Startled by the voice, Lu Xiaoxiao instinctively turned around and discovered that, at some point, a girl had appeared behind her.
The girl's features were identical to those of the body she was currently using, but her expression and bearing were distinctly different.
There was no doubt about it. This was the original Lu Xiaoxiao.
"Wow! You're finally willing to see me!" Lu Xiaoxiao's eyes lit up. She immediately stepped forward, excitedly took this "Lu Xiaoxiao" by both hands, and shook them up and down with tremendous enthusiasm. "Oh, it's so nice to meet you! Wait, I can actually touch your hands instead of passing through them like mist! God, this feels so strange! You actually have a physical form?!"
Caught completely off guard as someone grabbed her hands, "Lu Xiaoxiao" froze from head to toe... no, her entire soul froze.
She looked a little stunned and a little panicked. On closer inspection, she even seemed to regret her decision to appear.
But after remaining frozen for a while, she finally stammered, "Th-this isn't a physical form..."
"Huh? It isn't?" Lu Xiaoxiao let go, rubbed her chin, and took a step back, looking her up and down. "But you look exactly like me?"
Once Lu Xiaoxiao had put some distance between them again, "Lu Xiaoxiao," now free to move her hands, relaxed a little. But the other girl's scrutiny still made her uncomfortable. She averted her eyes and explained quietly, "That's because... you didn't enter this place in a physical form either. Your body outside... is basically asleep."
"Oh, I see." Lu Xiaoxiao nodded, seeming to take it in stride. "Looks like I'm in soul form now too. Interesting."
"Lu Xiaoxiao": "..."
Perhaps because Lu Xiaoxiao was so relaxed, the original "Lu Xiaoxiao" sounded incredulous when she spoke again. "You...