“So what exactly is going on here? I don’t get it. I really don’t!”

Yexinglan stamped her feet in front of the mirror. Her small, pale feet kept tapping against the floor, betraying how flustered she was.

There was no way she could calm down!

“Am I dreaming? I have to be, right?”

Yexinglan put a hand to her cheek, so soft and tender it looked like you could squeeze water from it, and gave it a little pinch.

“Ow, that hurts...”

It took less than a second for her hand to go from pinching her cheek to cupping it.

Yexinglan’s eyes welled up with tears. She was incredibly cute—her unintentional expression alone was enough to slay any lolicon.

The pain in her cheek brought her a message, too.

She wasn’t dreaming at all. This was really happening.

Once Yexinglan realized that, her entire worldview collapsed, and she immediately shut down.

“Damn.”

Time slowly passed.

Work hours were long gone.

If she went in now, it’d just count as being late.

And given her current situation... Heh. Maybe she shouldn’t even think about it.

“What kind of weird development is this? Whatever. I should figure out what’s going on first...”

Once she realized moping wasn’t going to solve anything, Yexinglan gradually pulled herself together.

She looked at the silver-haired little girl crouched nearby, also shut down, and sensed something familiar about her. It was as if the girl were herself.

The moment that thought crossed her mind, the silver-haired little girl across from her looked over.

“Hm?”

Yexinglan soon spotted a black-haired little girl crouched there, shut down.

“?”

Yexinglan’s mind short-circuited for a moment.

Then she made the little girl across from her wave hello.

“Hi~”

The silver-haired little girl waved, wearing a somewhat forced smile.

At the sight, Yexinglan and the silver-haired little girl both sucked in a sharp breath.

“Oh my god—!” ×2

One soul, two bodies.

Both little girls could be called Yexinglan.

Once she realized what was happening, Yexinglan was completely stunned.

“They’re both me? What kind of weird development is this? This is amazing!”

Black-haired Yexinglan suddenly got excited and moved closer to the silver-haired little girl, examining her carefully.

“Incredible. This is just incredible. They’re both me! Just thinking about it gets me excited!”

She was thrilled. Maybe it was because she could keep herself entertained, and have even more fun at that.

Yexinglan always felt lonely in her quiet, empty room. There was no one to keep her company—at most, she had friends she could play games with.

But once she logged off, the emptiness came back.

Now she had another version of herself to keep her company. How could that not be fun?

Even if it was herself. Even if they shared the same soul.

They understood each other, so of course they’d get along better than anyone else!

“Hmm~ To make it easier to tell us apart, I’ll give you a name.”

Black-haired Yexinglan thought for a while, then suddenly came up with an idea.

“Got it! From now on, I’ll be Ye Lan.” She’d change Lan to the homophonic character for “billows,” which felt more fitting for a girl.

The silver-haired little girl smiled faintly and finished the thought for her.

“Then I’ll be Yexing.”

“Right, right! Together, we make Yexinglan.”

Ye Lan looked so excited, like a little kid who’d just found a new toy.

It felt a little strange to think with one mind in two places, but she soon got used to it.

It was like one person putting a puppet on each hand and making them talk.

There was no second personality. Deep down, they were both herself!

Though it did seem a little like she was splitting into two.

After a while, the excitement wore off and Ye Lan gradually calmed down.

She looked up at the time.

“Ah, work hours are over. I’m late.”

Yexing nodded thoughtfully. “Hmm... It’s not just that I’m late. In my current state, I probably can’t even go to work.”

Ye Lan’s little mouth fell open and her eyes widened, as if she’d just realized something.

“Does that mean I’ve lost my job?”

Yexing nodded.

“Looks like it.”

It was fun asking and answering her own questions.

Doing that alone would’ve seemed a little crazy, but with two bodies, it was totally fine.

They’d more or less gotten used to playing this way.

The two little girls thought it over and reached a conclusion.

“Whatever. Let’s log on!”

To hell with work. Games were way more fun.

Ye Lan had two accounts. One was for dealing with real life, like school and company group chats.

The other was her super-otaku account. She only used it for game groups and silly meme groups.

Now that they had two bodies, they could each use one account. At last, she could try playing on two accounts at once and queueing up together!

The two little girls went to the pile of odds and ends and hauled out the old computers they’d replaced a while ago.

They were a little outdated, but still playable.

After a quick cleanup, they were both up and running.

“Let’s go, let’s go! Woohoo~”

“The path to victory is clear.”

They were playing a popular hero-battling MOBA. They queued as a duo on two accounts: one picked support, the other ADC. It was basically one person playing two heroes.

Once they got into the game...

Yexing and Ye Lan didn’t need to warm up or coordinate. They shared one soul, so they knew exactly when to fight and when to run. Their timing with their skills was spot-on, and their teamwork was flawless. They crushed their opponents in the early game.

“Hm? They surrendered?”

“Next game, next game.”

They played all morning, stopping only when lunchtime rolled around and their stomachs started growling.

“I’m hungry.” Ye Lan let go of the mouse.

“Mm.” Yexing nodded.

“Let’s order takeout.”

“Two portions.”

Then Ye Lan suddenly noticed a problem.

If they had two bodies, didn’t that mean she had to pay for two people’s food?

They had separate stomachs, after all.

If she filled one up, the other would still be hungry.

Ye Lan took out her phone and checked her savings. The balance was barely nearing four digits. Ordering two meals would knock it back down to three!

Yexing covered her own eyes and Ye Lan’s eyes with her hands.

“Don’t look. It’ll hurt your heart.”

“Waaah~”

Too late. The damage was already done.

Ye Lan propped herself up on the floor in an ORZ pose, her mood utterly low.

“I don’t have any income right now. How is this little money supposed to support two of me? At this rate, we’ll be huddled under a little blanket beneath a bridge before long...”

Yexing patted Ye Lan on the head, as if comforting herself.

Just then, her phone chimed with a notification.

It was a message from her manager, apparently asking why she hadn’t come to work.

Ye Lan thought it over and sent in a resignation request. She didn’t explain much, and certainly wasn’t going to tell him the truth.

After a bit of back-and-forth, her manager accepted. He said he’d settle her pay and send it to her tomorrow.

“Hmm... That should keep us going for a while. I need to find a new source of income as soon as possible.”

But Ye Lan looked at her and Yexing’s small, frail bodies.

“But what can I even do like this? I don’t have any ID. I’m completely off the grid...”

At least their faces were cute, like two perfect porcelain dolls crafted with the utmost care.

“Hmm...” ×2

The two little girls fell into thought.