I turned reality into a romantic comedy

Speaking of teeth, Chen Junqian recalled a photo that Shen Nianqiu had sent him not long ago. Shen Nianqiu had removed all of her braces and no longer needed to focus on learning how to smile with her lips pursed. Instead, she could confidently show off her perfect smile that revealed all eight teeth.

"Qianqian, is Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou?"

Lin Mu's words brought Chen Junqian's scattered thoughts back to reality, and he nodded in response.

"Yes, it's next to West Lake."

"Isn't the White Snake Lady and Leifeng Pagoda there? I remember watching 'The Legend of the White Snake' with my mom before."

"Yeah, but I've never been there either."

"Let's go together sometime, it looks like a lot of fun."

Unlike the version of Ji Gong played by You Benchang, which Chen Junqian watched with his grandparents when he was a child, with the theme song "My shoes are torn, my hat is torn, and my cassock is torn," this version of Ji Gong, played by Chen Haomin, is more like a family-friendly sitcom, which Lin Mu also enjoyed watching.

"Hangzhou? Hmm, it's not far. Let's go together next time we have the chance."

And you can also make a trip to Lin'an along the way.

Such a thought subconsciously surfaced in his mind, but Chen Junqian did not say it aloud. Instead, he simply agreed. Lin Mu nodded in satisfaction, since she did not know where Shen Nianqiu was from.

Watching TV series passed the time until it was almost dinnertime. The three of them had no interest in the expensive boxed meals on the train, so they decisively took out the instant noodles they had brought with them.

I always felt that trains and instant noodles were a kind of fixed combination, especially now that high-speed rail is not yet fully widespread and high-speed rail stations have not been built to Guoning. On long-distance trains, meals for three meals a day are basically bread and instant noodles.

After pouring out the seasoning packet and getting hot water from the water dispenser at the end of the corridor, Chen Junqian returned to the private room and immediately saw Lin Mu, who was also waiting for his instant noodles to be ready, playing with Shuanghui ham sausages and Xiangbalao braised eggs, arranging them in the shape of 100 on the table.

"Actually, I think this metaphysics is still useful. On the day of my final exam, I asked my mom to fry a sausage and two eggs for me, and I did improve in the end."

When Lin Mu saw Chen Junqian come in, she proudly showed him her work. Then she saw him unceremoniously take away the sausage and a braised egg, cut them up and put them into the instant noodle bowl, leaving her with only a lonely egg.

"Stop playing with the food!"

It can only be said that we had already seen Mu Mu's fondness for tofu two years ago. I didn't expect that two years later, Lin Mu, who is almost a junior high school student, is still as pure as ever, which makes Chen Junqian feel a little complicated.

"Wow, Qianqian stole my perfect score! Does this mean I'll get zero next time?"

"...If you really get a zero on the test, then I won't be able to tutor you anymore. After all, you can't teach a real idiot."

"Forget it then."

Two years ago, when they first got to know each other, the other person was still wary, as if saying, "I don't want to eat at your house." But as they've grown older, the child in front of him seems to have become more and more foolish, especially in his presence.

But perhaps this is how children are supposed to be. Indeed, those like Hsu Yu-Wei, whose thoughts are harder to guess than adults' and more unpredictable than the weather in the height of summer, are a very small minority.

"Hey-"

Just as Chen Junqian was thinking this to himself, he saw Lin Mu, who was sitting next to him, break the plastic fork in his hand with too much force and look at him with a tearful expression.

"...It's okay, I brought disposable chopsticks."

It can only be said that after spending so much time with Lin Mu, Chen Junqian has become quite well-prepared for all sorts of little gadgets that might be needed at any time. After all, when you're with your childhood sweetheart who can lose even two hundred yuan so easily, one of you has to be careless and the other has to be careful. Just like how the two of you are different heights, one tall and one short, you have to complement each other.

He rummaged through his schoolbag and pulled out the disposable chopsticks he had brought in advance. He also took out a pack of tissues and placed it on the small table. If Lin Mu hadn't always been very well-behaved when eating, Chen Junqian would have loved to put a bib or scarf on her to prevent oil stains from splashing onto her chest.

However, perhaps because it was the first time Lin Mu had eaten instant noodles with Chen Junqian on a train, the experience was quite novel. As a result, Lin Mu did not follow the rules during the meal. After taking the chopsticks that Chen Junqian handed him, he began to mysteriously roll the instant noodles in the bowl onto the chopsticks.

After rolling it up several times, she proudly showed it to Chen Junqian:

"Qianqian, look, isn't it thick at the top and thin at the bottom like a big chicken leg?"

As she spoke, she stuffed the instant noodles, which were rolled up in several layers on the chopsticks, into her mouth in one gulp, and chewed them with relish, as if such a complicated process really could enhance the flavor of the instant noodles.

It was a bit like coaxing a child as they ate dinner together on the train. The two of them then chatted for a while, watching the gradually darkening night outside the window and the scenery rushing by.

However, once night had completely fallen and Wang Hongling had turned off the lights in the private room and turned over to fall asleep, Lin Mu suddenly climbed down from the upper bunk.

Chen Junqian initially thought the other person wanted to use the restroom, since Lin Mu seemed to have rummaged through the bag next to him a couple of times after coming down, and even whispered a reminder:

"I have tissues on the table."

"Mmm, but I don't want to take the paper."

After responding softly, Lin Mu, seemingly having found what she wanted, quietly sat down on the edge of Chen Junqian's lower bunk and lay down as usual at his home.

Before Chen Junqian could even ask what the other party wanted, Lin Mu had already waved the thing he had just received in front of him. It was a laser pointer that was entirely purple, with a bright yellow tip and cap.

The next second, she turned on the laser pointer towards the upper bunk in front of the two of them, and a red pentagram suddenly appeared in front of them, piercing the darkness like a real star, casting a soft, dark red light that slightly illuminated their small area.

Looking at him sideways, it seemed as if Lin Mu's eyes were also sparkling with a bright light.

"Why did you suddenly decide to play this?"

"I felt it was a pity that I couldn't visit the Saudi Arabia Pavilion with Qianqian at the World Expo last year, so this is a substitute. Although this pen can only illuminate this one star."

There was a sense that Lin Mu was carrying a little emotion while saying this, because the other party immediately started waving the laser pointer in his hand and moving it towards Chen Junqian.

"Don't shine it in your eyes, it's very harmful."

Upon hearing the other party mention last year's World Expo, Chen Junqian felt that he was indeed in the wrong, so he gave them a reminder and let them slap a pattern onto his face.

"Haha, Qianqian looks like some kind of totem warrior now."

Well, Chen Junqian still wanted to retaliate against Lin Mu, who had become smug for who knows how many times today. He subconsciously reached out to snatch the laser pointer and stamp it on her to mock her, but his fingertips accidentally touched the ticklish spot on her side.

So, Lin Mu, who had just been chuckling to herself, immediately curled up in response, but it seemed that she didn't want Chen Junqian to succeed, so she stretched the hand holding the laser pointer far away.

Chen Junqian had no choice but to sit up and continue grabbing, and the two of them ended up making a ruckus on the lower bunk. When he came to his senses, he realized that he had unknowingly pinned the other person down in a rather subtle position and subconsciously stopped moving.

However, Lin Mu was completely unaware at first, still focused on stretching out her hand to avoid him. It wasn't until she noticed that Chen Junqian had stopped that she belatedly realized that the other person was now half-leaning above her. In the dim light, their faces were practically touching, and they could even hear each other's slightly rapid breathing from their earlier movements.

Upon realizing this, Lin Mu unconsciously loosened his grip on the laser pointer, which rolled onto the bed.

The red pentagram pattern danced and flickered erratically on the inner wall of the bed and the upper bunk, just like the two people's heartbeats, which were beginning to quicken and become somewhat disordered.

Chen Junqian, who was somewhat at a loss for words and hadn't even noticed the achievement that had just been unlocked in his mind, was caught off guard when Lin Mu took the initiative to apologize:

"I'm sorry, I went a bit too far. Luckily, I didn't wake up the auntie who was already resting next to me."

As she spoke, she reached out and hugged him again, gently lowering Chen Junqian's body, which was supporting him, and then whispered in his ear:

"Qianqian, do you know? Weiwei hugs a little bear pillow every night when she goes to sleep. At first, I wondered if hugging something would make it hard for her to fall asleep, but then I found out that it was a gift left to her by her mother. It's a gift she really likes, so hugging it makes her feel very safe and makes it easier for her to fall asleep."

"To me, that's exactly the kind of person Qianqian is."

"Actually, this is my first time sleeping in a sleeper berth on a train, and I'm still a little scared, so... Qianqian, can I hug you a little longer?"

Chapter 20: Summer for Two Begins (Part 2)

Isn't this position just awful?

Physical contact in romantic comedies always comes unexpectedly. Whether it's being pinned down by the heroine due to unavoidable circumstances or being dominated and controlled by the other party, these are classic and classic developments.

Of course, it can naturally develop into a chaotic wall slam turning into a bed slam, or a second fall when trying to get up, burying a part of the body completely in some mysterious soft and elastic area, and then breathing together, intertwining, and having an earthquake in the pupils.

Under the binding force of the rules of romantic comedies, this awkward position needs to be maintained for at least five seconds, until one of them shouts a standard theatrical line like, "Idiot, get up!" or "How much longer do you want to keep pressing me down like this?" before it finally ends.

Condition for completion: either pin the female protagonist who is suited for romantic comedy down or be pinned down by her for at least five seconds.

Well, if we only look at the conditions for achieving this achievement, Xu Youwei had actually achieved it once two years ago. It's just a pity that at that time she had not yet been included by the system and recognized as a female lead with the suitability for romantic comedy. So in the end, it was Lin Mu who took it two years later.

Seeing that Lin Mu had just said he would hug her for a little while, but now he was nestled in his arms and showed no sign of moving, Chen Junqian's expression softened involuntarily, and he gently placed his hand on the other's back.

After the initial excitement of going out, it's understandable that Mu Mu would feel a little scared in such an unfamiliar, even moving, environment. After all, she could hardly see anything once the light was off, as she was sleeping on the top bunk. So, the laser pointer incident was just a random excuse for her to get out of bed and come over to talk to him.

Fortunately, the beds in the sleeper berths were relatively spacious, and since the two of them were still children, and Lin Mu was the smallest of all the children, they could barely squeeze onto the lower bunk.

The air conditioner in the private room was still blowing cold air at full speed, so even though Lin Mu was hugging him tightly and even his legs were wrapped around Lin Mu's calves, Chen Junqian didn't feel too stuffy. He just felt a little awkward and couldn't fall asleep. So he just stared blankly at the upper bunk bed with his face turned upwards.

Only after Mu Mu in his arms had fallen into a deep, even sleep did Chen Junqian carefully pry her hands and feet off his bed, which had naturally relaxed.

Standing by the bed, Chen Junqian looked at the child who had taken over the bed with a bit of helplessness for a while before leaning over and carefully tucking the shirt, which had been rolled up to the child's lower abdomen, exposing the entire navel, back down neatly. He then took the air-conditioning blanket that the two of them had kicked to the foot of the bed and covered Lin Mu completely before climbing up the ladder to the upper bunk where the other child should have been sleeping.

Chen Junqian didn't know how long he had been dozing off, but when he opened his eyes again to hear the voice saying "Qianqian, it's time to get up," he saw Lin Mu, who was holding onto the small railing of the upper bunk with one hand and propping her chin up with the other, hanging on the small ladder like a koala. Lin Mu was looking away a little embarrassedly, and then quickly went down the ladder.

It's quite a coincidence that this wake-up call was the tenth time. After reaching the second milestone of one, ten, one hundred, and one thousand, this repeatable achievement was once again considered as an achievement unlock.

Although the system assigned this achievement to Lin Mu, his childhood sweetheart, compared to Zhu Wenyun, who was constantly racking up the "must-have bento box" achievement, Lin Mu hadn't actually achieved it much in the past two years. After all, this condition was just too demanding in reality.

The two of them don't live together, so it's impossible for them to do this during the school year. On weekend mornings, one of them has to go to tutoring classes, and the other has gone back to her grandmother's house in the countryside. Several of these attempts were made while staying in a hotel during the Shanghai World Expo last year, so it can only be said that progress is slow.

Moreover, Chen Junqian's rigorous practice has proven that waking someone up during lunch break cannot be faked, so there is no way to take shortcuts at the after-school care center at noon.

While thinking about things related to achievement, Chen Junqian also slowly climbed down from the upper bunk.

Even on the train, basic personal hygiene still needs to be maintained. Lin Mu seemed to have already brushed her teeth, but she didn't come over to breathe on them like Xu Youwei did. Instead, she focused on rummaging through her bag for breakfast options.

However, Wang Hongling, who slept in the lower bunk opposite, noticed that the two had switched places overnight. When they went out to brush their teeth together, she asked her son about it. Chen Junqian honestly told her that Mu Mu was not used to sleeping in the upper bunk, so the two of them got up in the middle of the night to switch.

When Chen Junqian returned to the private room after brushing his teeth and washing his face, there were only two or three hours left on the journey. The group was expected to arrive in Tangshan City, Hebei Province, around noon.

Knowing that his father would treat him to a nice welcome meal at noon, Chen Junqian didn't care much about breakfast. He was just about to grab something to eat when he saw Lin Mu, who had just gone out, return with a large thermos of hot water.

"Are you taking this much? Even if you're going to make Milo, you don't need such a big cup, do you?"

After all, they've known each other for so long as childhood sweethearts, and Chen Junqian was quite aware of Mu Mu's habit of downing a glass of Milo every morning with the most sincere wish of growing taller.

"Mixed milk is one thing, but I also plan to make a cup of Vitasoy soy milk and then eat two biscuits."

I don’t know if she still remembers what happened last night, but Mu Mu seemed a little embarrassed this morning. But simply saying she was embarrassed doesn’t seem to be the most accurate way to describe it. There was a subtle feeling of her wanting to say something but holding back.

Upon hearing the other person mention VIVI soy milk, Chen Junqian recalled Zhong Yu's evaluation of the product, saying that it should be renamed VIVI dumpling soup, because it was like the fruit juice powder, where you never know whether it would be sour or sweet depending on how much water you scooped. No matter how much hot water you put in or how you prepared it, you would end up with a bowl of dumpling soup with dumplings of varying sizes.

Zhong Yu's final solution to this problem was to eat it dry, and according to him, it actually tasted pretty good that way, although Chen Junqian himself had never tried it.

A few minutes later, Lin Mu's work fully proved Zhong Yu's worth to Chen Junqian, because what appeared in front of them in the end was indeed a cup of dumpling soup made with instant noodles, which looked rather strange.

However, Lin Mu didn't seem to be eating this stuff for the first time, so he wasn't surprised at all. While gulping down this stuff that was supposed to help you grow taller, he took advantage of Wang Hongling going out for some fresh air to turn his head and nudge Chen Junqian, who was sitting next to him eating the black sesame crispy biscuits that Zhu Wenyun had given him, with his elbow:

Why did Qianqian go to the top bunk again last night?

"Because it's hard to sleep when two people are crammed together."

It must be said that Zhu Wenyun is indeed impeccable when it comes to the taste of cookies and bread. This cookie, which was carefully selected by the other party and specially sent to him for his journey, tastes good, crispy without being too sweet.

"Um... but I was asleep."

"That's because Mu Mu was too sleepy at the time. Actually, the main problem was that the bed was too small. It was a single bed, and I felt that if the two of us slept together, we would find out in the middle of the night that someone had accidentally pushed the other off the bed. Besides, my mom was sleeping on the other side, and it would be difficult to explain if she saw us."

"What's so hard to explain... I'll just say that when I went out to the bathroom in the middle of the night, I was so groggy that I forgot I was sleeping on the top bunk, and then I just slumped over on the bottom bunk and fell asleep. Perfect!"

"I have a feeling that you had already thought of this reason when you came over last night. You were even saying that you wanted to hug me a little longer."

"That's not the case."

Although he said that, Lin Mu's gaze began to wander, clearly having been hit where it hurt by Chen Junqian's words. However, he still had to retort with a few words:

"I initially planned to only hug him for a short while, but I got too sleepy and fell asleep. Besides, when I was hugging Qianqian, he was hugging me too. Hugs are a two-way thing, so hugging him a little longer won't hurt anyone, hmph."

"alright."

In response, Chen Junqian could only say that you are right. After all, after all that trouble last night, a certain fan service achievement was still there without any sign of being triggered. If it were a certain older sister, who still makes Mu Mu resentful, going through the same process, the achievements "[Brain Pad Wave]" and "[Of course there must be fan service in a romantic comedy]" would probably have been triggered one after another by now.

"That's right, that's more like it."

After happily finishing her breakfast of Weiwei dumpling soup, Lin Mu pulled Chen Junqian to continue watching TV dramas, passing the last two or three hours of the journey. Then, following the announcement on the train's loudspeaker, "Tangshan Station, Tangshan Station has arrived," they got off the train with their luggage.

Chen Jun was already waiting in his car in front of the station. After not seeing his father for half a year, Chen Junqian felt that his father had changed quite a bit. Perhaps it was because he had indeed become a higher-level management position. Although he had lost some weight, his overall demeanor was much more dignified, and he had a bit of a leader's aura.

Of course, when faced with his wife who had traveled a long way to be there, the leader still had to obediently get out of the car first and come over to help with the luggage, stuffing it all into the trunk while greeting Lin Mu:

"Mumu came along too? Welcome, welcome."

"Hello, Uncle, but you don't really need to pay special attention to me just because I came along."

Obediently, Lin Mu sat down in the back seat of the car with Chen Junqian. As she spoke, Lin Mu took his hand from below.

"I'll just play with Qianqian."

"Hmm."

Looking again at his son and Lin Mu in the rearview mirror, and the two holding hands, Chen Jun couldn't help but think of another scene he saw when he visited Xu Zhiling's house for the New Year earlier this year, and the other girl Chen Junqian was holding hands with at that time.

It can only be said that while other parents are still worried about their children's grades, he has already taken the lead in considering dating and even marriage. It feels like he has won at the starting line in a certain sense.

I feel I need to find an opportunity to talk to my son in person sometime in the future.

With this in mind, Chen Jun started discussing accommodation arrangements for the group while driving.

Actually, he didn't expect Lin Mu to come back with him at first, so he just planned to have his wife and children come and stay in the dormitory with him. After all, he also held the position of deputy factory director here, and was one of the general managers directly transferred from the main factory. There was more than enough room for two more people.

But with Lin Mu following them, this plan definitely wouldn't work, so in the end they still had to find a hotel to stay in.