Leaning her elbows on the front desk, Qingque stood on her tiptoes, puffing out her cheeks to show her dissatisfaction.
The receptionist blinked when she saw the age displayed on the ID projection, immediately put down the Jade Abacus, and offered an apologetic yet polite smile.
"My apologies, miss. I was blind to your greatness. To express my regret, how about I give you two a 5% discount?"
"Ha, 'blind to your greatness'… not bad."
Caelus couldn't help but let out a soft laugh.
This receptionist had some skill with idioms. Comparing Qingque to Mount Tai—the comedic contrast was just perfect, wasn't it?
Then again, does the Xianzhou even have a Mount Tai?
The question that flashed through his mind quickly vanished as Qingque, having stretched too high on her tiptoes, lost her balance and nearly fell.
Caelus swiftly stepped forward, steadying the young woman's fragrant, cream-like shoulders from behind. He seized the opportunity to lean in and peek at Qingque's ID projection.
"Old Caelus, peeking at a girl's age isn't a good habit, you know."
Qingque's eyelids drooped, her half-lidded eyes giving off a lazy aura as she spoke in a deeply earnest tone.
Despite her words, she didn't stop Caelus. Qingque had never been secretive about her age; it was an established fact, after all.
Would not telling people make her a few hundred years younger?
Or would it prevent her from becoming Mara-struck?
It was meaningless.
Qingque was reminding Caelus to be more careful when interacting with other girls, as not every girl was as carefree and uninhibited as she was.
"What do you mean, peeking? I'm looking openly and squarely, alright?"
Caelus corrected her nonchalantly.
203. That was the number after Qingque's age, just enough to meet the Xianzhou standard for adulthood.
It just met the standard, though. True adulthood required passing a coming-of-age assessment. If one couldn't pass, even at 500 years old, they would still be officially considered a minor.
Comparing Qingque to someone from Earth, she was basically just 18, or a little older, yet she had already landed a secure job at the Divination Commission.
On Earth, that would be like entering a department directly under the State Council at 18 and being highly regarded by the minister.
"And you, sir, could I please see your identification?"
After scanning the information, the receptionist returned the Jade Abacus to Qingque, her polite and friendly smile returning as she turned to Caelus.
"Oh, I'm not from the Xianzhou."
Caelus took out his phone, brought up his information, and casually handed it over.
He and Stelle had IDs, too!
Otherwise, moving around within an interstellar civilization like the Xianzhou could occasionally lead to trouble.
Their ID stamps were issued by the Herta Space Station. Although the two parties didn't share a database, the stamps had anti-counterfeiting properties. As long as the stamp was verified as authentic, their identities could be proven.
"That's alright. For short-lived species, we will apply the adulthood standards of your race."
The receptionist explained in a gentle tone while operating her Jade Abacus to process the check-in.
After verifying the stamp's authenticity, her gaze fell upon the age column in his information. However, in the next second, she froze completely.
Her eyes widened, filled with utter disbelief. She snapped her head up to look at the grey-haired young man before her, her shocked gaze darting back and forth between Caelus and his ID.
"What's wrong? Is there a problem with his information?"
Seeing the receptionist's incredulous, almost horrified expression, Qingque's eyelid twitched as she asked.
Recalling the jokes she and Caelus had made earlier, Qingque felt a little anxious.
Could it be?
Was Old Caelus really an ancient monster who had lived for thousands, or even tens of thousands, of years?
Then, Qingque saw the receptionist look at her with an expression that was three parts fear, three parts contempt, three parts pity, and one part envy.
Then, without a moment's hesitation, she picked up her Jade Abacus to call the authorities.
"Hello, is this the Realm-Keeping Commission deacon? Yes, it's me again. I'm reporting someone for luring an underage boy... no, for abducting a toddler to get a room!"
"Hey! You're getting more and more out of line!"
Seeing that the receptionist wasn't kidding, Qingque panicked. She quickly jumped up, scrambled onto the counter, and slammed her hand down on the landline Jade Abacus in the receptionist's hand, unable to stop herself from retorting:
"No matter what, isn't 'toddler' a little too ridiculous?"
Qingque turned her head to look at Caelus's ID information.
The moment she saw the age, her hand gripping the edge of the counter slipped violently.
She nearly fell off the counter. Caelus, with his quick reflexes, caught her. However, due to Qingque's position, his hands landed below her slender waist, half of one hand brushing against her firm, perky bottom.
But Qingque was in no mood to care about the intimate contact. At this moment, she was dumbfounded, utterly at a loss. Her face was pale, and her lips trembled, unable to form words.
"Th-th-three years old~!?"
Caelus was freaking three years old!?
What did he eat growing up?
Suddenly, Qingque felt like she wasn't the one being wronged. Caelus's age was less than the number of years she had been working~!
If she got a room with Caelus, she wouldn't just be a common predator.
"Don't mind it. It's just my physical age," Caelus said calmly.
This was the physical age Herta had measured for them. They were artificial bodies created to host the Stellaron, with no infant, toddler, or childhood stages.
They appeared as Stelle's current body did, and had spent three years with Mother Kafka in the Stellaron Hunters before losing their memories.
"Anyway, let's not waste time. If this goes on, they're going to complete their transaction."
