelt to meet Yi Shanshan’s gaze, studying her condition.
Yi Shanshan blinked her wide, innocent eyes at Ying Yuan, her thick, butterfly-wing-like lashes fluttering softly, making her look delicate and pitiful.
Ying Yuan coaxed gently, “I’ve re-brewed the medicine. It’ll be at the perfect temperature in a minute or two. The bitterness isn’t as strong now. Rinse your mouth with water afterward. You can have a candy too—a fruity one. They’re so refreshing, and there are several flavors to choose from.”
Yi Shanshan shot a smug glance toward Lin Feng, her lips curving into a triumphant smile. When her eyes met Ying Yuan’s again, she resumed her meek and pitiful act.
“What flavors are there?” she asked Ying Yuan.
Ying Yuan picked up the candies and showed them to her one by one. “This lemon one is really sour, but it’s surprisingly refreshing. The apple one is delicious—I think you’ll like it. The pineapple flavor is unique, kind of like… that mango pineapple combo that was popular last year. The bayberry one just tastes like bayberry, nothing special.”
“Oooooh~” Yi Shanshan drawled, tilting her head to peer at the candies in Ying Yuan’s palm. “They all sound… yummy~”
“Then you can have two,” Ying Yuan said. “One to cleanse your palate, and the other as a reward for taking your medicine.”
Yi Shanshan burst into giggles, sounding like a little chick squawking softly. “Ying Yuan~ you’re treating me like a kindergartener!”
Ying Yuan blushed slightly, looking down and fiddling with the candies. “You shouldn’t have too many. They might stick to your throat.”
“Alright~” Touched by such considerate care and the way Ying Yuan treated her like a child, Yi Shanshan’s resistance melted away.
She softly agreed, “A minute’s up. I can take my medicine now.”
“Alright!” Ying Yuan looked up at her, beaming.
She reached out to help Yi Shanshan sit up, then remembered Shanshan only had a cold, not something that would prevent her from sitting up. She quickly retracted her hand, avoiding contact.
Instead, she turned her palm over and grabbed the pillow.
“It’s easier to drink sitting up,” she said. “If you lie down and use a straw, it’ll taste even more bitter.”
“Mmm-hmm~” Yi Shanshan agreed wholeheartedly, completely compliant.
She sat up, leaning back slightly, and Ying Yuan immediately slipped the pillow behind her.
Yi Shanshan relaxed comfortably against it. Ying Yuan took the glass, pressed the back of her hand against its side to test the temperature, and then handed it to Yi Shanshan.
Yi Shanshan took the glass and, without even glancing at it, tilted her head back and gulped down the medicine in a few large swigs.
As her hand lowered from taking the medicine, Ying Yuan’s water glass was already being offered.
Following Ying Yuan’s instructions, Yi Shanshan drank the medicine and then immediately chased it with water. The bitter taste vanished before it could even linger for a second.
Holding the water glass, Yi Shanshan looked at Ying Yuan. “The temperature is perfect!”
“Mhm,” Ying Yuan replied. “Take a few more sips if you’re thirsty.”
Yi Shanshan pursed her lips, delicately sipping from the rim of her glass, her gaze drifting past Ying Yuan to settle on Lin Feng.
Lin Feng clenched her fists, her expression a mask of bitterness and resentment.
Yi Shanshan’s joy bubbled up, her voice turning soft and coquettish. “Wow, this medicine really isn’t bitter at all when you drink it Ying Yuan’s way!”
Lin Feng: “……”
Yi Shanshan: “Yuan’er, how do you know everything? You’re so cultured! No wonder you’re such a scholar.”
Lin Feng’s fists nearly crumpled from the force of her grip.
Ying Yuan: “Your foot’s sticking out again.”
Yi Shanshan: “Huh?”
She followed Ying Yuan’s gaze and saw her foot indeed peeking out from under the blanket.
Ying Yuan: “Even though it’s late spring, you still have a cold, so keeping warm is important. Especially your feet—girls’ feet get cold easily.”
Yi Shanshan: “Oh, okay.”
She tucked her foot back under the blanket.
Ying Yuan: “You just like it that way, don’t you?”
Yi Shanshan paused to think. She’d never really considered why she did it. Ying Yuan’s question made her realize she did enjoy letting her foot dangle out—it had become an unconscious habit.
“It seems… you’re right,” Yi Shanshan admitted.
“Why don’t you change into a pair of cotton socks?” Ying Yuan suggested.
“Good point!” Yi Shanshan exclaimed.
She glanced up at Ying Yuan, and in that instant, Ying Yuan chimed in, “Where are they? I’ll get them.”
Yi Shanshan’s eyes curved into crescent moons with laughter. “Oh, I’m so embarrassed to ask… Turn right out the door to the wardrobe room. They’re in the middle drawer.”
Ying Yuan stood up and left.
The moment Ying Yuan’s foot crossed the threshold, Lin Feng leaped up and rushed over to Yi Shanshan.
“Are you crazy? Where did you find this personal maid? Is she a nursing major? Or maybe an early childhood education student?”
“Get lost,” Yi Shanshan snapped. “She’s a materials engineering prodigy, you moron.”
