I turned reality into a romantic comedy

"...My mother used to love eating sweets too."

"Ah."

Chen Junqian didn't say much, he just listened quietly.

"She likes the strawberry flavor of Alpenliebe the most, doesn't like to peel off the outer rice paper when eating White Rabbit, and always lets the corn candy from Golden Monkey soften before chewing it."

This was the first time Chen Junqian had heard Xu Youwei mention her mother on her own initiative.

The passing of a loved one is never a sudden downpour, but rather the lingering pain brought on by the continuous dampness of the long years to come, and he understands this as well.

Meanwhile, under the watchful eyes and applause of his parents, Lin Mu wrote a second piece of calligraphy on the stage as a heartfelt congratulation to all the guests:

Eat well, drink well, and stay healthy.

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

"Phew... I'm starving."

By the time Lin Mu was finally able to sit down and eat after being led around to each table by his parents, half an hour had passed.

"Qianqian, move aside."

Seeing Lin Mu move an empty chair from the side and insist on squeezing next to him, Chen Junqian quickly stood up and made room for Lin Mu to sit down. Then he stood up and served her a bowl of rice.

The biggest advantage of the children's table is probably that everyone eats relatively small portions. Compared to the mess on the adults' table next to them who are drinking, most of the dishes on their table remain as they were, with most only being touched once or twice. Only fried items that children like, such as chicken cartilage skewers, are eaten clean.

Lin Mu picked up a glutinous rice meatball, put it in her mouth, and chewed it. Then she looked at her two best friends with concern:

"How are you two? Have you eaten? This restaurant has a good reputation, so the food should be pretty good."

"Yes, I'm very full. I ate two bowls."

Chen Junqian briefly showed Lin Mu the empty bowl with only a little soup left at the bottom, took another sip of his drink, but his mind was still on the thoughts Xu Youwei had just shared with him.

In a sense, this was the inevitable result of the trust that had been built between the two over the past two months. It just happened naturally with the occasion of Lin Mu's tenth birthday party, after all, it was a kind of emotional response to the scene.

"Me too."

Xu Youwei also adjusted her mindset quickly. Rather, she was the kind of person who was most used to hiding all her thoughts, especially after her mother's death and the reorganization of her family. At this time, she was chatting and laughing with Lin Mu as if nothing had happened, and she and Chen Junqian also formally gave out their birthday gifts.

Since they were still eating, Lin Mu couldn't just open the package and look at it on the spot. After saying thank you twice, she continued to eat. She looked really hungry. Afraid that she might choke, Chen Junqian took a clean cup and poured her a drink. Sure enough, she stopped eating after a few bites, and he immediately handed her the drink. It can only be said that he has a lot of experience in this area.

"Slow down, no one's going to take it from you."

"Tch, I haven't eaten a single thing since noon, and it's almost seven o'clock now."

"So when you leave school, I'll let you grab something to eat to tide you over, even just a grilled sausage will do."

"Back then, we had to rush over to get ready for makeup and changing clothes."

As she spoke, Lin Mu tilted her small face up at Chen Junqian, as if she had just remembered, and touched the decoration between her eyebrows:

"What do you think? Isn't this pattern beautiful?"

"not bad."

"Right, right? I think it looks really good too."

They ate and chatted with Lin Mu until dinner was over, and then it was time for the final part: cutting the birthday cake and making a wish.

The lights in the entire hotel dimmed at this moment, and for a moment only the flickering flames of the ten candles stuck in the cake could be seen.

Xu Youwei had no idea what wish Lin Mu, surrounded by her parents and wearing a birthday hat, had made with her eyes closed and hands clasped together. She was only thinking about her conversation with Chen Junqian and his conversation with Lin Mu, when, almost unconsciously, she reached out and hooked her fingertip around Chen Junqian's right hand. As he turned his head in confusion, she whispered her wish:

"You have to come to my birthday celebration next year."

Chapter 45: This is something only I can do (Part 2)

After Lin Mu's tenth birthday, the following days became uneventful for Chen Junqian. He was stuck at eight achievements, just two steps away from unlocking the reward. It wasn't until one weekend when Lin Mu traveled a long way to fulfill his promise to wake him up once that he finally accumulated nine achievements.

