I turned reality into a romantic comedy

It felt like a long time had passed, or maybe just a few seconds, before Zhu Wenyun finally took her hand off Chen Junqian's face. Then, quite naturally, she picked off a few remaining sunflower seeds from the edge of her palm and put them into the small disposable paper cup she was holding in her other hand. The cup was already almost half full of sunflower seeds, so it seemed that the other party's harvest along the way was indeed more than just the handful she had just held.

"……for you."

Seemingly worried that Chen Junqian might mind, she stretched out her hand again to show off her short but adequately long fingernails:

"They were all peeled by hand."

Chen Junqian didn't agree immediately, but he didn't refuse either. Instead, he jogged back to the bus carrying his class, took out his backpack, and pulled out his uneaten tea jelly. Silently, he followed Lin Mu's steps to pour in the creamer and stir it well before handing it to Zhu Wenjun.

"It's a deal, we'll switch, this one's delicious too."

"okay."

Only after the two of them completed this mysterious exchange ceremony, which might seem incomprehensible to others, did Zhu Wenyun turn around and leave with the tea jelly given to him by Chen Junqian, leaving him alone standing there in a daze for a while, facing the nearly full cup of melon seeds in his hand.

Finally, Chen Junqian tilted his head back and, as if drinking water, brought the paper cup to his lips, crunching away at the sunflower seeds with mixed feelings.

It seems that from now on, he'll have to peel two crayfish for the other person at the late-night snack stall.

Chapter 43: They remained silent, only tearing at the tablecloth.

As is a must-have at any tourist attraction, Taohuatan in Jing County is no exception. However, perhaps wanting to interact with the visiting students, the tour guide hired by the school specifically asked them a question with a smile:

"Does anyone know the story of Peach Blossom Pool and Li Bai? If you can, we have a small gift for you."

As she spoke, she showed off the small gift in her hand, which seemed to be a refrigerator magnet. It was small and exquisite, with the poem and pattern of "Peach Blossoms in Full Bloom" engraved on it. Lin Mu was a little tempted and quickly shook Chen Junqian's hand beside her.

Seeing his childhood sweetheart's expression, Chen Junqian, who indeed knew the answer to the question, lazily raised his hand to answer first:

Legend has it that during the Tianbao era of the Tang Dynasty, Wang Lun, a wealthy man from Jing County, was overjoyed to hear that the great poet Li Bai had traveled south and was staying at his uncle Li Bingyang's home in Nanling. He wrote to Li Bai, inviting him: "Sir, do you enjoy traveling? There are ten miles of peach blossoms here, a sight to behold. Sir, do you enjoy drinking? There are ten thousand taverns here for people to enjoy their drinks."

Upon hearing this, Li Bai gladly went. When he arrived in Jing County, Li Bai asked Wang Lun where the Peach Garden Tavern was. Wang Lun replied, "Peach Blossom is the name of the pool, not the location of any peach blossoms. Wan Family is the surname of the innkeeper, not the location of any tavern." This made Li Bai laugh heartily, and the two became friends. The famous poem "To Wang Lun" was written by Li Bai as he was about to depart. See, that's the statue standing over there."

"Great, this child's explanation is excellent, let's give him a round of applause!"

The tour guide seemed surprised that a fourth-grade student could actually pop out of the group and retell the story clearly and fluently. After a slight pause, he took the lead in applauding. Chen Junqian himself didn't think much of it, but Lin Mu, who was standing next to him, seemed quite happy, as if she was about to stand up and announce to the world that this was her childhood sweetheart.

After receiving the small gift from the tour guide, Chen Junqian handed it to Lin Mu, who played with it for a while before carefully putting it into the outer pocket of his backpack.

Of course, stories are stories, and real tourist attractions are another matter entirely.

Just as Wang Lun is often considered a more famous "lying down and winning" person than "Master Cen and Master Danqiu," it's hard to say that Peach Blossom Pool is an interesting scenic spot. After all, Li Bai's popularity is undeniable, but it's quite difficult to develop a fun tourist attraction based solely on a poem.

Moreover, it's autumn now, and the peach blossoms, which are usually one of the main selling points, aren't in bloom yet. As for wine, forget about it. All we can do is look at the deep Peach Blossom Pool in the poems and feel the elegance of the ancients.

Fortunately, the tour guide had solid basic skills and spoke fluently about Li Bai's life and activities in Anhui, which prevented the atmosphere from becoming too awkward. Some of the more prescient elementary school students had already started taking notes, planning to copy them into their travelogues to reach the word count.

Before we knew it, it was lunchtime. The school had arranged for a large local farmhouse restaurant, and each class had twelve students sitting at a table. However, considering the budget, the dishes weren't exactly plentiful, especially for the picky elementary school students. Before long, everyone started munching on the snacks they had brought with them.

It's fair to say that they would much rather eat snacks three times a day than meals. Since they finally have this opportunity, they naturally want to make up for it by eating well.

Chen Junqian picked up a couple of bites of food and tasted it. It was just home-style cooking, about the same level as what they had taught at their after-school program. So he and Lin Mu filled two bowls with rice, becoming one of the few students at their table who were eating seriously.

However, perhaps knowing how picky the elementary school students are, when almost all the dishes were served, each table was given an extra large bowl full of sweet fermented rice balls, which immediately attracted everyone's attention. After all, based on Chen Junqian's rich experience of eating at rural banquets for many years, this stuff is indeed quite popular, and the children can slurp down several bowls.

Chen Junqian carefully served a bowl to Lin Mu, whose eyes lit up at the same time. He then gave Lin Mu a special reminder to be careful as it was hot before serving himself a little. The taste was still as sweet as it had been back then, but for children who love sweets, it was definitely the dish they were most willing to eat at the table. In no time, the whole bowl was empty.

Some students who didn't seem to have had enough were taking their bowls to other tables where people hadn't finished their glutinous rice balls, instantly ruining the orderly atmosphere of them sitting in rows eating. The hall was filled with students moving back and forth between the tables. Before Chen Junqian could even notice, Zhu Wenyun had already sat down next to him.

"...Would you like some?"

Faced with Zhu Wenyun's concise words, yet with a snapping sound as she broke off half an ear of corn and handed it to him, Chen Junqian could only take it, stuff it into his mouth, and mutter his comments while munching on it:

"It's quite sticky; this corn is pretty good."

However, while he was speaking, he was also paying attention to Lin Mu's expression and movements, who was sitting on his other side.

He vaguely remembered that he had once told Zhu Wenjun that if Lin Mu knew she was writing the story about nine yuan and fifty cents, he would not only be indifferent but even quite happy. However, Chen Junqian could no longer say such a thing now, because just being caught in the middle already made him feel a certain pressure.

"Is there anything else? I want to eat too. The food here is terrible."

At this crucial moment, Chen Junqian's good friend after school, his partner who had worn sex rings together, Xu Youwei, who was sitting at the table, naturally broke the somewhat awkward silence.

"You must be Zhu Wenjun from Class 3, right? I'm Xu Youwei from Class 4. Let's get to know each other and become friends?"

"...Oh, and my grandma cooked it in advance, I'll go get it."

Faced with Xu Youwei's radiant smile and open social attitude, Zhu Wenyun subconsciously looked away and then left temporarily. When she returned, she not only gave Xu Youwei one, but also brought one for Lin Mu.

"Thank you, I'm Lin Mu, but we should have met before."

After a few minutes of buffer time, Lin Mu seemed to have adjusted her mindset. After all, she had never had any problems in front of the public, and her greeting to Zhu Wenyun was quite natural.

"Yeah, I've seen it."

"You know what, this corn is really delicious."

Seeing this, Xu Youwei forced a joke, then pretended to reach for the one in Lin Mu's hand:

"If Mu Mu isn't going to eat it, then give it to me. I'm really hungry."

"I won't give it to you... It really is delicious, thank you."

After these two rounds of conversation that Chen Junqian found somewhat incomprehensible, the three girls quietly sat there eating corn. As for Chen Junqian himself, he was mainly troubled by an achievement that had been constantly echoing in his mind ever since Zhu Wenyun came over, seemingly about to be triggered but always just missing that final step.

[A chaotic battle is underway]

The pursuit of the "Asura battlefield," which originated from the Buddhist concept of "battlefield of Asura" and was transformed in modern times into a predicament that must be dealt with with all efforts, and has now become a standard element of romantic comedies, is essentially just a desire to observe the dramatic and comedic aspects of interpersonal conflicts from a safe distance, while satisfying the audience's hidden desire for "being needed."

However, please remember that safety and comedy are the two most important criteria, after all, this is a set for a romantic comedy.

Conditions for achievement: When more than two female protagonists with romantic comedy suitability are present, the system will automatically make a judgment based on the current situation, their words and actions. Each time this happens, it is considered as achieving this achievement.

Chen Junqian simply took another bite of the corn in his hand.

Well, it seems the male protagonist of this romantic comedy isn't as simple as he imagined.

When they finished eating and left, the staff at the farmhouse came to clean up and were surprised to find that the hems of the disposable tablecloths in some places were tattered and torn.

They were used to guests secretly tearing disposable tablecloths, especially since they were entertaining elementary school students today, but the extent of the damage to this tablecloth really surprised them.

One piece was torn into even strips, another piece had holes of varying sizes poked in it, and yet another piece had its entire hem mysteriously vanished, its whereabouts unknown.

Of course, Chen Junqian is unaware of this at the moment.

The afternoon visit was no different from the morning one. After visiting the ancient villages and buildings and seeing the classic horse-head walls of Hui-style architecture, the fourth-grade students from the Experimental Primary School boarded the bus again and began their return journey.

Just like when they arrived, Lin Mu was still quite enthusiastic about sharing the snacks he hadn't finished eating that morning with Chen Junqian.

However, around five o'clock in the afternoon, as the sun began to set outside the window, the girl was probably really tired. Before long, she started yawning, just like the other students on the bus. She leaned her body against Chen Junqian a couple of times and then rested her head against him.

Even now, she still doesn't understand why she, who has never disliked anyone since childhood, particularly dislikes seeing Zhu Wenyun and Chen Junqian standing together and talking. But at this moment, Lin Mu has stopped thinking about it.

Having found their destination, the little animals should hide in the shade of the third small tree they chose and start to sleep; this is the safest place for them.

Chapter 44: Candy, Birthday, Wish (Two-in-One)

Children generally never refuse to attend banquets, especially wedding banquets. After all, compared to the funeral scene with its mourning families dressed in mourning clothes, music, and burning braziers, the festive atmosphere of a wedding is much more relaxing for elementary school students to enjoy the food.

After officially entering late autumn, the temperature in Guoning finally dropped. On the evening of Friday, October 30th, Chen Junqian, who had already informed his parents, was driven by Lin Mu's mother to the Jintianhai Hotel, where the banquet was being held, along with Xu Youwei.

Although Lin Mu himself said beforehand that the two of them didn't need to give a gift when they came to the banquet, Chen Junqian was still given 200 yuan as a gift by his father before he arrived. Xu Youwei's side received about the same amount, but the amount was even larger. Chen Junqian watched as the old man sitting at the entrance of the banquet hall, who was registering, neatly wrote "500 yuan" in large Chinese characters.

However, the amount of money given as a gift did not affect the amount of wedding candy and cigarettes that everyone received. After taking a bag of candy and a pack of cigarettes from the person in charge of reception, Chen Junqian and Xu Youwei were led to the table of real children, which was full of children from Lin Mu's various relatives.

Of course, they were complete strangers to each other, so they naturally sat together. Then Chen Junqian saw Xu Youwei, just like other children, tear open the candy bag and pour out all the candies inside.

Chen Junqian wasn't very familiar with the customs in other places. Although the wedding candies they received at each banquet were definitely different, most of the time they were pretty much the same. They were basically a mix of classic brands like Oowoo, White Rabbit, Golden Monkey, Want Want, and Alpenliebe, with one or two Dove chocolates mixed in.

Among these, gummy candies are definitely more attractive to children, at least for Xu Youwei. Chen Junqian soon saw her skillfully pick out a few orange gummy candies and QQ candies and stuff them into her mouth, munching away.

"I have some more here, do you want some?"

As Chen Junqian handed over his share of wedding candy, he casually picked up some melon seeds and peanuts from the table and started cracking them open. Naturally, he couldn't help but think of a girl who had peeled melon seeds for him the whole way during their autumn outing.

All I can say is that, based on impressions alone, I feel that every time he eats sunflower seeds during holidays, he will inevitably think of the other person again... and sometimes he will really care about whether Zhu Wenyun used her hands the whole time.

After all, he wasn't watching them the whole time.

"Eating too much will cause cavities."

"...but you still picked them all out and took them."

"You can take it home and eat it next time."

Because one of the parties involved, who was also the main character of the night, had already been taken away to change clothes, Chen Junqian looked left and right but couldn't find Lin Mu. After chatting with Xu Youwei while eating candy and sunflower seeds for a while, the waiters started pushing food carts to serve dishes table by table.

Although their table was entirely for children, the configuration of each table couldn't be changed, so the waiter still brought over the wine and beverages that were served to each table. However, compared to the other children who were busy grabbing the orange juice or carbonated drinks on the table, Xu Youwei's eyes were fixed on a bottle of red wine that no one else was paying attention to.

"Chen Junqian".

Faced with Xu Youwei suddenly calling his name, Chen Junqian, who had spent two months playing with her all over the mountains and fields on the way home from school, knew exactly what kind of mischievous idea she had come up with this time. He turned his head and replied to her:

"What's the matter."

"I saw a recipe online for mixing Sprite with red wine. Would you like to try it?"

It's obvious that you wanted to try it yourself.

"It's not good for kids to drink alcohol."

"Pouring just a little bit won't be a problem, and it's mixed with Sprite anyway, since there are no adults here."

Once Xu Youwei entered this "I must try it" Tiger Talisman form, Chen Junqian felt he couldn't really stop her, so he could only choose to watch over her carefully from the side.

"Okay, just a little bit then."

As he spoke, he secretly reached out and took the red wine. After all, he had experience opening bottles in his previous life. With Xu Youwei's help, the two of them quietly opened the red wine under the table with a corkscrew in no time, and then poured a little bit into their glasses, just enough to cover the bottom of the glass.

It was just an ordinary glass, but perhaps because of the little bit of bright red wine flowing inside, Hsu Yu-Wei managed to swirl it around like a goblet, almost as if she were about to recite a few lines from Jam Hsiao's "Princess," which was just released this July...

Just as Chen Junqian was thinking this, Xu Youwei was already doing it. She sat there holding a glass in one hand and had the other hand on his shoulder. It felt like there was some kind of thumping accompaniment in her ears. She was humming a half-hearted tune, "The swaying red wine glass, lips stained with blood, that unusual beauty, an unforgivable sin."

Okay, I forgot that this kid actually did have a dream of sitting on the throne and becoming king.

So, could you please not glance at me when you're humming the next line, "Whoever faithfully follows will at best be a guard"?

She stood up, took the Sprite that had been poured out by the other children, leaving only half a bottle, and filled the glass for a certain princess who was 'stumbling on roses' but probably couldn't 'return the kiss as a consolation.' The original bit of red disappeared into the rising bubbles, almost vanishing in an instant.

So how does it actually taste?

Seeing Xu Youwei's subtle expression after taking a bite, Chen Junqian casually asked her this question.

"...It tastes like Sprite, with a tiny bit of alcohol on top."

"After all, only a little bit was poured. Okay, you've tasted it, so let's just stick to drinking beverages and avoid alcohol."

Unlike the other children at the table who were still playing and making a ruckus, Chen Junqian was already carefully arranging the chopsticks the waiter had given him. Xu Youwei looked him in the eyes and asked:

"And you? Will you drink it in the future?"

"I don't want to drink it."

Chen Junqian wasn't lying about this, after all, in his previous life until his rebirth, he neither smoked, drank, nor chewed betel nut. The advantage of being a writer is that it can indeed save a lot of unnecessary socializing and networking.

"That's good, um... very good."

However, Hsu Yu-Wei herself seemed to particularly agree with this point, and even patted him on the shoulder in a serious manner, as if she was about to award him a medal on the spot.

As the dishes were mostly served, the waiters came over and lit each alcohol stove with lighters. In the final moments before the wedding banquet began, Lin Mu, whom the two hadn't seen for a long time, finally reappeared near the main stage.

Having shed her blue and white school uniform and donned a light orange dress, she resembled a sweet orange gummy that Chen Junqian was currently holding, freshly peeled, accentuated by the white lace embellishments on her collar and cuffs.

Instead of her usual ponytail, her hair was styled into a bun at the back of her head, resembling that of a Disney princess. Beneath her fluffy bangs, her pupils were round and bright, like those of a kitten. Her lips were adorned with what looked like rouge, shimmering under the light. She looked like a little fairy straight out of a fairy tale.

"Thank you everyone for coming to my tenth birthday party..."

Although it sounded like a pre-written script, Lin Mu himself had indeed memorized it quite fluently. In front of a large group of relatives and friends, he showed no stage fright like a child, and his every move was poised and confident.

Incidentally, there was actually a talent show segment that Chen Junqian had envisioned at the end. Lin Mu, who had been practicing calligraphy since childhood, wrote "Peace and Safety Every Year" in a flourish right there in front of the brush, ink, paper and inkstone that his father had pushed up, which once again drew applause from the audience.

Amidst the lively atmosphere, Chen Junqian keenly noticed that Xu Youwei's mood was visibly low.

Thinking about it, it makes sense. The other person's tenth birthday was three or four months ago during the summer vacation, and Xu Youwei's biological mother passed away around the same time. Under these circumstances, it's hard to imagine that the other person's tenth birthday was a pleasant experience.

"Want some candy?"

Sweetness always brings happiness.

After all, it wasn't the first time Chen Junqian had fed Xu Youwei. This time, he tore open the packaging of the Alpenliebe and put it to her mouth as always, and Xu Youwei ate it as always.

But faced with such a hard candy, she had no intention of slowly sipping, licking, and savoring it until it shrank and melted. Instead, she used her teeth quite forcefully, even roughly, to bite it into pieces between her lips and swallow it directly, seemingly forgetting that she had recently been talking about cavities.