Lin Feng smirked. “I admit I could never go this far, acting like a complete simp. But if she has any classmates like this, you could introduce me.”
Yi Shanshan grabbed a book from the bedside table and hurled it at him. “You wish!”
Lin Feng dodged it with a laugh.
Lin Feng sidled up to Yi Shanshan again, saying, “Still, I’m relieved you found such a little lapdog.”
She pointed to the green pomelo on the nearby tray. “Your taste in fruit could use some work, though. This pomelo looks so sour, it’ll make your face pucker.”
Ying Yuan returned to the bedroom. Lin Feng fell silent, standing by the bed and watching her.
Ying Yuan unfolded the knee-high cotton socks she held and showed them to Yi Shanshan. “I picked these out—the long ones.”
“So cute!” Yi Shanshan exclaimed immediately. “They even have little hearts on them! My favorite!”
Ying Yuan smiled. “Yeah, they’re adorable.”
Yi Shanshan glanced at Lin Feng, took the socks, and set them aside.
“Aren’t you supposed to be at the dinner party?” she said to Lin Feng. “It’s the perfect time to go.”
Lin Feng’s brow furrowed. “You’re kicking me out again.”
“Exactly! Now’s your chance to go take care of your own things while Ying Yuan’s here. Isn’t this for your own good?”
It was as if, given the slightest opportunity, she had to retaliate with every word.
Lin Feng’s smile turned strained. “Fine, great.”
She turned to leave, but her resentment burned too fiercely. Her eyes darted around before she suddenly reached for the green pomelo. “Shanshan doesn’t like sour things, so I’ll just take this one.”
Ying Yuan’s hand moved faster than her thoughts.
Before Lin Feng’s fingertips even brushed the pomelo, Ying Yuan had already clamped her hand around Lin Feng’s wrist.
Lin Feng stared in stunned disbelief, her brow furrowing into a deep frown. “So petty? It’s just one pomelo! How many meals have I brought you guys? Do you even remember?”
Ying Yuan’s grip didn’t loosen.
When she was being stubborn, the veins on the back of her hand would bulge slightly.
Her tone remained calm, polite but distant:
“We remember, thank you. But this pomelo isn’t for eating. Shanshan likes the scent; cutting it open for her to smell might help clear her sinuses.
“Seasonal pomelos aren’t widely available yet. I had to visit three stores to find a few. Sorry.”
Lin Feng: “……”
Lin Feng: “You have several, and you won’t even give me one?”
“A cold doesn’t just disappear overnight,” Ying Yuan said.
Lin Feng was completely speechless.
She glanced at Ying Yuan, then at Yi Shanshan.
Yi Shanshan was staring at Ying Yuan, her eyes practically sparkling with stars. Her cheekbones seemed to rise to the heavens, and her foot involuntarily stuck out, tapping rhythmically with joy.
“Heh,” Lin Feng let out a self-mocking laugh.
“Since you’ve put so much thought into this, I can’t possibly take it,” she withdrew her hand. “You two go ahead and take care of the ailing My Lady. I won’t intrude any longer.”
With that, she turned and strode toward the bedroom door, glancing back one last time.
Ying Yuan was looking at Yi Shanshan, and Yi Shanshan was looking at Ying Yuan. Neither paid her any attention.
Lin Feng let out a long sigh, clenching her fists.
Her footsteps faded into the distance until the faint clunk of the front door closing echoed through the house.
Yi Shanshan’s entire face lit up with radiant joy. Her legs twisted excitedly under the covers, her whole body relaxing with relief.
She reached out and tugged at Ying Yuan’s sleeve, tilting her head back and grinning brightly. “Did you really run all over town just to find grapefruits?”
The room fell silent, now that the third person had left. Ying Yuan couldn’t tell if this was good or bad.
But Yi Shanshan looked so utterly adorable right now—so cute it was like holding a fluffy kitten or puppy in your arms, melting your heart entirely.
“I only went to three stores. For the other two, I texted the owners directly.”
Ying Yuan felt embarrassed admitting this. If it hadn’t been for the unusual circumstances earlier, she never would have said it out loud.
It felt like she had gone to such great lengths for something trivial, and was now waiting for Yi Shanshan to reward her.
But Yi Shanshan did reward her.
Still clutching Ying Yuan’s sleeve, she pressed her head against Ying Yuan’s lower abdomen, nuzzling her cheek against it.
“Waaah… I don’t care… Ying Yuan, you’re just too good…”
The muffled voice, already subdued, grew even more muffled against Ying Yuan’s body.
It sounded like a small animal purring—fed and watered, feeling safe and loved, emitting a series of intimate, low vibrations from its throat.
“You’re just so good! You’ve secretly done so much for me! How did you even think of all this? Did you bring me lots of good things?”
Ying Yuan: “……”
She’d guessed right, but…
Ying Yuan struggled to speak. “I don’t know what conditions you’re in over there, so many of these things might not be useful…”
As soon as she said that, panic surged through her. As if needing to prove something, she immediately added, “I was worried you’d be lonely, but with Lin Feng taking care of you, I…”
“No one can ever replace you,” Yi Shanshan interrupted, her cheek pressed tightly against Ying Yuan’s body, burying her entire face in her warmth. “No one can ever compare to you.”