I turned reality into a romantic comedy

"And let me tell you, even if you know someone, don't take the initiative to talk to them in this situation. It's very embarrassing. Oh... she seems to have seen us."

Perhaps because their elementary school uniforms were too conspicuous in the market, Zhu Wenyun, who was not far away, happened to glance up and saw them, and nodded slightly to them.

"But she probably doesn't know us... I only found out her name because I overheard the homeroom teacher from the next class saying that she usually does well on her weekly journals and picture-writing assignments, but she always fails to finish her essays on Chinese exams. How come she came over here?"

Seeing that the other person had put down their homework and was walking towards her, Lin Mu carefully hid behind Chen Junqian again. She even used the tofu she had just bought, along with the plastic bag, to cover her eyes, adopting an ostrich-like attitude of "if I can't see you, it's the same as you can't see me".

"You're from Shishi Primary School too, right? Are you here to buy groceries with your parents? We have some really fresh bok choy and water spinach here, all grown by grandma herself in the field. Would you like to take a look? They're sweet and crunchy when stir-fried."

Rather than noticing that he and Lin Mu were wearing the same school uniform, Chen Junqian was more interested in the two bags of vegetables they were carrying. Seeing a little girl about his height earnestly promoting her vegetable stall, Chen Junqian felt a sense of kinship, since he had done something similar before.

But soon, he noticed the unnaturalness hidden beneath this formulaic rhetoric. The girl in front of him, with her long, flowing hair, was noticeably taller than Lin Mu, and had large, clear eyes. She was subtly avoiding his and Lin Mu's gaze, and her hands behind her back seemed to be nervously twisting a few fingers together. Chen Junqian even felt that if he said "no" at this moment, she would breathe a sigh of relief and run back.

However, this emotion seemed to come and go quickly, as if everything just now was his own illusion. The other person soon raised their head again, looked him straight in the eye, and continued speaking:

"You must be from Class 4 next door. I'm Zhu Wenjun from Class 3 of Grade 4. The vegetables at my house are really delicious and inexpensive. They're all grown without pesticides."

"Great, that's exactly what we were planning to do – buy some water spinach."

Although he returned the few dollars to Lin Mu, Chen Junqian still had a kickback he had saved from the complete guide to elementary school textbooks, so after thinking about it, he agreed and soon went to pick out some water spinach with the other party's help.

"That's one dollar and seventy cents in total. Here's your change of three cents."

Taking the two one-yuan coins Chen Junqian handed over, Zhu Wenyun carefully took out three more one-jiao coins from the plastic coin box. These coins felt different from the five-jiao and one-yuan coins; their edges were more distinct and their surface was more textured. She then handed them back to him with a smile and said:

"see you next time."

And so, Chen Junqian, who had bought more ingredients than expected, was pulled out of the market by Lin Mu.

"I've never heard anyone say that Zhu Wenyun had such a thing..."

"That's because you've never been here before. But I only found out today myself, since I used to go to the vegetable market on the other side of the city."

Chen Junqian was also a little surprised. After all, although he had never met her in his previous life, judging from the books he had borrowed, such as "Heidi", "Robinson Crusoe", "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" and "Dream of the Red Chamber", which she had placed on her bookshelf, he originally thought she would be a more literary student.

However, since Lin Mu didn't really know much about Zhu Wenjun, the student from the next class, and was only surprised that a classmate he usually met in the corridor would be at the vegetable market after school helping her grandmother sell vegetables, the two stopped talking about each other and continued walking towards Lin Mu's house.

"Actually, Weiwei mentioned to me last time that she's been practicing cooking, or rather, making cakes. But when I asked her, I found out she was actually practicing with store-bought modeling clay. How could that possibly be effective?"

Having left behind the unfamiliar environment and embarked on the familiar road home, Lin Mu's spirits were noticeably higher. She skipped and hopped ahead of Chen Junqian with an air of determination that seemed determined to break the tofu in her hand, occasionally turning back to talk to him.

