This is a first for Ming'er.
No, not the fact that it's so loud and noisy that he feels like there are flies buzzing around his ear.
Trust him, Ming'er has been there and done that way too many times by now, be it full-grown adults or fellow students trying to get into his good books by sucking up to him and kissing his ass just because he's a prince.
Ming'er has experienced it ever since he was young. People would automatically bow before and greet him with utmost respect like they've all been engineered to do just that.
Knowing that it's part of being a prince, Ming'er simply accepts it and acknowledges them with a nod without even thinking about anything else.
After all, he's grown way too used to being treated like royalty, like he's better than and above everyone else.
Because he is.
People shamelessly sucking up to Ming'er and kissing his ass have pretty much became a part of his lifestyle by default.
Ming'er has never said it out loud, but he was tired of the attention.
Ironically, that's exactly the problem.
No one was paying him any attention.
No one is immediately ceasing what they're doing and standing up to bow and greet him upon noticing his presence.
Instead, everyone is minding their own business, buying their food from the stall of their choice and taking back to their seats to eat their meals.
Not to mention the fact that Ming'er had been yelled at by some random pink-haired guy earlier as though he wasn't a person of importance.
Nobody seems to notice that there's a prince standing right in the middle of the food court.
Ming'er is somewhat caught off-guard by the lack of blatant sucking up and ass-kissing that he has grown so used to.
It's strange and refreshing at the same time.
/Is this what it feels like to be a commoner...?/
Ming'er wonders to himself.
/I've always been escorted through the streets where the markets and stalls are by the Imperial Guards./
/I've never really gotten a chance to take a proper look at any of the stalls since they would always try to hurry me through the sea of people trying to swarm and crowd around me./
/The only times that I'd snuck out to the streets under a disguise were with Chen Jun and Ruofei ever since the three of us enrolled into Qilin Academy./
/Even so, we couldn't stay out for too long without getting recognized eventually./
/Besides, Chen Jun and Ruofei are always by my side. They've become so much like a permanent fixture of me that people know that I'm around as soon as they spot either of them./
Ming'er bites his bottom lip.
He's tempted to explore the food court for just a little while. After all, he'd never really gotten the chance to roam out all by himself like this.
Ming'er considers the Crystal Cave. He knows that it's here somewhere in this world, he can feel it in his veins. However, he has no clue where exactly it is.
Ming'er needs to find it as soon as possible. It might be the reason why he's even here in the first place, and also possibly the only way that he can get back.
/But the food.../
Ming'er glances at the food across the different stalls from the corner of his eye. He doesn't recognize most of them, but that's what makes them all the more fascinating and tempting.
There's an internal dilemma going on in Ming'er's head.
Just then, his stomach growls.
/Come to think of it, I haven't eaten anything today yet.../
Ming'er eyes the stalls hungrily.
/Even the food that I've never seen in my entire life is making my mouth water./
He smacks his lips.
/I'm so hungry that I could eat a horse.../
He's on the verge of drooling.
/People always say that you shouldn't work on an empty stomach, right...?/
And so, Ming'er's stomach ultimately decides for him.
Ming'er gives in to his urges. His feet move like their on auto-pilot as he starts to explore the stalls in the food court.
He's so famished that he doesn't even realize that he's sweating buckets in the two or three layers of clothing that he's wearing.
He's so famished that he doesn't even complain about the infamous Singaporean heat prompting beads of sweat to roll down the sides of his temples.
He's so famished that he doesn't even realize that people are sending weird glances his ways because he's dressed like he's going for an excursion in Antarctica.
Ming'er has one goal, and only one goal in mind.
No, not find the Crystal Cave.
That could wait.
For now.
/I just want to get something to eat...!/
Ming'er sees food that are close to home - spicy beef noodles, soup dumplings, minced pork century egg porridge, etcetera - and food that he has never seen in his entire life.
Ming'er sees a man kneading some sort of dough, before spreading it all out on this big pan-like surface and flipping it over and over.
He blinks. He has never seen anyone make bread, which he assumes is what the man is making from the dough that he has in his hands, so aggressively.
Ming'er furrows his brows.
/Geez, what did that dough ever do to him?/
/He looks like he's taking his anger out on the poor piece of dough.../
Ming'er grimaces when he hears the smack of the dough slapping against the hot and searing surface again.
/It's not even a living thing, but I feel sorry for it.../
However, the end results look incredible.
The dough didn't look anything like the bread that Ming'er would see at the food market at all. Instead, it was flatter and rounder than the ones that he was using to seeing, and looked hard and crispy rather than soft and chewy.
What most fascinated Ming'er, however, wasn't its appearance.
Instead, it was its smell.
It smelt heavenly.
Ming'er doesn't know how else to describe it since he'd never smelt such a smell in his entire life.
Heck, he didn't even know that such a heavenly smell could ever exist!
The man put two pieces of the strange-looking bread on a plate and served it together with a smaller plate that had an orange liquid in it. There were a few chunks of meat and vegetables floating in it.
Ming'er knew that it was curry, but he didn't know what kind of curry it was. After all, it didn't smell or seem like the kind of curry that he'd tried in the past.
/It's interesting to think about it./
/Pairing bread with curry?/
/Who would've ever thought?/
Ming'er licks his lips. He's determined to get his hands on a plate.
Just as Ming'er takes a step towards the stall, however, he stops.
There's just one problem.
Ming'er grits his teeth as he admonishes himself internally.
/Oh, right.../
/I don't know how to order in English.../
/Damn you, Ming'er, for paying attention to every class except for English...!/
Ming'er vows to get a taste of the strange-looking bread and curry combination meal one day before he turns back.
Ming'er decides to play it safe and order a bowl of spicy beef noodles from a Chinese stall that he'd passed by earlier.
Then again, even the Chinese people here spoke English.
Ming'er prayed that the owners of the stall would speak in Chinese to him.
Thankfully for Ming'er, his prayers were answered.
However, there was just another problem.
"Five dollars," the bored-looking middle-aged lady at the counter drawls in Chinese as she looks up at Ming'er expectantly.
Ming'er blinks.
/Five dollars?/
/Oh...right./
/I have to pay.../
Ming'er is so used to people literally fighting to gift him free things just to curry favor with him that he'd almost forgotten the concept of buying and selling.
Still, that doesn't stop Ming'er from reaching into his pocket to take that emergency coin pouch that he always carried around...
Even though Ming'er obviously didn't have his coin pouch with him, the lady at the counter stopped him when she saw what he was trying to do.
"Oh, no," she said, "We don't accept cash payments here anymore."
Ming'er is momentarily confused.
/What?!/
/A world that doesn't use money?!/
/What the heck do they use then?!/
Ming'er thinks about all of the weird hair colours that he'd seen this far.
/No way, don't tell me.../
/Do they trade using hair colours or something...?!/
As stupid and far-fetched as this thought was, Ming'er couldn't help but yelp slightly as he grabbed at his hair protectively.
"Oh no, please," Ming'er begs.
"Please don't dye my hair pink or something."
Ming'er is convinced from everything that he'd seen and experienced thus far that anything can happen in this world.
The middle-aged lady at the counter furrows in confusion. She looks like she's heavily judging Ming'er (which she has every right to do, of course).
After a moment of silence, she purses her lips and speaks up.
"We only accept e-payment here now." she informs.
Ming'er frowns.
/E-payment...?!/
/What the hell is that...?!/
Just then, a voice sounds from behind Ming'er.
"I'll pay for her."