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[Updated Irregularly #Major Revision or Rewrite]

Xiao Jiuqi and Xie Hang first met in a small garden in front of the school's abandoned department store.

In golden October, beneath an oval osmanthus tree, a boy crouched to stroke a black cat's head. As he stood, a breeze swept through, sending orange-gold blossoms tumbling from the branches to land on his white shirt. His hair and shirt hem fluttered, and the people passing by were enchanted.

Back then, Xiao Jiuqi was world-weary, lazy, gloomy, and bored with life. But looking at the boy's profile, she couldn't help being just as superficial as everyone else. She was captivated.

In their senior year, Xiao Jiuxi switched academic tracks and became desk mates with Xie Hang. At first, she thought nothing of it. Then the profile picture of her online friend of two years suddenly changed to a picture of Xie Hang. Stunned, Xiao Jiuxi confronted him, but her online friend only replied, "It's me in the picture. Not satisfied?"

At the sports meet, Xiao Jiuqi signed up for the high jump for the first time in years. Xie Hang, who was announcing for the student council, called her up to the stage to present her with an award. He slipped a personal message into the notebook she received as a prize:

The secret to happiness is freedom. The secret to freedom is courage.

Later, Xie Hang inserted himself into Xiao Jiuqi's life with the excuse, "You've seemed really off lately. Want to date me?"

"Love might not be able to keep me here, but that doesn't mean I don't love you. I'm just tired of this world and all its conventions. I'm an atheist, but there's something I want to ask God: If time can heal everything, why can't it heal me?"

P.S. The heroine's feelings are mutual. The characters' values do not represent the author's. Please don't read too deeply into it. Enjoy!

Theme: Love can see, while happiness is blind