"Weiwei? Xu Youwei from our class?"

"Yeah, she's the one sitting behind me. I thought she'd be the first friend to come over to my house, because I always wanted to invite her over so I could go to her house too. I'm telling you, I'm super curious about where she lives, because Weiwei always goes in a different direction when she leaves school. Sometimes I see her on this road, and once I saw her again when I went to the bookstore on the other side. Chen Junqian, isn't that really strange?"

Upon hearing Lin Mu mention Xu Youwei's name, Chen Junqian tried to recall her name, but as always, he couldn't remember her. He only remembered that she seemed to always represent the class in sports meets. After all, whether in elementary school, middle school, high school, or university, he had very few interactions with any girls, let alone any stories between them.

"Maybe it's because she's saving the world, or maybe she has some kind of secret base, like the Adventure Tigers."

"That makes sense. If that's the case, I'll definitely ask her to take me with her next time."

Chen Junqian was just joking, but Lin Mu seemed to take it seriously and began to analyze the other party's secret stronghold in earnest:

"The Adventure Tigers are an American book, and their secret base is inside a Chinese restaurant. So if Vivi is like them, her secret base should be in an American restaurant!"

But then, she looked deflated:

"But we don't have any stores like that here... neither KFC nor McDonald's."

As a small, third-tier county town, Chen Junqian knew very well that at this time, Guoning only had some small, off-the-beaten-path shops selling fried chicken and hamburgers. Not to mention KFC and McDonald's, which Lin Mu mentioned, even Dicos, which focuses more on the lower-tier market, would not officially open in the county town for another year, and KFC would not open for another three or four years.

As for McDonald's and Burger King, these two brands had not been established until Chen Junqian was officially reborn, and he himself only ate them for the first time after he went to university.

"Does Lin Mu really like hamburgers, fried chicken, and fries?"

"Well, just a little bit. It's mainly because my parents never let me eat it, so I'm more curious about the specific taste."

Whether it was because he had discovered some strange fetish at the market or simply because it was too hot, Lin Mu unconsciously pressed the icy tofu through the plastic bag against his face, making Chen Junqian want to say, "Don't play with the food."

"We're here. My home is in Building 3, Unit 3, Room 302. How about that? Easy to remember, right?"

After walking for a few more minutes, the two finally arrived at the gate of Green Gull Garden. Lin Mu proudly shook his backpack, then led Chen Junqian to the place with ease and began to take out his keys from his backpack to open the door.

Compared to the tenement building where Chen Junqian's family lived, Lin Mu's home in this type of commercial housing complex was undoubtedly much larger, to the point that he even had to change his shoes before entering.

As soon as you enter the house, you can see a cross-stitch painting with the theme "Harmony in the family brings prosperity in all things" hanging in the main hall.

"Mmm... Chen Junqian, you can wear my dad's shoes for now. They're a little big, but it should be fine."

After hesitating for a moment, Lin Mu took a pair of her father's shoes from the shoe cabinet and handed them to Chen Junqian. Then, she sniffed and earnestly instructed him:

"It's just for temporary wear, so don't take advantage of me."

"Okay, okay, where's your kitchen?"

"There it is."

After pointing Chen Junqian in the right direction, Lin Mu, like a thief, opened his bedroom door a crack and put his schoolbag inside. Then, he followed Chen Junqian into the kitchen, opened the refrigerator cabinet with practiced ease, and took out two bottles of Miaolian Xiaoyangren (a brand of instant noodles).

"Here, would you like to drink this?"

"Well, thank you."

Unlike Lin Mu, who sipped her drink with ladylike grace, Chen Junqian quite decisively downed most of it in one gulp, placed it on the counter, and then opened the refrigerator door a second time, mumbling indistinctly:

"Let me see, there's still half a tray of eggs left. Oh, and there are even two sausages. It's enough to make fried rice. I'll make you some in a couple of days. It's one of my best dishes. I can eat two bowls of rice even if it's not a dish that goes well with rice."

