White Roses Dyed Blood Red

On their way to the dining hall, Angli gave Yaorui the basics of what went down the previous night. The story only covered the main events and gave her a pretty good idea of what had happened.

When he finished his story, she didn't bother prying and continued tugging Angli along towards the dining hall on the pretext of her food deprived stomach.

Angli being the doting 'friend' he is, gladly allowed his hand to be held as he was 'dragged' along.

While Angli was blissfully happy, Yaorui was struggling to ignore the pulsing feeling in her pocket. The small glowing rock that she had picked up the day of her departure was glowing inside of her coat. It kept getting warmer and felt like it was burning a hole through her pocket.

The closer they got to the library, the more unbearable it came.

"Hey, look over here," Hu Angli hauled over a reluctant Rui'er over to a nearby bush. He used his free hand to brush away the dirt to reveal a matching pulsing blue rock.

"T-this, another one!" Yaorui was in disbelief, she saw three of the same seemingly rare rock in just two days! She didn't think the glowing minerals were that easily found.

"I remember Bao Meimei handing one of these to Jiexu yesterday, this one seems bigger than that one," Yaorui nodded along as she bent down to assist her best friend in digging up the mineral.

Angli was upset by this fact, not because she was helping him. But because she had let go of his hand. On top of that, the dirt was spoiling her porcelain hands. He did not express his frustration to not show ungratefulness to his wifeu, all he could do was suck it up to vent later on.

The end result of their hard work was a football-sized glowing rock.

"This...will it fit in your pocket?" She asked.

"Maybe, but let's clean it off first, you have to wash your hands too," He looked sorrowfully at her dirtied hands.

"Alright, let's head in then," Just like that, Yaorui was skipping away towards the dining hall.

As expected, the bathroom was as clean and pristine as her library back at home.

There were already three other girls inside, all were touching up their make-up while gossiping in low voices. Yaorui ignored them and found a somewhat distant sink away from the trio to wash her hands.

Her fingernails were always trimmed to prevent them from making any noises while her fingers waltzed on the piano.

The noises annoyed her to great lengths because they tended to be painfully loud. She will never forget the day she lost points from a past competition because of them.

The trio wore pastel green and matching contact lenses, they had brown skin along with long, thick, black hair. Knowing that places like Egypt and Saudi Arabia were a little too far away to reach the island in less than three days, it was safe to assume that they were from India.

They had probably arrived late at night considering the generous amount of concealer they were applying underneath their eyes.

Having finished cleansing her hands of dirt and whatnot, she dried her hands using the air dryer next to her before heading out to her team's table.

"Did you hear?" They spoke in Hindi.

"What?"

"I heard one of the Aussies saying something about someone going berserk last night,"

"That explains the noise we heard from the dining hall last night,"

"Do you know which team?"

"Not sure, I'll ask around later,"

"With your broken English? You wish,"

"Shut up, you two just focus on finding the girl," The one speaking quieted when she saw that Yaorui was nearing them.

The girls stayed silent until she turned the corner and left the washrooms.

Outside, her team sat at the half table that could only seat fifty people.

She piled a plate with food before she took a seat with her friends at the table.

Yaorui could feel the pitiful gazes on her as she took her bites, she didn't bother with them, the reaction was to be expected.

Hu Angli arrived a few minutes after her with the glowing rock in hand and a mountain of food. He played around with the rock as he walked up behind her and took his seat.

"Isn't that the same rock you found the other day Yaorui?" Gebao looked at the rock perplexed.

"I think so, Angli found it by the library,"

"Why is it so big?" Sheng Rong pointed her fork at it suspiciously.

"It won't fit in my pockets by the way," Angli held out the rock for everyone to see, "It's a bit too big and heavy for my pockets,"

"You can just put it in my bag then," She held out her leather bag to him.

"Then I'll carry your bag for you! Great idea Rui'er," She rolled her eyes and let do as he wished.

"Eat up, we're heading to the mall later, so we'll need the energy. Also, stay on your toes, rumours spread quickly," The others nodded simultaneously. "India has already got it out for me," She g.r.o.a.n.e.d and returned to her stack of food.

....

By the time the team had arrived at the mall three new teams have arrived, and everybody was ready for lunch. And so, their first destination was none other than the third floor.

