Night had fallen, and the lanterns were just beginning to bloom across the harbor.
Liyue Harbor glittered with color and noise. Street vendors called out their wares in overlapping waves.
Three figures of mismatched heights made their way along the bustling street.
"Shenhe, are you sure you're alright? You've had a full day already — we could rest tonight and come back tomorrow, you know?"
Paimon asked.
"I'm fine. I'd like to meet this person you've been talking about."
Shenhe shook her head.
"Alright then."
Paimon nodded and said, "I wonder what Miss Fang Qiu is up to right now?"
"Probably reading," Lumine said.
"That does suit her, doesn't it." Paimon nodded in agreement.
And at that very moment, inside Fang Qiu's rented room —
"Mm… ah…"
A soft, drowsy whimper escaped her lips. Fang Qiu's delicate frame trembled ever so slightly, a flush of warm rose rushing across her fair, porcelain cheeks.
Her eyes fluttered open.
That pair of crimson irises shimmered as though veiled in a thin mist.
She pushed back the covers. Her thin gauze robe had been thoroughly rumpled — and Tingyu, she discovered, had at some point wormed her way into the bed.
Fang Qiu gathered Tingyu up into her arms — the cat had been sprawled across her, diligently kneading her with soft paws.
"Alright, alright, that's enough. So I overslept and forgot to make your breakfast. You don't have to make such a fuss about it."
Fang Qiu stared down at the cat bundled against her chest, her expression a picture of wounded grievance.
That little menace — she had absolutely no idea when Tingyu had snuck in. Because of her, she'd had the most bizarre dream…
The sort of dream that, in a web novel from her past life, would've gotten the whole book taken down along with the author.
Still, small mercies — Tingyu, lazy as she was, at least had the decency to keep her claws in. She'd only been batting at her with soft paws.
Which was important, because Fang Qiu had only been wearing a thin gauze robe. And given how restlessly she'd been tossing in her sleep, even that had ridden up into a state of near-complete dishevelment.
Had those claws come out, she'd have been leaving the bed with several new decorative scratches.
Fang Qiu smiled and gave Tingyu's little pink paws a gentle pinch, then set the cat down on the floor.
She stretched lazily, put together Tingyu's breakfast, and after a quick wash, sank down onto Jumpy Dumpty with all the enthusiasm of someone whose soul had yet to fully return to their body.
Yesterday's outing had utterly drained her. Even after sleeping a full day and night, a faint fog of exhaustion still clung to her.
She sat there for a good while before the world started making sense again.
"I'll read for a bit, then head out for dinner."
She watched Tingyu tuck into her cat food with great enthusiasm, and rubbed her still-drowsy eyes.
Then her gaze drifted to the wooden crate sitting in the corner of the room.
A small spark of anticipation.
In her letter to Thoma, she'd mentioned a few authors she was particularly fond of. If he meant to make amends, he'd surely have packed the crate with new releases from those very writers.
She crouched down and opened the lid with a mild smile — and then, for the second time, watched the light die in her eyes.
The first book staring back at her was titled Another Me. The cover depicted the protagonist standing before a mirror — but when the figure in the reflection turned, the protagonist had not. Worse, the mirrored figure wore a twisted smile on its face, and was reaching out with a bloodied hand, fingers closing toward the unaware protagonist's neck.
In an instant, the image of the little boy she'd seen by the river flashed through her mind.
"Ah!"
A bolt of cold dread shot from the soles of her feet straight to the crown of her head.
The shock hit her out of nowhere. Fang Qiu let out an involuntary shriek, her legs went out from under her, and she sat down hard on the floor.
"Ow… that hurts…"
She scrunched her brow, eyes wide with lingering panic, and let out a soft whimper. She was very nearly in tears.
The wooden crate, deprived of her hand's support, snapped shut with a loud thwack.
Thank goodness she'd been crouching when she opened it — had she been standing, that lid would have done considerably more damage.
Fang Qiu squirmed against the plush carpet, then pushed herself backward across the floor with her heels, crabbing away from the crate one frantic shuffle at a time until she was safely out of range.
The moment she was clear, she spun around — and, moving exactly like a cat — scrambled forward on all fours and crawled the rest of the way to the door.
There was only one thought in her head: find Hu Tao.
