I turned reality into a romantic comedy.

"What do you mean by 'still a child after all'?"

Shh—I won't tell you.

The longer they talked, the more it became clear that Shen Nianqiu was no longer satisfied with just text-based conversations, or rather, that text could no longer express her little emotions. So soon, just like countless times before, she invited Chen Junqian to call her.

"I want to sing for my little brother. You know, I was forced to learn several gibberish Korean songs from scratch in order to get along well with my roommates. It would be a waste if you didn't listen."

Is this a waste?

"Because I always told them, 'Oh, actually I like them a lot too, so I learned to sing them a long time ago,' and they didn't know how hard I worked."

"Even if you say that, I'm not particularly interested. And like you said, my impression of Korean songs is just those few background music tracks I heard when we played QQ Speed ​​together, the names of which I don't even know today. But it's really impressive that you can learn them; I can't do that."

"Actually, it's said to be a Korean song, but a lot of it is in English, so it's just so-so?"

"After all, there are troops stationed in their country, so it's quite normal to add a few lines to the song."

After all, there was another little Mu Mu taking a shower in the bathroom behind her. It didn't matter if she chatted with Shen Nianqiu on QQ now, but if they actually made a phone call, she would probably be able to recreate the lyrics from Xu Liang's new song "Not Good to Listen To" released a few months ago: "The unfamiliar voice on your phone is as sweet and pleasant as a child's, the sleepy greeting is too fatal, how should I react?"

So even after Shen Nianqiu went to such lengths, Chen Junqian still didn't agree to make the call. In the end, he probably angered his sister a bit, because he stopped replying to messages without saying a word, and even changed his QQ status to "busy." Sending messages there now only resulted in edited, automated system replies.

"I'm currently angry with a big liar who I can't see and who doesn't want me to hear his voice. I'll talk about it after I calm down."

All Chen Junqian could say was that the last person he'd ever seen edit the QQ system's auto-reply in this style was Lin Mu. He remembered Mu Mu using "Hello, I'm going to secretly ring my neighbor's doorbell to play. I'll be back after my neighbor scolds me."

He wondered if it had been changed now, since he hadn't seen that kind of automatic reply from Lin Mu for a while. Rather, the two of them didn't communicate much on QQ these days, since they saw each other every day and hung out together on weekends.

While Chen Junqian was thinking, Lin Mu finally finished taking a shower.

If the former was inexplicably taking less time than usual, then the latter was inexplicably taking more time than usual. She came out of the bathroom steaming hot and sat directly next to Chen Junqian, who had already put away his phone. She crossed her legs lightly on the sofa, swaying slightly as she turned her back to Chen Junqian, her hair facing him, as if she wanted him to help her dry her hair.

Although Lin Mu's hair wasn't as exaggeratedly long as Zhu Wenjun's, it was still considered to be the kind of long hair that was difficult to manage.

At least in Chen Junqian's memory, Mu Mu's hair should be longer now than it was at the Shanghai World Expo a year ago. However, he is not the same person he was last year. When he picked up the hair dryer again, his technique was much more skilled. In any case, he would not burn Mu Mu like he did the first time.

Mu Mu is currently wearing pajamas that she brought from home. The main colors are pure white and pink, without any fancy decorations or designs, but it looks very cute on her, giving her a rather endearing and innocent look.

"It seems like Qianqian doesn't have any pajamas."

"Because I really don't have this habit, or rather, none of my family has it. I've never worn this kind of pajamas since I was a child."

"But good pajamas are really comfortable to wear to sleep. The set I'm wearing was specially bought for me by my mother. She said it would be more suitable for girls my age, but I don't feel any difference. It's just that some parts are a little loose."

Well, just from Lin Mu's two sentences, Chen Junqian could easily tell that the other party had not yet developed the same kind of minor troubles as Zhu Wenyun.

However, he also knew that she wasn't a complete late bloomer; she had her first period and menstruation regularly. Although she was different from Zhu Wenyun, who talked to him about everyday things like eating and drinking, Mu Mu was still a bit secretive. Sometimes, when she asked for leave from PE class, she would deliberately glance in his direction first.

"Then can I buy you a set of pajamas like I did when I bought shoes for Qianqian? Actually, when I go to the pajama store, I see a lot of matching pajamas that seem to be for twins, and there's a discount if you buy them together."

Is it possible that they aren't twins, but rather a couple's set? Where in China do you find so many opposite-sex twins?

Suppressing the urge to complain that was already rising in his throat, Chen Junqian casually agreed while concentrating on dealing with Lin Mu's hair. When he finally finished, he inexplicably thought of the lyrics, "Who married you, so sentimental? Who comforted you, so prone to tears? Who tied up your long hair?"

