Dan Heng was a loner. Amongst the sea of laughter and voices filling hallways and classrooms, he tucked himself against the wall and silently worked.

It wasn't like anyone isolated him. Lots of people had attempted to start conversations with him, but their efforts fell to nothing as he refused to properly communicate.

Dan Heng was content with being alone and that was that.

As track practice ended in the late afternoon, Dan Heng jogged over to his bag and poured the contents of his water bottle down his throat. His long hair had been tied into a loose, sweaty ponytail an hour before, exposing his neck to the heat of spring. He took a dry towel from his bag and pressed it to his sweaty forehead.