My Online Girlfriend Has a Twin Sister

"So you weren’t listening to what I just said," Chen Yuan said with a hint of resignation. "Fine, I’ll say it again. When I go to pick up my parents, will you come with me?"

"???"

The chopsticks in Jiangg Yao’s hand went CLACK, falling onto the table. Her jaw dropped right along with them.

She pointed at herself.

"Me? Go with you?"

"Mhm."

"In disguise? As a rideshare driver? Or a friend? Or maybe as the twenty-six-year-old, unmarried, lonely female neighbor coming to help out?" Jiangg Yao tried to come up with scenarios, each more ridiculous than the last.

"Hold on, hold on. What is all this nonsense?"

"Then what do you mean?" Jiangg Yao’s mind couldn’t quite catch up, and she asked blankly.

"As my girlfriend, of course."

At his words, the shock in Jiangg Yao’s eyes intensified.

"For real? But... but isn’t it too soon to meet your parents? You’re only nineteen, after all. And does this mean you want to be with me from now on, that you’ve definitely chosen me? No, that’s not right either... I was all prepared to hide the day your parents arrived... This is too sudden."

"Not exactly," Chen Yuan said nonchalantly, propping his chin on his hand. "Look, you and Ningning live across the hall from me. If we run into them, and my parents ask, I don’t want to lie."

"So?"

"So, you and Ningning should both come to pick them up."

"Huh???"

Jiangg Yao suddenly felt a little dizzy.

Chen Yuan’s idea was just too explosive.

Never mind Jiangg Yao’s reaction.

In fact, Chen Yuan himself felt the decision was very sudden. It was mainly because of his parents’ surprise visit; an idea had just popped into his head.

Since things had come to this,

He might as well just lay his cards on the table about his inability to choose between Ningning and Yaoyao.

When Quan Yafeng and Liu Nan had found out about the situation, they hadn’t reacted like it was too hard to accept, which had given Chen Yuan some ideas.

’At the end of the day, isn’t it just a case of two girls developing feelings for him?’

’It just so happens that they’re twin sisters.’

’It’s a rare situation, but it’s not so shocking it’s scandalous.’

Chen Yuan was eager to know what his parents would think after finding out. Their opinion was very important to him, of course, because he was currently at a loss. Even when he had called his dad earlier, he had been wavering, with no real answer in his heart.

Honestly, the decision was a bit outrageous.

But there was one obvious advantage.

If Chen Yuan’s parents accepted the fact that he was involved with twins, then he wouldn’t have to rush. He would have plenty of time to make a choice, maybe even until after he graduated from college.

Chen Yuan’s thoughts had spiraled out this far in just an instant.

He shook his head hard, pushing these distant and far-fetched thoughts to the back of his mind.

The priority right now was to see how his parents would react.

’How will it go?!’

"What do you think?" he asked Jiangg Yao tentatively.

"I don’t think it’s good... I’m not mentally prepared," Yaoyao said, her eyes darting away as her brow furrowed in conflict. "Do we really have to go pick them up? What will we say then? Have you thought it through?"

"We’ll just tell it like it is. We’ll leave out the part about the online dating, and just say that after I moved into this house, a lot of things happened, and... both you and Ningning developed feelings for me in the process."

"Ewww~~~"

Chen Yuan met Jiangg Yao’s slightly disgusted gaze, and his cheeks flushed red. Saying it out loud really did sound a bit shameless.

"What..."

"Even if what you said is the truth, Young Master, hearing it from your own mouth sounds a little narcissistic. For shame."

"How else are we supposed to say it? I have to cover up the fact that you two tricked me. If we told the complete truth, there’d be too many holes in the story."

"That’s true. I don’t want to leave a bad impression on my future in-laws."

"So... should we talk to Ningning about it later, discuss it, and then decide?"

"Hold on," Jiangg Yao hesitated again. "But I can’t compare to my sister. Parents always like her type. She’s highly educated, and she used to be a university teacher. Aren’t I totally screwed from the start?"

"So, Yaoyao is an unemployed homebody?"

"Of course not! I have tons of fans, Young Master, do you understand? It’s a really impressive following! And my income isn’t low, either," Jiangg Yao retorted, her cheeks puffing out in anger.

"You have fans?"

"Who are you looking down on? Let’s go home, I’ll show you my work. Did you really think I just sit around doing nothing all day, Young Master? I just didn’t want to show off to you," Jiangg Yao said, standing up with an imposing air. "Let’s go!"

Half-doubting, Chen Yuan picked up his bag and followed her.

He was curious to see what was hidden in the sisters’ spare bedroom, a room he had never entered before.

...

Jiangg Yao led Chen Yuan back to her apartment. She opened the door, tossed the things she was carrying onto the bed, and walked straight to the spare bedroom she had never shown him before—the room Jiangg Yao used as her studio for streaming.

Walking in, Chen Yuan couldn’t help but click his tongue in amazement.

"There’s so much stuff in here?"

As far as the eye could see, a wrap-around desk was covered with a computer, manga, and desktop figures of all sizes. The walls were plastered with strange and beautiful artwork, and shelves displayed all sorts of merchandise she had bought.

