I turned reality into a romantic comedy.

As Shen Nianqiu watched, a smile unconsciously crept onto her lips.

It turns out they've known each other for so long.

Recalling what Chen Junqian had just said, Shen Nianqiu subconsciously opened the function to search for chat history by date and flipped to the very beginning, which was six or seven years ago. Back then, Chen Junqian would share everything with her, whether it was Lin Mu's, Xu Youwei's, or Zhu Wenyun's. That's why she had a certain sense of superiority in front of them.

Suddenly, Shen Nianqiu's fingers stopped.

The screen displays a conversation about another girl:

[Your younger brother's grandmother's goddaughter's daughter, so she's your god-sister?]

Yes, we have a custom of adopting godparents where we're from.

"What's wrong?"

Chen Junqian, who had gotten another box from the side and put the old phone in, saw Shen Nianqiu standing there in a daze and subconsciously asked her a question.

"……fine."

The girl looked away and said this.

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Chapter 17: Cross-Server Chat and Cross-Server Chat (5k)

Shen Nianqiu was sent back to school by Chen Junqian that evening, but he stayed in Lin'an for another day to continue to closely monitor Shen Nianqiu's parents' actions. After all, although Shen Nianqiu's own logic seemed to be fine, reality is sometimes more illogical than the plot of a novel, and he could not guarantee that they would really give up after failing to find anything, just like his sister said.

A day later, Yang Suling successfully gave birth to a son in the delivery room. The child's name was officially confirmed that day. Unlike Shen Nianqiu, whose name was chosen to commemorate the death of her previous child, this newborn was given the resounding name 'Shen Tianci', the meaning of which is self-evident.

However, if these two can truly devote themselves wholeheartedly to the child after this and ignore Shen Nianqiu as before, there might still be room for maneuver. Otherwise, they might really have to take the most extreme step.

With this in mind, after witnessing the joyful family inside and outside the delivery room, and experiencing firsthand the drama of human joys and sorrows that are not shared by others, Chen Junqian got up and returned to Guoning with mixed feelings. It was already October 3rd.

Although Xu Youwei's fervor hadn't dissipated after more than three minutes, and she had been holding back from contacting Chen Junqian even during the National Day holiday, Chen Junqian couldn't just leave his girlfriend there unattended. So, after returning home, he went to find Youyou first, using the excuse of balancing work and rest to call her out and have a great time all day.

Of course, dating shouldn't be a one-sided affair, since he, the male protagonist of a real-life romantic comedy, is already dating both of them. So, after Xu Youwei, it's Zhu Wenyun's turn. However, it seems that because the novel based on Shen Nianqiu is currently receiving high praise and is being sold, and the two have a good relationship, Chen Junqian also told Zhu Wenyun about what happened in Lin'an these past two days. He wonders if this might inspire her to write a sequel.

The reason I said "later" is that Zhu Wenyun is currently engrossed in writing her new book with two female protagonists, so after discussing Shen Nianqiu, the literary girl naturally shifted the topic to that:

"Junqian asked me to write an ending where everyone can be happy. I thought about it for a long time and felt that the difficulty or key point of this kind of thing is indeed in the setting of the female protagonist. For example, the current character setting of my book is indeed as you said at the time. Theoretically speaking, it is possible to write such an ending."

Although both of them knew perfectly well who the male lead, female lead, and second female lead in the book were, they certainly wouldn't say it outright. After carefully observing how the three of them interacted in real life, both inside and outside of school, Zhu Wenyun came to this conclusion.

"But the requirements for character design are still very high. After all, even in novels, many readers will take it seriously. In my opinion, to achieve this kind of three-person ending, all the female protagonists must not have an extreme possessiveness, especially the female lead. Even if she does, she cannot show it at the beginning, otherwise the whole story will not be able to continue and will directly become a sweet childhood sweetheart romance novel, which I have written too many times before."

"Hmm...then what?"

"Then we can't just turn her into a background character because of this. The foundation of her relationship with the male lead must be solid enough, and it must be the most solid among all the characters. We need to give the reader the feeling that if she had expressed her feelings earlier, she would have won long ago. So even in the final episode, she still has to feel like the main heroine. Only by combining subjective concession with objective lead can the development of the story not be unbalanced."

At this point, Zhu Wenyun sighed again:

"Of course, all of the above are my theoretical ideas, but in fact, if you ask me to put them into writing, the progress is still zero. This is because the dramatic conflicts that will inevitably occur cannot be glossed over, and the balance of various events and emotions is much more difficult to grasp than in previous works. Moreover, most importantly, I cannot make the audience truly hate a certain character in the process."

"If all else fails, Wenyun can consider changing the subject matter first."

"...If someone hadn't told me before that they wanted me to write stories of this kind in the future, that would have been even better. But now that things have come to this, I can't just change it. Besides, I can't say I've completely lost my inspiration lately. If I keep getting writer's block, I'll change the second female lead's character. Because at least I'm very clear about what it's like to be pretending to be in a relationship with a guy behind his back."

"So it's possible to change a character's persona on the spot?"

"After all, everything is still in the draft stage. If only the second female lead could be as obedient as Sister Nianqiu and come to me for an interview to tell me the truth, instead of getting lost in sweet memories every time I ask her about this kind of thing. This kind of second female lead should be discovered by the female lead by accident, because this kind of plot is most appropriate for her. Other people, oh, other characters would be much worse."

As she spoke, the literary-minded girl brought up the new female lead character she had just proposed:

"If it were the character design I revised, it would feel like there would be absolutely no dramatic impact. On the one hand, she wouldn't feel any excessive guilt or self-blame towards the female lead, which is close to betrayal. On the other hand, she wouldn't hold such thoughts and go through the 'trying to prove that you can't separate by separating' ex-boyfriend literature plot. It feels like she would just openly admit it and share the past."

"Of course, this is all based on the premise that the female lead and the male lead's character settings remain unchanged."

After a round of indirect and metaphorical discussions about the new book, Zhu Wenyun's thoughts finally seemed to jump back from the plot of the book to reality. Then, remembering that the person sitting in front of her was her boyfriend whom she was pretending to be dating, she lazily leaned her head over and whispered against Chen Junqian's chest:

“I don’t need you to say those things to me, so you have to make up for this share so that I can say other things.”

People with low self-esteem need encouragement, while those who work hard need praise.

She no longer wants to lose the confidence she has painstakingly cultivated over the years as a romance novelist—the confidence to live independently and confront family problems—just for someone's encouragement, and to revert to the insecure girl she once was who couldn't even distinguish between rice and weeds.

However, this does not mean that Zhu Wenyun has nothing to ask for. Rather, it is more accurate to say that since winning the essay award and giving Chen Junqian the first person she could ever be affectionate with after she could remember, she has had this kind of emotional need. It's just that she no longer acts affectionately like she did back then, and can only repeat phrases like "Praise me, praise me!"

"Actually, that's what I've always thought, which is why I asked you, Wenjun, to help Sister Shen. You were my only choice."

"Okay! I'll go get you some pear soup; I just cooked it myself."

Ever since she said two years ago that she would make sure Chen Junqian had something to drink whenever he came to her house all year round, Zhu Wenyun has been working towards that goal. The selection of drinks at home is no longer limited to what she had in her childhood, where she only had leftover drinks from relatives during the Lunar New Year.

"for you."

"Thank you for asking, Yun."

Chen Junqian reached out and took the bowl of hot drink, which was especially nourishing for the lungs in early autumn. At that moment, a certain achievement in his mind was finally fulfilled.

[A must-have for lovingly prepared bento boxes], already reached 1,000 views.

Zhu Wenyun achieved this for the first time.

It was ultimately achieved by Zhu Wenyun.

All of this was accomplished by Zhu Wenyun.

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

"Sigh, if reality were a romantic comedy, then you'd undoubtedly be the worst male protagonist, because you've stood the female lead up three—no, today's the 5th, that's four times already. The Shanghai anime conventions are all over..."

Looking at the girl in front of him, whose acting was either too superb or genuinely heartfelt, so much so that he hadn't even noticed when she had gotten onto his bed, Chen Junqian pretended not to see her and apologized first.

"I'm sorry, I think it's because the National Day holiday is only seven days long, which is too short."

"...What you said makes so much sense, senior. I'm speechless."

After rolling around on the bed a couple more times in a frustrated state, Gu Linguo seemed to have regained her normal mood:

"Since we can't go to the anime convention, why don't we continue playing romantic comedy role-playing games?"

"Does Lin Guo have any good ideas?"

"some!"

When this topic comes up, Gu Lingguo seems even more excited than Chen Junqian, who first brought up the project. If there weren't a whiteboard behind him, he would probably stand up and start drawing a whole page on PTT with a marker.

"We've already recreated all sorts of scenarios, like bumping into each other on the street while carrying bread, wearing cosplay costumes and taking photos while the back zipper wouldn't zip up, and accidentally getting locked in the same small space, but there are definitely some truly classic scenarios we haven't tried yet, right?"

"Um, which one?"

Cross-server chat—cross-server chat!

As Gu Lingguo spoke, Chen Junqian nodded in realization, then searched his mind and quickly found the corresponding achievement: "[What is this guy talking about?]".

"I've always felt that cross-server chat is a classic plot in every anime-style romantic comedy. It's the kind of situation where two people are talking about completely different topics, but their logic miraculously works out, and both think the other understands them. In the end, it leads to a huge, embarrassing misunderstanding. It feels like a whole bunch of images are already in your mind as you talk."

"But as Lin Guo said, this kind of thing can only appear as a model in the world of anime and manga, because the probability of this happening in reality is too low, no, it should be said that it simply does not exist."

As he spoke, Chen Junqian shrugged.

The fact that he himself has never triggered the achievement since his rebirth, and has never even seen it flash by in a pretentious manner, gives us a glimpse into the situation.

"Because this kind of plot requires a high degree of coincidence, information gap between the two parties, and a certain degree of tacit stupidity. Many comedies originally created comedic effects by creating information gap between the two parties through misunderstandings. So it is only natural that romantic comedies follow this classic creative model. But in reality, the way it is portrayed feels like some sketches, and it has to be a topic and misunderstanding specifically for the romantic side."

"In conclusion, this scenario is theoretically perfect, but it's very difficult to implement. What's more, we two are too familiar with each other and understood the joke from the beginning, so to achieve the so-called cross-server chat, we have to artificially create an information gap."

Gu Lingguo's eyes darted around at Chen Junqian's explanation, a sly smile playing on her lips. It seemed she had already devised a countermeasure:

"Let's play a game. Each of us will set a hidden theme in our minds, and then communicate using only vague pronouns, such as 'that,' 'this,' or 'first time,' without telling the other person. Let's see if we can achieve that kind of nonsensical, comedic effect in cross-server chat."

"It feels good."

Noticing that the sense of accomplishment flashed in his mind in sync with Gu Linguo's words, Chen Junqian, who did find the method somewhat interesting, quickly nodded in agreement.

"Okay! It's settled then!"

Gu Lingguo quickly took out two slips of paper from the drawer of the desk next to her:

“We write down the themes we have in mind on paper, fold them up, and put them in the middle of the table. After a while, when the conversation ends, or when someone breaks down and can no longer act out the scene, we open them up to see what we have to say.”

"Okay, I'll start writing then."

Taking a pen from the side, Chen Junqian pondered for a moment before quickly writing down a line.

At the same time, Gu Linguo also wrote down his own content:

[I really want to cosplay as a couple with my senior at a comic convention]

After both of them put down their pens, folded their notes, and placed them there, Gu Lingguo broke the silence first, deciding to take the initiative. She then quickly immersed herself in the script in her mind.

"Senior, actually, I've been keeping this in my heart for a long time, and I've always wanted to find an opportunity to formally bring it up with you."

Chen Junqian's heart skipped a beat involuntarily.

Good grief, is this a critical hit right from the start? These lines sound like a confession prelude! Even though I know it's just acting for cross-server chat, this kind of opening... I checked the panel and sure enough, once this kind of anime-style segment is entered, this kid's romantic comedy adaptability skyrockets to A!

Chen Junqian took a deep breath, trying to suppress the smile on his lips. On one hand, he was thinking about what the other person had written on the note to make them say those things, and on the other hand, he had already put his own script into account based on the contents of his note. He nodded and replied:

"Just say it directly, because sometimes I really want to know what you think."

"Okay, then I'll just get straight to the point."

Gu Linguo leaned forward, his gaze intense:

"Actually, I've always felt that we're the most compatible. Although I've considered being alone, these things definitely feel better when done together. Besides, we've been working on our relationship for so long, and you know my body so well. I also feel that your physical condition is perfectly fine, so it's definitely the most reassuring thing to do with you."

Upon hearing Gu Linguo's suggestive remarks, Chen Junqian's heart began to race, and he also started spouting nonsense with a straight face:

"Is that so? Although Lin Guo is the most suitable candidate that I carefully selected, things are still moving too fast, aren't they?"

"Is it fast?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Lingguo frowned slightly, her beautiful eyebrows furrowing, and solemnly raised a finger:

"Actually, it's already quite slow. Before, it was all done by myself. Although I was able to suppress my shame and manage to do it because I thought of my seniors, it's definitely better to have two people. Besides, as long as we're in a place where no one knows us, we're free to do whatever we want. I hope we can try it out together as soon as possible."

"Besides, you must have had experience in this area before. After all, you are a senior. If possible, I would definitely like to be guided by you, and I will definitely work hard. I believe that as long as we work together, we can achieve 100% (role) fit."

Before Chen Junqian could react, the girl grabbed his arm again, her eyes burning with desire as she extended a final invitation:

"So, how about we try it out right here tonight? I've measured the size of the (cosplay outfit), and it should fit perfectly. If you're not used to it, I can help you."

Having reached this point in the conversation, Chen Junqian, whose face had already been run over by a car wheel, had no choice but to raise his hands in surrender, muttering under his breath:

"Is Lin Guo just using cross-server chat as an excuse to say weird things?"

"What's strange about that? Senior, you can look at the contents of the note. It matches perfectly."