“…taste so good.”
The warm breath slipped into her ear canal, making Bai Linlin tremble again.
Taste good? What the hell does “taste good” even mean?!
She didn’t dare move.
Yet her mind, as if triggered by those words, suddenly flooded with fragmented images filled with misty steam.
In the scene, there were also two people.
It was her—or rather, the pink-haired “Bai Linlin.”
And Xiran.
White steam surrounded them.
They were soaking in a hot spring, shoulders exposed, skin flushed from the heat.
“Linlin has been very good today.”
Xiran said.
Her tone sounded quite satisfied.
The “Linlin” in the memory didn’t speak, only lowered her eyes.
But she could feel what the girl had been thinking at the time: If I’m not good, what can I do? It’s not like you’ll let me go.
Xiran leaned in again.
This time she wasn’t kissing her lips, but moving toward her ear.
She took “Linlin’s” earlobe into her mouth and licked it with the tip of her tongue.
Then she gently nibbled with her teeth.
It didn’t hurt, but the wet sensation made the “Linlin” at the time break out in goosebumps.
She shrank her neck.
Xiran seemed to really like her ears.
Every time they were intimate, she would pay special attention to them.
Licking, biting, sucking.
At first, “Linlin” had been very uncomfortable. Now… she was still uncomfortable, but at least she no longer cried out.
After toying with her like this for a while.
The hot spring steam grew thicker, and “Linlin” started feeling a little dizzy.
Maybe she had been soaking for too long. Or maybe it was because Xiran was leaving her breathless.
“Linlin’s ears.”
Xiran spoke again suddenly.
Her voice came right against the shell of her ear, making “Linlin” jolt.
“I bit them a little earlier,”
Xiran turned her head to look at her, speaking in a casual tone as if discussing the weather.
“The texture was very good.”
“Linlin’s” mind went blank. She replied without thinking.
“…Thank you?”
As soon as she said it, she wanted to slap herself.
Thank you for what?!
What was there to thank her for!
Thanking someone for biting your ear—you’ve got some serious issues, Bai Linlin!
Xiran seemed amused by her reaction.
The corners of her mouth curved slightly, though she didn’t laugh out loud.
That smile was faint and disappeared in an instant.
“You’re welcome.”
She actually replied seriously.
“It’s me who should thank Linlin for having such suitable ears.”
Suitable ears?
“Linlin” thought, What makes ears suitable or not?
As long as they can hear sounds, isn’t that enough?
Are there ears specifically made for being bitten?
Xiran seemed to see through her thoughts.
She released “Linlin’s” ear and reached out, pointing at her own ear.
“My earlobes are very small,” she said.
“Linlin” looked.
Indeed, Xiran’s earlobes were thin, with almost no flesh.
“Linlin’s earlobes,”
Xiran turned back and gently pinched “Linlin’s” earlobe with her fingers.
“Are plump and soft. They feel really nice to bite.”
She paused, then added.
“They taste good when licked, too.”
“Linlin” felt her ears starting to burn again.
She wasn’t sure if it was from the hot spring, from being licked and bitten just now, or… from sheer embarrassment.
Having someone evaluate the “texture” of a body part in such detail was not a pleasant experience.
“So,” Xiran concluded, her tone turning serious, “Linlin needs to take good care of her ears.”
“…Take care?”
The “Linlin” in the memory repeated.
Take care of them how? So they wouldn’t get bitten?
“Mhm.”
Xiran nodded, her fingers still gently kneading “Linlin’s” earlobe.
“Don’t let other people touch them. And don’t let them get injured. If they get scratched or a piece is missing, they won’t taste as good when I bite them.”
“Linlin” stayed silent for a few seconds.
She suddenly realized she had grown somewhat numb to this.
Being evaluated like food, being told to “stay in good condition for consumption”—these terrifying things, after hearing them enough times, seemed to have become… something she was getting used to?
At least she no longer felt her soul leave her body in terror like the first time she heard “I want to eat you.”
Like hell I’m getting used to it! This is not normal at all!
“I understand,” “Linlin” finally said softly, with a hint of resigned numbness.
The fragment of memory ended abruptly there.
She snapped back to reality and realized she was still lying on Xiran’s hard single bed, with Xiran’s head still buried in the crook of her neck.
Warm breaths continued brushing against her skin.
Those earlier memories… were they from the original ‘Bai Linlin’?
So that was it… For the original “Bai Linlin,” Xiran’s current behavior—licking her ears, commenting on their taste, demanding they be protected—was not something new. It was simply part of a “normal” routine that had happened many times before?
That was why she had gone from initial terror to gradually becoming “used to it,” even numb?
This realization sent a chill down Bai Linlin’s back.
But immediately after, a more urgent question slammed into her chaotic mind.
Then what exactly was she—the current “Bai Linlin”—to Xiran?
A “food” with good texture?
A “possession” that could be played with however she liked to satisfy some special fetish?
Or… was there something deeper?
The system’s main quest surfaced in her mind: [Investigate the Victim Witch Xiran’s past and resolve her obsession with the character Bai Linlin.]
Obsession with Bai Linlin…
Was this twisted “like” mixed with destructive desire and possessiveness the obsession itself?
Where did this obsession come from?
Just because her ears “tasted good”?
Where was she supposed to start investigating if she wanted to escape this damn game?!
Bai Linlin felt a wave of powerlessness.
There were too few clues, the enemy (or rather, “owner”?) was too strong, and she was still pinned down on this bed, unable to move.
At that moment, the weight on top of her shifted.
Had Xiran… had enough of licking?
She propped herself up, arms braced on either side of Bai Linlin’s body, and looked down at her.
The bedroom was very dark.
Only a faint light from outside the window outlined the shape of Xiran’s face.
Her expression was unclear, but Bai Linlin could feel her gaze lingering on her face before… slowly moving downward.
It stopped at the collar of her uniform.
Then, Xiran reached out. Her cool fingertips touched the first button at Linlin’s collar.
Wait… is she going to…