Font Size:
Read advanced chapters at Shanghaifantasy.com
The more Wang Sasa thought about it, the more convinced she became. Tan Yixuan had been neglected by her father and unloved by her mother since she was young. She had basically no friends growing up, relying only on her grandmother for companionship. Given this, saying she was “lack of love” actually made sense.
She turned her head and observed her for a moment. The girl, who had just turned eighteen, was short, only about 160 cm tall. But her skin was fair and delicate, so fine that even her pores were invisible. Tan Yixuan seemed to sense Wang Sasa’s gaze, looked up, and a thin blush appeared on her fair cheeks. She lowered her eyes and softly asked, “What are you looking at?”
Wang Sasa glanced at the blush on her face and then casually looked away, pretending as if nothing had happened. “Nothing…” she said, momentarily forgetting she was still on a call. She hung up the phone and stuffed it back into her pocket. “Are you going to bed?”
Tan Yixuan noticed how Wang Sasa ended the call without hesitation, the corners of her mouth instinctively lifting. She nodded and said, “Yes. Since you’re staying in the dorm, you have to follow the dorm rules. No calls after 11 p.m.”
The other three roommates, who had just finished washing their faces and returned to the room, overheard Tan Yixuan’s comment and looked at her in surprise. They exchanged confused glances. When had this dorm rule been implemented? After another glance at each other, they decided to leave it alone since it didn’t concern them.
Wang Sasa didn’t think much of it and nodded in sudden realization. She glanced at Tan Yixuan, deep in thought.
To promote Tan Yixuan’s psychological well-being, she had to handle her condition carefully. But how should she deal with this “skin hunger”? She rubbed her chin, lost in thought.
“Skin hunger,” as the name suggests, is the craving for physical contact with others. In practice, that meant she needed to have occasional physical contact with Tan Yixuan, right? As Wang Sasa pondered, she casually placed her hand on Tan Yixuan’s shoulder.
Tan Yixuan was about to take her basin to wash her face when Wang Sasa suddenly leaned closer, her breath brushing past her ear. She froze, her face instantly turning bright red. “What are you doing?”
Wang Sasa, surprised by her strong reaction, let out a startled “Ah!” and inwardly exclaimed that her theory was right. So, without hesitation, she tightened her grip on Tan Yixuan’s shoulder and grinned. “Nothing. You’re going to wash your face? Let’s go together!”
Tan Yixuan stared at her, Wang Sasa’s amber eyes clear and transparent, like crystal glass, through which everything was visible. She was holding Tan Yixuan close, her face beaming with a warm smile. Yet, Tan Yixuan felt a sudden disappointment. Wang Sasa clearly had no other intentions towards her.
Tan Yixuan lowered her gaze, the blush on her face quickly fading away. She pulled her hand off and coldly said, “No, it’s too crowded.”
Wang Sasa looked at her hand, scratched the back of her head, feeling completely puzzled.
Meanwhile, Wei Qi, still staring at his phone in shock after being abruptly hung up on, was dumbfounded.
His friends burst into laughter upon seeing Wei Qi’s awkward expression. “Wei Qi, oh Wei Qi, you finally got a taste of your own medicine! What goes around comes around!”
Exactly. Everyone had seen how Wang Shasha had chased after him before. No one could have imagined that today, Wang Shasha would hang up on Wei Qi without hesitation. Could she really have moved on to someone else?
As his friends teased him, Wei Qi’s face darkened. He was already upset, but his friends’ gossiping made it worse. “So, who is it that Wang Shasha likes now? Li Songbo, right? Who would’ve thought that someone from Second High could surpass you, Wei Qi?” one of them joked, giving him a thumbs-up with a mischievous grin.
Wei Qi, irritated, glared at him and blurted out without thinking, “Who the hell is Li Songbo?”
His friends exchanged knowing looks, laughing. “Wei Qi, don’t tell me you’ve just realized that you like Wang Shasha?”
