I turned reality into a romantic comedy.

Lin Mu was still there, head down, clutching the trash bag, completely unaware of his gaze. His heart was filled with confusion and worry. It seemed as if he was thinking about something he wouldn't be able to see during evening self-study, as if he wanted to say something, but the unclear and inaudible words were quickly swallowed back down his throat, turning into a small, hoarse sound.

"Yes, after a summer break, it's time to write a new book."

For Zhu Wenyun herself, the most valuable experience that Chen Junqian brought her to her writing career was the broadening of her horizons and the growth of her self-confidence. Perhaps the two girls in front of her had been to many more big cities than she had, and had seen more magnificent night views when they were very young, but they were all taken on trips by their families, which was completely different from her situation.

It is precisely because of this that Zhu Wenyun is now increasingly wanting to break free from the unchanging life schedule she once felt as a child. Although she is not going to drop out of school like Han Han did back then, she can skip evening self-study to do her own thing. Moreover, in her eyes, Chen Junqian can do the same thing in every way.

So this could be considered a test, just like when she had tested for a long time before finally confirming that the other party had not pursued a career in literature. This time, however, she wanted to confirm some other ideas and perspectives.

If this were a dating sim, there would probably be answer options leading to two different timelines. However, for Chen Junqian, who had experienced this before, this situation didn't catch him off guard. After organizing his thoughts, he gave his own answer:

"But Wenyun probably finds evening self-study boring more because she's alone at Jinzhong. After all, Mumu, Youyou, and I are all at Ningzhong. Actually, when you're with friends, evening self-study can easily become a classic setting for romance novels, like secretly doing things with your girlfriend on campus at night?"

His voice was steady, and he made sure everyone could hear him.

"What's that saying? After graduation, what you miss is never the battlefield, but the comrades who fought alongside you. Wenjun has written quite a few of those herself. By this time next year, we'll probably be in the same class, and we'll have to attend evening self-study sessions together for three whole years. So let me get used to it for now."

Perhaps not everyone fully understood, but it must be said that everyone got the part they wanted to hear from Chen Junqian's answer. Lin Mu, who only understood that Chen Junqian rejected the answer, subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief and couldn't help but show a relieved yet slightly shy smile. He seemed to want to say something, but stood there, nodding vigorously.

Xu Youwei turned her head away and looked out the window at the campus scene, which was now bathed in night and completely different from the daytime view. She felt like she was thinking about all sorts of random things.

Zhu Wenyun's expression remained largely unchanged, though a flicker of light flashed in her eyes. She clearly understood Chen Junqian's meaning and implication, so she quickly composed herself, a faint smile playing on her lips, her voice remaining calm:

"Okay, I understand. You guys go back to your classroom. I'll sit here for a while longer. I suddenly have some inspiration for a new book. Let's see if I can write the beginning."

"Well, Wenyun, don't stay too late. It's not close to your home, so go home early. Otherwise, the gate will be blocked again when we're about to get out of school."

After giving Zhu Wenyun these instructions, Chen Junqian led Xu Youwei and Lin Mu out of the club activity room and headed towards the teaching building.

As soon as Chen Junqian returned to class, he saw Zhong Yu sitting there with a worried look on his face. After all, he would usually be at home in Summoner's Rift by this time, but now he had to attend evening self-study sessions, and it wasn't just for a day or two, but for the next four years.

Upon seeing him arrive, Zhong Yu, who had become his deskmate again after a long time due to a seating arrangement change at the start of the semester, immediately revealed her long-planned scheme to skip evening self-study:

"Qian'er, what do you think of this plan? I've been thinking about it all day. We can stay in the classroom during the first evening self-study session, because the homeroom teacher will definitely come to check every ten or twenty minutes. But if she doesn't have classes in the next two periods, we can try to leave after the first period ends. She definitely won't stay at school then, and when the teachers of the next two periods come in and see that the seat is empty, they will definitely assume that the student has something to do in the evening and has already asked for leave."

