I turned reality into a romantic comedy

"Mu Mu".

Hearing Chen Junqian call his name, Lin Mu, unaware that he had just made a fool of himself in front of the entire audience, turned around, saw him, and immediately jogged over.

"Where did you go, Qianqian?"

"There were a lot of people just now, and we got separated for a moment."

Feeling it wasn't quite right to say Xu Youwei had pulled him away at this moment, Chen Junqian gave a perfunctory reply, then proactively apologized:

"Sorry for making you worry."

"It's alright, I'm just glad you're okay. I got your autograph."

Lin Mu carefully examined Chen Junqian from head to toe again, and only after confirming that he was alright did she feel relieved and hand over the letter with Jay Chou's autograph that she had been holding in her hand:

"Let's go back together, and Mom will drive you."

"Well, go back."

After this little incident, Lin Mu naturally took Chen Junqian's right hand. Even though her hand was smaller, she held it with even more force than when she had held the two autographed papers, as if afraid that Chen Junqian would run away again when she wasn't looking.

As Chen Junqian exited through the back door, he spotted Zhu Wenyun in the crowd. She seemed to have been drawn here by the announcement, so he waved to her to let her know he was alright and hadn't really gotten lost.

To be honest, even if someone were to get lost, it seems more likely that the child next to him would be the one to get lost.

Who is Qianqian waving to?

"Zhu Wenyun, I just saw her. She must have come to check on the situation after hearing the broadcast."

"Oh……"

At this point, Lin Mu belatedly realized that her last words in the broadcasting room had also been broadcast, her voice slightly stammering:

"So, it's that, um, the last sentence."

"I think most people probably didn't recognize who it was, right? After all, it's just a voice. People who aren't very familiar with me probably wouldn't recognize it. It's more like I'm Li Ziming from Class 6, Grade 3 right now."

After being comforted by Chen Junqian using the Want Want Milk commercial as an example, Lin Mu's smile returned.

"I actually have Want Want Milk at home. Can I bring some for you, Qianqian, when you go to school the day after tomorrow?"

"Okay."

Since he happened to see Zhu Wenyun, Chen Junqian casually asked Lin Mu:

"Zhu Wenyun has been asking us to have dinner together for a while now, and she's already received her royalties. When does Mumu plan to go?"

"Hmm... Let me think... how about National Day? That's next week. I'll just pick a day when I don't have any tutoring classes."

Speaking of tutoring classes, Lin Mu himself was also a bit tired.

After all, she had already fallen behind in her studies since last year, so she had to continue with tutoring classes this year. Combined with her existing calligraphy interest classes, her time on weekends and even holidays was still a bit tight.

"Okay, I'll talk to her later and ask if Mumu has any particular restaurant she'd like to go to, since Yun said we could choose the place?"

"I don't think it's necessary for her to spend too much money. Let's just pick a place that's relatively inexpensive per person. How about we go for mala tang?"

"I don't think Wenjun would agree to that. There's a new all-you-can-eat barbecue place that just opened on Hejin Road. Let's go there and eat there."

"Yeah, that's okay."

After agreeing on the time and specific location, Chen Junqian got into Lin Mu's mother's car. As soon as they got in, Lin Mu was dealt a severe backstabbing attack by her own mother.

"You have no idea how Mu Mu looked at that time. She was almost crying on the spot. She asked her dad to broadcast a message in the broadcasting room to find someone, and at the same time she called me."

While driving, Lin Mu's mother didn't forget to expose her daughter's embarrassing situation.

"Actually, I really wanted to say at that time, 'How could you possibly get lost?' But I guess Mu Mu wouldn't listen at all at that time, so that's how it was."

"No, no, it's just that I got separated from the crowd, which made Auntie and Mumu worry."

"Haha, I'm not worried at all, or rather, there's someone who has already taken on all my worries."

"Ahhhh... Mom, please concentrate on driving. You can't be distracted while driving."

A little embarrassed, Lin Mu lightly kicked the driver's seat twice from behind. Then, she angrily reached into her pocket for candy. She always had to chew on something sweet whenever she was unhappy, and she also slipped one to Chen Junqian sitting next to her.

What she had in her pocket today was watermelon jelly bubble gum. What made it different from other bubble gums was that it contained a sweet and sour red jelly in the middle.

However, Lin Mu seemed to have completely forgotten this point. He put the two together and started chewing them, then used the rigorous methodology of learning by doing to demonstrate that they wouldn't stick together when chewed together, but rather the red jelly part in the middle would melt first.

It's safe to say that another piece of useless trivia has been added to our collection.

Goodbye, Qianqian—

"Okay, goodbye Mumu."

After dropping Chen Junqian off downstairs, Lin Mu rolled down the car window, smiled, waved goodbye, and suddenly felt that she could write a much longer diary entry for today.

Faced with this moment of heroism, it was also time to put to use the Crown Pen she had recently splurged a fortune on from the stationery store.

Actually, when I looked back and didn't see Qianqian, I felt even more scared than when I saw my failed final exam paper, or when I discovered I had lost two hundred yuan. Seriously.

Facing the crown-shaped pen cap that gleamed under the lamplight, Lin Mu once again resisted the habit of biting off the cap while writing, and continued to truthfully record the day's events and his current feelings in his diary:

[If someone had told me back in the broadcasting room that I could find Qianqian immediately if I cried, I probably would have cried without caring how many people were around. At that moment, I wouldn't have felt ashamed. It's strange.]

[Probably because Qianqian has always been such an important person to me.]

I don't want to lose him, I really, really don't.

[...Just thinking about it makes me feel disgusted.]

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Besides fulfilling a favor that Zhu Wenyun had been asking him to do, Chen Junqian also wanted to take a test of a certain achievement for the barbecue dinner during this National Day holiday.

That is, it was already like it was about to be triggered a year ago, but it still hasn't been unlocked to this day, giving off a feeling of being just one step away from getting it on Pinduoduo, which is like a "battleground in progress".

Chen Junqian recalled that during his trip to Jing County about a year ago, this achievement had been faintly shining, but in the end, nothing happened when he returned.

When Shen Nianqiu went to the Shanghai World Expo this summer, on the morning of the day she and Lin Mu first met, which was also when the [Face Wash] achievement was unlocked, Lin Mu seemed to be about to have it triggered as well, but in the end nothing happened.

It was precisely because of these two near-misses that Chen Junqian specifically studied the description of this achievement and the specific conditions for judging success.

It can only be said that, when it comes to unlocking this achievement, the usually idiotic system has maintained an extremely strict review attitude.

But thinking about it, it makes sense, since it is indeed a rare achievement that can be triggered repeatedly.

Secondly, unlike other repeatable achievements whose reward frequency is once, ten times, one hundred times, and one thousand times, the achievement "[Shura Field in Progress]" is considered to be unlocked once for each trigger, which is indeed the best in terms of cost-effectiveness.

If Chen Junqian were to find the reason for the first two failed attempts, he would feel that the first time it was because Xu Youwei came to the rescue.

The second reason is that Shen Nianqiu and Lin Mu had too little time together. Apart from the few minutes they met on the first morning, they basically avoided meeting each other for the rest of the days. Naturally, they could not meet the system's requirement that at least two female protagonists be present.

Having actually watched various Japanese romantic comedy anime and even dabbled in related manga, Chen Junqian's understanding of romantic comedy and the concept of a love triangle has naturally improved compared to last year when he knew absolutely nothing about it.

Unlike jealousy in the Chinese context, a "shura field" (a metaphor for a situation where one person is caught in the middle) would emphasize the specific reactions that follow jealousy. It's not just one person's sadness, but rather the interactive reactions between multiple people, creating a scene that puts the male protagonist in a difficult position while exciting the audience.

After carefully reviewing and thinking it over in his mind again, Chen Junqian, who had already upgraded to a master of romantic comedy and love triangle essays, suddenly realized a problem.

No, no.