Her hand was already on the door handle — and then she stopped.
She was still only wearing the thin gauze robe. The sole difference between that and wearing nothing at all was that the gauze made it… technically more tantalizing. Half-concealed was always more alluring than nothing at all.
If she ran out like this, she might as well not bother coming back.
This was precisely why the panda pajamas were a necessity. If she'd been wearing the panda pajamas right now, she could have bolted straight out the door without a second thought…
Unfortunately, she'd only handed the design over to Sister Ying'er yesterday. It would still be a few days before they were ready.
Calm down…
Breathe.
It was just a crate full of ghost novels. That's all.
It's not like the boy from the river had actually shown up. There was nothing to be afraid of…
Calm down…
"…Hah."
Fang Qiu let out a long, slow breath. Gradually, she felt her body come back under her control. She picked herself up off the floor.
"Damn that Thoma! He had the nerve to send me ghost stories to give me a fright! I'm not done with him!"
She fumed under her breath.
Getting jump-scared the moment she climbed out of bed — honestly, a person could be frightened to death that way. Her constitution simply was not built for this sort of thing.
Next time he sent books, she wasn't signing for them. Straight into the bin.
She had one hand on the wall, about to go change and head to Hu Tao's to have the whole wretched crate dealt with — when a tremendous crash came from behind her.
"Hm?"
Fang Qiu startled, spinning around on instinct.
The door was open?
No — not open. The lock had been… removed. By someone.
And standing in the doorway was a woman.
She was strikingly beautiful — an elegant, statuesque figure, her white hair drifting lightly on the breeze.
The woman was looking back at her in silence.
"What a gorgeous person… wait, hold on… is that me?"
Fang Qiu's mind went blank.
Had her soul left her body? Why was she seeing herself standing in the doorway?
…Was she seeing things?
She rubbed her eyes on reflex, blinked — and saw that the woman in front of her, identical to her in every way, was regarding her with a cool, expressionless face.
And in that instant, the first book from the crate flashed through her mind.
Another Me.
Horror and bewilderment crashed over her at once — and, to no small degree, she'd also simply been terrified by having her door suddenly ripped off its hinges.
Before she could even reach for her Vision, the strength that had only just returned to her limbs drained away completely.
She tipped forward, falling straight toward the floor.
But the searing pain she braced herself for never came.
Instead, there was a clean, delicate fragrance — and a warm, soft embrace.
Fang Qiu trembled, limp as a flower with no bones left in it, and leaned helplessly against Shenhe. Only with Shenhe's steadying hands did she manage to stay upright at all.
"Are you both alright? We heard a huge noise from downstairs."
Paimon's voice rang out.
Fang Qiu looked sideways. Paimon and the Traveler had appeared in the doorway, staring at the two of them — at the pair of women who looked completely identical — with expressions of utter bewilderment.
"Uh… what exactly is going on here?"
The sight gave Paimon pause. She blinked and asked, confused.
She couldn't quite understand why two people who'd only just met were already hugging.
Lumine, meanwhile, wordlessly reached over and covered Paimon's eyes.
Children shouldn't be looking at this.
"Are you alright?"
"I… I'm fine."
With bare skin pressed against the warmth radiating from the woman in front of her, Fang Qiu's fair face blazed even redder than before.
She struggled to right herself and murmured the words.
"Good."
Shenhe nodded, then said, "I heard you scream from inside. Did something happen?"
"N-no, nothing happened."
Fang Qiu, face thoroughly crimson, pressed one hand over the strategic areas of her wardrobe, and after managing a reply, added in a soft, pitiful voice: "Um… Traveler, would you mind waiting just a moment? I need to put some clothes on."
"Of course."
Shenhe nodded.
Lumine took Paimon by the hand and stepped back out of the room. Shenhe, however, remained standing exactly where she was, showing no sign whatsoever of moving.
Noticing that she had absolutely no intention of stepping away, Lumine reached back and tugged at Shenhe's sleeve. Only then did Shenhe follow Lumine out through the doorway, pulling the damaged door shut behind her.
Fang Qiu retrieved the set of undergarments she'd washed the day before, then pulled a proper outfit from her wardrobe and got dressed.
The feeling of dry fabric against her skin brought a wave of profound relief.
"…Hah."
Fang Qiu let out a quiet, grateful breath.
"Alright, you can come in."
She called softly.
No sooner had the words left her mouth than the door — its lock now in a state of sorry disrepair — was pushed open easily by Paimon.
Lumine and Shenhe followed behind. Fang Qiu gestured for them to sit.
Tingyu cast Shenhe a single, dispassionate glance, then looked away. She let out one small meow in Fang Qiu's direction, then burrowed back under the covers — a sight that left Paimon genuinely astonished.
"Tingyu is so smart! Even I can barely tell Fang Qiu and Shenhe apart, but she knew exactly which one was which."
Paimon marveled, then seemed to remember something and turned toward Fang Qiu. "Oh, right — we asked Shenhe about it earlier. We wanted to pick up some of your favorite snacks before coming over, so we asked her to wait downstairs and rest since she was tired. Then she heard you screaming, thought something terrible had happened, and came charging up."
"Ah, I see."
Fang Qiu couldn't help but laugh despite herself.
"I'm sorry about the door. I'll compensate you for it."
Shenhe said.
"Don't worry about it, really."
Fang Qiu waved a hand dismissively.
The door faced a direction where no passerby could see inside. And earlier, the only people who'd caught a glimpse of her state of undress were Shenhe, Paimon, and Lumine.
Three girls. All three of them girls.
Not exactly the end of the world. What was seen was seen.
A bit awkward, perhaps, but nothing more than that.
"By the way, we haven't properly introduced you two yet! This is Fang Qiu — the person we've been talking about all day. What do you think? You two really do look alike, don't you?"
Paimon declared, hands on her hips, radiating smug satisfaction.
"Mm."
Shenhe studied Fang Qiu for a moment, then nodded. "Purely in terms of appearance, the differences are very small."
"Fang Qiu, this is Shenhe — she's the… the… an Adepti? We met her today."
Paimon introduced her, fumbling slightly.
"Mm? Shenhe?"
Fang Qiu blinked.
That was the name the boy called Chongyun had called out when he'd mistaken her for someone else, just a few days ago.
Which meant the woman in front of her was Chongyun's aunt.
Though, given how similar they looked, it was no wonder Chongyun had made the mistake.
Aside from the color of their eyes, Fang Qiu could barely find a single difference between them.
She had to admit — it was remarkable. That somewhere in the world existed a person who looked so nearly identical to herself.
A second self. Another version of her, living a different life.
Could she perhaps call out — please, other me, I need you — and have Shenhe materialize like a stand-in and beat her enemies senseless on her behalf?
After the introductions were properly made, the tension in the room eased considerably. Fang Qiu brewed tea and brought out some refreshments.
Paimon helped herself to the snacks and filled Fang Qiu in on everything that had happened that day.
"Rebuilding the Jade Chamber?"
When Paimon got to the part about Lady Ningguang intending to rebuild the Jade Chamber, Fang Qiu's eyes went wide.
She'd heard rumors, but she hadn't thought it was actually true.
The next time she met with Ningguang to discuss a collaboration, it wouldn't be at Yujing Terrace anymore — it would be at the Jade Chamber.
She had no idea how one was supposed to get up there. She certainly couldn't fly.
And when Paimon mentioned that Shenhe could lift a boulder the size of a small hill without breaking a sweat — Fang Qiu nearly lost her mind.
That was absurd, wasn't it?
Going by the dimensions Paimon was describing, even a heavy cargo truck from her past life couldn't have handled the weight. You'd need a large freighter for that.
Meanwhile, Fang Qiu herself couldn't even lift a single crate of books.
Life was profoundly unfair.
They looked almost exactly alike, and yet the gap in combat power between them was staggering.
With raw strength like that alone, very few Vision holders would stand a chance against her in a fight.
It was only after Paimon mentioned that Shenhe was in all likelihood descended from the Adepti that Fang Qiu let it go with a sigh of resignation.
Fang Qiu then told them everything about why she had screamed.
"That rotten Thoma! He actually sent you horror stories to scare you! When we get back to Inazuma, we are absolutely going to make him pay for this!"
Paimon stomped her foot and frowned indignantly.
"Thank you, Paimon."
Fang Qiu smiled — soft and small.
Then she noticed Paimon's and Lumine's eyes drifting over to the gauze robe draped on the table, and her cheeks went pink. She hastened to explain — that she normally did sleep in proper clothes, but yesterday she'd just come back from shopping and had planned to change into sleepwear. However, since the pajamas were brand new and needed to be washed first, and since she'd been so exhausted, she'd simply crawled straight into bed as she was.
Paimon immediately said she understood completely — when she was that sleepy, she didn't want to move a muscle either.
Relieved that she hadn't given them any strange impressions, Fang Qiu quietly exhaled.
On top of all that, Fang Qiu also asked whether Shenhe had any sisters — and received a shake of the head in reply.
Then, when she asked about Chongyun, she got exactly the answer she'd already suspected.
Shenhe was indeed Chongyun's aunt.
Throughout the visit, Fang Qiu was keenly aware that Shenhe was watching her — quietly, steadily, with that unwavering gaze.
She was dressed perfectly normally, not a thing out of place. And yet under Shenhe's utterly expressionless stare, Fang Qiu somehow felt as though she weren't wearing a single thread.
"Um, Miss Shenhe — is something the matter?"
Fang Qiu asked, tentatively.
"Nothing in particular. It's just… you make me feel at ease."
Shenhe shook her head and said.
"…Hm?"
Fang Qiu blinked.
You make me feel at ease.
That was a strangely… intimate thing to say.
Did she mean earlier — when they'd been pressed together without Fang Qiu wearing a stitch — that it had felt comfortable?
Was the woman in front of her — who looked so uncannily like herself — perhaps into women?
Though, that said…
She couldn't deny that she felt something similar. Being near Shenhe carried that same quiet warmth she felt when she was with Hu Tao — a gentle, grounding sense of calm.
"Oh! Oh, right — Fang Qiu, you said you just woke up, so let's all go eat together! I'm starving! And Shenhe, after dinner, you should get a proper night's sleep."
Paimon clapped her hands.
"Mm."
Shenhe nodded.
"But… what about the door?"
Fang Qiu hesitated.
"Leave it to me."
Shenhe said.
With Shenhe saying so, how could Fang Qiu possibly doubt a woman who could lift a small mountain? After closing the windows, the four of them stepped out into the hall.
Shenhe's gaze sharpened. She raised both hands in a sword-finger gesture and directed them at the door lock.
At the precise moment her fingers moved, a talisman radiating glacial cold materialized in the air.
It pressed itself into the gap of the door frame.
In seconds, biting cold surged outward, and the crack along the door sealed over with ice.
"Done."
Shenhe said.
Fang Qiu gave the door a gentle push.
…Solid.
Though admittedly, with her level of strength, she couldn't have budged it regardless — but Shenhe had said it was solid, so solid it was.
The four of them made their way downstairs toward the restaurant on the ground floor, and drew every eye along the way.
The famous Traveler and Paimon.
Two stunning beauties, nearly identical — a pair of sisters straight out of a dream.
They didn't go to Wanmin Restaurant; instead they chose a nearby place.
After a satisfying meal, Fang Qiu paid the bill.
"Miss Fang Qiu, could I ask a favor?"
Paimon said.
"What is it?"
Fang Qiu asked, curious.
"We were originally planning to go sleep over at the Jade Chamber construction site, but Shenhe is tired today. Would it be alright if she stayed at your place for the night?"
Paimon said.
"Sure, no problem."
Fang Qiu smiled pleasantly and nodded.
Her room, with a bit of reorganizing and a floor mattress rolled out, could comfortably fit four people.
Besides — Shenhe was from an exorcist lineage, and a descendant of the Adepti at that. She could ask Shenhe to leave a few protective talismans around the room tomorrow morning, and never have to lie awake in dread again.
"Shenhe, are you alright with that?"
Lumine asked.
"I'm fine with it. I can sleep anywhere."
Shenhe nodded.
"Great, then we'll be off! See you both tomorrow, Fang Qiu, Shenhe!"
Paimon and Lumine gave a cheerful wave and turned to leave.
Fang Qiu watched them walk away, growing smaller in the distance — and then it hit her.
Wait.
Hadn't it been all three of them staying at her place?
How had it suddenly become just her and Shenhe, alone together for the night?
They'd only known each other for a couple of hours!
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