Chapter 5: Starving Her

Lin Zhihan didn’t notice anything strange about Vaniel. The system was bombarding her in her ear, urging her to move on to “the next part of the plot.”

Lin Zhihan pressed her lips together.

How could she just do something like that to the succubus?

Even if the plot had to reach that point, it couldn’t happen now.

“I’m going to starve her for a while,” Lin Zhihan said. “Weren’t we supposed to mistreat her?”

The system paused. “You’re mistreating her?”

“Yes. I’ll deliberately leave her hungry. When she gets desperate, she’ll look for food herself. That way I’ve tormented her without delaying the plot.

“By the time she’s really hungry, she’ll eat a lot.”

The system stared, as if it had been staggered by Lin Zhihan’s “genius plan.”

“Oh! Oh!”

Eat a lot. The system’s eyes lit up.

Could Lin Zhihan really be a genius?

She even knew that if they were going to delay the start of the plot, they’d need to make up all the scenes in less time.

Seeing how talented Lin Zhihan was, the system stopped pushing.

Lin Zhihan realized she’d convinced it and quietly breathed a sigh of relief. Then she stood up, went out, and brought back some ordinary food. She set it in front of Vaniel.

The system asked, “What are you doing now? Succubi can’t eat that.”

“I know.” Lin Zhihan had heard that succubi couldn’t eat human food. Still, some small, hopeful part of her wondered if Vaniel might manage to absorb a little.

She bent to set the food down, then straightened with an even expression.

“If she can’t eat it, but I bring it to her anyway, that just proves she can’t live without me and has to depend on me. Right?

“It’s… um, taunting.”

The system understood. “I see.”

Vaniel stared at the bowl of food, then at Lin Zhihan, utterly confused.

In her senses, Lin Zhihan smelled incredible. Hunger was crawling up her throat.

Without realizing it, the pink in both of Vaniel’s eyes grew more vivid. Annoyed with herself, she shoved the thought away, folded her wings around herself, and curled back into a ball.

Lin Zhihan glanced at her. Her lips parted, but she swallowed whatever she’d been about to say.

She couldn’t bring herself to torment an innocent girl. But she couldn’t act too kind, either. She couldn’t let the succubus realize she was trying to help.

Otherwise, the plot might fall apart again.

Lin Zhihan turned and left the bedroom.

Wen Qiao had already set out dinner in the living room. Their little coffee table held two bowls, a plate of stir-fried vegetables, and a bowl of egg-drop soup. Steam rose from the food, easing the room’s usual damp smell.

Lin Zhihan sat across from Wen Qiao, poured herself a bowl of soup, and thanked her. “I keep making you cook dinner.”

Wen Qiao waved her off. “It’s no trouble. Besides, I got the scholarship thanks to you.”

“You were always good at school.”

“No, I wouldn’t have been able to solve those problems if you hadn’t gone over them with me.”

Lin Zhihan smiled and didn’t argue. They finished dinner, cleared the table, then sat side by side to do their homework.

In the bedroom, Vaniel curled alone in the corner, listening to them. She grew more and more restless.

Lin Zhihan hadn’t ordered her to clean or cook like a slave. Vaniel ought to have been grateful. But…

She was so hungry.

She closed her eyes, but couldn’t calm down. The weakness in her body was still there, faintly reminding her of its presence.

She couldn’t keep going like this.

What was the human’s plan? If her prediction was right…

If she got any weaker, would she still be able to kill Lin Zhihan? Would she be at her mercy?

Maybe she should kill Lin Zhihan now.

If she could become a demon again, the collar wouldn’t be able to hold her.

Vaniel’s gaze darkened. Reason told her she should act decisively…

Later that night, Lin Zhihan returned to the living room. She hadn’t turned on the light, and the little room was dark.

Only the succubus’s beautiful eyes opened slowly, glimmering in the night.

Lin Zhihan first glanced at the untouched food in front of her, then at her bandaged legs.

The succubus noticed her looking and grew more guarded. Her entire body tensed.

The little room was dark. Lin Zhihan passed her, picked something up, and came back.

Vaniel was still wondering whether to attack when something suddenly fell over her head. She jumped in fright.

Then she realized it was only a soft comforter.

Lin Zhihan had seen her huddled on the floor and finally brought her a thick blanket to lie on.

“This is yours. I’m going to bed. Good night.”

Vaniel froze. Then she yanked the blanket away and looked at Lin Zhihan, her breathing uneven and her expression complicated.

She’d been thinking of killing her, but now the human’s actions had left her feeling terribly conflicted.

What if her prophecy was wrong? What if Lin Zhihan was a good person?

Not long ago, at her coming-of-age rite, Vaniel had forcefully refused to kill someone for no reason.

She’d spoken with such conviction. How could she betray her principles so soon?

Vaniel felt exhausted. She closed her eyes and turned her face toward the blanket without thinking, resting her cheek on it.

Then she paused.

A faint scent lingered in the bedding. The human’s scent, warm, with a trace of her body heat still clinging to it.

Vaniel thought, I hate this.

But for some reason, she leaned closer and sniffed.

The pink in her eyes, a sign of her succubus nature, spread and deepened without a sound.

She hugged the blanket, and the tip of her tail wagged like a puppy’s.

Huh?

Vaniel snapped back to herself and sat bolt upright. She shoved the blanket as far away as she could.

