It has been more than a month since Ella transferred to Farmosa University. Everything goes smoothly, actually. No one suspect Ella of being a girl and she is now used to being with all the guys. She never faints again, since Teacher Mei already gave her new and upgraded sports bra. She does not how Teacher Mei able to do it, but the sports bra that his friend made for her, fits her perfectly. It is comfortable too. It even hid her s better than her old one.

She also realized that Chun actually becomes nicer to her each day. She does not know why exactly, but just suspected that it was because she is his roommate, so he has to be nice to her if they want to live with each other peacefully. Oh, and her necklace has been fixed too. So now she can wear it peacefully, without worrying that it might snap when she does another spinning overhead kick to Jiro.

Ella was just walking to her dorm from the main building. The lesson has just ended. She began to like living there. The weather is nice. The place is not so bad either. And she begins to like her friends here too. Jiro will always crack up jokes; Aaron will update them with the latest news or gossip, while Chun just sits beside her watching the three interact. Once in a while though, Chun will walk with her alone, just as Danson about to approach her, so that Danson does not get some alone time with her.

Ella was just on her way back to the dorm with Jiro, Aaron, and Chun, when suddenly she stopped. She stopped walking because she saw someone in their way. Jiro, Aaron, and Chun also stopped. Wondering what got into Ella that could immediately stopped her like that. Then they saw the same person that Ella was looking at.

It was a guy, about the same height as Chun and Jiro, maybe a little taller. His skin is pale. His hair is dark and short. He stands there. Legs apart, head held high, both hands inside his pockets in his pants. He is confident, overly confident. He looks at them with his dark eyes and smiles at them with the most charming smile.

"Hello, my dear little brother." he said.

"Ge!" (Big Brother) Ella shouted at him.

She immediately ran towards him and gave the guy a big hug. Of course, he hugged her back. Jiro, Aaron, and Chun were frozen and confused at what had just happened. They just stared at the two 'guys' who were having a family reunion, as if they have not seen each other for years.

"Ge! What are you doing here?" Ella asked him.

"To visit my dearest little 'brother' of course." he answered, still hugging her.

"Oh, now you have to remember that I'm a guy. Oh, and my name now is Ello Chen." she whispered to him.

"Ello?" he asked in surprised. He let go of his hug and looked at her.

"Yes?" she said with a smile on her face.

He just looked at her for a while. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and looked at the three guys standing in front of them.

"Well? Aren't you going to introduce me to them?" he asked.

"Oh, right." Ella quickly let go of her brother’s hug around her shoulder and walked to her three friends.

"This is Jiro Wang. Aaron Yan. And Wu Chun." she said while pointing the each guys respectively. "Guys, this is-"

"Hello, I'm Elle's brother. I'm Calvin Chen." he said.

"Hello." the three guys said.

Calvin looks at the three guys carefully. He knows that they are his sister's friends but that does not mean that he needs to stop from being cautious. He is her big brother and his duty in life is to protect her.

"You guys seem nice. Thank you for taking care of Elle when he's here." Calvin said to them.

He walked closely towards them and stared at them, one by one. Then he stopped at Chun. He just stared at him from head to toe, examined him carefully. Chun was frozen right in front of him like a statue. Looking at him directly, confused at what Calvin was doing.

"What's your name again?" Calvin asked him.

"Wu Chun."

"I know that I've seen your face somewhere. You're Wu Chun from the Taiwan National Basketball Team, am I right? I'm in Shanghai Regional Basketball Team myself. We shall have a friendly match sometimes." Calvin said to him.

Wu Chun does not respond. He tries to hide his face from Calvin.

"Ge, he doesn't play anymore." Ella whispered to Calvin.

"Doesn't play? That's too bad. How did Hebe react when you told her?" Calvin asked. His eyes began to wander around Chun, with disrespectful look.

"I haven't." Ella answered.

"You haven't? She's your best friend. She has to know. I have to tell her. He's her idol." Calvin is now surprised.

"You can't. She'll be devastated." Ella said.

"I have to tell her. You know that I don't keep secrets from her. I have to. He's her idol and now he doesn't play. Hebe has the rights to know, so that she doesn't need to idolize someone who is not worth idolizing for." Calvin began to mock Chun.

"Ge! Stop it! He has his reasons."

"What?"

"He was injured." Aaron said.

"Injured? I'm an athlete myself and I was injured plenty of time. But that doesn't stop me from playing. You're a quitter and you don't deserve a fan like Hebe cheering for you. Heck. You don't deserve anyone cheering for you at all." Calvin said to Chun. He has really gone overboard.

"GE! Stop it! Just stop it!" Ella shouted at him. She began to get angry.

"You're shouting at me? I can't believe it. What this guy do to you to make you defend him this much? I'm going to tell Hebe. She was wrong the whole time." Calvin said.

"You can't! I said you can't! I won't let you!" Ella shouted again.

"I'm going to tell her and that's it!" Calvin raised his voice. He was getting angry himself.