Caelus wrapped his hands around Qingque's slim, graspable waist and placed her steadily beside him.
He then used Fenghuang Down to hypnotize the receptionist, had her look up the middle-aged man who had just registered, and then booked their room right next to the man's.
Taking the room card, Caelus led the wide-eyed and dazed Qingque upstairs.
"Oh, the atmosphere is quite nice."
Entering the room, Caelus was somewhat surprised by the interior design.
The lighting was the color of melted strawberry hard candy, dyeing the air a translucent honey-hue starting from the draping sheer canopy. The large, heart-shaped bed resembled a giant, bisected water-honey peach.
"Mirrors on the ceiling, interesting. And the pillows… what a great idea."
When a guest sinks into the cloud of down pillows, a sensor would quietly activate, releasing a scented mist of tuberose and amber from under the bed.
The amorous mist would chase the pink light, condensing into pearl-like beads of perfumed lubricant on a young woman's delicate skin, only to vaporize with her body heat into a sheer veil enshrouding her body.
"Whoa, interstellar civilizations really know how to have fun!"
Caelus exclaimed, already thinking about bringing Bronya or Seele here to play.
The pink glow brought Qingque back to her senses. Then she saw the various toys placed on the table, and the amorous atmosphere made her small face flush red in an instant.
Qingque covered her eyes with one hand on her forehead, sitting primly on the large bed. She only snapped out of it completely when she saw Caelus activate the mist-releasing device.
She performed a salted-fish-roll and bounced up from the heart-shaped bed, her expression explosive:
"Are you kidding me, you're really only three years old?"
"I told you, it's my physical age. Mentally, I should be 25 right now."
Caelus stated his age from his previous life.
"Twenty-five… Phew, that's a relief. By short-lived species standards, you're an adult."
Qingque patted her chest, relieved.
Although she had spent decades just on schooling—fifty years of college entrance exams and thirty years of mock tests, a stack that might be taller than Caelus—as long as he was an adult by his species' standards, it was fine.
Wait!
No, that's not right!
Qingque immediately realized that it wasn't like they were actually here to get a room!
They were here to catch a criminal!
The shock from Caelus's age had just been a bit too much. And honestly, she felt like his physical age should be the one that counts, right?
But considering Caelus's psychological maturity and his various shameless antics—and most importantly, her own reputation—it was probably better to think of him as 24!
After calming down, Qingque began to look around curiously. It was her first time here, so it was natural to be curious~!
That is, until she saw Caelus take a balloon out of a small box and use a card with a picture of an older woman on it to inflate it. Qingque's face turned red, and she helplessly grabbed a pillow from the bed to poke Caelus in his side.
"Aiya, Old Caelus, stop playing around."
After learning his age, calling him 'Old Caelus' suddenly felt a bit awkward.
"We already paid for the room. Wouldn't it be a waste of money not to play? Here, for you."
Caelus twisted the balloon into a small dog and handed it to Qingque.
He had to admit, the quality of the balloons here was pretty damn good. Earth's balloons didn't have this much plasticity. Was it to accommodate different interstellar species?
Brushing back a lock of hair from her ear to cool her heated cheeks, Qingque looked down and blinked at the balloon dog that had been thrust into her hands.
That sounded somewhat reasonable.
"What's your plan now? Do you have a way to see what's going on next door?"
"Isn't that simple?"
Caelus snapped his fingers, the corner of his mouth curving into a Dragon King's smirk:
"Look!"
Caelus extended his hand, presenting it palm-up to Qingque.
"What… is that?"
Qingque stared at the rectangular object lying in Caelus's palm. It was tiny, shaped like a matchstick, with a metallic sheen flowing over its surface.
"A miniature pinhole camera with self-repairing functions."
—From Asta's gift package.
"A miniature pinhole camera? That's seriously illegal!"
Qingque's expression became subtle, her eyes sizing up Caelus strangely. She was more interested in why Caelus would carry something like this with him at all times.
"Next question, how are you going to install the pinhole camera in the next room?"
Qingque fiddled with the camera for a moment before placing it back in Caelus's hand.
"That's easy too."
Caelus pulled the Persona Mask from his coat, put it on, and snapped his fingers again.
To Qingque's surprise, a multi-legged little shark, about the size of her thumb, emerged from her shadow.
Caelus took out his phone, connected it to the pinhole camera, and then inserted the camera into the Shadow-Eating Soldier's mouth.
The little Shadow-Eater submerged into Qingque's shadow, moved through the Shadow World to the room next door, and opened its mouth, allowing the camera to capture the equipment inside the room.
Not only was it stealthy, but its position and angle were also adjustable.
"You… you make me feel very unsafe, Old Caelus."
Qingque's pupils shifted slightly as she nudged Caelus's side with her elbow.
"Unsafe? I'm perfectly safe. Don't worry about it, let's watch together."
Caelus waved his hand dismissively, flopped onto the bed, and propped his phone against a pillow, watching the screen.
Qingque shrugged and lay down beside Caelus. "What's the situation?"
"Let's just say our timing is neither too early nor too late. We're very lucky."
Through the camera, the two could see a Xianzhou woman of indeterminate age walk into the room next door.
Just as Caelus and Qingque quieted down, ready to listen to what the two would discuss.
BANG!
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