Origin: China
There was a young couple who attended United College. They were both medical students. The dormitories in the college were in the same building but they were separated. The girls lived on the upper floors and the boys lived on the lower floors. They had to study in their rooms until very late at night, and they were only allowed to go to each other's rooms during visiting hours, so the girl and the boy rarely got a chance to see each other. There were no mobile phones at the time, so it was hard to keep in contact.
Every night, the girl would make a cup of oxtail soup for her boyfriend. She would hang it out the window and lower it down to her boyfriend, whose room was directly below her. Every time her boyfriend drank this cup of soup, he got a warm feeling inside.
One night, the boy received the usual oxtail soup. He ate it and then fell asleep with his books open in front of him. The next day, he went upstairs to visit his girlfriend, but she was nowhere to be found. He asked around the and the other girls broke the sad news to him.
His girlfriend had died of a sudden illness a few days before. Upon hearing this, the boy was overcome by grief. Then, he thought for a moment. If his girlfriend died, then who had been lowering the oxtail soup down to him?