Yu Tu always thought he had done most things perfectly all his life: studied hard, got good grades, got into a key high school and consistently placed first city-wide in terms of academics, which made no one surprised when he also got into the top university in the nation; even now, he knew he was doing the right thing by putting in twice the work for his double major – one to fulfil his lifelong dream, the other to reassure his parents, and to give himself options as well, he supposed.

He had done everything right, made all the right decisions, and also, so it seemed, had Xia Qing; for a moment, Yu Tu thought he could see himself reflected in her, so he reached out to take her hand.

A year on, and he realised, that reflection was too perfect, too sharp, like glass, only bringing out all the imperfections in them both while pressing into their skin, making such tiny cuts that until he pulled away, he had not even noticed; those cuts would bleed them dry, if he did not pull away, and save them both.