2:26 PM.

Owen looked away from his watch and went back to looking over a handful of outstanding assignments he had yet to mark, making use of his remaining time before the next visiting parent arrived. He had been going through these motions for the past three hours, welcoming them in and attempting to gain a better understanding of their children in order to better help them going forward. It was little over a month into the school year, but he had made these sorts of "early-bird" conferences a staple of his approach since he started teaching almost six years ago: they established early connections with parents, gave him clear guidelines on what made each of his students tick and, in this specific instance, helped him brush up on his Cantonese.

Owen sighed before taking off his glasses in order to clean the lenses. He really did want his students to enjoy their time in his class, in no small part to remind them that despite the rigorous nature of their studies, they were still in the midst of growing up. Success wasn't only dependent on their grades, after all. But he couldn't peek inside their minds and see exactly what he needed to do to make that happen, which made these conferences an important step to crafting his plans for the rest of the year.

Owen looked up from the papers when he heard a knock on the door, prompting him to place his spectacles to the side.

"Just a moment ." Standing up from his seat, he walked over to his classroom door and opened it in order to welcome the visiting parent inside. But once he saw who was waiting for him on the other side, whatever he was going to say was almost instantly forgotten.

Standing there was a woman wearing a police uniform, her black hair done up in twin buns held up with silk brocade and ribbons. Naturally, a police officer showing up at their doorstep would make just about anyone freeze up in shock, but she had informed him ahead of time she'd be coming in straight from work. Instead, Owen's stunned silence was due to the fact she was - to put it lightly - a total knockout. Her navy blue uniform complimented her athletic figure, with the most noticeable characteristic being her muscular thighs, which fit into a pair of jeans. Owen had only a few seconds to register all this before he pushed these thoughts to the back of his mind, forcing himself to keep his eyes on hers.

"Ms. Xiang, I presume?" He said as he offered her his hand to shake.

"And you must be Mr. Diedrich," she replied in perfect English as she accepted his offered handshake, once again catching him off guard.

"Indeed. It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person." He said after he managed to get his wits back about him.

"Likewise," Ms. Xiang said as they concluded their handshake. "My apologies for running a little late - I was just barely able to set aside enough time to come here to begin with."

"And I must thank you for doing so. Please, do come in." He motioned for her to come inside, standing aside in order to let her enter. As she passed, he caught a whiff of a rather strong scent - perfume, he assumed. After taking a moment to clear his throat, Owen closed the door and led her over to his desk.

"Have a seat, Ms. Xiang," He directed her to a chair just beside his own. "You'll forgive the clutter. Just figured it would be an effective way to pass the time." He said as he sat down beside her.

"I don't think I'm in any position to judge. Where I work, you learn to get used to these sorts of scenes pretty quickly." Owen lightly chuckled in response.

"I can imagine," he said in response as he set about retrieving a notebook and pen.

"If you don't mind me asking, you're from overseas, right?" Ms. Xiang suddenly asked him.

"What gave me away?" "Just a hunch." To this, Owen couldn't help but smile. It didn't take a detective to deduce he wasn't a local; his accent was evidence enough.

"So, where're you from?"

"Canada - Halifax, to be more exact," he replied, which evidently surprised her. "Really?" Owen nodded to confirm. "Aye, lived there almost my whole life."

"In Nova Scotia , right?" A part of him was surprised she even knew that, but he quickly realized she didn't just bring this up to show off her trivia skills.

"Correct," he confirmed. "In a half-Irish household."

"Ah, that explains it. Sorry to ask; I was just curious," said Ms. Xiang.

"No worries." For the next little while, the two of them sat together in silence, with Owen lightly tapping his pen on his desk as he tried to focus enough to say what he wanted to say.

"Anyway, allow me to take the chance to extend my warmest welcome to both you and your child. Seeing as I'll be her homeroom teacher this year, I wanted to use this meeting as an opportunity for me to learn a little more about her and to determine the best course of action in regards to her education." He paused for a moment before continuing.

"And in Li-Fen's case, we have quite a bit to discuss." Ms. Xiang lightly nodded as her expression dampened.

"I'm well aware," she said with a sigh, causing him to likewise adopt a more serious mindset.

"Then perhaps we can start by putting the ball in your court, if you will. What do you think is most important for me to know?" He proposed, making sure to choose his words carefully. Eventually, Ms. Xiang decided to speak up.

