Chapter 4: Succubi Need Humans

Vaniel couldn’t believe the human’s behavior, either. She had actually gone to sleep just like that.

She hadn’t made Vaniel… serve her.

Hmph. At least the human had some sense.

If Vaniel wanted to, she could probably endure the collar’s electric shocks and kill the human. It wasn’t impossible.

Exhausted, the succubus watched Lin Zhihan warily in the dark for a while, then finally lay down. She decided to rest first.

Lin Zhihan had left half the bed empty, on the side facing out, as if saving a place for her. But Vaniel didn’t want it.

She would rather curl up on the cold floor, loosely wrap herself in her wings, and sleep like a wary beast. Even in her dreams, she never fully relaxed.

In the darkness, her eyelids opened and closed, but her ears stayed pricked, catching every sound in the unfamiliar room.

Just before dawn, the bed creaked softly.

Vaniel’s eyes flew open.

She watched Lin Zhihan climb out of bed. Still short on sleep, the girl pressed a hand to her forehead and let out a few muffled sighs.

Vaniel tensed, unsure what she was about to do. But Lin Zhihan simply grabbed her schoolbag, opened the door, and rushed out.

…She was going to class?

When Lin Zhihan left, Wen Qiao was ready to go, too. She kept glancing toward Lin Zhihan’s bedroom. Her ears seemed to prick up, then quickly droop again. She looked as if she wanted to ask something but couldn’t bring herself to.

Lin Zhihan had brought home a succubus the night before, and the situation had already frightened Wen Qiao half to death.

She’d wondered whether to clear out the living room and make space for the succubus. Instead, the succubus had followed Lin Zhihan into her room and hadn’t come out all night.

Wen Qiao didn’t know much about succubi, but she knew what they were for.

Her cheeks flushed slightly at the thought. She wasn’t sure whether she should ask.

But when Lin Zhihan came out, she looked perfectly normal. She filled a kettle with water, picked up a piece of bread from the table, and took a bite. Then, seeing Wen Qiao’s expression, she simply asked, “What’s wrong?”

Wen Qiao paused, deciding she was probably imagining things. This only made her blush more. “N-Nothing. Let’s go.”

They left one after the other.

Soon, the rental room fell silent. Vaniel was alone.

She stared at the closed door for a long time before finally coming back to herself.

…They’d really both left?

The human really hadn’t done anything all night. How could that be?

Vaniel looked down at the bandages on her legs. For the first time, she began to doubt her visions a little.

Lin Zhihan and Wen Qiao hurried through the winding, narrow alleys of the urban village, picking their way across the wet stone pavement. They squeezed onto the subway just before the doors closed.

A man by the doors looked annoyed at being bumped and turned around, ready to yell. The two girls in school uniforms looked easy enough to pick on.

Lin Zhihan pulled Wen Qiao behind her and stepped in front.

When the man met Lin Zhihan’s cold expression, he decided the taller girl might be trouble. The words died in his throat, and he muttered to himself instead.

Lin Zhihan breathed out softly.

She wasn’t good at confronting people.

The train rattled through the dark underground tunnel. A moment later, it burst out into the bright morning sunlight, which flooded the carriage.

Wen Qiao looked up at Lin Zhihan.

The sun fell across the white collar of Lin Zhihan’s school shirt, softening the pallor and fatigue left by her jobs. It brought out the striking lines of her face, too.

“What’s wrong?” Lin Zhihan asked, puzzled.

Wen Qiao shook her head, blushing. She opened her schoolbag and insistently handed Lin Zhihan the fruit she’d packed for breakfast.

As the subway announced its stops, the faces in the carriage gradually changed. Office workers in sharp suits. Commuters with takeaway coffee. A few girls in school uniforms, laughing together.

Once they got off, the streets grew visibly cleaner. The hedges were neatly trimmed, and the air seemed to carry a hint of flowers.

The school’s main building could be seen from a distance. It was a grand, Western-style structure with soaring spires and cream-colored walls that gleamed in the morning sun.

Roses and hydrangeas bloomed in the garden out front.

Luxury cars lined the curb by the gate. Well-dressed girls streamed into school, their skirts and hair immaculate.

Lin Zhihan walked through the gate without looking around.

Everyone in the hall was talking about the same thing: the midterm diagnostic results were out that day.

“Zhihan,” Wen Qiao said, hurrying up to her, unable to hide her excitement. “I checked this morning. You’re still top of the grade.”

Lin Zhihan nodded without saying much.

Her gaze settled on the classroom doorway ahead. After a moment, she suddenly stepped aside and grabbed Wen Qiao just as she was about to go in.

“Wait. Use the back door.”

Wen Qiao paused, then followed Lin Zhihan’s gaze to the top of the doorframe.

Something was perched there, its outline all wrong. She understood at once, and her expression changed.

But the movement had already caught someone else’s attention. Down the other end of the hall, a tall girl scowled and strode over. She shoved Wen Qiao.

“What are you blocking the door for? Get in!”

The girl was tall, with short hair and sun-kissed skin. Her uniform collar was open, and she hadn’t bothered to tie her tie. She had an unmistakably intimidating air.

Lin Zhihan stepped aside and casually pushed the door.

A basin of dirty water fell with a splat and burst across the floor. The girl was caught off guard. Her trouser legs and shoes were splashed, and her face turned livid.

“Damn it—Lin Zhihan!”

She was about to blow up when a teacher at the end of the hall came over at the sound.

“What’s going on?” The teacher glanced at the water on the floor and then at the students gathered around.

His gaze paused on the furious Jiang Yeman, but he decided not to pursue it. He sent someone to call the janitor and told everyone to get to class.

These aristocratic students weren’t people he wanted to antagonize.

Jiang Yeman could only stalk into the classroom, fuming.

Inside, a girl with a high ponytail sat surrounded by a crowd of classmates. She looked somewhat like Jiang Yeman, but her expression was cooler, her features naturally proud. She looked up at Lin Zhihan as she entered, her face sour.

That was Jiang Shuling, Jiang Yeman’s older sister.

Wen Qiao sighed quietly. “Why are they still picking on you?”

Lin Zhihan shook her head. She didn’t look their way. She found her seat, sat down, and opened her textbook.

Not long after, the teacher announced the midterm rankings.

Wen Qiao, who sat beside her, quietly brought over her test paper. Lin Zhihan took a look, wrote a few lines of solution in the margin, and handed it back.

After class, the students clustered around Jiang Shuling again.

Everyone could see the young heiress was in a bad mood, so they rushed to put Lin Zhihan down.

“She’s not all that. She usually gets pretty average grades. How did she suddenly get first place? Could she have…”

Someone else picked up the thought, lowering her voice. “Yeah. Maybe she cheated?”

Jiang Shuling sat with her back straight. She didn’t join in. Her expression only grew colder.

Cheated her way to first place?

No. She knew better than anyone.

Lin Zhihan wasn’t actually “average.” She held back on ordinary monthly exams, scoring just enough to stay in the middle of the class.

But when a scholarship exam really mattered, she would quietly take first place, leaving everyone behind—including Jiang Shuling.

That contrast didn’t make Jiang Shuling feel as though Lin Zhihan had been holding back out of respect. It made her feel like she’d been toyed with.

Why? Her family had hired the best tutors. At her old school, she’d always been number one. Her parents had made it clear that she was never to embarrass them.

Now it was all because of this commoner…

Maybe they noticed Jiang Shuling’s expression. The others hurried to change the subject.

“So what if she gets good grades? Once she leaves school, she’ll still be nobody.”

“Exactly. She’s a country bumpkin. What does she know about the world? She probably couldn’t get into the Jiang Family company even if she begged.”

At that, Jiang Shuling’s expression finally eased a little.

She even glanced back at Lin Zhihan deliberately, but Lin Zhihan didn’t seem to care. She never once looked up.

The system whispered in Lin Zhihan’s ear. “According to the plot, you should tell them you have a succubus! Then bring her to school to show her off. None of these people have ever seen a succubus in person—not even the two Jiang heiresses. They’re nothing compared with the real elite families.”

Lin Zhihan frowned slightly.

“Not necessary.”

The system grew anxious. “How can you say that? Did you forget the plot I told you? If you bring the succubus in, they’ll all compete to suck up to you.”

Lin Zhihan remembered. Her classmates would change their attitudes toward her just to touch a succubus and talk to her.

In the end, even the Jiang sisters would be unable to resist their curiosity.

Lin Zhihan would grow smug and, hoping to get more golden eggs, arrange a group of students to take turns with Vaniel at school.

The gang rape would be a nightmare for Vaniel. The Jiang sisters would be at the heart of it.

That humiliation was probably the main reason Vaniel would come to hate Lin Zhihan so much.

“No need for that part of the plot.”

“But—”

“Does it have to be other people?”

Lin Zhihan asked, growing irritated despite herself. “I can make her lay plenty of golden eggs on my own.”

The system froze, then seemed to light up. Even without a body, Lin Zhihan could almost feel its eyes gleaming with excitement.

“That works, too! Then hurry home and get started!”

“…”

Lin Zhihan pressed a hand to her forehead. It seemed she’d only just realized what she’d said. The tips of her ears went a little red.

“I, uh… I have work.”

Back in the rental room, Vaniel was curled up in the bedroom, wings folded at her sides, her back against the wall. Her fingers dug into the cracks in the floor.

She’d tried to leave, but the collar had warned her again.

She couldn’t go on like this forever.

The longer she stayed, the weaker she felt.

It was as if something were slowly draining from her body, like a lamp with its wick turned down. The light inside her dimmed little by little, leaving her hungry and restless.

She knew why. Her body was a succubus’s body. Succubi needed humans the way humans needed food. Their hunger could be so intense that they could be trained like dogs. They were unlike other devils.

She’d known all that already, but feeling it herself was humiliating.

How awful. Was the human doing this on purpose? Leaving her alone until she was weak and miserable, waiting until she couldn’t fight back…

Vaniel clenched her jaw. Damn it. She wouldn’t give in.

She had no idea how much time had passed when the door opened.

She held her breath at once and listened. The footsteps were different: lighter than the human’s, and quicker.

Wen Qiao?

Vaniel wrapped her wings around herself again and closed her eyes, suddenly in a foul mood for no clear reason.

Soon, the kitchen filled with the clatter of a spatula and the smell of food. None of it had anything to do with her.

A long while later, the sky darkened and the light outside slowly faded.

Someone came home again. The bedroom door suddenly opened.

Vaniel’s eyes flew open.

Lin Zhihan came in and turned on the light. Without even looking at Vaniel, she bent down and pulled the first-aid kit out from under the bed.

“Do you need me to check your wounds?” she asked.

When she got no answer, Lin Zhihan glanced back at her.

Then her brow furrowed.

Vaniel’s face was even paler than it had been the night before.

She was curled into a ball like a cat, nearly hidden inside her wings. She didn’t answer or move.

Lin Zhihan didn’t say anything else. She simply forced the bundle of wings open, took hold of Vaniel’s arms and legs, and bent down to inspect them.

Blood had seeped through again. The wounds showed no sign of healing. Lin Zhihan’s brow furrowed further.

Vaniel was startled by the sudden movement.

Because Lin Zhihan was so close, Vaniel’s heart began to pound.

She didn’t know how to describe it. The human smelled delicious. Like the scent of some food she loved. Without thinking, she wanted to move closer.

When Lin Zhihan’s hand touched the side of her leg, the strange sensation grew stronger. Hunger twisted in Vaniel’s stomach. She couldn’t tell whether it felt good or bad.

A sound nearly slipped from her throat. Vaniel hurriedly covered her mouth, then glared at Lin Zhihan.