Chapter 6: Pervert

Jiang Shuling’s face flamed red. She nearly flung her phone away.

“Lin Zhihan!” she cried, stamping her foot. What a pervert!

“Yeman, you are not allowed to look.”

“…?”

The people beside her were just as baffled. “Why would she search for this stuff in the library?”

Jiang Shuling took a deep breath and set her phone face down on the table. Her face was red, but she forced herself to stay composed.

“She must be doing it on purpose. She must have realized we were secretly taking pictures and deliberately used this to mess with me.”

She paused, lowering her voice. “I don’t believe it. Keep looking. She must have some secret study method!”

It was late when Lin Zhihan finished work. By the time she got home, only the dim yellow lights in the stairwell were on.

She changed her shoes, opened the bedroom door, and glanced toward the corner.

Vaniel was still there. The succubus was curled up in the corner, looking up at her with a wary expression.

But her face was paler than the day before.

Lin Zhihan was exhausted. She stood quietly for a moment, then resignedly dug one of her shirts out of the closet and tossed it in front of Vaniel.

“Try this on.”

Vaniel lowered her head and stared at the shirt, puzzled.

“Hurry up.”

The succubus sat up reluctantly and pulled it on.

Seeing her struggle with the shirt, Lin Zhihan asked, “Can you fold your wings away?”

Vaniel lowered her head and ignored her.

Lin Zhihan sighed to herself, found an oversized jacket, and pulled it over Vaniel. It hid the shape of her wings.

Then she pulled up the hood and tightened it, hiding the succubus’s conspicuous white hair and little horns.

Only her delicate chin showed.

“Come on. We’re going out.”

Vaniel struggled to lift her head against the cinched hood and glanced out the window. The street was deserted, the streetlights dim. Not a soul in sight.

Where was Lin Zhihan taking her so late at night?

Seeing Vaniel dawdle without making a move to get up, Lin Zhihan crouched and took her hand for the second time, intending to carry her out.

Vaniel went rigid and tried to twist away. The wings beneath the coat suddenly unfurled, ballooning the fabric and pulling her off balance.

“?” Lin Zhihan quickly pressed the wings down, almost enclosing Vaniel in her arms.

“Stop. Keep them tucked away.”

“Uh…” Vaniel squeezed her eyes shut. She didn’t know why she was still reacting so strongly.

Lin Zhihan sighed and used one hand to tug the hood lower over Vaniel’s brow. Her voice was quiet. “Be good.”

…Be good? As if she were a child.

The succubus secretly pouted.

“Get on.”

Lin Zhihan turned her back to her.

Vaniel didn’t move. “I can walk.”

Her feet hadn’t healed at all. Lin Zhihan didn’t bother arguing. She only pretended to be angry.

“…Get on.”

After a long hesitation, Vaniel reluctantly climbed onto Lin Zhihan’s back. She felt the human’s slender hands lift her legs again.

Vaniel bit her lip.

When they stepped outside, the night wind blew against her. She looked around, wondering what Lin Zhihan was up to.

A park lay beyond this area. It had been there for years, and hardly anyone came. Now there weren’t even any streetlights. Overgrown plants and trees made it feel more like an abandoned grove, cut off from the lights and sounds around it.

Lin Zhihan carried her deeper among the trees, stepping on dead leaves. When they reached a place that seemed far enough in, she stopped and turned to look at Vaniel.

The succubus tilted her head, confused.

Then her ears twitched.

Somewhere in the bushes, a sound drifted over on the wind. It came and went, quiet, but still unmistakable.

Vaniel’s eyes flew wide.

Of course. In a secluded grove like this, there were bound to be couples who couldn’t afford a hotel and had nowhere else to go.

She could clearly sense something sweet and heavy drifting through the air, floating toward her in thin, insistent waves.

She instinctively tried to leave. Lin Zhihan reached out and stopped her.

“Well?”

Vaniel panicked and tried to shake her off.

“What? What do you mean?”

Was Lin Zhihan planning to… with her, here?

This filthy human!

“I don’t want to!”

The succubus angrily struggled down from her back. Lin Zhihan frowned. She’d looked it up: even without touching anyone, a succubus might absorb a little energy from the desire of people nearby.

She was out of options.

“But aren’t you hungry? Make do for now.”

At that, Vaniel’s face turned crimson, as if someone had stepped on her tail.

She snapped her head up. “I-I’d rather starve to death!”

Lin Zhihan was at a loss. Did Vaniel hate this way of feeding that much?

She fell silent for a moment, then said, “Then maybe another day… I’ll take you somewhere crowded. You can be around more people.”

Maybe Lin Zhihan could find a human Vaniel liked better. Would she be happier feeding if it was someone else?

Lin Zhihan meant well. But her naturally cool face and flat voice made her sound utterly emotionless.

Vaniel’s eyes widened as she misunderstood.

In her visions, Lin Zhihan had taken her to school. In front of all those people, they held down her arms and legs while everyone took turns teasing and humiliating her…

All the color drained from her face.

A moment later, she sprang up and shoved Lin Zhihan hard. Her voice trembled. “I’m going to kill you!”

Lin Zhihan hadn’t expected her to lunge at her. Before she could react, the collar around Vaniel’s neck gave a sharp electric crack.

Crack!

Vaniel dropped like a puppet with its strings cut, collapsing facedown.

“Are you okay?” Lin Zhihan cried, startled, and hurried to bend over her.

Vaniel struggled to raise herself on her arms. Her eyes burned with desperate fury. She still seemed ready to attack despite the shock.

Lin Zhihan grabbed her wrist. “Calm down.”

“Let go of me!”

The only way Lin Zhihan could stop the collar from shocking her was to pull her into her arms and hold her down. She did so, whispering, “Did you misunderstand something?”

Vaniel was already too weak. Pinned beneath Lin Zhihan, she could only gasp for breath. Her chest rose and fell. She struggled a few times, but had no strength left.

“Scumbag… You really are a scumbag. Let go. I’ll bite you to death.”

They’d made so much noise that the other people nearby seemed to realize someone was there. Their sounds gradually quieted down.

But one couple nearby seemed especially perverted. Their noises grew even louder instead.

Lin Zhihan held Vaniel tightly, doing her best to calm her down, as the sounds from the other side grew clearer.

Lin Zhihan: “…”

Vaniel froze, too. Her face grew visibly redder.

An entirely different feeling crept quietly into her.

She was hungry.

This detestable human was so close. Her scent was like a hook, dragging at Vaniel’s senses until her mind went hazy.

This accursed succubus body.

Vaniel was furious and mortified. She tried to wriggle free, but she was simply too weak.

Lin Zhihan thought she was still trying to attack. She continued to hold her tightly, keeping her pinned in her arms.

They remained like that. Gradually, the scent made Vaniel’s eyelids droop. Her breathing grew uneven, and the pink in her eyes spread, growing deeper and deeper.

“Just… let go of me!”

“Calm down first.”

“Scumbag… human, let go…”

Her voice had grown soft at some point. It no longer sounded like a threat. It was more like a helpless, uncertain whimper.

Lin Zhihan paused. Something felt off.

She looked down and saw that Vaniel’s thin tail had somehow curled against her leg.

Without thinking, Lin Zhihan reached out and gripped it.

“Ah…”

Vaniel gave a small, startled cry, and her whole body trembled.

The end of the tail in Lin Zhihan’s hand seemed to have a mind of its own. Its heart-shaped tip brushed against her palm, soft and faintly quivering.

Both of them froze.

Lin Zhihan’s ear tips had turned red without her realizing it. She hadn’t known Vaniel’s tail was so sensitive.

Vaniel’s face gradually burned all the way to her ears. It was as if someone had caught her in the most embarrassing secret imaginable. She was so mortified she wanted the ground to swallow her. The couple nearby were still making noise, which only made her more uncomfortable.

Lin Zhihan came to herself and immediately let go.

Vaniel quickly pulled her tail back and clasped it to herself, lowering her head. Her ears burned.

Damn it! It was only because she was so hungry that her head had started to go fuzzy…

She’d actually acted coquettishly toward this human. She wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out.

“I didn’t mean that I’d give you to someone else or let other people hurt you,” Lin Zhihan suddenly said.

Vaniel stiffened slightly. Slowly, she looked back at Lin Zhihan, who watched her intently in the darkness.

“I’ll never do that.”

Lin Zhihan added, “You’re my succubus.”