Counterpoint

Fast-forwards. Stop. Pause at another moment, later, a point of importance. The calm before the storm.

4 hours ago, a furious Sergei Polunin had stormed into Lang Lang's hotel room, but for now, no one is bleeding, the media has yet to notice, and bodies have yet to pile up. It is still possible that forgiveness remains unattainable and that Lang Lang will never undergo tattoo removal to remove Chairman Mao from his chest. He will remain hopelessly disillusioned with a fantasy of rebellion, banishing Sergei to an isolation of his own making. But Love is a restless thing, eager for conflict even if she does not yet know the path fate will choose, the resting place she'll find.

The tempo is steady.