I turned reality into a romantic comedy.

"That is to say, if I were to cosplay her now, I feel that my height and temperament wouldn't match, but if I were to become a high school student in two years, my body shape wouldn't match either."

As she spoke, Gu Linguo even straightened her chest in front of the mirror, rubbed her chin, and showed an expression of great regret.

"Let's not talk about body shape for now. What we need to do now is put on makeup and a wig. Let's go out first."

Gu Linguo, who was pulled out of the door, sat obediently in front of the makeup mirror. Chen Junqian stood behind her, put his hands on her shoulders, straightened her body, and then picked up the hairnet.

"It might feel a little tight, just bear with it."

As he spoke, he slipped the hairnet around her neck and pulled it up, binding all her long, black hair. The girl, with her entire smooth forehead exposed, looked somewhat comical, so much so that Gu Lingguo herself couldn't help but chuckle when she looked at herself in the mirror, her tension dissipating considerably.

"Unless Lin Guo only cosplays long, straight black hair from now on, she'll have to get used to wearing wigs."

Chen Junqian couldn't help but chuckle, but his hands didn't stop. He picked up a cotton pad soaked in toner and gently wiped her cheeks.

"Close your eyes."

Gu Linguo closed her eyes as instructed.

Unlike the simple light makeup he did for Zhu Wenyun before, cosplay is the type of makeup that is most demanding. Even though Chen Junqian didn't intend to use a lot of technology on Gu Lingguo just to make the photos look good, the process was still much more complicated. However, for Gu Lingguo herself, who was sitting there with her eyes closed, she would sincerely hope that the process would take longer.

She could feel Chen Junqian's warm breath spraying on her forehead and nose. The fine bristles of the foundation brush swept across her skin, bringing waves of tingling and itchy sensations. His fingers would occasionally lift her chin, the pressure as gentle as if he were handling a fragile treasure, yet with a certain undeniable force. This process of letting others manipulate her was already somewhat addictive, even on her first experience.

"Open your eyes and look up."

Gu Linguo strained to open her eyes wide, her vision filled with Chen Junqian's magnified features. The close proximity allowed her to count every single trembling eyelash of his, and see her tiny reflection in his pupils as he applied eyeliner to her eyes.

His gaze was terrifyingly focused, as if the entire world had shrunk to just her, a tiny canvas. That feeling of being completely watched made Gu Lingguo's heart pound faster than usual, and she could only try to find a topic to hide her panic:

"Speaking of which, brother, why are you so skilled at it?"

As expected, only those in the anime world truly understand anime. After all these years, Chen Junqian, who finally managed to capture this line's essence, couldn't help but chuckle, but his hand movements remained perfectly steady:

"I've practiced it many times before. If you see a makeup scene in Wen Yun's novel later, just remember that she copied it from you."

"Is that so? Well then, let me look forward to it. After all, Sister Wenyun's writing is impeccable."

Finally, the makeup was finished. The originally pretty girl next door now had a touch of brightness and charm that belonged to the world of anime.

Chen Junqian picked up the signature long, gold-pink gradient wig and carefully helped her put it on. He meticulously adjusted the position of the stray hairs at the temples, ensuring the edges of the wig were perfectly covered. Finally, he took out the large ribbon and tied it into the signature big bow at the back of her head.

"The main body is here—hmm, that takes care of everything."

After a long preparation of more than an hour, Gu Lingguo in the mirror successfully transformed into another image with blonde hair and blue eyes. Red ribbons danced in her hair, making her look like the violent and arrogant young lady who had stepped out of the screen.

"Wow……"

Unlike the last time when she only hurriedly changed into a cosplay outfit, this time Gu Lingguo was somewhat stunned by the full makeup and wig.

"Actually, I also think that Lin Guo's temperament is more like Wanli Hua or Onodera. The main reason is that Chitoge is always called 'gorilla girl' by the male protagonist in the anime. However, it is also related to the creative trend of that era that liked to create such violent female protagonists."

Upon hearing Chen Junqian's assessment, Gu Lingguo tried her best to make a fierce expression, but looking at his face, she couldn't bring herself to be fierce. Instead, she glared at him as if she were being coquettish.

"...Here, take this."

After a while, she took two things out of her pocket: one was a box that looked like a small treasure chest and had a small lock on it, and the other was a corresponding key.

"Let's make a promise like in the anime, and this will be our token."

"The promise in Nisekoi is 'We'll get married when we meet again,' but my brother and I see each other every day, so that's obviously not possible."

As she spoke, Gu Lingguo reached out and placed the key into Chen Junqian's hand. This all-too-familiar gesture momentarily made him feel a little dazed. But along with the key, a small locked box was also handed over.