"Li-Fen was diagnosed with a mental health disorder not too long ago. The doctor told us it's best we let you and her teachers know about it as soon as possible." Owen was stunned into silence. Out of everything he had been expecting to hear, that hadn't been one of them.

"And which disorder would that be?" He asked her. Instead of answering directly, Ms. Xiang reached into her bag and took out a folder.

"Perhaps it's better that you just see for yourself," she said as she handed him the folder.

"Very well," Putting on his reading glasses, Owen opened the folder and started looking over the records found within. He hadn't been informed of any medical conditions, so everything that he would find in this folder would be new to him. Eventually, his gaze lingered on a certain section, which diagnosed Li-Fen with…

"Post traumatic stress disorder?" He read out, looking back at Ms. Xiang in utter shock.

"Yeah. You can see the medication she was prescribed just down the page." Mrs. Xiang pointed out and sure enough, the document included a prescription for sertraline; to be taken in the morning at 9:00 each day.

"How serious is it?"

"It seemed to have improved somewhat before she started school. She still has nightmares and doesn't like talking about what happened very much, but I haven't seen any serious…incidents recently." She seemed rather uncertain while speaking.

"And is that still the case?" Ms. Xiang didn't answer his question, instead looking slightly off to the side. "I see." Owen said, her silence giving him all the information he needed.

"I want you to be honest with me, Mr. Diedrich. Have you seen or heard about anything worrisome regarding her health?" The way she asked this gave him the impression she knew what his answer would be before he even gave it.

"All I can say for certain is that Li-Fen hasn't come to me or any of her instructors for help: academically or otherwise. I also haven't seen her interacting with her schoolmates much. What happens in other classes and during leisure time, I can only guess." He decided to tell the truth and his visitor weakly nodded in acknowledgement.

"Yeah, I thought as much." She seemed disappointed, but not in Li-Fen. Rather, she seemed to be disappointed in herself.

"If it helps, Mrs. Xiang, can you tell me what your exact concerns are?" She sighed and adjusted herself in her seat.

"Well, I know that the past few months haven't been easy for her; she's still fairly new here and it's going to take a while for her to settle into the usual routines. So, I guess I'm just scared that all these things that have been thrust on her all at once are going to, or are already making her condition worse, and I'm just not seeing it." She remained calm throughout the explanation, but it was clear that her worry was deep-rooted.

"It most likely is." She looked up at him in surprise. "I know that's likely what you didn't want to hear, but outside stress can make existing symptoms of PTSD worse. I've seen it happen."

"You have? Can I ask how?" She asked, no doubt thinking he himself once suffered from the condition, which couldn't be further from the truth.

"My granddad had it. And during times of uncertainty, his symptoms would flare up again. He said that how he felt then reminded him of how he felt when…well, during the event that brought it about," he briefly specified.

"I see," She said in acknowledgement, though he was sure her spirits had been dwindled by this news.

"I'm assuming the cause of her affliction is also the reason why she's been away from school prior to this year?" He inquired in such a way that he didn't dig too deep. Li-Fen's records indicated that she was at least two years behind on material, with the reason for her absence being undisclosed.

"That's correct." She promptly responded.

"And what plans do you have in regards to getting Li-Fen caught up?" He asked to divert their conversation to another crucial detail.

"We've decided to take it easy on that front…for now, at least. She has enough on her plate right now to worry about tutoring and the like." Understandable enough, Owen thought. As it was, many students in Hong Kong and many other Asian countries spent almost ludicrous amounts of time in tutoring classes, cram schools and other similar after-school study sessions; the last thing someone with Li-Fen's condition needed.

"And hopefully, it won't come to that," Owen said to express his agreement. "Now, there's just one more thing I wanted to…" A brief stint of coughing followed, forcing him to turn away and shield his mouth with his sleeve.

"Excuse me," he said as he reached for his water bottle, clearing his throat as he did.

"Are you okay?" He heard Ms. Xiang ask as he took a quick drink from the bottle.

"Grand," He uttered just before he coughed just a few more times. "In all seriousness, ma'am, this isn't anything I'm not used to. Just… give me a moment and I'll be right as rain." He proceeded to lean back in his chair and take a few lengthy breaths, relieving the slight tension in his chest. Glancing at the visiting parent, he noticed she was still observing him in silence.

"Well, don't let me stop you. Place isn't always kind to my lungs, but I think my ears still work." He said to get her to start talking again, playing off his discomfort with a smile.

"Are you sure you don't need anything? That was a rather nasty cough." He could sense concern in her voice, which led to him quietly laughing.

