I turned reality into a romantic comedy.

The family finally managed to get together, and Chen Jun, as the head of the family, first asked about his son's studies and life as usual. However, all the questions he asked were answered by Lin Mu, who was sitting next to him.

It can only be said that when it comes to things like Chen Junqian, she always unconsciously feels a sense of pride and honor that her childhood sweetheart is so amazing, to the point that it seems like she herself is the one who received those "Three Good Student" awards, not Chen Junqian.

After the younger generation finished showing their concern, it was naturally time to talk to the elders. The couple's private conversations were to be shared between the two of them in the evening. Therefore, after asking about the situation of both sets of parents, Chen Jun took the initiative to bring up the matter of the house.

"Junqian will be starting junior high school next year, so the new house issue must be resolved this year, since it will take time including renovations."

Firstly, the new house is related to where Chen Junqian will attend junior high school. Secondly, it is the main result of the couple's hard work for more than ten years. Unlike the employee dormitory allocated by the factory, it is something they earned with their own hands. Therefore, when talking about this topic, the two of them were quite serious and solemn.

“If possible, I think it’s better to pay in full at once. Our family’s savings over the years, plus borrowing some from relatives and friends, should be enough. After all, we’re not going to buy in that particularly expensive area. An apartment of 80 to 100 square meters would be about right.”

After all, they had been living in a cramped apartment of about 30 square meters for more than ten years. For Chen Jun and his wife, a typical apartment of about 80 square meters with a few bedrooms and a living room is more than enough. Moreover, it is clear that for a long time to come, only Wang Hongling and Chen Junqian will live here, and Chen Jun will have to stay here for several more years.

"What specific location? Have you been there in person?"

"Yes, I visited a few sales offices a couple of days ago."

When it came to his future new home address, Chen Junqian listened very attentively. But when he turned around, he found that Lin Mu seemed to be listening even more attentively than him, and was even muttering something like "closer to Green Gull Garden" like a prayer.

Chen Junqian didn't seem inclined to speak. After all, compared to his elementary school home, he didn't have any particular fondness for his middle and high school homes. In fact, if he were to go back to the place his parents bought and renovated but barely lived in for more than a few days, and where he and his grandmother lived for the next six years, he would feel lost and confused.

However, his family's situation has indeed changed compared to the same period in his previous life. The increase in income and the change in jobs have given Chen Jun and his family more confidence in choosing a location. In the end, the place they settled on was not the same house that Chen Junqian lived in in his previous life.

"Actually, I think Yunqi Jinyuan is a good place. There is a commercial street and square next to it, and it is also close to Ningzhong. It is very convenient to ride a bicycle to and from school."

"Okay, then take another look when you get back, and if it's suitable, then make a decision."

When Chen Junqian heard the name Yunqi Jinyuan, he suddenly felt that it sounded familiar. He felt that he had heard of it somewhere in his previous life and even been there. However, the only classmate he had ever visited in elementary and middle school was Zhong Yu, and Zhong Yu did not live there.

“Yunqi Jinyuan is at least closer to my home than the wear-resistant factory; at least it’s in the city.”

Lin Mu seemed quite satisfied with the final choice, since she knew that Qianqian couldn't really move to her neighborhood, so being able to live closer to her was already good news.

Then came another round of more detailed discussions, such as the specifics of money and renovations. However, having already received the answers, Lin Mu was clearly not very interested in these matters. He quickly pulled Chen Junqian to Chen Jun's desk and started playing a 4399 two-player game on his office computer.

It can only be said that after two years, Lin Mu's gaming preferences are still limited to two-player cooperative adventure games. He won't even glance at two-player competitive games, whether it's fighting games like "The King of Fighters," puzzle games like "Miracle Chronicles," or racing games like "Two-Player Spinning Cars."

Inspired by Fireboy and Watergirl, which was released at the end of 2009, similar two-player cooperative adventure games with puzzle elements have sprung up in the past two years. However, Lin Mu still prefers the type of games like Double Arrow and Double Blade, which allow him to prank his teammates. So after looking around for a long time, he finally chose a game called Little Ninja Treasure Hunt.

The gameplay is actually similar to Fireboy and Watergirl, but the only innovation is that the two characters are tied together by a rope, and you have to use this core mechanism to successfully complete the game.

On the other hand, if not used properly, it can also drag teammates down without hesitation. After all, if one falls, the other will fall with him. And often, one person runs too far ahead and jumps over the trap, but ends up dragging the person behind them into the trap. This reminded Chen Junqian of his hilarious performance with Zhong Yu in the three-legged race at his last year of elementary school sports meet.