What had she just been doing?

…

The next morning, when Lin Zhihan woke, she automatically glanced at the floor.

Vaniel was still asleep.

At some point, she’d quietly pulled the thick blanket back. It was bunched beneath her, though it was hard to tell whether she was lying on it or cuddling it. Her head was buried beneath it.

It wasn’t exactly an elegant sleeping position.

Still, she seemed to be sleeping soundly.

Lin Zhihan got up quietly and looked at the bowl of food she’d left nearby the night before.

As expected, it was untouched.

She picked it up and went to the kitchen, where she dumped the stale food in the trash and rinsed the bowl beneath the tap.

The water ran softly. Lin Zhihan’s brow furrowed.

So human food really wouldn’t work.

How could she help Vaniel recover?

It was getting late. She didn’t have time to think about it. Soon, she was hurrying off to school with Wen Qiao.

…

A whistle blew.

“Everyone split into two teams.”

In gym class, the teacher announced that they’d be playing basketball.

The mood brightened. It was supposed to be a casual game, just some exercise. But as Lin Zhihan stood at the edge of the court, she sensed something was off.

Jiang Yeman pushed through the other students on the opposing team. Her gaze drifted toward Lin Zhihan with unmistakable intent.

Lin Zhihan said nothing and pretended not to notice.

Once the game began, Jiang Yeman barely paid attention to the ball. She stood beside Lin Zhihan, jabbing her elbow into her, barging into her. She couldn’t have made her intentions clearer.

Lin Zhihan dodged twice, not wanting to deal with her.

But Jiang Yeman clearly wanted a reaction. She slammed into Lin Zhihan again, shoving her toward the corner of the court.

Lin Zhihan stopped and looked at her calmly.

“What are you doing?”

Jiang Yeman tilted her chin, looking smug. “You know you can’t beat me in a fight, right?”

“So what?”

“If I smashed your head with the ball,” Jiang Yeman said, lowering her voice as the corner of her mouth tugged upward, “you wouldn’t be able to get first place anymore, would you?”

Lin Zhihan was silent for a moment.

Jiang Yeman didn’t seem to be joking.

A flicker of disbelief passed through Lin Zhihan’s eyes. Then she said, “That won’t work.”

“What do you mean?”

“You want my grades to drop so your sister can get first place, right?”

Jiang Yeman’s expression froze.

Lin Zhihan continued, leaning slightly toward her and lowering her voice. “There’s an easy way to solve that. Just give me money. More than the scholarship.”

Jiang Yeman stared as if she didn’t understand.

“I only get first place for the money. If you pay me, I promise I won’t come first again.” Lin Zhihan sounded as if she were negotiating a perfectly ordinary business deal. “Then when your sister asks what you did, you can tell her you took care of the problem for her.”

Jiang Yeman’s eyes widened. Her lips moved, but for a while, all she could manage was, “I… why would I give you money?”

“Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone.” Lin Zhihan’s expression was calm. “Your sister will be happy, and she’ll think you’re impressive. It’ll be much more effective than trying to hit me in the head with a basketball.”

Jiang Yeman stood there, speechless. Her expression went from suspicion to shock, then from shock to a secretive sort of hesitation, as if she were seriously considering it.

While Jiang Yeman stood dumbfounded, still trying to think of a reply, the whistle blew. The game had ended without either of them noticing.

Jiang Shuling stood not far away, watching the two of them talking together in the corner. Her brows furrowed. Something about it didn’t seem right.

She walked over quickly. “Jiang Yeman, why are you standing around with her?”

Jiang Yeman came to her senses, and her sister hurried her away.

Lin Zhihan clapped her hands, not giving it much thought. She turned and left the court.

When gym class ended, she didn’t follow the others. Instead, she took a detour to the library.

Her phone was so old that opening a webpage took forever.

The library had computers. It would be easier to search there. She found a seat in the corner, opened a browser, and began searching, one query after another.

What do succubi eat…

How do succubi absorb desire…

Maybe because the search results were so suggestive, a few videos popped up with thumbnails of two girls embracing.

Lin Zhihan paused for a second, then calmly switched to another page.

And, just in case, she quietly plugged in her earphones…

Elsewhere, Jiang Shuling was still asking Jiang Yeman what she’d said to Lin Zhihan. Jiang Yeman mumbled and dodged the question.

Jiang Shuling was on her guard. “Be careful. Don’t talk to her too much!”

Her little sister’s brain… well, it wasn’t exactly a match for that fox, Lin Zhihan.

“Shuling.”

The girl beside her lowered her voice and leaned close to Jiang Shuling’s ear. “Lin Zhihan’s gone to the library again.”

“What’s so special about going to the library?” Jiang Shuling asked, frowning.

“I don’t know. She usually uses the computers there.”

“Should we… sneak a look at what she’s searching?”

Jiang Shuling cleared her throat. She didn’t object, which was as good as agreement.

A moment later, a photo from the library appeared on Jiang Shuling’s phone.

In the picture, Lin Zhihan looked calm and intent as she stared at the screen.

Could she really have some secret study method?

Jiang Shuling studied the screenshot closely. When she zoomed in, the words on Lin Zhihan’s screen were unmistakable:

When are humans most aroused?

The full process of a succubus feeding!

Succubus and human… (video attached!)

Jiang Shuling: “????????”