Greetings, reader. I'll rid you of these formalities and state the matter at hand.
I'm an avid fan of the Cheng/Mei Ying ship and my dear apple pie, OTPing so hard right now. I'll hopefully update every week. Hope you stay a while.
The American boy had won, and one would believe that what he's done to win was quite respectable. After months of grueling practice, he's finally beat the bully, won a glorious competition, and most definitely got the girl.
But, we almost never know what happens to the bully. Until now.
He pushed his right fist unto the flat side of his left palm, just levelled with his shoulder. Bowing down ever so slowly and sincerely at the disheveled looking man, he had realized that there really was no bad student, but only a bad teacher. One that taught fear, pain, and agony.
Never lifting his head up, he rolled his eyes up to see both Mr. Han and Dre leave, followed by Ms. Parker holding a humungous trophy with Chinese inscriptions. At her tail was a giggling girl clad in yellow.
The moment she passed him by, his dark eyes darted down to his feet, feeling both regretful and embarrassed. Despite the fact that he had lost to a worthy opponent, losing a match to another boy in front of the girl you like was quite a blow to the ego. Even more so, the boy that defeated him surely got the girl.
"Mei Ying..." he mumbled to himself wistfully.
"Raise your head, boy! That man should not be paid respect!" bellowed a sweaty man, his voice raspy. As if the man had pressed a button, Cheng immediately stood erect and stiff, willing his eyes not to make any contact with his sour Master's very own eyes.
He felt calloused hands grasp his chin roughly, inflicting much pain on his part. Cheng grew up fearless of anything, but at this point in time, Cheng was smart enough to know that the best thing to do was to elude the angry gaze of the older man. Holding his chin tighter, Master Li had lifted him off the floor. Cheng was elevated two feet from the ground and his legs dangled, trying to feel the ground far from its reach. No matter how hard he tried, he could no longer dodge the gaze of the one man he might have truly feared secretly. Both his hands hooked desperately to his chin and his neck, he could no longer breathe properly.
Shaking and sweating profusely, Master Li looked at Cheng eye to eye. Cheng was sure that every single hair on his body had risen.
"You think you can defy me, boy? You can't! And after causing so much humiliation for me, in public, consider your life a living nightmare!" he quipped venomously, tightening his grip on Cheng's neck, eliciting a disturbing choke.
The rest of the Fighting Dragons had cowered in fear, not wishing to end in the same fate as Cheng. The other participants were shocked and speechless, their masters and coaches stood incredulous with their mouth agape. Numerous gasps could be heard from the crowds present while the authorities tried to get a hold of the situation.
A man was hurriedly sprinting towards the appalling scenario shouting angrily at the top of his lungs.
"Stop! Let go of my son right now! I'll have you fired, Li! FIRED!" yelled the man.
Master Li took his eyes away from Cheng and looked at the panting man squarely in the eye, and he dropped Cheng to the floor as if he was a candy wrapper that was of no use. Cheng fell on his back and clutched at his neck while coughing. His loud coughs receded into desperate huffs of air.
"Fire me? FIRE. ME? I run the business. I run the studio. You can't fire me. I am my own boss," spat Master Li, his voice full of malice.
He turned to his left, and proceeded to walk towards the exit of the venue. The huge crowds parted in fear to make way for him. The other Fighting Dragons hurriedly approached Cheng.
His friend Liang looked at him in the eye and spewed out a million questions. Fuzziness took over Cheng's vision and he wasn't able to see Liang clearly, nor was he able to hear.
The man in a suit ran towards the fortress of red-clad boys surrounding his child. "Cheng! Can you hear me? Cheng! Please respond!" he spoke nervously.
"Father, I..." and Cheng saw nothing.
Strange ticking noises filled his ears, and he felt as if his neck had been punctured by a thousand needles and set on fire. His whole body remained stationary and it was as if he had been thoroughly paralyzed. Daring to escape his body's lifelessness, he jerked his eyes open and he was harshly greeted by the blinding light. Cheng had shut his eyes sharply, and tried to open them slower this time.
Rapid blinking brought about sights of light, but fortunate for him, his eyes were able to adjust.
"Cheng. I'm so glad you're awake," someone had spoken. He felt a warm hand slowly gliding across the wide expanse of his forearm. Short spasms of heat took over his body. He threatened to turn his head to his left, but found out that the price of doing so was heavy pain.
"Ma..." rambled a grimacing Cheng.
"Shh... everything's going to be okay. Your neck's going to be just fine."
"What happened?"
"Your Master Li he..."
A wave of fear washed over Cheng and memories of what had happened hit him like a bullet train.
"Your father had a few things to fix at work; he'll be here soon enough."
"Does Mei Ying know of this?" inquired Cheng anxiously.
"I'm not quite sure, but her parents might," answered Cheng's mother solemnly.
"Please don't let her find out. I don't want to worry her. Anything but that," he pleaded.
"I can't control fate, Cheng. But I'll try as best as I can. Son, there are some things we cannot do; no matter how hard we try. And although you've been admiring her from afar, all you can do is be friends with her," said his mother sadly.
"There's no law passed that I can't, ma. At least let me t-"
The white door flew open and a man with a white coat entered, conversing with a man in a suit—Cheng's father.
"Mr. Sun, I can assure that the latest technology in the medical field can heal your son." he heard the stranger whisper to his father.
"Ah, you're awake. Cheng, I'm Doctor Fa, and I'll be your doctor. I trust that you're feeling well?" he asked.
"Still quite sore." Cheng admitted, his voice raspy.
"Well, you'll hopefully get better within the next few days. You've been suffocated, but we were able to bring you back," relayed the doctor, smiling.
The doctor turned to his parents explaining treatments, medicines, and a few fees. He was unable to comprehend the words the doctor spoke, only seeing lips move. Cheng had lain back down, but his eyes moved to the doctor's reflective name tag. It revealed minimal of his reflection but he could see reddish bruises on his neck. Some areas of skin were covered with patches of purple. He moved his right hand towards his neck, staring blankly at the white wall. Apparently, the doctor had seen this action.
"Does it hurt, Cheng?" queried the doctor.
"Not that much. Just checking to see if it's still connected to the rest of my body. You never really know." Cheng answered hurriedly.
The doctor, surprisingly, laughed at Cheng's constant vigilance.
"Don't worry my boy, it'll stay there. We've made sure. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have another patient to attend to." Said the doctor, shutting the door behind him.
Awkward silence followed.
"Cheng, the Yi's will be coming over later to check on you and-"
"Please father, don't let Mei Ying come," begged Cheng.
His father looked shocked as his head lowered.
"Has there been a fight between the two of you?" his father demanded.
"No, father. But my violent reactions might have put her off..." Cheng trailed off, unfinished.
"It's quite the blow to the ego to know you've been defeated by a supposedly weak opponent in front of a girl, but that shouldn't hinder you from seeing her," his father warned him.
"I don't want her to think I'm weak." Cheng finally confessed.
The doors once again, flung open, and a man in a fine suit walked in looking appalled, with his wife equally devastated.
"I saw what happened Cheng, and I do hope you're alright. I couldn't call for medical help fast enough," blurted the man.
"No worries, Mr. Yi. I know it's quite a bother to visit me here, but I do appreciate the care and concern you harbour," Cheng said politely.
"That's nonsense. You're like family to us. We'd never place you second, Cheng," declared Mrs. Yi.
"And don't worry; Mei Ying's going to come here any second now."
So yeah, hope you liked it. Go Chenying! :D I ship it more than anything, actually. Sorry, Dre. =)) Anyways, thank for reading, and stay tuned!
Happy New Year everybody! \:D/