However, when it comes to being tied up with ropes, it seems there really is such a description on his list of achievements:

[Forced Romantic Connection]

In the universe of romantic comedies, being accidentally bound together is a forced intimate contact event bestowed by the gods! Whether it's handcuffs, magic ropes, cursed props, or some kind of high-tech malfunction, when you are forced to act together at extremely close range, and have to stay together even during activities including but not limited to eating, sleeping, going to the bathroom, and taking a shower, the level of shame and the level of attraction will simultaneously skyrocket.

From the physical friction during struggles, to the tacit cooperation after reluctant compromise, and then to the updated understanding of why this person is unexpectedly reliable/lovable, this forced bond often accelerates the development of the relationship more than voluntary dating!

Conditions for achieving this: Be forcibly connected to any female protagonist with romantic comedy aptitude by something and forced to act together for at least eight hours.

I always remember a similar scene between Hattori Heiji and Kazuha in "Detective Conan", but such a thing is too difficult to happen in reality. It even feels like it's not easy to take shortcuts. So Chen Junqian put it in a lower priority position from the beginning.

After playing Treasure Hunt Ninja with Lin Mu for a while, as expected, he got stuck and angrily went straight for the invincible version. It can only be said that Mu Mu really didn't want to suffer any injustice. If you're bad at the game, you don't need to practice. Just use a cheat engine and you're good to go. And 4399 is really considerate. Most popular games have invincible versions that are available for free.

With the invincible version of unlimited lives, Mu Mu finally redeemed herself and successfully completed the game. Then, she and Chen Junqian picked and chose to play "Classic 90 Tank Battle" together, and spent the entire afternoon sitting in front of the computer.

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

In the afternoon, Chen Jun went to inspect the workshop, while Wang Hongling went to his room to pack his things and make the bed. In any case, according to her, the place where Chen Jun had lived for about half a year was a complete doghouse. It can only be said that in her mother's eyes, there is probably only a doghouse in the world, except for a golden house or a silver house. Anyway, Chen Junqian and Lin Mu themselves have been told this.

The two of them ate dinner at the company cafeteria. Chen Junqian felt that the food was a bit too sweet, but Lin Mu, who liked sweets, quite liked it, at least it was better than the bitter melon at the after-school care center.

After dropping the two off at their hotel, Chen Jun gave them a few more instructions: call him if anything happened, and don't wander around outside after dark since you're unfamiliar with the area. They could do their homework at the hotel, and he would take them to Qinhuangdao a few days later after he took leave. Before leaving, he also had Lin Mu call home to let them know he was safe.

Chen Jun has never worried about his son, who is so well-behaved that he doesn't even seem like a child. Moreover, Lin Mu has always been the obedient and trouble-free type. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to leave the two children at the hotel so easily.

After his father left, Chen Junqian hung up the security chain near the door, then started rummaging through his luggage to find his change of clothes, preparing to go to the bathroom to take a shower first.

Lin Mu outside seemed to be watching TV in the room. Chen Junqian in the bathroom had just taken off his clothes and turned on the shower when he heard a loud voice outside saying, "Welcome to the popular lifestyle service program, BBK Vivo smartphone 'If You Are the One,' hello everyone, I am Meng Fei."

Then came a burst of exciting music, presumably for the female guests to enter. I remember Chen Junqian only remembering a "Yay yay yay yay" sound when he was a child. Later, when he grew up, he specifically looked it up and found out that the song was called "Girlfriend". Moreover, the lyrics were quite subtle. The translation was roughly "I don't like your girlfriend. I think you need to change your girlfriend. I can be your girlfriend."

It's safe to say that the reason "If You Are the One" chose this song is because of its melody. As for the lyrics, nobody could understand them anyway. It's just like when the male guest came on stage, he kept shouting "Can you feel it?" on repeat, and he couldn't hear it at all when he was a kid.

The guy showered very quickly, and the TV playing outside seemed to constantly remind Chen Junqian that there was a girl sitting outside, so his hands unconsciously sped up their movements. When he came out of the bathroom drying his hair, the first male guest on TV had only just appeared and was still playing a VCR.

"Qianqian's done washing up. How was it? Did you like the shower gel and shampoo I left there?"

Because Lin Mu herself said that the shampoo and shower gel in the hotel were definitely not as good as the ones she brought from home, she replaced the two items in the bathroom with her own as soon as she arrived today.

