At night, Qianya slipped back when midnight lay hush-still like a pond.

"Qianya... you’re back." I sprawled on the rooftop, hands pillowing my head, watching her drift in like a night swallow.

"...What are you doing?" Her voice fell like cool dew in the dark.

"Stargazing. With the sky calm as deep water, my heart settles like an anchored boat."

"Fine, as long as you like it." She rose like a quiet leaf and aimed for her window.

Qianya’s mood swirled like wind over reeds; she needed to get inside and smooth it down.

"...Right. Aren’t you going to ask what I did today?" Her words flickered like a lantern behind fog.

"I don’t want to. Everyone carries moonlit secrets; I don’t chase my teammates’ shadows. If you want to share, I’ll listen like a quiet brook."

Qianya looked at the blue-haired silhouette like a moth at a lamp. She only shook her head, then slipped into the villa like a ripple.

"If I tell you, I’d only drag you into the storm." The thought passed like a cloud swallowing the moon.

I sighed, a tired ember sputtering. "Figures I’m lousy at prying. The books made it sound easy, like shaking fruit from a branch."

Morning came pale as milk. After sword drills at dawn, misty as rising steam, I had time to make breakfast for the two.

Time was tight like a drawn bow, so I tossed together shredded-pork noodles, steam curling like morning fog.

They ate with bright eyes, pecking like sparrows; that alone warmed the kitchen like a hearth.

"Finish up and hurry to the teaching wing. It’s day one." I tapped the table like rain on wood.

"Teacher Xuewei will first explain the course plan. We’d better not be late." My warning stood like a posted sign.

"I heard seniors say Xuewei hates tardiness like frost hates blossoms." My voice dropped like drifting snow.

"Once, a late student got thrown onto a snow mountain. He came back a wreck, like winter driftwood."

"Xuewei... is she that harsh?" Lan’er’s voice rose from the clink of dishes like a thin bell, and I shivered like a reed.

In my memory, she was gentle as falling snow, a good child under a soft lamp.

"Tangxue, let me help." Qianya stepped in, hands quick as swallows, finishing the last bits.

Under Lan’er’s urging, we reached the designated class first, like early birds on a wire.

A few were already there; among them stood the man we’d met at the village, solid as a rock by the path.

"What a coincidence... you again." My greeting landed like a tossed pebble on still water.

He gave me a flat glance, cool as slate, then turned away like a closing door.

"...Seriously." My mood crumpled like damp paper. "Other pretty girls make guys blush like cherries, yet I just get snubbed."

Hmph. If you ignore me, I won’t warm a cold face; pride flickered like a small torch.

I puffed my cheeks like a pufferfish, tugged Lan’er past him, and took the last row, shadowed like a grove.

I like the back; no eyes pricking my spine like needles. Ahem, not for slacking, totally not.

"Qianya... you’re taking the front row?" My question fluttered like a sparrow.

"Mm." Her reply was steady as stone.

So Qianya was a hidden top student, a blade quiet in its sheath. Lan’er looked eager, bright as morning.

Seems I’m the only one who doesn’t want to study, a lazy cloud drifting off.

Fine, I’ll stay in the rear. If I nap, I’m a curled cat in the shade, unseen.

The next to enter was that black-haired boy, hair dark as wet ink. Funny I hadn’t looked at him before, like skipping a star.

He should be the Holy Maiden’s pick, the Holy Son of the Church. The name was Yanfengle, I think; he looked a bit goofy, like a bear cub.

Golden hair walked in with a maid trailing like moonlight. Royalty from the Radiant Empire, maybe, since even a maid came along.

Wait, isn’t she the one I met at the city gate, smiling like honey and teasing my nerves?

No, stop. Anyone in this academy wears layers like lacquer; nothing here is simple.

Well. Let it be like water finding its bed. I only came to learn who Xuewei is now.

More classmates arrived, faces noble as carved jade, gestures regal like kings under quiet thunder.

They might be protagonists or something cold as iron. Better not poke the dragon; a country could pin a warrant on me.

"Ahem." Xuewei was already on the platform, calm as winter light. "Since you’re all here, I’ll outline your academy life."

"First, I’m your homeroom teacher. I’m Ling Xuewei, sister to Her Majesty, Queen of the Radiant Empire." Her words rang like steel on frost.

"I won’t handle your ordinary courses. Only basic combat drills fall to me." Her tone moved like chalk on slate.

"Other courses split in two. One, you go find the right teacher and apply to learn, like knocking on a door."

"Two, compulsory courses, which you all attend, like the river everyone must cross."

"For a while, I won’t always be around; don’t come to me for small things." Her gaze was a blade of ice.

"Find other teachers. They’ll inform me of anything important. Clear?" Silence pooled like water.

This sounded too easy, like a hammock in shade; my face must have shown it like a flag.

Xuewei narrowed her eyes, hawk-sharp, and caught my look. "You there. What’s that face? Come out. I want a word."

"..."

Lan’er tugged my sleeve, worry fluttering like a moth around a candle.

"It’s fine." I gave her a don’t-worry look, soft as a handkerchief waving.

"A man will come later to teach spells, acting as your magic teacher. Learn well." Xuewei’s glance tapped me like hail.

"You, come out." She wasn’t letting me slip like a fish from the net.

(So sleepy...) The thought drifted across my eyes like a low cloud.