Ben10: A Romantic Adventure with a Gender-Swapped Class

Xiaowen's words were like a small but sharp thorn, piercing Xiaoban's heart without missing a beat.

Although the thorn was tiny, it stirred up waves of emotion within Xiaoban.

Her cheeks flushed red, as if they had been roasted by fire, like two bright red berries, vivid and dazzling.

Xiao Ban turned her head sharply, wanting to protest Xiao Wen's words, but when her eyes met Mo Bai's, she suddenly froze.

Mo Bai's eyes were clear and bright, like a clear spring.

At this moment, his eyes narrowed slightly, revealing a hint of inquiry, as if to say, "Hmm? I need an explanation for this."

That gaze was like an invisible pressure, instantly choking the words of defense that were about to come out of Xiao Ban's mouth, leaving him unable to utter a single word.

The small class seemed to have lost all its momentum at this moment, and its spirits waned.

She turned her head away awkwardly, trying to avoid Mo Bai's gaze, as if that would cover up her embarrassment.

However, her voice unconsciously lowered, carrying a hint of unease from being caught red-handed.

"I...I just felt that taking a bath was a waste of time..."

"Hmm?" Mo Bai hummed a questioning syllable softly through her nose, her brows furrowing even more deeply. The silent pressure she exuded was more effective than any words could express.

The rest of Xiao Ban's words caught in her throat. She glanced quickly at Mo Bai, met his unwavering gaze, her shoulders slumped almost imperceptibly, and she resignedly changed her words, her voice muffled.

"Okay..." The last syllable was drawn out, like a cat being stroked reluctantly.

Mo Bai then withdrew his gaze with satisfaction, his tense lips relaxing as he nodded slightly. For him, taking a bath was a matter of principle, not to be taken lightly.

As he turned his head to look at the strangely shaped alien fruits on the shelf, a faint, slightly aggrieved murmur, like a tiny hook, quietly slipped into his ear.

"...Isn't it all because you left me back then..."

The sound was very soft, almost drowned out by the strange smells in the supermarket and the faint glow of the floating fluorescent spores.

But Mo Bai's heart felt as if it had been gently pinched, causing it to tremble slightly.

A bittersweet emotion welled up silently. He wanted to turn back and say something, but his mouth opened only to turn into a barely audible sigh that dissipated into the air.

Yes, how could he not know? This girl is always like this, using carefree jokes and a nonchalant attitude to keep the things she truly cares about tightly wrapped up, hiding them deeper than anyone else.

"I will never leave you again"—these words were uttered almost spontaneously, as soft as a promise, or perhaps as if spoken to oneself.

"Huh?" The little boy turned his head sharply, like a startled animal, his eyes filled with genuine confusion, seemingly unaware of the whisper he had just heard.

Her signature brown tuft of hair swayed slightly, giving her a somewhat bewildered look.

Seeing this, Mo Bai's heart softened, and her fingertips seemed to have a mind of their own, tickling her.

Almost as soon as the thought crossed his mind, his hand rose and landed naturally on the top of Xiao Ban's fluffy hair.

He felt a soft, warm touch in his palm and instinctively rubbed it with a soothing gesture.

One, two, three...

Mo Bai only snapped out of her daze when Xiao Ban kept his head down and didn't react at all! What was she doing?!

He recoiled as if electrocuted, his fingertips still feeling the touch of his hair, and his ears began to heat up.

He coughed lightly to cover his embarrassment, his voice carrying a barely perceptible hint of panic.

"Sorry, I was just thinking about something... and I couldn't help myself..." Before she could finish her explanation, everyone had already stopped in front of the cashier.

Behind the cashier, Mr. Bao Man, a stocky man, was tidying something up.

Xiaowen was the first to greet him: "Hi, Mr. Bao Man!"

Upon hearing the sound, Bao Man turned around, a kind smile spreading across his round face, his gaze sweeping over Xiao Wen and Xiao Ban.

"Tian Xiaowen and Tian Xiaoban! It's been a long time!" He said, stretching out his hand and gesturing to his waist with his palm down. "The last time I saw you, you were only this tall! Tsk tsk, girls really do change a lot as they grow up!" His gaze swept back and forth between the two sisters' faces, with the loving affection of an elder looking at younger generations, finally settling on Xiaoban's cheeks, which were still flushed, and he asked curiously.

"Little Ban, why is your face so red?"