"If there's anything you'd like to say to me but it's inconvenient to say it in person, just open the box with the key, and my answer will be inside."

P.S.: Thank you for reading and subscribing.

PS2: Tomorrow, another blind date!

Chapter 164: May My Chuunibyou (Second Chapter) Grow Longer (Two Chapters Combined)

It wasn't an agreement that one person would carry a key and the other a lock. Chen Junqian, having received both the lock and the key, nodded to the girl in front of him. However, he was already curious about what was inside. After all, according to Gu Lingguo, the things inside were like the 'omnipotent book' they had played with a few years ago. No matter what questions you had in mind, you could find an ambiguous answer by randomly flipping to a page.

"By the way, I'm planning to move some of your things that you left with me here later, Lin Guo. My bedroom is really overflowing. Hmm... you can choose an empty room here. There are plenty of empty rooms here, so you can decorate it however you like."

In the years that Chen Junqian had known Gu Linguo, he had helped her collect countless kinds of merchandise, including paper models, posters, figurines, standees, wall hangings, and so on. However, his room was clearly not a place where he could display them all. The certificates and photos on the wall, the small decorations and dolls on the bookshelf were all meant to be kept out of reach of his childhood sweethearts. So these merchandise items, which were meant to be displayed and decorated, could only be kept in boxes and only glanced at when they were picked up.

However, Chen Junqian knew very well that Gu Linguo really wanted a private space where she could freely express her interests and hobbies, which was why he made such a suggestion.

Moreover, having such a place also makes it easier for him to farm related romantic comedy achievements, since many of them have specific locations required, such as the classic scene that Gu Lingguo just mentioned a couple of days ago:

[Absolutely must not be discovered]

As the footsteps outside the door grow closer, as she presses her fingertips to her lips to signal you 'absolutely do not make a sound,' as you are forced to curl up in a tightly enclosed space filled with air... such scenes are not only found in horror games, but are also common on the set of romantic comedies.

Conditions for achieving this: For some reason, you are forced to hide in the room of any female protagonist with romantic comedy potential, such as in a closet, under the bed, or behind the sofa.

"Yeah, yeah, I've wanted to have a place to put up all my posters and paintings for a long time. My bookshelves are full of manga, light novels, Blu-rays, CDs, art books... It's so touching. Why don't we just name my brother's house Sakura-sou!"

"Sakura-sou? Does that mean Lin Guo wants to cosplay Aoyama Nanami next time? After all, you two are both working towards the voice acting field."

"No way! If the Sakura-sou character were to actually appear, I'd definitely choose Shiina Mashiro. After all, she won in the end, and I'm a 100% winner!"

With a smug nod to Chen Junqian, Gu Lingguo skipped off to find a room that looked good. The ribbons on her head, resembling rabbit ears, swayed up and down with her movements, causing her golden wig to sway. If you only saw her from behind, Chen Junqian would indeed have a slightly dazed feeling that he had really traveled into a two-dimensional anime world.

"Where is my brother's bedroom?"

"The first room on the left on the second floor is the only one that has been renovated so far."

"Can I live next to you? We can continue to be neighbors here."

"what ever."

Although she received Chen Junqian's answer, Gu Linguo changed her mind at the last minute:

"Never mind, I still want one of these rooms. It feels bigger and has better lighting."

"Just pick the one you like, wait a moment—"

Seeing that Gu Linguo seemed to have already decided on the room she wanted, Chen Junqian rummaged through the storage cabinet on the first floor for a while and found something he had prepared beforehand. He took it upstairs and found a doorplate with a strong anime style. He hung it up with a hook and wrote "Linguo's Room" on it.

"Okay, then it's settled. From now on, Lin Guo can decorate it however she likes."

Although it was called a blank room, most of the furniture inside had actually been purchased, including wardrobes and beds. Only the bedding and various trinkets hadn't been arranged yet. Nevertheless, Gu Lingguo excitedly pounced on the bed, which only had a bare mattress, and rolled around on it twice, making Chen Junqian start to worry that she might rub off her makeup and wig.

After rolling around on the bed, Gu Lingguo excitedly opened each door of the wardrobe next to her to check. Of course, it was empty inside, with only the faint scent of mothballs. After standing thoughtfully in front of the wardrobe for a while, she pushed Chen Junqian, who had come to her side to see what she was looking at, inside, and then followed him in.

With a soft 'click', the moment the cabinet door closed, the world was split in two.

The sunlight outside and the emptiness of the room were shut out, leaving only this cramped, dim, and ambiguous little space for the two of them.

For the first second or two, both of them seemed a little stiff because their view was suddenly blocked.

Suddenly pushed into the closet, Chen Junqian had to hunch over, his back pressed against the hard cabinet panel. Gu Lingguo, just like in the elevator a couple of days ago, hugged him directly, pressing her chest against his through the thin sailor uniform fabric.

Darkness is always the best catalyst; while depriving us of sight, it amplifies our hearing and smell.

It was precisely because of this that Chen Junqian could clearly smell the scent of shampoo mixed with the faint lavender fabric softener on Gu Lingguo's body, and even the subtle, synthetic fiber smell of her wig. These scents blended together, fermenting in this enclosed space, transforming into a unique pheromone unique to the girl before him.

"Isn't it... a little too dark?"

It was clearly she who first had the idea, but after actually hiding in the wardrobe, Gu Lingguo's voice took on a soft, timid tone. However, it could also be a little trick of this novice voice actress.

"Then let's open it a crack. People in horror games even leave a crack to observe the monsters, although the main reason is definitely to let it breathe."

With one hand free from Gu Lingguo's waist, she gently pushed the wardrobe door open, and a very thin beam of light cut in diagonally through the gap in the door, like a golden blade of light landing right between the two of them.

In the dim light, Chen Junqian saw Gu Lingguo's blue pupils, which were still surprisingly bright in the darkness—although they were also virtual colors from colored contact lenses, the shyness in her eyes was real.

The two ribbons on his head, resembling rabbit ears, had to droop down in the cramped space, brushing against Chen Junqian's cheeks along with the ends of his hair, causing a slight itch and making his throat feel a little dry.

"Although no one is coming to arrest us right now, the very thing itself makes us feel very tense."

Gu Linguo tried to break the suffocating silence by moving her leg slightly, but her knee accidentally pressed against Chen Junqian's inner thigh.

Both of them gasped simultaneously, their bodies tensing instantly.

In that instant, Chen Junqian could understand why the most common line spoken by the male and female leads in romantic comedies in this situation is always "Don't move," because he had already subconsciously uttered those words:

"Don't move."

"I...I didn't mean to—"

In the dim light, it was impossible to tell whether it was acting or genuine emotion.

"It's more crowded than I expected, so if I don't stick to you, I'll have to push the door open."

As she said this, Gu Lingguo snuggled closer into Chen Junqian's arms, her forehead touching his chin, her warm breath brushing against his neck and collarbone. If it weren't for the fact that Lin Mu had already triggered an achievement called "Isn't this position terrible?" a few years ago, Gu Lingguo would have had a great time these past few days.

In the cramped closet, the air seemed to thicken, and each breath felt like an exchange of breaths.

"How long should you generally hide?"

Gu Linguo's voice was barely audible. Although she said this, she showed no intention of letting go. Instead, she buried her face even deeper like an ostrich.

"That means it'll be fine once the people they hired outside leave."

"But nobody's coming to arrest us..."

"So you're going to let go and go out now?"

"Then let me hold you a little longer, brother."

The world outside the wardrobe remained quiet, with only a beam of light hovering silently in the dust, illuminating the intertwined breaths of the two.

For Gu Lingguo herself, role-playing, or rather, this behavior called "cosplay," is indeed the best protective shield for her to bypass reality and have intimate contact with Chen Junqian. In this narrow and cramped wardrobe filled with mothballs and girlish scents, the other party is only her own male protagonist.

In this respect, she really should be grateful that the boy she was holding, who seemed omnipotent in front of everyone, still had such chuunibyou symptoms, and that she was the only one who could accompany him to realize this chuunibyou fantasy.

However... just like the male protagonist and the second female lead in "Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions," many people will naturally shed their chunibyo syndrome after they pass this age, and may even feel ashamed instead.

Gu Linguo had no idea whether Chen Junqian would end up like that.

and so--

She wants to participate as much as possible as the female lead in a romantic comedy during this stage of his life when he still wants to be the male protagonist.

This time it's a wardrobe, next time it will be...

----------------------------------

"Bathtub, bathtub...Isn't it strange to take a bath in the summer?"

As August arrived, the height of summer, Xu Youwei, whose birthday was just a few days away, naturally began to ponder this question, causing Lin Mu and Zhu Wenyun beside her to look up and glance at her with some curiosity.

Today is MuMu's long-awaited study session, which is essentially everyone doing summer homework together. Just like high school students in Japanese anime who have to go back to school to continue their studies after saving the world, a certain romantic comedy protagonist and a bestselling author of new-era youth literature also have to finish their summer homework.

"Why did you suddenly bring up the bathtub?"