My Straight Girlfriend with Skin Hunger Syndrome - Chapter 78
Chapter 78
If Ying Yuan had just weathered a blizzard with Yi Shanshan, hearing Qi Hongyue’s story felt like a thunderbolt striking her skull.
Qi Hongyue told her story plainly, without embellishment. Yet Ying Yuan could feel her pain—the devastating collapse of trust, the profound insult to pure love, a shame that, years later, weighed even heavier than anger.
Staring at Qi Hongyue’s image on her phone screen, Ying Yuan noticed their profiles were eerily similar in the dim light.
She wanted to offer some comfort, but no words came. No comfort would suffice.
Qi Hongyue finished laughing, paused, and suddenly turned to look directly at Ying Yuan.
“Ying Yuan,” she said, “you’re an incredibly useful tool. I often think, if everyone on the Development Team were like you, this game would have been finished long ago.”
Hearing this, Ying Yuan finally found her voice. “I have many flaws too,” she replied. “A creation born from a single-minded creator might end up rather dull.”
“Hmm, a tool capable of comprehensive self-evaluation, neither arrogant enough to create conflict nor self-deprecating enough to miss opportunities,” Qi Hongyue said. “Perfect.”
Ying Yuan: “……”
She could tell this wasn’t a compliment.
Qi Hongyue: “I completely understand why Yi Shanshan likes you, why she clings to you.”
Ying Yuan: “……”
Qi Hongyue: “You handed her the right to use you as a tool yourself.”
Ying Yuan: “……”
Qi Hongyue: “How far have you two gone? Kissed? Slept together? Has she unilaterally declared her ownership over you?”
Ying Yuan: “………………”
At that moment, Qi Hongyue was like Thor, unleashing bolt after bolt of lightning upon Ying Yuan.
Her strikes were precise, searing from skin to heart, leaving Ying Yuan charred outside and tender within, unable to muster even the faintest protest.
“Let’s focus on the immediate problem first,” Ying Yuan managed, desperately changing the subject. “Senior, what are you planning to do now? Will you continue your internship at this company?”
“Absolutely,” Qi Hongyue sat up, her sharp, angular face set in a cold, stubborn expression. “This internship position was something I specifically sought out. It’ll give me a real edge when I graduate and apply to my top-choice companies.”
Ying Yuan: “Does she… interact with you often?”
“Constantly,” Qi Hongyue sneered. “Even when there’s no reason, she’ll find excuses to come over and strike up a conversation, just to be near me.”
Ying Yuan’s eyes widened in shock: “!!!!”
Qi Hongyue: “And every now and then, she tries to get touchy, hinting that I should keep things going with her.”
Ying Yuan: “……”
Qi Hongyue: “Affair with a married woman? Sounds thrilling, right?”
Ying Yuan shook her head vehemently. “Senior, you shouldn’t pay her any attention! She’s being completely shameless!”
Qi Hongyue smiled knowingly at Ying Yuan. “Is that all you can think of?”
Ying Yuan: “Huh?”
Qi Hongyue: “I haven’t completely rejected her. I’m giving her just enough rope to hang herself.”
Ying Yuan: “???!!!!”
Qi Hongyue: “Once she gets too comfortable, she’ll leave behind evidence.”
Ying Yuan: “????!!!!”
Qi Hongyue’s phone dinged, signaling a new message. Her gaze shifted, then she smiled—a genuine, happy smile. When she looked back at Ying Yuan, she said, “Speak of the devil… I’ve got the evidence.”
Ying Yuan: “!!!!!!”
Each twist in the conversation left Ying Yuan reeling, her mind a rollercoaster of dizzying ups and downs, careening at breakneck speed.
“Now,” Qi Hongyue drawled, “the possibilities are endless. I could send the chat logs to the Union, claiming my boss sexually harassed me by abusing her authority. Or I could add some old photos and forward everything to her husband, her mother, her hometown friends and classmates… We were young and foolish back then, but now that she’s married, this definitely counts as full-blown infidelity, right?”
Ying Yuan froze, speechless.
Qi Hongyue continued, “Or I could just hold this over her head and threaten her into doing whatever I want… That would be a more long-term strategy, and far more advantageous for me.”
Ying Yuan couldn’t help but call out, “Senior, Senior…”
Qi Hongyue lifted her eyelids. “Hmm?”
“Getting revenge feels really satisfying, but I’m worried it’ll affect your mood,” Ying Yuan said. “Your own happiness is what matters most. If these things make you really unhappy, you shouldn’t do them.”
Qi Hongyue scoffed. “I’m perfectly happy! It’s all been so satisfying. Of course I’m happy.”
Ying Yuan fell silent.
“Xiao Yuan, you’re so kind-hearted!” Qi Hongyue teased. “You’ll get taken advantage of if you keep being like this.”
Ying Yuan’s lips moved, but she couldn’t articulate her current feelings. She had never encountered so many complex emotions before, and she couldn’t help wondering if she would regret her actions later.
“Okay, that’s enough about me. Your turn now,” Qi Hongyue said. “I’ve shared all my secrets with you—you can’t keep hiding things from me now, can you? It makes me feel so insecure.”
Ying Yuan sensed a different side of Qi Hongyue, one that emerged when she was no longer in work mode. It was true—everyone’s private self was much richer than their public persona.
“I… I could tell you,” Qi Hongyue said, her voice tinged with a wistful hesitation.
She, too, wanted someone to confide in and discuss things with, like a student seeking help from an experienced senior on a problem she couldn’t solve.
“But right now…”
A new message notification popped up on her phone screen, from Yi Shanshan.
“I don’t have time anymore,” Ying Yuan said. “I need to go down.”
“Mm-hmm,” Qi Hongyue’s gaze shifted as well. “You go ahead and get busy. Contact me when you’re free. I’ve decided to use that last trick we discussed—the one about finding something more joyful for myself.”
“Ah?” Ying Yuan sounded worried. “Senior, don’t do anything rash…”
Qi Hongyue smiled, looking more like a tranquil spring than Ying Yuan herself. “Do I look like someone who would act rashly?”
The video call ended.
As expected, the new message was from Yi Shanshan.
Ying Yuan replied while walking toward the exit. Yi Shanshan, hearing she was on the top floor, insisted on coming up to admire the view together.
Seeing Yi Shanshan’s lively tone, Ying Yuan felt a hollow ache in her heart. She glanced back at the garden, thinking that while it was beautiful, there was no need to see it again.
Don’t come up. I’m exhausted. Just go home and rest.
She sent the message to Yi Shanshan.
In the brightly lit lobby, Yi Shanshan was already standing in front of the elevator.
Yi Shanshan frowned as she read the message on her phone.
The elevator doors slid open. A waiter held them, smiling politely. “Which floor, ma’am?”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Yi Shanshan replied coldly, her voice as sharp as shards of ice.
She waited there for Ying Yuan. A few minutes later, the descending elevator arrived with a ding.
Yi Shanshan shed her icy demeanor, flashing a radiant smile. The moment Ying Yuan stepped out of the elevator, she rushed forward and linked her arm through Ying Yuan’s.
“When did you go up?” she asked Ying Yuan softly, her voice like honey. “I’ve been looking for you for ages~”
“Quite early,” Ying Yuan replied, recalling her stroll through the garden, her replies to messages, and Qi Hongyue’s story. Each activity had gradually calmed her mind.
Yi Shanshan tilted her head, gazing at her with wide, sparkling eyes, waiting for her to continue.
But Ying Yuan had already finished. “Shall we head back now?” she asked.
Yi Shanshan fell silent.
The smile vanished from Yi Shanshan’s face. She stared at Ying Yuan. “Are you really in such a hurry to leave?”
“Yes,” Ying Yuan said plainly. “I don’t like being here, so I want to go home as soon as possible.”
“But you haven’t eaten anything all night,” Yi Shanshan said.
“This hotel’s French restaurant is excellent,” she continued, “it’s on the ninth floor. We can change our clothes and go eat.”
Ying Yuan’s lips moved slightly. “But right now, I’d rather have… a bowl of youpo mian from the West Street corner stall.”
Yi Shanshan: “……”
Yi Shanshan: “Ying Yuan, are you still angry? Angry about what I said to you in the lounge?”
Yi Shanshan: “I admit my tone was harsh earlier, and I apologize. But there was nothing wrong with what I said. This is my situation—it’s complicated, and running away once or twice won’t solve anything.”
Ying Yuan took a deep breath, but each breath stabbed her chest with pain.
She lowered her gaze and said, “Yes, there was nothing wrong with what you said. I understand.”
Yi Shanshan’s voice suddenly sharpened. “Then what are you angry about? Look at me!”
Ying Yuan flinched.
Compelled by Yi Shanshan’s command, she raised her eyes to meet hers. Fury blazed in Yi Shanshan’s eyes.
“Now, repeat what you just said.” Yi Shanshan stared intently at Ying Yuan, the hand gripping Ying Yuan’s arm clenching into a fist.
