355 W-w-what happened?


    The morning at the Harper household started in a state of panic.


    L had to go through a lot of trouble exining to her parents that she wasn''t possessed—she was just sore all over.


    For someone like her, who wasn''t great at expressing herself, this was already a tough task. To make matters worse, her sister Ivy sneakily poked her, causing L to copse on the spot, twitching like she''d been electrocuted.


    At the breakfast table, Mr. and Mrs. Harper were visibly cautious, still holding back the words they''d wanted to say since yesterday.


    Because they had noticed something: today, L was back to her usual self.


    So the question was—who was the L from yesterday!?


    As soon as L left the house, the Harpers sprang into action.


    Her mom contacted a spiritual medium, while her dad reached out to a psychologist.


    Meanwhile, L had no clue any of this was happening.


    Thanks to her muscle soreness, the walk to school felt especially grueling.


    She had already seen Ethan''s message on her phone, warning her that she might feel a bit sore today.


    "A bit!?" L grumbled through gritted teeth, tears welling up in her eyes.


    The message also mentioned that if it got too bad, she could take a cab to school—he''d cover the cost.


    That must''ve been what the stack of cash on her bedside table was for. ording to Ethan, it was her share of the money he''d earned from working yesterday, since he''d been using her body. He said it was only fair to split it with her.


    L had never seen that much money in her life, so there was no way she could ept it. She hadn''t even told her parents about it. Instead, she hid the cash, nning to return it to Ethan when she got the chance.


    And there was no way she''d take his suggestion. Who did she think she was, someone fancy enough to take a cab to school?


    The journey to school felt like Frodo''s trek to Mordor—every step was a struggle.


    Since she was wearing her usual tracksuit again, no one really recognized her, and she hadn''t yet realized what was about to happen.


    It wasn''t until L walked into the ssroom and sat down that her ssmates seemed to break through some kind of mental block. The whole atmosphere suddenly went silent.


    L noticed it too. The ssroom had been lively before she walked in, but the moment she entered, everything went quiet.


    Wh-why is everyone staring at me…?


    L started to panic.


    And then, in the next instant, her eyes widened as she watched her ssmates swarm toward her desk like zombies.


    She was so startled that she instinctively wanted to run, but it was toote. Within seconds, her desk waspletely surrounded.


    "Morning, L!" someone greeted her.


    "L, why are you back to this look again?" someone else asked, confused.


    "L, did you catch the performance we talked about yesterday?" another ssmate brought up yesterday''s conversation.


    Even though her ssmates were being friendly, L didn''t notice. By this point, she was already overwhelmed by being the center of attention.


    "LLL…"


    Her name echoed in her ears, and she felt like the whole world was spinning. Finally, her brain overloaded, and she passed out.


    Her ssmates were immediately thrown into a panic.


    "L!?"


    When L''s consciousness returned, she found herself lying on a bed in the nurse''s office, feeling confused.


    Just then, she heard a voice nearby.


    "Lil Bunny, you''re awake?"


    Lil… Lil Bunny? Are they talking to me?


    L turned her head in a daze and saw a very pretty girl sitting by her bed. She recognized her—it was Vanessa, the girl who sat in front of her in ss.


    Vanessa was looking at her with genuine concern.


    This left L feeling a bit puzzled.


    Are we really that close? n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Sitting up in bed, L stammered, "W-w-what happened?"


    Ugh, it''s been so long since I''ve talked to anyone. Why is speaking so hard?


    Vanessa gave her a curious look, surprised. "Lil Bunny, did you forget what happened?"


    Then she exined, "You passed out earlier and scared everyone. I brought you here."


    So that''s what happened…


    L was still confused as she looked at the girl next to her and asked, "Lil… Lil Bunny, are you talking to me?"


    "Huh?"


    Vanessa looked puzzled for a moment, then exined the origin of the nickname, even though she had already exined it to L yesterday.


    "Lil Bunny…"


    L repeated the nickname, then looked at Vanessa again and asked, "And, and you are…?"


    This question made Vanessa even more confused. "We''re friends, of course."


    Now Vanessa finally realized something was off. The L in front of her waspletely different from the girl she had met yesterday—she had reverted to her shy, withdrawn self from before.


    Hearing the word "friends," L''s expression shifted from confusion to surprise, and then to joy.


    I don''t know what''s going on, but I have a friend who''s close enough to give me a nickname!?


    Just as she was getting excited, Vanessa looked at her seriously and asked, "Do you remember what happened yesterday?"


    "Uh…" L''s face froze.


    Oh no, what happened yesterday? Ethan didn''t tell me anything!


    L noticed Vanessa''s expression growing more serious, and she started to panic.


    But in the next second, she was suddenly pulled into a hug.


    "Huh?"


    "W-w-wait, what!?"


    L waspletely stunned. She wasn''t used to physical contact, and now she was so stiff she didn''t dare move a muscle.


    Vanessa gently patted her on the back and said earnestly, "It''s okay. No matter what happened, we''re friends, so don''t give up, alright?"


    Vanessa thought she had figured out the truth.


    Lil Bunny didn''t remember anything from yesterday, and her personality waspletely different. There was only one exnation for this.


    Combining this with how L had acted yesterday when they became friends, Vanessa pieced together the whole story in her mind.


    The girl named L had been living in extreme loneliness for a long time, and out of that longing, a new self had been born.


    Vanessa let go of her and softly said, "It''s dissociative identity disorder, isn''t it?"


    "Huh?" L was stunned. How did shee to that conclusion?


    She instinctively shook her head in denial.


    "It''s not?" Vanessa was taken aback, her frown deepening.


    L had no idea how to exin this situation. Was she supposed to tell Vanessa about the whole body-swapping thing? That would definitely lead to more than just a diagnosis of dissociative identity disorder.


    So, in the end, choosing the lesser of two evils, L tearfully admitted to the dissociative identity disorder theory.


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