"NO! I won't let you!" Ella shouted. Both Ella and Calvin stared directly into each other’s eyes. Chun, Jiro, and Aaron could only stand there silently. The once happy family reunion had just turned into a battlefield.

"Okay. If that's what you want." Calvin said. Ella was relieved for a few seconds, but it was not long because Calvin had planned something else for them.

"Let me make you a deal. Since you REALLY like bets and challenges, right?" Calvin said to both Ella and Chun.

"What do you mean?" Ella asked. She was confused. She looked at Chun. He was still expressionless just as usual.

"I challenge you to a friendly match, one on one, you against me. How's that sound?" Calvin asked Chun.

Chun did not respond. So does Ella.

"Okay. Let me make it more interesting then, a friendly match in two weeks, just you and me. You can refuse. It's all up to you. But if you do or if you lose than my dearest brother here will have to come home with me." Calvin said.

"WHAT?!?!" Ella raised an eyebrow.

"What? You believed in Hebe right? So you should believe in him." Calvin said. He was teasing her and mocking Chun at the same time.

"Again, WHAT?!!?!" Ella shouted again. Her jaws dropped.

"Well, let me put it this way. If he lost then I have to tell Hebe the truth and you should come home with me since no need for you to cheer him, even though your cheer for him is on Hebe's behalf. If he won, then Hebe would be happy right? So actually, whatever happens I will tell Hebe the truth." Calvin said.

"Ge! You can't do this!" Ella shouted again.

"Too late. I already said what I said and I never back away from my words." Calvin said.

Ella knows that when her brother already said something then he meant it. He will never back away from his words, just like she never back away from hers. But this is too absurd!

Chun has not play basketball in a year. Furthermore, he is always cold to her. He does not care about her, so he would never accept this challenge. What does he care if she left? She does not mean anything to him. At this rate, she would have been gone before the match even begins.

Ella began to worry. She knows that everything that relates to Hebe is a sensitive topic to her brother, but she never expected him to do such a thing to her. This is the same as ruining her dreams. Ella is going crazy. She knew that Chun would never accepted the challenge because it was actually her problem not his.

'What to do? What to do?' Ella thought.

"Fine. I accept." Chun finally opened his mouth.

Calvin just smiled upon hearing this, while offering his hand for a hand shake with Chun, closing the deal. Chun took his hand and shook his hand. Everybody else, Jiro, Aaron, and Ella, just stood there silently, surprised at what just happened.

"I'll be going then. See you guys in two weeks." Calvin said. After that he waved good bye at them and left.

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Ella was still rolling around her bed. She was asleep, but not peacefully asleep. What happened yesterday was WAAAYYY out of her control. She never thought that her brother, her own blood related brother, would do such a thing. And even more surprising, Chun agreed with it!

Ella does not know what to do. She keeps turning and turning. She was thinking in her sleep. And yes, that is possible. (Trust me, this is real because I had this LOTS and LOTS of time). She was suffocated. She cannot sleep well, cannot think well, and cannot hear well. All she wants to do is get away from it all.

She kept hearing this beeping sound. She did not know where it came from or when it started, she just wants it to stop! She keeps turning and covering her ears while doing that. The beeping just would not stop. It was irritating. She wants to get up and shut it up, but her body just would not let her. Her eyes are still close and her head is still hurts.

"Elle, you have to wake up or you're gonna be late." Chun said.

He had just woken up. It was rare to see Ella still in bed, because usually Ella got up first and he would wake up just right after Ella got out from the shower. He thought that the sound of the water from the shower wakes him up. But today is different; the irritating sound that comes from Ella's alarm clock just would not stop!

"Elle?" Chun asked when Ella did not answer or wake up the first time he told her.

Chun slowly walks towards her. His hand was trying to reach her shoulder when he was suddenly stopped.

Ella keeps turning and turning. Suddenly she felt heat coming towards her. She knows someone was close. Her reflex starts working. She quickly face the wall, her eyes are still closed. Her right hand went under the pillow and grabbed something. Slowly she felt the warmth was getting closer and when the warmth was in reach, she quickly turns around and was stunned at what she had just did.

Chun was frozen in place. He saw Ella in front of him. Her right hand was holding a pocket knife, which is now leaning against his neck. Luckily, she did not cut his neck and just leaned the knife on to his neck. He swallowed hard. All he can see is Ella's eyes now. His heart started beating faster, twice faster than it usually does. He did not know why, but he suspected it was because the shock and the frightening thing that just happened seconds ago. It was frightening, really. Imagine, waking up early in the morning, eyes still have not completely open, and suddenly a knife landed on your neck. It was frightening. It was as if someone was threatening him.

Ella's eyes are now wide open. All she can see are Chun's dark eyes. They were intense. Her heart starts beating fast. Her breathing was already heavy because all of the thinking, and now it gets heavier. She does not realize that she was holding her knife and placing it next to Chun's neck. She was lost in his eyes.

Both of them looked at each other. Their hearts keep beating faster for each passing second; occasionally skip a beat or two. They do not know why, but they both suspect that it has something to do with the knife between them. Every emotion is bottled up together; shocked, surprised, adrenalin, everything. They just stay still and look at each other; time stand still for them as they gaze upon each other’s eyes.

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Well, everyone would be put in awkward position if they had a knife on their throat, right? especially if the one who land that knife was in fact a girl who is still half-asleep. Not a robber, not a kidnapper, not a murderer, but just an ordinary girl. Well, except if that girl was actually Angelina Jolie in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, then that is a whole different story. But it is not. The girl who landed that knife on Chun's neck is Ella; sweet, gentle, and charming Ella. Weird, right? Apparently not so much. Why? Because it is in her nature to be like that.

Growing up in Chen’s household is not an easy thing to do, especially for a girl like Ella. Her father is the ambassador so he always out of country a lot and her mom always with him. Her parents initially thought that it would be best to bring her and her brother to their trips, but then after seeing how lonely Calvin was, having no friends because their tendency to move a lot, they decided that it would be best to let them stay in Shanghai with their uncle.

For years Calvin had to take care of his sister. Although they had their uncle, he was always away a lot. He did not show and give them so much love like a parent or at least a family member would do, he just acts as their legal guardian and nothing else. From early years Calvin had always known his duty of protecting his sister. But he also knew that he could not be around her all the time. That was why he kept telling her to be able to take care of herself and protect herself. This was actually the main reason why Calvin kept dragging her to all those Taekwondo lessons. He wanted her to be prepared so that when he was not around, she can protect herself from any danger that might harm her.

When Calvin got a basketball scholarship and was forced to live in the dormitory, he became even worried. He was worried to the fact that he asked one of Ella's Taekwondo teachers to teach her extreme reflex movements and teach her how to handle a knife. He was going to ask the teacher to let Ella handle a gun, but then he thought that it was too much. He did this because he did not want her to let her guard down even when she was asleep. Especially after seeing the news about a woman who was when she was drunk and then killed by the afterward.

He wanted her to be cautious of her surrounding, in which she finally did. That is why she always sleeps with a knife under her pillow when she sleeps in unfamiliar place or with unfamiliar people. If she did not have her knife under her pillow, she will use her fist instead. This maybe sounds dangerous, but it was her way of protecting herself. Luckily, both Hebe and Selina were very aware of this. That was why they never go near her when she was still asleep. One time, they even used a wooden stick to poke her arms just to wake her up without getting hit.

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Chun was still frozen in his position, taking turn looking at Ella and the knife between them. Ella on the other hand kept looking at Chun's beautiful eyes. Her grip over her knife is still strong and her breathing got heavier by the second.

It took her several seconds later until she realized what had just happened. Or more accurately put, she just realized at what just she did.

"Sorry." said Ella while immediately put her knife back under her pillow.

Chun relieved a big sigh and quickly sat down on the floor. He was breathing heavily. He does not know whether it was the fear, the shock, the adrenaline rush, or something else, but his heart was beating, fast. The scene that happened just now was too much for him to handle. It was as if it comes out directly out of an action movie or something.

The both of them just stay still for a few moments, trying to ease their breathing. Then they look at each other.

"Don't ever do that again!" Chun said. Still a bit shock of what had just happened.

"Sorry. I'm very sorry. I promise I never do that again. I promise." Ella said to him, now sitting comfortably on her bed, looking at him.

"You're odd, you know that? What are you Lara Croft?" Chun .

"I was just being cautious." Ella said. She noticed her forehead was wet. She knows that she was sweating a lot due to the lots of thinking that she has done in her sleep.

They were quiet for a moment, just staring at each other. Ella kept thinking about what happened yesterday and thinking what she should say to Chun.

"Chun... I'm sorry that I dragged you to my problem. It's okay if you don't want to play. This is not your problem. This is my problem with my brother and I will fix it myself." Ella said.

Chun kept looking at her. Ella did not look back. She kept her head down, watching her toes on her bed. She started thinking about her brother taking her back to Shanghai. She could imagine Angela's face when she loses the bet. All of her hopes and dreams ruin. Her only connection to her mother, vanish. Tears slowly trail down from her eyes to her cheeks, but she did not notice this.

"Hey, don't cry." Chun said while wiping away the tears with his thumb.

"Did I cry? No, I'm not crying." Ella said while wiping all of her tears from her eyes and her cheeks.

"Listen, okay. I don't accept the challenge because of you. I did it for myself. What your brother said was right, injuries shouldn't stop me. I want to get back to the court because of myself, not because of you. And want to prove that your brother was wrong. I'm not a quitter like he thought." Chun said.

Ella just stays still. Did not know how to react at what Chun just said to her.

After a few seconds of awkward silence, Chun quickly stood up.

"Besides, I never back away from a challenge." he said. "Come on, hurry up. Or else you'll be late for school." he said while rubbing her head with his hand, messing her hair.

After he said that Chun walked to the bathroom and took a shower. Leaving Ella alone in the bedroom, secretly smiling to herself.