"I have everything I need with me. Now, please…" He straightened himself in his seat "Let's get back on track." He insisted, with the visiting parent still showing signs of concern. "Where were we?"

"Not sure. You were just about to say," She reminded him.

"Ah, yes. I wanted to discuss her social behavior. And I think it's safe to assume that our previous two subjects influence it to some degree." Ms. Xiang nodded in agreement.

"I've been meaning to ask about that. Is she being picked on or anything like that?" It was a perfectly valid concern, but in this instance, it didn't apply.

"If she was, you'd be the first to know. What me and my colleagues have noticed instead is that she seems to be actively avoiding interaction; we didn't want to jump to conclusions, but our main assumption was that her interrupted education was mostly to blame. Were we wrong to think that?" He asked her

"Unfortunately not. From what she tells me, she hasn't spoken to a kid her age for three and a half years." Ms. Xiang soon replied.

"Goodness…" Was all he managed to say. The PTSD, the period of absence, the lack of interaction: the more Owen learned about Li-Fen, the more he found himself wondering just what happened to her.

"I'm almost afraid to ask, but anything else?" He asked after a brief period of silence.

"Not that I can think of," she replied. "So, what are you thinking?"

"That Li-Fen can still have a successful experience here, but for that to happen, we need to come up with a plan. And I need your help in order to make it work."

There was a period where they maintained eye contact and despite his best efforts to suppress them, his thoughts again drifted to just how beautiful the woman in front of him really was. Still, he also managed to remind himself that anything he may potentially try would be immoral and potentially disastrous for both of them. The best option was to keep things strictly professional.

"Okay. What do you have in mind?" Owen took a moment to collect himself before continuing.

"In the short term, work needs to be done to minimize the amount of stress she's under; if she needs accommodations, I will gladly arrange them. In the long term though, she'll gradually have to take more and more steps out of her comfort zone." Mrs. Xiang softly smiled after he concluded his run-down.

"And for either of them to happen, we both need to play a part," she summarized.

"Exactly." He said in response, stopping short of smiling himself.

He checked his watch again to see that it was now 2:49; less than a minute before they were supposed to finish up. "Hmm, I'm afraid our time's almost up. Sorry, Mrs. Xiang, I'm going to have to stop us there. I still have quite a few of these conferences to go through." He explained as he turned his attention back to her.

"Of course. I guess we have a plan, then?" She asked.

"I believe so. It'll take some time, but I believe this is the best way for us to help Li-Fen. In any case, I'm confident the right path is within reach." Mrs. Xiang nodded her understanding.

"I hope so, too." The two of them rose from their seats so he could escort her to the door. Just before they got there, his visitor seemed to remember something.

"Oh, before I forget." She exclaimed before she dug into her handbag and took out a small slip of paper. "Here. Li-Fen wanted me to give this to you."

Owen looked at the item in her hand and then back at her, unsure of how, or even whether he should respond. He racked his mind trying to remember whether there was an assignment she had forgotten to hand in, but came up blank. Eventually, he took the offered piece of paper and observed it, but stopped short of opening it.

"What's this?" He eventually asked, still unsure of what to say.

"I'm not sure, but she's been meaning to give it to you for a while. She would've done it herself, but-she couldn't find the right time, she says." Owen looked up at the visiting guardian and softly smiled. Somehow, he knew that "not being able to find the right time" was just her way of saying she was too shy to give it to him.

Suddenly, he had an idea.

"Can I ask you to do something for me, Mrs. Xiang?"

"And what would that be?" she responded, which prompted him to hold out the slip of paper to her.

"I want you to hold onto this and if Li-Fen asks whether you gave this to me or not, give it back to her and say that you forgot to." Mrs. Xiang pondered his request for a moment before smiling in apparent understanding.

"Ah, I get it," she said before taking the slip of paper from him. "Yeah, I think I can do that." With that, she put it back in her bag.

"Is there anything else?" he asked just to be sure.

"No, I don't think so, other than saying thank you. It was a pleasure to meet you." She admitted as she offered him her hand, which he accepted.

"Likewise, Ms. Xiang. If you have any further concerns, always feel free to reach out to me." He politely said.

"I will," she assured him. What followed was a brief period of silence, during which Owen finally mustered up the courage to admit something to her.

"Actually, before you go, Ms. Xiang, I have one more small request I need to make of you." He said just as it looked she was about to leave.

"And what's that?" she inquired.

"Well, I noticed that you were wearing perfume," he pointed out, causing her to look down at herself.

"Do you want to know what type or…?" "No, no, nothing like that. I really hate to ask you this, but you see..." Owen paused for a moment before continuing on. "I have asthma, and the scent you're wearing, it's...not doing my lungs any favors."

Upon hearing this, Ms. Xiang's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh. Oh, I'm sorry. I had no idea." She apologized.

"It's fine. But, going forward, may I ask that you..." "Yes, yes, of course." She responded before he had even finished.

"Thank you, Ms. Xiang. Like I said, I hate to ask, but..." "No worries, I understand." she once again interrupted him.

"Right." Said Owen, politely smiling at her as she did the same. He didn't particularly like making a big deal of his condition; it had been a part of his life for as long as he could remember and he had learned to live with it as best he could, so he appreciated that she seemed to be understanding of it.

"So, how're you feeling now?" She eventually asked him.

"Knackered," he answered after a noticeable inhale.

"So, I see. I'm guessing the air quality going down the drain today didn't do you any favors either, huh?" She relaxed her demeanor somewhat while asking this, placing a hand on her hip.

"Not in the slightest," He said in response, himself relaxing somewhat. "Though I imagine I'm not exactly unique in that regard."

"Maybe not. But be sure to take care of yourself, okay? Next time we see each-other I'll be sure to take it easier on the perfume." She told him.

"And until then, can I expect to hear from you again?" He asked her.

"Oh, don't you worry. I'll be in touch." The two of them looked at each-other for a little while longer, both of them smiling. "Good evening, Mr. Diedrich." She eventually said.

"Good evening, Ms. Xiang." He responded back.

After this, she finally stepped out of the classroom, allowing him to close the door. Letting out an amused scoff at the exchange that had just occurred, he turned to return to his desk, using his newfound solitude to reflect upon the bygone meeting. In comparison to many of his previous encounters with visiting parents, this one had gone remarkably smoothly. It had been a simple, understanding exchange of concerns; in the end, it seemed like both of them walked away knowing exactly what needed to be done. The same couldn't be said for some others.

It was clear to him now that he had quite the task ahead of him and if he was going to succeed in it, he couldn't do it alone. If Li-Fen was to succeed, she would need her mother's help just as much as she needed his.

Several weeks later.

As she stirred the rice and accompanying ingredients in the pan, Chun-Li nervously gazed back at the cookbook in fear she missed something important. She thankfully hadn't caused any fires as of late, but she still had quite a bit of practice ahead of her before she could do this consistently. Having grown so accustomed to surviving on fruit, pre-cooked meals and occasional sweets hadn't done her any favors, but at the time, it seemed like that was all she would ever be able to do. At least, until he was finally gone.

Bison. Every time she thought he had finally been weeded out, he somehow managed to come back. She had been pursuing him since she was eighteen years old; she was thirty-one now and it seemed that he and Shadaloo were gone for good. And now that it was done; now that her father and everyone else who had been killed and tormented during Shadaloo's reign of terror had been avenged, she found herself asking a simple question.

Now what?

It was something she should've asked herself years ago, but as she spent more than a decade on Bison's tail, she didn't even consider what she would do if or when she finally caught him. Guile and Ken, they had their families to return to. Cammy, she had her "sisters" to look after. Ryu, well…he would keepdoing what he always did.

So where did that leave her? She had no real family to return to, no-one to look after and despite how important martial arts were to her, she wasn't prepared to become a hermit and dedicate her entire life to training. Then, when she least expected it, Bison had indirectly led her to the answer.

"Um, Chun-Li?" She heard a voice call out from the other side of the kitchen.

"Oh, hi Li-Fen. If it's alright, could you maybe come over and help me? Wouldn't want a repeat of "the incident", would we?" She heard Li-Fen giggle. She always did whenever she brought it up.

"Yeah, okay." She agreed and made her way over to the stove, setting a stool down just beside her. "I thought you said you were getting better?" Chun-Li could tell she was teasing her, but she couldn't help but smile.

"I am. But better safe than sorry, right?" She didn't know how, but Li-Fen turned out to be a pretty good chef. She was sure most parents would've been embarrassed if their kids had to teach them how to cook, but in all honesty, she quite enjoyed the process. It gave them something they could both do together outside of training.

It's been almost three months since she first took her in. More likely than not, her parents had been killed and the only thing that they left her were plans of a plot they hatched with another programmer to sabotage Bison's penultimate plan. By some miracle, it all fell into motion. In a way, she was more to thank for Shadaloo's fall than any of the people who fought against them, including herself.

But her time as Shadaloo's prisoner still haunted her. Years of her life had been stolen from her: she was severely behind in school, she hadn't learned how to interact with children her own age and any chance of her having a normal childhood had been dashed. She had tried to catch her up as best she could, including teaching her the differences between Mandarin and Cantonese, but in other subjects like maths, she wasn't as helpful, not just because she wasn't exactly well-versed in it, but because there just wasn't enough time for her to learn everything she needed.

She maintained her position as a member of the Hong Kong police force, just like her father before her. She also maintained her connections to Interpol, but had to cancel any assignments involving international travel. Regardless though, the job ended up eating away at her time, working longer hours so she could make enough to adequately support the both of them. As a result, she found herself finding less and less time to spend with Li-Fen, but whenever she did get the opportunity, she made sure to dedicate every moment to her.

Now would be such a time.

"So, was there something you wanted to talk about?" Chun-Li asked as she stirred their upcoming meal.

"Do you remember that English project I'm supposed to do?" Li-Fen soon said.

"The presentation? What about it?" She remembered that it was supposed to be a sort of instruction she had to give to the class, so she already knew Li-Fen was dreading having to do it.

"Well, Mr. Diedrich had me meet with him today to ask what I wanted to do. And, I…" She looked almost too embarrassed to speak.

"And what? What did you tell him?" Chun-Li gently asked her. After a few more moments of silence, Li-Fen revealed the answer.

"I said I wanted to show everyone how to do Tai Chi. You know, kind of like you did." This was certainly not something Chun-Li expected to hear. Would she even be allowed to do something like that?

"And he said he'd let you do that?" In response, Li-Fen nodded silently.

Chun-Li smiled, thinking back to the deal she made with Mr. Diedrich on the evening of their conference. He had said he would help Li-Fen to step out of her comfort zone, which a project like this would certainly do. Other than that, though, she found it touching that Li-Fen seemed to enjoy their training enough to share it with other people.

Li-Fen said she wanted to be strong, just like her. They'd only started a few months ago and she had spent that time teaching her Tai Chi, just like her father did when her own training had started. That had been her dream too when she was a girl; to be strong, just like her dad. Yet as she grew older, she gained even more appreciation for the styles he taught her, knowing that he taught them to her at a time when they were under siege in their ancestral Chinese homeland. It was why her grandparents had moved here to Hong Kong and why her father had served the city so valiantly while he was alive.

The situation wasn't as dire as it once was, but Chun-Li had pledged to ensure China's martial arts would live on. It would be one of many ways she would honor him.

"It's ready, by the way." Li-Fen pointed out as her attention was turned away from the food.

"Oh, right." She took the pan by the handle and guided it away from the stove before anything unfortunate happened. It looked good; not great by any means, but it was progress.

"What do you think? Is it safe to eat?" She asked Li-Fen, who came over to look at it.

"I'd say so." She answered, which brought a certain sense of relief to her. "Want me to go set the table?" Li-Fen offered soon after.

"Yeah, that'd be great. Thanks." With a smile, Li-Fen set about getting out the cutlery and bringing over a small pitcher of lime-flavored water while Chun-Li poured her attempt at making fried rice onto two plates. Soon enough, the two of them were settled in for dinner and Chun-Li chose to reintroduce the subject.

"You should go talk to him; Mr. Diedrich, I mean. I'm sure he would be happy to help you prepare." Li-Fen looked up from her food at her, as if the very notion was unthinkable to her.

"Sh…should I? I wouldn't want to take away from his time." Chun-Li couldn't help but smile at her insinuation.

"Aren't you still nervous about it?" She asked.

"Yeah, a little." Was what she said in response, but Chun-Li knew that it meant that she was absolutely dreading the day she had to present.

"I'm sure he can help you prepare. It's part of his job, you know. You won't be wasting his time if you ask him a few questions." She pointed out, hoping that it would convince her.

"I know, but I…don't really know what to ask." Li-Fen admitted and after thinking for a moment, Chun-Li thought of a solution.

"When are you scheduled to go?" She asked just to be sure.

"Next Friday, I'm pretty sure." Li-Fen answered.

"Hmm. Okay, how about this. We come up with a rough draft over the next few days and you go on after school sometime next week to see if he can help you rehearse." It was a rather straightforward plan, but hopefully it would work.

