Stelle's gaze darted back and forth between Qiong's shoulder and her own. One moment she frowned, face etched with confusion, the next her eyes widened in realization, nodding emphatically.
So, hitting Dad hurts the daughter too, huh?
Her mind was a chaotic mess, even the most basic common sense tangled into an incoherent knot. Stelle decided to stop thinking altogether and just establish this as new common knowledge.
"Wake up, wake up!"
Seeing Stelle's expression practically screaming 'Ah! ☝️🤓 I get it!', March 7th grabbed her shoulders and shook vigorously, unable to hold back her urge to retort.
"Don't just accept something so weird as common sense!"
Finished, March 7th's eyes widened as she puffed out her cheeks indignantly. One hand planted firmly on her hip, the other wielding her novelty baseball bat pointed straight at Qiong.
"Would you care to explain this?"
Did he really think she, the sharp-witted March 7th, was an idiot? Teasing her relentlessly like this!
Dan Heng lowered his gaze slightly, his eyes holding a distant, perceptive look.
Pinned by three pairs of eyes brimming with various unspoken questions, Qiong felt a prickle of pressure, but mostly, he was just utterly baffled.
What the heck is going on here?
With an expression as pure and clueless as any innocent bystander, the words 'I have no idea' were clearly written all over Qiong's face.
[System, what's the situation?]
[Eh? Shouldn't the Host already know?]
The System sounded surprised, wondering why Qiong would ask such an obvious question.
[You and Stelle are two sides of the same coin. From other dimensions, you're fundamentally the same person. Hitting you is hitting her, and vice versa.]
[...]
Qiong's expression gradually turned strange.
He knew, of course, about his... about this body's connection to Stelle, but he'd never imagined their link would manifest in quite this way.
Qiong turned his head slowly, looking silently at Stelle.
Under the watchful eyes of Dan Heng, March 7th, and Stelle herself, his expression grew serious.
Suddenly, Qiong raised his right hand, fingers curled like claws, and made a grabbing motion over the left side of his own chest.
"Ya!"
It wasn't painful, not really, but the abrupt sensation on her chest caught Stelle completely off guard. A jolt shot through her, and her hands flew up instinctively, crossing over her left breast.
Her face, a mix of youthful innocence and a touch of mature, languid charm, was now filled with panic, giving her an air of worldly inexperience.
After all, she had only just been 'born.' The inherent mischief in her nature hadn't even had a chance to surface before she was bombarded with a massive amount of information, led astray from start to finish. It would be a miracle if she could process any of it properly.
In the fan-made videos Qiong remembered, 'Stelle-ge' was the epitome of playful scoundrels, a rascal among rascals. Seeing this current display of bashful vulnerability struck Qiong with an explosive sense of charming contrast.
And also...
I can actually feel it...
Qiong's eyes widened in surprise as he stared at his outstretched, slender hand. The moment his palm had touched his chest, besides the normal sensation, he'd felt a wonderfully soft, bouncy, almost jelly-like texture through his palm.
The two sensations overlapped, seemingly inseparable yet distinctly identifiable—a strange, contradictory state.
Qiong tried grabbing his right chest.
"Ya!"
Another startled cry, another jolt running through Stelle as her hands scrambled from her left breast to her right.
Her flustered, endearingly clumsy movements made Qiong's eyes light up, as if he'd found a fun new feedback toy.
Grab!
Grab!
I'll grab!
He raised both hands, grabbing and rubbing at his own chest, even giving his own backside a couple of firm pats and scratching vigorously under his arms.
Itching is a defensive skin reaction, meant to alert individuals to certain types of threats. When a person tickles themselves, the cerebellum sends a signal to the brain before the hand makes contact, telling other parts of the body not to react. Thus, usually, only a very mild, tolerable itch is felt.
But when that sensation was transferred to Stelle, it was completely different.
"Ah!"
"Ya!"
"Haha~ Haha~"
"What is happening!?"
"So itchy!"
It felt like something was crawling all over her body, yet she couldn't catch it no matter how she tried.
"Old fogey, stop it right now!"
The tickling on her side finally stopped, only for Stelle to feel an itch crawl up her neck. Just as she raised a hand to scratch, the itch darted back to her side.
"Stop pinching!"
Scratching her waist made her neck itch; scratching her neck made her chest tingle. She couldn't keep up, constantly reacting to the wrong spot.
If this were a gag manga, Stelle would probably sprout dozens of hands, chasing the itchy spots all over her body until her elongated arms wrapped her up like a dumpling.
Swaying, staggering, laughing uncontrollably from the unbearable ticklishness, Stelle finally tripped and fell flat on her face, resorting to rolling around on the floor.
March 7th was utterly gobsmacked by the bizarre farce unfolding before her. Even Dan Heng's usually impeccable composure seemed close to cracking.
Good grief.
Is this guy completely nuts!?
Lying spread-eagled on the floor, Stelle gasped for breath, scratching at her neck.
Just then, she noticed that as she scratched herself, Qiong's movements paused for a fraction of a second.
That slight pause made both of them freeze.
In the midst of her heavy panting, Stelle had a sudden realization.
