My wife is a witch princess.

But Bruce usually sleeps, does he really like to run around?

Black-haired Xia Li has been getting very close to Xia Li recently. Another half month has passed, and she still hasn't caused any trouble. She usually just annoys Xia Li, but she can resolve it quickly. Making herself angry is just too authoritative.

Xia Li, that simpleton, is said to be a walking embodiment of anger.

Fortunately, their conflicts never lasted more than half an hour to resolve, leaving Song Che with some free time. He had nothing to do lately and was just waiting for his college entrance exam results.

Every day, the two of them think about things to talk about, including which foot to step with first when walking, whether to put their hair inside or outside the blanket when sleeping, whether Song Che's body is really weak, and how to tie Bruce up to prevent it from escaping.

Song Che expressed strong doubts about Bruce's situation.

The next day, Xia Li brought Bruce back from her parents' house and actually started researching how to tie him up.

It gives off a feeling of trying to hide something obvious.

The summer was sweltering, but today was unusually cool. Besides doing his part-time job, Song Che would usually play games with Jiang Shuo and Zhang Hanyu. After playing for a while, he sat down at the computer and closed his eyes to rest, while Bruce waited at the door.

It really seems to want to run away a lot lately.

It wasn't really running away; it would just peek out when the door opened, stick half its head out, and then quickly retreat. Song Che observed it for a few days and figured it was just bored being indoors and wanted to go out for a walk. But Xia Li didn't think so.

“It will get lost,” Xia Li said, holding a cat leash she bought online. It was a purple iron chain, the kind used to tether vicious dogs. She put it on Bruce, one end around his neck and the other end on the coffee table leg.

Bruce lay on the ground, looking at her with a "you're kidding me" expression.

Song Che leaned back on the sofa, watching this scene. "It was never lost before, even when it wasn't leashed."

“That’s all in the past.” Xia Li tightened the knot again. “She said that if a cat isn’t leashed, it will run away.”

The "she" she was referring to was Xia Li, who had black hair. Xia Li sat at the other end of the sofa, her eyes closed, a slight smile on her lips.

Song Che glanced at her.

What the hell did you teach her?

“I didn’t teach her.” Xia Li, with her black hair, seemed to see through his thoughts. “She wanted to tie herself up.”

“I didn’t ask you,” Song Che said.

"You're thinking of me."

Song Che shut up. This woman may not have any other skills, but she's a master at reading people's minds. She's probably been alone for too long, and with nothing better to do, she's been thinking about these things... using mind-reading to eavesdrop on others!

Bruce yawned, buried his head in his front paws, and fell asleep.

It clearly didn't see anything wrong with being chained up, since it hardly moved anyway. Looking at its lazy appearance, Song Che suddenly felt that this cat was quite similar to Xia Li—it looked quite clever, but it was actually very stubborn, and once it set its mind on something, it wouldn't let go.

Xia Li squatted down next to Bruce, looked at it for a while, and after confirming that there was no problem with the knot, she stood up and sat on the sofa. Her knot-tying skills were always very high, and Bruce probably couldn't untie this knot.

She was wearing the same light-colored short-sleeved shirt and white shorts today, barefoot on the ground. Xia Li, with black hair, sat next to her, wearing similar clothes.

Xia Li gave her a light-colored T-shirt and thin pants. The two of them sat together and at first glance looked like twins.

Another week passed, and still nothing happened.

Xia Li, with her black hair, still sits in meditation every day, occasionally opening her eyes to say a few words, the content of which always precisely makes Xia Li angry. But the duration of her anger is getting shorter and shorter, from half a day at the beginning, to an hour later, and now to just over ten minutes. Song Che sometimes feels that Xia Li has become accustomed to being made angry by him. Just like Bruce is accustomed to being chained up.

Did it ever think of struggling?

I've thought about it.

Struggling is useless.

It was unusually cool today; the sky was overcast, and a breeze blew in through the window, carrying a slight fishy smell from the rain. Song Che finished his part-time job, turned off his computer, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes to rest. Jiang Shuo had just dragged him into playing games, but after a couple of rounds, he didn't want to continue. Jiang Shuo was too bad, and Zhang Hanyu wasn't there; he couldn't carry the team alone.

“Song Che…”

Someone called him.

The voice sounded like Xia Li's, but not quite. He opened his eyes, shifted back slightly, and responded with a sound.

“Song Che…”

Another sound.

This time I heard it clearly; it was Xia Li's voice.

He turned his head to look in the direction of the sound—two people were standing in the hallway between the two bedrooms.

Two Xia Lis.

