Yao Ming hesitated a long time before he wanted to tell his love story. According to him, this was to protect her girlfriend.

"Don't ask me, I won't tell anyway!" That's what he told of journalists before he held his girlfriend Ye Li's hand on the Closing Ceremony of Athens Olympics Games in 2004, symbolizing his public acknowledgement of the romance.

Yao first met 16-year-old-Ye when he was 17. Ye was also born in Shanghai, and a member of Shanghai Oriental Basketball Team. It took two years for him to discover the chemistry between the two.

Yao said the male and female basketball teams stayed in the same training camp, where a long-hair girl caught his attention. He felt the girl was always thoughtful and had an uncommon demeanor, then he became attracted.

Yao began to take the initiative to pursue Ye after he went to the Chinese National Team where Ye was also in. However, Ye was known as being cold and hard to mingle with. Yao suffered a number of setbacks before he could win her heart.

Things began to turn for the better when Ye was so seriously hurt during a practice in Chinese National Team that even the doctors thought her chance to total rehabilitation was very slim. Ye went back to Shanghai treat the injury. Yao talked to the Shanghai Sports Team coach and convinced it was better for Ye to rehabilitate in the US.

While Ye was in the US, Yao's frequent phones and messages began to melt down Ye's icy cover.

Just as on the basketball court, Yao knows the importance of persistent hard work. With Yao's continuous efforts, Ye also began to fall for the big man. She gave Yao a red knot on a Valentine's Day while Yao was still in the CBA, and since then Yao has had that on his left wrist.