I turned reality into a romantic comedy.

After saying that, she took Chen Junqian's hand and walked out of her room. They went down the spiral staircase, and the sound of their footsteps made two middle-aged men who were sitting on the sofa in the living room on the first floor look up.

Xu Zhiling's gaze first fell on the hand that his daughter was holding with Chen Junqian, and then he looked at her face, just in time to meet Xu Youwei's upturned lips.

This was perhaps the first time since June of last year that the other person had smiled at him, his father, like that.

Clearly, his daughter was much more satisfied with the New Year's gift he gave her this morning than with the large red envelope he made last night.

Chapter Six: Uncle, you mustn't! (Two chapters combined)

Watching the two children slowly descend the stairs from the second floor, Xu Zhiling casually and naturally steered the conversation in that direction:

"I heard that my daughter Youyou is also your son Junqian's deskmate at school. No wonder I said her grades have improved a lot this semester."

"Not at all, it's all about helping each other. My Junqian has also received a lot of care from his daughter."

"Then we should help each other more in the future. Junqian has been ranked first in the grade for more than a year without losing it. He's promising."

As he spoke, Xu Zhiling waved to Chen Junqian, inviting him to sit beside him. He then picked up a gold-wrapped Ferrero Rocher chocolate ball from the tray on the coffee table and handed it to him, speaking with considerable enthusiasm:

"Don't be shy here, eat whatever you want."

"Thank you, Uncle Xu."

Even a decade or more later, the chocolate ball wouldn't be cheap; now, it's considered a luxury snack. Chen Junqian tore open the packaging and popped it into his mouth, but before he could even savor the taste, Xu Youwei pulled him up from his seat again.

"I haven't even washed up yet, why did you sit down by yourself? Come keep me company first. If you like it, I'll give you two boxes to take home and eat slowly when we go back later."

Watching his son being led away by Xu Youwei to the back washbasin area, Chen Jun could only pick up his teacup and take a sip of hot tea to slightly conceal his subtle embarrassment. After all, she was doing this for his career as his father.

"To be honest, this is the first time I've ever seen Youyou so clingy to a boy her own age."

Faced with his superior's increasingly blatant hints, Chen Jun gave a vague and ambiguous response:

"They're still just kids. At this age, they always really like what they like."

"Too."

Upon hearing this, Xu Zhiling simply smiled, then stroked the handle of his teacup with a touch of melancholy and said:

"But because they're all still kids, sometimes I just can't figure out what they're thinking or what they're planning to do. You've probably noticed that Yoyo isn't very close to me."

Although he had already heard all the gossip about his company chairman's family from his son, Chen Jun decided against offering his opinions on such matters. Therefore, he simply smiled and gave perfunctory responses. Xu Zhiling, however, understood this as well and didn't press him for details, instead shifting the conversation back to work.

“Work hard after you go to Tangshan. I appointed you as the person in charge because I believe in your abilities. After all, you have been a long-time employee of our factory for more than ten or twenty years, and I have always seen your performance.”

"Please rest assured, Chairman Xu, I will set off as soon as possible after the New Year."

"Don't be so nervous. Just learn, observe, and ask questions when you get there."

Just as the adults started discussing adult matters, Chen Junqian was pulled to the sink by Xu Youwei, where he accompanied her to the mirror to take out his toothpaste, toothbrush, and toothpaste... So, is it really necessary for someone to accompany you for this kind of thing?

"Speaking of which, does Qinqin prefer washing her face or brushing her teeth?"

As Xu Youwei squeezed Ya Ya Le toothpaste onto her toothbrush, she asked Chen Junqian, who was standing behind her in the mirror, "This is what I'm asking you."

"Pretty much, why would there be such a problem? But Zhong Yu probably prefers washing his face. For a while, this kid would come to school every morning after sleeping in and wouldn't brush his teeth, he would just wipe his face and his breath would stink."

"Yes, many people find brushing their teeth troublesome and washing their face easier, so they prefer washing their face. But personally, I definitely find brushing my teeth more interesting than washing my face."

With a toothbrush in her mouth, Xu Youwei continued to express her views on brushing teeth, her words slightly muffled:

"From toothpaste to toothbrushes, it feels like the whole society is desperately trying to get kids to enjoy brushing their teeth."

