Ben10: A Romantic Adventure with a Gender-Swapped Class

She secretly glanced at Mo Bai's stiff, alarmed expression out of the corner of her eye, and then recalled Mo Bai's terrified look earlier, as if she was worried about "playing a near-cosplay".

A mischievous thought suddenly popped into my head.

The lines at the corners of her mouth, which had been tightly pressed together in anger, unexpectedly curved upwards into a small, expectant arc.

A sea of ​​white foam—that's practically paradise on earth!

However, the plot did not unfold as Mo Bai had feared.

On stage, encouraged by the cheerleading squad of "Tian Xiaowen", the trapped "fake classmate" "exploded" again, slapped the "dial", and transformed into a powerful Tyrannosaurus Rex amidst an even more exaggerated smoke and flashing effects.

Then, this "Power Tyrannosaurus" defeated the "Magic Jas" who was standing on the flying saucer and only shouting slogans in a simple and brutal way.

Mojas let out an exaggerated scream and "fell" off the flying saucer.

Finally, "Fake Ben" and "Fake Mojaus" walked to the center of the stage and bowed deeply to the enthusiastic audience.

As the curtain slowly closed, the absurd stage show "Little Class Shows Off Their Amazing Abilities" finally came to a close amidst enthusiastic applause and cheers.

The little boy looked at the closed curtain and sighed deeply, with extreme disappointment.

Her satisfaction with the show plummeted from initial angry complaints to rock bottom, and finally crashed into the abyss of negative infinity.

No matter how cool the special effects or how hard the actors worked, in her eyes they were all a clumsy desecration of the identity of "Tian Xiaoban".

"Let's go!" Xiao Ban suddenly stood up from her seat, her little face still flushed with anger, but her eyes were unusually firm. "Let's go backstage! Let's have a good talk with that imposter!" She deliberately emphasized the word "talk," making it sound more like they were going to "settle scores."

The other three immediately understood.

The anger on Xiaowen's face had not completely subsided, and she was clearly still resentful of those ten "cheerleaders Xiaowen".

Kevin looked on with excitement, as if he were watching a good show. Mo Bai also breathed a sigh of relief, glad that a "shameful version of herself" hadn't appeared.

Without further delay, the four quickly left their seats, passed through the crowd still immersed in the afterglow of the performance and slowly leaving, and headed briskly toward the door at the back of the stage with a sign that read "Actors' Passage, No Unauthorized Personnel Allowed".

The backstage lights are usually dim, and the air is filled with the unique smell of makeup, sweat, and prop dust. They're going to that noisy place after the curtain falls to meet the "stars" of this absurd play.

The dim light buzzed overhead, casting their shadows long and short.

Xiao Ban and Xiao Wen took the lead, their footsteps pounding loudly, their anger almost tangible, swirling around them.

Kevin followed behind them, his hands in his pockets. Watching their aggressive backs, he couldn't help but speak up to remind them, his voice ringing out clearly in the quiet corridor.

"When you rush in later, don't forget to ask for clarification before you take any action." He emphasized the words "ask for clarification."

The little boy suddenly stopped and turned around abruptly.

The dim light in the corridor outlined her puffed-up profile, her green eyes burning with the flames of offense.

She glared at Kevin, her voice filled with helplessness and resentment.

"Hey Kevin, when did you become so fond of lecturing and nagging?" She could hardly believe these words came from the mouth of Kevin, who was known for his recklessness.

Kevin, instead of backing down in the face of her glare, shrugged, a playful smile curving his lips, and slowly replied.

"When did it start?" He paused deliberately, his gaze sweeping over Xiao Ban, then glancing at Xiao Wen beside him, whose anger was also soaring. "It probably started when you two started radiating anger, like you were about to blow up the entire backstage area of ​​the theater."

These words were like adding fuel to the fire, especially the image of "ten cheerleaders Xiaowen" that instantly flashed into my mind.

Xiaowen felt a surge of anger rush straight to the top of her head.

She clenched her fist tightly, her knuckles turning white. The purple energy, like an enraged venomous snake, crackled uncontrollably on her clenched fist, illuminating her gloomy, almost dripping face. A dangerous energy fluctuation filled the air.

