“What do you mean by ‘skin’? Isn’t that still just swapping bodies?”
Luo Xinyu suddenly felt like her brain wasn’t quite keeping up.
What’s the difference between swapping skins and swapping bodies?
“Oh, I can’t really explain it clearly, but I can just show you directly.”
Xia Yue thought it over but didn’t know how to explain, so she decided to just get hands-on and let them see the difference for themselves.
She pinched her own facial skin with one hand and gave it a hard tug. After a brief moment of pain, the facial skin that belonged to Xia Xi separated from what was underneath.
Seeing that there was another pair of eyes in the eye sockets of the skin that didn’t align with the skin itself, Luo Xinyu suddenly understood. This was just like that game they played the other night in the game space.
It was the same idea—putting someone else’s skin on over your own to become another person. The only difference was that back then, they were all skeletons, while now, Xia Yue was a complete person wearing a skin.
“Um… can anyone wear this skin?”
Luo Xinyu asked hopefully, a hint of anticipation in her voice.
Xia Yue immediately caught on to what she meant. She realigned the skin on her face with her own, patted it gently a few times, and the mismatched parts between the skin and her body smoothed back to normal.
And Xia Yue, whose voice had already reverted to her original one, once again sounded like Xia Xi once the facial skin was properly put on.
“No way! Sister Xinyu, I can never ever hand over my brother’s skin to you!!!”
Hearing Xia Yue say that, Luo Xinyu’s lips curled into a small smile, and she held up one finger.
“I’ll give you a limited-edition figurine.”
“Re… really?”
Xia Yue hesitated for a moment, then immediately snapped back into her righteous, indignant state.
“No! Sister Xinyu, don’t think you can tempt me with a figurine. This is my beloved brother’s skin—there’s no way I’m giving it to you!!!”
Seeing that bribery wasn’t working, Luo Xinyu didn’t get anxious. Instead, she gently wiggled her extended index finger.
“Life-sized.”
“!!!”
Hearing the condition her sister Xinyu was offering, Xia Yue’s heart raced with temptation.
A limited-edition, life-sized figurine! Even with her current allowance, she wouldn’t dare buy something like that!
After a fierce internal struggle, Xia Yue still firmly shook her head.
“No way, Sister Xinyu, don’t say any more. The bond between me and my brother can’t be shaken by some mere figurine!!!”
“Two.”
“Deal!”
The transaction was completed almost the instant Luo Xinyu’s words fell. Xia Yue eagerly started peeling off the layer of Xia Xi’s skin she was wearing.
“Sister Xinyu, your words are like water that’s already been poured—you can’t go back on them, okay~”
Seeing that this girl was actually doubting her, Luo Xinyu smiled, shook her head, and lightly tapped her on the forehead.
“Has your sister Xinyu ever lied to you? It’s just two figurines. That’s not enough to make me break my word.”
True enough. A wealthy young lady like Sister Xinyu would definitely not stiff her on a deal. She was really being petty and distrustful for no good reason.
“Hehe, I didn’t mean to doubt you, Onee-chan~”
Okay, okay. With the temptation of two life-sized figurines, Xia Yue had upgraded her address for Luo Xinyu from “Sister Xinyu” to “Onee-chan.”
You know, she only called people that if they were really close to her.
If Xia Xi found out what Xia Yue was doing right now, she’d definitely clutch her chest and cry out in anguish: “What happened to ‘the bond with my brother can’t be shaken by any figurine’?!”
Anyway, Xia Yue handed the removed skin of Xia Xi over to Luo Xinyu.
Luo Xinyu held this flesh-colored suit in her hands and gently stroked it around the leg area. The texture felt exactly like real human skin—way beyond anything those so-called silicone products on the market could compare to.
Since she had worn a skin suit once before in the game space, Luo Xinyu already knew how to put it on.
“Wait a second! Sister Xinyu, what on earth are you doing?!”
Xia Yue had been happily scrolling through her phone, picking out figurines, but when she looked up, she saw her kindest, most beautiful Sister Xinyu actually taking off her clothes!
Sure, all of them present were girls, but stripping down in front of others—no matter how you think about it, that’s still embarrassing, right?
Even in their school’s girls’ dormitory, every bed had its curtain drawn, and most girls changed clothes up on their beds.
Of course, Xia Yue, Bai Xiaocha, and Leng Xiyu weren’t so fussy. Since they were close, they never bothered hiding anything when changing clothes.
Plus, during the change, they could tease Bai Xiaocha, that little loli—so why not?
“I’m getting ready to try on this skin.”
Luo Xinyu said this while continuing to take off her clothes without stopping.
“But you don’t need to take off your clothes to put it on!”
So Sister Xinyu thought you had to get completely naked to wear a skin.
Hearing Xia Yue say that, Luo Xinyu suddenly realized—when Xia Yue had taken the skin off earlier, her body underneath was already dressed, and in the hospital’s patient gown, no less!
The hospital: There’s a thief!
Back in the game space, they had all been skeletons, so she didn’t know you could put it on without undressing.
Reminded by Xia Yue, Luo Xinyu—rarely—blushed a little, then put her clothes back on.
An Xiaoyu had been watching and listening the whole time, but she didn’t dare say a single word.
If she said the wrong thing…
Xia Yue was a little devil. Can’t mess with her.
And while Sister Xinyu wouldn’t punish her, An Xiaoyu still wanted to ask Sister Xinyu for advice on making desserts, so she definitely didn’t want to spoil her mood.
“Hey hey, Xiaoyu, why are you being such a mute? Come on, play some games with your lady~”
“Pfft, ‘your lady’ my foot~”
An Xiaoyu couldn’t help but laugh at that.
So, back when Xia Xi agreed to let her live in the house, she said on the surface that An Xiaoyu would be Xia Yue’s playmate and little maid, but in reality, An Xiaoyu was also like a younger adopted sister to Xia Xi. There was no real master-servant relationship.
“Ha! How dare you, Xiaoyu, disrespecting your mistress? Tomorrow, I’m sending you off to Africa to pick cotton!”
Xia Yue pushed off with one foot, leaned forward, and playfully pinched An Xiaoyu’s cheeks.
Even though physically, An Xiaoyu was quite a bit taller than Xia Yue, somehow Xia Yue was always the one doing the teasing.
“Why tomorrow?”
An Xiaoyu knew Xia Yue was just joking and would never actually send her to Africa to pick cotton, so she picked one of the confusing points to ask about.
“Silly, because I still need you to play games with me today, of course~”
“Xia Yue! If you call me silly one more time, I’m breaking up with you!”
“Not listening, not listening, nya nya nya~”
