My Straight Girlfriend with Skin Hunger Syndrome - Chapter 81
Chapter 81
Yi Shanshan stared at the scene before her—at the person standing there.
Qi Hongyue was dressed in ordinary outdoor attire, yet her shirt hung loose and untucked, sleeves casually rolled up, collar askew, and buttons undone nearly to her chest.
Skin that shouldn’t have been exposed was now on full display. For the first time, Yi Shanshan noticed Qi Hongyue’s beautiful collarbones—distinctly defined—and her slender limbs.
The hand resting on the doorknob, its knuckles sharp, was dripping wet, water cascading from it in steady streams.
Warm yellow light streamed from behind Qi Hongyue, mostly obscured by her figure. It was as if she owned this house, as if she were the master of this night.
A peculiar rage surged through Yi Shanshan, intensifying the burning fury already raging within her.
Qi Hongyue spoke with effortless composure, each word she uttered felt like a deliberate taunt.
What do you mean, “Why are you here?”
What do you mean, “She fell asleep after I pampered her?”
What do you mean, “Kindred spirits meeting, talking through the night?”
This man had lured Ying Yuan away from her, plied her with alcohol, draped his arm around her shoulders, and stolen the night that should have belonged to them.
Yi Shanshan unconsciously clenched her fists, her eyes blazing with fury behind an icy mask.
She had a torrent of questions, but the words that burst from her lips were those two provocative characters that made her temples throb:
“Serve?” Yi Shanshan spat, her voice dripping with scorn. “How exactly did you serve her?”
“Ah…” Qi Hongyue chuckled, his tone deceptively gentle. “Such a question! How should I put it? Well, I serve her in whatever way makes Ying Yuan feel comfortable, of course. She ran out to pick me up late at night, then stayed up drinking and chatting with me. Even though she knows her limit, she kept foolishly downing one cup after another…”
Yi Shanshan’s head buzzed with a deafening roar. She couldn’t bear to hear another word.
She raised her hand and struck Qi Hongyue’s arm, which was blocking the doorway. “Move aside. Let me in.”
Qi Hongyue stepped aside to let her pass, but his words trailed after her: “Ying Yuan’s parents aren’t home, you know. She insisted I stay over—I wouldn’t have dared otherwise. This is my first time at her place. What about you?”
Yi Shanshan: “……”
This was also her first time at Ying Yuan’s house.
Previously, when they’d passed through this neighborhood, Ying Yuan had pointed out her home, but Yi Shanshan had been too preoccupied with steering Ying Yuan back to her own place to ever consider visiting.
Now, even the specific address had been obtained by Yi Shanshan through contacting others and digging for information.
She stared at the unfamiliar house, uncertain of its layout, unsure which room was Ying Yuan’s bedroom, and completely clueless as to where the Ying Yuan who had drunk so much with Qi Hongyue was sleeping now.
Qi Hongyue closed the door and turned to face Yi Shanshan, who stood frozen in the entryway, fists clenched, silent.
A sly smile curved her lips. “Guest slippers are on the second shelf of the shoe cabinet. Help yourself.”
Yi Shanshan: “……”
Qi Hongyue walked toward the kitchen. “What would you like to drink? I have one unwashed cup left. I was about to make some honey water for Yuan’er to help her sober up.”
Yi Shanshan felt like a burning fireball, heat churning inside her, threatening to erupt from every pore.
But Ying Yuan had no reason to explode. Qi Hongyue had willingly and proactively taken her under his wing. The two had enjoyed wine together, calling each other kindred spirits, out of genuine affection and joy.
Qi Hongyue’s meticulous care for the tipsy Ying Yuan was beyond reproach, leaving no room for fault.
The fault lay entirely with Yi Shanshan herself.
It was her choice to attend the dinner party, abandoning Ying Yuan to return home alone. It was the sordid deals permeating her social circle that made Ying Yuan uncomfortable. She, Yi Shanshan, had almost never considered accommodating or caring for others.
Ying Yuan had been unhappy, so she had run away.
And once Ying Yuan fled, a woman as wonderful as her would have countless Qi Hongyues lining up for a chance to be with her.
Yi Shanshan’s heart suddenly felt hollow, as if the world had frozen for a second, as if her body had ceased to exist.
All that remained were the two words “Ying Yuan” in her mind, precious as a singular star in the vast universe.
A star she could never hold in her hand.
