I turned reality into a romantic comedy.

"How's the new book coming along? It's been almost half a year since your last novel."

"Yes, the editor asked me to submit the final draft before 2015."

"2015? Isn't that just a few days away? Has Wenyun finished writing it?"

"Let me think about it, it's about right, but there's still one plot point I haven't figured out, or rather, I'm not satisfied with no matter how I write it?"

"I didn't ask about the plot... Can I offer some suggestions?"

Xu Youwei instinctively wanted to say, "Didn't you ask Qinqin?", but she swallowed the words back halfway through. Zhu Wenjun, who was being questioned, didn't answer immediately either. Instead, she deliberately paused for a second, staring directly at Xu Youwei's eyes, which were still looking down at the phone screen and sparkling with joy. Then, unexpectedly, she uttered something that Xu Youwei had never expected:

"By the way, can I ask Junqian to go out with me today?"

As she wished, the other person finally looked up from their phone. In an instant, the sweet bubbles of love in their clear black and white pupils disappeared, replaced by an emotion that was both unfamiliar and exciting to Zhu Wenjun, carrying a strange coldness, just like the two words that came out of their mouths.

"No."

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

PS2: An emergency suddenly occurred, and I've been dealing with this until now. I'll make up for the missing parts tomorrow. Sorry.

Chapter 34: Not Friend A (6k6)

On his way to the agreed meeting place with Xu Youwei, Chen Junqian noticed that an achievement that had been barely noticeable for a while was starting to flash brightly in his mind. After being reborn for so many years, he didn't know whether it was because his interpersonal relationships had begun to stabilize or because the system's threshold had increased significantly, but the achievement "[In Progress]" that had been shining almost continuously a few years ago had almost been forgotten by Chen Junqian. After all, he didn't want to achieve it at all.

Ultimately, even the same plot will be restructured and accepted as time goes by and the times change. In the early 2000s, violent female characters were popular in romantic comedy anime, and the "battlefield" scenes really involved pulling hair, slapping, or even hitting each other with bamboo swords until they bled.

Now, the numerous light novel adaptations in next year's January anime lineup, whose titles alone are enough to make you feel suffocated, have blatantly admitted their 'golden ticket' mentality. The intensity of the chaotic love triangles has been reduced to almost zero, and the overall tone is more comedic.

However, Chen Junqian didn't want to delve into any discussion about the changes or the transformations they reflected. He simply felt that in reality, the best scenario for a "battlefield" was a "shameful scene." If it couldn't be triggered when everyone was still young and naive, then there would be no need to trigger it again later.

After all, this age is the most sensitive and complex period for teenagers. They can easily destroy the interpersonal relationships they have built up over the past few years with just a word or a single action. For Chen Junqian, who has always wanted to achieve a happy ending for all the characters in a romantic comedy in real life, this is a situation that he needs to be constantly vigilant about and avoid.

This sudden flash was as quick as a summer thunderstorm. It started off with a frequency and brightness that seemed to say, "Oh my god, today is the day!" But it quickly faded away and returned to its initial state of silence. Compared to the other achievements that could be triggered repeatedly, it looked rather dull and lackluster.

Chen Junqian, still unaware of what had happened, went to the appointment. When he arrived, he saw Xu Youwei waiting there. However, unlike their usual behavior when they went out, Youwei seemed distracted today, leaning against a lamppost by the street with her head down, seemingly playing on her phone.

"What are you looking at? Why are you all so focused on one thing?"

Chen Junqian himself was past the age of deliberately walking quietly behind his girlfriend to scare her, so when he saw her, he just walked over normally and asked her a question from a distance of two steps, giving her enough time and space to react.

"Qinqin is here. It's nothing, I was just chatting with Wenyun."

As if to prove her point, Xu Youwei quickly waved her phone screen in front of Chen Junqian. Although it only lasted a few seconds, it was indeed a chat page with Zhu Wenyun, and he could see the words "new book" twice.

"Talking about her new book? I heard from Wenyun that it should be finished soon."

"Yes, the manuscript will be submitted before the end of the year."

As she spoke, Xu Youwei put her phone back in her pocket and quickly closed the distance between herself and her boyfriend, leaning close to him. She almost wanted Chen Junqian to add the line "With you and me, let's go for it!" even though their main roles in the game were actually mid and jungle.

"By the way, Qinqin, I have to tell you—no, you should know this—the protagonist of Wenyun's new book is actually based on me! No wonder she kept asking me about you and me. Now I have no choice but to support her. When the book comes out next year, I'm going to buy two, no, three copies!"

It was clear that she was quite happy. Even though it was a long-awaited date for the two of them, Xu Youwei unusually kept talking about Zhu Wenyun. Subconsciously connecting this to the strange phenomenon of Chen Junqian's achievement "[The Shura Field is in Progress]", she subtly began to try to ask for more details. Then, she easily got the whole story from Youyou.

"Oh yeah, before I left, she suddenly asked me out of the blue if she could ask me out. I was definitely unhappy at the time, because she already knew that I had made plans with Qinqin in advance. But later she said that she had a plot in her new book that she had revised several times and didn't know how to write. When she saw my reaction and answer, she suddenly had an inspiration and told me to look forward to it."

As someone who had been involved in the creation of Zhu Wenyun's new book from beginning to end, and even the person he initially gave the subject to, Chen Junqian actually had no recollection of having read the passage Xu Youwei had just described. However, he certainly wouldn't be foolish enough to expose this lie, so he simply smiled and continued listening as Xu Youwei, holding his hand, led him forward, saying smugly:

"Actually, I understand. Don't be fooled by the fact that Wenyun is a romance novelist with a lot of fans. She has never actually been in a relationship. She can't write many of the plots without personal experience. Wenyun also said that she had noticed the relationship between us a long time ago, but she didn't plan to tell anyone else. She also taught me other things."

"What is it?"

"It's about how to talk to Mu Mu. Qin Qin probably knows that Wen Yun's new book is her first dual-female-lead work, so for the past six months she's been thinking about how to ensure that no one gets hurt. Actually, I've been thinking about this kind of problem before too. It would be even better if she, a great writer, could help."

At this point, Chen Junqian also realized what was going on. He could only say that the observation over the past six months and the contact over the past two months had indeed been useful. Zhu Wenyun had now accurately identified Xu Youwei's sore spots and pain points, and had begun to address them by 'helping to solve' them in a targeted manner to gain her trust. In essence, this was no different from how he had treated Shen Nianqiu before.

After all, Xu Youwei now is definitely not the same bad girl who could say things like "I don't think I want my childhood sweetheart" like she did a few years ago. So how to deal with Lin Mu has always been the most important question she has been thinking about since her secret relationship with Chen Junqian began. Now that she has suddenly received help from Zhu Wenyun, she naturally feels happy.

It can only be said that when it comes to love, Xu Youwei still has the very normal but naive childish thinking of "he has already played with me, so you guys don't need to play with him anymore". She naturally believes that since Zhu Wenyun already knows about her relationship with Chen Junqian, regardless of whether she had any other thoughts about Chen Junqian before, she should know better and withdraw at this time.

"But that should be a long way off. We've spent less time together this semester than before, so there's no way Mumu would find out. Besides, she only asks Qinqin to go out for exercise or shopping now, so it's perfectly fine for the two of us to go out like this in the future."

Seemingly realizing that her words had been somewhat boastful, Xu Youwei quickly added a couple of sentences to defend herself:

"But we definitely can't neglect our studies! After all, the high school entrance exam is just around the corner, and after that, it will be the first summer vacation without homework... two and a half months, how about we go out and have fun together then?"

Seeing Xu Youwei already daydreaming about summer despite it being winter, Chen Junqian didn't immediately agree. Instead, he answered rather conservatively, or rather cautiously:

"There are still a full six months left. It's not too late to decide after the high school entrance exam. Although the high school entrance exam will be over in mid-June, there won't actually be a two-and-a-half-month summer vacation. Military training should start in the second half of August."

"Oh right, Ningzhong High School also has military training, I think it lasts for a week? But it should just be marching and kicking, I guess. I hope the sun won't be too strong those two days."

Xu Youwei herself didn't have any particular thoughts about military training. After all, she was the kind of girl who loved outdoor activities the most. She was the kind of girl who, even after going through military training ten times, would never encounter the typical plot of a female protagonist fainting during military training and then being rescued by the male protagonist, which is common in domestic urban romance novels.

The two chatted casually for a while and soon walked into a department store next to the road. The contrast between the heated interior and the cold outside was striking. Xu Youwei quickly took off her bulky down jacket and immediately felt much lighter.

"I think your Class 5's performance at this year's New Year's Day celebration was a group song, right?"

"Our class is... so boring."

"Well, there's no way around it. It seems like more than ten out of the sixteen classes in the whole grade chose to sing in the chorus. The main thing is that there's not much chance of making a mistake. All the students can get on stage and show their faces, and the rehearsal time won't take too long. It's definitely very cost-effective."

As is common in Chinese middle schools, Ningzhong has always only allowed graduating junior high students to participate in its New Year's Eve performance. Firstly, since they are about to leave school, it's a good way to create a lasting memory. Secondly, since they are going to stay at school for evening self-study anyway, they only need to take one evening self-study session from there.

"Is Qinqin the lead singer? I feel like every time we go to karaoke together, you sing the best."

"Xiao Xi sang very well too."

“I’ve never been with her, but I think Qinqin sings the best, even better than professional singers.”

Actually, Xu Youwei's words can't be entirely attributed to "beauty is in the eye of the beholder." With the added advantage of his multi-talented nature, coupled with his naturally good voice, Chen Junqian's singing level, while not enough to make it in the entertainment industry, is definitely among the top in his peers. This is even without him pursuing further professional training, because even with the added advantage of efficient learning, his time and energy are still limited.

To be honest, besides his skills in recording, editing, makeup, filming, and so on—all closely related to the world of anime and manga—he has truly made significant strides in the past two years, progressing from 'basic knowledge at a high level' to 'professional level' in various talents…

"But I'm not the lead singer, I'm the pianist."

"Piano? So Qinqin can play this? But I do seem to recall Lin Guo mentioning it before; she seems to be learning piano herself, right?"

"Yes, I also practice on her piano. It's mainly because she said she wanted to see me play the piano at this arts festival, so I took the initiative to talk to the homeroom teacher about it."

"Eh...why?"

"It's because we've been watching an anime recently that's related to playing the piano, and Lin Guo has a small competition to participate in this winter break. This is the first time she's participated in a competition with an audience since she started learning the piano, so she wants to see what I look like first so she can learn from me."

After all, Xu Youwei wasn't exactly an anime expert either, so Chen Junqian didn't feel comfortable directly mentioning the name of "Your Lie in April," which was already halfway through the season. Perhaps it was because Lin Guo herself played the piano, and the music, production, and performance of this anime were indeed quite outstanding, making it her favorite series of the season so far, which led to her request to him.

"Oh, I see. But that's good too. I haven't seen Qinqin play the piano yet. I feel like he'll be really handsome when he does. Luckily, we'll be on winter break next Valentine's Day, otherwise Qinqin would definitely be getting a ton of confessions from girls."

Chen Junqian remained noncommittal about Xu Youwei's complaints. After all, now that he was almost sixteen and a high school student, he could increasingly understand why the main characters in romantic comedies were all within this age range. If the male lead was a first-year high school student, then his younger sister and junior would be in their third year of junior high, and his senior would be in their second year of high school. In fact, in the work "Your Lie in April," Arima Kousei and Miyazono Kaori were simply fifteen-year-old third-year junior high students.

Because, whether from a physiological or psychological perspective, teenagers in this age group do indeed have all the qualities to 'pretend to be adults and date'. Leaving aside precocious individuals like Zhu Wenyun, Xu Youwei, who is standing in front of him right now, is the best example.

The shopping mall was decorated with Christmas decorations everywhere on the eve of Christmas. The most eye-catching thing was the Christmas tree that was already decorated and placed in the center of the lobby on the first floor. On this already lively weekend, it attracted several couples to take photos around it.

"Qinqin".

Looking at the Christmas tree in front of her, Xu Youwei suddenly thought of another theory proposed by her best friend, and the online name "Senmu" that her friend had been using for years, which was the same as the nickname "Sensen" of Chen Junqian's cat. Then she turned around, ignoring the passersby around her, and looked straight at him, handing him her phone:

"Shall we take a picture here too?"

"Great, this background is indeed impressive."

As one of the people in Guoning who was least afraid of being accused of dating too early, Chen Junqian smiled and took the phone without hesitation when Xu Youwei suggested it. With a flick of his wrist, his slender fingers skillfully switched to the front-facing camera.