It has to be said that this is also an experience she learned after last year's World Expo. After all, if the scent of perfume sprayed on your body will disappear after a shower, then why not just have the other person use the same shampoo and body wash as you?

"Oh, that's alright."

Although Chen Junqian himself couldn't tell the difference at all.

"Mumu, are you going to take a shower now? Or should we do it later?"

"Let me wait a bit, let me finish watching this male guest first."

"Ah."

Lin Mu and others turned their attention to the television screen. 2011 was a crucial year for Hunan TV and Jiangsu TV to compete for the variety show market. The show in front of him, "If You Are the One," was the latter's trump card launched last year to compete with "Happy Camp." It had indeed gained considerable popularity through hype and sparked heated discussions among viewers.

The most memorable line was probably spoken by a female guest when the show first aired last year: "I'd rather cry in a BMW than laugh on a bicycle." It became one of the hottest topics and memes of the year.

Lin Mu himself seemed to be aware of this joke. While watching the male guest on TV who, after his VCR was played, was showered with lights by all the female guests and left regretfully to the tune of "Unfortunately, it wasn't you who stayed with me until the end," he hugged his knees and said:

"I feel this kind of show is so excessive. There's no need to belittle someone standing there in public like that. Although I know it might be for the sake of the show, it still makes me feel a little uncomfortable. Last year's 'BMW cries, bicycle laughs' line also came from this show, right?"

"Yes, so I also think it's not very interesting to watch."

"I feel like I've wasted twenty precious minutes of my life. Oh well, I'm going to take a shower."

As she said this, Lin Mu got up and took her change of clothes, but her movements were quite slow, as if she was waiting for something. However, she didn't see any reaction from Chen Junqian, so she pouted and went to the bathroom by herself. She reached out and swiped her hand randomly on the steamy mirror, and saw her eyes among the streaks of light.

She thought she had hinted at it clearly enough, but Qianqian didn't ask her a single question like, "Does Mumu think that person is right?" or "Does Mumu want to cry in a BMW or laugh on a bicycle?" She had just come up with a perfect answer that she was very proud of.

It seems I can only write it in my diary tonight.

Standing under the showerhead where the other person had just showered, her smooth black hair cascaded down like a waterfall, flowing over the petite girl's entire shoulder and almost completely obscuring her face.

Sure enough, she could hear the sound of the TV coming from outside. Lin Mu, who was taking a shower, suddenly began to enjoy the atmosphere. She was in the bathroom, and Qianqian was watching TV in the living room outside. After she finished showering, she could naturally lean against him and he would blow-dry her hair. At that time, it wouldn't matter what was on TV.

In a sense, this was the answer she had in mind.

It has nothing to do with BMWs or bicycles.

When we're together, I feel like laughing; when we're apart, I feel like crying.

That's it.

Chapter Twenty-Three: Your Girlfriend Must Have a Great Singing Ability (Part Two)

While Lin Mu was taking a shower in the bathroom, Chen Junqian, who was sitting outside, didn't watch TV. Instead, he took out his phone and immediately saw several unread messages on QQ.

These are Xu Youwei's post around noon today, "Have you arrived in Tangshan yet?", Zhu Wenyun's post in the afternoon, "The draft of the story is finished", and Shen Nianqiu's post just a few minutes ago, "Finally, I'm home for summer vacation".

Compared to Japanese romantic comedies, Chen Junqian is somewhat relieved that domestic messaging apps don't display message statuses as 'unread' or 'read'. Otherwise, if he were to encounter a girl who happens to be staring at the message box and discovers that she has read his message but hasn't replied in time, his time management skills would suddenly fall apart.

He replied to all three messages in order, but the only one who didn't reply immediately was Xu Youwei, who sent the earliest message. He wondered if she had already gone back to her grandmother in the countryside where there was no internet or cell phone, since she was the only one of the three who didn't have her own cell phone.

Zhu Wenyun seemed to be busy revising her manuscript as well. The message she sent was just to explain her progress. It was a formulaic message, somewhat like a work report. She said a couple of familiar sentences to Chen Junqian, such as "My inspiration is flowing in endlessly" and "Oh my god, my pen is writing by itself," before going offline again.

But Shen Nianqiu was different. She always made sure to chat with Chen Junqian for quite a while. So, as soon as Chen Junqian replied with a message to let him know he was online, she immediately bombarded him with a series of messages.

