I turned reality into a romantic comedy

Upon seeing this prop, Chen Junqian suddenly thought of the achievement he had seen that afternoon called "Forced Romance Link".

It seems he's found a way to trigger this achievement.

Chapter Twenty-Four: Mu Mu's Imagination is Always Rich (Part Two)

Chen Junqian was actually quite familiar with paper cup telephones, a small toy with a bit of scientific principle involved. After all, Xu Youwei did like these gadgets or experiments. When they were deskmates, he had even seen her use the principle of static electricity to rub a ruler on her hair to attract scraps of paper.

The main principle of the paper cup telephone is based on the transmission of sound vibrations through a solid medium (i.e., the rope). The bottom of the paper cup acts as a diaphragm, transmitting the mechanical vibrations of the sound to the taut rope, and then to the bottom of the other paper cup, causing the bottom of the cup to vibrate.

At the same time, the horn shape of the paper cup amplifies the vibrations, causing the air inside the cup to vibrate as well, which is ultimately received by the listener's ears as sound.

Of course, all of the above can only happen if the rope is taut, because a slack rope will disperse the energy of the vibration, resulting in a weak or even absent sound.

However, before the paper cup telephone activity begins, little Mu Mu needs to finish writing her diary first. After all, she missed a day yesterday on the train, and if she doesn't write it today, she'll have to make up for two days tomorrow.

By then, I might have forgotten most of my feelings and what I wanted to write, so I definitely can't procrastinate.

Although she had already finished two more diaries, Lin Mu seemed to have fallen in love with the Candy House series starting from the second one. All the diaries she bought after that were from this brand, and the one she was writing now was no exception. The cover still had the standard Candy House style, depicting a little princess wearing a crown at an angle, with her eyes closed, sitting comfortably in a chair among flowers.

Chen Junqian naturally didn't have the habit of peeking at other people's diaries. After all, unlike Xu Youwei's situation, Mu Mu's diary, judging from her personality, should be full of a girl's true feelings.

Of course, childhood sweethearts need a sense of propriety and distance in their relationship. So while the other person was engrossed in writing in their diary at the table next to them, Chen Junqian sat motionless on the sofa a little further away, continuing to watch TV to pass the time.

After Lin Mu finally finished writing and putting away both days' worth of diary entries, Chen Junqian got up and turned off the room lights, leaving only the dim bedside lamp providing a little illumination. The two then lay down on their respective beds, maintaining a safe distance between them. Once they confirmed the rope between them was taut, the latter spoke the first words into the paper cup:

"Hey, hey, hey, can Qianqian hear me?"

Mu Mu's voice came through the bottom of the cup, somewhat muffled, but still carrying a distinctly childlike smugness:

Can you hear me?

"Although, the distance between us is such that I feel like we could hear each other if we spoke directly, otherwise why would you have moved the bed over during the day?"

“That’s different.”

I could feel the other end of the paper cup, which was connected to my hand, wobble slightly twice, and then it was Mu Mu's voice again:

"That's more like a secret."

Chen Junqian also suddenly lowered his voice in response:

"Okay, speaking of secrets, actually, when Mu Mu was writing in her diary with great concentration just now, I secretly stood behind you and saw a little bit."

Before he could even finish speaking, he felt the rope suddenly jerk, the force from Lin Mu almost throwing him and the paper cup away. Then came Mu Mu's voice, which didn't need any distortion to transmit through the paper cup—a voice that could be heard clearly:

"Really? Qianqian really saw it?"

"Of course it's fake. Why would I read your diary for no reason?"

"Boom-"

There was a loud thud as if the blanket had been kicked, causing the paper cup phone in Chen Junqian's hand to shake violently again. Neither of them let go, and the rope connecting them taut once more, like another invisible yet still taut thread between them:

"...Qianqian is so mean."

You could hear Mu Mu say this in a very low voice.

"I was terrified just now."

"Okay, sorry, it's probably because of... Yuwei. She always likes to say things like, 'What serious person writes a diary?'"

