Xuefei (Sophie) Bai was sitting in her Boston apartment when she opened up a packet from HBS. The letter informed her that, yes, she had been admitted to the school.

The only problem was that Bai had actually graduated from HBS the previous spring.

Sophie Bai: “I was confused. The envelope said ‘HBS’ and ‘YES’ on it, so I guessed it was admissions-related. It had my name and my Boston address on it, so I thought it was for me. I opened the envelope and it was, indeed, an HBS class 2023 admission letter, again, with my name on it. I figured the admission office had made a mistake and that the packet was supposed to have gone to someone else, but somehow they mixed up my name and address on it.”

Bai, with packet in hand, proceeded to investigate.

SB: “I had just moved into a different unit in the same building. The concierge thought the packet might be for the person moving into my old apartment. I told her that this wasn’t possible. I had never encountered anyone with my same name. The concierge looked up the new resident and it came up as ‘Xuefei Bai.’ We agreed that it must have been a system error. Since I had just moved, the system probably hadn’t updated correctly yet. However, the new resident had a phone number which wasn’t mine. The concierge called the number, and another Xuefei Bai answered!”

In New York, Xuefei (Brianna) Bai was busy packing in preparation for her imminent move to Boston when her phone rang.

Brianna Bai:“When the concierge in Boston called and asked me to confirm my name/address because someone with the exact same name was already in the building, I was very confused. I thought it was a scam and I became very suspicious. I was going to hang up, but then Sophie took the phone. We were both shocked, and even more so when I learned that she had just graduated from HBS and that I was going to be a student there in the fall. We were almost like yelling to each other because we had no other way to express our excitement at the time.”

SB: “We both screamed over the phone to express how shocked we were! Later in the conversation, Brianna asked me to keep the HBS packet until she moved to Boston. We also added each other on WeChat after the phone call.”

Two weeks later, Sophie and Brianna met for the first time in person.

BB: “I visited Sophie the first weekend I moved in. We had dinner together and talked for probably six hours.”

SB: “I was so excited the entire day before I met her. It was a magical moment when I finally opened the door. Up to the moment we finally met, we both still couldn’t believe it. It truly felt like she was my younger sister, that we somehow got separated in childhood. We talked as if we had been friends for a long time. It’s definitely not a typical situation when you meet someone like this for the first time.”

And, like long lost sisters, the pair realized that they had many things in common.

SB: “We are astonishingly similar. We both came to the US from China for our undergraduate studies and we both started working here after college. Career-wise, both of us were in private equity—thank god we weren’t in the same firm, which would have made things even more confusing. We also share similar values, love the same types of food, and enjoy traveling. Growing up as an only child, I always wished that I had a sister, somebody to share experiences with. Now the dream has come true.”

BB: “Also, we both love karaoke!”

When it comes to the HBS, Sophie has helped Brianna prepare for the next two years.

SB: “As the Dean said on our first day, HBS provides two transformative years, and I couldn’t agree more. As Brianna navigates through her first couple months at HBS, I will continue sharing my experiences and will always be a sounding board for her as she makes decisions regarding clubs, classes, activities, career decisions, and anything else.

BB: “From speaking with Sophie, I can truly feel how supportive the community is and how plentiful the resources are at HBS. She also talked about the benefits of the case method and of discussion groups, both of which can help me build strong communication, leadership, and management skills.”

And what started with a mysterious packet, has led to the promise of a long-lasting friendship.

BB: “This experience has made me believe even more strongly in yuan fen, a Chinese word describing how two people are destined to meet. I’m also very impressed by Sophie’s energy and passion toward biotech innovations, and her dedication to her own biotech startup. I definitely look forward to learning more from her experience of identifying a career passion, integrating personal ambitions into it, and executing on it. “

SB: “It was serendipity at its finest. It may be too soon to say, but I have a strong feeling that we will be really good friends and have each other’s back, just like the sister each of us never had. HBS is a special place, and I am so excited to see her start her HBS journey and to get this once in a lifetime experience.”

Sophie Bai is the founder and CEO of B.A.I. Technologies, a biotech company based in Cambridge that holds various patented technologies to treat skin diseases.

Brianna Bai is a member of the HBS Class of 2023 and is interested in exploring rising real estate tech (PropTech) ventures that are shaping the future of working and living.

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