Chapter 9: Sinner

Was kissing Lin Zhihan actually that nice?

That girl looked like she was really enjoying it…

Jiang Yeman’s brain short-circuited for three seconds. Then her blush spread from her ears down to her neck. Stumbling, she turned and ran away.

Meanwhile, Lin Zhihan finally managed to push Vaniel back enough to make her look at her.

“You…” Her voice was hoarse, and her breathing was unsteady. “Wait. Do you really want me to feed you here?”

Vaniel’s eyes were still pink. She blinked blankly, as if she didn’t understand, and simply kept pressing her lips against Lin Zhihan’s. She even tried to slip her tongue between them, treating Lin Zhihan’s mouth as if it were ice cream.

Lin Zhihan’s face grew even redder.

The system suddenly spoke in her ear. “She’s definitely reached her limit.”

“What?”

“No matter how much she resists, a succubus’s instincts will drive her to feed. No succubus would let herself starve to death. This isn’t something willpower can overcome.”

Lin Zhihan’s heart skipped a beat.

“Then what am I supposed to do?”

Was she really going to do this here?

The system hesitated. “She’ll probably become clearheaded again after she gets a little energy.”

At that, Lin Zhihan could only hold the succubus tightly in her arms as they hid in the alley. Vaniel had her arms cinched around Lin Zhihan’s neck, and all the kissing left Lin Zhihan barely able to breathe.

After an unknown amount of time, the pink in Vaniel’s eyes began to fade. The lavender returned, spreading outward from the edge of her pupils.

Slowly, slowly, Vaniel emerged from the haze and realized she was holding Lin Zhihan around the neck with both arms.

They were close enough to feel each other’s breath.

She went rigid.

Then she stepped back, her cheeks flushing. “W-what are you doing to me?”

Lin Zhihan, gasping for breath, looked helplessly at her. “…You kissed me.”

“Why would I suddenly kiss you?” Vaniel asked, looking as if she had no memory of what happened.

Lin Zhihan stared at the succubus, who was blushing to the tips of her ears and indignantly denying everything. She was silent for a moment.

“Let’s go home first.” She took Vaniel by the wrist.

The calmness of the gesture somehow made Vaniel more anxious.

For some reason, she had a vague sense that she’d just done something. What had happened to her?

Back at the apartment they were renting, Vaniel watched Lin Zhihan closely the whole time, as if she still couldn’t believe she’d lost her memory.

Lin Zhihan seemed perfectly calm. She spoke to Wen Qiao in the living room, helped bring in the dry laundry, washed up, turned off the light, and went to bed.

Everything was strangely peaceful.

But inside, her heart was heavy. She had never imagined she’d become someone who forced another person to do anything.

And yet, she had to grit her teeth and go through with it.

Night fell. The room was quiet, with only the occasional croak of a frog outside.

Lin Zhihan had lost count of how many times she’d turned over in bed.

The system kept nagging her to hurry up, leaving her no peace. Lin Zhihan knew she had to start.

But it was her first time, too. Couldn’t she take a little longer to prepare herself?

“…All right, all right. I know.”

She took a deep breath and slowly sat up in the dark, turning toward the place where Vaniel had been.

Vaniel was gone.

At some point, the beautiful succubus had quietly moved to the side of Lin Zhihan’s bed. She looked up, her eyes glowing faintly in the dimness as she gazed at Lin Zhihan, mesmerized.

Lin Zhihan couldn’t help freezing. Her throat moved slightly.

“Vaniel?”

Vaniel climbed onto the bed in response. She braced her hands on the mattress, moving closer and closer. A faint, sweet fragrance clung to her.

The pink in her eyes spread like spilled flower juice, growing deeper and more intoxicating.

“You…”

Had she lost consciousness again?

Before Lin Zhihan could finish, Vaniel kissed her. The kiss came without warning and was much more forceful than the one that afternoon. Vaniel knocked Lin Zhihan back against the pillow.

!

Lin Zhihan’s face turned red immediately.

As expected… the succubus was losing control again.

Vaniel’s gaze was a little unfocused at first. But the instant her lips touched Lin Zhihan’s, the delicious scent of food and her instincts made her forget everything else.

She rubbed her lips against Lin Zhihan’s, restless and eager. When she tasted Lin Zhihan’s tongue, she began making small, satisfied noises.

She was like a kitten that had finally gotten milk, mewling with delight.

Lin Zhihan’s ears turned red as she listened.

She was enjoying it so much.

Did that mean Lin Zhihan desired Vaniel?

The thought drifted through Lin Zhihan’s mind, and her heart suddenly raced.

…Now that things had gone this far, even if Vaniel wasn’t fully conscious, she had to feed her.

Lin Zhihan made up her mind and closed her eyes, returning the kiss.

Vaniel kept brushing against her, seemingly unsatisfied. But she didn’t know what to do next. She could only press closer, her tail quietly curling around them.