He almost called out Xu Youwei's nickname in front of Lin Mu, since in their agreement, they could only use each other's nicknames when they were alone together. Luckily, he stopped himself in the end.

“That’s true of Weiwei. She was the one who gave me my first diary and encouraged me to write in it. I’ve kept it up until now, but she gave up a long time ago.”

"Because the diary had already fulfilled its purpose for her personally, which is also related to her family environment."

Xu Youwei's actions in the diary did not escape Chen Junqian's notice. She even openly told him that the diary entries were meant to disgust Xu Zhiling, to let him know that his biological daughter was not happy at all, and to make him feel deeply ashamed of what he, as her father, had done.

Conversely, if it were Lin Mu's parents, they probably wouldn't have been successfully lured by Xu Youwei in the first place. After all, neither of them would have had the intention of prying into their daughter's diary. However, from Xu Zhiling's perspective, it seems understandable that he would want to know his daughter's true thoughts. In the end, it was all a mess, otherwise there wouldn't be the saying that even an upright official can't settle family disputes.

Moreover, judging from the subsequent results and impact, it was he who was pushed to the forefront, suddenly gaining Xu Zhiling's favor without his knowledge, or perhaps the other party simply regarded him as a last resort, with a "nothing to lose" mentality, which is why he said those words to him on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

Actually, Xu Youwei probably didn't think so much about it at first. After all, her diary project was even before the two of them officially became acquainted. It can only be said that the subsequent development was also full of unexpected twists and turns, but for Xu Youwei herself, this development was more in line with her wishes.

It was as if she had only intended to play the tragic heroine in the story from the beginning, and the world's will seemed to have been fooled as well, adding a male protagonist who fell from the sky into her life. Everything was quite natural.

"I haven't been to Vivi's house yet."

“I went with my dad once during the Chinese New Year to pay New Year’s respects to her father.”

"I've heard Vivi mention this before."

When talking about this kind of thing, Lin Mu himself didn't feel much emotional fluctuation. After all, things like Qianqian coming to his house to wake him up had happened at least eight or ten times in the past two years, and...

"Her room isn't as nice as mine, is it?"

"Well, no."

Chen Junqian was being honest about this. After all, in terms of the care put into decorating, Xu Youwei's room was indeed not as good as Lin Mu's. However, the room that Lin Mu truly put effort into decorating was the one at her grandmother's house in the countryside.

"Hehe, so Qianqian, remember this: although my room is the first girl's bedroom you've ever been to, don't mistake it for the average room for all girls. Even among all the girls in the world, my room is the most thoughtfully designed and the cutest, understand?"

"I admit it, she's number one in my heart."

Although he has only actually been to three girls' rooms so far, Zhu Wenyun's room can't even be called her own because she lives with her grandmother. So, as long as Lin Mu is older than Xu Youwei, he can already win the crown of being ranked number one in Chen Junqian's heart.

"Yes, I'm number one."

If there's anything that makes Lin Mu happier than being the 'first,' it's probably the 'first' after removing the 'one,' since being the first never means being number one.

Of course, if someone is both the first and the best, then that would be absolutely the best.

As she spoke, Lin Mu suddenly remembered something she had almost forgotten and quickly said it to Chen Junqian:

"Oh, right, when I called Dad using Uncle Chen's phone tonight, he specifically asked for your phone number, Qianqian, saying that something important might happen in the next couple of days."

"important things?"

"Hmm, it seems to be some company stuff. He said he'd call you directly later, but I didn't quite understand."

"Okay, I see."

After calculating the time, Chen Junqian felt that he had guessed what it was about, so he nodded in agreement. However, this was something he couldn't discuss with Mu Mu, so after having a general idea in mind, he took the initiative to change the subject. He and Mu Mu lay in bed and chatted for a while, and then he clearly felt that little Mu Mu was getting sleepy.

This time, however, Chen Junqian did not suggest that they stop chatting and go to sleep. After all, every time he said this to Zhu Wenyun, she would suddenly become more alert. If he pretended not to notice and continued chatting, she would fall asleep even faster.

Sure enough, Lin Mu did the same.

After deliberately slowing down his speech, several more minutes passed before Lin Mu went completely silent. Chen Junqian held his breath and listened intently for a while. Only after confirming that Mu Mu was completely asleep did he quietly get out of bed and walk to her bedside, looking at the paper cup phone that she was still holding in her hand.

With gentle movements, Chen Junqian lifted Lin Mu's hand slightly, wrapped the cotton string from the bottom of the paper cup around Lin Mu's wrist a few times to ensure it wouldn't fall off if Lin Mu turned over or let go during the night, and then returned to his own bed and tied a knot on his wrist with the string from the paper cup attached to his own side.

Next, let's make a wish that Mu Mu won't have to get up to go to the bathroom tonight. After all, he only wrapped the rope around the other person's wrist a few times. As long as he sits up a little more vigorously from the bed, the paper cup and rope will naturally break free.

Anyway, it's just a casual attempt, so it's no big deal if it fails.

The night passed in the blink of an eye. When Chen Junqian opened his eyes again, it was already around seven o'clock in the morning. The two of them must have fallen asleep around ten o'clock last night, so more than eight hours had indeed passed.

However, the achievement for "Forced Romantic Link" in his mind was not triggered.

So it failed after all?

It seems something went wrong with Mumu. Either she moved too much while sleeping in bed, or she got up to go to the bathroom and broke free of the rope.

With this thought in mind, Chen Junqian subconsciously looked at another bed just a few steps away, and then saw a completely unexpected situation.

The string on the other end of the paper cup was still tied to Lin Mu's left wrist, who was still unconscious. However, it wasn't simply wrapped around his wrist a few times the night before; instead, it was tied in a knot, just like Lin Mu's own wrist, and it was tied quite securely.

...I don't think I tied a knot on Mumu's wrist last night.

However, even if his memory is indeed flawed, if both sides are tied up, a notification should pop up saying that the achievement has been successfully triggered.

While Chen Junqian was still thinking, he suddenly saw Lin Mu blink her eyes as if she was about to wake up. So he immediately lay back down on his bed, pretending that he hadn't gotten up yet.

There's nothing I can do since this achievement hasn't been triggered, so I'll just have to settle for trying the "Time to Get Up" achievement again.

Meanwhile, on her own bed, Lin Mu rubbed her sleepy eyes and slowly woke up from her dream. The first thing she did upon opening her eyes was to look at her wrist. She breathed a sigh of relief when she found that a rope was still intact and tied there. Only then did she look at Chen Junqian.

Around one or two o'clock last night, she instinctively got out of bed and went to the bathroom, still half asleep. She really wanted to repeat what she had done the night before and lie down next to Qianqian, but then she suddenly noticed that the cotton string they used to connect the paper cup phone was tied to his wrist. Then she followed the trail and found the other end of the string lying empty on her bed.

Given the context, the events that first came to Lin Mu's mind were as follows.

She fell asleep, and then Qianqian, for reasons unknown—perhaps wanting to dream together while sleeping with her, perhaps simply afraid she would leave him and get lost, or perhaps to complete some kind of matchmaking ritual—tie the rope around both of their wrists.

But when I got up and went to the bathroom, I somehow managed to untie or break free of that knot while I was still half asleep!

In a fairy tale, this would be like a stubborn princess who refuses to heed a prophecy, accidentally breaking the ritual others were trying to perform to save her, and thus being destined to walk into the classic plot of a wicked witch's curse.

To be honest, the moment Lin Mu realized this, he even had the urge to cry. But in the end, with a self-deceiving or belated attempt to salvage the situation, he went back to his bed, pursed his lips, and sniffled as he re-tied the rope around his wrist, even making sure to tie a tight knot.

Thankfully, Qianqian didn't wake up.

So, it shouldn't have been found, right?

She slowly got off her own bed and lay down next to her childhood sweetheart's bed. Lin Mu placed her hand next to his and stared blankly at the rope that tied them together.

To be honest, this was probably the first time she felt that the relationship between the two of them might be as fragile as a thin cotton thread, like a kite string, which could break free at any moment without her noticing, and then the other person would fly away to some unknown place like a kite with a broken string in a child's hand.

What made Lin Mu feel even more heartbroken was that she was even more afraid that the one who would accidentally break free of the rope would be herself, just like last night, when Qianqian clearly wanted to tie the rope properly.

This was also the first time since they met that Lin Mu did not wake Chen Junqian up immediately. Instead, she sat there and tried to adjust her mood and expression, because if she did so, it would be easy for the other party to discover that she was hiding some heavy little secret.

Just like before she fell asleep last night, she should have been smug and triumphant the moment she woke him up, her tone a mix of teasing and surprise as she waved her wrist and said:

"Wow, why is Qianqian still tying a rope to my hands?"

"Hmm, are you afraid I'll secretly abandon you and run away?"

Even if she was the one who was truly panicking and terrified, it was she who was truly panicking and terrified.

Chapter Twenty-Five: Mu Mu is a Little Fierce Girl (Part Two)

In theory, what Lin Mu really wants to do right now is to go to the bathroom sink, look in the mirror, and sort out his expression and thoughts. He even needs to practice beforehand to create a flawless, consistent smile.

But if he did that, the ropes binding their hands would break again, so Lin Mu had no choice but to take his tablet computer from the bedside table and use the reflection from the unlit screen to eliminate any potential flaws.

Then, she gently pressed the power button again, and the tablet screen immediately lit up, revealing a photo of the two of them taken during last year's World Expo, which she had specially set as her wallpaper. She continued to compose herself and her expression while looking at it.

After confirming several times that there was nothing wrong, Lin Mu finally reached out and poked Chen Junqian's cheek as she had yesterday, trying her best to speak softly in his ear in the same tone as before:

"Hey—Qianqian, it's time to get up."

"Uh-huh."

Chen Junqian was a little puzzled as to why Lin Mu hadn't woken her up for so long. She even considered opening her eyes to peek and see if Lin Mu had gotten up and gone back to sleep. But then she finally heard the familiar waking voice, so she got out of bed and pretended to have just woken up.

"What time is it?"

"It's past seven, almost eight, but that's not important."

Although she had already prepared all her lines, Lin Mu still felt a little flustered when she actually spoke in front of Chen Junqian. After all, she had never been a good liar, and this was already her limit.

"When I woke up this morning, I found this wrapped around my hand. Qianqian, do you have any ideas?"

As Lin Mu said this, she seemed to accidentally bite her tongue. This guilty behavior only made Chen Junqian more certain that the knot on her hand was tied by her.

By slightly adopting Lin Mu's thought process, Chen Junqian's thoughts, after much deliberation, had already pieced together most of the details of the matter. Therefore, he simply went along with it and admitted it:

"Yeah, I tied it on you after you fell asleep last night. How should I put it, I guess I was a little worried."

Seeing that Chen Junqian didn't seem to notice that the knot had been loosened, Lin Mu breathed a sigh of relief, and his tone even lifted a little.

"But you can't go to such lengths just because you're worried. What if I need to use the bathroom at night? Do I have to wake Qianqian up and go with me? But I do seem to recall reading a similar story in a book..."

"Mumu is talking about 'relieving oneself,' right? In ancient times, when the army was escorting prisoners, if a prisoner needed to relieve himself, they would ask to have his hands untied. So the phrase 'relieving oneself' gradually became a euphemism for going to the toilet."

"That's right, Qianqian really reads a lot of books."

As he spoke, Lin Mu shook his wrist again:

"So, Qianqian, can I go to the bathroom now?"

"...How come they actually had to ask for permission?"

"Because if a prisoner secretly untied his/her hands, wouldn't that be the same as escaping? He/She would be caught and whipped."

Faced with Mu Mu, who had inexplicably started some kind of mysterious role-playing game early in the morning, Chen Junqian, who had never intended to achieve the [Forced Romance Link] achievement, casually waved his hand:

"Untie it, after all, we're both awake."