My Straight Girlfriend with Skin Hunger Syndrome - Chapter 49
Chapter 49
The warm afternoon sunlight streamed through the massive floor-to-ceiling windows.
The quilt on the bed, and Yi Shanshan nestled within it, were bathed in a hazy light, as if suspended in a dream.
Having spoken those words, Ying Yuan could no longer meet Yi Shanshan’s gaze.
She thought, If Yi Shanshan hesitates even slightly, I’ll seize the excuse to abandon this daunting task and flee from the room.
But Yi Shanshan’s response came swiftly, her voice light and bright, as if discussing the most mundane matter.
“How do I step?” Yi Shanshan’s foot twitched in Ying Yuan’s line of sight. “Where should I step?”
Ying Yuan’s lips parted slightly, but no sound escaped.
Because Yi Shanshan’s toes had already brushed against her skin, making a deliberate, straightforward contact with her thigh.
Ying Yuan could only quickly bend her knee, bracing one leg against the edge of the bed to create a stable foothold.
Yi Shanshan placed her foot on it.
Against Ying Yuan’s dark trousers, Yi Shanshan’s skin appeared like jade—white jade suffused with a translucent blush.
Ying Yuan stretched open the cotton sock with both hands, carefully slipping it over Yi Shanshan’s foot without touching her skin, then smoothing it into place.
The first foot went smoothly.
But the other foot proved more challenging.
Yi Shanshan’s toes splayed wide, wiggling back and forth like a cluster of plump, quivering berries too full to be crammed into a sock.
Ying Yuan knew she was doing it on purpose, but she also knew Shanshan loved to play.
Trying to reason with her now would only prolong the ordeal indefinitely and invite further complications that would make things even harder.
So, pressing her lips tightly together despite the burning heat in her body, Ying Yuan resolutely reached out and firmly pinched Shanshan’s wiggling toes.
“Ooh…” Shanshan let out a sharp gasp.
Ignoring the soft, smooth texture beneath her fingers, Ying Yuan swiftly pulled the sock over Shanshan’s foot.
“Mmm…” Shanshan made another sound, sending a tiny electric jolt through Ying Yuan’s heart.
“It tickles, hee hee!” Shanshan giggled. “Ying Yuan, you touched the sole of my foot~”
Having finally completed the arduous task, Ying Yuan swiftly adjusted the sock’s cuff before tossing both feet onto the bed.
“Okay, I’m going…” Ying Yuan stood up, turning her head to avoid Shanshan’s eyes. “Outside…”
Yi Shanshan: “What are you going outside for?”
Ying Yuan’s feet moved toward the door first, her mind trailing behind: “I’m just going to wash my hands and get a drink.”
“Mmm… Ying Yuan…” Yi Shanshan rolled around on the bed again, hugging her blanket with a joyful laugh. “You still find me… distasteful…”
Ying Yuan ignored her completely.
Yi Shanshan called after her again: “That green hand cream on the sink is amazing—you should try it! There’s mineral water and cola in the fridge, plus that white wine I brought back the other day. It’s really low-alcohol, practically just fruity soda—delicious!”
Ying Yuan slipped out of the bedroom and into the bathroom, making sure Yi Shanshan couldn’t see her, and took a deep, steadying breath.
What had just happened exceeded even her wildest imagination.
This was more complicated than simply giving Yi Shanshan a hug. If she’d known this was going to happen beforehand, she might as well have given Yi Shanshan a friendly, platonic hug right from the start.
The bathroom light was bright and gentle, reflecting Ying Yuan’s face in the mirror.
Her face was indeed as flushed as she felt. Her thin ears were so red they seemed about to drip blood.
She looked like she’d been drinking heavily, or as if she were burning up. As she gazed at herself in the mirror, her eyes shimmered with an unspoken, watery light.
How could things turn out like this…?
Waves of shame surged through Ying Yuan, rising from the depths of her heart in relentless succession.
Whenever she tried to find answers, she inevitably relived the earlier scene, only intensifying the tempest within her. The surging waves crashed against her, electrifying her heart and leaving her limbs weak.
I mustn’t think about it. I mustn’t dwell on it.
She had to swallow it all down, like gulping down a handful of dates, and let time pass by without reflection.
Ying Yuan turned on the faucet, washing her hands vigorously and then splashing cold water fiercely over her face.
The icy shock gradually cooled her burning flush. Once her complexion had returned to its normal hue, she finally left the bathroom.
She poured herself a glass of plain lukewarm water and sipped it slowly.
Before stepping into the bedroom, she took a deep breath, then another, finally taking a relatively calm step forward.
“What took you so long…?” Yi Shanshan called out the moment she saw her. “Ying Yuan, were you sneaking off to eat something good without me?”
Ying Yuan walked over to her and sat down on the chair again. “What do you want to eat?”
“I don’t want to eat,” Yi Shanshan patted her stomach. “I still feel full from lunch.”
“Then you should rest properly,” Ying Yuan suggested, her voice tinged with anticipation. “You could take a nap.”
“Absolutely not!” Yi Shanshan retorted immediately. “Sleeping is the most boring thing ever. We have plenty of time tonight.”
Ying Yuan: “Then what do you want to do?”
Yi Shanshan’s eyes sparkled. “Ying Yuan, let’s chat!”
Hmm, a mediocre suggestion.
If it’s just chatting, it shouldn’t lead to any major problems.
Ying Yuan nodded. “What about?”