However, it seems that his deskmate wasn't Mu Mu but Xu Youwei.

However, in Zhu Wenyun's story, he and Lin Mu were classmates.

Although the character 'Lin Mu' in that story seems to be essentially an emotional projection of Zhu Wenyun herself.

Shaking off the jumbled thoughts that suddenly popped into his head, Chen Junqian, satisfied, turned off the hairdryer and placed it aside.

"It's time to sleep, it's getting late."

"But I want to talk to Qianqian a little longer."

"How about we talk in bed? I'll turn off the light."

As someone who had chatted with Zhu Wenyun many times and was an expert at late-night conversations, Chen Junqian knew very well that even if a child stubbornly claimed that they couldn't sleep, once they actually lay in bed at a certain time, their eyelids would start to droop involuntarily.

However, to Chen Junqian's surprise, Lin Mu seemed to have anticipated this situation as well. While nodding in agreement, he went over and rummaged through his bag, pulling out two items:

"Weiwei taught me this. Let's play this, Qianqian."

What she was holding was a paper cup telephone connected together with a string.

Upon seeing this prop, Chen Junqian suddenly thought of the achievement he had seen that afternoon called "Forced Romance Link".

It seems he's found a way to trigger this achievement.

Chapter Twenty-Four: Mu Mu's Imagination is Always Rich (Part Two)

Chen Junqian was actually quite familiar with paper cup telephones, a small toy with a bit of scientific principle involved. After all, Xu Youwei did like these gadgets or experiments. When they were deskmates, he had even seen her use the principle of static electricity to rub a ruler on her hair to attract scraps of paper.

The main principle of the paper cup telephone is based on the transmission of sound vibrations through a solid medium (i.e., the rope). The bottom of the paper cup acts as a diaphragm, transmitting the mechanical vibrations of the sound to the taut rope, and then to the bottom of the other paper cup, causing the bottom of the cup to vibrate.

At the same time, the horn shape of the paper cup amplifies the vibrations, causing the air inside the cup to vibrate as well, which is ultimately received by the listener's ears as sound.

Of course, all of the above can only happen if the rope is taut, because a slack rope will disperse the energy of the vibration, resulting in a weak or even absent sound.

However, before the paper cup telephone activity begins, little Mu Mu needs to finish writing her diary first. After all, she missed a day yesterday on the train, and if she doesn't write it today, she'll have to make up for two days tomorrow.

By then, I might have forgotten most of my feelings and what I wanted to write, so I definitely can't procrastinate.

Although she had already finished two more diaries, Lin Mu seemed to have fallen in love with the Candy House series starting from the second one. All the diaries she bought after that were from this brand, and the one she was writing now was no exception. The cover still had the standard Candy House style, depicting a little princess wearing a crown at an angle, with her eyes closed, sitting comfortably in a chair among flowers.

Chen Junqian naturally didn't have the habit of peeking at other people's diaries. After all, unlike Xu Youwei's situation, Mu Mu's diary, judging from her personality, should be full of a girl's true feelings.

Of course, childhood sweethearts need a sense of propriety and distance in their relationship. So while the other person was engrossed in writing in their diary at the table next to them, Chen Junqian sat motionless on the sofa a little further away, continuing to watch TV to pass the time.

After Lin Mu finally finished writing and putting away both days' worth of diary entries, Chen Junqian got up and turned off the room lights, leaving only the dim bedside lamp providing a little illumination. The two then lay down on their respective beds, maintaining a safe distance between them. Once they confirmed the rope between them was taut, the latter spoke the first words into the paper cup:

"Hey, hey, hey, can Qianqian hear me?"

Mu Mu's voice came through the bottom of the cup, somewhat muffled, but still carrying a distinctly childlike smugness:

Can you hear me?

"Although, the distance between us is such that I feel like we could hear each other if we spoke directly, otherwise why would you have moved the bed over during the day?"

“This is different.”

I could feel the other end of the paper cup, which was connected to my hand, wobble slightly twice, and then it was Mu Mu's voice again:

"That's more like a secret."

Chen Junqian also suddenly lowered his voice in response:

"Okay, speaking of secrets, actually, when Mu Mu was writing in her diary with great concentration just now, I secretly stood behind you and saw a little bit."

Before he could even finish speaking, he felt the rope suddenly jerk, the force from Lin Mu almost throwing him and the paper cup away. Then came Mu Mu's voice, which didn't need any distortion to transmit through the paper cup—a voice that could be heard clearly:

"Really? Qianqian really saw it?"

"Of course it's fake. Why would I read your diary for no reason?"

"Boom-"

There was a loud thud as if the blanket had been kicked, causing the paper cup phone in Chen Junqian's hand to shake violently again. Neither of them let go, and the rope connecting them taut once more, like another invisible yet still taut thread between them:

"...Qianqian is so mean."

You could hear Mu Mu say this in a very low voice.

"I was terrified just now."

"Okay, sorry, it's probably because of... Yuwei. She always likes to say things like, 'What serious person writes a diary?'"

He almost called out Xu Youwei's nickname in front of Lin Mu, since in their agreement, they could only use each other's nicknames when they were alone together. Luckily, he stopped himself in the end.

“That’s true of Weiwei. She was the one who gave me my first diary and encouraged me to write in it. I’ve kept it up until now, but she gave up a long time ago.”

"Because the diary had already fulfilled its purpose for her personally, which is also related to her family environment."

Xu Youwei's actions in the diary did not escape Chen Junqian's notice. She even openly told him that the diary entries were meant to disgust Xu Zhiling, to let him know that his biological daughter was not happy at all, and to make him feel deeply ashamed of what he, as her father, had done.

Conversely, if it were Lin Mu's parents, they probably wouldn't have been successfully lured by Xu Youwei in the first place. After all, neither of them would have had the intention of prying into their daughter's diary. However, from Xu Zhiling's perspective, it seems understandable that he would want to know his daughter's true thoughts. In the end, it was all a mess, otherwise there wouldn't be the saying that even an upright official can't settle family disputes.

Moreover, judging from the subsequent results and impact, it was he who was pushed to the forefront, suddenly gaining Xu Zhiling's favor without his knowledge, or perhaps the other party simply regarded him as a last resort, with a "nothing to lose" mentality, which is why he said those words to him on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

Actually, Xu Youwei probably didn't think so much about it at first. After all, her diary project was even before the two of them officially became acquainted. It can only be said that the subsequent development was also full of unexpected twists and turns, but for Xu Youwei herself, this development was more in line with her wishes.

It was as if she had only intended to play the tragic heroine in the story from the beginning, and the world's will seemed to have been fooled as well, adding a male protagonist who fell from the sky into her life. Everything was quite natural.

"I haven't been to Vivi's house yet."

“I went with my dad once during the Chinese New Year to pay New Year’s respects to her father.”

"I've heard Vivi mention this before."

When talking about this kind of thing, Lin Mu himself didn't feel much emotional fluctuation. After all, things like Qianqian coming to his house to wake him up had happened at least eight or ten times in the past two years, and...

"Her room isn't as nice as mine, is it?"

"No, no."

Chen Junqian was being honest about this. After all, in terms of the care put into decorating, Xu Youwei's room was indeed not as good as Lin Mu's. However, the room that Lin Mu truly put effort into decorating was the one at her grandmother's house in the countryside.

"Hehe, so Qianqian, remember this: although my room is the first girl's bedroom you've ever been to, don't mistake it for the average room for all girls. Even among all the girls in the world, my room is the most thoughtfully designed and the cutest, understand?"

"I admit it, she's number one in my heart."

Although he has only actually been to three girls' rooms so far, Zhu Wenyun's room can't even be called her own because she lives with her grandmother. So, as long as Lin Mu is older than Xu Youwei, he can already win the crown of being ranked number one in Chen Junqian's heart.

"Yes, I'm number one."

If there's anything that makes Lin Mu happier than being the 'first,' it's probably the 'first' after removing the 'one,' since being the first never means being number one.

Of course, if someone is both the first and the best, then that would be absolutely the best.

As she spoke, Lin Mu suddenly remembered something she had almost forgotten and quickly said it to Chen Junqian:

"Oh, right, when I called Dad using Uncle Chen's phone tonight, he specifically asked for your phone number, Qianqian, saying that something important might happen in the next couple of days."

"Something important?"

"Hmm, it seems to be some company stuff. He said he'd call you directly later, but I didn't quite understand."

"Okay, I see."

After calculating the time, Chen Junqian felt that he had guessed what it was about, so he nodded in agreement. However, this was something he couldn't discuss with Mu Mu, so after having a general idea in mind, he took the initiative to change the subject. He and Mu Mu lay in bed and chatted for a while, and then he clearly felt that little Mu Mu was getting sleepy.

This time, however, Chen Junqian did not suggest that they stop chatting and go to sleep. After all, every time he said this to Zhu Wenyun, she would suddenly become more alert. If he pretended not to notice and continued chatting, she would fall asleep even faster.

Sure enough, Lin Mu did the same.

After deliberately slowing down his speech, several more minutes passed before Lin Mu went completely silent. Chen Junqian held his breath and listened intently for a while. Only after confirming that Mu Mu was completely asleep did he quietly get out of bed and walk to her bedside, looking at the paper cup phone that she was still holding in her hand.