The third floor sported an arcade, cinema, bowling alley, and many concession stands.

They made plans to tour the mall and head out to the strip mall in mid-afternoon around four-ish o'clock.

Soon after they all got their fills, they all went their separate ways in search of their own things.

And though he didn't have to, Angli stuck to her like a moth to a flame. He justified his reason by saying that he was carrying her bag for her and had no choice.

But when she offered to take back her own bag, he rejected her then proceeded to give her another justified reason.

Although Gebao had landed herself in a similar situation, Sheng Rong was having an intense battle with Jian Nu about her bags and newly bought items from the prize area.

They toured around the second floor, purchasing a few items for their classes or studying. The last store they visited before heading down to the first floor was an electronics store.

Inside were the items you would find in one, phones, tablets, pens made for tablets, cases, other accessories, and custom watches.

The features within the phones and tablets were similar to normal ones, except the app store was extremely limited. Games and anything that would all you to communicate with the outside world were prohibited.

Even so, there were a few custom apps, such as a social media app comparable to Instagram, Weibo, and Facebook, that allowed you to share your experiences.

There was also a messaging and call app along with an announcement app, kind of like a school blog but online.

The tablets were mainly for school use while the phones were for personal, laptops were debatable for both depending on what you preferred.

Angli had left her to investigate them on his own, leaving her alone to tour the store alone.

The devices all came in different shapes and colours, she walked around the store testing out which ones she liked best. In the end, her mind settled for the second phone she had tried.

It had good camera quality, it offered a split-screen feature and was easy to maneuver and figure out.

Just as she was about to flag for an employee, she heard her voice next to her.

"I want this one," The girl picked up her d.e.s.i.r.ed phone and waved for an employee. "I would like this one please,"

The girl wore her hair down and curled, she wore the same colours the kids from Australia wore and had was most definitely taller than her. The girl noticed her prying eyes and smiled, " I'm sorry, were you going to buy this?"

The girl shot her an arrogant look and smiled at her provokingly.

"No, I was just looking for which one suited me best," She offered another smile in return and pretended to not be bothered to piss off the other. And as expected, the girl's facade flickered.

Prior to the girl's arrival, Angli was already watching her closely, he whispered to the assisting employee next to him before making his way towards trouble.

He wrapped his arm around Yaorui's shoulders and smiled at the Aussie in front of his future wifeu. "You want more?" In his hand was a bottle of banana milk, a treat they picked up from the concession stands on the third floor.

Yaorui's eyes sparkled as her hands eagerly grabbed the bottle. "Did you pick your phone yet?" She asked while stabbing the straw past the lid.

"Yup," Just on time, the worker from before came back with two boxes in hand, he thanked the man before taking them and displaying them in front of her.

"Which one do you want?" The boxes each had a picture of a phone on them, one was white and the other black. Yaorui recognized them as the model she had wanted before.

She reached for the white one, but before she could grasp it, another hand with long manicured fingers ripped it away from Angli's hands.

Deciding to not show her fangs and focus on her banana milk, she turned to Angli and gave him teary puppy eyes. Knowing her scheme, Angli flashed a smile and called out for a witness.

"Thief!" This shout, as expected, attracted all the eyes to them. An employee rushed over, hoping to soothe the situation before it starts.

"What's wrong," The worker looked worried, not because it could get out of hand, but because teenagers tend to be impulsive during their puberty years.

"This person stole Iris's phone," Angli snarled for added effects.

"I didn't steal it! She hasn't even paid for it! How can I steal it if she didn't buy it!"

The employee that assisted Angli before came into light and offered his point of view, "The young man had already paid,"

"And this phone was for me," The girl announced a little too proudly.

"No, it's not, you aren't my Iris," Inside, both Yaorui and Angli were struggling to keep their faces up as they watched the other girl's face crumble.

In a fit of rage, the girl slammed the phone down and stormed out.

"Riiiight, like storming out will save your face," Sheng Rong threw a taunt at the girl's back, snickering with Jian Nu right after.

The manager picked up the phone and gestured to one of the other employees to grab another one of the same kind.

"We apologize for the trouble we caused you," Angli said.

Fl.u.s.tered, the manager accepted his apology and allowed the pair to continue shopping.