After some playful scuffling, Ning Chu and Yan Xinya settled behind Lily, craning their necks to watch her play an eroge.
Ning Chu was genuinely surprised to see this kind of activity happening in a girls’ dorm. She’d always thought it was something confined to the boys’ dorms—crowds gathering to watch or play eroge together.
Judging by how unfazed Yan Xinya looked, even giving commentary on the game’s main characters like a pro, this was clearly not her first time. But then again, with one of them being a succubus and ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) the other a wolf-girl tainted by succubus influence, maybe it wasn’t all that surprising.
And Ning Chu was a succubus too... she watched with a justified sense of pride.
Around her besties, she didn’t need to pretend. They were all outwardly elegant but secretly had little "trains of thought" running off the tracks.
"Anime is still better," Yan Xinya mumbled, resting her chin on her hand with one arm draped over the back of her chair. "I can’t really get into movies."
"Yeah," Lily murmured, eyes glued to the screen, trying to unlock the next animated CG scene.
Ning Chu, meanwhile, had nothing to add. Since coming to this world, she hadn’t really watched much art of this kind, and she had no basis for comparison.
She’d only caught a short clip in the dorm with her roommates, which had her fleeing from embarrassment within minutes. Other than that, she’d only had the books she brought with her.
Even though she’d become a succubus and the main character of a raunchy novel, she’d hardly seen any of it...
"By the way, Ning Chu, why are your horns growing so fast?"
While Lily focused on winning over another character in the game, Yan Xinya turned her attention back to Ning Chu.
"I don’t know," Ning Chu replied, feigning ignorance.
"It’s like you’re developing faster than normal, huh?" Yan Xinya mused, then turned to Lily. "How long did it take you to go from flat to a C-cup?"
"High school?"
"Even if you started in your freshman year, it’d still take a few years. But Ning Chu’s only needed, what, half a year?"
There was no way Ning Chu would tell them the truth, so she just played dumb again. "Maybe it’s because I have a boyfriend?"
"Does that mean Wen Yang’s been rubbing your horns too?"
"......"
She was speechless for a moment, choosing instead to go with an indifferent response: "No clue; I don’t get it either."
Yan Xinya looked at the small horns on her head, muttering, "Maybe you should see a doctor. They’re growing awfully fast—there’s gotta be something going on."
"No money for that~ Besides, it’s not like it’s hurting me."
The wolf-girl, sounding concerned, advised, "Still, you should find some time to get a checkup. This growth rate of yours is insane."
"Got it," Ning Chu replied dismissively with a nod.
"Not so long ago, you were this cute little boyish-looking girl. And in just a few months—bam! Your face is stunning, your bust rivals Lily’s, you’ve got a long tail, growing horns, and a boyfriend too..."
"Lily, look at yourself! How can you be so behind?"
Lily replied softly, "Ning Chu’s just on another level."
"Ning Chu was born to be a succubus!" Yan Xinya agreed, giving a thumbs-up.
That didn’t sound like a compliment...
Ning Chu’s mouth twitched as her face flushed red from Yan Xinya’s teasing, her hands nervously clamped between her knees.
Thank goodness they didn’t know she used to be a guy.
Otherwise, she’d probably cover her face in shame and run off.
"Ooh! New CG!" Yan Xinya’s attention was drawn back to the screen, and she leaned in excitedly, only to sigh in disappointment. "More storyline... Why do they even put a plot in these games? And you have to romance each character one by one. So tedious."
Suddenly, the door swung open, and all three of them straightened up, turning toward the doorway as Lily quickly minimized the screen.
"What are you all so jumpy about?"
Lily walked in with a small bag, her large, bushy red tail swishing behind her. She eyed the three of them with her sly fox gaze. "Watching something scandalous?"
"Just you—you startled me," Yan Xinya sighed in relief, "Lock the door next time."
"Ning Chu’s here too? Watching something juicy?" Lily put her bag down on the desk, slipped off her fox-fur scarf, and asked with a smirk, "Why aren’t you with your boyfriend instead of hanging out here?"
"......"
Ning Chu couldn’t even be bothered to answer the fox.
"By the way, on my way back, I saw Wen Yang talking to some girl I didn’t recognize."
Ning Chu instinctively made a move to get up, the chair screeching against the floor, but she caught herself halfway, settling back into her seat with a huff, crossing her legs and folding her arms over her stomach. "Nonsense! Wen Yang isn’t like that."
"Then why’d you get so worked up?"
"Which eye of yours saw me worked up?"
"Alright, alright, you two! Why do you start bickering the second you see each other?" Yan Xinya interjected, waving them down. "Lily! Come look at this! It’s awesome!"
"What is it?" Lily took off her coat, changed into a comfy lounge outfit, and walked over to glance at Lily’s computer screen. But she just shook her head and headed to the balcony, "Not interested. Xinya, you keep hanging out with succubi and look at what it’s doing to you."
Is there seriously a fox spirit who isn’t into this sort of thing?!
Ning Chu watched Lily’s retreating back in shock, only for Yan Xinya to grumble beside her, "Having a boyfriend really makes you bold."
"Lily has a boyfriend?"
"Yup, I’ve met him a few times. He’s still in high school, all skinny and nerdy. Not sure what Lily sees in him—she’s like a cougar pouncing on a cub."
Ning Chu’s ears perked up at the gossip.
What the heck! She could barely imagine that long-legged seductress dating a shy, bookish guy. How wild!
Even Lily abandoned her game, joining Ning Chu in gawking at Yan Xinya.
But just then, Lily came back from the bathroom. "What are you guys chatting about?"
Yan Xinya deftly pointed to the screen and asked, "Lily, why do anime girls all have such huge chests? Kinda burns the eyes after a while."
"Maybe it’s... just that guys like them big?"
Ning Chu immediately straightened up and sneakily glanced at Lily’s chest.
Not bad; at least by appearance, Lily didn’t have her beat.
After all, Ning Chu’s build was a bit more petite overall~
Lily caught her sizing her up, muttering with a bit of envy and resentment, "That big? What a... obscene—wait! You’ve got horns?!"
"Just props, for fun."
While Lily knew Ning Chu was a girl, she didn’t know she was a succubus.
Otherwise, with her big mouth and rumor-spreading skills, Ning Chu’s succubus identity would’ve spread across campus by now.
Seeing Lily eyeing her skeptically, Ning Chu pointed to the decorative horns on Lily’s head. "Cute, huh? Maybe you should get some too?"
Lily tilted her chin up with pride. "Cute."
"Childish!"
Perfect, it worked!
Passing off her horns as props, Lily didn’t pry further or question her again.