However, it cannot be said that nothing major happened during these two months. For Chen Junqian himself, the three things most worth mentioning are probably the following.

First, his father, who was the MVP after the settlement and had a score of 13.0, finally succeeded in getting the position of workshop director and became a middle-level manager in the factory. For him, who came from the countryside and started working hard alone at the age of eighteen with nothing, being able to reach this point at the age of thirty was definitely the result of his sweat and hard work. As his son, Chen Junqian was also very impressed.

After all, before his rebirth, he had thought many times that if the accident hadn't happened, his father would have had a chance to climb the social ladder again, and his own family situation and circumstances might have improved.

Secondly, Chen Junqian successfully completed the first preliminary task for the goal of the Shanghai World Expo next year, and achieved a dominant performance in the midterm exam with no competitors, winning first place in the grade.

There was no way around it; even without the special cheat code that the system gave him—the kind of cheat code that made him the male protagonist of a romantic comedy who aspired to get into Tokyo University—Chen Junqian could still handle fourth-grade elementary school knowledge far too easily, simply by virtue of his rebirth.

As for the third, and most important, matter, it concerns the novel that Zhu Wenyun submitted.

It must have been late November, after school when the weather was getting colder. The other person took the initiative to wait outside the door of Chen Junqian's Class 4, intercepting him before Xu Youwei and 'requisitioning' his after-school time.

In fact, just by looking at the snacks the three girls chose on their way home from school, Chen Junqian could clearly feel the differences in their personalities and family backgrounds.

Lin Mu, who has the most money, can eat whatever he wants, but he always has to ask his father or mother for permission before he can pick him up. Occasionally, he has to drag Chen Junqian along to act cute and coquettish so that Chen Junqian can also get a free grilled sausage or three-flavor chicken strips.

Xu Youwei is the kind of person who seems to have money but spends it quite casually, or rather, the money she has is not just used to buy snacks and pastries. So, over the past few months, Chen Junqian has been eating dried tofu and bean curd sheets with her at a braised food shop, and she has also taken him to a cake shop in an alley to get the leftover scraps from the egg rolls made by the chef there for free. She is a very eclectic person.

Zhu Wenyun's choice in this regard was undoubtedly much more simple. After all, in her opinion, even the most cost-effective candies or spicy strips in the eyes of elementary school students could hardly be said to be filling or substantial enough. Therefore, the stall she finally dragged Chen Junqian to was in front of a three-wheeled motorcycle parked at the school gate.

The loudspeaker on the tricycle continuously played the drawn-out 'Old-fashioned steamed buns—small steamed buns!' These stalls usually only made a brief stop at the school gate after school, and then they would restart, shuttling through the streets and alleys of the city and countryside.

"I want a small steamed bun for one yuan."

After receiving the one yuan from Zhu Wenyun, the woman selling steamed buns quickly lifted the thick quilt on her cart, took out a bag of ten small steamed buns from the foam box inside, and handed them out. They were still steaming hot, and in this increasingly cold late autumn season, there was even an urge to put them on your face and warm them for a while.

Actually, it wasn't just Zhu Wenyun; Chen Junqian himself also quite liked eating these little steamed buns filled with sweet red bean paste when he was a child. After all, you could buy ten for just one yuan, and most importantly, they were warm. Eating two in the autumn and winter made you feel warm from the inside out.

"for you."

"Yeah, I used to buy this all the time."

Chen Junqian took two small steamed buns from Zhu Wenyun's hand and put them in his mouth, chewing slowly. He also deliberately slowed down his pace and did not immediately ask why she had come to see him today. Instead, he gave Zhu Wenyun the initiative to speak.

“My grandma usually buys large steamed buns or old-fashioned steamed buns. She breaks them open, spreads chili sauce on them, and that’s a decent breakfast. But I personally prefer these small steamed buns with fillings. Whenever she asks me to buy them, I buy them separately.”

After all, Zhu Wenyun was facing Chen Junqian, who already knew all her secrets, so she no longer needed to hide her family situation.