However, just as the purple energy was about to explode out of control, Xiaowen suddenly jolted awake.

She looked down at her uncontrollable fist, which gleamed with a dangerous light.

She shook her hand violently as if she had been burned, and took a deep, forceful breath, as if trying to suppress all the anger in her chest.

The surging purple energy flickered a few times unwillingly, like a flame forcibly extinguished, before slowly dimming and dissipating into the air.

Several seconds passed before Xiaowen raised her head again.

Her expression was still not good, but at least the boiling anger was forcibly suppressed, replaced by a calm with strong self-control.

She looked at Kevin and Ben, and spoke in a deliberately calm tone, yet you could still hear the grit in her teeth.

"Okay... I'm so calm now... I can't be calmer anymore." His tone was less calm and more like the deathly stillness before a storm.

Upon hearing Xiaowen's "calm" declaration, Kevin couldn't help but make another sarcastic remark. He spread his hands, his expression a mix of innocence and confusion.

"Honestly, I still don't understand what you're all so angry about. Look at me!" He pointed to himself. "I don't even have a chance to go on stage and show my face!" His tone even carried a hint of grievance.

Mo Bai, who hadn't said much until now, couldn't help but roll her eyes when she heard Kevin's complaint, and then chimed in.

"There's no such thing as 'best'! Do you really want ten 'Kevins' with your face, wearing even more outrageous clothes, posing provocatively on stage, and doing suggestive dances?" He imagined the scene and couldn't help but shudder. "If you ask me, the only redeeming quality of this terrible show is that they didn't include me in it."

Unexpectedly, as soon as Mo Bai finished speaking, Xiao Ban next to her curled her lips and retorted in an extremely dissatisfied tone.

"That's the part I'm most dissatisfied with!"

Just as the atmosphere became strange, they stopped in front of a door labeled "Ben10 Stage Show Actor's Dressing Room".

The door looks ordinary, but behind it lies the source of this absurd drama.

Xiao Ban took a deep breath, stepped forward, and knocked on the door.

The door was pulled open almost immediately.

The actor who had just played "Morgas" on stage was standing behind the door.

He was still wearing the simple, greased purple theatrical costume on the lower half, but the grotesque hood on the upper half had been removed, revealing the face of an ordinary young man from Earth, with greased paint still on his face.

When he saw the real Benjamin Tennyson standing at the door, still fuming, he was clearly taken aback, his eyes filled with surprise and a hint of...understanding embarrassment.

"Uh..." he hesitated before asking tentatively, "Really, Tian Xiaoban?"

The little boy crossed his arms, raised his chin slightly, and snorted through his nose in annoyance.

"Hmm," he said, raising an eyebrow as if to say: The real deal, here to settle the score!

Seeing Xiao Ban's accusatory attitude, the actor scratched his head awkwardly, trying to ease the tension.

"You watched quite a bit of the show, huh?" He probably meant to say something like "You were really engrossed in watching" or "You even followed them backstage, you're such a fan."

"Hmm—uh?!" Xiao Ban immediately shook his head vigorously, his face full of disgust and denial, as if to say, "What nonsense are you talking about?"

She's not here to watch a show!

Upon seeing this, the actor immediately and tactfully stepped aside, speaking rapidly at the same time.

"Um... the producer is inside! You guys... have a chat! I'm outta here!" With that, as if afraid of being caught in the tail end of a typhoon, he lowered his head, hugged the wall, and squeezed past the four people, quickly disappearing at the end of the corridor.

Without further hesitation, the four filed in.

The lounge wasn't large, and the lighting was brighter than in the hallway, but it was still somewhat dim.

The air was filled with a stronger smell of cosmetics, hairspray, and sweat.

Directly opposite the door is a huge makeup mirror, with a ring of small light bulbs shining in front of it.

At that moment, a figure wearing a green coat and a brown skirt was sitting in a chair in front of the mirror, with her back to them, seemingly removing her makeup.

Upon hearing the sound of the door opening and footsteps, the person in front of the mirror paused for a moment.

Then, in the reflection of the mirror, the four of them clearly saw that "Tian Xiaoban," who had the exact same hairstyle as Xiaoban, was raising her hand, grabbing the brown "single ponytail" on her head, and gently tugging at it—

Wow.

