With her eyes closed, Ella sunk her hand to one of her front pocket. All she can remember was the play that she was reenacting. That was one of the best moments in her life and one of the best performances she had ever given. When her fingers touched the object she was trying to find, her hand immediately held it tight and pulled it out of her pocket.

Chun watched closely as Ella pulled a glass bottle from her pocket. His eyes went wide. He immediately recognized it. It was a medicine bottle. Selina gave it to her when she visited her, just in case Ella got into depression and cannot handle anything. Suddenly Chun was on high alert. It is okay if it just a simple medicine, but based on what Selina said, that medicine that Ella is now holding, is a powerful drug, a combination of anti-depression pills and sleeping pills. That is why Selina warned her to only take it when it is really necessary.

‘What is she doing now?’ Chun thought as he moved forward to get a closer look.

Ella slowly opened the cap bottle and looked at it. Her face was very serious. It looks like she was thinking of something.

‘She’s not going to do something stupid, is she? She’s already moved on from that jerk face, Jerry, isn’t she?’ Chun thought again.

But before Chun can answer all of his questions, Ella already gulped down, the contents in that bottle. Chun immediately stood up from his hiding place, all thoughts rushing over him. As much as he wanted to come to her side and prevent her from doing anything further, the shock got better of him. He just froze there, while watching her taking her life.

But when Ella suddenly dropped unconscious, Chun’s senses were back. He immediately ran towards the stage to her side.

The scene in front of him was a complete horror. Ella, lying unconscious, with the medicine bottle in one hand. A few pills scattered all over the stage. Chun did not know how to describe this feeling. He did not know what is worse, this scene or the scene when Ella drowned herself.

Chun slowly reached down to her. He checked everything. Her body was lifeless. She is not breathing. Her pulse was light and barely noticeable. And what is worst, foam starts coming out of .

Chun was frantic. He did not know what to do. His mind was just completely shut down. All he can do is call out to her.

“Elle!!! Elle! Come on, wake up, Elle! You can’t do this to me. Wake up! Wake up! WAKE UP!” he shouted again and again.

Tears start to fall from his eyes. Seeing Ella lifeless like this really kills his heart out. Chun kept shaking her body over and over again. The foam from had begun to stop. Her tears had already stopped flowing, but the water marks left on her cheek were still visible for Chun to see.

Slowly, Chun stopped shaking her body and instead he held her tight in his hands. He rocked her body like what he did when Ella came home after Jerry dumped her. He kept whispering for Ella to wake up. He did not care about the tears that kept flowing from his eyes. All he cares about is the safety of the one he loved.

Chun was so caught up of Ella trying to kill herself again, that he did not realize that Ella started breathing again, very slow and steady. She did not feel the cold hardwood floor surrounding her. Instead all she can feel is the warmth wrapping her body. She did not know why, but she felt safe all of the sudden. Something that she has not feel after the day Jerry dumped her.

She slowly opened her eyes and was surprised to see Chun holding her. What even more surprising is the fact that she can see the tears streaming down his cheeks.

“Chun?” Ella suddenly said with her softest voice.

Chun immediately froze. He cannot believe his ears. He slowly opened his eyes and looked down. In an instant, he looked upon Ella’s sparkling eyes. They just stared at each other in the silence.

“Don’t ever do that again.” Chun said while tighten his grip over her body.

Before Ella could say anything, Chun kissed her forehead and hugged her even tighter, as if someone was going to take her away from him. The moment his lips touched her head, Ella froze. She was stunned by his gesture, but moreover, she was stunned by the electrifying feeling coming from inside her. The kiss seems so familiar. It is different from the passionate kiss that they share during their make-out-and-almost-make-love incident on Valentine’s Day. It something she never felt before, and yet, it seems so familiar to her. The feeling of peace and safety, all wrapped around together. Never that Jerry gave this kind of feeling to her. Well, he did actually, but the intensity was far less than this one.

