Ming'er feels like he's sneaking out of Qilin Academy past curfew with Chen Jun and Ruofei or something.
They would always sneak out to explore the area around the academy and to bask under the moonlight at the waterfall despite having been caught by the prefects patrolling the area quite a few times now.
As Ming'er makes his way out of the dorm and walks down the hallway, he can't help but reminisce about one particular time that they'd snuck out.
~
Ironically, Chen Jun used to be a prefect.
Ming'er was actually offered to become one too, considering how brilliant and talented of a pupil he was.
However, he turned down the offer without any hesitation.
"I'm already a prince," Ming'er reasoned, "That's enough responsibility for me. I don't really want to take on any other sort of position with authority."
In contrast, Chen Jun accepted the offer without any hesitation.
Then again, it wasn't really surprising, considering that he's extremely disciplined and rule-abiding by nature (though definitely less so nowadays due to Ming'er and Ruofei's (especially Ruofei's) influence).
Chen Jun would often warn Ming'er and Ruofei (especially Ruofei) to behave themselves, obey the rules, and to not to get themselves into trouble.
Of course, Ming'er being Ming'er and Ruofei being Ruofei (especially Ruofei) didn't listen.
Ming'er and Ruofei hatched a secret plan one night.
As badly as they'd wanted to include Chen Jun in it, he had prefectorial duties that night.
Besides, it's not like he would come with them. Ming'er and Ruofei figured that he would immediately protest and ramble on about how rules are there for a reason should they tell him.
And so, they kept it between themselves.
"Psst, Ming'er," Ruofei whispers to Ming'er about half an hour after lights out that night, "Let's go."
Ming'er nods before practically leaping out of his bed. The two of them move swiftly in the dark like they're ninjas (well, which they technically sort of are, considering that they're training and studying at a martial arts and cultivation academy).
He immediately grabs the two jars that he'd taken from the back of the academy kitchen earlier that day from under his bed and tosses one to Ruofei, who catches without even flinching.
Instead of going out through the front door, Ruofei opens the window. He tucks his jar into his robes and fastens it securely with his belt.
"You ready, Ming'er?" he askes.
Ming'er nods.
"Let's go," he murmurs.
And so, the two leap out of the window and onto the roof without any hesitation.
Just as Ming'er and Ruofei were about to creep over to the left end of the roof and hop off since that's where the destination that they had in mind was, they heard someone clear his throat.
"Ahem."
Ming'er and Ruofei didn't have to look up to know who it was.
"What do you two think you're doing?" Chen Jun asks firmly.
He's dressed in his ever-so-authoritative prefectorial robes which he can adjust the visibility of. He's also carrying his prefectorial sword, which Ming'er and Ruofei often joke about. They say that it's just for show and that it's actually plastic, considering that the prefects don't really do any sword-fighting ass-kicking.
"All they do is go around, whipping out their big swords just to intimidate you," Ruofei had scoffed sarcastically.
Chen Jun, along with the other prefects, can chose to blend in with the night on the occasion that they're working together to try and catch an intruder or a trespasser, or chose to illuminate themselves in the dark so that they can spot one another and alert one another easily when they catch the aforementioned intruder or trespasser.
On this occasion, Chen Jun is blending in with the dark. However, he's catching neither an intruder nor a trespasser.
He's catching his two best friends.
One a prince and the star pupil of Qilin Academy, and the other the son of a noble lord whom his father has been good friends with for decades.
"We're...we're star-gazing, of course!" Ruofei exclaims as he casually leans against the wall as though he hadn't just been caught red-handed.
"We came out to get a better view," he pouts, "After all, there's only so many stars we can see if we just stay inside, you know."
Chen Jun raises an eyebrow.
"Ruofei," Ming'er mutters under his breath as he jabs his friend slightly in the ribs. "There aren't any stars tonight."
Ruofei looks up.
Sure enough, there wasn't a single star in sight. The sky was completely empty, save for the bright, pale moon that illuminated the night with its soft glow.
"O-Oh, did I say star-gazing?" Ruofei stammers slightly as he scratches the back of his head.
"Ah, that was a slip of the tongue! I meant moon-gazing, of course!" Ruofei corrects, deliberately placing emphasis on the word 'moon'.
Just then, the jar that he'd tucked into his robe slips out and clatters onto the floor beside his feet.
Chen Jun raises his brow even more.
He steps forward and picks the jar up.
"Since when did you need jars to moon-gaze?" Chen Jun asks as he tossed the jar in his hand.
Ming'er and Ruofei exchanged glances with each other.
At last, Ruofei sighs.
"Alright, fine," Ruofei sulks, finally admitting defeat, "You got us. You win."
"So," Chen Jun murmurs lowly as he glances at the jar in his hand, "Where were you two gonna go with these?"
"It's nearly the end of May," Ming'er replies.
Chen Jun furrows his brows.
"So?" he frowns.
"So what?" Ming'er refutes.
"Yeah, so what?" Chen Jun shoots back.
"Oh my God," Ruofei groans, "Chen Jun, you're really clueless about everything, aren't you?"
"I don't get it," Chen Jun confesses, "What's so special about the end of May?"
"It's firefly season," Ming'er replies, getting straight to the point, "It's around this time of the year that fireflies appear around Qilin Forest."
"Firefly season?" Chen Jun repeats, rolling the foreign term right off his tongue, "I didn't know there was even such a thing."
"You don't know anything," Ruofei murmurs unhappily, deliberately loud enough for Chen Jun to hear.
Chen Jun, as always, chooses to ignore him.
"Ruofei and I were just gonna sneak out and catch some back," Ming'er admits, "After all, it's not everyday that they appear, let alone everyday that we get them."
"Hmm," Chen Jun mulls. He seems to be thinking over something. "I've never actually seen fireflies in real life."
"I've got an idea!" Ruofei exclaims as he grins at Chen Jun.
"Come with us," he chirps, "Let's all go and catch some fireflies together."
"What?" Chen Jun scoffs, "No way, I'm on duty."
"Screw your duty," Ruofei retorts, "Come on, live a little. All you've done ever since you got here and became a prefect is be patrol around like some guard dog."
"I'm not a dog," Chen Jun insists adamantly, his cheeks turning slightly red.
"That's not the main point," Ruofei groans.
"Ruofei's right, Chen Jun," Ming'er says as he places a hand on Chen Jun's shoulders. "You should learn live a little."
He offers his hand to Chen Jun.
"Come with us, Chen Jun," Ming'er says softly as he holds his hand out towards his friend.
Chen Jun doesn't immediately say no, but he doesn't immediately say yes either. Instead, he stares at Ming'er's hand like he's carefully contemplating his next move.
"It's not a request, by the way," Ruofei adds, "It's an order from the prince."
Chen Jun shifts a little at this. Still, he doesn't budge.
"Oh, for fuck's sake," Ruofei groans as he grabs Chen Jun by the wrist and pulls him forward such that he touches Ming'er's hand.
"Just take his bloody hand," Ruofei grumbles, "It's really not rocket science."
Chen Jun immediately turns redder than he usually would turn for some unknown reason.
"Go in and change out of your robes," Ming'er urges, letting go of Chen Jun's hand and shoving him towards their room window. "We'll just go for a little while and come back real soon."
"B-But..." Chen Jun stutters. He still seems really conflicted and doesn't know what to do.
"No buts," Ming'er smirks,
"Like Ruofei said, it's an order from your prince."
Ming'er softens when he sees Chen Jun stiffen at this.
"Don't worry, Chen Jun." he reassures.
"We'll be back real soon." Ming'er promises.
"They won't even notice that you're gone."
...
They do notice that Chen Jun is gone.
They do notice that Ming'er and Ruofei are gone, too.
They notice that all of them are gone.
Why, you ask?
That's because the three best friends had been having so much fun admiring and catching fireflies that they lost track of time altogether.
They ended up falling asleep in the woods, where the prefects and one fuming Headmaster Qi found them.
However, there wasn't really anything that Headmaster Qi could do.