The most important aspect of a chaotic situation is its unexpectedness, which even the male protagonist is unaware of. If the male protagonist knew from the beginning of the story that his actions would trigger a chaotic situation, then such a chaotic situation shouldn't even be called a chaotic situation.

After all, this achievement is not like those he could easily fool the system with various superficial feints before. As the core part of the entire romantic comedy system, the system's strictness in judging the Shura field has already been revealed.

So unlike other achievements, this one feels more like the kind of achievement where "you plant flowers with care but they don't bloom, but you plant willows without intention and they thrive."

More precisely, the female protagonists should be the main drivers and initiators.

After all, his two previous vague judgments were based on this premise, whether it was Zhu Wenyun's sudden appearance the first time or Shen Nianqiu's secret hug the second time.

After realizing this, Chen Junqian calmed down again. He met up with Zhu Wenyun first and then went to the barbecue restaurant they had chosen in advance, where Lin Mu was already waiting.

For children, just like Western fast food such as fried chicken and hamburgers, buffets are definitely one of their favorite types of meals. After all, they can enjoy discounted prices and eat and drink whatever they want, which seems like a great deal.

Of course, buffet owners also love kids who don't eat much to begin with and like to fill their stomachs with a few bottles of soda right away.

But Zhu Wenyun was clearly not that kind of child.

Rather, it's more accurate to say that she had a basic understanding of the prices of various ingredients. Not only did she have no intention of drinking carbonated beverages, but she also quickly ordered several plates of the most expensive meat, which made the shop owner next to her look on with a bit of surprise.

Facing Zhu Wenyun, who skillfully tied her long hair into a ponytail and proactively helped Chen Junqian put on a disposable apron to shield him from the cooking fumes, Lin Mu, who had just excitedly returned from the freezer with two bottles of iced tea, subconsciously tilted her head.

Does nobody drink beverages?

Chapter 74: Ordinary Peace and Stability are True Happiness and Joy (Part 2)

Sometimes, Chen Junqian himself would feel compelled to remark that history is indeed a constantly repeating cycle.

For young children, when elders put food into their bowls at the dinner table with the excuse of "this is delicious, eat more", they will subconsciously show some resistance. They will either silently endure it and pick out the parts they don't want to eat, or they will cover their bowls and say "I can pick it myself".

But when they're actually at the dinner table without adults around, they seem to suddenly realize that this is the only way to show their kindness and affection to others while eating.

Take, for example, the scene right in front of him.

"This is cooked, Qianqian, you can have it."

"This is grilled quite well, would you like to try some?"

Faced with two girls who were basically reciting various lines and then started acting like parents, piling meat and vegetables onto his plate, Chen Junqian suddenly felt a little fortunate that there were only two people sitting in front of him, and that he could still eat them all without refusing them.

If there were even more, like Okazaki Tomoya, the protagonist of "CLANNAD," receiving several bento boxes at once, that would probably be the real headache.

Chen Junqian chewed on a few slices of grilled chicken and bacon sandwiched in lettuce, while also glancing at the achievement list in his mind. "The Battlefield in Progress" was still there, twinkling and sparkling, full of Pinduoduo-style deceptive temptation, but he wouldn't fall for it again.

If you calculate the time, it's about a year since his rebirth. Although he can't compare to the many predecessors in online novels who have already achieved a small goal after being reborn for a year, Chen Junqian is still quite satisfied with himself at this time in his previous life.

While improving himself, he also expanded his interpersonal relationships, saved a near-tragedy, and even persuaded the parents of his relatives and friends to get on a high-speed train that would regain popularity in a year or two.

If Chen Junqian were to give himself a score for his first year, it would probably be over 80. After all, he doesn't actually have any overly lofty ideals or wishes. The reason he chose to be reborn instead of transmigrating when faced with the system was very simple: he just wanted to avoid certain regrets from his childhood, whether as a child or a children's literature worker.

Although from the perspective of a reborn person, the works created in the following ten years or so were all objects that he could copy at will. He had read a lot of this type of online novel in his previous life, but those stories were not Chen Junqian's own.

Or rather, he didn't need to decide his future path so early on, since no one stipulated that he would become a children's literature writer in this life after his rebirth, just like in his previous life.

After all, he joined this line of work in his previous life because of the many influences of his childhood experiences. Now that all his childhood experiences are completely different from his previous life, there is no need to try to find the sword by clinging to the past.

Moreover, he has already found someone more suitable than himself.

As someone who had worked in that field for several years, Chen Junqian was well aware that he could certainly attribute his failures to changes in the external environment and lament that "the new era no longer has a ship to carry me," but this did not change the fact that his writing skills were probably just so-so.

Just like Zhu Wenyun, who easily stood out from many submissions and had her work published on her first attempt, she is not a reborn person, but a real eleven-year-old elementary school student. However, whether it is the inspiration in her writing or her imagination, she is much better than him, an old geezer.

So although it is often said that even a skilled cook cannot make a meal without rice, sometimes even if you have rice, it really depends on the skill level of the cook. In Chen Junqian's heart, Zhu Wenyun is the best candidate to fulfill his ideal from his previous life, and the two of them even reached a consensus on this last year.

"The sample copy was sent to me a few days ago. Chen Junqian has already read it. Lin Mu, would you like to take a look?"

After eating several rounds, the three of them were gradually getting full. As they sat there to digest, Zhu Wenyun took out a thin book from her bag. The cover was printed with a cartoon-style font and the title was "My Deskmate and I's Nine Yuan and Fifty Yuan Survival Challenge".

“Okay, I’ll take a look. Actually, I quite enjoy reading Wu Meizhen’s books. I never expected to meet someone who’s in one of her books, and that she’s even writing about me. It feels so amazing.”

While reflecting on this, Lin Mu took the book and began to read it intently, occasionally offering his own commentary from the perspective of someone involved:

"Actually, you can buy a lot of things with nine yuan and fifty cents."

[This was the first time I'd ever seen my deskmate with such a confident expression, but surprisingly, I actually felt reassured by what he said.]

Well, to be honest, at that time I felt more confused about what Qianqian was going to do than relieved. I was even quite nervous when we got to the market. But looking back now, he was really reliable back then, and he was actually kind of handsome.

"Watching him skillfully stand on a chair and cook in my kitchen, I almost forgot he was the same age as me. This is really true. Let me tell you, back then he was wearing my dad's big-size shoes. But later I asked my mom to buy him a pair that fit properly."

"And this sentence here, 'You can always come to my house to play in the future,' oh my, this is what Qianqian said to you, right? It's my original sentence."

Okay, towards the end it completely turned into Lin Mu reminiscing about the past. Only after finishing the whole story did I close the book with satisfaction.

"It's so well written, much better than my diary. If I ever want to recall this period in the future, I feel like I can just look at the description in your book, Wenjun."

"...But actually, a lot of my thoughts and ideas in this story are just my own imagination. There are many plots and parts that should not completely match reality. Lin Mu, didn't you just point out some problems?"

"But many things can be viewed differently at the time and in hindsight. The descriptions in Wen Yun's book at least resonate with my current feelings and thoughts. I feel so grateful to know Qianqian. I feel very at ease when he's around, and that's enough."

"I see."

After listening to Lin Mu's explanation, Zhu Wenyun nodded thoughtfully, but her mood became somewhat complicated because of her answer.

Because almost all of the female protagonist's thoughts in this story are her own, and Lin Mu's statement at this moment is largely in line with her current feelings, it means that the two of them share a similar view of the male protagonist in the story. However, the other party seems completely unaware of this.

To be honest, there was one thing Zhu Wenyun didn't tell Chen Junqian and Lin Mu: the published manuscript they were seeing had been revised by the editor-in-chief, Wu Meizhen. In the initial draft she submitted, the related psychological descriptions were even more intense and ambiguous, but they were all revised and deleted in the end, leaving only this vague sense of reassurance.

However, looking at Lin Mu's reaction now, Zhu Wenyun even felt that this was a good thing. After all, even the thinnest window paper needs someone to break through it, but she naturally did not want to take the initiative to help.