Actually, it's quite normal that Lin Mu always felt that there couldn't be anything between Shen Nianqiu and Chen Junqian. After all, during the elementary and middle school years, the development of children is quite obvious, even though they are still children. However, sixth graders would think that fourth and fifth graders are more childish and they can't play with them.

Moreover, this idea is not unfounded, especially since elementary and junior high school are the first important stages in the transition from childhood to adolescence. The things that children see, hear, and are interested in can change suddenly in a very short period of time, and this difference will be reflected in all aspects.

For example, Chen Junqian rarely talked to Shen Nianqiu about cartoons, especially after she entered junior high school. This was because in his previous life, around the time he was in the first year of junior high school, he suddenly gave up his childhood habit of watching cartoons and never turned on the children's channel again.

What replaced children's channels and cartoons in the junior high school age group was roughly what Chen Junqian was watching right in front of him: "If You Are the One," or rather, the large-scale reality shows and idol-related culture produced by various local TV stations such as Hunan TV, Jiangsu TV, and Zhejiang TV.

At this point, Shen Nianqiu was complaining to him about roughly the same things.

"...Now I even think they'd be better off talking to me about the comics in 'Zhiyin Manke' magazine than those weird Korean groups made up of English letters. I can't understand them at all!"

After briefly recalling his junior high school life from next year, 2012, to the end in 2015, Chen Junqian actually had a deep understanding of it. After all, during the period before the ban on Korean entertainment officially ended, the expansion of the Korean wave was something that even he, an absolute outsider, could feel.

After all, he had been introduced to EXO by female classmates in junior high school, which was probably about a year later, and the rather mysterious initials that were not pronounced.

Right now, it's pretty much Shen Nianqiu muttering and complaining about BIGBANG, Super Junior, and Girls' Generation. It can only be said that most of the Chinese entertainment novels that Chen Junqian read later had classic scenes of crushing the Korean wave, so much so that he almost remembered these frequently appearing representatives.

"But, little brother, you know that already."

"The only thing we two know about those Korean songs is QQ Speed, and we don't even know who sings them."

Faced with Shen Nianqiu's deeply resentful complaints, which could be felt even through the screen, Chen Junqian couldn't help but chuckle. He typed a reply:

"really."

"Do many people in your class like those?"

"My class is alright, but I like most of the dorms I live in, so I just have to bite the bullet and deal with it. After all, I can't be too unsociable. Anyway, I'm super experienced with this kind of thing."

It seems Shen Nianqiu finally found someone to vent to, and she showed no signs of stopping, replying to messages incredibly quickly:

"I used to wonder who were the people who would share those idiotic posts like 'Teacher He was so angry he cried' on QQ Space every day. But I never expected that I would actually get to know so many of them after starting junior high school this year. Although I have watched 'Happy Camp' myself, I have never seen anyone watch every single episode."

"And it's not just Happy Camp. Some people really don't miss any variety show. After watching Happy Camp, they go to watch Day Day Up. But when I see Wang Han's face, all I can think of is that weird advertising slogan, 'Someone imitates my face, and someone imitates my noodles.'"

Although he wanted to comfort his sister, Chen Junqian felt that she would probably be tormented for a long time to come, considering that she would have to face EXO and TFboys and the upcoming era of reality TV shows in the next two years.

However, there are always more unhappy things at school. After complaining about her roommate, Shen Nianqiu took the initiative to talk to him about some other happy things.

Even now, Chen Junqian doesn't know the specifics of Shen Nianqiu's family situation, but he can easily sense that her family is definitely not very harmonious. So, in a sense, a boarding school is a good thing for Shen Nianqiu and her parents. After all, if they really hate each other, they can just reduce the number of times they meet.

"We also had a choir in junior high school. It was my tutor who personally invited me to join after she found out about my elementary school days. She herself had received professional vocal training, so she is basically teaching me now. The only regret is that I can't continue to practice dance after I started boarding school. I've suffered for several years, and then I just gave up halfway through."

"And then, the final exams went pretty well—at least this summer vacation won't be too hard to get through at home. By the way, little brother, did you get first place in your grade again this time?"

"Yes, so I've been taken on another trip. I'm in Tangshan now, and we'll go to Qinhuangdao in a couple of days."

"Qinhuangdao... I've never been there. Is it by the sea?"

"correct."

"Was Mu Mu with you this time too?"

"Yes, she also chose the destination. Actually, we just planned to come to Tangshan to see my dad."

"They're still just kids."