My Straight Girlfriend with Skin Hunger Syndrome - Chapter 55

Chapter 55

It’s a joke, it’s a joke, it’s a joke…

Ying Yuan’s rationality screamed frantically in her mind, battling against the tidal wave of pleasure that now engulfed her body and soul.

She averted her gaze, fixing it on a distant, empty point to evade Yi Shanshan’s radiant, sun-like assault.

But how should she respond to a joke?

If she rejected it with rigid seriousness, she would appear stiff, dull, and utterly clueless about romance.

Worse, it would reveal how deeply she truly cared—a truth she desperately needed to conceal.

Ying Yuan’s mental processor began to overheat, frantically reviewing every similar scenario she’d ever witnessed, whether in real life or in novels and films. The most natural and conventional approach seemed to be… to throw the joke back, keeping the banter going.

Throw it back, throw it back, Ying Yuan repeated inwardly before voicing the words.

“What about you? Can you only be mine?”

The thought flowed seamlessly, and she smoothly followed up with: “Exchanges should be equal. It can’t be one-sided—I can have you, but you can’t have me.”

The carriage was still noisy, but the people around her suddenly fell silent.

Ying Yuan glanced up at Yi Shanshan, checking the results of her joke. She saw a rare look of dazed bewilderment on Yi Shanshan’s face.

This bewilderment was like a butterfly’s wing—one flutter and it vanished.

Yi Shanshan let out two nervous “ha ha” laughs and looked down to fidget with a strap on her clothes.

“You’ve gotten mischievous, Ying Yuan,” Yi Shanshan whispered. “Who taught you these tricks?”

What a simple question to answer.

How obvious the answer was.

The culprit was both far away and right in front of her.

Yi Shanshan knew this perfectly well; she was too guilty to meet Ying Yuan’s eyes.

Ying Yuan didn’t voice the answer, but her gaze remained fixed on it.

Yi Shanshan could no longer play with the strap in her hand. A faint blush crept across her fair cheeks as she suddenly pulled her hat down to cover her entire face.

“The sun’s too bright…” Yi Shanshan’s voice was muffled by the hat, small and soft. “It’s making me feel so hot.”

Ying Yuan had won.

But the victory seemed to bring her little joy. With a hint of resignation, Ying Yuan tugged at the corners of her lips and reached up to draw the blue window curtain closed.

A pale shadow fell across Yi Shanshan’s face, shimmering like rippling water.

Ying Yuan glanced down at her phone. Messages from the Project Team group chat scrolled rapidly, many expressing envy of her.

After nearly three hours on the road, they finally reached their destination.

Nestled deep within the mountains, the area was a rare expanse of gently undulating hills at high altitude.

The hills were covered in a vast, emerald-green meadow, dotted with trees like ornaments scattered across a carpet.

Herds of cattle, sheep, and horses grazed in groups or pairs, sparsely dotting the landscape.

Even before the car came to a complete stop, the girls inside were already restless with anticipation.

As soon as the doors opened, they burst out in a frenzy, whooping and hollering like unleashed animals.

“Shanshan, we’re here,” Ying Yuan said, tapping Yi Shanshan’s shoulder to wake her.

Yi Shanshan pushed back her hat and blinked groggily, clearly having dozed off again.

But the moment she saw the scenery outside the window, her eyes lit up instantly.

“Aooo!” she shouted along with everyone else. “So beautiful! A paradise on earth!”

Ying Yuan smiled. “Come on, let’s get up slowly.”

Yi Shanshan bounced to her feet, her eyes glued to the scenery outside the window. “I want to take pictures! I want to go horseback riding! That little calf is so cute!!!”

She bounded toward the door, only to remember at the last moment, “Ying Yuan, what about our luggage…?”

Ying Yuan waved her off. “Go have fun. Don’t worry about that.”

“Aooo!” As Yi Shanshan leapt out of the car, Ying Yuan heard her shout, “Ying Yuan! You’re the best!”

That’s getting old, Ying Yuan thought.

Ying Yuan walked over to Qi Hongyue and glanced at her watch. “Check-in time hasn’t arrived yet. Can we have our luggage sent ahead?”

Qi Hongyue, having just finished speaking with the driver, turned to her. “Yes, the car will deliver it for us. We can leave it at the front desk in the meantime.”

“Okay.” Ying Yuan settled into the nearest available seat.

Qi Hongyue looked up at her. “I can handle it myself. Why don’t you go have fun?”

“It’s too much for one person to carry,” Ying Yuan countered.

Qi Hongyue smiled and sat down beside her. “I can see why Yi Shanshan clings to you so much.”

The mention of Yi Shanshan plunged them into an awkward silence.

The car started moving again. They were in a small town built around the ranch, with restaurants, hotels, and guesthouses lining both sides of the main road.

The road was crowded, so they drove slowly, but they soon reached their destination.

Qi Hongyue checked in at the hotel while Ying Yuan organized their luggage. They worked seamlessly together, exchanging no unnecessary words and quickly completing the task.

Stepping out of the hotel and facing the vast, rolling hills, they suddenly felt at a loss for what to do.

Ying Yuan: “The air is so fresh here.”

Qi Hongyue: “There’s a faint smell of cow dung in the wind.”

Ying Yuan: “The natural scent of cow dung isn’t unpleasant.”

Qi Hongyue: “The grilled lamb skewers are fresh and delicious.”

Ying Yuan: “Should we eat grilled meat for lunch?”

Qi Hongyue: “We’ll have a bonfire barbecue tonight. For lunch, let’s try some farmhouse stir-fries.”

Ying Yuan: “Sounds good.”

Qi Hongyue: “If it sounds so good, why are you still standing here? Go have some fun.”

Ying Yuan: “……”

Apart from being Yi Shanshan’s plaything, Ying Yuan had no idea what to do during these free-time activities.

Qi Hongyue: “It’s almost lunchtime. I’ll go contact the restaurant. Keep an eye on everyone and make sure they don’t wander too far. The signal’s pretty weak around here.”

Given a task, Ying Yuan felt much more at ease. “Okay.”

Qi Hongyue turned and left. Like a sheepdog, Ying Yuan found a vantage point with a clear view and kept watch over the Project Team members who had scattered in all directions.

The girls’ priorities were simple: taking stunning photos was paramount on this trip.

Yi Shanshan was practically a celebrity in these moments. No matter how others photographed her, the results were always stunning, giving them a real sense of accomplishment. And when she photographed others, her technique and aesthetic sense were unparalleled, always capturing unexpected angles that made her subjects feel joyful and confident.

That’s why the crowd always gravitated toward Yi Shanshan. She was like the lead sheep, and by keeping an eye on her, Ying Yuan could effectively herd the entire flock.

The flock frolicked wildly, while the sheepdog quietly waited.

The Project Team’s group chat filled with gorgeous new photos, and the envy toward Ying Yuan gradually transformed into admiration for Yi Shanshan.

Yi Shanshan had never lacked for love. Her capacity to both give and receive love remained unconstrained by anyone.

At lunchtime, Ying Yuan gathered the sheep and joined the others for the meal.

The dining table buzzed with lively chatter. Freed from the constraints of work, several normally reserved classmates became remarkably animated.

They ate, drank, talked, and laughed for nearly two hours, by the end of which everyone felt drowsy and sluggish.

Hotel check-in was now available, but rooms were still in high demand during the holiday. A minor issue with their original reservation led to an upgrade to a large kang room with ethnic flair.

As the group pushed open the door, they were stunned by the massive kang bed that stretched across the room, easily over ten meters wide.

“Holy shit!” someone exclaimed. “We could cancel the other rooms! We could all pile on here like skewered lamb kebabs!”

“I’m in! I don’t care, I want to sleep on the communal kang! I’ve never slept with so many women before—how exciting!”

Qi Hongyue intervened: “Those who need undisturbed sleep should take the standard rooms. The rest of you can rough it here for the afternoon. I’ll check for alternative rooms later.”

“Count me in on the big kang!”

“Me too, me too!”

“I’m not fighting you guys. I’m just gonna go get some sleep.”

“Too bad for you! We’re gonna have a secret midday chat!”

The group quickly voted, and soon it was Ying Yuan’s turn.

Yi Shanshan sat to Ying Yuan’s right, tilting her head to gaze at her.

Across from Ying Yuan sat Qi Hongyue, calm and reserved, a hint of amusement hidden behind her glasses.

Ying Yuan lowered her gaze, feeling no hesitation. She spoke the answer she had prepared the moment she heard about the arrangements:

“I choose the big kang.”

“Whoa!”

Her colleagues exclaimed in surprise.

“I never thought you’d be such a two-faced woman, Yuan’er!”

“Yeah, yeah! You’re always so quiet, I’m always afraid I’m disturbing you.”

“Deep down, you really like us, don’t you? You can’t bear to miss a chance to be in the same room as us!”

Ying Yuan thought these young women, after spending so much time goofing around together, had all picked up a bit of Yi Shanshan’s flavor.

But thankfully, none of them were actually Yi Shanshan. With no reservations, Ying Yuan spoke boldly:

“Mm, I really enjoy being with everyone.”

“AWOOOOOOOO!!!!!”

The crowd erupted into renewed excitement.

“Why does hearing those words from Ying Yuan feel so stimulating?!”

“It’s because she said it with such a straight face, like a confession! And she looked so damn cool today! I swear, my face is burning up.”

“You’re all missing the point! The real kicker is the implied part of that sentence—sleeping together!”

“I really enjoy sleeping with everyone! God, Ying Yuan, when you go big, you go huge!”

“I take it back! I’m not staying in the suite. Missing out on tonight would be the regret of a lifetime.”

Ying Yuan: “……”

Ying Yuan looked at Qi Hongyue for help.

Qi Hongyue chuckled lightly. “Next.”

A remarkably simple solution.

The next person was Yi Shanshan.

Ying Yuan knew that Yi Shanshan had extremely high standards for her environment, scents, textures, and everything else. The hotels Yi Shanshan had stayed in before were almost always five-star establishments. Even the bedding in her bedroom at the Faculty Residences had been meticulously selected.

For Yi Shanshan to even agree to attend the team-building retreat and stay in such an ordinary hotel room with the others was already a huge compromise.

Though the shared kang bed was clean and tidy, the thought of sleeping so close to so many people was simply unbearable for Yi Shanshan.

Ying Yuan had anticipated this perfectly.

Ying Yuan felt fortunate to have avoided an unexpected incident that could have spiraled out of control.

“I…” Yi Shanshan began, her voice trailing off, as if struggling to find the right words.

Someone quickly interjected on her behalf.

“Shanshan, why don’t you take the king-size room on the second floor? I checked it out earlier—it faces the mountains and has a lovely view.”

“Yeah, yeah! Aren’t you a bit run-down? That room’s just for you. Get a good night’s sleep.”

“And you had a cold a few days ago, right? Taking care of our sick colleagues is our duty. Don’t worry, we all agree.”

“Exactly! No objections here.”

Ying Yuan let out a soft breath of relief. Everything was going smoothly.

All Yi Shanshan had to do was nod.

All Yi Shanshan had to do was nod.

Yi Shanshan nodded. “Thank you all for being so considerate. I’m so touched~”

She frowned. “But even though I have neurasthenia, I’m also a scaredy-cat! I’m too afraid to live alone. I need someone to keep me company.”

Ying Yuan sucked back the breath she had just released, feeling herself tense up completely.

Yi Shanshan’s gaze slowly drifted from the left side of the crowd to the right, then back again.

Everyone could see her slight hesitation and awkwardness. All eyes turned to Ying Yuan, who stood as straight as an onion stalk.

Ying Yuan ignored the stares, refusing to speak.

She had already made her choice. As long as she didn’t volunteer, Yi Shanshan wouldn’t publicly pressure her…

Ying Yuan couldn’t finish her thought.

Because Yi Shanshan spoke.

“Senior Qi, would you stay with me?” she asked.

The unexpected request shocked everyone into silence.