"They are also very tired from their evening self-study classes, so they are unlikely to seriously ask their homeroom teacher, who has already gone home, about this kind of thing. This way, they can perfectly skip class."

"...Actually, I've always felt that if you put this energy into your studies, you could score an extra hundred or two points. Or maybe you shouldn't be putting it into League of Legends. You wouldn't be playing for two years and only be able to farm forty CS in ten minutes."

Despite his complaints, it must be said that Zhong Yu's words did give Chen Junqian inspiration in other areas.

indeed.

Evening self-study is also divided into three periods.

"Zhong Yu, considering how many games I've carried you, now it's time to repay your godfather's kindness."

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The first evening self-study session officially began amidst the dejected atmosphere of the ninth graders who were still not used to it. The last ray of golden-orange sunlight in the corridor was reduced to a faint shadow by the closed doors and windows. Bright fluorescent lights shone in the classroom, and the books on the desks were stacked high. The air was filled with the mixed smell of chalk dust and eraser shavings.

It was obvious that most students were still enjoying the laziness after dinner and the relaxation of their free time. The first evening self-study session without supervision made it easy for them to revert to their usual home routine. The rustling sounds soon filled the classroom. Some students were catching up on sleep on their desks, some were gossiping quietly, and others, who looked like they hadn't eaten enough for dinner, were secretly snacking in the back row.

After taking a stroll in the office and reporting to the homeroom teacher, Chen Junqian and the homeroom teacher entered the classroom almost one after the other, and the little noise from before instantly returned to silence.

However, perhaps it was precisely because of this quiet that someone's actions instantly attracted the attention of the entire class. Zhong Yu, who was grinning and carrying several homework assignments, stood up from his seat after receiving instructions from Chen Junqian. Then, Chen Junqian walked over to Lin Mu's seat and whispered in a low voice:

"Sit next to me in the first class. I've already spoken to the teacher."

Completely surprised by this, Lin Mu was momentarily stunned. Then she quickly noticed that the whole class was looking at her. Her face started to burn within seconds, and a blush spread across her cheeks.

After all, she has never been the type to show off her relationship with others. Although she has become more open after the chemistry class incident last year, being watched by the whole class, including the homeroom teacher, is obviously too much.

"Humble... I, uh."

The slightly flustered girl subconsciously lowered her voice and muttered a complaint, but her hands unconsciously picked up the two homework assignments in front of her and left her seat almost as if she were escaping. At Zhong Yu's invitation, who had an obvious wicked smile on his lips, she sat down in Chen Junqian's deskmate's seat.

Soon, Chen Junqian sat back down as if nothing had happened, quickly getting into his own rhythm, just like when the two of them had studied together before. He did his homework while closely monitoring Lin Mu's progress. When he noticed that Lin Mu was stuck on a problem, he naturally pulled over his notebook, rested his chin on his right hand, and began to help Lin Mu break down the difficult points with a pen in his left hand.

"Generally, you need to draw auxiliary lines for these kinds of geometry problems..."

Thanks to Chen Junqian's composure, Lin Mu quickly returned to the study session.

But she would sneak peeks at the other person during study sessions... and there weren't that many spectators around.

Lin Mu secretly glanced at his childhood sweetheart as she diligently worked on a problem. Her eyes were bright, her eyelashes were long, and the lines of her chin formed a gentle curve as she explained. It was an ordinary study routine, but the classmates around them couldn't help but look over.

After the homeroom teacher finally strolled away, the onlookers quickly began a heated discussion. Unexpectedly, the teacher, playing hard to get, returned unexpectedly, startling many students who then pretended to continue working on their homework with their heads down.

But none of this has anything to do with Lin Mu anymore.

This is the ninth year that she and Chen Junqian have been in the same class.

This could also be the last year that the two are in the same class.

But this is also the first year that the two of them have been sitting at the same table.

