My Straight Girlfriend with Skin Hunger Syndrome - Chapter 59

Chapter 59

Yi Shanshan wholeheartedly agreed.

The moment Ying Yuan squeezed her hand, a radiant smile blossomed across her face.

The two left the restaurant and strolled back to the hotel.

On this short, less-than-hundred-meter stretch under the moonlight, a gentle breeze whispered through the night. The lamp glowed small, yet the world felt vast. Ying Yuan experienced a happiness she had never known before.

After retrieving their luggage from the front desk, they settled into their remaining room.

Ying Yuan took charge of the luggage and urged Yi Shanshan to freshen up first.

Yi Shanshan stared at the die balanced on Ying Yuan’s fingertip, blinking silently.

Ying Yuan smiled reassuringly. “Don’t worry, I remember everything I promised you.”

“Mmm!!!” Yi Shanshan nodded vigorously, almost skipping into the bathroom. “I’ll be quick! Super quick!”

True to her word, she showered much faster than usual. Still damp from her shower, she immediately urged Ying Yuan to hurry up.

Her urgency left Ying Yuan no time to dwell on unnecessary thoughts. She rushed through her bedtime routine as quickly as possible.

Finally, just as she’d promised, the two of them were comfortably settled in bed with nothing else to do.

Yi Shanshan, clutching the dice, hopped down from her own bed and took a step toward Ying Yuan.

Before climbing into bed, she paused and asked Ying Yuan, “Can I come up?”

Ying Yuan opened her mouth to reply, but Yi Shanshan quickly added, “Just for the game, you know? It’s more fun when we’re close together.”

Yi Shanshan had been so well-behaved lately, always remembering to ask for her consent and respecting her boundaries.

“Mm-hmm,” Ying Yuan nodded.

Yi Shanshan climbed into bed, wearing cotton pajamas with long sleeves and pants, her hair loosely tied behind her ears. She sat cross-legged facing Ying Yuan, completely unconcerned about her appearance.

“Alright, let’s play Truth or Dare again,” Yi Shanshan said. “But if you really don’t want to do a dare… well, we won’t. We’ve already brushed our teeth, so no more drinking games tonight!”

“Sounds good,” Ying Yuan agreed.

“Hehe,” Yi Shanshan giggled, her mind clearly wandering to something amusing.

The dice clattered onto the soft, white duvet.

Ying Yuan won. Yi Shanshan straightened her back and declared earnestly, “Come on, Truth or Dare. I won’t lie.”

Ying Yuan’s eyelashes fluttered slightly as she lowered her gaze. “Did you have fun today?”

“Ah~ that’s too easy!” Yi Shanshan tilted her head, studying her. “Ying Yuan, are you saving your big guns for later? Lulling the enemy into a false sense of security, then striking when they’re vulnerable?”

Ying Yuan smiled, meeting her gaze. “You’re not my enemy.”

“Ooh…” Yi Shanshan covered her flushed cheeks, shaking her head gleefully. “You’re making me blush!”

Cupping her face, she rocked back and forth, bubbling with enthusiasm. “To answer your question, I had the best—the best—time! The best time all year! The best time ever!”

Ying Yuan hadn’t expected her to qualify her happiness with such specific qualifiers of time and intensity.

Yi Shanshan’s life was so rich—filled with friends, hobbies, and academic and professional achievements.

She shouldn’t have found such “ultimate” joy in a simple team-building exercise.

Ying Yuan gazed at her, Yi Shanshan. “I’m telling you the absolute truth. You have to believe me. Come on, next round.”

The dice landed, and Yi Shanshan won.

Ying Yuan: “Truth.”

Yi Shanshan swayed slightly. “Looks like it’s a heart-to-heart session. Reciprocity dictates: Is today your happiest day of 2025?”

A montage of memories flashed through Ying Yuan’s mind.

Because of Yi Shanshan, the past six months had been anything but peaceful. But looking back now, those events seemed distant, almost irrelevant. Today… today really did feel like her happiest day.

“Yes,” Ying Yuan replied.

“Aww!” Yi Shanshan exclaimed. “Our happiest moments have merged! That makes me even happier!”

The next round, Yi Shanshan won again.

She cut straight to the chase: “If I weren’t here, would your happiness today increase or decrease?”

“Decrease,” Ying Yuan answered.

The following round saw Yi Shanshan win once more.

“By how much would it decrease?”

“Eighty percent,” Ying Yuan replied.

Yi Shanshan won again.

“So being with me isn’t a burden to you anymore, right?”

“Right,” Ying Yuan confirmed.

Yi Shanshan won.

“Do you regret saying those things to me that day?”

Ying Yuan’s heart skipped a beat. “Yes.”

Yi Shanshan won.

“Ying Yuan, this time choose Truth.”

Ying Yuan gazed at the person before her. In the tranquil setting, Yi Shanshan’s expression was as serene and luminous as moonlight.

Suddenly, Ying Yuan desperately wanted to win just once, to ask Yi Shanshan: What are you really thinking right now?

“Alright, Truth,” Ying Yuan said.

Her internal alarms had long grown insufficient. What Ying Yuan truly yearned to uncover were all of Yi Shanshan’s secrets.

“Such a good girl,” Yi Shanshan purred, straightening up. She leaned forward, her gaze locking onto Ying Yuan’s eyes. “Since you’ve done wrong, apologize to me.”

Ying Yuan hadn’t anticipated such a punishment.

Memories of that early May day at the hotel flashed through her mind like a movie reel, the camera angles shifting. She saw her own face, cold and indifferent, saying to Yi Shanshan:

“I don’t want to play with you anymore.”

“I don’t like this relationship between us. I don’t like the way we interact.”

“I don’t want to continue anymore. I don’t want to be your pillow or your emotional crutch anymore.”

“Go find someone else who can provide those services for you.”

How cruel.

How selfish.

Completely disregarding Yi Shanshan’s feelings.

“It was my fault,” Ying Yuan said, looking into Yi Shanshan’s eyes. “I’m sorry.”

Yi Shanshan pursed her lips, her brow furrowing, a look of suppressed hurt about to burst through.

But she took a deep breath and swallowed it back down. Smiling at Ying Yuan, she said, “It’s okay. I forgive you.”

Ying Yuan felt a pang of heartache.

For Yi Shanshan.

Even knowing that life inevitably involves making countless wrong choices, and that we can never use the future to undo the past, Ying Yuan couldn’t help but blame her former self, a deep sense of guilt washing over her.

“Shanshan…”

She had barely uttered Yi Shanshan’s name when Yi Shanshan pressed the die into her palm.

“You really shouldn’t gamble anymore,” Yi Shanshan said. “Your luck is just terrible, Ying Yuan. You’ll never beat me.”

Yi Shanshan leaned back, slouching comfortably in her seat. “But I’ve always been a good person—kind, fair, considerate of others.”

“So you don’t need to roll the dice anymore. I’ll just answer your questions directly.”

“I know you’ve pondered these questions countless times, but with your reserved nature, you’d never voice them.”

“You don’t have to speak. I’m the talkative one. I’ll say it all.”

Yi Shanshan sighed deeply, her gaze drifting downward, unfocused and distant.

“I have a condition.

“Yes, just as you suspected—Skin Hunger Syndrome.

“I crave physical contact—touching, clinging, embracing. It’s usually manageable, but when I’m feeling down, the urges become overwhelming.

“I don’t think I’ve ever hidden this from you. From the beginning, I told you repeatedly that you were special—that holding you felt so comfortable.”

“That was the absolute truth. It’s like discovering a miracle cure—anyone would be thrilled, anyone would cling to it.”

Yi Shanshan smiled, the corners of her lips curling slightly.

“And you’re just too kind.

“A few words, a little sob story, and you’d agree to anything.

“Things that come too easily are never valued. That’s why I didn’t respect you enough before, never truly considered your feelings.

“But I’ve genuinely reflected on my mistakes. I even tried finding someone else. That night, on vacation, we did all the same things we did today, but I felt absolutely no joy.

“I booked a huge house with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking a hillside covered in blooming rhododendrons.

“Standing by the window, all I could think was, If only you were here.

“But you were so cruel.

“Cutting me off so suddenly, so decisively.

“I rushed back that very night to beg you to stay, but you were still the same.

“I have my pride too, you know. Fine, I’ll admit I’m shameless, but even clinging to you won’t work. So I had to think of other ways.”

“It must feel pretty good, right? Having me chase after you with every trick in the book, all just to get to know you again.”

Yi Shanshan paused, glancing up at Ying Yuan.

Ying Yuan showed no sign of satisfaction. Her brows were slightly furrowed, as if suppressing pain, or perhaps merely radiating cold indifference and weariness.

“Just look at your expression.

“Ying Yuan, you’re truly something else. You always manage to ignite my competitive spirit.

“The colder you are, the more I refuse to disappear from your world. The more you recoiled, the more convinced I become that my methods are working.

“I’m sorry. I’m not really a good person.”

Yi Shanshan’s gaze dropped again. She sat there, a small, huddled figure, dissecting herself with these self-loathing words, like a child wallowing in self-pity and despair.

Ying Yuan couldn’t help but say, “You…”

“Shut up,” Yi Shanshan snapped, cutting her off. “I’m not finished yet.”

Ying Yuan fell silent.

Yi Shanshan raised an eyebrow at her, then suddenly grinned triumphantly.

“But after that interview, everything changed. Your ironclad egg finally cracked open a tiny bit.

“So you actually wanted to be real friends, Ying Yuan. I’m not entirely sure what being a real friend means, though, since I don’t have many of them.”

Ying Yuan’s expression flickered with surprise.

Yi Shanshan nodded. “Yeah, just like the stereotype. Rich kids are always surrounded by hangers-on. Everyone’s eating and drinking, the lights are flashing, but it’s never like this… just us talking quietly.”

Yi Shanshan:

“I feel like I’m only just now seeing you, Ying Yuan.

“Even when I held you so close before, I never really looked at you properly.

“Being your friend has been so wonderful.

“You’re such a good person, so good that I can just sit here… watching you like this…”

Yi Shanshan curled her legs up, resting her head on her knees, gazing quietly at Ying Yuan.

Suddenly, she smiled. “All my anxiety, my restlessness, my impulsiveness, my temper—they’ve all calmed down.”

“Ying Yuan, you’re not just a miracle drug. You’re like remote therapy too.”

“I’m still not sure what your eighth rule is, but I don’t even want to know the answer anymore.”

“This is perfect the way it is. You’re happy, and I’m happy too.”

“I won’t force you to provide me with physical contact anymore. I won’t treat you like a bed anymore.”

“We’re good friends, and I really love being friends with you.”