I turned reality into a romantic comedy

Are there any requirements for joining?

"No, because I'm the department head, I can directly approve your formal approval, is that okay?"

"That's alright then. But it seems like your club is really busy. You're still having activities even during winter break. And I'm not particularly interested in literature, so I guess I can only help you out?"

"Ahem, this was just an accident. The main thing is that what Xixi is seeing now is just the surface work we're doing to cover up the true nature of our club. Once we've finished fooling around with the superficial stuff, our club will have time to do what we really want."

As the saying goes, the bigger the storm, the more valuable the fish. The more girls in the club, the easier it is to trigger events and achievements. In order to bring his younger sister into the club, Chen Junqian had already prepared his own set of excuses:

“Xixi isn’t interested in pure literature, but we will work on historical content that you’re interested in later. I’ve also talked to Lin Guo about this, and it will be presented in the form of webcomics or even animation.”

Having jumped from the literature club to the world of animation all of a sudden, Chen Xi was also a little taken aback, and even felt a sense of awe:

"Does the organization still have such skills and talent?"

"Not now, but it will be in the future."

Chen Junqian, a master of empty promises, seized the opportunity to launch into a series of deceptive pronouncements:

"Didn't Xixi say a few days ago that there are a lot of people with strange views on the internet? Since you don't want to engage in a typing war with them, you can try to express your thoughts on history in this way. Do you remember the set of 'Blue Cat Three Kingdoms' that I gave you before? The author of this book was only a high school student when he wrote it."

"That sounds good, so I agree."

Alright, now, apart from Shen Nianqiu who is far away in Lin'an, the other five girls have all been stuffed into the club by Chen Junqian. However, it can't be said that he is just fooling around and making empty promises, because webcomics combined with history is indeed a track. In the next two years, books like "Half-Hour Comic History of China" will gradually emerge and develop towards the field of teenagers and even children. Chen Junqian had participated in similar work in his previous life.

Compared to pure text-based children's literature, comics and even animations are more popular with children. If his own interest in history originated from reading "Those Things of the Ming Dynasty" in elementary school, then more than ten years later, the children of the same age he saw in tutoring classes were holding "If History Was a Bunch of Cats," which can be seen as a facet of the development of the times.

"But is it really possible to make an animation?"

For Chen Xi, who was still watching the animation, the most appealing thing about what Chen Junqian had just said was actually making animation, so after hesitating for a while, she asked him the same question again.

"Of course, Xixi will know when she gets a little older."

"I'm all grown up now, okay?"

“You didn’t say that when you were at my place yesterday and told Grandma you would sleep with me again this year.”

"Tch, that doesn't count."

While bickering with his sister, Chen Junqian took his phone out of his pocket again and opened a domestically produced game that had only been released at the end of last year and already had a certain level of popularity:

Burning Vegetables.

This tower defense game, which is somewhat similar to "Angry Birds," actually confirms what he just said. Animation may indeed be something that is very unattainable for children, but from a company's perspective, it is essentially a business and a means of promotion, especially after the emergence of online animation.

Two years later, with the gold coins earned from the mobile game, the parent company of "Burning Vegetables" collaborated with the parent company of the Pleasant Goat series to launch an animated series of the same name. They even brought in TFboys to sing the ending theme song, which is the famous "Manual of Youth". Chen Junqian, who had never paid attention to this group before, was almost brainwashed by the girls in his class to the point of "follow me, left hand, right hand, one slow motion".

Leaving aside the fact that the gameplay could not be innovated and gradually fell behind the times, just looking at the last two years, this development method has indeed brought considerable revenue and traffic to the game. Three Fierce Dogs is also a company that determined its cartoon character from the beginning of its business, and it has a natural advantage in this regard.

Therefore, the group of three fierce men will naturally establish a related animation department later.

Of course, a small middle school club of just a few people couldn't produce animation.

But foreign players will also be available at that time.

This was also what Chen Junqian and Gu Linguo had agreed upon.

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The Spring Festival of 2013 was not very lively for children; in fact, it was rather quiet.

Since the beginning of this year, Guoning City, which is striving to become a civilized city, has issued relevant regulations prohibiting the setting off of fireworks and firecrackers. As a result, Xu Youwei has lost the opportunity to do it again this year. It is unknown whether she will remember the scene of that last fireworks display in a few years.

Shen Nianqiu was also unable to do the same as last year. With the high school entrance exam approaching, her entire winter vacation had been compressed into a week centered around New Year's Eve and the first day of the new year. She needed to stay at school for tutoring before and after, so naturally she couldn't come to Guoning or have Chen Junqian go to Lin'an to find her.

Studying and preparing for the high school entrance exam are always the most important things, after all, there are only four months left.

On the eve of the Lunar New Year, Chen Junqian, as always, played games with his younger sister while talking on the phone with his older sister. This year, instead of racking their brains over a table of mahjong tiles, they played the Spring Festival Gala in the background and sat on the sofa, each taking one life to play Temple Run, which was also released last year.

With the huge success of Temple Run, parkour games officially entered the history of smartphone games. Later, classic works such as Subway Surfers and Temple Run, which cost Zhong Yu at least one-fifth of his pocket money during his three years of junior high school, were born.

Incidentally, based on Chen Junqian's understanding of Zhong Yu, this is roughly how he spent his pocket money in junior high school.

One-fifth goes to his own food and drink, one-fifth to his girlfriend, one-fifth to League of Legends, one-fifth to Counter-Strike Online, and the last one-fifth to Temple Run.

It can only be said that the last reason for Zhong Yu, a veteran who has been playing CF since its launch, to quit the game was undoubtedly the "Rage of the Qilin" update last December. The two hero-level weapons, Qilin and Fire Qilin, priced as high as 688 and 888 respectively, dazzled all players.

It's not that Zhong Yu can't afford those two permanent hero-level weapons; after all, he's already spent a lot of money on the game. But he just feels that playing like this isn't very interesting. This is clearly just the beginning, and since they'll definitely be giving you a whole bunch of so-called hero-level weapons in the future, he might as well quit the game.

"Are you with your sister today too?"

Shen Nianqiu's voice on the other end of the phone pulled Chen Junqian back to reality. Although it was just over the phone, Chen Junqian could still sense the faint fatigue in her voice. After all, she was different from other girls who would rush over to tell him anything. Even though he had said something similar to Shen Nianqiu before, the long-distance relationship between them was still there, so he couldn't accompany her the whole time.

"Yeah, Xixi and I are playing Temple Run."

Glancing at his sister, who seemed oblivious to his call with Shen Nianqiu and whose attention was entirely focused on the figure running and fleeing on the phone screen, Chen Junqian proactively asked again:

"How have you been lately, sister? You sound quite tired."

"Yeah, it must be a bit tiring. Didn't I tell my brother before? One of the girls in our dorm dropped out of school, and now she just wanders around the school gate every day while we're having our winter break tutoring sessions."

"Is my sister interested too?"

"What's so tempting about this? I think she'll regret it sooner or later. Giving up the high school entrance exam and running away to escape... Forget it, there's no point in talking about this during the New Year. I hope next year will be better—may she get good results on the high school entrance exam."

Hearing what sounded like stretching, Shen Nianqiu, who was lying in bed, was apparently called by her parents on the other end of the phone. After responding, she said goodbye to Chen Junqian for the time being.

"My mom wants me to come over, I'll call you back later."

"Yes, I know it was before midnight."

Since 2009, the other person has always said "Happy New Year" to him at that exact time, just like the TV host. This has become a tacit agreement between the two of them.

Just as Chen Junqian hung up on Shen Nianqiu and took over the temple escape that had cost him his life, another call suddenly came in.

It was Lin Mu, who had never called him at this time before.

What the other party wanted to talk about was, of course, the thing the two of them had agreed on a year ago.

A year has passed in the blink of an eye, and now it's time to fulfill the agreement.

"Then, remember to come back to my hometown with me tomorrow, Qianqian—"

Chapter Twenty-Two: Childhood Sweethearts Can Win Too (Part Two)

As for visiting Mu Mu's hometown, Chen Junqian felt that he didn't even need to consult his parents' opinions, let alone think about making a show of it and then secretly doing it like he did when he went to Lin'an last year. It was just like telling him that he wouldn't be eating at home that night and that he was going to Lin Mu's house for dinner; it was something that could be done simply by informing him.

Moreover, Chen Junqian had reason to suspect that, given the familiarity between Lin Mu and his parents, they probably already knew about this without him even having to tell them first.

After all, it was a promise that had been made a full year ago. Even over the phone, Chen Junqian could clearly feel his childhood sweetheart's joy and anticipation.

What time is tomorrow?

"Qianqian should be visiting relatives this morning. We'll set off this afternoon and have dinner at our place. My dad will drive us up the mountain."

"Okay, then I'll wait for you at the entrance of your neighborhood this afternoon."

In terms of being understanding, Mu Mu was indeed fine. After all, if she really wanted to forcibly requisition him for the entire day, Chen Junqian would have to seriously consider how to explain it to Xu Youwei, since he still had to visit her family every year on the first day of the Lunar New Year. So after hearing what Lin Mu said, he readily agreed, chatted for a few more minutes to wish her a happy new year in advance, and then hung up the phone.

Are we going to the mountains tomorrow?

"Yes, I promised Mumu before."

How long do you plan to stay?

"I'll probably only stay for one night, I have things to do on both sides."

Unlike last year, Lin Mu invited Chen Junqian on the first day of the Lunar New Year, which is the busiest time of the year. So naturally, he couldn't stay for two or three days like last year. After all, he and Mu Mu had to visit relatives, and the busiest time during the New Year was definitely those two days. After that, things would be much more relaxed.

After asking a few questions, Chen Xi continued to silently tap on her phone screen, but this time she wasn't playing a game; it seemed she was chatting with someone.

I asked, and my brother is going to Lin Mu's place tomorrow and staying overnight.

[Further Investigation and Report]

[...How else can we investigate and report back?]

Of course! For example, you could ask him where he'll be sleeping. You could even follow up by asking him what he thinks of Lin Mu, since the second day of the Lunar New Year is the day to visit one's maternal grandparents.

[This is just a coincidence, because my brother said Lin Mu invited him over tomorrow because most of her relatives will be having dinner at her house on the first day of the Lunar New Year.]

Introducing her to all the relatives at once... Is this what they call being naturally good at dealing with cunning people? Childhood sweethearts are such a troublesome character.

Although she had absolutely no idea what her best friend was posting, Chen Xi had already gotten used to the fact that her friend, like her brother, was a mysterious anime/manga fan.

Don't you like Lin Mu?

【Of course not. Rather, I hope everyone has a personality like Sister Lin Mu's. That way, the world would definitely be a better place. Love & Peace】

【don't know】

Gu Lingguo, who was finally able to openly play on her phone on New Year's Eve in her own bed at home, turned over with a bit of helplessness.

What happened to the idea that younger sister characters and childhood friend characters are always enemies?

No, no, reality isn't an anime. Sisters are never romanceable characters, so it's normal that the above relationship doesn't hold true.

However, childhood sweetheart characters can never stay together in the end.

On her phone screen, Gu Lingguo tapped on the graphic guide to the new anime series that premiered in January, created by Chen Junqian himself. Her fingertips swept over her favorite anime of the month, "Tamako Market" produced by Kyoto Animation, and then stopped on another anime translated as "My Girlfriend and Childhood Friend's Tragic Love Triangle".

Just like the setting of this anime, the so-called childhood friend characters are often just stepping stones for the new characters who appear out of nowhere, used to build a stage called a "battleground".

Naturally, she has no idea that her favorite show of the season, "Tamako Market," and that Kyoto Animation, which barely touches on romance in the main story, will release a theatrical anime called "Tamako Love Story" a year later, which will fill in all the love stories between the female and male protagonists from childhood to adulthood, connected by paper cup telephones.

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If life is a save game, then the first day of the Lunar New Year every year is probably a crucial autosave point. However, for Chen Junqian, every time he wakes up at this save point, he doesn't see the familiar ceiling, but his sister whose posture changes every year.

The red socks, a color associated with his birth year, and the matching underwear peeking out from his rolled-up waist gave Chen Junqian a vibrant and festive visual experience early in the morning. It has to be said that they were more effective than coffee in waking him up; at least he immediately sat up straight in bed.

First, he helped his younger sister pull her clothes down to prevent her stomach from getting cold. Then he moved her feet away, and carefully pulled his own feet away from her hands. Finally, he covered her with a blanket and tucked the corners in. Satisfied with completing his annual task, Chen Junqian changed his clothes and greeted Xiao Guai in the early morning chill, who hadn't been kept awake by the continuous sounds of fireworks and firecrackers all night long.

The process was the same as in previous years. After breakfast, Chen Junqian and his father started visiting relatives. After visiting two families and estimating that it was about time, they dragged his sleepy younger sister out of bed.

"Raise your hands."

Facing his younger sister, who was still keeping her eyes closed and was simply raising her hands as he had instructed, Chen Junqian quickly pulled the sweater over her head.

"Lift your foot."

Beforehand, fold the thermal underwear and the outermost pants together, squat down next to your sister's feet and instruct her to lift her feet. After aligning them, lift them up to the knees, then stand up and lift your sister up. With a little force, pull both pants up to her waist. After patting and smoothing them out, put on the outermost cotton-padded coat. The brand new sister for the new year is now complete. Then push her to the back to wash up and eat.

After completing this series of actions, Chen Junqian hurriedly picked up the gifts he had prepared in advance. He exchanged a few pleasantries with the relatives who had come to his house to pay their respects for the New Year before setting off again. After all, there was a girl waiting for him who was obviously still in bed.

Because of the production accident last September, Chen Junqian has seen Xu Zhiling much more often in the past six months. After exchanging greetings with him, he went straight to Xu Youwei's room. However, he didn't expect that when he pushed the door open, he would not see Xu Youwei lying in bed.

The other person was sitting at the desk, seemingly writing or drawing something, looking very focused. He didn't even seem to hear the sound of Chen Junqian pushing the door open. Curious, Chen Junqian went over to take a look and could see the pen tip moving, but there were no corresponding words left under the pen strokes; it was still a blank space.

"What are you doing?"

"Testing a scene from Detective Conan."

As expected, she had heard him enter the room long ago. Faced with Chen Junqian's sudden question, Xu Youwei showed no surprise at all, leisurely turning her chair around and sitting down facing him.

"Qianqian, do you still remember the episode where the art museum director killed someone with armor?"

"Yeah, I have an impression."

As the girl Chen Junqian knew who was most enthusiastic about detective and mystery elements, Xu Youwei had shared almost all of "Detective Conan" with him, and had watched many episodes countless times. So when she mentioned it, Chen Junqian immediately remembered which episode she was referring to.

"The method in that episode was to deliberately leave paper and pen for the victim at the scene, making him think that he could leave a death message to identify the murderer. But in fact, the paper already contained misleading information about the murderer, and the pen could not write. This way, the police investigation was misled, making them believe that the words on it were the death message left by the victim before he died to identify the murderer."

It can only be said that even in terms of subtle hints, Xu Youwei was clearly not as adept as Zhu Wenyun, who had a rich literary background. She clearly wanted to remind Chen Junqian about the invisible pen so that her future actions would go more smoothly, but she always felt that it was a bit too obvious. She spent the whole night thinking before coming up with this roundabout topic.

"But actually, this technique is quite easy to spot, since even if you can't write anything, you can still see obvious traces of brushstrokes. Look, like this."

As she spoke, Xu Youwei showed Chen Junqian the piece of paper she had just written on, and indeed, traces of brushstrokes could be seen.

"So, wouldn't it have been better to use an invisible pen refill back then? What does Qinqin think?"

"That would assume the police forensics department inside are all idiots, since both pen marks and invisible pen marks should be easy to detect."

Completely unaware of what Xu Youwei was trying to express, Chen Junqian, who was simply chatting with her as innocently as before, glanced at the table setting again:

"But Yoyo, you really like invisible ink pens. I saw a whole bunch of them here when I came last year. Are they really that fun?"

"Ha...yes, that's right."

Chen Junqian sensed something was off about the other person's expression and her subtle movements, but he was still focused on how to talk to her about Mu Mu, so despite his odd behavior, he got to the point first:

"I'm going to Mumu's place to celebrate the New Year this afternoon."