Xu Youwei spat out another mouthful of foamy water and pointed to the colorful toothpaste tube next to her:

"There are so many flavors, like orange, strawberry, watermelon, tangerine... Rather than talking about preventing cavities, whitening, or protecting gums, the most important thing is that they look and smell good, don't you think, Qinqin?"

"That makes some sense."

As the toothpaste he uses at home, Chen Junqian's reason for always buying the Ya Ya Le brand is actually quite simple. Besides its flashy appearance and various fruit flavors, the main reason is that each tube of toothpaste comes with a small toy such as a comic book or a board game, which is the most attractive part.

Seemingly somewhat dissatisfied with Chen Junqian's answer, after meticulously brushing every tooth and rinsing her mouth, Xu Youwei turned back, suddenly bringing her face very close to Chen Junqian's, then exhaling a breath of air at him before smugly pulling away again.

"How is it? Doesn't it smell good? I love this orange flavor. I feel like even my saliva tastes sweet like oranges after brushing my teeth."

"It does have a fairly noticeable orange flavor."

Caught off guard by Xu Youwei's sudden attack, Chen Junqian was momentarily stunned. Seeing that she seemed about to breathe on him a few more times, he quickly handed her the towel hanging nearby.

"You'd better wash your face quickly, I still have to visit other relatives today, and I'll be going back soon."

"Ugh—boring."

Deliberately dragging out the last syllable, Xu Youwei soaked a towel in hot water while shrugging her shoulders in a rather deliberate manner. Through the dressing mirror in front of her, Chen Junqian could see all her little expressions and movements clearly.

"I thought Qinqin came here specifically to spend the New Year with me."

"That's not realistic, and don't you visit relatives?"

"I'm not going. It's not worth it. I'll just go to my grandma's house at most."

Where are Grandpa and Grandma?

"They passed away a couple of years ago, otherwise my dad wouldn't be living such a carefree life now."

After washing her face, Xu Youwei tried to launch another sneak attack on Chen Junqian with the towel she had used to wipe it, but this time he stopped her halfway through. The girl could only pout helplessly, and even began to miss the Chen Junqian that she could easily pin down back then.

However, each has its own merits, especially when I recall how the other person insisted on carrying me to the cemetery on my birthday last year.

"Then I'll come find you tonight, just like last year?"

"I'll come find you tonight. Even though we'll both be walking at night, it's better for me to come than for you to come. Plus, I can ride a tricycle."

"It's still a tricycle?"

"Because I don't need a bicycle now, I guess my family will buy me one when I start junior high next year."

Did you attend Ningzhong Middle School?

"Yes, my dad has already bought a house in that school district and is preparing to renovate it."

"I'm also in Ningzhong, and I hope we can be in the same class again... Mumu too."

Although he sensed a hint of belated realization and reluctance in the last four words, Chen Junqian didn't pay much attention and nodded in agreement:

"Yeah, it would be great if we could still be in the same class."

After agreeing to meet up with the other party again that evening to play with firecrackers like last year, Chen Junqian sat with Xu Youwei and her father in the living room for a while, exchanging some polite and auspicious words before preparing to leave with his father. After all, both of them, as well as Xu Zhiling himself, were quite busy on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

To Chen Junqian's surprise, just as he was about to leave, Xu Zhiling suddenly slipped a thick red envelope into his pocket and gestured for him to be quiet.

Unlike the parents in TV dramas who say things like, "Here's XX million, but don't have anything to do with my daughter/son anymore," this father, who also knows he's not a good father, said the exact opposite to Chen Junqian:

"Spend more time playing with Youyou in the future."

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Now that he had recruited one person for the study group (homework group), Chen Junqian struck while the iron was hot and immediately called Zhu Wenyun after returning home. The call was answered in no time.

"Hey, Wenjun, are you up yet?"

"It's already 10 o'clock, of course you're up."

"What are you doing?"

"I'll answer your call."

"Be serious."

"Yes, I'm answering your call properly."

Well, Chen Junqian chuckled, amused that Zhu Wenyun had such a talent for writing jokes, before hearing her continue:

"I just saw off my aunts and I'm currently at my old home in the mountains. The air is quite nice, but there aren't many people around. There's only one small shop in the whole village."