It turned out to be an extremely realistic wig.

The wig was removed, revealing long, smooth, pure white hair cascading down like a waterfall!

The face reflected in the mirror, although its outline still bore some resemblance to Xiao Ban's, had a completely different temperament.

It lacked the liveliness and exuberance of a small class, and gained a sense of coldness and alienation.

Through the mirror, she clearly saw the four people standing behind her, and a slightly amused yet complex smile slowly curved her lips.

She slowly turned around, facing everyone completely.

Her long white hair fell over her shoulders, making her face appear even paler.

Her gaze swept over the astonished Xiao Ban, Xiao Wen, and Kevin, finally lingering for a moment on Mo Bai's relatively calm face.

“Tian Xiaoban…” she began, her voice carrying a unique, slightly deep, magnetic quality, completely different from the crisp imitation she had given on stage. Her tone was as calm as if she were greeting an old acquaintance she wasn’t very close to. “We meet again.” After saying that, she stood up gracefully, her white hair swaying gently with her movements.

"Abedo?" Ben, Wen, and Kevin exclaimed almost in unison, their eyes wide as saucers.

Only Mo Bai, though his eyes sharpened, remained relatively calm, as if the answer was not entirely unexpected, but merely confirmed some kind of guess.

The little boy pointed at Abedo, his voice rising with shock and anger.

"What are you doing?!" She simply couldn't understand why this former rival would come and perform in such an insulting stage play!

When confronted by Xiaoban, Abedo simply shrugged indifferently, his gesture carrying a deliberate laziness and nonchalance.

She didn't even answer the small group's question directly, but spoke in a casual tone as if discussing what to have for dinner.

"I originally wanted to get hot potato fries."

"Want to go eat together?" Her tone was so calm, as if there had never been any grudge between them, and that the absurd drama just now had nothing to do with her.

This completely off-target response ignited Xiao Ban's anger.

"I'm asking you, why did you put on this terrible show?!" She needs an explanation, a reasonable explanation that will make her less inclined to tear this place down immediately.

Abedo looked at the exasperated Ben, and the playful smile on his lips deepened, even carrying a hint of self-mockery.

She turned around, no longer looking at the small group, but facing the huge makeup mirror, which reflected her face and the different expressions of the four people behind her.

Her fingers unconsciously traced the cold mirror surface, her voice lowered, carrying an indescribable weariness and... resentment.

"To be honest..." She paused, as if organizing her thoughts, or perhaps savoring the bitterness, "I'm doing this... to find joy in suffering."

She turned around abruptly, her red pupils piercing straight into Xiao Ban, her eyes filled with suppressed resentment and anger.

“Thanks to you,” he said, his voice growing harsher, each word sharp as ice, “I’ve lost Ultimatrix.” He instinctively touched his empty wrist.

“Therefore—” His tone was full of irony and helplessness, “I can’t fly away from this… pathetic, backward little planet, like a cosmic junkyard, on my own!”

She became more and more agitated as she spoke, and suddenly ripped off the green jacket she was wearing, which was imitating a small classmate's style, and roughly threw it onto the coat rack next to her, revealing an ordinary black tight-fitting T-shirt underneath.

She strode to a simple wardrobe in the corner of the room, her back to everyone, her voice filled with disgust and humiliation at her situation.

“What’s worse—” she flung open the wardrobe door, her movement a gesture of catharsis, “I’m also trapped in this…fragile, incompetent, primal-smelling—stinking shell of an Earthling.”

After saying that, she turned around and faced the four people again.

Her red eyes were still strikingly bright, carrying an almost cruel clarity.

“Because I need to make a living, to earn a living,” her voice returned to its previous calm, but was even colder, “in this place where I have no power, and can only eke out a living with this body…” She paused, the corner of her mouth curving into that ironic smile again, her gaze fixed on Xiao Ban as if it were a tangible object, “Ironically, I’ve discovered the best way—”

She tilted her head slightly, her red eyes under the brim of her hat flashing with a complex light, and said, word by word.

"It's all about how much money you make to spend." After saying this, he deliberately turned around and looked at Xiao Ban, his eyes seeming to say: Look, this is the "result" of you leaving me here.