I turned reality into a romantic comedy.

Moreover, Shen Nianqiu had previously heard from her friend Zhu Wenjun that Xu Youwei had even secretly left her mark on the gift Lin Mu gave to Chen Junqian with an invisible pen, but after confessing, she easily gained his forgiveness.

Having learned from this experience, Shen Nianqiu naturally had the courage to take the initiative to approach Lin Mu at this time, while pretending to be nonchalant, as if she had suddenly found some old toy while moving and casually shared that time with her friend.

However, she wasn't actually that calm inside. After all, Xu Youwei and Lin Mu had an excellent relationship, and she had already expressed her emotions directly this time. If Lin Mu really showed any signs of getting angry, Shen Nianqiu had no doubt that she could immediately perform a lightning-fast knee slide.

"Did Sister Shen write this during the World Expo? Is it the one in the book where she 'sent it to her future self'?"

As someone who had also read the book "Dearest Forever," Lin Mu quickly connected the dots and realized the origin of the letter in his hand.

"Yes, it was just sent back to me today. I never thought I would write something like this back then. I just felt I had to apologize to you, Mu Mu. I'm really sorry."

"No, no, there's no need to be so formal."

Seeing the girl, who was a head taller and two years older than him, suddenly bow deeply, Lin Mu was startled and instinctively took two steps back, quickly waving his hands and saying:

"Sister Shen was only twelve years old at that time, not even a junior high school student yet. Moreover, before the World Expo started, Qianqian told me that he wanted to meet you in person. I insisted on going with you. If I made an appointment to meet someone and found that the other person could only spend half of their time with me, I would definitely be a little angry."

"and……"

"And what?"

"Actually, I've heard quite a lot of what Sister Shen wrote above in the past two years, so I think it's alright."

Lin Mu smiled upon hearing this. Ever since she heard the mysterious rumors about Xu Youwei and Chen Junqian, she had been wary of such things. But in fact, compared to the rumors that Xu Youwei mentioned that made people think the two were in a relationship, she heard the most gossip and rumors.

"My grades are so-so, I'm rather short, I seem immature, and actually, we only seem to be close because we were elementary and middle school classmates... There's a lot of this to say, but just like in Sister Shen's letter, I'm jealous because I envy her first. To put it bluntly, I assumed that Qianqian and I were dating, so I thought I was so bad and didn't deserve to date Qianqian."

It can only be said that although the process was very tortuous, the final result miraculously circled back to Xu Youwei's logic. If Youyou herself were present, she would probably be speechless and holding her forehead.

As if to completely alleviate Shen Nianqiu's psychological burden and put her mind at ease, Lin Mu hesitated for a moment before finally taking out his phone from his pocket. He then approached Shen Nianqiu with a similarly mysterious air and whispered:

"And maybe I said some 'bad' things to Sister Shen back then."

As she spoke, she began to browse through the cloud storage space on her phone. One folder contained page after page of photos taken of some text.

"Because I was worried that I might lose one of the diaries someday, I started taking pictures of them all and backing them up here last year. Was the World Expo in the summer of 2010? It should be in July, right? I can't quite remember the exact date. Let me look... July is here."

"[July 1st: Finally, summer vacation has started...] No, [July 2nd: I ate watermelon with Qianqian...] No, [July 3rd: I want to go to Qianqian's house...] [July 4th: Summer homework is so hard...] [July 5th: I played with the talking toy with Qianqian...]... Which day is it exactly?"

Lin Mu's fingers flew across the page as she recited the opening lines of her daily diary. Shen Nianqiu, naturally, wasn't as carefree as Lin Mu, able to so easily forget the time they spent together. With a sigh, she kindly reminded her, reciting the date she had been keeping track of for a very long time:

"It was July 12th."

"Oh, it really is."

Skipping straight to the 12th, Lin Mu first read through the diary herself, then suddenly blushed, lowered her head to look at something, and then showed it to Shen Nianqiu:

"Here."

