I turned reality into a romantic comedy

Perhaps his extraordinary learning ability provided some kind of buff in this area. After a short while, Chen Junqian made rapid progress, to the point that Lin Mu began to suspect that the attack earlier might have been intentional.

However, she quickly lost that thought, because as Chen Junqian's hand, accompanied by the warm breeze, gently stroked her head and then slipped into her hair, she was completely absorbed in the moment, and eventually even closed her eyes in comfort.

But Chen Junqian still dared not relax at all. Although Lin Mu had forgiven his small mistake, he still had to do it to the best of his ability. So he carefully and meticulously styled all of Lin Mu's hair into a shape that seemed even fluffier and softer than a down comforter that had just been aired.

Perhaps blow-drying hair is a two-way interaction. Just like Chen Junqian himself can't figure out whether he is stroking the other person's head with his fingers or whether her silky, smooth hair ends are entangling and wrapping his fingers one by one.

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

Since they had already decided that the first pavilion they would visit was the China Pavilion, Chen Junqian and his group bought reservation tickets for the China Pavilion in advance, saving a little time on the spot. They also brought their ID cards, sunscreen, folding stools, water bottles, and blank Expo passports for checking in.

But when they arrived at the exhibition hall entrance at six o'clock in the morning, there was still a long queue.

"But we arrived relatively early. I estimate we should be able to get in in an hour or two."

Chen Jun, who was the tallest and also standing at the front, stood on tiptoe to take a look at the length of the queue in front of him. After offering a word of comfort, he took out his phone to take a close-up picture of the China Pavilion, which was called the Crown of the Orient.

As the host country of this World Expo, the China Pavilion features a red dougong (bracket set) design and uses a stacked seal script technique to present the abbreviations of all the provinces in China.

For Chen Junqian, a liberal arts student who had memorized these things while studying high school geography, he could basically recognize the correspondences at a glance. However, Lin Mu was much less knowledgeable. Apart from knowing that the '皖' at the beginning of his father's car license plate represented Anhui Province, he was completely ignorant of everything else, appearing as a pure and innocent person who had not yet been corrupted by knowledge.

"That 'Zhe' should be Zhejiang, right?"

Of course, even someone like Mumu can guess the full name of a province based on a few obvious abbreviations.

"Yes, it's Zhejiang, which is next to our province."

At this point, Chen Junqian himself was unconsciously lost in thought. Although he and his online friend 'Qiu' had not yet revealed each other's real home addresses, he could tell from the other person's occasional slips of the tongue during their chats that the other person was probably from Zhejiang, but he didn't know the exact location.

Since travel plans are something that adults should make, and travel time should also be considered, although he and Qiu had agreed to meet in person at the World Expo, it was impossible for their families to coincidentally have their travel dates on every single day.

However, thanks to the efforts of the two of them, or rather Chen Junqian, their travel dates were barely able to overlap. Their family set off yesterday, July 11th, for a five-day trip, returning on the 16th, while the other family had already departed on July 10th, but it seemed they would be traveling for about a week, officially returning on the 17th.

The two had agreed to meet for the first time at noon today, at the Chinese food street where tourists eat. They could easily meet by making up an excuse to sneak out during lunchtime.

After studying the abbreviations like "京" and "沪" for a while, Lin Mu quickly lost interest and began to look around with great interest at the other tourists who were also queuing.

As a world-class event, this was probably the first time Lin Mu had seen a large number of foreigners since her trip to Beijing two years ago. She couldn't distinguish which specific countries these tourists came from just by looking at their appearance. For her personally, there were only two countries in the world: China and foreign countries. It was incredibly convenient and fast.

"There are so many foreigners, Qianqian. Do you think someone might come up to us and ask for directions, like in the dialogue in the textbook? But my English is really bad. Can I just say 'Ai Anmen Fang, 3Q' (I am fine, thank you)?"

"...There are volunteers everywhere on the road. You don't need to ask us kids for directions. Besides, my spoken English is terrible. I'm just a half-baked person who can listen and write but can't speak."

"Mingming Qianqian always gets 100 points on her exams."

"So all you can do is listen and write."

For Chen Junqian now, probably because of a mysterious two-dimensional system with ancestral roots in Japan, he feels that his spoken Japanese is better than his English. When he sees words like "promise," his first thought is no longer "Promise," but "Yako Soku."