In truth, Wei Qi didn’t really like Wang Shasha that much. He simply didn’t like the idea of someone else taking what he had cast aside—it was all about his possessiveness. But this feeling was new to him. Now, even Wei Qi wasn’t sure what his feelings for Wang Shasha were.
His friends exchanged glances, sensing some gossip brewing. “So, what are you going to do? Try to win Wang Shasha back?”
Win her back? Wei Qi suddenly recalled Wang Shasha’s recent erratic behavior and shivered. He must be crazy to think about chasing after her. But now that Wang Shasha was ignoring him, he couldn’t help but care.
Wei Qi massaged his temples in frustration, waved his hand irritably, and said, “Alright, you guys drink, I’m leaving.” With that, he no longer paid attention to his buddies and pushed the door open to leave the private room.
Although he didn’t think he liked Wang Shasha, that night, Wei Qi uncharacteristically suffered from insomnia. The next day, he went to Wang Shasha’s apartment early, intending to confront her about the love letter situation. However, Wang Shasha wasn’t home. It wasn’t until several days later that he, feeling quite frustrated, realized that the reason he hadn’t seen her was because she had moved into the dorms.
Wei Qi didn’t want to provide more gossip material for his friends, so he decided to wait for Wang Shasha outside of school to get some answers. At the same time, he noticed his own subtle change in emotions and felt an urgent need to see Wang Shasha, hoping to sort out his feelings for her.
“Tell Wang Shasha to come out for a moment,” Wei Qi casually called out to a female classmate from Senior Class 6.
Jiang Qishan, suddenly being addressed by Wei Qi, stammered nervously, “Okay…”
She hurried back to the classroom and cautiously said to Wang Sasa, “Wang Shasha, Wei Qi is looking for you.”
Upon hearing this, Wang Sasa raised an eyebrow and was about to refuse. Who did Wei Qi think he was? Just because he wanted to see her, did that mean she had to oblige? Her gaze shifted and landed on Tan Yixuan, who was staring blankly in her direction. Wang Sasa’s eyes glinted as she reconsidered. “Wei Qi, huh? Wait a moment, I’ll be right there.”
She flashed a bright smile at Tan Yixuan and stood up to head out.
Tan Yixuan lowered her eyes in silence, her fingers quietly pressing harder against the desk.
Although Wei Qi had called Wang Sasa out, he hadn’t really prepared what to say. Now, seeing her standing gracefully in the hallway, her hands behind her back, her expression calm, and her face smiling but devoid of the love-struck look she used to have, he was momentarily taken aback.
“Wang Shasha, you…” He hesitated, instinctively rubbing his ear before turning slightly away. “Why haven’t you been coming to hang out with me lately?”
Wang Sasa looked him up and down and, seeing how awkward he seemed while sneaking glances at her, couldn’t help but smile. “What, you want me to hang out with you?” Wei Qi was amusing—always saying he had no feelings for her yet repeatedly probing her.
Wei Qi coughed awkwardly and mumbled, “You’re overthinking it. It’s just that my mom mentioned it because you haven’t been coming around lately.”
Plenty of people liked Wang Sasa, and with just one look, she could tell what Wei Qi was thinking deep down. He had likely been unknowingly attracted to her but wasn’t aware of it yet or simply didn’t want to admit it, so he was using his mom as an excuse.
Playing with the ends of her hair, Wang Sasa gave a nonchalant “Oh.” She had planned to keep up appearances in front of Tan Yixuan, but since Tan Yixuan wasn’t here now, she couldn’t be bothered to entertain Wei Qi. Seeing that he was also silent, she grew impatient and said, “If there’s nothing else, I’m going back in.”
“I…” Wei Qi quickly stopped her. “I was just joking with my classmates before…”
Wang Sasa looked at him in confusion. “What do you mean?” After a brief pause, she recalled the vague phone call and nodded. “I get it. So, do you have anything else to say?”
Feeling a bit frustrated, Wei Qi gritted his teeth. “Wang Shasha, have you fallen for Li Songbo?”
