People seldom met and yet strove for togetherness through eternity. Yu-zhou Zhao the beau and Su-qiu Xie the belle could only communicate their mutual affection through verse manuscripts owing to geographic separation.  They were soulmates for several years.  When they finally came together in one place they were however separated by villains in power.  A door apart, they heard each other’s voice but could not see each other’s face.  So near, and yet so far apart – how heart-rending.  Several times they brushed past each other but never actually met until just before the end of the opera.  Tik-sang Tong’s ingenious plot fully describes the irony of people’s proximity and separation, bringing his romantic style to a new height.