I turned reality into a romantic comedy

"Because today is the 31st of the month, I feel like it would be a waste not to use up all of this month's domestic call minutes, since I have to pay for next month's phone plan tomorrow."

Along with Zhu Wenyun's voice came the sound of pattering water.

Are you washing your feet?

"Yes, I'm soaking my feet. It feels so good to soak my feet on such a cold day."

"Indeed, I was just about to go for a foot bath."

While continuing his phone call with Zhu Wenyun, Chen Junqian also took out a red foot bath basin, poured in hot water at the right temperature, carried the thermos and foot bath into the room, sat on the edge of the bed, took off his socks, and soaked his feet in the water before letting out a satisfied sigh.

Is Grandma asleep yet?

"Not yet, I'm watching TV in my room."

"Aren't Mom and Dad back yet?"

"...They said they wouldn't be coming back this year. They couldn't get tickets, and it snowed, so they thought the roads would be difficult to travel. They only called back yesterday to tell their grandma about it."

Upon hearing this, Chen Junqian was momentarily at a loss for words. In truth, he had known Zhu Wenyun for so long, yet he had never met her parents. It seemed that the two of them would only come back for a few days during the Chinese New Year, but he never expected that they wouldn't even come back for the New Year this year.

However, Zhu Wenyun seems to have gotten used to this infrequent gatherings, and can even find some joy in it amidst the hardship:

"But the two of them specially sent back the new clothes and cotton shoes they bought for me and my grandma by express delivery. The bright red cotton-padded jacket looks quite smart. I'll take a picture and send it to you after I wear the new clothes on the first day of the Lunar New Year."

"Hmm, haven't you talked to them about the royalties yet?"

"No, because I feel it's unnecessary, especially if they know that I used that three thousand yuan to buy a phone... Anyway, last year was already enough to make them proud. I received several certificates of merit, and we also received the commendation for our act of bravery together. That's enough. Grandma also told me not to tell them."

Have you ever stayed away from home like this before?

"Yes, I didn't come back in 2008 either. But there was really nothing I could do that year. It snowed a lot. I'm actually used to spending the New Year with my grandma, so there's nothing to worry about."

If it weren't for the fact that Chen Junqian's grandmother's house and Zhu Wenyun's place were quite far apart, he would have even wanted to invite her to come and visit during the Chinese New Year. However, the words circled in his throat for a couple of moments before he could actually say them, and he could only awkwardly and forcibly change the subject:

How's your cooking practice going lately?

"It went quite smoothly. Grandma taught me a lot. I estimate I can help cook two simple dishes for this year's New Year's Eve dinner. Actually, we don't need many dishes for just the two of us. And just the other day I suddenly realized that I'm almost taller than Grandma. I hope I can help her even more next year."

"Actually, Grandma is in pretty good health."

"Yes, I usually sell vegetables in the morning and go to the nearby park in the evening to dance with other aunties. It seems like there are more and more people dancing in Guoning recently. It's just that there aren't many people these days because it's close to the New Year and it's really too cold. Before that, I could faintly hear the sound at home."

"Indeed, it seems to be spreading very quickly. There are many people jumping around near my home, and they've taken over the places where kids usually play."

As a reborn person who returned from more than ten years in the future, Chen Junqian was deeply impressed by the popularity of square dancing. Although it was not yet the peak of 2012 and 2013 when Phoenix Legend's "The Most Dazzling Ethnic Trend" almost unified square dancing and everyone in the country was dancing it, the popularity of the dance had already begun to increase visibly. The open space in front of Yangning Park, where he and Xu Youwei often went after school, which was originally used to play badminton, had been occupied by square dancing aunties.

The two chatted about everyday things for a while until the hot water in the foot basin was added several times and was about to overflow. They then stopped the call, got up and poured out the foot bath water. After Chen Junqian washed his face, took off his clothes, and crawled into the bed that had been warmed by the electric blanket, the other party called again.

"Are you in bed yet?"

"Ah."

Chen Junqian put the phone to his ear and lay on his back on the bed, with only his head sticking out from under the covers.

"What about you?"

"I just got into bed."

You can hear the rustling sound of bedding and clothes rubbing together.

"Why do we take off our outer clothes and only wear the innermost layer when we go to bed in winter? Every morning when we get up and get dressed, we feel especially cold and lazy."

Chen Junqian couldn't help but chuckle at Zhu Wenyun's somewhat silly question, but he still gently explained to her:

"On the one hand, wearing such thick clothes to sleep will definitely affect the quality of sleep. On the other hand, the warmth will not be as good as you think. When you sleep at night, you mainly rely on the quilt to keep warm, so it is best to wear something light and breathable. Moreover, wearing too many clothes will make you sweat at night, and then you will catch a cold or something."

"I see. No wonder Grandma told me to remember to take that off when I go to sleep."

"that?"

Actually, when Chen Junqian asked the question subconsciously, he already knew what the other person was talking about, but since he had already asked, he could only wait for Zhu Wenyun's answer with a little embarrassment.

“…That’s it.”

Well, it seems the other person acted impulsively just now and is now belatedly feeling a bit shy. Not only are their words unclear, but their voice on the other end of the phone is also noticeably lower.

In fact, by the time most girls reach the fifth or sixth grade of elementary school, they do enter the period of secondary sexual development. However, among the girls Chen Junqian knew, only Zhu Wenyun was willing to discuss this matter with him in a fairly normal and natural way.

On the one hand, it was because of the book "Girl's Diary" that she had recommended to him more than a year ago, which he had read twice. On the other hand, it was mainly because Zhu Wenyun didn't have many friends and only had her grandmother at home. She could only talk to him about many of the subtle psychological changes that naturally arose due to physiological changes. As a result, Chen Junqian almost knew exactly which days of each month her menstrual cycle was.

"...Then I'll hang up? Get some rest."

"No, the time allotted for the package hasn't been used up yet."

"Losing a few tens of minutes isn't a big deal, is it?"

"I don't want to lose out at all. If you're sleepy, just go to sleep. I'll wait here for a few tens of minutes before hanging up. Don't worry, I definitely won't make a sound to disturb you."

Even if you say that, I don't think I'll be able to fall asleep easily.

After closing both eyes and failing to fall asleep for two or three minutes, Chen Junqian tentatively asked:

"Wen Yun?"

"Ok?"

"Aren't you sleepy? It's already past ten o'clock."

"I'm not sleepy, because I'm on the phone with you."

"I didn't say anything just now."

"But I can hear breathing sounds, as if they're right next to me. In fact, I find it harder to fall asleep than to try to sleep."

"...So why don't you hang up?"

"Because it's okay to stay up a little late sometimes, just consider it as preparing for New Year's Eve. Anyway, we'll be staying up past midnight to set off firecrackers that day."

"Have you been putting the lights on in your house the whole time?"

"I put it down with Grandma, and then I go to sleep."

Since the other party didn't seem to want to sleep, Chen Junqian decided to play along. After all, when it came to being the champion of staying up all night, he was never sleepy. He was just passively staying up when he was in school, but later he stayed up voluntarily when he was in college and working. He was a seasoned veteran with rich experience.

Sure enough, after chatting about all sorts of things, Zhu Wenyun couldn't take it anymore and lost to Chen Junqian in this all-nighter competition. He could only hang up the phone sleepily, and in doing so, he also gave Chen Junqian a new achievement.

[Late-night phone conversation]

There are few things in this world better than taking a nice shower, getting comfortable, lying in a warm bed, and having a late-night phone call with your crush. You can tell her about the funny things that have happened to you lately, listen to her talk about her expectations for the future, or simply be a sounding board for her complaints. Then you can say goodnight to each other, or stay on the phone until dawn.

After all, when someone is being missed, it doesn't matter whether they know it or not.

He was already being held in the arms of those who missed him.

Conditions for achieving this: Have a long phone call (at least 30 minutes) with a female protagonist who is suited for romantic comedies in bed at night.

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

On New Year's Eve, Chen Junqian had just returned to his grandmother's house when he saw that his grandmother had added a pillow and a quilt to the bed where he had slept when he came home for the holiday. This was to prepare a place for Chen Xi, who was going to stay overnight.

After all, in their parents' eyes, they were still children. Apart from being a little stubborn and not letting them share a blanket, and placing their pillows separately at the head and foot of the bed so that they could sleep opposite each other to show the difference between boys and girls, there was nothing else particularly special about the arrangement.

"Don't take your sister's blanket tonight."

"She's more likely to steal from me."

Chen Junqian rolled his eyes at his grandmother's words with amusement, then turned to look out the window. The little monster ran affectionately to his feet, shook off its slightly damp, dark fur, and rubbed against his trouser leg, its touch on his ankle feeling cool and refreshing.

It's snowing outside.

The Lunar New Year is approaching again.

Chapter 3: Although I Only Have Fantasies About Love (Part 2)

Because New Year's Eve dinner is usually eaten quite early, around 6 p.m., Chen Xi was taken to Chen Junqian's grandmother's house by her mother on a small electric scooter, and then went back to play mahjong.

She even took back the New Year's money envelope that Chen Xi had just received and hadn't even warmed up yet, adding, "Your New Year's money is all new money, it's auspicious. If Mom wins money tonight, I'll give you an extra hundred when I pay you back tomorrow."

However, having probably gotten used to the fact that New Year's money always disappears as soon as it passes through her hands, Chen Xi herself didn't have any special reaction. After getting off the electric scooter, she stood in the yard with her little face upturned, watching the fine snow falling softly. Chen Junqian wanted to add the background sound of "Snowflakes are falling - the north wind is howling -" to her.

Well, Chen Xi wasn't cosplaying Yuan Hua, who was unwillingly kneeling in the snow. She was just a child who loved snowy days. She even dragged Chen Junqian, who came to pick her up, into the yard. The two of them, along with the little dog wagging its tail next to them, watched as snowflakes fell on their heads, bodies, and hands, and then quickly melted into ice water.

"At this rate, it seems like we won't be able to pile it up by tomorrow morning."

"Are you planning to build a snowman?"

"Yeah, but it looks like there's no chance. I wonder if it will continue to snow heavily tonight. I wish I could open my eyes tomorrow morning and see snow piled up."

After making this remark, Chen Xi pulled Chen Junqian into the house, then invited Xiao Guai to come in as well. Only then did she close the door, and the two of them sat down in the inner room together.

Since it's impossible to open the doors and windows to let in fresh air and warm the fire at night like during the day, and it's snowing outside, there's no brazier in the room. Instead, a large electric brazier is used for heating, covered with several layers of old clothes. Putting your feet in to warm them will warm your whole body immediately.

After taking off his shoes and slipping his feet inside with his sister, Chen Junqian turned on the TV with the remote while pondering an unfulfilled achievement in his mind:

Kotatsu is a great companion in winter.

The so-called kotatsu is basically a human-made machine for creating useless people. In winter, if an enemy country sends a large number of kotatsu, it would be easy to achieve an invasion.

From the comments of the famous romantic comedy protagonist Hachiman Hikigaya on the kotatsu, we can get a glimpse of what role it plays in winter.

Seeking warmth from the outside in winter has always been one of the fundamental logics of winter romantic comedies. Whether it's a scarf, gloves, skin, or this time a kotatsu, when two hearts are warmed by the same food, the distance between them naturally shrinks.

Condition for achieving this: Share the same kotatsu (heated table) with the heroines who are suited for romantic comedies.

It can only be said that, like those messy childhood sweetheart and younger sister-type characters, it is a product that the system has not yet fully localized. After all, where is he supposed to find such a thing in a small county like Guoning? However, considering the system's consistently idiotic judgment standards outside of the Shura Field, Chen Junqian strongly suspects that the electric brazier he is currently using could be easily judged as a kotatsu.

I remember Lin Mu's family has one too, I'll go try it sometime and see if I can trigger it.

Just as Chen Junqian and Chen Xi were lying motionless on the sofa, enjoying the warmth coming from their feet, their grandmother, who was busy in the kitchen, brought over the serving platter for the guests. She also mentioned that all the snacks and dried fruits they bought for the New Year were in a box in the small room behind the house, and that the two of them could just grab whatever they wanted to eat.

Speaking of this box, it seems to have been part of the dowry that Grandma brought when she married Grandpa. It's older than Chen Junqian, let alone Chen Jun himself. With its antique appearance and the lock style that looks like a treasure chest from an animated film, Chen Junqian, as a child, always felt that there was some kind of treasure hidden inside.

In reality, it's just for storing clothes, odds and ends, and the snacks and dried fruits that Grandma is talking about now.

"Okay, thank you, Grandma. Grandma, don't be too busy. Come and watch the Spring Festival Gala with us soon."

I felt that Chen Xi was particularly happy tonight, and she was also very sweet-talking. She made Chen Junqian's grandmother beam with joy, saying that she would come over in a little while, and then she went to the kitchen to prepare the dishes.

There's no other way; a whole extended family of relatives will be having dinner at home tomorrow. If I don't prepare a few main dishes in advance, it will definitely be too late by tomorrow morning. So I'll just have to work extra hard on New Year's Eve.

After warming themselves up in the electric brazier for a long time, Chen Junqian took Chen Xi to the small back room. After opening the old box shaped like a treasure chest, they found it filled with all sorts of categorized and tightly sealed New Year's special snacks.

Actually, Chen Xi had eaten quite a lot at Chen Junqian's place last year, but this year she found several new dishes that she hadn't tried before. So she picked out a lot of them one by one, and then let Chen Junqian take a few of her favorites. After that, the two of them went back to the front and huddled under the electric brazier. After pouring all the snacks and drinks, they started watching this year's Spring Festival Gala.

Although this Spring Festival Gala was almost the last one Zhao Benshan himself performed, which was closely tied to the Spring Festival Gala sketch project, Chen Junqian's deepest impression of this Spring Festival Gala was actually Rising Sun's "In the Spring".

The main reason is that his grandparents have always liked grassroots singers, from A Bao and Brother Coat from the earliest "Avenue of Stars" to Rising Sun this time. Even Chen Junqian himself has developed a fondness for them.

Putting aside the messy issues between the group and songwriter Wang Feng after their rise to fame, focusing only on this year, their appearance on the Spring Festival Gala certainly proves that their cover of "In the Spring" has been well-received by many viewers.

Or perhaps, for these grassroots singers, most ordinary people are willing to place their simplest hopes on them, just like the lyrics of "In the Spring," which the two sang a little off-key on the Spring Festival Gala stage:

"No Valentine's Day, no gifts, and no my lovely little princess."

But I don't think everything is so bad, even though I only have fantasies about love.

In the morning, at night, in the wind, singing those oblivious songs.

However, for Chen Xi, a genuine little girl, she naturally couldn't understand the two uncles on stage or the song, so she just kept eating the pile of snacks in front of her, making people wonder if she hadn't eaten enough for her New Year's Eve dinner.

"Does Xixi not like watching the Spring Festival Gala?"

"Yeah, it's usually just left there as background noise. I might glance at it more during crosstalk or skit performances, but if it's not funny, I don't really want to watch it."

Faced with Chen Junqian's question, Chen Xi, who was chewing on a crunchy and sweet sesame candy stick, gave a vague answer.

Just then, his phone, which was in his cotton-padded coat pocket, rang again. It was a message from Shen Nianqiu on QQ.

Just like last year, Shen Nianqiu originally planned to watch the Spring Festival Gala with Chen Junqian this year, but he said that his sister would be coming over and it would be inconvenient for him to keep playing on his phone. Unexpectedly, the other party still took the initiative to send him a message.

"What is my little brother doing?"

Although it doesn't start with the classic "Are you there?", it's pretty much the same, just like the classic "Master, what do you do for a living?"

"Watching the Spring Festival Gala and eating with my sister."

"What delicious food do you want to eat?"

Feeling that it was difficult to explain everything in words, Chen Junqian simply took a picture and sent it over, which made Chen Xi, who was originally focused on chewing on the hard little candy in her mouth, look over curiously:

"Who is my brother chatting with?"

"My online friend, just like you, Xixi, has also participated in a choir, and was even a lead singer."

After listening to Chen Junqian's brief introduction, Chen Xi suddenly became interested and leaned over to look at their chat history. She first saw the nickname Chen Junqian had given her: "Sister".