"And the winner of this year's tournament is...Edison Huang!" the male announcer boomed, arousing applause from the crowd as he handed Tao the trophy and raised his hand to the ceiling.

This is the sixth year Edison Huang, also known as Tao by the rest of us, has won the wu shu competition, and I have been to every last one. He's so graceful and so awesome! I would always watch Tao from afar while he trained, admiring the fluidity and grace presented in every move. One day, Tao met my eyes and flashed me one of his winning smiles, which revealed perfectly white teeth. I've been transfixed ever since that fateful day.

I made sure to sit in the front row this year in hopes that Tao would notice me. While Tao's master came onstage to meet him, he looked around until he looked my way and smiled that same heart-melting smile. Tao whispered something to his master before he darted down the steps and made his way towards my direction. Deciding to play hard to get, and to be sure that he was looking for me, I grabbed my purse and pushed my way through the crowd to the exit.

Every now and then would I look back to see if Tao was following me. I'm in a dimly-lit hallway beneath the stadium, but there was no one else around, let alone Tao. I pulled out my phone to realize that 8 minutes had passed. I guess Tao really was looking for someone else who happened to be near me. Feeling foolish, I leaned against the wall and sank down to the floor. I reached into my purse to take out the stuffed panda I never had the courage to give Tao. I remembered overhearing Tao telling his friends he would love to get a stuffed panda as a trophy instead, so I went out of my way to buy it for him while I was in Chinatown, but I was never able to work up the nerve to give it to him. That's why I'm here clutching it while fighting back tears.

"Boo!" echoed a bellowing voice.

Before I could let out a scream, a hand muffled it to the point of it becoming a low shrill only the person and I could hear.

"Shh, it's okay. I only came here to look for you, Wynter."

I looked up to see who it was and saw Tao staring down at me while giving me a reassuring smile.

"Tao?"

"Yeah, it's me. What do you have there?"

I followed Tao's slightly yearning gaze to realize I was still holding the stuffed panda I had for him. "It's for you. Congratulations fro your win." I lifted the plush toy up to Tao, who gladly accepted it.

"Thank you, Wynter." Tao kissed his present on the nose, making my heart melt."How did you know I loved pandas?"

"Um, I sometimes would go by the dojo to watch you practice and I heard you tell your friends you'd like to get a panda as a trophy. I meant to give it to you before when you won last year and the years before, but..."

"Why didn't you give it to me before?"

"Um....I, uh......"

Tao's head tilted to the right in concern. "Is something wrong, Wynter?"

"No, it's just....Oh, why is it so hard to talk to you?" I gasped in realization that I confessed my feelings for him.

Tao's almond-shaped eyes turned into large circles for a brief second. Then they went back to their regular size with a sly smirk added to his usually cool expression.

"Um, Tao...."

"You love me?"

My face grew hot . I knew I was only in a hallway, but it felt as if I were in the Sahara. I stood there like and idiot. I fidgeted with my pearl necklace. Finally, I confessed to him and said, "Yes, I do like you. I've liked you since the day I saw you at your first tournament 6 years ago."

"And you've watched me practice?"

I bobbed my head up and down in response.

"To be honest, I was actually more motivated when you came to watch me practice."

"Really?" I never would have guessed!

"Yep. You always being there for me and supporting me during practices and tournaments have driven me to do better. You're the reason why I train so hard and push myself to do better because I want to do well to impress you. The way you'd cheer me on my first win during my debut felt so good, so thank you for motivating me, Wynter." Tao leaned in and kissed my forehead sweetly, smiling afterwards. Tao's opened gi revealed his ghostly pale yet strong chest. I could see a hint of his abs when he leaned over, making me blush even more.

After Tao leaned back when he kissed my head, I immediately turned away from him and pulled my fan out of my purse. I took four steps away from him so he wouldn't see me fanning myself.

Well, that didn't do any good for me because I heard Tao laughing behind me. "Are you all right, Wynter? You seem a little.....hot. Maybe I should give you mouth-to-mouth."

"M-mouth-to-mouth?" I exclaimed. "No, no, no, that's okay. I'm all right." Unconsciously, I fanned myself even harder with my fan. I swear Tao is going to be the death of me one day. Suddenly, I heard Tao's bare feet smacking against the hard, cold floor as he approached me.

"Are you okay, Wynter?"

"Y-yes."

Tao's arms s around me, making my heart race even faster than what was humanly possible. I felt his warm breath on my ear. I felt my knees weakening.

"Tao?"

"I have a confession to make." 

"What is it?"

"You didn't hear my entire conversation. I said I liked pandas, but I said I would love to get it as a trophy from the person I loved."

"You mean you....?"

"Yes, Wynter. I love you."

Still in his arms, I turned to face Tao. His flawless face was just inches away from mine. Tao smiled lovingly at me and slowly closed the small gap between us with his warm, whisper-soft lips. We were like this for a good minute. My body felt as if fire and ice were pressing against it, so I pulled away from him in order to catch my breath.

"You want to go celebrate at the cafe?" Tao asked, still smiling. 

"Sure," I agreed as I took Tao's hand into mine and walked outside with him. We got a lot of stares, but we didn't care. I was just so happy I could finally say Tao is mine.

"You have no idea how long I was waiting for this moment."

I smiled up at him as we continued to go down the sidewalk, with love as our shade from the bright orange sun.

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I'm also opening another story called My Sister and I. More is explained in the story's description.

I'm also deciding to make one of these a full version, but which one do you think I should do?

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