STOMPers Yu Xian and Qi Xuan were brought together because of 'Chemistry', both because they got along well, and because they drew closer after Qi Xian started helping Yu Xian with the subject in school.
* Portions written by Yu Xian are in normal text, while portions written by Qi Xuan are in italics.
They wrote:
"When people ask me what brought me and Qi Xuan together, my reply would always be one simple word, 'Chemistry.' The word does not simply mean that the both of us know and understand each other well. It also refers to the school subject that brought us together as a couple.
"Our story isn't one of the exciting, reckless and romantic love most young couples experience. If I have to describe the relationship that Yu Xian and I have, it would be slow, steady and committed.
"We were put into the same class in junior college but we didn’t talk to each other much. In fact, thinking back, I didn’t know such a guy even existed in my class until our first project work class.
"Our teacher had each of us stand up and tell the class what we all looked forward to most for project work. 'I look forward to doing research the most because that’s the only time I’ll get to use the computer,' was Qi Xuan's answer. That was the very first impression I had of him. I remember thinking to myself, 'What a weird guy. Nobody I know of has ever liked doing research.'
"I remember seeing Yu Xian in our first ever Computing lecture. It was just a small class. Honestly speaking, my first impression of her was that she seemed cold and aloof. I never thought 2 years later, we would be a couple.
"Chemistry has never been my strong suit and I was constantly struggling to pass the subject. But I didn’t care too much in the first year of JC as I’d always think that there’s lots of time left to catch up. It wasn’t until the start of the second year when reality hit me in the face and I started panicking very badly. The only person whom I could turn to for help was Qi Xuan.
"There were only 3 of us in our class who took chemistry, and I was the only one constantly acing the subject. So naturally, Yu Xian came to me when she needed help. What started as short awkward messages asking for help regarding tutorial questions became peppered with small talk as we got to know each other better.
"It slowly progressed to us studying in school together after lessons and chatting online late into the night. I didn’t realize that I had fallen in love with her, until one of my classmates asked me on the sly, 'You like her right?' By then, the whole class knew that we liked each other, except us.
"I didn’t know he had feelings for me and never thought he would. Until the night he confessed his feelings to me out of the blue during one of our chats. I didn’t know how to react and I wasn’t sure if I was ready to enter into another relationship so I pretended not to see it and changed the topic.
"For a few months, I had tried to work out the courage to confess to her and to ask her out. But when I eventually did it the night after we finished our last paper, she simply said 'I don’t know.' My whole world came crashing down.
"Two months later, on 2 Feb 2010, he confessed to me again, this time asking me if I was willing to be his girlfriend – in the most unromantic way ever. I thought I should give both of us a chance and from there, we started our relationship.
"I was so happy, that I thought I could fly. After so long, we were finally a couple.
"A month later, he had to enlist in NS, leaving us with little to no time to meet up. As many girls my age would know, having a boyfriend in NS was really no easy feat. Many times, our dates had to be cancelled because of last minute duties and cancellations of off days. It was really frustrating for me and we fought countless times over it, even though we knew there was nothing we could do.
"The fights were exhausting. They always left me feeling helpless and lonely, especially when they happened when I was in camp. Resolving issues through phone calls just isn’t as good as a face-to-face talk.
"Even so, he tried his best to always be there for me when I needed someone to cheer me up or to support me. There was once, when I fell extremely sick and couldn’t get out of bed. He bought my favourite porridge and took a cab all the way to NUS from camp, just to take care of me.
"The toughest period of time we had to go through was during the NDP rehearsals last year, where all his weekends were spent on the floating platform rehearsing. During that period, I could only stand on the Helix Bridge and watch their rehearsals from afar.
"It would always be about 10pm at night, before I could finally look into my boyfriend’s tired face for a total of 30 minutes, as we travel home. Despite everything, he has still managed to make time to attend every single one of my netball matches to cheer me on, knowing how much his presence means to me.
"I always find that it’s a pleasure to have found Yu Xian. No one else would have been as committed to me as she has been. During the period of 4 months when I was involved in the NDP rehearsals at the floating platform, she would bring snacks for me knowing that I would be hungry after rehearsals.
"It’s been 2 years and your ORD is drawing near. I’m glad we’ve managed to make this relationship work, despite having very little time for each other. I’m thankful to have someone understand and accept me for who I am; for always putting a smile back onto my face on days that were hard to get through. I love you dear. Happy Anniversary, Happy Valentine's and ORD LO! (:
"To my dearest Yu Xian: 2 years on, we are still going strong. I am not perfect, but you always accept me for who I am. No matter how down I may feel at times, you will always be able to put a smile back on my face.
"I feel blessed and happy that you are by my side all this while, throughout the long 2 years of NS. It’s your 21st birthday at the end of the month, I’m glad I’ll be the person who will hold your hand as you celebrate your journey into adulthood. I love you dear. Happy Anniversary, Happy Valentine's and Happy Birthday to you. (:"
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