My Succubus Health Bar Runs on Girl-Crushes

“I… I have something to do. I’m leaving first!”

Tessa practically scrambled out of that suffocating atmosphere. Her mind was blank, and her heart was pounding so hard it felt ready to burst. She did not even dare look back at Seraphina Frost. Using every bit of strength she had left, she fled toward the stairwell, toward her tiny, only refuge where she could still breathe.

Room 407.

Behind her, Seraphina did not chase after her. She did not call out to stop her either.

She simply stood there quietly, watching the girl in the white dress flee in panic like a frightened deer. Deep in her eyes, possessiveness and romantic attachment surged so strongly they nearly overflowed.

A smile appeared at the corner of her mouth, full of indulgence and absolute confidence.

Silly Tessa.

Where else do you think you can run?

…

“Hah… hah… hah…”

Tessa supported herself against the wall and dragged her lead-heavy legs to the door of Room 407. She felt as if she had just run a marathon. Her body and soul were exhausted, and her spirit had nearly left her.

She took a deep breath, pulled out her key, and shakily aimed it at the lock.

As long as she got through this door, everything would be over. She could immediately throw herself onto her little bed, pull the blanket over her head, and shut out all the shame, terror, and chaos of the day.

But just as the key was about to slide in, the door creaked open from the inside.

The sight behind it turned Tessa into stone.

The blood in her body seemed to freeze.

The peace she had imagined was nowhere to be found.

The dorm was brightly lit.

Her three roommates were all there, sitting upright and waiting.

The three of them looked like judges. Their expressions were serious, yet each face carried an excitement they could not quite suppress, as if they were enjoying a show. Their gazes locked onto the shaken girl standing in the doorway.

“My… little Tessa,” said Vanessa Rose, the first to break the silence and clearly the chief judge of this trial.

She waved the phone in her hand. On the screen, a high-definition video of Tessa singing onstage was playing on loop, capturing every tiny expression on her face with cruel clarity.

Vanessa leaned lazily against the back of her chair. Her voice was sweet and bone-deep, but it carried pressure that could not be ignored.

“This original divine song that shook the entire internet was truly soul-stirring. It broke hearts. It made people cry.”

She paused the video at the exact moment Tessa sang the key lyric, then leaned closer. Dangerous light glittered in her eyes.

“‘God above, can’t you see how much I love her…’ Come on, little Tessa. Tell us properly. Who is this ‘her’ you love so much that you had to accuse heaven itself? Is it gentle, water-soft Seraphina? Or our bold and powerful Riley?”

Tessa felt as if lightning had struck the top of her head again.

Before she could react, Chloe Hart, acting as a very excited jury member, had already snatched the conversation away. She shot up from her chair like a rabid fan seeing her idol, eyes sparkling.

“Tessa! You’re famous! You’re completely famous! Do you even know that?” She waved her phone excitedly. “The campus forum, social media, video sites. Your video is everywhere now. Everyone is asking what the song is called. Some people are calling it [The Nameless Divine Song], some are calling it [Heavenly Sound], and some are straight-up calling it [Halewick University’s Anthem]. Ahhh, hurry and tell us. What’s its real name? This is your own baby!”

Looking at three pairs of eyes burning with fierce curiosity, Tessa knew she was not getting through this trial today.

Vanessa pulled her into the dorm and pressed her into the only empty chair. Tessa felt as if she had been tied to the witness stand.

She took a deep breath. In her mind, the system encouraged her with an unbearably smug tone.

[Hehe. Host, say it bravely. This is your first step toward fame.]

Tessa gave up resisting.

In a voice as tiny as a mosquito’s buzz, she softly said the real name of the song.

“It’s called… [Alaska Bay].”

“Alaska Bay? Wow. What a beautiful name!” Chloe immediately sighed in admiration. Then, as if thinking of something, she cupped her face with a dreamy expression. “That name sounds so sad and romantic, full of a distance that can never be crossed. Just like you and Seraphina. Clearly in love, yet unable to be together because of society’s eyes. Sob, sob. I’m shipping it again. I’m shipping it so hard.”

Tessa stared at her.

Please stop imagining things.

Just as Tessa was about to combust on the spot from Chloe’s dangerous remarks, Iris Lane, the final “judge” who had remained silent until now, finally spoke.

Her voice was as cool as ever, but it carried the scrutiny of a professional. She stood and walked over to Tessa, her sharp eyes scanning her from head to toe like an X-ray.

