The Miraculous Princess Marinette Dupain Cheing

Chapter 4

Marinette smiled as she took a deep breath of air. "Good to be back," Marinette said, walking down the jet's staircase.

The man explained to Ms. Bustier that the class' luggage was sent to their hotel, and would be driven there in the black cars lined up in front of them.

"I would like to announce something," Ms. Bustier stopped the class, "A, what we would define as marquess here, will be taking us to the hotel. That is due to keeping the peace between our two countries and respecting both sides," Ms. Bustier said.

Marinette wondered who it could be. She knew most of them and even dated one over the summer a few years ago before things went awry.

Marinette couldn't believe it. It would be the first time she had been back since she turned 18, well her French birthday. Her actual birthday was in a few days, on the day of the coronation.

"We'll have each of you guys split into each car. The higher-ups will go in front, and the lowers will follow behind."

It was then she noticed that a car was pulling up. It looked so familiar, and yet she couldn't put her finger on it. That was until she saw the shoes of the person coming out, and she instantly remembered. Marinette immediately turned around. "Girl, what is it?" Alya whispered. "Just don't let him see my face," she said.

"Hello," the man said, "My name is Han Kang, and I will be showing you around today," he said, fixing his jacket. The man shook hands with everyone, and some of the girls giggled in the back.

It wasn't until he got to Marinette. "Excuse me," he said. "I'm sorry," Marinette replied in a slightly deeper voice, "I'm suddenly not feeling well."

"Well, thank you for the worrying, but I promise I have a strong immune system," Han said. "Oh come on, Marinette, we wouldn't want to be rude," Lila said, getting closer to her. It all happened in slow motion to Marinette. Lila suddenly "tripped" and turned Marinette around; Adrien quickly stabilized her, but it was too late. She had already been revealed to him.

"美丽, 你和這些人在這裡做什麼 (Meili, what are you doing here with these people)?" Han asked, grabbing her hand. "别碰我 (Don't touch me)," Marinette said, pulling back her hands.

"梅麗，請原諒我。那是一個錯誤。(Meili, please forgive me. It was a mistake)," Han said, clasping her hands again.

"How do you accidentally make out with my best friend? You just fell onto her and your lips got stuck together while hiding in an empty room?" Marinette said angrily. "Mei, please, you don't know how bad-" Han could not finish his sentence before he got slapped.

"你很幸運，我在對我評價很高的朋友面前 (You are lucky I am in front of friends who think highly of me)," Marinette replied. "美丽-" Han started.

"放過她 (Leave her alone)," Adrien said, prying Han's hands off of Marinette's. "你是誰(Who are you)?" Han said.

"不要紧。别再碰我 (It does not matter. Leave me alone)," Marinette said. Instantly, the men were by Marinette's side. "Ms. Bustier, I will be leaving now. I am going to head over to my family's... house. May I take Alya with me?" Marinette asked.

"Yes, you may," Ms. Bustier said. Alya and Marinette entered the first car before driving away from the airport.

"Who was that girl?" Alya asked as the driver shut the door. "My ex-boyfriend. I dated him three years ago over the summer before he cheated on me with my ex-best friend turned 'enemy,'" Marinette explained.

"Woah, you dated someone?" Alya exclaimed. "The worst mistake of my life. Mom wanted me to get out of my shell and she and his mother were friends at the time," Marinette said, rolling her eyes.

"He still pisses me off to this day. It's whatever now," Marinette said, looking out the window at the streets of China. "What an ass hat! Cheating on you? With your best friend?" Alya exclaimed.

"He's an asshole, but as long as I don't have to see him again, we'll be fine," Marinette said, playing with her fingers. "No more of that boring, frustrating stuff. I can't wait to show you the hotel! My aunt owns it, and it is one of the prettiest hotels I've ever been to!" Marinette said.

"I can't wait to see it! Everything here looks so nice already," Alya said, staring out the window with wide eyes. "How will your aunt handle the paparazzi?" Alya asked.

"I honestly don't know. I've been gone for a while so it might take a while for some to recognize me. Plus, my aunt doesn't like the paparazzi unless she calls it. She'd probably kick them out," Marinette explained.

"This hotel is promoted as a getaway for celebrities and political figures, so it is rare for paparazzi to get in here," Marinette said.

After meeting up with her aunt in her office, they met with the class at the front of the lobby.

"Woah, this is so cool!" said Rose.

"Wicked," Alix said.

"This is so beautiful," Mylene claimed.

"Okay class, please stay here while I talk to the receptionist. Marinette, will you please assist me?" Mlle. Bustier asked.

"Yes, ma'am," Marinette said, following the teacher to the front desk.

"I can't believe Marinette is acting so calm after the stunt she pulled with the marquess," Lila said.

"I wonder what they said. Marinette sounded so mad and he looked almost shocked to see her," Alix stated, "Hey Adrien, you speak Chinese. What did they say?"

"First of all, it's Mandarin, and second, I don't know if I should say what they said. That's her business and I wouldn't want to get involved," Adrien explained.

"I'm sure you understand that we're all worried for her though," Lila said, fluttering her lashes at him. Adrien almost gagged.

"As I said before, whatever that was, is between them. We should all respect that. If not for Marinette, then for the Marquess," Adrien said, going to a further chair, away from Lila and the rest of the cast.

Ms. Bustier came back with the keycards to the rooms and brought out the list of each room's sleeping partners. After the class was split into the respective couplings (girls with girls and boys with boys), they made their way up to their floor.

"Okay class, tomorrow we will be traveling to an academy here. We will be learning about their different customs and compare them to ours. For the rest of the day, we will be at the hotel, please do not leave the building and return to your room by 10 tonight," Ms. Bustier said.

"Yes ma'am," the class chorused. Marinette wondered what school they would be traveling to the next day. She did know a lot of them, except for the ones that had been added after she left.

Still, she remembers her friends from her school in China. Of course, her parents hid her royal identity, but she was able to go to an upper-class school.

Marinette idly thought about her friends from school as she headed for bed at 10. Maybe, she should give them a call.