Yi Shanshan gasped for breath, clutching her chest.
More intense than the flames of her anger was the bone-deep terror and helplessness that gripped her.
A chill crawled up her spine, inch by inch, causing her heart to tremble.
“Where’s Ying Yuan?”
She no longer cared about preserving her pride or maintaining a composed facade in front of Qi Hongyue.
Her voice trembled as she belatedly remembered her guest manners. “Which room is she sleeping in? Can I go see her?”
“Of course,” Qi Hongyue replied. “Just a moment.”
She swiftly prepared a cup of honey water and grabbed a bottle of room-temperature mineral water.
Handing the mineral water to Yi Shanshan, she carried the honey water herself and led Yi Shanshan inside.
“Ying Yuan’s room is over here. Since I’m staying here tonight, she’s sleeping in her parents’ room,” Qi Hongyue said softly as she gently pushed open the door and switched on a small bedside lamp. Lowering her voice, she added, “I won’t turn on the main light—she just fell asleep and is still very drowsy.”
Yi Shanshan tiptoed in. The bedside lamp’s meager light barely illuminated the room’s dark tones.
Qi Hongyue moved ahead, placing the honey water on the bedside table. She leaned down to carefully check Ying Yuan’s sleeping posture, making sure she was alright, before stepping back.
It was Yi Shanshan’s turn, and Ying Yuan finally came into view.
Her hair was disheveled, she lay on her side, neatly tucked under the covers, her cheek pressed against the pillow, her breathing deep and even, her face flushed with an unnatural blush.
Yi Shanshan knelt down, wanting to touch her face.
Just as her fingers lifted, Qi Hongyue, standing nearby, said, “It’s alright. She’s not allergic to alcohol. Her skin is just thin; she gets flushed easily when she drinks too much.”
Yi Shanshan: “……”
Her fingers froze in mid-air, as if there was nothing left to do or say.
What more could she possibly do? Qi Hongyue had already considered everything and taken care of everything.
Yi Shanshan had never been one to take care of others. She had rushed here in a whirlwind, her true motive not concern or care for Ying Yuan.
She had come to claim.
She had come to claim Ying Yuan’s embrace, her undivided attention. She wanted Ying Yuan to sit up and smile at her with overwhelming tenderness.
She wanted to pout and act childishly, and then hear Ying Yuan say, “You’re the most important person in my life. You’re my favorite. I belong to you, and no one else can ever take me away…”
Yes, that’s what she truly craved.
Just thinking about it made her chest feel warm and her body weak, and she thought, The world is still wonderful after all.
She was utterly selfish.
Yi Shanshan had never before grasped the depths of her own baseness, nor loathed it so fiercely.
Yet she still wanted it.
Despising her own desire, she stared intently at this most precious star in the universe, her lips parted slightly, her breath coming in short gasps, mingling with Ying Yuan’s.
She raised her hand anyway. Qi Hongyue’s protests were useless. Her fingertip landed on Ying Yuan’s cheek—soft, warm, and flushed like a ripe tomato—and she gently poked it.
Qi Hongyue: “……”
The fingertip felt slightly warm, that faint heat seeping into Yi Shanshan’s heart like hot water.
Yi Shanshan couldn’t resist poking it again.
Qi Hongyue: “……Don’t wake her up.”
“She won’t,” Yi Shanshan said, even as she leaned closer, close enough for her breath to brush Ying Yuan’s face. “She’s sleeping like a log—she drank way too much.”
Qi Hongyue: “……”
Yi Shanshan brazenly placed her entire palm on Ying Yuan’s cheek, kneading it gently. Then she rubbed the tip of her nose with her fingertip. “Let’s try it. It’s actually quite fun. Team Leader, have you ever done this before? Ying Yuan’s face feels so good to knead…”
Qi Hongyue: “……”
Yi Shanshan was about to speak when the cheek in her palm twitched. Ying Yuan turned her head and let out a drowsy groan, her brow furrowing.
Yi Shanshan’s heart skipped a beat. She instinctively pulled back her hand, but Ying Yuan’s hand shot up and delivered a precise slap to the back of Yi Shanshan’s hand.
“Mosquito…” Ying Yuan mumbled.
Yi Shanshan, who had been slapped: “……”
Qi Hongyue, stifling a laugh: “…pfft.”
Yi Shanshan was indignant. Another embarrassing moment.
