Holiday

The first floor of the Alliance Mall, the reception hall.

Melodious and soothing music echoed through the hall, putting people in a pleasant mood.

Most of the people here were martial artists. They would head outside the base to hunt monsters, then bring back materials harvested from the beasts to sell to the Alliance and earn money.

The hall was filled with many martial artists, most of whom sat together in small squads.

They wore leather armor or plate mail and carried a variety of weapons and equipment: swords, spears, war hammers, shields, and even machine guns.

Most were Fighters and War Generals; since mid-level War Generals were rare, they had to form squads to hunt monsters.

Several servers moved back and forth—the men handsome, the women slender and graceful—all wearing smiles on their faces.

Only one male server was a bit peculiar. He lacked that professional service smile; his expression was plain, with a hint of dazed cuteness, making him look more like a sweet young waitress.

"What would you gentlemen like to drink?" Xu Qing walked up to a group of martial artists, bowed slightly, and asked.

"Pu'er tea."

"Cola for me."

The martial artists spoke up directly. Since they were preparing to head out to hunt monsters, they naturally couldn't drink alcohol, as it would interfere with their work.

"Understood, please wait a moment," Xu Qing nodded and turned to walk away.

Watching Xu Qing's back, the martial artists exchanged glances. "That server must be new. If he weren't wearing men's clothes, I would have thought he was a girl."

"Indeed, I mistook him for a girl at first glance too, haha."

"What a pity. If he were a girl, I'd definitely sit down and chat with him," a rugged man laughed.

Another man with a sharp chin chuckled. "Maybe he is a girl, just wearing men's clothes on purpose. Either way, his face and figure don't look like a man's to me."

"It's possible. Maybe he's doing it to avoid sexual harassment from other martial artists, though just wearing men's clothes doesn't seem like enough," another team member added.

"We'll just ask him in a bit and find out," the man with the sharp chin said.

A while later, Xu Qing returned with their Pu'er tea and cola. "Your tea and cola, please enjoy."

After setting the drinks down, Xu Qing turned to leave.

"Wait a second," the rugged man called out.

Xu Qing turned around and looked at him. "Is there something else you need, guest?"

"Yeah, are you a girl disguised as a man?" the rugged man asked with a chuckle.

"Huh? A girl disguised as a man? No, I'm a guy. Why would you ask that?" Xu Qing blinked, surprised by the question. It was so strange.

Hearing Xu Qing's reply, the martial artists looked at each other. He didn't seem to be lying—could they have been wrong?

"You're really a man?" The man with the sharp chin looked at Xu Qing, sizing him up from head to toe.

Xu Qing nodded. "Yes. Does my voice not sound like a guy's?"

"This... your voice does sound like a guy's. No way, are you really a man?" The man with the sharp chin seemed to realize something, looking quite incredulous.

He hadn't expected that a man could actually look so much like a woman, not just in his face, but in his build as well.

However, if one were to compare the physique carefully, differences could be seen; Xu Qing could only be described as slim, lacking the graceful curves of a woman.

"Mm, that's right," Xu Qing nodded.

The other martial artists were also surprised. They had guessed wrong; he really was a man, just one who happened to look quite feminine.

"If there's nothing else, I'll be going," Xu Qing glanced at them and turned away.

"Hahaha... we really misjudged that one," the rugged man laughed.

"We definitely did. We even suspected he was a girl in disguise; we were just overthinking it. We should have realized it when we saw how flat his chest was," the man with the sharp chin chuckled.

"Are you just too pent up? Haven't let off steam in too long?" the other members teased the rugged man.

The rugged man rolled his eyes. "Screw you guys. We just misjudged him, it's not a big deal."

At this moment, Xu Qing returned to the bar counter.

"Xiao Qing, what were they saying to you?" Behind the counter, Xu Xin was dressed in a white shirt and black suit trousers, the attire of a professional businesswoman.

Xu Qing scratched his head. "They asked if I was a girl disguised as a man. I told them I wasn't."

"Pfft... is that so?" Xu Xin burst into laughter upon hearing this.

It was no wonder these martial artists thought that way; it had been the exact same situation back at school.

Even when Xu Qing wore the boys' uniform, many people still took him for a girl. First, his face was very misleading, and second, he was very slender.

Only those with stronger observational skills could quickly discern the fact that Xu Qing was a boy.

"Sister Xin, I think their strength is a bit low. Can they really hunt monsters?" Xu Qing whispered, his voice very soft.

In his perception, the martial artists in the hall weren't even as strong as the security guards arranged by the Alliance.

The security guards here were all at the level of mid-level or high-level War Generals, while those martial artists were generally weaker, mostly high-level Fighters or entry-level War Generals.

It wasn't that there were no mid-level War Generals, just that there were too few; he hadn't seen more than a handful.

"Not bad, you've learned to whisper now," Xu Xin smiled, feeling that Xu Qing seemed a bit more spirited than usual.

In the past, he would have worn a blank, adorable expression while saying exactly what was on his mind without a hint of reservation.

"That's because monsters also vary in strength; people hunt monsters at a level that matches their own ability. If a monster is too powerful, they naturally wouldn't be a match for it," Xu Xin explained patiently.

"Oh, I see. In that case, I'm stronger than them. I could handle dozens of monsters all by myself," Xu Qing said with a touch of confidence.

Xu Xin was amused. "How do you know you can handle dozens of monsters? You've never even been out to hunt one."

"Hmph, I calculated it. I'm worth dozens of them, so that means I can handle dozens of monsters on my own. I'm definitely right," a smug expression began to appear on Xu Qing's face.

Seeing the change in Xu Qing, Xu Xin felt curious. "Xiao Qing, your expressions have become so much more vivid. Did something happen?"

"Have they? Haven't I always been like this?" Xu Qing blinked, feeling nothing out of the ordinary.

Yet, to Xu Xin, Xu Qing was clearly different; the most obvious change was the newfound range of his expressions.

He used to be like a capybara—his expression never changing, always looking blank and adorable—but now, he was starting to show extra emotions like confidence and smugness.

He also seemed to have become much more lively as a whole.

Someone as close to him as Xu Xin could immediately sense the changes in Xu Qing.

"You really are a bit different, but I think it's a good thing," Xu Xin smiled. This version of Xu Qing gave her the feeling that he was slowly growing up.

This likely had to do with him starting to interact with people from the outside world.