Shen Nianqiu subconsciously glanced over, and then her lips twitched as she saw this sentence:

[Qianqian finally met his online friend today and seemed very happy. The woman named Shen Nianqiu hugged him tightly as soon as they met...]

She has huge breasts.

As everyone knows, the two of them conspiring to refresh the eavesdropping role. Chen Junqian, who made full use of this mechanism, did not actually eavesdrop on anything, but he still maintained a distance that was neither too close nor too far. After confirming that the atmosphere between Lin Mu and Shen Nianqiu had returned to normal, and that they had even walked back together chatting and laughing, he was about to retreat into the private room. However, when he turned around, he found that classmate Youyou was right behind him.

...All I can say is that this kind of stalking scenario, where the protagonist discovers they're not the only one being stalked, is indeed quite romantic comedy.

After giving Xu Youwei an 'OK' sign, Chen Junqian returned to the private room with her.

Gu Linguo and Chen Xi had just arrived as well. They had just finished their tutoring class and were carrying bags containing textbooks and test papers. They were chatting with Zhu Wenjun about something.

Since learning Chen Xi's true identity, Zhu Wenyun's attitude towards the child has undergone a complete 180-degree turn. If she was not interested before, she is now very interested. She asks questions like, "Little Xi, would you like to be the female lead in my next book?" and "What's it like to wake up your brother every morning?" which makes even the usually aloof Chen Xi a little overwhelmed.

Although Gu Lingguo really wanted to say "Pick me! Pick me!", she immediately thought that doing so might expose Chen Junqian's love for anime and manga, so she decided against it.

It's not that she thinks the girls around Chen Junqian will be like the villains in various school anime, isolating and bullying them after they find out about their niche hobby. The main reason is that Gu Lingguo feels that once they find out about this, her precious time and world with Chen Junqian, which no one else can replace, will be taken over.

To give a simple example, if she were to go to a comic convention now, it would actually only be her and Chen Junqian who would go. Chen Xi went once and has completely lost interest. This way, she can openly tell others, "We are a couple, so we do couple cosplay and can only take photos of the two of us together."

What if Lin Mu, Xu Youwei, Shen Nianqiu, or Zhu Wenyun all follow after it's exposed? Putting aside how torturous it would be to bring a group of people who aren't into anime to a comic convention, her grand plan would be completely impossible to carry out.

Moreover, there's a possibility that someone else might take away her niche in cosplay.

After all, this industry is never short of people who say, "I don't understand or know what this role is, but I made it for my boyfriend/girlfriend because he/she likes it." After reading Zhu Wenyun's new book, Gu Lingguo had no doubt that Xu Youwei was capable of doing such a thing. In that case, the unique niche that she had painstakingly maintained would be destroyed.

Upon seeing Chen Junqian walk in, Chen Xi rushed to sit down next to him as if she had found a savior. Gu Linguo and Xu Youwei were already used to this arrangement. Shen Nianqiu and Zhu Wenyun exchanged a glance before slowly pulling up a chair and sitting together, leaving the other side of Chen Junqian's seat for Lin Mu, who was the last to enter the private room.

"Everyone's here, we can serve the food now."

After saying this to the passing waiter, Chen Junqian poured a drink for everyone. Of course, there was no drinking culture at the dinner party for minors. Instead, they just chatted about their own things, talking about school, exams, and family matters.

Of course, since it was essentially a welcome banquet for Shen Nianqiu, the conversation quickly revolved around her.

In this rare gathering of the six female protagonists, Chen Junqian's sense of accomplishment as a regular guest on the "Inch-Stop Challenge" naturally began to shine brightly, and it became increasingly heated as one question after another was posed.

"Speaking of which, where is Sister Nianqiu staying this time? Is it still a hotel?"

“I rented a house for her, since her older sister will be staying there during holidays. I also rented a room for Lin Guo there, but it’s mainly for storing her things, as it’s not good for her parents to see some of her things.”