Ying Yuan looked back at her, her heart aching with sadness.
She wasn’t angry, just heartbroken—for Yi Shanshan, for herself, for their inevitable fate, and even the thought of their past happiness made her ache.
“I understand what you’re saying,” Ying Yuan said. “I just feel so helpless that I can’t solve your problems for you.”
“Don’t worry,” Yi Shanshan said. “I won’t leave you or ignore you because of this. I promised you I’d always be there for you as a good friend, and I mean it.”
Ying Yuan paused, her throat bobbing as she swallowed. “Just… please let me have my moments of emotion too. Let me be tired sometimes. I’m human, not a tool or a machine.”
Yi Shanshan froze. The anger in her eyes vanished, replaced by a dazed, soft pleading and worry.
“Of course, of course,” she said. “We’ve been out for too long today. It’s natural to be tired. If you want noodles, let’s go get some now. We can eat, go home, and sleep in tomorrow. No early wake-ups.”
Seeing Yi Shanshan like this made Ying Yuan’s chest ache with even more sadness.
Yi Shanshan clung to Ying Yuan’s compromises like a drowning woman grasping at a lifeline, but she clung only to hold on, with no intention of climbing out.
She clung to it, finding solace enough in the reassurance.
“Mm,” Ying Yuan murmured in agreement.
They walked out together, the car waiting at the exit.
Settling back into the luxurious vehicle, Yi Shanshan completely forgot about her dress, squeezing close to Ying Yuan and chattering animatedly.
“Isn’t West Street the one next to our No. 1 High School? There seemed to be so many restaurants there—our classmates used to eat there all the time.
“Places popular with students usually have good food. But it’s summer break now, so I don’t know if they’ll be open this late…
“Is there anything else you’re craving? We could make a Plan B…”
The car suddenly stopped. The driver answered a call, spoke a few brief words, then turned to Yi Shanshan. “Miss Yi, President Yi says we should head straight to Haitian Building. He’s having dinner with President Zhou from Wanyu Entertainment.”
Yi Shanshan’s words froze mid-sentence. She paused, her gaze fixed on Ying Yuan’s collar. Her mouth opened and closed several times before she finally managed to speak:
“Ying Yuan… the song I’m recording in a few days… it’s being released by Wanyu Entertainment.”
Ying Yuan’s heart sank, but she told herself it didn’t matter—after all, the void below was endless, an infinite black abyss.
“It’s fine,” she said. “Focusing on your career is what matters most.”
Yi Shanshan looked up at Ying Yuan’s serene face, her voice tinged with anxiety. “You don’t have to come, Ying Yuan. I know you’re exhausted. I’ll get another car to take you home—no, wait, I’ll have the driver take you to West Street first. Have dinner there, then head home and rest early. Don’t wait up for me…”
“Okay,” Ying Yuan replied.
“You saw the jacuzzi in my bathroom last night, right? The massage function is so relaxing. Ask Sister Wang to draw a bath for you. Don’t bother cleaning up afterward; she’s really good at that…”
“Mm-hmm,” Ying Yuan murmured.
“Oh, and don’t forget to remove your makeup when you get home. The cleansing oil, water, and cream are all in the cabinet under the sink—use whichever you prefer. After you cleanse, apply moisturizer to keep your skin comfortable…”
“Okay.”
“And if you didn’t get enough noodles, you can ask the chef at home to…”
Ying Yuan cut her off. “If I have any problems, I’ll contact you. Don’t worry.”
Yi Shanshan stared blankly. “Oh.”
Ying Yuan pointed to her phone. “You can also contact me anytime if you need anything. I’m right here; I’m not going anywhere.”
Yi Shanshan finally calmed down. “Mm.”
Ying Yuan: “Alright, now help me contact the driver.”
“Okay, okay.” Yi Shanshan quickly pulled out her phone and tapped away.
The driver had been waiting at the hotel, so he arrived promptly.
Ying Yuan got out of the car and waved goodbye to Yi Shanshan before getting into the new vehicle.
A new message from Qi Hongyue popped up: Got it sorted.
Ying Yuan replied: Got what sorted?
Qi Hongyue:
Something even more delightful.
Leveraging leverage for personal gain.
There was a great project I wasn’t supposed to be on, but now I’m going on a business trip.
What a coincidence—the project is in your B City.
Next came a high-speed rail ticket.
Ying Yuan’s eyes widened as she saw the departure time.
Qi Hongyue:
See you tonight.
Staying up all night talking with you is the most enjoyable thing.