"Actually, I have a pretty big appetite. Sometimes a bag of ten is not enough, and I have to get half a steamed bun from my grandma."

"Because he really is that tall."

It can only be said that sometimes family background and physical development are not directly proportional. Lin Mu's family drinks milk and Ovaltine every day, but in terms of height, he is still easily left far behind by Zhu Wenyun.

However, it's not fair to compare them like that. After all, even looking at the entire grade, Zhu Wenyun is definitely one of the girls who is the most developed and the tallest. Considering that she is only ten years old now, it seems like she will easily surpass 1.7 meters in the future.

“Actually, I haven’t been going to the market with my grandma as often lately. Sometimes I can’t really help her, and instead, she has to take care of another little child there. I never realized this before, and I felt like I was being very understanding and taking care of her.”

For Zhu Wenyun herself, Chen Junqian's biggest influence on her was actually in terms of her mindset. After all, her parents worked away from home for many years, and her grandmother, due to her personality and her own level of education, found it difficult to provide her with any effective guidance or communication. Therefore, most of the time, she was just figuring out how to understand the world through books on her own.

When she saw her grandmother sick and unable to go to sell vegetables, she wanted to meet a germ leader; long ago, when she was chasing after the city management officers while setting up a vegetable stall with her grandmother on the street, she wanted to know about the relevant legal rules and regulations; when the television could only be switched between a few news programs, variety shows and dramas according to her grandmother's wishes, books were the little world that Zhu Wenyun could hide in.

That's why she cherishes and is so grateful for Chen Junqian's appearance. Zhu Wenyun knows very well that no matter how many years pass, she probably won't take the initiative to have any extra interpersonal interactions or contact with any of her peers.

Beyond her ideas, Zhu Wenyun also took her first step into the field of writing, which she had been genuinely interested in but had never dared to venture into before.

"By the way, the novels I sent to the website and Sunshine Sister's email also received a personal reply from her."

As if wanting to share this honor with Chen Junqian, Zhu Wenyun took out a folded piece of paper from her pocket and handed it to him:

"This is what I copied from the computer during my computer class today."

Chen Junqian took the letter and unfolded it to read:

【Dear Xiaowenjun:】

Thank you! I read your novel and was deeply surprised because you are only ten years old and you can write such a decent novel, and you even have nine chapters. This really amazes me. The creativity of children today is amazing!

Recently, I've received several letters from children interested in writing novels, seeking my advice. However, I feel this is completely unnecessary for you, because I can see from your writing that you have absolutely no confusion about writing itself; what you lack is only consistent practice.

Writing novels is a good and healthy way of life. In the process of writing, we entrust our dreams, vent our negative emotions, and find joy in writing. I think you have already achieved this.

If possible, I hope to use your novel, as well as excerpts from Ella's novel "My Deskmate's Enemy Enemies" (also available on the "Flower Clothes Teen Literature Network"), Xue'er's novel "Kid, Don't Try to Be Cool With Me" (also available on the "Flower Clothes Teen Literature Network"), and Hun's novel "Meeting You Is My Happiness" (also available on the "Flower Clothes Teen Literature Network"), as examples of different styles to discuss the joys and difficulties that primary school students encounter in writing novels. I believe these are your most genuine experiences.

As for asking Sunshine Sister to give her feedback on your novel, she only has one thing to say—you wrote it wonderfully!

"So does that mean I've been selected?"

"Yes! Sister Sunshine even asked for my home address, saying that she would send me a beautiful prize or even a check for my writing fee."

"Congratulations."

Chen Junqian swallowed the last small steamed bun in his mouth, genuinely happy for Zhu Wenyun.

The reason he encouraged Zhu Wenyun to write and submit articles after his rebirth, instead of trying to submit articles himself, was because Chen Junqian was very clear that in his nearly ten years of writing career in his previous life, his writing style and method had already been established. It was clear at a glance that his writing was not the work of an elementary school student, so from the beginning there was no point in submitting articles to such platforms.

"Sister Sunshine also said she would help me revise it when it is published, so I will show you the final version then, but it will be at least next year."

It's clear that being selected for this submission has given Zhu Wenyun a lot of confidence, to the point that her whole demeanor is no longer as gloomy as before. The smile that was rarely seen in the past is now always on her face, and she no longer has that illusion that she is taller than Chen Junqian, but seems to be a little shorter when standing in front of him.

"The only slight regret is that this story isn't actually my own."

After hesitating for a moment, Chen Junqian heard Zhu Wenyun speak to him in a low voice again:

"So if possible, when the royalties actually arrive next year, I'd like to thank Lin Mu from your class separately, since she's the female lead in this story."

"I'll talk to Mumu, and she should agree."

In fact, Chen Junqian had always felt that there was no conflict between the two. It was just that Zhu Wenyun's mental state was a bit strange back in October. She was even capable of peeling melon seeds for him to eat along the way. Now that he could see that her mental state had obviously returned to normal, he readily agreed.

"Yes, and as for the next story, I don't plan to write the 'Face-to-Face Enemy' series again. Many of the submissions to Sunshine Sister's new magazine only require the subject matter to be school life, so it's okay even if Junqian isn't my deskmate."

"This sounds like I might have a role in the next installment..."

"Because I want to write a story about the two of us in my next book."

Zhu Wenyun simply took it for granted.

"The very act of you teaching me how to write novels could be a story in itself."

At this point, she asked, with a hint of doubt, a question that had been lingering in her mind for a long time:

"So, Junqian, why don't you write your own novels and submit them for publication? You've clearly read more books than me, your Chinese grades are better than mine, and you were even first in the grade in the last midterm exam. Your essays were even read aloud to our class by the teacher."

"...It's just that I don't have the idea or interest in that area yet, and I'm not satisfied with what I write. It's unlikely to be the type of thing that children would like to read."

Faced with Chen Junqian's vague and perfunctory response, Zhu Wenyun remained silent for a while, then shook her head again.

"I didn't quite understand."

"Well, if I had to give an example, you probably wrote about being sick one night and being carried to the hospital by your parents in your Chinese exam essays or journals, right?"

If we take it as material from a real-life event that may or may not have happened, then some people's writing style will tend to focus on touching emotions, and they might even add a bunch of difficulties later on, such as rain, not being able to get a taxi, or falling down on the road.

Others, due to their own past experiences, place more emphasis on the expression of authenticity, but sometimes being too authentic is not a good thing, especially when it comes to writing a story.

Using the same example, I've seen people write a long story, but the narrative doesn't end with the child being taken to the hospital while sick. Instead, they add a line at the end: "The feverish, dizzy child, before even feeling moved, heard the father or mother who carried him to the hospital naturally ask the doctor:"

"So, will the child be able to go to school tomorrow?"

He could feel Zhu Wenyun's breathing quicken unconsciously, and after a while, he asked Chen Junqian again:

So you're the latter too?

"No, or rather, I am neither of the two."

Chen Junqian shook his head again at this.

Since his parents passed away, he has completely lost interest in making up such stories. Rather, it's more accurate to say that his unremarkable creative career has always been about pursuing some vague illusion of the past, performing a futile ritual of trying to find a lost sword by marking the boat for children a decade or so later.

"Then I'll write it for you."

Then, he heard Zhu Wenyun make this promise to him in a firm tone.

Tell me all the stories you want to write but can't, and I'll write them for you, okay?

The girl, who was now taller than him, had pupils that sparkled in the setting sun. The last small steamed bun she was holding in her right hand had been unconsciously squeezed into a tiny ball. Every muscle and nerve in her body seemed to be nervously waiting for his answer.

“I always thought you were more suited to write these things than I was, and I was actually planning to ask you for help later.”

Chen Junqian was slightly stunned, but he quickly nodded in agreement. The girl standing in front of him had already proven her excellence to him. Just as his willingness to help her was like making peace with his past self, it was also the best thing for her to fulfill his wish from his previous life.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Wenyun nodded subconsciously, feeling a strange sense of joy and relief, as if a sudden ray of light had appeared after a long period of darkness. Suddenly, many questions and words welled up in her throat, but in the end, she only uttered these two words: