Two days later, Cammy and Chun Li went shopping at the mall. In Hong Kong, the malls were large and had many stores with designer brands. The two women stopped for lunch, after buying enough clothes to fit two shopping bags.

“I should visit you more often,” Cammy said after they ordered their meal. “Oh…” She reached into her pocket to pull out a velvet box. She placed it on the table. “This is my birthday present for you.”

Chun Li lifted the lid and saw a ruby charm in the shape of a heart attached to a necklace of smaller, circular rubies. “Oh…this is beautiful.”

Cammy smiled, pleased that she liked the gift. “Think so? I heard rubies represent love and passion. I’m hoping that when you wear this, you’ll get lucky.”

“You’re kidding, right?”

Cammy smiled slyly. “I bought it in an antique store in England. The woman selling it told me that it had magical powers.”

“You’re joking.”

“Well...she claimed that the necklace has been in her family for three generations. Her mother bought it as a good luck charm. She wore it one day when she was traveling the country to visit her sister. Her car broke down and a man stopped to help her. She married him two years later. As for the woman selling that to me…she went to France one day to celebrate Mardi Gras. She met quite a few people there. She danced with people…they all had masks mind you. Then one charming stranger decided to dance with her for the rest of the evening. A year later…they married.”

Chun Li’s eyes widened. “Wow…”

“And her daughter…she was travelling on that underwater train from England to France. It turned out that the train accidentally sold her seat to someone else. That someone else became her husband in a year.”

Chun Li laughed. “Maybe it only brings luck to her family.”

“Oh no. She told me others have borrowed the necklace to see if it actually works. And it did! So I told her that my best friend is having trouble getting the man she loves to notice her…she sold me this and explained her stories. So what if it doesn’t work, Chun Li. It’s a beautiful necklace.”

Their food arrived.

“How long is Ryu going to stay?” Cammy asked.

Chun Li looked up. “I…never asked him about that.” She sighed, her pale features sad. “I…I don’t want him to leave. I know he’s only been here barely a month, but I really enjoy having him here. Even if he doesn’t know how I feel…”

“Like I’ve been saying…Just tell him!”

“Cammy, what am I supposed to say to a man who can hardly even comprehend what love is?”

“He doesn’t have to understand what love is! All he needs to understand is that you feel it for him.”

“It’s hard. Ryu…is pretty unemotional himself. It’s hard to tell what he’s feeling inside.”

“Sometimes…I used to wonder if he was capable of feeling anything at all,” Cammy admitted. “But since you fell in love with him, I’m assuming that he is. You’re not the type of woman to fall for an unfeeling lout.”

“All he ever cared about in life was perfecting the fight…”

“I don’t think he was ever given the chance to choose,” Cammy replied.

Chun Li looked up, surprised. “What do you mean?”

“You’ve told me from what Ken has said, Ryu was taken in by Gouken when he was a baby. When Ryu was five, Gouken started teaching him…I think Gouken just dumped the life of a martial artist on Ryu. Gouken was a monk, he had no children…but he had an orphan to raise…a student to pass on the skills of Shotokan Karate. Ryu respects Gouken as a teacher as well as a father because Gouken is all he had. Just like Shotokan was all he had.”

“Basically…you think Ryu should have been able to choose his own life when he was old enough.”

“Yeah. Gouken and karate were all he had. And as an orphan…you tend to want a purpose in life…especially if your parents just abandoned you.” Cammy smiled at her. “It’s up to you now to make him see that he has other options.”

“I guess you’re right…But I don’t even know where to start.”

“What do you normally do when you’re interested in a man?” Cammy looked at her carefully. “Don’t tell me that Ryu is the only man you’ve been interested in.”

“No, no, of course not. There was my first boyfriend in high school. That only lasted a year. Then there was my second boyfriend from college. We were together for three years. Then I joined Interpol to get revenge for Father. He and I split up, knowing that I would be sent away a lot. He gave me his number in case I ever want to get in contact with him.”

“What does he do?”

“He runs a company that provides internet service. He’s here in Hong Kong. I just never got around to visiting him.”

“Three years, you two must have been serious.”

Chun Li smiled. “Yeah…we were. We were thinking of getting married after college.”

“What?!” Cammy squeaked. “We’re supposed to be friends! How come you never told me this?”

Chun Li looked away. “Father was killed, and I wanted revenge. That broke us apart. I had been blinded by hate for so long. Then I met Ryu. He was so different than me…he was strong, quiet, and powerful. I had a feeling that if I couldn’t destroy Bison, then he would.” She met her friend’s gaze and smiled slightly. “Ryu was also probably the most naïve man I had ever met. He never seemed to notice me as a woman…yet he treated me as an equal person.” She sighed. “I still wonder how Wei Chin is doing. But…ever since Ryu…I consider that a closed part of my life.”

“Has…Wei Chin ever gotten in contact with you?”

“No. He promised me that he would never find me and communicate with me until I called him and told him to. He wanted me to come to him if or when I was ready.”

“I think you should see him again. For old time’s sake.”

Chun Li frowned in thought. “Maybe I should…”

Chun Li was waiting at a luxurious restaurant in Hong Kong that had a view of the bay. She had called Wei Chin a week ago, after Cammy left Hong Kong. He agreed to meet her. She had to admit that she was nervous. When she broke up with him, she had been a brash young girl full of hate. She was much older, and wiser now.

“Chun Li?”

She looked up and spotted a Chinese man dressed in a dark blue suit. She smiled in greeting.

“Hi, Wei…It’s been a long time…”

He moved to kiss her cheek. “You look beautiful.”

“Thanks.” She instantly relaxed.

He sat across from her and studied her for several minutes.

“You look happy. Very much unlike eleven years ago.”

“I know. I’m sorry to have put you through all of that.”

Wei smiled at her. “Not to worry. We all grow up differently.”

A waiter came to take their order. He came back shortly with a bottle of red wine. The waiter poured each of them a glass and left.

“So…how have you been?” she asked.

“Busy,” Wei admitted. “The company is doing very well. And you? Do you still work for Interpol?”

“No,” Chun Li replied. “I quit after Bison was destroyed. I run a restaurant here in Hong Kong.”

“Perhaps one day I will dine there.”

“Anytime.”

“I missed you very much. I have thought about you many times during the last eleven years.”

Chun Li had almost forgotten how direct he could be. “Oh…I’ve thought about you too…what a mess I was when we broke up.”

“Perhaps now we can move forward.”

Chun Li said nothing.

“Have you met anyone after me?” Wei asked before sipping his wine.

Chun Li began to drink a little of her wine. Wei noticed her silence and set his glass down.

“You have met someone,” Wei stated. “Judging by your expression…you are very serious about this man.”

Chun Li nodded. “It’s a one-way relationship, though. He doesn’t know how I feel.”

“You have not told him?”

“No. I don’t think he wants to hear it. He’s…a good friend…and I don’t want to lose that…”

“Tell me more.”

“He…doesn’t express his emotions very well. He’s very quiet and reserved. He has a calm nature.”

“Quite the opposite of you,” Wei concluded. “How did you meet this man?”

“During my mission,” Chun Li replied. “He’s an excellent martial artist. Bison, my father’s killer, was very impressed with him. He tried to recruit him for his crime syndicate, but it didn’t work.”

“What is his name?”

“Ryu.”

“Ryu? This man is Japanese.”

“Yes.”

“I see…So what happened after that?”

The food arrived.

“Ryu destroyed him. I got my revenge,” Chun Li responded. “To me, it didn’t matter who destroyed Bison and how.”

“Where is Ryu now?”

Chun Li bit her lower lip. “At…At my house.”

Wei’s eyebrows arched.

“He was in a duel…and our friends, Ken and Fei Long decided that he should recuperate with me instead of by himself in Japan.”

“Fei Long knows him and approves, I assume?”

Chun Li laughed, remembering the grueling interview Fei Long conducted with Wei when he first found out that Wei was interested in Chun Li.

“Yes. He was never interviewed, though.”

“How long will he stay with you?”

She shrugged. “Until he wishes to leave.”

“I believe you should tell him that you love him,” Wei said. “I can see that you care deeply for this man.” He took her hand. “If that does not work out…I will always be here for you.”

Chun Li smiled softly. “Thank you.”