A day back in time and 6500 miles from home, 13 year old Guang Hong is caught by the soul—pulled forward by a greater, outside force, sharply turned around, so focused on the boy in front of him. "Hi, I'm Leo," the boy says, no thought of the constellation. Guang Hong thinks it's a perfect name for someone with stars in their eyes.
Leo, not so many miles from home, skates playful circles around Guang Hong, leaving him breathlessly giggly, and later, he reaches out, grabbing his phone to type in his number after Guang Hong (Guang Hong!) asks, and the astronomer in a part of Guang Hong he doesn't know yet shoots out past Jupiter to Regulus, Beta, Gamma, Zeta Leonis.
(Is it possible, Guang Hong wonders later under the mystical guide of midnight and minute, time zone distorted sleep, that the world can disappear for fractions of seconds at a time—that there are times when only certain people can exist?)
(There are certainly times when they should.)
But Leo, for all that he's making Guang Hong smile and laugh, feels much the same about Guang Hong, who is so bright and determined and talks so animatedly, even after translating everything he says in his head, and whose smile is so warm and soft that Leo just has to smile back. It's so easy to talk to him—so fun—, and when Guang Hong mentions he's never seen High School Musical, Leo tells him that, as a film buff, it's a crime. "You should come to my hotel room after practice," he says, "we can watch it together!"
Guang Hong begs his coach to let him go later, texting Leo all the while. She eventually concedes, telling him to be back by nine. In the end, he comes back at 10:30 after texting her and saying that he and Leo have to watch High School Musical 3, since they watched High School Musical and High School Musical 2 already. Xiao Yi, happy to see Guang Hong making friends, tells him not to make a habit out of it.
He doesn't. He's a skater and a professional, after all.
(In the morning, he sends Leo a video of him singing a drowsy, gargled version of "I Don't Dance" while brushing his teeth.)