After all, Ming'er is the second son of the Emperor. And not to mention the star pupil, the pride and joy of Qilin Academy.
Chen Jun and Ruofei were pretty much untouchable too. Not only are they Ming'er's best friends and pretty bright students themselves, they are also the sons of powerful lords.
There was, however, one thing that he could do.
"Chen Jun," he says sternly, "I want you to return your prefectorial robes and sword as soon as possible-"
"Wait, no," Ming'er and Ruofei speak up at the same time, cutting Headmaster Qi off.
"It's not Chen Jun's fault," Ming'er insists, "It was me and Ruofei's idea, we were the ones who'd dragged him into this."
"You can't blame Chen Jun," Ruofei cries, "Me and Ming'er were the ones who'd gotten him into this mess, he didn't do anything wrong!"
Ming'er and Ruofei were talking over each other so loudly that the room was getting noisier and noiser by every second.
"That's enough."
Chen Jun suddenly says. Ming'er and Ruofei immediately stop and turn to look at their friend.
Chen Jun steps forward and puts his hands together before bowing before Headmaster Qi.
"Headmaster Qi, I understand that I have failed my duty as an appointed prefect with my negligence towards my duties," he says, "I take full responsibility for my actions and am deeply remorseful over them."
Chen Jun bows even lower as he continues. "I accept the consequences of my actions will return my prefectorial robes and sword as soon as I can."
Chen Jun gets back up and makes eye contact with Headmaster Qi.
"Thank you, Headmaster Qi, for giving me the chance to be part of the prefectorial board."
Ming'er and Ruofei blink.
That's the most that they've ever heard Chen Jun speak.
"Very well," Headmaster Qi nods, acknowledging Chen Jun's words. "I want those robes and that sword back by the end of today."
He then waves his hand.
"The three of you may be dismissed."
Chen Jun drags both Ming'er and Ruofei by their sleeves before they could protest any further.
Ming'er and Ruofei apologize profusely to Chen Jun soon as they're back in their room.
"We're really sorry, Chen Jun," Ruofei apologizes, "We didn't think that this would happen."
"Don't worry, alright?" Ming'er reassures, "I'll see what I can get my father to do..."
"No." Chen Jun replies curtly.
Ming'er and Ruofei think they've heard wrong.
"What?"
"I said, no." Chen Jun repeats himself.
"What?" Ming'er frowns, "Why?"
"But Chen Jun," Ruofei furrows, "We know just how much you love being a prefect..."
"Can we see the fireflies sometime again?" Chen Jun asks.
Ming'er and Ruofei thought they'd heard him wrong.
"What?" they ask simultaneously.
Chen Jun sighs exasperatedly before he repeats himself again.
"Can we see the fireflies sometime again?" he asks again.
Ming'er and Ruofei stare at Chen Jun silently for a moment before a fond smile creeps onto both their faces.
"Yeah," Ming'er finally says, "Of course we can."
Chen Jun immediately beams at this. It's rare to see him smile like that.
"And by the way, you guys were right," he suddenly drawls, "The prefectorial sword is flimsy and plastic."
The three of them immediately burst out laughing, as though they hadn't been at the headmaster's office just a few minutes ago.
~
Ming'er wishes that Chen Jun and Ruofei were here with him.
He really does.
He wonders if he'll ever see them again...
"Hey!"
A sudden shout causes Ming'er to snap out of his flashback.
"Watch where you're going! Can't you see that I'm holding a bowl of hot soup?"
Ming'er realizes that some random guy is yelling at him. He's of a rather large build, clad in a loose, black shirt with some words that Ming'er can't read on them and has a shock of pink hair.
Ming'er grimaces internally.
/What's up with the Chinese people here and their weird colourful hair?/
Just then, Ming'er realizes that he's in some sort of food market.
Except that it didn't quite look like a food market. There seems to be different food stalls where people can buy food from. They are also chairs and tables for them to take a seat at and eat the food that they've bought.
It's even louder and noisier than the food market that Ming'er is used to.
Ming'er grimaces internally.
/Looks like there aren't any fireflies here.../
/Only flies...!/