Two pairs of identical, brilliant golden eyes met. The pair filled with amusement began to show wariness and slight astonishment; the amusement didn't vanish but shifted into the other pair of golden eyes.
"Hee, can we call a truce?"
Qiong offered a friendly smile, looking almost bashful in its restraint.
"Right here, right now? Are you kidding me?"
As if recovering from a major battle, Stelle dragged her nearly exhausted body upright, swaying slightly.
Although she still had absolutely no clue what was going on, it was obvious this feedback worked both ways.
In that case...
"Old fogey! Prepare to die!"
A faint numbness and peculiar sensation still lingering on her chest, Stelle's lips curved into a cold, cruel arc.
She raised her hand high, a seemingly unquenchable, blazing fury burning within it, and then—
Stelle's hand shot downwards, aiming between her legs. That small, fair hand, veins slightly visible, looked ready to utterly crush anything it grasped, like a 'Great Wasteland Heaven-Sealing Grasp' ready to turn its target into shattered ice.
"Wait!"
Qiong's expression instantly became one of pure horror. He thrust out a hand in a desperate gesture to stop her.
He hadn't expected this newly 'born' Stellaron entity to retaliate with such viciousness!
Zero-frame startup, and her first move was a potentially devastating, crippling strike!
March 7th gasped, covering her mouth with both hands, eyes wide. Even Dan Heng looked on with solemn respect.
However, the next second, the agonizing scream Stelle anticipated never came.
The Curio room was utterly silent. Still as death.
The smile froze on Stelle's face, her fierce cruelty slowly melting into confused bewilderment.
She clenched her fist tightly but only grasped empty air. There was nothing there.
Qiong's hand, outstretched to stop her, also paused mid-air. He stared blankly at the bewildered Stelle.
Two pairs of golden eyes locked again. The amusement transferred once more, returning to Qiong's eyes, while Stelle's eyes filled with boundless grief and indignation.
"No~!!!"
Her entire figure seemed to drain of color, turning ashen. Like a soul had left her body, Stelle collapsed to her knees, pounding the floor and weeping bitterly, her face a mask of deep unwillingness.
The shared sensation required a sensation to exist in the first place. Qiong had a chest, and so did she.
Qiong had a 'little brother,' which she did not... she only had a 'little sister.'
Naturally, she couldn't threaten Qiong by grabbing his 'little brother.'
To lose because of anatomical differences.
"Hahaha, my dear daughter, you're still too naive."
His 'little brother' crisis averted, Qiong burst out laughing, patting Stelle's smooth, wolf-grey hair with the condescending air of someone petting a dog's head.
"Hey! Old fogey! Who exactly are you?"
Stelle slapped his hand away, scrambling to her feet. Hand on her hip, she pointed at him accusingly.
After that chaotic scene, Stelle had finally recovered somewhat, her mind gradually clearing.
Although she still didn't remember anything, her original personality was resurfacing.
She refused to believe Qiong was her father!
What kind of father would treat his daughter like that?
"Alright, alright. Actually, we're not father and daughter. I'm your older brother. You and I were both born from Mom."
"We were once twins roaming the myriad worlds, journeying through the sea of stars. Later, we became stranded on a continent called Teyvat and were separated for over five hundred years. Only after enduring countless hardships were we finally reunited. We left behind a beautiful story in that world called 'The Saga of Qiong and Stelle'..."
"It's because we're inseparable Pidian twins that we share this special connection."
Stelle frowned at his words.
March 7th blinked. Given Qiong's previous antics, she felt the credibility of anything coming out of his mouth was practically zero.
But thinking back, it didn't sound entirely fake either.
After all, that Qiong and Stelle were related was obvious even to a blind person.
If not father and daughter, then siblings made sense!
She knew no father would treat his own daughter like that; he must have been joking earlier.
These two really did look like twins!
Having traveled far and wide with the Express, March 7th had seen her fair share of strange things. Telepathy between close-knit twins born from the same mother? She'd actually encountered cases like that.
Although, this was the first time she'd seen physical sensations being shared...
Conversely, possessing such a profound connection strongly suggested that being twin siblings was indeed the most likely scenario!
Yes, that must be it!
Still, this older brother has a truly terrible personality!
Seeing the dawning realization on March 7th's face, Qiong chuckled inwardly.
She bought it!
She bought it again!
While March 7th seemed convinced, Stelle remained skeptical.
"Is that so?"
Stelle took two steps forward on her long, slender legs, stopping almost nose-to-nose with Qiong, staring directly into the eyes of this... bastard.
"But somehow, I get the feeling our relationship should be older sister and younger brother?"
"How could that be~"
Qiong reacted as if he'd heard the funniest joke imaginable.
"Oh, my foolish little sister, what you're suggesting defies all reason and upsets the natural order!"
"Do you have any right to say that?"
Who was it just moments ago claiming to be her father AND lover?
Watching the two grey-haired individuals now bickering over who was the older sibling, Dan Heng remained silent for a long moment before letting out a deep sigh.
So exhausting!
________________________________________
I have a little challenge for you! For every 100 POWER STONES, I'll release ONE EXTRA CHAPTER!
________________________________________
If you want more chapters, please consider supporting my page on Patreon. with 30 advanced chapters available on Patreon
patreon.com/Leanzin