White Roses Dyed Blood Red

First day of school

Yaorui woke up at the same time as usual.

She stretched and did her old morning workout. Warm water ran down her back as she washed off her sweat, followed by the sound of her brushing her teeth and her skincare routine.

She took out the gift box from the design team, the new uniform custom made for her as it was for every other team member. Its measurements and design were made solely for her.

The dark-ish colour contrasted well with her white jade-like skin. The outfit included a white button-up, space blue skirt and blazer, and nude tights meant to keep her legs warm.

The blazer was long enough to reach the bottom of her skirt, which ended just above her knees. For a finishing touch, she used a black ribbon to tie a loose bow beneath her collar and a black bow with the crest in her hair.

She applied minimal make-up and left her hair down to cascade like a waterfall.

Her hands gripped the necklace around her neck before tucking it beneath her shirt and leaving her room with Precious.

She had been training hard in her dreams, honing her skills and learning new ones with her wolf mentors. On top of that, she had been studying the past week, catching up on things she was unsure of and relearning the things she did.

Her team had made leaps and bounds in their physical fitness, and they were able to learn the intermediate defensive and offensive moves.

They had one hour before the dining hall was open for breakfast at 8:00, and the majority of the team was already out and about.

She went around with Precious knocking on doors and waking everybody else.

Gebao wore a dress with a white button-up underneath and a beret to top it off. She had her hair in two curled pigtails that rested on her shoulders.

Sheng Rong got jeans that were easy to move in, a plain white tee, and a blazer. Her hair done up in a braided ponytail, a style that Gebao had done herself because knowing her friend, she would have just put it up in a ponytail.

Zhangmin wore loose space blue camouflage pants, a matching crop top, and again, a white button-up that was unbuttoned and tied around the waist, leaving a part of her stomach b.a.r.e.

Wenshi wore an oversized knitted turtleneck tucked into black jeans and a blue purse with the crest of the lid. She was the only one without a white button-up and had to carry her books in her arms.

All of them were graced with actual pockets and wore their contacts instead of their glasses.

The design team ran around delivering last minute add ons and adjusting anything that needed adjusting. When Anushka, the one who made her their clothes came around, they thanked her for the pockets. It was something that deserved worship.

The boys followed them not long after, joining them in the kitchen while they waited for the rest.

She saw Yuan Fa Ren and Anushka smirk out of the corner of her eyes, that was when she realized that Wenshi and Long Ao were matching!

Her six-foot-tall brother wore a matching oversized sweater and black pants, instead of a purse, he was given a fanny pack that he slung over his c.h.e.s.t.

"Yaorui~~~!" Sheng Rong called for her in a teasing voice. "You're matching with Angli~!"

"What are you ta-"

They were matching.

His blazer went down to his knees, as did hers, he had a black-tie instead of a ribbon.

She wouldn't be surprised if their shoes matched.

"Don't we look like a beautiful couple?" Angli swung an arm around her shoulders.

"What about us?" Mu Jian Nu mimicked Angli and threw an arm around Sheng Rong.

"Waah! What about me? I want a boyfriend too!" Zhangmin w.h.i.n.ed, "But that's okay, I'll just have to live off of your guy's dog food,"

"Pictures!" Gebao held up her polaroid, "Time for pictures!"

They all posed for the camera, they took some couple pictures and ones as a group. Some were just of the girls, while the others of the boys. And because Gebao's polaroid was synced to her phone, they all received the pictures through the messaging app.

Hu Angli scrolled through his collection and picked out his favourite.

In this picture, he had princess carried Xiao Rui, surprising her and resulting in a big smile plastered on her face.

He smiled and set the picture as his new wallpaper on his phone, replacing a selfie he had secretly taken of him and her not long ago.

He had a total of five collections in his photo album:

Xiao Rui and Him

Things to buy for Xiao Rui

Just Xiao Rui

Friends

And finally, Family.

The first one was his favourite.

"All right! Everybody gather up! Girls on the right and boys on the left!" Precious shouted.

Ding~

'The strawberry macaroons are poisoned.'

'Do not eat.'

"...48, 49, 50! Alright, get your shoes on and let's head out for breakfast," Long Ao directed everyone to the foyer while Wenshi left to gather Long Ao's shoes for him.

"Who texted you? I heard the ding sound," Hu Angli came up next to her.

"Mystery guy again,"

"What'd he say?"

"Strawberry macaroons are poisoned,"

"And?"

"Let's believe him if it's true, then at least someone in our team will suffer the consequences,"

"Then I'll forward it into the group chat," Angli pulled out his phone and typed out the message to the team group chat.

Ding~

Xiao Rui's future husband: Nobody eat the Strawberry macaroons~~!

Xiao Rui's future husband: Poisoned~~!

Almost immediately, the message was seen by the whole team.

A few of them shrugged it off while others were skeptical, which was understandable considering that the statement came out of nowhere.

She'll just have to resolve to force when the time comes.

"When are you going to change your username as I asked you to?"

"Hmmm, let me think...how about when you marry me? Then I'll change it to Xiao Rui's official husband!"

"Yes, because I'm the type to marry first then date and get engaged," She rolled her eyes.

"Really! That's a relief," He let out an exaggerated sigh, and just like that, he got out of changing his username.

On the way to the dining hall, Gebao continued snapping photos of their teammates and occasionally the scenery around them. A few, if not, most of the models had asked for the pictures to be sent to them.

When they got to the dining hall, they were met with an array of colours. It was like a rainbow had exploded inside the dining hall. Heads of all colours were seated both dyed and natural.

The team from Australia eyed them, not forgetting the humiliation from the first night. One person, in particular, stood out to her, the sister of Sam. Her name?

Emily Henrich.

She made a mental note to be wary of the girl and followed the rest of her team.

They found their seats next to Japan's team, China's greatest ally but also their most formidable opponent. In this situation, they are likely opponents in this matter.

"Hello neighbours," she was seated at the edge next to the other team once again.

"Hello, how was your captivity?"

"It was well, we were allowed in the yard, so we got fresh air,"

"We weren't informed of that,"

"We had to ask permission,"

For the next few minutes, she made small talk with her elbow buddy in Japanese. They continued their conversation until Angli nudged her and informed her that the line was shorter.

Before she left with Angli, she turned to deliver a message.

"Before I forget, I suggest not eating the strawberry macaroons, wouldn't want more deaths, now would we?" She smiled, something her new friend saw as a threat.

Her new friend turned to one of her teammates and slapped a macaroon out of their hand.

As she stood in line, Angli and her worked together to ban the strawberry macaroons. They bore the whining and explained a few things, no doubt a few other mandarin speakers had listened in. She saw a few students drop them before they could place one on their plates and a few being returned.

There were more mandarin speakers than she thought, or maybe a few were smart enough to follow others' examples.

She gathered her food and left with Angli to start eating, not forgetting to slap out a few macaroons.

As she ate, her watch buzzed, and the screen lit up, displaying new notifications.

Points Notification:

+288 points for saving 48 lives

Total Team Points:

1393

1st place

And that was when she realized that this wasn't just about bringing honour to your home. It was a game of life and death.

Message Notification:

May the best team win

And like a hive of bees, every watch in the hall buzzed, alerting others of the ominous message.

Ding~

She pulled out her phone.

'You did well my queen,'

Looks like she had a formidable ally, let's hope they're trustworthy.

Her necklace flashed, and the eye of the dragon glowed.

The sound of the speakers turning on was heard, gathering the attention of hundreds of students.

"Attention students, you have thirty minutes to enter and gather in the surprise building. Eat up, you'll need the energy."