My Straight Girlfriend with Skin Hunger Syndrome - Chapter 83
Chapter 83
The sky gradually began to lighten, taking on the pearly-white hue of dawn.
Morning light streamed through the window, far brighter than any lamp.
Qi Hongyue pinched the bridge of her nose, set down her tablet, and leaned back against the sofa cushions for a brief rest.
Yi Shanshan blinked, the light casting a soft, fuzzy outline around her. She seemed to be both asleep and awake, curled up on the sofa, her mind adrift but her eyes still bright.
A rustle came from the bedroom, followed by the soft shuffle of slippers. Both women turned their heads in unison, waiting silently.
Ying Yuan appeared around the corner of the hallway, dressed in cotton loungewear, her hair disheveled, limbs loose, and eyes glazed over. Without looking to either side, she walked straight toward the bathroom.
Qi Hongyue and Yi Shanshan exchanged a silent glance, neither speaking.
As soon as Ying Yuan entered the bathroom, they both stood up abruptly.
Qi Hongyue tossed the tablet aside and strode forward, but Yi Shanshan moved even faster, seizing a half-step lead.
“What are you planning to do?” Qi Hongyue whispered.
“What do you want?” Yi Shanshan retorted, her tone icy.
Qi Hongyue: “She’s just using the restroom. She hasn’t had enough sleep.”
Yi Shanshan: “Oh? Planning to help her with that?”
Qi Hongyue: “……”
Qi Hongyue: “In two hours, I’ll be heading to the Automated Base for market research. Ying Yuan’s been really interested in it, so I wanted to ask her if she’d like to come along.”
Yi Shanshan: “Exploiting her for free labor at school wasn’t enough? You won’t even let her rest on vacation.”
Qi Hongyue: “……”
The two stood before the restroom door, barely a step apart.
Qi Hongyue: “I invited her because she enjoys it. If she didn’t, I wouldn’t waste her time just because I need company.”
Yi Shanshan: “I’ve never heard her say she enjoys drinking. Didn’t she waste her time and harm her health by keeping you company last night?”
Qi Hongyue: “……”
Yi Shanshan: “You’re the one who stopped me and asked me to wait for her to wake up so we could talk properly. You’re the one who said I could help resolve her unhappiness.”
Qi Hongyue: “……”
My Lady had spent the entire night on the sofa, lost in thought, and her efforts had clearly paid off. Her tongue was now far sharper, leaving Qi Hongyue stunned into silence.
The two fell into a tense silence, abandoning their pointless sparring.
The bathroom was eerily quiet. The longer they waited, the more drawn-out the wait seemed.
Qi Hongyue glanced at the wall clock, almost tempted to knock and ask, “Ying Yuan, are you alright in there?”
Finally, the sound of running water echoed from within.
The faucet continued to run for what felt like an eternity before finally stopping.
The door creaked open. Ying Yuan’s hair was neatly arranged. She lifted her gaze to the two figures standing outside and gasped, her expression dramatically shocked.
“Ah!!! What are you two doing here?!” she exclaimed loudly.
Qi Hongyue: “……”
Yi Shanshan: “……”
“Oh, I…” Ying Yuan pressed her temples, her entire face contorting in a wince. “Did I drink too much? I can’t remember anything at all.”
Qi Hongyue: “……”
Yi Shanshan: “……”
Qi Hongyue sighed, taking the initiative. “We really did drink a lot last night. You passed out right away. I wanted to ask—are you coming to the Base with me today?”
“Oh… is that so?” Ying Yuan replied, her gaze fixed on Qi Hongyue, deliberately avoiding Yi Shanshan.
Her clumsy acting was reminiscent of an outdated model opera.
She tried desperately to keep her attention away from Yi Shanshan, but her ears betrayed her, their vivid crimson peeking through her hair.
Yi Shanshan’s eyes flickered as she gazed at Ying Yuan’s profile, as if studying a flower poised to bloom within the mist.
“I… just got here,” Yi Shanshan said, her throat tightening, her voice strained.
Qi Hongyue turned to stare at her in shock.
Ying Yuan’s body trembled slightly. Though she maintained her profile, she couldn’t resist stealing a fleeting, furtive glance.
Yi Shanshan raised her voice, adopting a breezy tone that seemed to mask a hint of bitterness:
“You didn’t come home all night and you were drinking. I got a little worried, so I came to check on you early.”
“Yesterday was really tiring for you, dragging you to that banquet all day. Today’s afternoon tea with my girlfriends will be much more relaxed—just some girls I’m close to. They love chatting about clothes, bags, and celebrity gossip. It’s actually quite fun.
“But if you’re not really into that, you don’t have to come.”
Ying Yuan finally turned to look at Yi Shanshan, her surprise evident in her eyes.
Yi Shanshan met her gaze and immediately flashed a sweet smile. Yet, as she smiled, a momentary furrow appeared between her brows, tugging at Ying Yuan’s heart.
She looked at Ying Yuan and said, “What the Team Leader suggested sounds fun too. You two really do have similar tastes—basically everything she likes, you like too.”
“Shanshan…” Ying Yuan murmured her name involuntarily, her instinct urging her to comfort her.
Yi Shanshan added fuel to the fire, her voice soft and gentle: “I don’t want to put you in a difficult position, and you don’t need to apologize. It’s a holiday, after all—we should be enjoying ourselves.
“I haven’t had a chance to tell you yet, but since you stayed at my house last night, my dad wants you to have breakfast with him this morning.”
Yi Shanshan wrinkled her nose. “Having breakfast with him is such a drag. He’ll lecture me the whole time and make me give him a work report. I definitely don’t want you to suffer through that with me.”
Ying Yuan took a step forward. “I…”
Qi Hongyue’s reflexes were lightning-fast. She grabbed Ying Yuan’s arm, her eyes fixed on her, a fierce gaze. “It’s not polite to intrude on family time, Yuan’er. Why don’t you skip this? Shanshan’s only back for a couple of days; she doesn’t have much time with her family and friends.”
Yi Shanshan shot Qi Hongyue a sardonic smile. “Exactly. That’s why I made plans with Ying Yuan earlier—to make the most of our limited time together.”
“But we’ll be back at school after summer break,” Qi Hongyue countered. “We’ll be together every day then, won’t we?”
Yi Shanshan fell silent.
Qi Hongyue tightened her grip on Ying Yuan’s arm until it hurt, startling her into alertness. “Opportunities to visit the Base are rare. Think carefully about what’s most important, Yuan’er.”
Qi Hongyue might as well have yelled, “You’re being too noisy!” Ying Yuan flinched, finally tearing her gaze away from Yi Shanshan.
“Well…” Ying Yuan glanced at Qi Hongyue. “I still want to go to the Base.”
“Alright then,” Qi Hongyue said.
Ying Yuan nodded firmly. “Yeah, that’s right.”
When she looked back at Yi Shanshan, they were standing side by side, their arms linked, their gazes resolute, as if about to join the Party.
“We’re going to the Base today!”
Yi Shanshan: “……”
Yi Shanshan pressed her lips into a thin line, her brow finally furrowing.
The cheerful expression vanished, replaced by a gaze fixed on Ying Yuan, like a predator sizing up its prey. She stared intently for several long moments.
Ying Yuan shrank back slightly.
“If it’s so much fun, I’d like to…” Yi Shanshan began.
Qi Hongyue cut her off smoothly, “I only have room for one person. It’s not convenient.”
“Right, not convenient,” Ying Yuan’s face flushed. “Shanshan, focus on your own work. Your connections are really important and will affect your career.”
These were the very reasons Yi Shanshan had given herself before, but now that Ying Yuan was repeating them to reject her, she found herself unable to accept them.
Anger, pain, frustration, and bitterness surged through her chest, even more intensely than the night before.
Because this time, she was facing a sober Ying Yuan—one who clearly remembered everything but pretended to have amnesia. Yi Shanshan had given her another chance, approached her with the utmost consideration, yet Ying Yuan still hadn’t chosen her.
Yi Shanshan lowered her gaze and took a deep breath.
Faced with this crushing defeat, she refused to let her emotions spiral out of control. This was the defining purpose of her life, the objective she had long since resolved:
To possess Ying Yuan, to hold her in the palm of her hand.
For this, she could endure, feign, resort to any means necessary, and bide her time and strike slowly.
“Alright,” Yi Shanshan said with a smile as she looked up again. “Then today, it’s just you two playing.”
She walked leisurely to retrieve her bag. “See you later, Ying Yuan. Let’s keep in touch on WeChat.”
“Yeah, okay,” Ying Yuan replied quickly, eager to agree to such a polite request.
Yi Shanshan left the room, the door closing behind her with a thud.
For a long moment, Ying Yuan and Qi Hongyue remained silent.
It was as if they had won a hard-fought battle, yet neither felt the ease or joy of victory.
Ying Yuan could have chosen to stay home and rest—after all, going to the Base was just an excuse to avoid Yi Shanshan.
But the room had already been rapidly permeated with Yi Shanshan’s presence, and memories of her seemed to saturate every corner.
Unable to sleep, Ying Yuan decided to go out with Qi Hongyue after all.
Staying busy would occupy her mind.
Discussing other problems would prevent her from blurting out anything about that person.
Ying Yuan and Qi Hongyue plunged headfirst into work, meticulously combing through every part of the Base, from the R&D Center to the Warehouse and Training Ground.
The Base’s reception staff were drenched in sweat. Those who knew thought she was just an intern conducting research; those who didn’t assumed she was there to audit their accounts.
At six o’clock in the afternoon, everyone had finished work.
Ying Yuan and Qi Hongyue were “invited” out of the Base.
As the gate closed behind them, Ying Yuan said, “Senior, let’s find a café and organize today’s data into a report.”
Qi Hongyue replied, “…I haven’t eaten yet. Let me rest first.”
“Oh.” Ying Yuan pulled out her phone. “What do you want to eat? Let me check what’s nearby…”
Her voice trailed off.
Ever since leaving home that morning, Ying Yuan had set her WeChat to “Do Not Disturb” mode.
Truly Do Not Disturb—no exceptions for anyone.
She’d barely touched her phone all day.
But now, her excuse for avoiding it had run out.
Her hand instinctively reached for her social media apps. In WeChat, she found eleven new messages from Yi Shanshan.
Not too many, not too few.
The content was neither urgent nor casual.
Yi Shanshan had messaged her: Finished breakfast with Dad. Feeling okay, not as bad as I thought.
Later: Took a nap at noon and had melon afterwards. You know, fresh melon really does taste better when you eat it straight from the vine.
She’d also sent photos from an afternoon tea party, looking dazzlingly radiant, even more beautiful than the delicate little cakes she held.
She said the cake tasted wonderful and asked the chef to pack a sampler box with six flavors. There must be something Ying Yuan will like…
The last message was sent at 5:30 PM.
She asked if Ying Yuan was almost finished for the day and if she had any plans for the evening. She said, I’ll bring the cake over. I’ll leave as soon as I drop it off.
Ying Yuan suddenly felt a heart-wrenching pain, as if a hand had reached inside her chest and was tearing her apart from within.
She crouched down, buried her face in her knees, and curled into a ball.
Qi Hongyue turned and saw her like this, panicking. “What’s wrong, Ying Yuan? Is it your stomach? Where does it hurt…?”
Ying Yuan couldn’t speak. The pain welled up in her eyes, tears streaming uncontrollably down her face.
She couldn’t wipe them away, nor could she stop them. It was as if she had no control over anything related to love, her overflowing emotions surging beyond her will.
She handed her phone to Qi Hongyue.
Qi Hongyue studied the chat history in silence.
After a long moment, the wave of pain subsided. Ying Yuan wiped away her tears and asked Qi Hongyue, “Senior, is it always this painful to like someone?”
Qi Hongyue: “No, liking a straight girl is painful.”
Ying Yuan: “……”
“Clinging on even when there’s no hope, unable to let go of a foreseeable future. It’s like a bottomless pit, devouring all your emotions.” Qi Hongyue grabbed Ying Yuan’s arm and pulled her up. “Nothing could be more torturous than this moment. Come, I’ll take you where you belong.”
Ying Yuan numbly followed Qi Hongyue.
They got in the car and drove for an hour, entering the city center.
Ying Yuan had never been to the city’s liveliest street before, finding it too noisy. But now, as Qi Hongyue pulled her into a bar, the pulsating music seemed perfect, filling her mind completely.
In the dimly lit space, strobe lights flashed rhythmically.
Qi Hongyue bought food, their dinner for the night, and of course, alcohol.
The vibrantly colored cocktails, illuminated by the dazzling lights, resembled swirling, psychedelic universes in motion.
“Senior, can alcohol really numb everything?” Ying Yuan asked, gulping down a large mouthful.
“No, but someone else can—someone who can push the person in your heart out. That’s the quickest way,” Qi Hongyue said, reaching out to remove Ying Yuan’s hair tie, letting her entire being loosen like her unbound hair. “But this time, you need to know yourself and aim true.”
“Huh?” Ying Yuan still seemed dazed.
Qi Hongyue cupped her head, tilting her face to look around.
On the sofa directly opposite them, two girls were nestled close together, their eyes locking in a gaze brimming with sweet longing.
In a darker corner to the right, two other girls embraced, their hands exploring each other’s waists as their noses brushed. The next moment, they were locked in a passionate kiss.
In the distant dance floor, a group of girls danced with joyous abandon, flaunting their physical allure while being equally drawn to the bodies of others.
Desire and sexuality laid bare.
Here, only girls existed, and every girl was courting another.
“This is a lesbian bar, dummy,” Qi Hongyue said. “Here, you can shatter the most impenetrable wall between you and straight girls. Taking this one step forward will be worth more than the previous ninety-nine.”
Ying Yuan froze, her eyes widening as she finally realized: this was indeed a new world beyond the wall.
Before, she knew places like this existed. She knew she could seek out like-minded communities for acceptance. She knew that exposing and expressing her sexuality would bring freedom and pleasure.
But she’d never felt the need.
Shy by nature, she hid in crowds, believing it offered safety and stability.
Until she fell into the abyss.
Ying Yuan wondered: if she had told Yi Shanshan from the very beginning that she liked girls, would none of this have happened?
If she and Yi Shanshan had met in a place like this, would that soul-crushing pain have never existed?
“You’re right,” Ying Yuan said. “I need to know myself, aim for my true direction.”
“Mhm,” Qi Hongyue said, releasing her grip. She adjusted her glasses and surveyed the room. “See if there’s anyone who catches your eye. If you really can’t decide…”
She suddenly smiled. “We could always talk.”