When Did This Life Begin?

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Chen Zhi became the most eye-catching person in class as soon as he transferred in: a favored child of heaven, blessed by the world in every way.

Xu Xi was his complete opposite: quiet and taciturn, always focused on her studies.

The two were worlds apart, like rivers and seawater of different densities meeting.

No one could have imagined they would end up together.

On the night of the New Year's Eve party, she stumbled upon someone confessing to Chen Zhi.

To avoid being noticed, she quietly left.

Back at her seat, she casually asked what kind of girls he liked.

He patted her head, his breath close to hers, a hint of laughter in his voice, and said he'd tell her after the college entrance exams.

Years passed before they met again. This time, Chen Zhi witnessed her disastrous blind date.

By then, she had changed her name and completely cut ties with her past.

When she introduced him to someone, she said only, "We went to high school together."

Later, in a living room where heavy curtains shut out the sunlight, two people squeezed onto a tiny sofa.

His warm breath made goosebumps rise in fine bumps along her neck. "Why didn't you say I was your ex-boyfriend? Am I that embarrassing?"

She clutched the hem of his sweater, her lips parting, but no words came out.

She didn't know how much strength it had taken him to come back to her.

She knew even less that his obsession with her had long since turned to poison, seeping into every part of his body, into every bone and sinew.

-

[Though mired in the mud, my heart yearns for spring fields.]

[When you're with me, even barren land can bloom with flowers of hope.]

Before: An insecure, slightly stuttering girl x a beautiful, tragic young master

After: Gentle and resilient x self-made

One-on-one romance, both are each other's first, happy ending

Rekindled love, mutual salvation

*The title was adapted from the poem "Long have I dwelt beyond the suburbs; when will I find my place in the world?" by Ma Dai, "Autumn Dwelling at Ba Shang."

P.S. No romance before adulthood.

Theme: "Escape hardship and head for the spring mountains."