When will you be back?

"Hmm? Is there something you need?"

"I'd like to invite someone over to do some homework together, and maybe exchange some study tips. Xu Youwei has already agreed. If you add Mu Mu next, that should be about right."

"When?"

"That depends on when you're available, doesn't it?"

"I'll be back in the city around the fourth day of the Lunar New Year. After that, I should be able to go. The top student in my grade is offering to tutor others, so I'll definitely go."

"Okay, I'll go talk to Mumu again and confirm the time before I tell you on QQ. Happy New Year, bye-bye."

Happy New Year, bye-bye.

After hanging up the phone with Zhu Wenyun, Chen Junqian was about to send a message to Lin Mu on QQ. He casually opened his friend list and found that Lin Mu's avatar was still grayed out and not online during the holiday. He didn't know if Lin Mu hadn't turned on or had gone back to the mountains where there was little signal.

Because only Shen Nianqiu's account 'Qiu' in his entire QQ list was specially noted as 'Sister' and placed in a separate friends list, all other friends were displayed with their original nicknames by default. When encountering classmates who change their profile pictures and nicknames very frequently, it's the case that if you don't click in to take a look at their profile and chat history, you won't know who is who after a while.

However, not everyone likes to change their profile picture and nickname all the time. Of course, there are also people in Chen Junqian's friend list who haven't changed much in more than a year.

For example, after falling in love online, Zhong Yu and his girlfriend always used matching couple names. Zhong Yu's nickname was "Lowering my head to kiss you," while his girlfriend's nickname was "Raising my head to kiss you." Lu Cheng, the class monitor who was clearly just a primary school student but had an inexplicably strong old-fashioned demeanor, used "The sound of the waves remains the same." Xu Youwei always used "Winnie the Pooh."

Chen Junqian glanced at Lin Mu's nickname 'Sen Mu' again. He had a feeling that she had been using this nickname for quite some time, but he couldn't quite remember when she changed it from 'Mu Mu' to this one.

Just as Chen Junqian clicked into the chat box of the QQ account 'Senmu', intending to leave a message and tell her about this, Chen Jun suddenly walked over with a phone that was already connected, said to him 'Lin Mu called', and then left.

"Hello, this is Chen Junqian."

Taking his father's phone, Chen Junqian glanced at the screen and saw that it indeed displayed Lin Youfeng's number. He held the phone to his ear and answered, but didn't hear the familiar voice on the other end immediately. After checking again to make sure the call was connected, Chen Junqian tentatively spoke again:

"Mu Mu? Hello?"

Then, a burst of noise suddenly erupted from the other end of the phone, like a floodgate being opened, mixed with the laughter and chatter of adults and children. For a moment, Chen Junqian on the other end of the phone was a little confused, and it was only after a while that he heard Lin Mu's voice.

"Hey, Qianqian, I'm with Grandma."

So what's the situation now?

Even when the other person is speaking, you can still vaguely hear all sorts of background noises.

"Well... how should I put it, I was on speakerphone just now."

"Ah, it was about the pecan festival two or three months ago."

Even just hearing Lin Mu's voice through the screen, Chen Junqian could almost feel Lin Mu's utterly exasperated state, before finally learning what had happened from her fragmented narration.

During the Spring Festival, when all the relatives, from aunts to uncles, sit down to chat, the conversation inevitably revolves around the children. Although Lin Mu is not yet at the age where questions like "Have you found a boyfriend this year?" or "When are you getting married?" come up, she still has plenty of embarrassing stories to tell. In particular, there was the pecan festival at the end of September last year, when thousands of people in Guoning heard the voice of a little girl crying and saying that she had lost someone.

Others might not know who was who, but some of Lin Mu's relatives who were present at the time certainly recognized the voices. So, someone started talking, and soon the whole house was filled with a cheerful atmosphere. Even Lin Mu's grandparents, who had always lived in their hometown, became interested and encouraged her to call Chen Junqian on the spot to hear what the voice of the boy who had made their granddaughter cry sounded like.

"Actually, I'd like to see more photos... Could you take a picture of us on the spot and send it to me with your phone? The photos of us together are on my tablet, I didn't bring them with me."