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

Chapter 4: What do you think of this setting? (Two chapters combined)

The activity room of the literary society was dark, with only the moonlight from outside the window flowing like spilled milk across the wooden floor and down to the base of the bookshelves.

Zhu Wenyun was still sitting at the long table, but the paper in front of her was still blank, not as she had said after dinner that she had a starting point.

In fact, if she really intended to write something, she wouldn't just sit here like this, without even taking a few steps to turn on the light.

Just a few minutes ago, she had clearly heard the bell ringing for the end of the first evening self-study session from the teaching building next door. The bell sounded muffled and distant, like a signal from another world. After all, Zhu Wenyun knew very well that at this moment, in that brightly lit classroom of Class 4, Chen Junqian was probably turning his head to explain a physics force analysis problem to Lin Mu, and had to... well, in fact, naturally lean his shoulder closer to that girl.

She had simply been passing by, wanting to see what evening self-study was like at Ningzhong High School, but the scene she saw has remained etched in her mind ever since. However, before it became a fine thorn that would pierce the softest part of her heart, she once again habitually turned it into usable material and a vision of the future she could achieve.

Of course, even if she comforted herself with these thoughts, the fact remained that she hadn't been able to write a single word during the entire evening self-study session.

Thinking of this, Zhu Wenyun closed the book she had taken from the bookshelf next to her, her fingertips unusually restless as she rubbed the rough texture of the cover, because she knew that she was in the midst of a ritual called waiting.

Whether she waits for him to come find her after class, or just waits until school ends, the latter is naturally the worst-case scenario, but at least it provides a definite timeframe and ending. However, this waiting posture still makes Zhu Wenyun feel annoyed.

After all, she has always been the one being waited for. On the podium, outside the examination hall, in the spotlight, everyone is waiting for the host to call her name and then they will naturally applaud together.

However, Zhu Wenyun also felt that she should have gotten used to waiting by now, because the first lesson left-behind children learn from life is the so-called waiting. Even the New Year is not the same as the time she has to wait for school to end. After all, when the school bell rings, Chen Junqian will at least come out, but when the New Year bell rings, her parents who have been waiting for a year may not be by her side.

Because each of the three evening self-study sessions was longer, the interval between the two sessions was extended to fifteen minutes. Zhu Wenyun checked the time by looking at the clock on the wall while her gaze wandered around the dimly lit room, trying to find a place to settle her mind.

Then she saw the thing.

In a half-open drawer at the other end of the long table, a cell phone lay quietly.

The pink phone case, full of girlish charm, is covered with a few childish cartoon stickers. At first glance, they might look like pictures of anime characters, but they are actually chibi-style characters drawn by Xu Youwei herself. She specially made them into stickers, printed them out, and gave them to Lin Mu, who then casually stuck them on his phone case.

Lin Mu's cell phone was bought for her by her family at the beginning of this year, mainly for the newly added evening self-study sessions in the third year of junior high school. They said that if she couldn't find anyone after school, she could just call them. However, Lin Mu certainly wouldn't dare to bring it to the classroom, so she would leave it in the club activity room during class.

Perhaps because she was in a hurry when she left after finishing her meal, the drawer door wasn't closed properly, which is why it's now in front of Zhu Wenyun.

The girl's breath hitched slightly.

That cell phone, like Pandora's box full of temptations in Greek mythology, lay quietly dormant under the moonlight.

When she came to her senses again, Zhu Wenyun was already standing in front of it.

As she got closer, she could see the stickers on the back of the phone case more clearly. The Q-version images of Chen Junqian, Lin Mu, and Xu Youwei were pasted together, which reminded Zhu Wenyun of the time when the three of them were in the same class in elementary school, and only she was not there.

Zhu Wenyun stretched out her hand, her slender fingers hovering an inch above the phone.

The screen will light up when you press the side button.

