I strolled towards the dining hall, looking forward to relishing my breakfast. This morning, I decided to switch things up and opted for dumplings instead of the usual pork buns.

As I sat at an empty table, savoring my meal, I felt a tap on my shoulder.

"Hmm?" I turned around, surprised to find the Qin sisters and a beautiful black-haired girl wearing a cute bow standing behind me.

Intrigued, I observed as the bow twitched. Was that...?

"Hello." The black-haired girl then introduced herself with a smile.

"Hello there," I replied slowly, blinking once before continuing. "I am Bai Yu."

I extended my right hand to her, and the cat-girl stared down at me with a quizzical look. Without saying much, she brought her hands onto my palm and brought it to her cheek, nuzzling it and meowling calmly.

What the HOLY CHOCOLATE CHIPS?!

After a few moments of stunned silence on my part, I looked at the Qin Sisters in question. Liuli was red-faced, clearly too stunned to speak, while Qin Yue was looking at the scene with interest in her eyes.

Seeing that I could not get their help, I faked a cough with my free hand and managed to get her attention back to the situation. Then the catgirl just started to pat her cheeks? Seriously, what the heck?

"M-Nyah~?" She opened her eyes again, then blinked twice, and realized that I was confused. "What? You gave me your hand."

"To shake it," I calmly returned, frowning at the smug exuding from the catgirl. "Not to use it for some free- cheek patting."

"Was it for that?" Cat girl blinked in surprise.

Wait... Had the concept of a handshake not been introduced in this world?

As I was getting too confused, Qin Yue burst out laughing, "She is just teasing you, Bai Yu."

What?!

The black-haired girl then smiled cutely and said, "Sorry~. Your reaction was quite amusing."

The Fudge?

"So, who are you?" I finally asked.

"I am Fang Yurou~," the cat girl admitted, then proceeded to speak in a smug voice. "And you are Bai Yunyah?"

Oh God, no. Please no, I'm not ready for this!

"Bai Yu-"

"-nyah~" She giggled, causing me to groan.

Before the situation spiraled out of control, Liuli unexpectedly came to the rescue. "Um, Yurou, can you stop teasing Bai Yu? Also, sister, can you stop laughing?"

"Haha. As expected, bringing Yurou to meet Bai Yu turned out to be amusing," Qin Yue said with a laugh. So, she was the culprit.

I sighed and picked up my glass of green tea and sipped it. It was sweet and light and had a kind of toasty flavor.

I like it. I should one day visit a Tea ceremony master to drink their spirit-brewed tea...

"By the way, Bai Yunyah are you a girl or a boy?" Fang Yurou suddenly asked.

"Pffft!...Cough! Cough!." I blinked as my eyes became a bit misty due to choking.

"Haa. My nose burns."

"Are you okay Bai Yu? Here." Liuli handed me a tissue which I used immediately.

"So?"

I blinked, "What?"

"Are you a boy or a girl?" Well, it's obvious, but who asks something like that when someone is drinking?

Before I could answer Qin Yue said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Obviously, she is a girl. What are you..."

"I'm a boy."

"What?!" Qin Yue and Qin Liuili suddenly shouted aloud.

"I knew you were a guy~." Fang Yurou addressed aloud.

"That's impossible." Qin Yue stated rudely pointing at my face.

"Well excuse me for looking like this." I started to pout while looking at Qin Yue who seemed unsure of what to say next.

"Wha??"I let out a yelp as Liuli's two hands started to rub my chest.

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"Wow, it's true you are a guy. I thought you were just really flat! Like oh my gosh! How can a boy look so pretty? Bai Yu, What is going on?!" Liuli Kept rubbing my chest and feeling my stomach and ribs.

"Liuli!" I said sternly to make her stop.

"Hands off, Okay?" I said calmly while smiling. Not.

"Hehe...Sorry." Liuli said in a small voice. I patted her head before she got even sadder.

"Anyway, Let's talk about where you girls are going?" I said, looking at the geared-up Qin sisters and Fang Yurou.

"We took a mission to obtain the horns of a spirit rhinoceros. So, we will be away from the sect for a while," Qin Yue answered.

"Well, be careful on your mission," I said with concern. After all, these sisters are the ones I am most familiar with within the sect.

"Don't worry. We have Yurou here, who is in the sixth stage of Qi Condensation. Even if we fail the mission, safety is not a problem."

Still, I was a bit worried.

But Yurou, as if sensing my concern, said, "Don't worry, Bai Yunyah. I will protect them."

She even showed off her nonexistent muscles to prove her point.

"We wanted to invite you, Bai Yu, but you have just reached the first stage of Qi Condensation, so... Huh? You have already reached the second stage of Qi Condensation?" Qin Yue said, a bit surprised.

"Didn't you just reach the first stage of Qi Condensation?" Qin Yue and Liuli both seemed extremely surprised.

"Haha. I just got lucky. Anyone can do it," I said in a condescending tone.

Hearing my scumbag words, Qin Yue and Fang Yurou let out a pained gasp.

"How...?" Looking at their pained faces, I felt a bit of respite.

I did it on purpose, and yes, I am petty like that.

"Is this the power of a Top Grade Spiritual Root?" Qin Liuli said, a bit shocked.

"Haha..." I didn't know how to explain, so I just laughed it off.

"With this speed, I think you will soon catch up with us," Qin Yue said. After all, advancing two realms in a day is a bit shocking.

"I just got lucky. By the way, have you prepared everything to face the spirit rhinoceros?" I said, wanting to divert the topic.

"Yeah! We are fully prepared. We even took some medicinal pills," Liuli said a bit too eagerly.

"Okay. Then, take care," I bid farewell to them.

"We will be back soon," Liuli and Qin Yue waved and departed from the dining hall.

As I continued to eat my dumplings, I recalled the conversation.

"Mission, huh? Maybe I should also take one."

-*-*-*-*-*-

"So that was Bai Yu, huh? I can see why you two took a liking to him. But I'm surprised you didn't realize he was a boy," Yurou said teasingly, as friends often do.

"Well, no matter how you look at it, he looks so beautiful. I still can't believe he's a boy. At least Liuli will probably be very happy with that," Qin Yue passed the teasing baton to her sister.

Liuli stuttered in response, "M-Me? Sister, what are you talking about?"

"Hmm? I thought you liked him, Liuli?" Qin Yue didn't let up on teasing her sister.

"N-No...He's just a friend. It's not like I hate him or anything. I just..." Liuli trailed off, flustered by the teasing.

"Haha," Qin Yue laughed and followed her sister, leaving Yurou behind.

It was a scene that Yurou was used to, and she remembered the beautiful black-haired boy. He was funny, and imagining the chaos in the dining hall made her even more interested in Bai Yu. It seemed that the following days would be fun.

At the same time, Bai Yu felt a sudden shiver.

"Wait for me," Yurou hastened after the sisters, who were already walking away quickly.