The little boy, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, instantly straightened his back and sat up straight, waving his hands wildly, and raising his voice by a octave.

"I...I...it's too hot! I'm getting heatstroke!" Her eyes darted around, avoiding eye contact.

Mr. Bao Man touched his smooth chin suspiciously and muttered to himself, just loud enough for the people around him to hear.

"Really...?" His tone was full of doubt.

Xiaowen and Kevin exchanged a knowing glance, their lips simultaneously curving into identical, mischievous smiles as they drew out their words and repeated them in unison.

"Really?"

Those two sounds were like adding fuel to the fire.

The little boy felt a sudden "boom" as his ears instantly became burning hot, and even the base of his neck turned red.

She bit her lower lip, glared at the two men with embarrassment and annoyance, but due to the situation, she could only swallow her embarrassment and lower her head angrily.

Mo Bai, the "instigator" of all this, was a little absent-minded at the moment. His gaze was fixed on a fruit deep in the shelf that was flashing an eerie green light. He seemed to still be processing the emotional fluctuations he had just experienced and was completely unaware of the little drama unfolding around him.

Mr. Bao Man finally shifted his gaze from Xiao Ban to Mo Bai, who was standing next to her.

He looked him up and down a few times, his brows furrowing slightly as he pondered.

"Where have I seen you before...?"

Mo Bai was then brought back to reality and politely smiled in response, "My name is..."

"Oh! Mo Bai, right!" Mr. Bao Man suddenly clapped his hands, realizing what he meant.

“Mark mentioned it to me before, and I’ve seen photos of you when you were little,” he said warmly, extending his hand to shake Mo Bai’s hand firmly, praising her with a beaming smile.

"He looks much more handsome in person than in the photos! He also seems to have grown taller!"

Mo Bai was a little embarrassed by the straightforward praise and bowed slightly.

“You flatter me…” Mr. Bao Man then released his hand, turned his gaze to Kevin and Aji, his brows furrowed again as usual, and his fingers unconsciously tapped his chin.

“You two… I’m sure I’ve seen you somewhere before…” His eyes seemed to be searching for fragments in a memory bank.

Kevin and Aji both felt a jolt of fear.

Kevin quickly waved his hand, and Aji hurriedly echoed him.

"We...have rather average-looking faces!" He tried his best to sound natural.

"A generic face?" Mr. Bao Man was clearly not so easily fooled. He stared at the two of them for a while and said confidently, "I'll remember." However, he seemed to have something more important to do at the moment.

He suddenly bent down and said mysteriously to Xiao Ban and Xiao Wen.

"Oh! I almost forgot!" he said, struggling to pull something out from under the counter.

It was a giant egg wrapped in layers of thick, yellowish bandages.

It was half a meter wide and placed steadily on the cashier counter.

The eggshell surface is covered with dark green, vein-like patterns, and faintly exudes an unsettling fishy smell.

“These are Nactorian spider eggs I’ve saved for him,” Mr. Bowman said, patting the eggshell with a dull thud, his tone quite proud. “Tell him it’s my treat! Super fresh.” As if to prove his point, the enormous egg twitched very slightly, eerily.

"Uh..." Xiao Ban looked at the wriggling egg and felt a little nauseous.

"What brings you here?" Mr. Bao Man then remembered to ask the important question, looking at them with a smile. "Have you changed your ways and fallen in love with alien food?"

Xiaowen quickly shook her head: "That's difficult." She straightened her expression, "Actually, I just wanted to ask you, have you seen any Eternal Warriors around here?"

“No,” Mr. Bao replied almost instantly, his tone resolute, his smile unchanged, “I haven’t seen a single trace of him.”

Xiaowen's gaze seemingly unintentionally swept over the empty supermarket, devoid of customers, and the purple light seemed to spread out like invisible ripples.

She asked casually, "Business doesn't seem too good today?"

"It'll be better tomorrow!" Mr. Bao Man replied quickly, with the optimism typical of a businessman. "New stock will arrive on Thursday; everyone wants to eat fresh, delicious food from their hometown."

Just then, Xiaowen suddenly stood up and said to Xiaoban, who had just calmed down and was still secretly glancing at the spider egg.

“Let’s go first, little one,” she said, her tone leaving no room for argument, “We’d better not be late.”

Xiao Ban paused for a moment, then immediately understood and nodded.

“Oh right… okay.” She turned to Mr. Bao Man and smiled quite naturally.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Bao Man!"

Everyone stood up to say goodbye.

Mo Bai silently picked up the heavy, still slightly wriggling alien spider egg from the table and followed everyone toward the door.

"Me too, come again when you have time, kids!" Mr. Bao waved goodbye to their departing figures with a warm smile on his face.

Only when the creaking glass door of the supermarket was completely closed, blocking the view from the outside, did Mr. Bao Man's enthusiastic smile fade away like the tide.

He slowly turned around and opened the door behind him that led to the staff break room.

Four figures were huddled together in the cramped space inside the door.

Their skin was a deep dark green, and their bodies were similar to humans. They were huddled together in a corner piled with clutter, shivering—clearly a family of four.

A grown man and woman were tightly protecting two children who looked only a few years old.

Their eyes were filled with fear, like those of frightened little animals.

“It wasn’t the Eternal Warriors,” Mr. Bao Man said in a low voice to the alien family inside. “It was Ben Tennyson and her friends. They were trying to gather information, but I sent them away.”

Before he could finish speaking, his body suddenly stiffened.

In the long shadow cast by the lamplight on the ground, besides himself, several other figures were clearly visible.

The shadow stretched out silently, like cold vines wrapping around his ankles.

Mr. Bao Man's heart sank to the bottom.

He turned around stiffly, little by little.

Sure enough, Xiao Ban, Xiao Wen, Mo Bai, Kevin, and Aji, who had returned, were standing quietly behind him.

The supermarket was eerily quiet, with only the alien spider egg wriggling very slightly and unsettlingly in Mo Bai's arms.

Looking at the five young faces that seemed to say "Don't try to fool us," Mr. Bao Man's shoulders finally slumped, and he let out a long, resigned sigh, forcing a smile that was more like a grimace.

"Oh... okay..."

He stepped aside to make way, and reluctantly gestured for us to come in.

The group filed in and entered the small staff break room.

Mr. Bao Man quietly moved over a few chairs and poured a glass of water for everyone.

He rubbed his hands together, sat down across the table, facing five pairs of eyes staring intently at him, and finally began to explain, his voice tinged with exhaustion and a hint of lingering fear.

"The Eternal Warriors...they did come yesterday, two of them."

Mr. Bao Man's voice was very low, echoing in the small staff break room, carrying a heavy and oppressive feeling of being coerced.

The light cast an uneasy shadow on his round face.

He picked up the glass of water but didn't drink it; instead, he unconsciously rubbed the rough surface of the glass with his fingers.

"They told me to spread the word," he said, raising his head. His gaze swept over the young faces gathered around the small table, finally settling on the four green-skinned, still-shaken aliens in the corner. His voice was hoarse. "Say that Earth belongs to Earthlings."

He paused, as if recalling the unpleasant scene, a trace of fear lingering in his eyes.

"Their eternal warriors will drive away every alien they encounter."

His gaze involuntarily drifted once again to the alien family huddled together in the corner, the adults tightly covering the child's ears, their bodies still trembling slightly.

“Moreover,” Mr. Bao Man’s voice lowered, almost a whisper, as he leaned forward as if afraid of being overheard by some unseen force, “they said… they will come back here to search again.” These words were like a gust of cold wind, instantly lowering the temperature in the lounge to freezing point.

As soon as the words fell——

"Great!" Aji sprang up from his chair as if he had a spring in his bottom!

Instead of showing any worry, he wore an expression that said, "This is not a place to stay."

He deftly put down the glass of water he had only taken a sip of and spoke rapidly to the crowd.

"If the Eternal Warriors are truly to return, then I must go! Until we meet again, my children!"

Before he finished speaking, he had already turned around and opened the creaking door to the lounge. Like a slippery eel, he slipped out without looking back, his figure quickly disappearing among the supermarket shelves piled with oddly shaped goods.

The door hinges groaned like a sick cat as they slowly closed.

A brief silence fell over the lounge.

Xiao Ban rolled her eyes, Xiao Wen pursed her lips, Kevin just shrugged, while Mo Bai stared at the four aliens with a calm yet subtle tenderness in her eyes.

No one expressed any desire to keep Aji or any surprise at his departure; no one even glanced at the direction he disappeared in.

A tacit understanding filled the air: it's good that this guy left, saving him from causing trouble.