Wang Sasa’s eyes widened slightly. After a moment, she showed a hint of surprise. “Who told you that?”
“Never mind who told me. Just tell me, have you fallen for someone else?”
Wang Sasa chuckled lightly, almost wanting to say, “Even if I did like someone else, what does it have to do with you?” Out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly spotted a slender figure in the distance. Her expression paused, and she replaced it with a soft smile. “Don’t worry, I won’t like anyone else.” Of course, that included you.
Wei Qi, taking her words as reassurance, suddenly felt a burst of joy. A faint smile appeared on his face as he gazed at her, noticing her slightly upturned face and the small dimple that appeared when she smiled. She looked both cute and sweet, making his heart skip a beat uncontrollably.
Blushing, he mumbled, “Why should I feel reassured?”
Wang Sasa’s gaze drifted over his face and caught a glimpse of Tan Yixuan’s slender figure hurriedly disappearing around the corner. The corners of her mouth lifted. “It’s nothing. I’m heading back.”
Wei Qi, standing behind her, called out, “Wang Shasha, I don’t dislike you as much anymore. So don’t avoid me…”
Without turning back, Wang Sasa waved her hand, signaling that she understood, and then disappeared from his view.
Back in the classroom, Wang Sasa sat down and saw Tan Yixuan sitting properly, engrossed in her homework. Wang Sasa leaned sideways against her shoulder. “What are you working on so seriously?”
Tan Yixuan silently pushed her head away. After a moment of quiet, she finally said, “I’m just preparing in advance.”
Wang Sasa gave a soft “Oh” and straightened up, pulling out her math book with little interest.
After a long while, Tan Yixuan glanced at her and then pretended to ask casually, “What did you and Wei Qi talk about?”
Wang Sasa closed her book, rested her chin on her hand, and propped her elbow on the desk. She shot her a sidelong glance and, with a half-smile, casually lied, “He said he liked me.”
Tan Yixuan pressed harder with her pen, and with a sharp snap, the pencil lead broke. She suddenly turned her head, pausing for a moment before forcing a faint smile. “Really?”
Seeing how concerned she was, Wang Sasa’s heart skipped a beat. She carefully studied Tan Yixuan’s expression, noticing her blank face but the complex emotions in her eyes. Wang Sasa couldn’t help but worry. No way… Could Tan Yixuan actually have fallen for Wei Qi? Just because he took her to the hospital?
Her temples throbbed. Not daring to provoke Tan Yixuan further, Wang Sasa shut her mouth and said nothing more.
As the morning classes ended, Wang Sasa caught up to Tan Yixuan, wanting to go to the cafeteria with her. But just as they reached the doorway, they spotted Wei Qi standing stiffly outside the Senior Class 6 classroom, looking cold and awkward. When he saw Tan Yixuan and Wang Sasa step out, his eyes lit up, and he smiled at Wang Sasa. “Going for lunch? Let’s go together?”
Tan Yixuan froze on the spot. Wang Sasa stepped forward and hooked her arm around Tan Yixuan’s, glancing sidelong at Wei Qi before breaking into a bright smile. “Sure!”
Tan Yixuan paused, glared at her, and then forcefully shrugged off Wang Sasa’s arm before striding away. Wang Sasa quickly told Wei Qi, “Next time,” and rushed to catch up with Tan Yixuan. Clinging to her arm again, she leaned in close and asked, “Are you mad?”
Feeling the warmth of the other person’s body, Tan Yixuan blushed and took a step back, silently scolding herself for being so weak. Yet, she couldn’t help but feel a hint of sweetness in her heart from Wang Sasa abandoning Wei Qi to chase after her. Even though she knew she shouldn’t, she still couldn’t resist asking, “Wang Sasa, what exactly are your feelings towards Wei Qi?”
Wang Sasa smiled and casually responded with a classic player line, “He and I are just ordinary friends, you’re overthinking it.”
Tan Yixuan: “…”