The kiss was so familiar and yet Ella could not draw any memory regarding the same kiss. The only thing she remembers is the dream she had about her mother. She never did find out who was the guy in her dream, but she always thought that it was Jerry. But every thought of that has been pushed back when Chun kissed her forehead. Was it really him the guy that roaming through her dreams?

“I thought I lost you.” Chun said, distracting Ella from all the thought about the kiss.

“I’m fine, Chun.” she assured him.

They just stayed in their position. After minutes passed, Chun slowly let go and looked at her straight in the eye. He demands to know what is really going on in that head of hers.

“Why the hell did you do that to yourself?” Chun asked.

“What do you mean?” Ella said dumbly.

“What do you mean by ‘what do you mean’? You heard me. Why did you gulp all those depression pills Selina gave you? Do you want to kill yourself?” Chun asked again.

“Kill myself?” Ella asked.

Chun just nodded and then pointed her at the medicine bottle lying on the stage, with a few pill scattered. Ella just mouthed an ‘O’ and then quickly grabbed the medicine bottle.

“You’re worried too much, you know?” Ella said.

This time, it was Chun who looked dumbly at her.

“I was just reenacting a play I was in a few years back. It’s Romeo and Juliet you see. Very convincing, huh?” she continued.

“But— How— You— And—.” Chun stuttered.

“I hold my breath so it looked like I’m not breathing. I can lower my heart beat so it looked like I’m lifeless. As for the foam in my mouth… Well, that is a drama geek secret that I can’t tell you about.” she explained again.

All emotions were rushing to Chun’s heart; sad, angry, confused, stupid, everything. But every emotion that he felt was washed away just by knowing that Ella is finally safe.

Chun hugged her again and slowly caressed her soft silky hair. Ella was taken completely by surprise, and yet she did not refuse. She just let him hugged her and enjoyed every moment of it. She slowly closed her eyes and breathed his scent. The smell of his cologne is very soothing for her.

“Next time if you want to do a reenacting, warn me first, okay? I really thought that you were gone.” Chun said.

“I thought you weren’t here.” Ella said.

Chun just let out a deep sigh. Well, what she said was definitely true. He already said that he was going to leave her alone in the auditorium before, and yet he decided to stay and looked what she was up to. And at the end, he made a fool of himself, thinking that Ella was having another suicide attempt.

“Are you finished yet? I think we should go back.” Chun said.

“Not quite.” Ella replied.

She got up on her feet and Chun followed. She looked straight into the invisible audience in front of them. She bent her left arm so it looked like she was holding a bouquet, then she walked forwards.

“It’s time for the finale.” she said.  

She looked back at Chun and then stretched his arm, signaling him to take it. Chun held her hand and then walked forward so he stood beside her.

“And now, we bow.” she said with a smile on her face.

Chun did not question her and with their hands still holding each other’s, they bowed at the empty auditorium.

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Ella is standing in front of the announcement board, but this time, she was not looking at the announcement about the university’s anniversary. She was looking at the sign-up sheet for the talent show. She has been looking for at least ten minutes before someone tapped her shoulder and snapped her back to reality.

“So, E, what are you doing for the talent show?” Jiro asked after noticing her looking at the talent show sign-up sheet.

“I don’t know. I’m thinking of doing a drum solo. My junior actually gave me a new pair of drum sticks, so it will be a waste if I don’t use them.” she replied.

“Then just sign up and do drum solo. What are you so worked up about?” Jiro asked again.

“I don’t know. I’m thinking of joining the play too. Besides, it’s odd to see just a drum solo. Usually people do drum solo with guitar solo.”

“Well, I’m doing guitar solo myself. How about we collaborate?”

“Eh… That’s a pretty good idea.”

Just as Ella about to sign her name and Jiro’s, someone stopped her.

“Elle!” Ella immediately turned to see the person who called her. It was Aaron.

“What’s up?” Ella said casually.

“Doctor Mei asked you to come and see him at his office.” Aaron said.

“Oh okay.” Ella said and drifted her attention back to the sign-up sheet.

“Like, NOW!” Aaron shouted.

“OH! OKAY!” And with that Ella left with the speed of light. Well that is quite exaggerating but you get the point.

