Xiao Lei finally strutted out of the bathroom, grinning from ear to ear after chatting with Rinka for five or six minutes. Judging by her smug look and the OK sign she flashed at me and Zhao Zhao, things had gone her way.

“All done! Rinka said I can borrow her clothes!”

The beaming girl bounced over to the bed like she’d just achieved something incredible, showing off her pearly white teeth.

“How’d you convince her?”

I was genuinely curious. As far as I knew, Xiao Lei had nothing to bargain with—unless Zhao Zhao was right and she really did roll around on the bathroom floor acting all cutesy.

“Huh? That’s not important. Point is, it worked!”

Xiao Lei dodged the question, and I decided not to press it. But Zhao Zhao wasn’t about to let it go.

“You can’t just gloss over that. I have a right to know what you did, don’t I?”

“Nope! Still not telling!”

Completely ignoring Zhao Zhao, Xiao Lei adjusted the blanket wrapped around her chest and walked over to the clothing rack.

The rack stood against the wall between the bed and the sofa. Just as Xiao Lei passed the sofa—WHAM! Zhao Zhao launched himself off it, legs kicking, head first.

A rocket headbutt landed square on Xiao Lei’s forehead.

When the original and the double make contact at the forehead, it triggers a brief soul-link: their consciousness merges, memories sync up, and for a short while, they act as one.

I’d explained this to them earlier, so I could already guess Zhao Zhao’s plan—he wanted to headbutt the truth out of Xiao Lei. Even knowing they were technically the same person, he didn’t pull any punches. What a beast.

There was no blackout or delay—just immediate, shared pain and confusion as they hit the floor, groaning and cursing.

“Oww! God, I’m such an idiot!”
“That hurt like double pain!”

Xiao Lei had tears welling up, Zhao Zhao was scolding himself, and I stood over them both with a look usually reserved for watching goldfish repeatedly crash into the glass.

“So… wait, only one of you is conscious now, right? How’s it feeling?”

Still sprawled on the floor, they took a few breaths and sat up groggily.

Zhao Zhao: “It’s weird. It’s like I’m one person piloting two bodies.”
Xiao Lei: “It’s tricky, too—kinda like trying to play a video game with two controllers at once. And no, I don’t mean the Switch.”

He tried to stand, but lost balance and flopped back onto the sofa.

Xiao Lei, meanwhile, stayed kneeling beside the bed, clutching her head.

“I wanted to use this chance to give myself a hug or something... maybe experience what it’s like to be pampered by a cute girl. But I can’t even walk straight like this!”

I helped Xiao Lei back onto the bed. I was about to tease her for being self-indulgent but remembered what I did last night... so I let it slide.

“Xiao Lei would never say something like that. So Zhao Zhao, you’re in control right now?”

She leaned against my shoulder as she lay back down, tucking the blanket around her chest.

“That’s a weird way to put it,” she said. “We’re the same person. There’s no ‘dominant side.’ I’m using this body to talk to you just ’cause it’s closer, that’s all.”

“So... do you still have a crush on me?”

She tilted her head and gave me a look of pure judgment. “Wow. Really, Commander? No shame at all?”

Even I felt embarrassed asking. Her blunt response made my face burn.

But despite the sass, she kept looking at me. One hand around my neck, the other pressed to her chest like she was listening to her heartbeat.

“I’ll answer using Zhao Zhao. Xiao Lei’s too shy.”

The Xiao Lei on the bed stayed silent, but Zhao Zhao—eyes closed, maybe to avoid the awkward double gaze—spoke from the sofa.

“Yeah… seeing your face still gives me that feeling. It’s just… with our minds merged, my side kind of balances it out. Dulls it a bit.”

He clutched his chest dramatically.

“Crap, now even the original body’s heart rate is going up. This could be bad…”

Could be bad? My skin crawled.

“Dude, no. Don’t even go there. I’m not into guys. This ain’t Planet of the Apes either.”

“Hey! That’s rude!”

Now Xiao Lei piped up again—this mental tag-teaming was starting to wear on me.

Zhao Zhao’s current condition raises a weird philosophical question: if someone has both male and female bodies, does their gender identity split too?

“You know,” she mused, “you should just become a girl, Commander. I really like your double—great face, nice rack. If she had long hair, she’d be perfect.”

Easy for her to say. But if I did become a girl, would I like Zhao Zhao?

Not a chance.

“So, what did you say to convince Rinka?”

I tried steering the conversation back on track. She hesitated.

“Well, it wasn’t so much like convincing… it was more like a kindred spirit thing. Do I really have to say it?”

“You both keep dodging the question. What was the point of that headbutt, then?”

“It had no point! That was just me being stupid!”

She jabbed a finger at the lump forming on her forehead.

“I headbutted myself! I’M the one who got hurt, okay?!”

“Don’t take it out on me. Just spill it already.”

She gave me a helpless shrug.

“It’s nothing big, really. Rinka suddenly warmed up to me after she realized I was also flat-chested. Next thing I knew, she offered me clothes. But come on… how do you even say that out loud without dying inside?”

Solidarity among the flat-chested. Apparently, that was enough for Rinka to see Xiao Lei as a fellow comrade.

Which, in hindsight, made my double their natural enemy.

While Xiao Lei sighed dramatically, Zhao Zhao suddenly opened his eyes.

“Connection’s gone.”

“Same here. It’s like the multiplayer session dropped and now we’re in single-player mode.”

Xiao Lei grumbled as she tugged her blanket back up.

“Ugh, why did I even tell you all that?”

So the soul-link only lasts a few minutes.

“Anyway, I’m gonna pick out something to wear.”

She slid off the bed, kicked Zhao Zhao in the shin, and dove headfirst into Rinka’s closet.

Rinka’s wardrobe was jam-packed—three full racks, high off the ground and thick with dresses. The moment Xiao Lei disappeared into the clothes, she was out of sight. If you crouched down, you could just see her bare feet on the carpet.

Zhao Zhao chuckled. “It’s like having a little sister. Grew up together and all—like, I can tell what she’s thinking just by the way she sticks her butt out.”

From the closet, Xiao Lei’s muffled voice shouted back: “Why am I the little sister?!”

“You think you look like an older sibling?”

“And you do? What kind of big brother headbutts his little sister?!”

“Guys, enough. Lunch break is almost over. We should get going. Xiao Lei, are you coming back?”

By “back,” I meant re-merging with her original body.

Xiao Lei poked her head out of the clothes. “Nah. I haven’t even picked an outfit yet. You two go ahead—I’ll wait here until school’s out.”

I warned her, “You sure? There’s air-conditioning, yeah, but not much else to do here. You’re really gonna spend the whole afternoon alone?”

She held out her hand to Zhao Zhao and wiggled her fingers expectantly.

“Then, dear Onii-chan, leave me your phone.”

“Oho? You only call me ‘Onii-chan’ when you want something. But listen here, my foolish little ‘Imouto’—why should I give it to you?”

Her cutesy act didn’t faze Zhao Zhao at all. He had zero interest in Xiao Lei, likely because they were too close. Knowing each other inside and out—literally—meant there was zero room for attraction.

Honestly, that was a relief.

“Come on, I technically own half of it, right? Besides, I’ll be watching videos while you’re in class, and we’ll sync memories later, so it’s basically like you watched them too. Win-win!”

“Yeah right! You get all the fun, and I’m stuck in class. I wanted to see Meow Meow-chan’s concert too!”

“You should be studying! Learning is your duty as a student, Zhao Zhao! Focus on your future, okay?”

Xiao Lei even pushed up imaginary glasses while she parroted Yan Liuzhuan’s voice.

They knew each other too well to ever win an argument, especially when both sides had the same brain. Neither one could outwit the other.

“Just give it to her, Zhao Zhao,” I said. “I’ll lend you my phone later if you want to watch something. She needs a way to contact us in case anything happens.”

“Aww, Commander, you’re the best!”

I handed her the bronze-colored key.

“Don’t butter me up. I'm not interested in some ‘schoolgirl captivity play’ either. That’s the key to the entrance by the fire cabinet. I’m trusting you with it, so don’t go wandering around the school, okay? If someone spots you, it’ll be a pain to explain.”

She nodded sweetly.

Which, honestly, just made me more suspicious. When Xiao Lei looked that obedient, she was almost certainly plotting something.

So I gave her another warning: “I mean it. Don’t go out.”

She nodded again—this time, even more enthusiastically.

…

Naturally, as we tried to leave…

Zhao Zhao got stuck in the door again.