The same clothes, the same hair, the same face. Light-colored short-sleeved shirt, white shorts, barefoot on the floor. Even their posture is the same, slightly turned to the side, weight on the left foot, right hand hanging at the side, left hand resting on the door frame.

The two generals, Heng and Ha, are twins.

Song Che paused for a moment, then sat up straight.

"You two..." he paused, "What are you doing?"

Xia Li on the left spoke up, "Guess which one is me."

Xia Li on the right didn't say anything.

Song Che looked left, then right. The face was the same, the clothes were the same, the hair was the same—all silver. He suddenly realized something, "You've changed back?"

Xia Li on the right nodded, "Mm."

"why?"

"Change if you want to."

Song Che looked at them, trying to discern the differences. The one on the left had a sharper gaze, as if she were constantly staring at him; the one on the right had a softer gaze, with a faint smile playing on her lips. But judging by eyes alone wasn't reliable; both of them were good actors.

"Give me a hint," he said.

"No," Xia Li on the left said.

"Guess for yourself," Xia Li on the right said.

Song Che stood up and walked in front of them. He looked at the one on the left first, then at the one on the right after a while. Neither of them looked away, letting him see them directly.

Song Che had nothing better to do, so he decided to play along with them.

He noticed a light red mark on Xia Li's left hand. He looked at Xia Li and asked, "What happened to your hand?"

Xia Li on the left glanced down and said, "It was from cutting vegetables."

Xia Li on the right also looked down at her hand, but there was nothing there.

Song Che smiled. "You are Xia Li."

Xia Li on the left paused for a moment. Xia Li on the right smiled.

Then Xia Li on the right suddenly changed.

Her hair changed from silver to black, but she didn't actually change much; it was just that her aura was completely different.

“You tricked me,” said Xia Li, who has black hair.

Song Che nodded, "Your hand isn't injured. Xia Li usually does the cooking, so you probably hurt it while chopping vegetables."

Looking at the two of them, Song Che suddenly found the game quite interesting. "Let's do it again," he said.

The two Xia Lis exchanged a glance, then looked at him simultaneously.

"Row."

Song Che had them stand in the middle of the living room, and then he walked around them. They were all the same height, the same build, and the same posture.

He crouched down to look at their feet; the shapes of their toes were similar, with the second one always being slightly longer than the first. He stood up, thought for a moment, and said, "Say something."

"What did you say?" they both asked at the same time.

The sounds are almost the same.

Song Che strained his ears to listen, trying to discern the difference in pitch from before, but this time the two seemed to be deliberately using the same tone, with neither high nor low, as if it were the same person speaking.

He frowned. "Say one more thing."

"What did you say?" Again, at the same time, even the speed of their speech was the same.

Song Che walked halfway around them and stood to the side. From this angle, the profiles of the two people almost overlapped.

The height of their foreheads and the tips of their chins and noses were exactly the same. He even noticed that the two of them blinked in sync, blinking and opening their eyes at the same time.

Wow, the two of them can now pilot synchronized mechs.

"Did you plan this out?" he asked.

"No," said the one on the left.

"No," said the one on the right.

Song Che didn't believe it. He walked to Xia Li on the left and stared into her eyes. Her eyes were blue, reflecting his image in the pupils, clear and bright, revealing no flaws. He then walked to Xia Li on the right and stared at her in the same way. Her eyes were also blue, clear, and even the size of the reflection was the same.

The eyes can't tell the difference.

He stood back, thought for a moment, and said, "Put your hands out."

The two people reached out their hands at the same time, but then pulled them back at the same time.

"What?" he asked.

"I won't show you," Xia Li on the left said.

Xia Li on the right also withdrew her hand, saying, "I won't show it to you either."

Song Che was taken aback. "Why?"

“Because that’s all you ever look at,” Xia Li on the left said. “After watching it, you think you’ve guessed right.”

Song Che felt a little guilty after being caught out. He did indeed intend to use that red mark to make a judgment.

The one with the print is Xia Li, the one without is Xia Li with black hair. But they both hid their hands.

"So how do you want me to guess?"

"Whatever," Xia Li on the right said. "You'd never guess anyway."

Song Che felt there was a hint of provocation in those words. He looked at the person on his left, then at the person on his right. Both were expressionless, standing ramrod straight with their hands behind their backs.

He suddenly had an idea, "You all go around in a circle."

The two spun around at the same time. Their movements were identical; the only difference was the degree to which their hair was tossed, but that was indistinguishable from the other side.

"You are Xia Li." He pointed to the left, preparing to fool them.

"Why?" the one on the left asked.