Yi Shanshan: “Have you been organizing the audio recordings these past two days?”
Ying Yuan: “Yes, I should be able to show the Team Leader tomorrow.”
Yi Shanshan: “No way! You need my approval first.”
Ying Yuan: “Alright, I’ll show you the organized files first.”
Yi Shanshan: “What are we waiting for? Let’s start now! We can review what’s already been organized. Didn’t you run into some issues? We can discuss them right here.”
Ying Yuan never expected Yi Shanshan to want to discuss work. And not just discuss—she wanted to dive in immediately.
Ying Yuan studied Yi Shanshan’s expression. “Aren’t you feeling unwell?”
“Aiya, I’ll tell you if I start feeling unwell,” Yi Shanshan said, scooting closer and striking a meeting-like pose. “Come on, come on, don’t tell me you didn’t bring it.”
“It’s on the cloud drive,” Ying Yuan replied.
“I knew it!” Yi Shanshan directed. “Over there, on the table, fetch my laptop.”
And just like that, they got to work.
In the quiet room, the selected recordings from that night played on repeat.
At first, Ying Yuan felt a flicker of embarrassment, but Yi Shanshan’s composed demeanor and lack of teasing comments only made her feel increasingly out of place. She’s acting so serious, and here I am… acting like this.
Gathering her focus, Ying Yuan immersed herself in the task.
Working with remarkable efficiency, they completed the remaining progress bar within half an hour, reaching one hundred percent.
“Done! Let’s call it a day!” Yi Shanshan exclaimed, happily closing her laptop.
Ying Yuan felt equally elated, relishing the satisfaction of completing the task.
“I’m a pretty good partner, right?” Yi Shanshan raised an eyebrow, her smug expression utterly charming.
“Absolutely!” Ying Yuan replied without hesitation.
“And what about friends?” Yi Shanshan pressed. “Do you consider me a true friend now?”
The question of their relationship came completely out of the blue.
Just a moment ago, Ying Yuan had been pondering how to submit her extra work results to Qi Hongyue. The next moment, she found herself enveloped by this purely emotional question.
She froze, lost in thought.
Yi Shanshan leaned forward anxiously, trying to catch her expression.
Seeing Ying Yuan’s dazed reaction, she emphasized, “You already told me your standards for friendship when I interviewed with you.”
Yes, she had. Ying Yuan remembered perfectly.
Now, comparing those criteria point by point, Yi Shanshan had already met more than half of them.
Regardless of Ying Yuan’s true feelings, regardless of how she defined their relationship, the current reality showed that Yi Shanshan had indeed met the standards for friendship.
“Mm,” Ying Yuan murmured softly, avoiding Yi Shanshan’s gaze. “Yes, we’re friends.”
“Yay!” Yi Shanshan cheered, scrambling to her feet and craning her neck, determined to meet Ying Yuan’s eyes. “Real friends, right? Real friends?”
Ying Yuan nodded.
She rarely bothered with superficial friendships.
“Great!” Yi Shanshan exclaimed.
But she wasn’t satisfied yet. She gazed earnestly at Ying Yuan, urging her, “Ying Yuan, lift your head and look me in the eyes. Otherwise, I’ll always feel like I’m forcing you.”
Ying Yuan sighed inwardly, then raised her gaze to meet Yi Shanshan’s. Her eyes were like a tranquil lake, rippling faintly only where the light shifted.
Yi Shanshan stared intently at those ripples, trying to discern more from them.
But like tossing a pebble into a lake, even as the ripples spread in concentric circles, you can never truly know what lies beneath the surface.
“There’s no coercion,” Ying Yuan said. “We genuinely meet the standard.”
Yi Shanshan: “Are there many people who meet this standard in your circle?”
Ying Yuan: “Not many. My social circle is quite narrow.”
Yi Shanshan: “And relationships that surpass this standard? Do you have any?”
Ying Yuan frowned. “I don’t understand what you mean.”
Yi Shanshan: “Close friends, besties, childhood sweethearts, lifelong buddies…”
She recited each term one by one, probing deeper into the lake’s depths with each word.
Ying Yuan’s reaction remained muted, prompting Yi Shanshan to resort to rhetorical questions. “Don’t you have any?”
“Of course I do,” Ying Yuan replied. “At every stage of life, we encounter friends. Some stay with us longer, others briefly, but the emotions are always genuine.”
“What about the most special one?” Yi Shanshan pressed, her gaze intense. Frustrated by her inability to unearth any novel information, her tone grew increasingly blunt. “The closest one? Is there someone who immediately comes to mind when I say these words?”
Ying Yuan lowered her gaze again. Her delicate eyelashes, like wisps of mist clinging to her eyelids, veiled her expression.
“Yes,” Ying Yuan admitted. “But I don’t want to talk about her too much.”
Yi Shanshan finally quieted down for a moment.
She leaned back, no longer staring directly into Ying Yuan’s eyes, tilted her head back, and drawled, “Oh—”
After a few seconds, she patted the quilt in her lap, as if casually chatting.
“If you don’t want to talk about it, I certainly won’t pry.
“You must have your reasons for not wanting to talk about her. Maybe our relationship isn’t at the point where we can discuss your friend yet. When the time is right, you’ll naturally open up when you’re ready…
“I’m just curious. Not about a specific person, but about a phenomenon.
“I mean… would you treat your other friends this well too?”
Yi Shanshan picked at a small floral pattern on the quilt. “Would you also take such meticulous care of them when they’re sick?”