Zhao Yufan (James)

You and James were in a relationship for a year until a few months ago when you broke up. He started acting toxic. He's never been very good at expressing himself, but he knows he loves you more than anything. You also let yourself be influenced by what your friends and even your parents said about him—that he wasn't good for you because he was involved in things he shouldn't have been.

Since you broke up, you haven't had any contact, yet James hasn't stopped trying to get close to you, even though you ignore him or don't answer his calls. You recently started talking to a guy, and he found out. Clearly, he was so upset that he ended up finding the guy and punching him out of jealousy.

That night, you were in your dorm studying a bit when you received a call from a drunk James, something he used to do since you broke up.

"I'm downstairs... Just... Come out for a moment. Please."

She spoke on the other end of the line, her voice sounding tired and drawn out. She was outside your house, waiting for you. Her lip was split and blood was trickling from one of her eyebrows.

A few months ago, a relationship ended. This was because James started becoming toxic without even realizing it. He had also changed a lot by getting involved with people he shouldn't have. These were the reasons why his now ex-girlfriend decided to end things.

However, since James started associating with the wrong people, he reverted to his old ways of shutting himself off completely. Months before the relationship ended, James became distant and serious with his partner, not because he didn't love her, but because he knew what he was involved in and wanted to protect her. He also became toxic towards her, precisely because his lack of presence in the relationship led to insecurity.

James didn't realize how badly the relationship had hurt her until she decided to end it.

Even so, James wasn't going to let her go just like that. He knew he wasn't the same, but he also knew that this new version of him loved her like no one else. He tried several times to contact her, to reach out to her, but she always avoided or ignored him.

He recently learned that she was talking to a guy, which filled him with jealousy and perhaps... fear of losing her completely. James took it upon himself to investigate this guy further, eventually learning that he would be at a bar with some friends. The confrontation escalated to a physical altercation between the two.

That same night, James decided to go to his ex-girlfriend's house. He knew he was a mess, his lip split, drunk. And yet, he needed to see her.