After stepping through the threshold, the warm heat in the room quickly seeped into her limbs.
The fireplace was still burning.
She hadn’t worn stockings, so her bare legs had been freezing the whole time.
‘This feels much better.’
Who knew the temperature difference would be this big?
She rubbed herself, exhaled a puff of cold air, and looked around.
Nothing had changed.
The shattered vase pieces from her tantrum a few days ago were still scattered on the floor, and no one bothered to avoid stepping on them.
So lazy.
Back then, she often had to clean up the house as a child.
On the other side, her father, who was lying on the sofa with his eyes closed, noticed her and shot up like a spring.
“Ah… Ye Lu?”
“Th-this outfit… very handsome, not bad for my son…”
“…?”
“Don’t lie with your eyes closed! This is obviously a skirt, okay?! A short skirt! Something girls wear!”
“Oh… sorry.”
“Daughter, so cute.”
“Wh-what cute?! I’m not cute at all!”
“Then handsome.”
“Not handsome!”
“Then…”
Silence.
Her father was quite a handsome man—thin built but very tall.
However, he looked listless all day, with heavy dark circles, walking unsteadily as if he might collapse at any moment.
As for why, Ye Lu wasn’t stupid.
The culprit… of course, was her mother.
He had a good personality.
Compared to her mother, Ye Lu actually preferred spending time with her father.
When she was little, her father had taught her swordsmanship many times, though the time was scarce.
One thing to mention—her father was actually a human.
As for why her mother chose a human husband, it was probably because the girls of the Succubus Clan liked humans the most.
Humans were weak, easy to bully, and the scent of their vital essence was top-notch—or so she had heard.
Too bad the Prince wasn’t human.
They chatted briefly, but they never really connected.
The more they talked, the more annoyed she got.
Finally, when they brought up the topic of adapting to her female identity,
Ye Lu couldn’t take it anymore.
She turned around and left, retreating into her small bedroom.
She slammed the door shut and locked it.
Then she felt it was wrong, sighed, and unlocked it.
A strong smell of oak mixed with the scent of book covers.
She looked back at her small bedroom—it hadn’t changed at all.
Ye Lu had thought her mother would have transformed it into a very girly style by now.
For example… wallpaper changed to pink, carpets replaced with ones featuring kittens.
Lampshades with cute deer ring patterns, a girly comforter and pillow, and a little teddy bear doll to sleep with every night.
But nothing.
Wah… nothing changed… the decor was so ugly, so disappointing…
Was this still her room?
Had she actually liked this style before?
Extremely minimalist… gray-white wallpaper, black bed, not a single plushie on it.
On the desk and bookshelf, there were even stacks of philosophy books.
Boring to death!
Seriously.
Once she graduated and rented a place, she’d definitely decorate it… decorate…?
…
?
No, this was fine.
Ye Lu picked up the air conditioner remote that was about to fall off the desk and pressed the button.
With a beep, it started running.
She shuffled to the bed and flopped down like a lazy caterpillar.
The leather shoes on her feet were kicked off carelessly; one accidentally hit the floor mirror beside her, but she didn’t care.
She just stared at the ceiling, eyes a little vacant, and grabbed the nearest pillow.
Like an octopus, she buried her face deep into it.
After a while, she started rolling around on the bed.
Rolling turned into tossing and turning…
She couldn’t help humming.
A minute later… the sheets were a mess.
After venting, she propped herself up on her legs and sat up.
The room was dark—no lights on.
She looked at the girl in the mirror with messy hair and an obviously unhappy expression.
After a long moment, a thought popped into her head: ‘Ah… I’m a woman?’
No way!
That damn Celestial Demon Prince!
She cried, tears dripping.
She gently touched her neck.
Through the mirror, she could clearly see it—up till now, there was still a red mark on her neck that hadn’t disappeared.
Not disappeared!
Even her breathing felt a little blocked.
Her mother had asked her earlier, and she said she fell.
But from her mother’s strange expression, she clearly didn’t believe it.
To an outsider, it looked more like she had done that kind of thing…
But she was really pitiful.
She hadn’t really cared before, but… the Prince’s attitude… was just utterly terrible.
In the end, he didn’t even apologize before leaving.
He tormented her for so long, and didn’t even bother with an excuse?
Heartbroken!
Wah… she never wanted to see him again…
Just because he was the Celestial Demon Prince, could he do whatever he wanted?
“…”
‘Actually, maybe he can…?’
“Grrr…”
She was hungry.
She reached down and patted her belly, then gritted her teeth and pinched it in frustration.
Hmph!
If it wouldn’t be satisfied no matter what, then just obediently absorb nutrition from normal food!
Angry, she hurled the pillow away.
In those few seconds, her stomach grumbled again, dissatisfied.
Helpless, she braced herself, exhaled a hot breath, and then… slowly, with her rounded, nail-less fingertips, she unbuttoned her school uniform.
—Because her morning clothes had been torn, she had to change into the uniform temporarily.
Then, she reached into the pocket of her uniform, pulled out a few biscuits, and brought them to her mouth, nibbling like a kitten.
Soft.
Delicious.
Earlier, when her clothes had been torn, she had actually been… touched, and she had slightly changed her opinion of him.
But then he stopped.
It seemed he preferred her lips, or did he only know how to kiss?
Probably not…
“So tasty…”
She ate with relish.
Just some dried saliva—why did it taste this good?
In that moment, she could feel her hunger being filled.
But it was far from enough.
The part being filled was probably just the tip of the iceberg.
What made her despair was that even if she ate all these biscuits, it wouldn’t even reach the threshold of a single meal.
As she thought about it, even eating became tiring.
Her tail drooped weakly over the bedsheet.
Fortunately, once she… she perked up again.
For once, she allowed herself to relax.
Just as she was getting absorbed again,
Click!
The door opened.
“Wha!”
She froze stiff?
She looked up stiffly.
Sure enough,
It was a little succubus in a maid outfit.
Her mother.
She opened the door without warning and stood at the entrance.
Covering her mouth.
Eyes unblinking, fixed on her.
In those eyes was bewilderment, but more than that… relief.
!!!
They stared at each other, speechless…
An extremely awkward position.
She was sitting like a duck, the tips of her feet dangling off the edge of the bed.
Her lips were slightly parted, breathing in small, controlled gasps, trying hard not to make a sound.
She hadn’t expected this.
Mmn… her mind went blank.
Staring at her mother’s eyes, she wanted to die.
“Sorry, Ye Lu… Mother should have knocked, shouldn’t she?”
“Then… Mother won’t disturb you.”
With that, she silently closed the door.
The light from the living room vanished, and the bedroom went dark again.
But Ye Lu was no longer calm.
‘Forget it…’
She steeled herself, quickly finished the remaining biscuits, wrapped her uniform jacket around herself, didn’t even bother with slippers, rushed over, and turned the doorknob.
“It’s not what you think!”