“Your voice has the power to raise a tidal wave,” Iris analyzed calmly. “But your body is so fragile it can barely stand against a breeze.”

She reached out and tapped the pause button on the video. The image froze on a frame where Tessa’s body trembled slightly from how deeply she had thrown herself into the song.

“Look here. Your body was shaking when you sang. That wasn’t because you were emotional. Your core strength is nowhere near enough to support long periods of standing or stable chest resonance.”

Before Tessa could respond, Iris reached out again and placed her hand precisely on Tessa’s flat, soft lower abdomen.

Her warm palm pressed against Tessa’s skin through the thin fabric of the dress. That firm, controlled touch made Tessa tremble lightly beyond her control.

Feeling the powerless softness beneath her hand, Iris frowned even harder.

“Too weak. There’s no strength here at all. If you want to fully control that gift of a voice, you have to get stronger. In that sense, Riley Summers’s training plan is correct.”

This professional “diagnosis” from the “fitness expert” made Tessa feel a different kind of suffocating pressure.

But the true killing blow was still coming.

While Iris was examining Tessa’s body, Vanessa’s gaze was needle-sharp. Suddenly, as if she had discovered a new continent, she leaned close to Tessa’s neck. Her nose nearly touched Tessa’s skin as she sniffed carefully.

The next second, Vanessa straightened and revealed a bright, dangerous smile, like she had caught a thief red-handed.

“Something’s off. Very off.”

Her voice was full of delighted mischief, immediately drawing Chloe and Iris’s attention.

“My little Tessa, besides that strange orchid-and-peach scent of yours…” Vanessa extended one slender finger and slowly, oppressively traced it over Tessa’s pale, long neck. Finally, she stopped at the corner of Tessa’s lips.

“Why do you also smell so sweet, so rich, and so obviously expensive… like strawberry cream?”

Tessa’s cheeks flared red at once. Heat rushed straight to her head, and her face turned red enough to bleed.

It was Seraphina.

Seraphina had fed her cake.

And then… at the end, she had even licked the spoon.

Scene after shameful scene replayed wildly in Tessa’s mind. She wanted nothing more than to find a crack in the floor and disappear into it.

“Wow!” Chloe let out an exaggerated cry and immediately rushed over, sniffing around Tessa’s neck. “It’s true! Such a sweet strawberry smell. Tessa, what happened after Seraphina took you away? Did she feed you something good?”

Tessa’s brain had completely crashed.

Other than shaking her head frantically, she could not say a single word.

Her pure, mortified expression only stirred the three temptresses’ desire to tease her even more.

Just as Tessa was about to be completely broken by her three roommates’ dangerous comments and reduced to ashes by social death, the familiar system alert rang in her mind like heavenly music.

[Ding! Congratulations, Host. The song [Alaska Bay] has gone viral across the internet. You have received a massive amount of high-purity Affection Points, including [Amazement], [Adoration], [Fondness], [Tender Care], and more.]

[Calculating Affection Points…]

[Congratulations, Host. You have obtained a total of +1,250 Affection Points this time.]

One thousand…

One thousand two hundred and fifty points?!

Tessa’s eyes instantly went wide. Huge joy flooded over her. She was rich. She could finally escape the survival anxiety of dropping dead at any moment.

Unfortunately, her joy did not last more than three seconds.

[However…]

The system’s flashy voice popped up slowly, carrying a nasty little smile.

[Because the effect of [Voice of Heaven] this time came from a one-use Temporary Trial Card and is not a skill truly mastered by the Host…]

[These 1,250 Affection Points will temporarily enter a [Sealed] state.]

[Once the Host obtains and truly masters the [Voice of Heaven] skill through her own efforts, this large sum will automatically be unsealed. Hehe. Do your best, my dear Host. I believe in you.]

“…”

The wild joy on Tessa’s face froze inch by inch. Then it cracked and collapsed into dead silence.

You absolute piece of trash.

You cursed, rotten, miserable scam of a system.

Tessa used every curse she had ever learned in her life to greet the chibi devil that was still wiggling its waist in her head.

Empty promises. This was a naked empty promise. You’re trying to get something for nothing.

Looking at her own reflection in the mirror, watching her expression shift violently from ecstasy to despair like she had split into two people, Tessa wanted to cry but had no tears left.