But you know what, if it really is the mysterious transfer student character described by the other party, it seems that only at this time would they have a little room to appear.

But as I've already said, reality isn't some romantic comedy. The truth is, during the tens of minutes that his family was slowly moving forward in line, there wasn't a single mysterious pretty girl running past Chen Junqian with bread in her mouth, tripping over him, or trying to talk to him or ask for directions.

If we really have to say, then Lin Mu, who is currently standing in front of him and biting into the Panpan mini bread that serves as his breakfast, should also be included.

As time went by, the sun slowly rose, but the family had already entered the queuing area with a sunshade. Water mist was even sprayed from above from time to time to help cool down the tourists, so it was quite cool.

The closer they got, the clearer they could hear the sound of a musical instrument coming from under the eaves of the venue. Chen Junqian recognized it immediately:

"It's a set of chime bells."

Before his rebirth, he had worked in the museum cultural and creative industry for a period of time, from writing WeChat official account copy to designing cultural and creative products to providing museum tours. He had also visited the Hubei Provincial Museum with friends and seen their prized Zeng Hou Yi chime bells.

Although what impressed Chen Junqian the most was the time when he listened to the guide explaining that twenty-one musicians were unearthed from the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng, two girls next to him kept muttering something like, "Isn't this what it means to be a band that has been around for a lifetime?"—a mysterious, almost anime-like phrase.

Just as Chen Jun had initially predicted, after nearly two hours of queuing, his family finally managed to enter the China Pavilion.

The first thing that catches their eye is a 128-meter-long electronic animated scroll based on the famous painting "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" by the Northern Song Dynasty painter Zhang Zeduan. The power of technology makes the originally static scroll slowly flow, and the numerous animated figures are dazzling, presenting a bustling city scene.

Just as Chen Junqian was leading Lin Mu by the hand, preparing to follow the scroll's movement, Lin Mu, who had been following the movements of the figures on the scroll, suddenly heard a ringing sound from her small bag. Opening the zipper, she saw that it was indeed her tablet computer making a message notification.

"Qianqian, someone sent you a message on QQ."

Since Lin Mu brought her own tablet this time, Chen Junqian didn't have to log into QQ on his dad's phone anymore. He just used her tablet to run it. When he took the tablet, he saw that it was indeed a message from 'Qiu'.

"Where are you now?"

"I just entered the China Pavilion and I'm currently here at the 'Along the River During the Qingming Festival' exhibit."

"Okay, I understand. So today I'm wearing the clothes we agreed on, right?"

"Oh, you're here too?"

But Chen Junqian's words received no reply.

Lin Mu, who was well-mannered, had no intention of watching what he was chatting with his online friends. Instead, he stared at a rather silly-looking little donkey on the painting with great interest.

"Qianqian, look, this donkey's eyes are so funny."

But when she turned around again, she subconsciously widened her eyes along with the little donkey in the painting.

However, Chen Junqian on the other side could not see this scene.

Because his vision had also been completely blocked.

As for the reason, an achievement that suddenly unlocked in my mind has already explained it very clearly:

[Face Cleanser] is now unlocked!

Chapter 64: It Wasn't Just a Short Borrowing (Part 2)

【cleasing milk】

As an important fan service element in romantic comedies, face wash has always been a favorite among viewers. It is usually initiated by the female lead, who is unaware of her own hidden weapon, by hugging her. Whether intentional or unintentional, it is hoped that the male lead can say a line from a model opera, "I can't breathe," to show his respect.

Of course, in order to end the war between the flat-chested and large-breasted factions, we have thoughtfully prepared different achievements for the heroines who possess these two attributes.

Conditions for achieving this: Be held tightly in the arms of a female protagonist who is suited for romantic comedies, and complete the above actions intentionally or unintentionally. The dialogue is up to you.

The other achievement associated with this achievement is "Small is also cute".

Of course, if we follow the chronological order, before unlocking this achievement, what first caught Chen Junqian's eye was the information about the new female lead's inclusion.

Shen Nianqiu has an A rating for appearance, an A rating for basic abilities, a D rating for personality, a C rating for action, a C+ rating for speech, and a B- rating for current romantic comedy.

Fortunately, reality wasn't some strange romantic comedy set. Before Chen Junqian could even utter a line from the achievement description that showed the male protagonist's respect, the other person had already let go of his embrace, but still had both hands on his shoulders, and slightly raised the corners of her mouth, showing a perfect smile without showing her teeth.