"Is Sister Shen's family problem completely resolved?"

"I feel like we can hold out for a while, at least until the college entrance exam. Don't worry, Mu Mu, I'll handle everything."

"Where is Qinqin going for Chinese New Year this year? Or is she staying home with Nianqiu?"

"I'll spend New Year's Eve at home with my older and younger sisters, visit you on the morning of New Year's Day, and then stay overnight at Mumu's place. That should be the plan."

Chen Junqian skillfully deflected all the questions, and just as he picked up a piece of food and put it in his mouth, he heard Zhu Wenyun suddenly ask him, seemingly casually:

"I heard that Junqian is going to Lin'an this time to play the role of Sister Nianqiu's boyfriend?"

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

PS2: Wishing everyone a Happy New Year and all the best!

Chapter 56: Mu Mu was completely unaware of this (4k5)

Upon hearing Zhu Wenyun's question, Chen Junqian's first reaction was to look at Shen Nianqiu sitting next to her. Seeing that his sister also looked surprised, seemingly not expecting Zhu Wenyun to suddenly ask such a question, he calmly withdrew his gaze and nodded in acknowledgment:

"Well, the specific reasons should be explained quite clearly in the book 'Dearest'."

As soon as he uttered this reply, Chen Xi immediately chimed in, speaking up for Chen Junqian:

"Isn't Wenjun herself the author? You should know Shen Jie's family situation best. In this situation, the identities of online friends who have known each other for several years or godbrothers recognized online definitely don't count. Moreover, things have gone this far. Even if the brother doesn't take the initiative to admit it, everyone will definitely think that the two of them are boyfriend and girlfriend."

She and Shen Nianqiu had a good relationship to begin with. In fact, in addition to the large group of seven people, Chen Xi, Shen Nianqiu, and Gu Lingguo had a small group. The main reason that the three of them created that small group was that the other three had now been completely assimilated by Zhu Wenyun. They kept talking about childhood sweethearts, and it seemed like they were forming an alliance, which made the three of them feel a bit out of place.

However, it was clear that Xu Youwei didn't want to hear about this topic, and after remembering that her past "persona" was to argue with Chen Xi, she immediately retorted:

"Why do you necessarily think they're in a romantic relationship? Isn't it normal for good friends to help each other? And everyone's opinion is just that—opinion. It's not like other people's opinions necessarily mean it's true. Rumors about Wenyun and Qinqin have been circulating in Jinzhong for a long time, but they're not actually dating."

After making a blunt introduction using Zhu Wenyun as a prelude, Xu Youwei continued with a soft hum:

"Isn't Mu Mu the same as me?"

"Of course it's different. It's not like your problems require my brother to play the role of a boyfriend to solve them. Rather, since people think that your daily interactions with my brother are like a romantic relationship, wouldn't people think the same about his relationship with Sister Shen? Youwei herself was very moved after reading 'Dearest Forever', right?"

Once they entered the familiar phase of directly confronting Xu Youwei, Chen Xi instantly switched her address from "brother" to "my brother," her tone and logic quite sharp.

"Um, isn't the topic getting a little off track... Am I the only one who's particularly interested in the specifics of what happened?"

Gu Lingguo, who always appeared innocent and virtuous in public, raised her hand so timidly that Xu Youwei immediately rejected her:

"I'm not interested at all."

As she spoke, she turned to look at Lin Mu again:

Where is Mu Mu?

Lin Mu was clearly still immersed in her conversation with Shen Nianqiu. She only snapped out of it when her best friend called her name and quickly shook her head, saying:

"I think this is Sister Shen's privacy. If talking about it will remind her of bad things, I feel there's no need to pry. Just like Qianqian said, it's best to resolve things amicably."

"Mumu can rest assured, Sister Nianqiu will definitely not think of anything bad because of this. On the contrary, it should all be good memories. Otherwise, I would not have brought up this topic in the first place."