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Tik Tok Tik Tok

The sound of the clock was the only thing in Teacher Mei’s office. If people did not look inside, they probably think that no one was inside. But on the contrary, there are two people there.

Ella just stared at Teacher Mei, waiting for him to speak up. She has been waiting for at least ten minutes after she arrived there frantically. Well, according to what Aaron said, anything that Teacher Mei wants to talk to her about was pretty important. Firstly because he told her to hurry and the next thing is because he asked for her to see him. Teacher Mei never ever asked her to see him. It was always her that came to him willingly.

“Can you at least say something?” Ella said, breaking the silence.

Teacher Mei did not say anything. Instead he just relieved a deep sigh.

“Well? If you’re not going to say anything, I think I better leave now.” And with that Ella immediately stood up from her sit.

“Stay.” Teacher Mei finally said.

Just like an obedient dog, Ella immediately sat back down.

“So are you going to sign up for anything regarding the university anniversary?” Teacher Mei asked.

“I was going to sign up for the talent show before Aaron came and told me to go to you in a hurry. Jiro and I are going to collaborate. Drum and guitar solo.” Ella said.

“And the play?”

“I haven’t thought about it yet. I’m thinking of auditioning, but I’m just not sure on which part I should audition on.”

“And why so?”

“I don’t know. I’m thinking of auditioning for the male lead, but I’ve never acted as a male before. Well, in a play at least. But then, I miss being a female too, so I’m also thinking of auditioning for a female part, just a small part though.”

“And the beauty pageant?”

“You mean Miss Farmosa?” Ella asked for confirmation, in which Teacher Mei gladly replied with a simple nod.

“No. Absolutely not. I’m always against the idea of beauty pageant. It’s just too shallow. I never entered one when I was in Shanghai, and I’m most certainly not going to enter now.”

And then silence wrapped the room.

“So, are you done asking questions?” Ella asked.

“I want you to audition as the female lead for the play.” Teacher Mei suddenly said.

“Why?” she asked.

“No reason. I think it’s a good practice. If you can manage being the female lead without your identity being exposed, then I know I picked the right actress to be my star.”

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It has been a couple of weeks since Ella and Teacher Mei’s meeting. Ella had already sign up for the talent show, together with Jiro. And she already signed up for the play too. A few of her friends also encourage her to sign up for the Miss Farmosa Pageant, but she refused.

Ella never really liked the idea of being in a pageant; it is just degrading for women. Being in a stage and let people judge you. Sure they say that they do not only judge the look but also the brain power and inner beauty too, but still, outer beauty is still the key to win. No scratch that, to enter. Come on, think about it. Have you ever seen someone that does not have that “supermodel” figure walked upon that beauty pageant stage?

Even if the Miss Farmosa Pageant was completely different than the other usual beauty pageant, but still, she did not really like the idea of being on stage and being judge by other people. Well, talent show is also like that, but it is different. Because people judge her for her talent, and her intention of entering the talent show was actually to entertain, not to win it. Winning will be just icing on the cake.

Oh, right. You all must be wondering what happen during Miss Farmosa Pageant, right? Well… If you notice, the beauty pageant is called ‘Miss’ not ‘Mister’ and we all know that Farmosa University is for boys only, so what actually happen to make a mister to be a miss? Well that is easy.

The basic thing of thing pageant is that all contestants should dress up as a girl, the prettier the better. The other part of the competition is mainly the same as the other beauty pageant, except for the swimsuit category of course. The winner is the one that get the highest vote from the audience and the judge. Usually they attract a lot of attention for themselves during the talent portion. Well, I am not going to tell you about that because some of the talent is really hard to explain and not that suitable to be written. So I just let your imaginations run wild for this part.

So, why do manly boys willing to dress up as girls and sell themselves to the crowd? The answer of course is because of the prize. The winner gets money and fame. Other than that, usually they represent their dorm, so some of them are being ‘encourage’ by their dorm mates to join. The dorm of the winning contestant will also get prizes.

Now, back to the story. Ella had just got back from the call back for the play. The cast will be announced a few days after. It is nice to be back on the performing world once again. She really missed it.