Based on her understanding of Lin Mu, the phone might not have a password at all, or the password might be as simple as the girl's guess, such as her birthday or Chen Junqian's.

A familiar curiosity, or more precisely, a dark voyeuristic desire, instantly entwined Zhu Wenyun's heart like vines once again. If her last curiosity was about Shen Nianqiu, then her current goal was actually simpler: she just wanted to know what kind of Chen Junqian was hidden behind that small screen.

If you were to find one girl among Chen Junqian's friends who maintained a high level of vigilance towards Lin Mu from beginning to end, and firmly believed that she was the one who would reach the finish line, it would definitely be Zhu Wenyun.

That's why she was so eager to know what Chen Junqian was like from Lin Mu's perspective. Was he the younger brother who would send Shen Nianqiu two small red envelopes on WeChat under various pretexts, or the soulmate who would patiently chat with her every night about every boring thing, or the childhood sweetheart who only set up a special nickname and pinned it to the top of his chat list for her?

Just one glance.

She could even discern the relationship and dynamics between the two of them just by glancing at the lock screen wallpaper.

Zhu Wenyun's fingers trembled slightly, and her fingertips could even feel the cold touch of the phone screen.

However, just a second before she was about to press the button, she abruptly pulled her hand back.

The movement was so forceful that it was as if they had touched a red-hot branding iron.

She gasped for breath in the darkness, then gripped the hem of her clothes tightly.

...Doing this is wrong.

She said to herself.

Snooping on your friend's phone without their permission.

Is she trying to find another Chen Junqian she doesn't know in those trivial chat logs, or is she trying to find a reason to completely give up and evidence of utter failure in those possible intimate moments?

Either way, it's the worst option, since Chen Junqian already criticized it so bluntly last year.

The girl turned around again and closed the drawer once more, not glancing at that corner again. She walked to the window, opened it, and let the night breeze dispel the slight heat on her cheeks caused by the shame she had just felt.

Then, she took off her shoes, continued to lie on the table, letting the moonlight shine on her, pointed the pen tip towards the door, and struck the perfect waiting pose.

When Zhu Wenyun was very young, she once followed the example of a story she read in a book and went to find a flower in the grass outside. She would count the petals one by one to divine the future, muttering "will come back, will not come back, will come back, will not come back." If she drew an answer she didn't want, she would silently go to find another flower until she achieved the result she was satisfied with.

The situation is actually the same now.

Ten, nine, eight, seven... three, two, one.

The door was not opened.

Let's do it again.

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After the bell rang, signaling the start of the second evening self-study session, the brief commotion in the corridors and classrooms quickly subsided.

Lin Mu had already returned to her seat in the front row. The next class was math, which was also one of her weaker subjects, so she was sitting up straight, looking up at the blackboard and waiting for the teacher to arrive.

Based on Chen Junqian's understanding of his childhood sweetheart, in the second class, she barely had time to look back at him. In fact, Mu Mu was like that during class; in terms of attitude towards learning, few students could compare. But attitude is one thing, and the final result is another.

Just as the teacher was about to arrive, Chen Junqian got up and quietly walked out of the classroom through the back door, while his deskmate Zhong Yu looked at him with a speechless expression that seemed to say, "Dude, I haven't even run yet, why did you run first? And how am I supposed to run if you run?"

Unlike the atmosphere and environment in the classroom, the air in the corridor felt cooler. Without hesitation, Chen Junqian headed straight for the literary society activity room in the adjacent experimental building.

He knew this road like the back of his hand. After all, as the president and founder of the literary society, this was almost his second most frequent spot at school, besides the classroom.

Pushing open the door to the activity room, the scene inside was somewhat different from what Chen Junqian had expected.

The lights were not on.

The curtains were drawn back completely, and the huge floor-to-ceiling windows framed most of the night sky and the dappled shadows of the trees on campus. Moonlight poured in like water, turning the entire activity room into a hazy silver-blue hue.