"Hey, come closer, otherwise you won't be able to get the trees in the shot. Actually, the star at the very top is quite pretty."

In fact, Chen Junqian didn't even need to remind her. Xu Youwei had already moved closer to him on her own, her shoulder pressed tightly against his arm, and she could feel the warmth of the boy's body even through his sweater.

"Look at the camera."

As Chen Junqian tilted his head slightly, he also bent down a little. To match Xu Youwei's height, his head naturally tilted to her side, and their ears and temples gently touched.

They were surrounded by a bustling crowd, with twinkling lights overhead, but on the small phone screen, there were only the two of them.

Xu Youwei looked at Chen Junqian on the screen, and he was looking at her in the camera lens.

Then, she made a cliché but cute peace sign and pressed it against Chen Junqian's cheek.

"Click".

The flash went off, freezing the moment.

It looks like another new photo is about to appear on her wall.

Sure enough, even though Zhu Wenyun's writing was so good that it made her blush and her heart race, she still preferred the feeling and experience of truly holding the other person in her arms to sitting at home reading descriptive texts.

2014 was both good and bad for Hsu Yu-Wei, but she still believes that the good parts will get even better next year, while the bad parts will not get even worse.

Because the former refers to others, while the latter refers to oneself.

Changing yourself is always easier than changing others; this is the simplest yet most useful lesson she learned during this time.

Although he told Xu Youwei that he usually practiced at Gu Lingguo's house, Chen Junqian's actual practice room was in his new home, which only the two of them knew about at the moment. This was the place where he practiced and prepared for the New Year's Day performance a week later.

The cold air was kept out by the thick double-glazed soundproof glass and beige velvet curtains, while the air inside was dry and warm, filled with a vibrant and passionate atmosphere. Chen Junqian was sitting at a black grand piano, his back straight, his fingers flying across the black and white keys as he played Chopin's Ballade No. 1 in G minor.

This is the final piece he prepared for the upcoming New Year's Day performance. The piece is technically complex and has a wide range of emotions. From the initial heavy sighs to the hymns in the middle section, and finally to the hysterical outburst at the end, every note requires a high degree of concentration. However, in this environment, which should be extremely serious and not only cannot tolerate any disturbances, but even breathing should be done carefully, there is another girl who is a little out of place.

As another person who knew the location, this was Gu Lingguo's first time here since her summer cosplay photoshoot. However, compared to her chattering last time, she was unusually quiet today.

The heavy down jacket was taken off and placed aside. The girl was wearing a warm-looking beige sweater, and her bare feet were tucked into her trouser legs to keep warm. She sat cross-legged on the wooden floor, about a meter away from the piano bench.

She wasn't using her phone, nor was she eating. She even seemed to be deliberately lowering her breathing rate. She just hugged her knees with both hands, rested her chin on her kneecaps, and stared intently at Chen Junqian's profile.

That look in his eyes was focused, affectionate, and even carried a hint of deliberately crafted fragility.

At least that's how Gu Lingguo herself felt.

As the piece ended, Chen Junqian slowly removed his hands from the keys. Although the final chord had ended, he remained still for a few seconds to maintain the integrity of the ending, until the invisible tension in the air completely dissipated. Only then did he let out a long breath and turn his head away.

"Why are you still sitting there? There are chairs in the room."

Gu Lingguo didn't jump up with a smile as usual. Instead, she remained in the position of hugging her knees and even blinked dramatically, raising her index finger to her lips and making a "shh" sound.

"Deduct 10 points for ruining the atmosphere."

She lowered her voice, her tone filled with a kind of sacred, ritualistic quality:

"Didn't you realize it, brother? Didn't you feel it when you were playing the piano just now? That gaze from behind, full of bondage and a sense of destiny?"

Chen Junqian picked up the water glass from the violin lid, took a sip, and raised an eyebrow:

"However, how can 'My Lie in April' be considered a romantic comedy? Even though it hasn't finished airing yet, I feel like I can already guess where the ending will go. Kaoru is practically a regular at the hospital."

He paused again, his gaze sweeping over Gu Lingguo's rosy, healthy face, which even appeared slightly pink from the strong heating, and then he remarked:

"Well, I can only say it's completely unlike them."