"Chen, Jun, Qian—brother, we've finally met."

During this rapid growth period when height can change every year, Shen Nianqiu, who is two years older than him and develops earlier as a girl, is even taller than Zhu Wenyun. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to easily pull him into her chest with just one hug.

Moreover, it wasn't just a matter of height. At this point, Shen Nianqiu, who could be considered a first-year junior high student, had clearly shed some of her childishness. The development of secondary sexual characteristics brought about the curves of her body. Although it was a voice and tone that she was used to hearing, listening to it again under the gaze of the other person's gradually unfolding, picturesque eyebrows and eyes gave her a completely different and fresh feeling.

The biggest problem with online dating is that the voice you're used to hearing doesn't quite match the real person. But Shen Nianqiu is completely different. You can even feel that this kind of voice should come from a girl like her, full of gentleness and tolerance.

"Qiu, sister."

Although the system had already revealed the other person's real name, Chen Junqian still called her by her online name, and the girl smiled and nodded in response.

"My full name is Shen Nianqiu, but I don't mind being called that. It's rare to see someone like you, little brother, who would use their real name or full name as their online name."

Even when trying to control her facial expressions and movements, she can't completely close her lips like when she smiles, and she inevitably shows her teeth when she speaks.

However, Chen Junqian seemed completely unconcerned about this. After all, just as the other person hadn't felt any ill will towards him because of his appearance in his previous life, he was naturally willing to offer her his support in a similar situation.

Since other people were still nearby and casting slightly curious glances, Chen Junqian was prepared to speak up and introduce them.

"This is my dad, my mom, and me..."

Before he could even point at Lin Mu and speak, the other party had already retorted sharply:

"I am Qianqian's friend, his best friend."

Even without deliberately adding that suffix, Shen Nianqiu could easily see this. After all, if the two of them and their families weren't particularly close, they wouldn't have formed such a three-plus-one lineup. So she just smiled at it.

"Yes, I've heard a lot about you from my little brother, Mu Mu."

Because Shen Nianqiu's tone and attitude were absolutely impeccable, even though Lin Mu herself was completely unwilling to talk to him anymore and just wanted to pull Chen Junqian away, her long-standing excellent upbringing made her retract the harsh tone she had subconsciously uttered earlier, and she forced a smile onto her face:

"Yes, I've also heard a lot about you from Qianqian."

In fact, there is none at all.

Rather, before last month, she had no idea that Chen Junqian had such a long-time online friend with whom she had a good relationship and was even willing to meet in person, and that the friend was a girl.

Damn it... I should have included this question when I asked Qianqian about origami with the winds of the four directions.

"Where's your sister? Didn't she come with her parents?"

"Oh, they went to visit other pavilions. We also came to the China Pavilion on the first day. Although we arranged to meet you at noon, we wanted to come earlier, so we said we wanted to see the China Pavilion again, and that's why one of us came first."

As she spoke, Shen Nianqiu, just like an older sister, naturally took Chen Junqian's hand:

"Come on, I just came here the day before yesterday... Hmm, how about you treat me as your personal tour guide?"

"I need to tell my parents and Mumu first."

Because they were in different places, and this meeting might be the last time they met, they didn't know when they would meet again. So, Chen Junqian didn't refuse the invitation. After talking to his parents, he looked at Lin Mu and brought up the promise they had made when they were in the after-school care center.

After all, he had made it very clear at that time that he might not be able to accompany her for the whole time because he had to meet with an online friend. Lin Mu had indeed agreed at that time. So even though she was unwilling, Lin Mu, who had never shown any timidity or lost face in front of outsiders since childhood and could even swallow the vegetables she hated most when others put them in her mouth, really couldn't say or do anything to be coquettish or willful to break her promise at the last minute.

"Then Qianqian, you should go."

She glanced again at the girl standing next to her childhood sweetheart, whose height difference had surpassed the height difference between her and Chen Junqian, and at certain other features that were also significantly more prominent than hers. Lin Mu awkwardly turned her head away to comfort herself:

What's there to care about? It's more like that's how it should be. After all, just as she initially thought, a middle school girl like that would never want to be associated with an elementary school student. At most, it would be like how the two of them address each other, clearly indicating that they are siblings.

"See you at lunchtime then."

Noticing that his childhood sweetheart was a little upset, Chen Junqian took the initiative to reach out and pat her head. However, Lin Mu didn't even have the mind to mutter "It's because you patted my head that I'm not growing tall" as usual, because she was trying her best to control her hand.

Trying hard to control myself from reaching out and grabbing the other person's outstretched arm, then holding on like a child I'd seen at a relative's house, even rolling on the ground, I wouldn't let go until I got what I wanted.

"Qianqian probably didn't eat much this morning, so I brought you some food in case you suddenly get hungry on the way."

Lin Mu took some of the snacks she had brought from her backpack, which she had originally intended to share with him, and stuffed them into Chen Junqian's pocket. Only then did she turn around with a determined look, as if by doing so she was still by his side.

...Anyway, they will eventually come back to me.

Just like convincing himself that eating bitter melon every day would make him grow taller, when Lin Mu finally convinced himself, he realized that the other person had already gone far away.

Well, just like eating bitter melon doesn't necessarily make you grow taller, but it is indeed very bitter.

Even though she knew her childhood sweetheart would only be gone for a short while, she still felt a bitter taste in her mouth, to the point that her lips shriveled up rather unsightly.

When your mouth tastes bitter, you should eat something sweet to suppress it, but it always feels like this isn't just ordinary bitterness; you need something more stimulating, just like the alcohol my father sometimes drinks.

Thinking of this, Lin Mu took out a packet of popping candy from his pocket, tore it open, and poured it into his mouth in one gulp, looking quite like the fishmonger Qiang who would be eating coffee dry more than ten years later.

A string of words immediately popped into his mouth, saving him the trouble of having to speak again to call him back.

"My time has come, I have to leave. This is my tree!"

Ugh... she really wanted to put up a sign like that right here.

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

Of course, Chen Junqian had no idea that in the short time he was gone, the little boy left behind had been experiencing a rollercoaster of thoughts, as Shen Nianqiu had already taken his hand and taken him directly up to the second floor.

The second floor area mainly corresponds to the theme of this World Expo, "Better City, Better Life," and is decorated with a large number of interactive areas with a strong science fiction style, such as the canvas called "Future City" that he was pulled to by the other party.

Children can freely express their imaginations about the future on it, and the things they draw will appear simultaneously on the giant projection above their heads, automatically adding some interaction with the surrounding environment.

Actually, once you get over the initial awkwardness, the familiar voice and tone can easily shorten the distance between online friends meeting for the first time. Although, as soon as they met, he felt like he had already been artificially brought closer together.

"Did your sister come from Zhejiang?"

"Yes, I live in Hangzhou now, but my hometown is not there, but Lin'an City, which is under its jurisdiction."

Upon hearing the somewhat familiar place name, Chen Junqian was momentarily stunned, and related information quickly surfaced in his mind.

At this time, Lin'an, like Guoning, had just been upgraded from a county to a city at the end of the last century, and had not yet been incorporated into Hangzhou as a district...

As for why he knows so much about it, it's because although Lin'an is located in Zhejiang Province, it actually borders Anhui and even Guoning. It is originally adjacent to Anji County, Jixi County and Guoning City in Anhui to the north.

But that's not the main point. The main point is another consequence of this border: these two county-level cities, located in different provinces, are actually quite similar or even converging in terms of climate and soil.

The most compelling evidence is that the other party was also able to grow hickory nuts and, like Guoning, won the honorary title of "Hometown of Chinese Hickory Nuts." However, unlike Guoning's subsequent decline in the hickory nut industry and its shrinking market share year after year, Lin'an's hickory nuts successfully completed the industry transformation and directly took over the former's position. The planting area and output soared, accounting for more than 60% and 70% of the national planting area and market, respectively.

However, upon reflection, he could indeed guess that, because when he had talked to Shen Nianqiu about Lin Mu's nine yuan and fifty cents, she hadn't asked about her parents being away from home because they had to go back to harvest walnuts. After all, such customs and traditions existed in Lin'an.

Of course, not all children are reborn, and they certainly wouldn't have collected a lot of relevant information like Chen Junqian did because of his university courses. When introducing her hometown to him, Shen Nianqiu didn't even mention pecans at all, only remarking on the fact that her home and Chen Junqian's home didn't seem to be far apart.

Thinking about it this way, the cost for the two of them to meet here seems to be much higher than if either of them had taken a bus directly there.

"Then it should be easier to meet in the future. I thought we were in the far north and far south, but it turns out that although we are not in the same province, we are not that far apart."