Chapter 5 - Sui Vona

Nolan had a blinking expression, wondering what came over this guy. After all, they had already tried fighting off Ken and his group of friends before, and it didn't work out. Though he was feeling happy that Ethan didn't seem depressed anymore, he felt worried for him, wondering whether encouraging him to fight back was indeed a good idea if he got beat up again. What he had in mind was different from what Ethan was saying.

He caught up to him and asked, "So the thing with your mother is all sorted out? Wasn't that what was keeping you from resisting the bullies?"

"Nothing bad will happen to her…as I said, I will handle it," Ethan confidently said, making Nolan feel puzzled again. Still, he couldn't help but feel worried.

Ethan sighed when he still felt Nolan's stare burrowing into him and said, "Fine. Just come to my house tomorrow and I will tell you what I meant."

Nolan still had a doubtful expression, though he nodded, "Alright. It better not be a stupid plan."

The two soon reached Nolan's house, which was quite a big traditional house with a nice furnished wooden roof and strong concrete building. It was not too far away from Ethan's house, and he always came here and hung out with Nolan even when it was not for his part-time job.

They walked towards the back of the house, where there was a large paved ground with kids and teenagers practicing martial arts. There were about fifteen students, both boys and girls, and their teacher was none other than Sui Vona, Nolan's sister, 21 years old and in the senior year of her college.

She was the slim, fair stunning beauty instructing the students with a wooden staff in her hand while wearing black robes. However, Ethan could spot the noticeable bulge on her chest due to her prominent breasts.

She was around 175cms tall and had waist-length black hair with feline blue eyes that sparkled like the gleaming oceans. Her eyebrows were crescent-shaped; her nose lovely; her face oval with high cheekbones, and her cherry lips soft like velvet.

Whenever he saw her, Ethan would feel like his day had gotten brighter. That was also why he loved coming here other than practicing martial arts.

He was the only one who was learning martial arts for free from her but had some other deal with Sui in exchange.

The moment Nolan and Ethan came walking in, Sui looked in their direction with her sharp blue eyes and said in a stern tone, "You are thirty seconds late, Ethan. Where were you?"

"He was just taking a nice long beauty bath, sis to look good. Nothing serious, hehe," Nolan chuckled, making Ethan elbowed his stomach for embarrassing him before Sui.

Sui scanned Ethan's figure and said, "Ethan, come join. I will spar with you, later on, to see how much you have improved."

Ethan happily joined the class since he now realized that the meditation and breathing techniques Sui was teaching could come really handy in learning to control his powers.

Nolan also joined in, but he was pretty relaxed since he was already good at martial arts, even though it was not his main interest.

"Dude, move your legs faster. Otherwise, Ken will kick your ass," Nolan chuckled as he saw Ethan practicing some attack techniques.

"Fuck off, dude. I know you are not as good as your sister. First, get to her level, then I will accept your advice," Ethan smirked, making Nolan harrumph, "I have better things to learn and do, bro. I have only learned martial arts since my grandpa told me to."

"I know, I know. You are good at hacking adult websites to unlock premium stuff, right?"

Nolan gulped as he frantically whispered, "Shhh! Don't let my sister hear that. Or she will kick my ass. Besides, my hacking skills ain't limited to such things."

"I doubt she cares," Ethan lightly laughed, hearing him.

"Ethan. Focus," Sui said with a slight crease on her forehead, making the two quickly exchange glances before resuming their practice.

The class soon ended, and all the students left, leaving behind Ethan, Nolan, and Sui as they came inside and stood in the sparring hall, which had a wooden floor.

Sui turned around and crouched to pick up a bottle of oil from a wooden box while Ethan stood behind her with a wooden staff in his hand as well.

"Let me enjoy this show, hehe," Nolan stepped aside and sat on the mat in one of the corners as he waited for them to spar.

"How is your mother doing now, Ethan?" Sui asked with a lowered voice, her tone a bit soft compared to the usual hardness of her cold sweet voice.

Ethan slightly smiled and said, "She is doing fine. She had told me to tell you that the chicken roast you made for us tasted great."

Ethan remembered that his mom had told him to tell Sui that her food tasted great though his opinion differed from what she felt.

In fact, it was the first time Sui brought a dish to his home, saying that it was to help his mother rest by not letting her strain herself by cooking when she fell sick recently.

"You didn't eat it?" Sui calmly asked as she applied some oil on her wooden staff, though her tone seemed to be a bit stony.

"That was what I was about to tell…it was not bad, but with practice, you can really improve," Ethan remembered eating the dish she made, and even if it was not unbearable to eat, it was leagues behind the food his step-aunt always made for him. Still, he didn't want to discourage Sui and gave his opinion in the best way possible.

"So you didn't like it…did you?" Sui's voice slowly dropped as her grip on the wooden staff tightened.

Ethan slightly grimaced, wondering if he hurt her feelings as he crouched before her and said with a sigh, "Sui, you are making me look bad. That is not what I said. You only barely started cooking such complicated dishes, so it's natural it will take some time. Experts aren't born within a day."

Sui's expression relaxed a bit as she asked with hints of keenness in her voice, "Then do you believe that I can surpass your aunt's cooking?"

Ethan remembered mentioning that his step-aunt cooks him impressive, tasty dishes, one of them being chicken roast while talking to Nolan and Sui heard him. From that day on, she asked him which dishes his aunt cooked for him and the first one he mentioned was chicken roast.

However, hearing Sui's question about if she could surpass his step-aunt whose cooking was the best he had ever tasted, Ethan's expression became a bit difficult.

Still, he said with a soft chuckle, "Of course. As long as you keep working for it." After all, he had heard practice makes one perfect.

"Then I will practice every day, and I will let you eat it so that you can tell how much I improved each day," Sui said, her tone seemingly sounding enthusiastic.

Ethan gulped as he wondered what he got himself into. Even though her food didn't taste that bad, it was extremely salty to the point he found it hard to swallow after two or three morsels. So imagine eating a full plate of it.

Not hearing any affirmation from Ethan, Sui looked at him as she asked, "You will…right?" Her dewy blue eyes were peering into his eyes as if trying to pry out the answer she wanted from within his mind without breaking eye contact.

Ethan felt her stare seemingly fill his entire mind, but then he wanted to make her happy and said with a smile, "Sure. I will be happy to help you improve." He had no idea why she was feeling so competitive to surpass his step-aunt, but then he thought that Sui wanted to beat the only expert she knew.

Hearing his answer and seeing his charming smile, Sui's eyes momentarily blanked out as her velvety red lips slowly arched into a pure soft smile, putting Ethan in a daze upon witnessing such a rare sight.

Since she rarely smiled or showed much expression, Ethan found her smile to be as precious as the prettiest gems out there. This smile was enough to make him feel that it was worth it to make her feel happy.

"What are you two doing over there?" Nolan asked with a skeptical look on his face as he was unable to make out what they were saying from far away and was feeling his butt getting sore after eagerly waiting to see Ethan get his ass kicked.