After checking the usable ingredients, Chen Junqian scanned the various seasonings and kitchen utensils on the counter, found the rice bucket in the corner of the kitchen, asked Lin Mu about his appetite, scooped out about the right amount, skillfully rinsed the rice, and then started cooking the rice in the rice cooker.

Compared to his grandparents' family still cooking over a wood-fired stove, technology can indeed change lives. However, what seemed like a simple process to Chen Junqian was already quite overwhelming for Lin Mu.

When he tentatively turned on the gas stove, and a blue flame suddenly rose from the stove, Lin Mu was startled like a rabbit and took three steps back.

"Hmm... there's no problem with the fire either."

After confirming that all the kitchen utensils were intact, Chen Junqian began to process the ingredients she had bought that day one by one, washing, picking, and chopping the vegetables. Apart from the fact that the kitchen knife at Lin Mu's house was not the right size for her age and was a little difficult to use, she did not encounter any other problems. However, the sound of the knife cutting on the cutting board still made her a little scared.

When Chen Junqian finished his work and turned around, he found the other person standing nervously behind him, having somehow produced a huge pile of band-aids, cold medicine, and other such items. The landline phone on the table nearby was also set aside, ready to make a call at any moment. The other person was muttering to himself:

"For cuts, call 120; for fire, call 119. My address is Room 302, Unit 3, Building 3, Green Gull Garden..."

"It's not that exaggerated—"

As he spoke, Chen Junqian directly threw the chopped tofu into the pan to fry, and the sizzling sound made Lin Mu tremble again. However, even so, he still stood in the position where he could rush up to 'rescue' him at any moment and stubbornly argued:

"You are the guest, and I am the host. It is normal for a host to care about guests who come to visit."

"Alright, alright, instead of wasting time on this, go get your own bowls and chopsticks, wash your hands, and sit at the table obediently to prepare your meal. These dishes won't take much time; they'll be ready in a little while."

Although this elementary school student's body still needed the height of a stool to freely wield the spatula, Chen Junqian had lived alone for a long time in his previous life, so making a few small, single-serving home-style dishes was not difficult for him.

And just as he said, soon, just like the second magic trick he performed for Lin Mu today, a simple tofu dish, a stir-fried loofah with fried dough sticks, and a stir-fried tomato and egg dish, along with a bowl of rice, appeared on Lin Mu's dining table.

"I couldn't find any meat in the fridge, so I'll just have to make do with this. But it should taste pretty good. After you finish eating, cover it with this plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator. Do the same with the rice cooker, put it in with the leftover rice. It'll be perfect for making fried rice tomorrow."

Looking at Chen Junqian, who was leisurely washing his hands in the kitchen and giving him these instructions, Lin Mu felt as if the other person had suddenly transformed from her classmate into her parents.

And he was indeed wearing his father's shoes!

To hide her unease, she quickly picked up her chopsticks and tasted each of the three dishes one by one. Surprisingly, they really tasted no different from what she usually ate at home. They were definitely above average and could be considered delicious.

"I understand... Thank you for today."

"It's alright, we're friends after all. Let's call it a day, I'll head back now and come back tomorrow."

Watching Chen Junqian drag his oversized shoes step by step toward the door, Lin Mu called out to him again:

“When my parents come back, I’ll have them buy you a pair of slippers that you can fit into.”

When Chen Junqian turned around to look at her, she was already looking down at the bowl of rice in front of her.

She thought that even if she were facing her most hated leafy green vegetables, she could probably close her eyes and chew and swallow them all, since that would be much easier than looking into the other person's eyes and saying the following words.

"So, after they come back, you can come to my house and play with me..."

Chapter Six: I've seen this older sister before.

Before leaving, Lin Mu also asked for Chen Junqian's QQ number. Because her parents were away from home for a week, she had plenty of time to use the computer. Every night after finishing her homework, she would immerse herself in various games on QQ Space, from Farmville and Ranch to Q Pet Battle. In every aspect, she was much freer than Chen Junqian was now.

However, if his mother went out to play mahjong tonight, he could sneak onto the computer for a while. After all, it was because he had gone to great lengths to get the password in his previous life that he remembered the password for his computer very clearly after being reborn. So he told Lin Mu to accept her friend request when he got home that night.

Having found the bus stop outside Green Gull Garden, Chen Junqian, who was waiting for the bus to his home, naturally looked around at the surrounding environment and scenery.

Although Guoning is a small city, he is most familiar with the area around his school and home. Although he has been to Green Gull Garden before, he doesn't know it very well. So he started looking at the shops along the street one by one to pass the time.

A CD shop, a Lanzhou noodle shop, a tobacco and alcohol convenience store, a pharmacy... and next to it is a braised food shop called 250.

When Chen Junqian glanced at the entrance of the braised food shop, his gaze instinctively froze, because right in front of the window stood a girl wearing the same school uniform as him, with a cute, short bob.

It's been almost two hours since school let out. Although it's possible that she came out at her parents' request to add some dishes to tonight's dinner table, the fact that she's carrying a Mickey Mouse backpack clearly shows that she came back from school and hasn't gone home yet.

While Chen Junqian was watching the other person from a distance, the girl seemed to have already communicated something with the shop owner across the window. She reached in and handed over some money, then took out a small bag of what appeared to be braised tofu and braised bean curd sheets.

But the next second, the other person naturally untied the simply tied plastic bag, and Chen Junqian then discovered that the two braised dishes she bought were not shredded at all. Both the dried tofu and the tofu skin were whole pieces, and she was eating them in small bites as she walked away, disappearing from sight in a short while.

Chen Junqian wasn't sure if it was because Lin Mu had mentioned Xu Youwei before he arrived, but because she kept her head down, he couldn't see her face clearly. However, recalling the two times he had seen her in class today, it seemed that she really was Xu Youwei, who was in his class.

However, the bus he needed to take finally arrived, and Chen Junqian quickly boarded and sat in the last empty seat.

The old-fashioned bus swayed and rocked forward, and the passengers seemed to be dozing off in the slight swaying. The gradually darkening sky reminded Chen Junqian of the public service advertisement about giving up one's seat that he had seen on TV.

Unfortunately, no elderly, infirm, disabled, or pregnant women were asked to give up their seats until he got off the train. Chen Junqian, who failed to score the first point in the public morality competition, had no choice but to return home with his schoolbag on his back.

Although he returned much later than yesterday, it wasn't time for his parents, who had just gotten home from get off work, to press him for details. They simply said that he had played ping-pong with his classmates on the playground after school and that was enough to get away with it. They also handed him a bag of water spinach that they had brought back, saying that they had suddenly wanted to eat it at a roadside vegetable stall and had bought it.

Because he had always been the kind of good child who had never caused his parents any extra worry in the past few years, he hadn't attracted any inquiries.

Taking advantage of the last bit of time before dinner, Chen Junqian quickly finished his math and English practice problems before starting his Chinese copying homework, which involved copying the vocabulary list from today's lesson four times.

I skillfully added an extra pen, and although I hadn't used this technique in a long time, it was still easy for me to get back to it. Working in tandem with this technique, I doubled my efficiency on the exercise book.

After comparing his previous handwriting with his current penmanship, which was barely legible but far from aesthetically pleasing, Chen Junqian was quite satisfied. After all, ever since he chose humanities in his previous life and was taught countless times by his homeroom teacher and other teachers about the importance of writing for humanities students, he had spent several winter and summer vacations practicing calligraphy with copybooks. He not only practiced Chinese characters but also developed a standard Hengshui style of English.

After finishing his homework and eating, Chen Junqian watched his mother, who was always saying she was short one player for a mahjong game, and his father, who was continuing to read books in hopes of a promotion and a raise. He didn't care who got the MVP or who was just a lazy winner. Instead, he immediately sat down at the computer.

After the familiar startup music played, Chen Junqian successfully entered the password and entered the desktop. After staring blankly at the computer screen with its blue sky and white clouds for a while, he instinctively moved the mouse to the shortcut called 'Broadband Connection', clicked it, and then clicked connect. Only after confirming that the computer had internet access did he find and open Tencent QQ.

Because he applied at a moderate time, Chen Junqian's QQ number was about nine digits long. After trying two of the passwords he used most often when he was a child, he successfully logged in. After habitually logging out of QQ Pet, he saw the friend request from Lin Mu.

Perhaps because his personality at this time was somewhat closer to the bookworm that girls talked about, he used his real name as his QQ nickname, which was quite plain. Lin Mu on the other side was no different, simply repeating his name, which was also quite plain, 'Mu Mu', and his profile picture was a puppy.

"Wow, I thought I was the only one using my real name, but I didn't expect you, Chen Junqian, to use it even more thoroughly."

Just as he accepted the friend request, accompanied by a system notification sound of a cough, Lin Mu immediately sent him a message.

All I can say is that after seeing the flashy QQ avatar in the other person's chat box, Chen Junqian silently retracted his previous bland comment.

At this time, the emoji culture wasn't as popular as it would later become, and many of the system's default emojis hadn't yet been given all sorts of random meanings. Chen Junqian initially wanted to subconsciously reply with a "hehe," but after thinking about it, he didn't do so. Instead, he asked back:

"Aren't you using your real name too?"

"It's different. I only used my first name, not my surname. But I think you must really like your name, Chen Junqian, to use it as your online name. Actually, I really like my name too."

Lin Mu online seemed even more lively than she was offline, sending message after message like a machine gun:

"By the way, do you know the origin of your name? Were you curious about this when you were little? Did you ever get scolded by your teacher in kindergarten for not being able to write your name? You see, the character '谦' is really hard to write."

"I really don't know, I think it's because one of our ancestors had this character in their name."

"It's a courtesy name! It's just like people from ancient times. I want to have a courtesy name in the future... No, no, my name is already very nice, so I'll pass."

As he spoke, Lin Mu earnestly and proudly explained the origin of his name to Chen Junqian from the other end of the computer:

"Actually, I could already write my name before I was taught by my teacher in kindergarten. My parents both believe in the Lin family, so when they taught me to write my name when I was very young, they told me that the two of them were like two trees standing together. I am the fruit of their love, a little tree that they protected and nurtured. So it is written as '木木氵木'. How about that? Isn't it easy to remember?"

"Great, I can write this in my essay. I think it would be better than the scenario where I suddenly get sick in the middle of the night, can't get a taxi, and it starts raining, putting me in a 'locked room' situation and forcing my mom to carry me on her back all the way to the hospital."

After studying and criticizing Chen Junqian's long and complicated sentence for quite a while, Lin Mu finally replied weakly:

"I feel like I've actually written a similar passage before."

After exchanging their real names and online nicknames, Chen Junqian asked the other person a couple more times if they had set out the food as he had instructed. Then he proactively said he would go offline temporarily. The other person seamlessly switched their QQ status to "busy," and when he sent another message, he only received a self-edited message: "Hello, I'm going to secretly ring my neighbor's doorbell to play. I'll be back after my neighbor scolds me." They must have gone back to playing QQ Space games.

However, compared to the ones that come with QQ Space, Chen Junqian logged into the CrossFire client with great interest. At this time, because CF had just launched the Biohazard mode, the number of concurrent online players had reached a new high, making it a shooting game dream for hundreds of millions of mouse users. He was no exception.

Although geographically speaking, he, being from Anhui, should have chosen Anhui Region 1, perhaps because Shanghai Region 1 has the most players, he seems to have always played on Shanghai Region 1.