"You mean you'll help?" Li-Fen asked, traces of relief on her face.

"I'll help you put some of it together. But what I want you to do is to go see Mr. Diedrich on your own." Chun-Li could see Li-Fen grow uneasy yet again. "Do you think you can do that?" She posed the question in a way that didn't make her feel like she was being coerced.

"Yeah, okay. I'll try." Li-Fen eventually conceded. For whatever reason, Chun-Li thought she seemed reluctant.

"If you don't mind me asking, are you…okay with him? Does he scare you or anything like that?" She wasn't exactly sure how to phrase the question, but she wanted to at least know why she was so hesitant to approach him.

"Oh, no. Mr. Diedrich is always very nice to us; I like him. And, I…I think the way he talks is kind of funny." She smiled as she recognized what Li-Fen was referring to. She had noticed very quickly into her initial meeting with him that he spoke with a noticeable accent, one that admittedly suited him quite well.

"Chun-Li, this may be strange, but… does everyone from Canada talk like him?" Now there was a question she hadn't been expecting. She'd worked with several Canadians during her time in Interpol, and none of them had anything resembling the accent he had. Her first guess was that he was from somewhere in the U.K like Cammy was and she had been partly right, in the sense that he was descended from people that were.

"No, I…don't think so." She answered. If nothing else, her unfamiliarity with the world at large was endearing. "So, besides him "talking funny", is there anything else that's keeping you from seeing him?"

For a moment, it looked like Li-Fen was questioning whether she should say anything at all, but she eventually chose to speak.

"Well, I noticed that on the same days he looks—tired." Chun-Li experienced a twinge of concern, remembering what Owen had told her when she had last seen him.

"Tired? In what way?" She asked in order to get a better gauge on it.

"I'm not sure how to explain it, but on those days, he teaches as he usually does, but something about it just doesn't feel right. Like he's not really there or something like that. I just…don't want to bother him when that happens, you know?"

"I see." Chun-Li eventually said.

After taking a moment to think about what Li-Fen said, she seemed to realize what could be the cause of this sort of behavior. Either it was his condition acting up or maybe it was just that he had come down with a case of homesickness, seeing as he was from overseas and she assumed, didn't really know anyone in the city. It was hard enough for locals to find time to socialize here, but for someone like him, it was probably daunting.

"Does he seem like this often?" Chun-Li inquired.

"I can't say. If he is, he does a very good job of hiding it; when he's teaching, he always looks like he's having fun." Li-Fen suddenly started smiling. "By the way, did I tell you what he did when he first told us about this project?"

"No, I don't think you did. What happened?" This prompted Li-Fen to start her story.

"All right, so, what he wanted to do was show us an example of what sort of thing he was expecting. And then he took out a fiddle." Chun-Li had to stop herself from spitting out her water.

"A fiddle?" She repeated in minor disbelief.

"Yeah. Gave instructions on how to play a song on it too. Apparently, that was his idea of showing us what not to do. Then after he was done, someone asked him if he could play another song." She didn't reveal the outcome of that request and for whatever reason, Chun-Li found herself wanting to know what happened next.

"Well, did he?" Li-Fen didn't answer and instead, burst into laughter, which gave away the answer on its own.

Chun-Li had been smiling throughout the whole story and when Li-Fen started laughing, she couldn't help but join in. Clearly, Mr. Diedrich had a rather unique teaching style. Truth be told, she had found herself rather intrigued by him; she had met with several of Li-Fen's instructors and out of all of them, she had found him to be the most approachable of the bunch. He really gave off the impression that he cared for Li-Fen's welfare, whatever that meant.

"You know, Li-Fen, I think you coming to see him might actually make him feel better. I'd imagine teachers like it when their students show they value their advice." She suggested and Li-Fen's expression brightened somewhat.

"You really think so?" She asked, still seeming a bit doubtful. "Yeah, I do." Chun-Li said with a slight smile. Seeing as they had both finished their dinner by that point, she decided they should get started while the thought was still fresh in their minds.

"There's still some time before bed. How about we go pick out what moves you're going to show?" She said after standing up from his chair.

"Okay. Thank you, Chun-Li!" Li-Fen excitedly said.

"Any time. Now, come on. Help me clean and we can get started." And so, they did just that. With any luck, Chun-Li hoped that Li-Fen's meeting with her teacher would be a productive one.

After all, she recognized that Li-Fen's success hinged just as much on his help as it did on hers.