My Succubus Health Bar Runs on Girl-Crushes

Tessa saw a girl in a pale yellow dress, sweet and gentle enough that she seemed made of sunlight.

The girl was crouched in front of her with worry written all over her face. In her fair little hands, she carefully held a beautifully wrapped heart-shaped lunchbox that gave off an irresistible aroma.

When the girl saw Tessa lift her head, she smiled. It was warm and healing, like afternoon sunlight, and somehow made people feel safe.

That worried voice, clear and sweet like spring water, sounded softly above her again.

“Are you… are you okay? Your face looks terrible, and your lips are so pale.”

Her voice seemed to carry a kind of magic. Like a pair of gentle hands, it brushed away the chaos and roaring in Tessa’s mind, letting her barely regain a thread of awareness.

Tessa wanted to say, “I’m fine,” but her throat was so dry she could not make a sound. She wanted to shake her head, but even the strength to move her neck seemed to have been drained away.

Seeing how unsteady Tessa looked, the girl’s delicate brows drew together even tighter. She hesitated no longer. She placed the elegant lunchbox on a nearby stone bench, then reached out with soft yet surprisingly steady arms and helped Tessa up without giving her a chance to refuse.

“You look like you’re about to faint. Don’t be scared. I live nearby. I’ll help you over so you can rest for a bit.”

The girl was petite, but the way she supported Tessa was unexpectedly stable. Her arm wrapped around Tessa’s waist, letting most of Tessa’s weight lean against her. A faint sweet scent, like toasted bread mixed with milk, drifted from the girl. Tessa, dizzy with hunger, swallowed without thinking.

At that moment, Tessa had no strength to resist. Like a doll picked up and brought home, she was helped away from the tree-lined path. Her mind was heavy and blurred. She only moved passively, one step after another, until the girl brought her to the front of a dorm building Tessa had never really noticed before.

The building looked newer than the ordinary dorms and much quieter. The girl helped her inside, took the elevator, and finally stopped in front of an unremarkable door.

She unlocked it with a key.

The moment the door opened, Tessa was stunned.

Her low-blood-sugar, sluggish brain was hit hard by a rich, almost tangible wave of happiness that could not be described in words.

This was definitely not a normal dorm room.

The room was not large, but its layout was completely different from a standard four-person dorm. It was clearly a secret base remodeled into a cozy little kitchen.

On the left was a full miniature cooking station, small but complete. An induction cooktop, a little oven, a microwave, and all kinds of pots, bowls, and utensils were arranged in perfect order, shining cleanly under the soft light. The air was filled with a wonderful blend of rich chicken broth, sweet pastries, and fresh vegetables, the kind of scent that could make any starving person surrender on the spot.

“Sit down.”

The girl carefully settled Tessa onto the only chair in the room, which had a cute checkered cushion. Her tone carried a gentle firmness that was hard to refuse.

“Don’t move. I’ll be done right away.”

She turned to the cooking station, picked up a clean white bowl, and skillfully ladled out a steaming bowl of golden noodle soup from a small ceramic pot kept warm on the lowest heat.

Her movements were gentle and focused. She added a few pieces of perfectly blanched green vegetables from a small side dish, then carefully placed a soft-boiled egg, cooked so beautifully it looked like art, on top of the noodles.

Only after finishing all of that did she carry the bowl over as if holding a rare treasure and set it gently on the table in front of Tessa.

Grrrrr.

In the extreme quiet, Tessa’s stomach let out a loud, clear roar filled with endless longing.

Her face turned bright red.

The girl heard it and did not laugh. Instead, her eyes lit up, and her smile grew even brighter and more satisfied than before.

“Eat while it’s hot. I made the chicken broth this morning. It’s just right.”

Tessa looked at the chicken noodle soup in front of her. The golden, rich broth glistened with tiny droplets of chicken fat. The green vegetables and orange-red soft-boiled egg sat perfectly among the noodles.

She could no longer care about her image.

She picked up the fork, lifted a small bundle of noodles soaked in broth, and put them into her mouth without even waiting for them to cool.

“Mmph!”

The moment it entered her mouth, warm, fragrant broth burst across her tongue, mingling with the springy texture of the noodles. An indescribable warmth slid down her throat with almost brutal force, filling her empty stomach and spreading to her cold limbs.

This was not just food.

It was more like a magical healing potion made specifically to save her.

Every bit of stamina Riley Summers had wrung out of her, every cell that had nearly gone on strike from hunger, let out a satisfied sigh under that warmth and came back to life.

Tessa fell completely.

Like someone who had not eaten for three days, she devoured everything in front of her. Noodles, vegetables, even the soft-boiled egg. She had no time to savor anything properly. She simply followed the most primitive instinct of her body and swallowed it all.

Inside her head, the system alerts rang out cheerfully.

[Ding! Detected pure “Tender Care” from Molly Sweet. Affection Points +5!]

[Ding! Detected deep “Satisfaction” from Molly Sweet after watching you eat. Affection Points +5!]

The girl rested her chin in her hands and sat across from Tessa, watching her eat with pure satisfaction. Her pretty eyes curved into crescents, as if she were admiring the most beautiful scenery in the world.

Only after Tessa drank the last drop of soup did the girl finally introduce herself, looking deeply pleased.

“Hi. I’m Molly Sweet, from the Baking Club. My favorite thing is watching people finish every bite of food I make.”

Molly Sweet.

It really was a sweet, soft name, just like her.

Full and warm at last, Tessa finally felt completely alive again. She lifted her head a little shyly, wanting to thank the angel who had saved her life.

Molly seemed to see through her thoughts and waved her hands, a bit embarrassed.

“Don’t thank me. I should be thanking you, actually. I love cooking too much, and I can’t control my hands. I always accidentally make too much. Regular dorms don’t allow cooking appliances, so I applied to the school for this special kitchen suite where I can work on recipes. I thought I could share anything extra with people. Otherwise, it would all go to waste.”

Tessa looked at her.

She looked at those clear eyes, sparkling with love for food and sharing. For the first time since arriving in this world, Tessa felt a warmth and safety so pure, without aggression or possessiveness.

Seraphina’s gentleness was like a honey-coated web, beautiful and tempting, but always carrying the possessive desire to capture her prey completely.

Riley Summers’s concern was like a burning flame, hot and direct, but with the forcefulness of someone trying to forge stubborn iron into a divine weapon.

Molly Sweet’s warmth, though, was like the sunlight pouring through the window at that moment. Soft, gentle, asking nothing in return. It simply shone quietly on you and let you relax from the bottom of your heart.

Molly looked at Tessa’s empty bowl with an expression of pure happiness.

Then she suddenly remembered something. She turned and carefully took a clear plastic bag of freshly baked cookies from the small oven, which was still giving off leftover warmth.

“These are for you to snack on!”

Without letting Tessa refuse, she pressed the warm box of teddy bear-shaped cookies into Tessa’s hands.

“You’re so thin, and you don’t eat properly. It really makes me worry.”

Tessa held the box of cookies. The sweet scent of butter drifted into her nose, and her heart felt warm.

Molly looked at Tessa with pure tender care in her eyes, as well as an unstoppable desire to feed her. As if she had suddenly made a decision, she said, “Let’s exchange contact info. If I make too much food in the future, I’ll message you and call you over to eat with me, okay?”

She looked at Tessa sincerely. Her expectant eyes were like two clear pieces of amber, shining with a light that made refusal impossible.

“…Okay.”

Tessa felt light-headed, as if she had been overwhelmed by this gentle happiness. Blushing, she could only nod hard.

The two quickly exchanged contact information.

“Then I’m going first. My roommate is about to starve!” Molly winked playfully at her, picked up the heart-shaped lunchbox she had left by the door, locked the little kitchen behind her, and hurried toward the dorms.

Tessa stood where she was, holding the warm box of teddy bear cookies, feeling like she had just had an unreal dream.

She looked down at the adorable cookies in her arms, then looked up at Molly’s bright, bouncing figure as she left. A warm current flowed slowly through her heart.

Carrying that strange, post-survival happiness, Tessa returned to the floor where her own dorm was.

She took a deep breath and pushed open the door to Room 407.

Creak.

The door had barely opened a crack when an energetic voice rushed toward her along with a burst of fragrance.

“Tessa, you’re back! Where did you go? We were so worried that… huh?”

Chloe had been about to give Tessa a huge hug, but after sniffing the air hard, she suddenly froze. Her curious eyes locked precisely onto the box of cookies in Tessa’s arms.

“Tessa! What tasty thing are you holding? It smells amazing!”