She refused to believe Ying Yuan hadn’t sensed her presence. She wanted Ying Yuan to open her eyes and see her, so she wouldn’t treat her so coldly.
“I’m not a mosquito…” Yi Shanshan said in a normal speaking voice, raising both hands to gently rub Ying Yuan’s head. “Ying Yuan, I’m…”
Ying Yuan’s eyes snapped open.
How quickly she opened them! Suddenly, a pair of bright, intelligent eyes were staring intently at Yi Shanshan, clear and lucid.
Yi Shanshan’s words died in her throat. She froze, stunned.
When Ying Yuan was asleep and ignoring her, Yi Shanshan had been restless. Now that Ying Yuan was awake and staring at her, she felt a sudden surge of fear.
Yi Shanshan feared Ying Yuan would hate her for this, that she would lose her patience with Shanshan’s selfishness in the next moment… Yet, simultaneously, she yearned for Ying Yuan to forgive her again, to dote on her, to show her that unparalleled tenderness once more.
Ying Yuan blinked, and Yi Shanshan felt a surge of nervous tension—the kind that quickens the pulse and dries the throat.
Amid this tumultuous mix of emotional and physical reactions, she saw Ying Yuan’s soft lips twitch. Suddenly, the corner of her mouth curled upward, and she declared, “Beauty.”
Yi Shanshan: “????”
Qi Hongyue: “????”
Ying Yuan’s eyes curved into crescents. She struggled to sit up, her gaze drifting to Qi Hongyue as she pointed at Yi Shanshan and shared her discovery, “Senior, look! She’s so beautiful~”
Qi Hongyue: “……”
Yi Shanshan: “……”
When no one responded, Ying Yuan frowned and pressed, “Senior, isn’t she beautiful enough? She’s plenty beautiful, right? You understand, don’t you? You don’t… not like…”
Qi Hongyue strode forward, pushed Yi Shanshan aside, and pinned Ying Yuan down. “Just go to sleep.”
Ying Yuan glared at Qi Hongyue. “I won’t sleep! I’m not tired! I want more to drink! I’m not drunk!”
Qi Hongyue: “……”
Qi Hongyue reached for the honey water and said, “That’s right, you’re not drunk. Come on, down this drink.”
“Okay,” Ying Yuan replied, wrapping both hands around the cup and gulping it down.
Even as she drank, her eyes kept darting past Qi Hongyue to sneak glances at Yi Shanshan, as if she couldn’t get enough, blinking repeatedly.
Yi Shanshan finally caught on. “Qi Hongyue, how much did you pour her?” she exclaimed incredulously. “You’ve turned our smart, quick-witted Ying Yuan into a fool!”
Qi Hongyue ignored her, but Ying Yuan wouldn’t let it go. Pulling her mouth away from the cup, her lips glistening and bright, she declared, “Don’t you dare insult my senior!”
Yi Shanshan: “???!!”
Ying Yuan glared fiercely. “I did it all willingly!”
Yi Shanshan: “!!!!!“
Yi Shanshan’s anger flared anew, surging to her forehead in an instant. Her heart churned with a storm of conflicting emotions—a chaotic mix threatening to turn her into a fool.
Qi Hongyue could flaunt their close relationship in front of her, but Ying Yuan couldn’t boast about it herself!
She had asked Ying Yuan countless times: Me or Qi Hongyue? Ying Yuan had clearly said she liked Shanshan better—their bond was closer, more intimate!
Yi Shanshan strode forward, squeezing into the cramped space at the head of the bed.
She grabbed Ying Yuan’s arm, gripping it tightly, and leaned down so Ying Yuan could see her clearly.
If even in her drunken stupor she praises my beauty, Shanshan thought, then she should study these flawless features, gaze into my mesmerizing eyes, and see my face plainly. Then she’ll be completely conquered.
“Ying Yuan, do you know who I am?” Yi Shanshan demanded. “Say it again: who do you choose—me or your senior?”
Qi Hongyue: “…Are you crazy? She’s drunk! She doesn’t even know what…”
“Waaah!” Ying Yuan suddenly cried out, like a child, violently shaking off Yi Shanshan’s hand and lunging toward Qi Hongyue.
“Senior, she’s a bad woman…” Ying Yuan grabbed Qi Hongyue’s shoulders and shoved her, trying to drag her away. “She’s a bad woman! Run!”