The floor was covered with a gray carpet, which was very soft to walk on.

Chen Yuan looked around, his gaze landing on several photos in the middle of a display cabinet.

"You put a picture of us here?"

"Yep. I think this one is the best," Jiangg Yao said, habitually picking up a tissue to wipe the frame. "I also put them all on a separate USB drive, so if I ever lose them, I can print out another copy."

"This one’s not bad either."

"Mhm, that’s a solo shot you took of me. It’s a little blurry, but the vibe is great."

"What’s... is this a picture of you and Ningning when you were little?" Chen Yuan asked in surprise, leaning down after spotting something and reaching for it.

"You can’t look at this one!" Jiangg Yao quickly snatched it back, hugging it to her chest.

"What’s the big deal? It’s just a photo. Why are you being so stingy?"

"This is from when we were fifteen. That’s too long ago, no way. I’ve never shown it to anyone. It’s so embarrassing."

"That just makes me want to see it more. I’m curious what you two looked like when you were kids."

"No," Jiangg Yao clutched it tightly. "Even if I agreed, my sister wouldn’t... Oh, right! We came back so I could tell you about my job. Let’s get back to business, stop looking at photos."

She cleverly changed the subject, not mentioning the photo again. She switched the photo to her other hand, hid it behind her back, and ran to the computer to turn it on.

Chen Yuan pulled over a chair, sat down, and watched her, perfectly at ease.

"You don’t have a password on your computer?"

"No need. It’s just my sister and me at home, and we don’t have any secrets from each other. Who would I be setting a password against?"

"That’s true..." Chen Yuan leaned back in his chair. A moment later, a random thought struck him, and he asked Jiangg Yao, "So, do you two sisters talk about me often in private?"

"We do," Jiangg Yao nodded.

"What do you usually talk about?"

"Your personality, your hobbies, your mood... lots of things, really."

As Chen Yuan listened to Yaoyao’s explanation, an image of the two sisters sitting together and discussing him popped into his mind. That must be an interesting scene.

"Here, this is my streaming account."

"Let me see."

Chen Yuan looked at the now-ready computer screen. It showed a streaming application, currently open to the profile page for the account "Yaoyao."

"Wait... ones, tens, hundreds... You have over a million followers!?" He counted the seven digits and was stunned.

"I just passed a million a little while ago."

"Then what’s this equipment over here for? It looks so high-tech."

"It’s motion capture equipment. Have you ever heard of virtual streamers? They’re streamers who appear in a chatroom as an anime-style avatar. They don’t have a physical presence, and each one has their own persona, set in another dimension."

"I know a little about it," Chen Yuan replied after a moment of thought.

"I knew you only had a vague idea, Young Master. That’s why I never told you," Jiangg Yao said with a wave of her small hand. "A normie like you doesn’t watch virtual streamers. I used to be a total shut-in; I could go three months without leaving the house. It was only after I started dating you that I gradually became willing to go out. I wouldn’t even go to anime conventions before. Wan and I have known each other for years, but we only met in person for the first time last year."

"But there must be different categories of streamers, right?" Chen Yuan said, looking around at the equipment. There was even a piano in the spare bedroom. "No wonder you said you could teach me. So you’re a talent-based streamer!"

"My streams include singing, gaming, playing the piano, shopping for cosplay outfits, reviewing fan-made content... a little of everything, really. I don’t stick to just one thing anymore. But there’s one thing I have to say, Young Master. Now that I’ve told you my profession, you are not to try and spy on my stream."

"Why not?!"

"See? I knew that’s what you were thinking," Jiangg Yao said, narrowing her eyes. "Because the person on stream isn’t me. It’s Yaoyao. She’s very different from the real me. A lot of the time, I have to speak according to my persona, not my actual personality."

"I think I get it."

Chen Yuan nodded. He looked at Jiangg Yao, then at the streaming setup, and a strange feeling washed over him.

’His girlfriend... was a streamer.’

It was a good thing he never watched these virtual avatar streams. Otherwise, if by some coincidence he’d stumbled upon "Yaoyao," he definitely would have clicked on that username to check it out. But from behind a screen, he would never have guessed that the person streaming was his own girlfriend.

He might have thought the voice sounded familiar and paid a little more attention.

"This is a pretty good job. My parents should be able to accept it. My mom often watches talent-based streamers, though she never sends any gifts."

"That’s great," Jiangg Yao clapped. "Your mom is pretty hip. I’ll just tell them I’m a talent-based streamer."

"Sounds good."

Seeing Jiangg Yao’s face light up in a radiant smile, Chen Yuan’s lips curved into a smile as well.

’He was in college now, so having a girlfriend was a perfectly normal thing,’ he thought. ’He didn’t know how his parents would react when they came... but either way, he didn’t want to hide it.’

’Hiding it now would just make explaining it later way too complicated.’

’He’d just treat it as meeting the parents ahead of schedule.’

’Besides, there was no way he could ever like anyone other than Ningning and Yaoyao.’