“Eh, you’re back.” Chun said when Ella walked into the room, snapping her back from all her thoughts.

Ella just nodded.

“What are you doing anyway? It’s quite late.” Chun asked again.

“Haven’t I told you? I’m auditioning for the play and I just got back from the call back. Do you know that Teacher Mei was the director and producer of the show?”

“Really?”

Ella nodded again. “Yeah. What even more surprising is the fact that Aaron is the composer for the play.”

“Wow, I never thought that Aaron is actually serious about the music business.” Chun commented.

“Yeah. Me too.”

“Eh, with this play going on, if you got selected, are you sure you’re going to have time to practice with Jiro for the talent show?”

“Don’t worry. The practice schedules are different and besides, I know I can manage.” Ella said with confident.

“What’s the play about anyway? You seem so excited about it.”

“Of course I’m excited. It’s not because of the story line, but because I can be on stage again.” Ella said with sparkles in her eyes.

Chun just chuckled upon seeing this. Never once did he encounter a girl that is very passionate about what she does.

“Well, I can’t tell you what the play is about. But the general idea is about a girl that disguises herself as a guy. You know, like Mulan, but in a modern world. The main plot is how the female lead chooses between love and career.”

Chun was silent. ‘Isn’t that your life story you're just telling me?’ he thought.

“Chun…” Ella called out while waving her hand in front of him.

“Yeah?” he said, coming back from his deep thought.

“So what do you think of the play?”

“Hmmm… So are you auditioning for the male lead?” Chun asked back.

“No. I’m auditioning for the female lead. I think I got it in the bag.” Ella said.

“No, you can’t!” Chun suddenly said.

Ella was taken completely by surprise by Chun’s sudden mood change.

“What do you mean I can’t?” Ella asked after composing herself.

“You just can’t.” Chun answered firmly.

“If you can’t say the reason, then I can’t back out. I’ve already went to the call back, so there’s no way of backing now.”

“You can just quit.”

“Never.” Ella said sternly.

The once comfy and warm room has now turned into a silence room. The intensity in the air just killed. The cold aura sends chills down their spine.

“Why don’t you let me?” Ella asked breaking the silence.

‘Because it’s the same as exposing your identity!’ Chun shouted in his mind.

“You won’t give me a reason?” Ella asked again.

“If I said you can’t that means you can’t.” Chun said coldly.

“I don’t care.”

“No means no. And I’m not going to change my mind. You’re not going to be the female lead for that play.”

“And what makes you the boss of me?” Ella challenged him. “I’m going to be the female lead and no one is going to stop me.”

“I already said it. NO MEANS NO!” Chun shouted.

“I don’t need your permission. This is my life. Who are you to boss me around and told me what I can and can’t do?” Ella said in anger.

Both of them are already on their feet, glaring at each other.

“I’m not going to allow you be the female lead in that play, and that’s final.” Chun said.

“Why? Just give me reason Chun.”

‘Because I want to protect you! Why can’t you see that?’ Chun shouted in his mind. Oh how badly he wants to say it right in her face, but he cannot do that. Not right now.

“My decision is also final. I’m going to be the female lead of the play. And no one, not even you, are going to stop me.” Ella said again.

She quickly turned around and headed to the door. But before she can go further, Chun caught her hand and yanked her back, forcing her to look at him.

“I said no! And if locking you in this room for weeks is the only way to make sure that you’re not going to be in that play, then so be it.” Chun said while tighten his grip over her wrist.

“Let go!” Ella shouted. But Chun’s grip was getting stronger. “I said let go!” Ella yanked away her hand with full force, causing Chun to let go.

“Why can’t you just be supportive like Jerry for once? I hate you!” Ella blurted out. And with that, she stomped her way out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

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BTW... I wrote a new story... staring GuiGui... drop by sometimes 'The ONE'

And HAPPY 5th Anniversary for Hua Yang Shao Nian Shao Nu aka Hana Kimi

After 5 years the CE fandom are still going strong!!!!

LONG LIVE CE!!!!