This time, it was Zhu Wenyun who took over the conversation. After observing everyone's reactions, she felt that now was indeed a good time. Although Shen Nianqiu's letter did not definitively conclude the romantic storyline like the one written in the book, judging from Lin Mu's attitude, things were progressing smoothly.

"Right, Nianqiu?"

With that in mind, she then took the initiative to bring up the topic with one of the parties involved in the incident.

"Consider it providing me with some material. If it's convenient, could you share your real thoughts on this kind of scenario in real life? Are there moments when you feel it would be better to make it real? Do you suddenly feel a sense of loss at the end? During the process, do you suddenly realize that you might not dislike or even enjoy this way of getting along? Are there moments when you have to pretend to be intimate like a couple to avoid revealing your true relationship to outsiders? Yes..."

"Stop, stop, stop—"

Seeing Zhu Wenyun's increasingly excited demeanor, as if she were about to pull out paper and pen from her bag to create something on the spot, Chen Junqian spoke up first to call a halt.

In romantic comedies, the male protagonist must master the timing of his entrance. While remaining indifferent or powerless as a chaotic scene unfolds before his eyes may create enough dramatic tension in the short term, real-life interpersonal relationships cannot withstand such turmoil, especially when everyone is involved. Once it explodes, the situation will likely become visibly chaotic.

A chaotic situation can certainly be triggered, but it should be triggered in a small, gradual way, with the impact minimized or even harmless, such as between two or three people. It's better to avoid triggering a super-large-scale one.

Let me first share my own thoughts.

With just one sentence, Chen Junqian drew the attention of all the female leads back to his face. He tried his best to balance his emotions and reason, pondering what he, as the male protagonist of a romantic comedy, should do at this moment, but at the same time, he did not want to go against his conscience.

In fact, the latter is more important.

So what is his true intention now?

Without a doubt, it was the girl sitting right across from him.

If this were the set of some kind of visual novel, Chen Junqian was 100% certain that he had completed all the common routes of the female protagonist named Shen Nianqiu, and if he wanted, he could directly enter her personal route next.

So, as the male protagonist who wants to achieve a romantic comedy in real life, is this feeling allowed and can be expressed here?

Taking in the expressions of everyone on the field, Chen Junqian recalled the events of the past few days and the emotional journeys of each person. He then mentally reviewed the adaptability ratings of each female lead using the system's personal panel, and finally made a decision, speaking in a calm tone:

"I don't know how my sister will answer, but the questions that Yun asked should actually be asked to me. My answer is very simple: I think it's a good thing. It's not because it can help my sister solve her family problems, but simply because I think if it really is like this... I would like it very much."

"So, if my sister agrees."

"When I take you home for Chinese New Year this year, we can have this kind of relationship."

Shen Nianqiu, who hadn't participated in the discussion, was also stunned upon hearing this. After all, Chen Junqian's two sentences were too ambiguous, making it almost impossible to tell whether he really meant "I like you" or "Let's continue pretending to be boyfriend and girlfriend." So, she almost subconsciously looked into his eyes.

It's the former.

The moment their eyes met in mid-air, she immediately had this thought.

"Can--"

The moment Shen Nianqiu uttered that answer, Zhu Wenyun, standing beside her, broke the silence with a smile and a teasing tone:

"How could Junqian say something like this? Is he addicted to pretending to be a couple? Bringing a fake girlfriend home for the New Year is something you can't do for another ten years. Besides, don't childhood sweethearts always have that kind of agreement like, 'If we're not married by a certain age, we might as well just get together'? So it's perfectly fine for him to come to me then."

Apart from Gu Lingguo, who immediately grasped the underlying meaning, the other three were subconsciously led astray by Zhu Wenyun's words. Lin Mu even subconsciously picked up on the conversation Zhu Wenyun had intentionally left open: