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Chapter 27 – Ling vs. Lei
24th APRIL
Ling was extremely nervous in the morning. She couldn't even see the food on her breakfast plate without having her stomach going up and down.
Julia joined her a few minutes later and tried to cheer her up but she soon understood that it was useless.
-'Maybe I'm not ready.'-Ling said on her way to the arena.
-'Of course you are. You defeated Eddie…and you'll defeat Wulong too.'-Julia said smiling.-'I'm the one who should be worried.'
-'Why?'
-'At least you don't have to fight with a jackass.'
Ling laughed.
-'I love you too, honey.'-Hwoarang said, joining them. It was obvious that he had heard Julia's comment about him.
-'Where did you come from?'-Julia asked.
Hwoarang didn't answer because he was more interested in thinking about something to annoy Ling.
-'Hey, Pigtails…try not to fall on your ass.'-he said.
Ling gave him a cold look and she spotted Lei waiting for her in the arena. In that moment she thought about the time she had spent training and she realised that even if she had trained 24 hours a day in the last two months she would never be able to equal Lei's experience. He was a veteran in that sort of competition and she was only a sixteen year old girl, who had never entered a tournament like that.
-'Don't be worried…I'm not going to be too hard on you.'-Lei said when Ling entered the arena.
-'Thank you Mr. Wulong, but I'm not a child, don't take me so lightly.'
From the moment she stepped on the arena, Ling stopped hearing the crowd and she focused only on the fight.
Lei started with a punch but Ling easily avoided it. It seemed that she was faster than he thought. For her surprise, Lei wasn't as rough as she thought he would be. Maybe he was just being nice since she was a sixteen year old girl, but then again, if that was the case Lei was being an idiot because she had no intention to be nice to him.
Ling had just concluded a peacock kick when she felt someone watching from the trees outside the arena. Those few seconds made her lose her concentration and she felt Lei grab her hands. The next thing she knew she was on the ground.
-'Oh…I think she broke something…'-Hwoarang said over Julia's shoulder.-'Poor Pigtails…'
-'She didn't break anything…she's going to get up soon.'-Julia corrected him, but she was a bit concerned with her friend.
Back in the arena, Ling was holding her ribs. She had hit hard on the floor. When she opened her eyes Lei was coming from above to land on her stomach so she barely had time to role to her left.
Lei fell with his knees on the floor and felt his legs shivering with the pain inflicted for hitting so hard on the ground.
Ling was already up when she felt again that someone was watching her, only this time she didn't take her eyes of Lei.
The cop was still trying to get up.
-'That hurt.'-he said.-'I can't miss next time.'
-'There's no next time.'-Ling announced, preparing her Phoenix Tale. Unfortunately Lei managed to avoid the attack, but instead he got hit by a right punch on his face.
-'Time?'-Ling asked shouting from the arena.
A few seconds later Julia's voice reached her ears.
-'Ten more minutes. Hurry up!'
Ling's heart started to beat faster when she realised she had only ten minutes to finish off Lei Wulong. In that moment Ling ducked from a punch and kicked his left leg. Lei lost his balance momentarily which gave Ling the chance she needed. Dropping low, she hit Lei in his left knee. He grabbed the rope around the arena in order not to fall. Ling continued the attack and managed to make Lei go the centre of the arena. Now he was where she wanted him to be. She jumped over his head a couple of times to see if his movements were slower than before and they were. That meant that Lei's knee was hurt and he wouldn't be able to keep fighting if she managed to hit his left knee again. A few minutes later, Ling was declared the winner after sending Lei to the ground with an injured knee.
-'Damn it…I never thought she would win…'-Hwoarang complained.
-'Poor Ling…she must be exhausted.'
-'Why are you feeling sorry for her? I'm the one who lost money…'
-'You're such an ass…how could you bet against her? She's your friend…'
-'The hell she is! See you later Chang…'
Hwoarang left before Ling's arrival. Julia didn't know if he was upset because Ling had won or if he just couldn't handle saying "congratulations" to other people.
Now that the first fight of that round was over, Julia was starting to feel nervous. In a few hours it would be her turn.
-'Everything will be ok…I'll be there to support you.'-Ling said when they both entered the elevator.
-'Yeah…I know…I have to win.'
-'Julia…was Jin watching my fight?'-Ling asked looking to her feet.
Julia knew that Ling needed a positive answer.
-'Yes…he was. I saw him.'-she lied.
Ling smiled and pushed the elevator's button to open the door because they had reached her floor.
-'Thanks…I'll meet you later.'-Ling got out with a huge smile on her face. Jin had seen her fight and that meant that he still cared for her.
Julia was feeling a bit guilty because she didn't like to lie, especially to a friend, but it had been for the best. She knew that Ling liked Jin more than just a friend.
Julia didn't know that in the end she wasn't lying at all. Jin had been there, but he had made sure that he wasn't seen.
It was almost two o'clock when Julia decided to meet Ling downstairs. She wasn't hungry at all but her stomach wasn't of the same opinion.
She was closing her door when she felt a hand on her shoulder. The hotel walls where shaken by a huge scream coming from Julia. Noticing that nothing more was happening she turned around and saw Hwoarang covering his ears.
-'What was that for?'-Hwoarang asked still shocked.
-'You almost gave me a heart attack you jerk!'-she complained.
-'You sure are jumpy…Geez…'
-'Don't ever do that again!'
-'Fine…'
-'What do you want, anyway?'
-'Is this tournament that important to you?'-he asked.
-'Yes. Why do you ask?'
-'How badly you want to win?'
-'Let me see…I need to win because I'm trying to find someone…'
-'Someone important?'
-'Yes…very important. Why are you asking all these questions?'
-'I'm just trying to give you a chance to quit without getting hurt.'
-'What?'
-'Look, Chang…with all the respect…wait…forget about the respect because I don't respect anyone…'
-'Spit it out!'
-'Ok…Let me see how to put this…you're going to lose and there's nothing you can do about it, so it's probably better if you quit now.'
-'You want me to quit the match?'
-'Yes.'
-'Why?'
-'Because…this will be just a waste of time. I'm going to win.'
-'You're pretty confidant, aren't you?'
-'It's the truth. If you quit now I'll save some strengths and you won't get hurt.'
-'Are you worried about me?'
-'I'm not worried…I'm used to kick asses…I just don't like to hurt girls on purpose, ok?'
-'I'm going to fight…sorry.'
-'Well…don't say I didn't warn you.'
-'Ok, I won't.'