Lin Zhihan’s heart beat faster and faster. At last, she rolled them over, switching their positions. She made up her mind to take the lead.

She looked down at the beautiful succubus beneath her and swallowed, exploring awkwardly.

“Mmm…”

Vaniel immediately arched up, eager, and wrapped her arms around Lin Zhihan’s head, pressing it down toward her.

Lin Zhihan’s face turned even redder.

Vaniel’s arms held her close. Lin Zhihan felt dizzy, as if her brain were short on air.

But she remembered her task.

She had to touch the right place… She had to make Vaniel lay eggs. If Vaniel didn’t produce eggs and they didn’t fulfill the plot, then Lin Zhihan would have mistreated her for nothing.

Her hand slowly moved lower.

“Ah!” Vaniel cried out. Her expression turned hazy, as if she’d regained a little awareness. She started to squirm.

But Lin Zhihan had already decided to be a villain. Gritting her teeth, she pinned Vaniel down and tried to speak in a low, cold, ruthless voice.

“Don’t move. I’m your master,” she said into Vaniel’s ear. “You can’t refuse me.”

After she said that, Lin Zhihan bent down and kissed Vaniel again.

The succubus seemed startled. She said, “Wait,” and “What?” but her voice grew softer and softer, until it was as light as a feather.

She clutched the blanket, but in the end, she didn’t push Lin Zhihan away. Instead, her eyes slowly closed, her tail lifted, and her face grew scarlet.

The pink haze in her eyes soon spread again. Her awareness faded into a cloud.

…

The next morning, Lin Zhihan’s eyes flew open. Vaniel was no longer in her room.

Her heart tightened.

Thinking of the night before, she felt like a complete bastard. Like a rapist.

She worried the succubus might be traumatized or do something rash. She hurried out and found Vaniel in the living room.

The succubus really was angry.

She said nothing, but she sat in the corner farthest from Lin Zhihan’s room, her back stiff. Her wings, which usually fluttered when she was in a good mood, were now folded tightly against her.

Even Wen Qiao seemed to notice the change between them. She looked at Lin Zhihan with concern.

Lin Zhihan couldn’t explain, so she lowered her head.

It felt as if a rock were weighing on her heart.

But it was better for her to harden herself and play the villain than to leave the protagonist trapped in the time loop, suffering over and over.

She took a deep breath and resolved herself.

Before leaving, she made a point of going around to Vaniel’s corner. She bent close, her voice low, each word clear.

“Tonight, too.”

Vaniel jerked around. Her beautiful eyes were wide.

Lin Zhihan straightened and smiled like a full-fledged villain.

Then she calmly turned away, called for Wen Qiao, and went to school.

The door clicked shut.

Silence returned to the room.

Vaniel curled up and covered her face with both hands.

She didn’t want to face Lin Zhihan. It wasn’t that she’d suffered much the night before. It was that she couldn’t remember many details. Judging by what she did remember, she hadn’t felt bad at all. Not even a little. If anything, it had been too… not bad.

How could that be?

She’d only used the human to regain some strength!

But in the end, the succubus’s instincts had completely taken over. Her mind had gone hazy, as if she were floating in warm water. She couldn’t remember whether, in that state, she’d mumbled anything like “Master” or “That feels so good.”

What if she really had said it?

She had come to undergo a tribulation to prove that she was a powerful devil.

Even if she’d turned into a succubus and had to spend time with humans, it was only temporary! She was still a devil. Devils didn’t go around sleepily calling people “Master” and whining!

Vaniel pounded her forehead in frustration.

After several blows, she didn’t stop in time. Her hand swung out—Thump!—and struck the wall.

She froze.

She looked down at her hand. It was unharmed. Then she looked at the wall, where she’d left a clear dent.

Vaniel stared at the little dent, then slowly clenched and opened her right hand, feeling the strength flowing between her fingers. A flicker of delight spread through her.

She really had recovered quite a bit.

Even the pain from the wound in her leg had faded. The flesh was healing at an astonishing pace, a thin scab forming around the edge.

Vaniel quickly forgot most of her embarrassment, swept up in her happiness.

…

On the other side, Lin Zhihan looked gloomy and weighed down by worry.

The subway thundered through the underground tunnel.

“Lin Zhihan?”

Wen Qiao called her. When she didn’t answer, she called again and lightly touched her arm.

Lin Zhihan came back to herself and turned, confused. “Hm?”

“You’ve been spacing out ever since we left…”

Wen Qiao pressed her lips together, then asked quietly, “Did something happen between you and the succubus last night?”

Wen Qiao was surprised by the expression that crossed Lin Zhihan’s face.

It was like a glacier held under snow for years had quietly begun to thaw at one small, unnoticed corner. It lasted only a moment. Lin Zhihan’s eyes shifted slightly, and a faint blush touched the tips of her ears before she calmly hid it.

“Nothing,” she said.