I turned reality into a romantic comedy

For Lin Mu, who had never been here before, the thing she wanted to do most was definitely to play on the beach with Chen Junqian, so she asked this question as soon as she came up.

"Yes, that area is a coastal region. I've heard that Le Island Beach, Shallow Bay Beach, and Golden Bay Beach are all pretty good. If you want to play in the sea, that's definitely no problem. But is Mumu allergic to seafood?"

"I'm not allergic to it. I've eaten it at home before."

Upon hearing that they could indeed go to the beach, Lin Mu's face visibly lit up with joy, and even his tone became much more lively.

"I'm fine with that too. We'll figure out the specific route when we get there."

Chen Junqian also had no objections. The main reason was that he wasn't particularly interested in tourism. He probably went to Huangshan too many times when he was a child and was already tired of the tour guide leading people around and saying that this rock looked like a monkey, that rock looked like an elephant, and then everyone rushed up to take a group photo.

To be honest, he's the type who's more interested in cultural sites than natural ones, which is why he had so much fun at last year's World Expo. However, it was also largely because Shen Nianqiu's travel guide was so thorough that he didn't have to think about anything and could just follow his sister around.

However, the system's achievement list does indeed contain a considerable number of achievements closely related to elements such as summer, the seaside, and the beach. Seeing that Mu Mu seemed quite interested and looking forward to it, Chen Junqian also tried his best to boost his spirits and planned to create a perfect summer memory this summer.

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After confirming the departure time and location, Lin Mu returned to the hotel and began to make more specific preparations for the trip two days later, such as finding a swimsuit in her luggage.

Although it's called a swimsuit, the style is more like a sleeveless dress. Apart from the arms and calves, which are usually exposed in summer, there's nothing else that reveals anything. However, the overall design is quite exquisite.

The skirt features a double-layer design. The inner layer is made of a slim-fitting, quick-drying swimsuit fabric that is flowy yet waterproof. The chest area is also double-layered and waterproof. However, the skirt, cuffs, and neckline are all trimmed with soft white lace, which, combined with the overall blue and white color scheme, evokes the feeling of waves gently lapping against the neck, arms, and thighs. It looks quite nice.

"Ta-da! This is a set that my mom and I spent ages choosing in the store before we finally bought it."

Clearly, Lin Mu was quite satisfied with the swimsuit she was about to wear, holding it up to herself and twirling in front of Chen Junqian.

"What does Qianqian think?"

"Yes, it suits you quite well."

It can only be said that this is a universal phrase learned from the male protagonist of a romantic comedy. After all, "suitable for you" is indeed a very versatile and foolproof answer. Moreover, Chen Junqian really doesn't understand girls' swimsuits. When he goes to the beach, he only needs to wear a pair of loose-fitting swim trunks.

However, judging from her appearance, Chen Junqian felt that it was unlikely that a swimsuit would be washed away in reality. Rather, it was more likely that Mu Mu would be swept away entirely.

"I also bought a swim ring, but I haven't inflated it yet. It's not easy to put it in my luggage after it's inflated. Here it is, this little duck."

Lin Mu then pulled out a deflated little yellow duck swim ring from his luggage and said with great interest:

Can Qianqian swim?

"Yes, Mu Mu doesn't know how?"

"If I knew how, I wouldn't have brought this little yellow duck."

As he spoke, Lin Mu made a gesture of expectation, with his hands clasped together, towards Chen Junqian:

"But since Qianqian can swim, I'll have to ask you to keep an eye on me the whole time."

"Who else would I be looking at if not you?"

"Yes, yes, it's good that Qianqian understands."

Looking at his childhood sweetheart who was already planning what they would do and have fun at the beach, Chen Junqian suddenly understood why summer beaches have always been a timeless element in romantic comedies.

Even if you have absolutely no hope of achieving achievements like "My swimsuit got washed away," "My best skill is hitting watermelons blindfolded," or "Beach volleyball is a good time for a chaotic battle," maybe it's just like what Mu Mu is saying now.

Just imagining the two of them standing there, burying sand in each other like two idiots, was enough to make him want to laugh out loud.

Chapter Twenty-Seven: I Can't Feel Your Strength for Me (Part Two)

Although it wasn't the first time Chen Junqian had tutored Lin Mu individually, he still felt a slight sense of powerlessness every time he got to the point where he could actually help Lin Mu.

Generally speaking, when teachers and parents encounter children who are not doing well in school, the most common thing they say is, "Your/my child is actually quite smart, but just doesn't put their mind to studying." But this statement doesn't seem to apply to Mu Mu.

As someone who was determined to grow taller, even eating bitter melon, which she disliked, for several years, Lin Mu's determination and perseverance are beyond question.

Moreover, even if her parents don't have particularly high expectations for her, just like how she always presents herself as a well-mannered child in public, Lin Mu herself is more concerned about her grades.

Besides, learning is not something done for parents, but for oneself.

But to be honest, the results weren't very good.

In fact, the students that teachers in schools least want to deal with are those who have tried their best but whose grades are always hovering in the middle. After all, they don't know how to solve the problem and can only offer encouragement and affirmation.

Lin Mu is roughly in this situation.

To be honest, for Lin Mu herself, the final exam that just ended was already an exceptional performance. After all, she had set a goal for herself and held the special mindset that as long as she made progress, she could go on a trip with Qianqian, which is why she finally made good progress.

Even so, her final grades were only slightly above average in the class. Her two best friends, Qianqian, were the top student in the grade, which was incomparable to her, while Weiwei also made it into the top ten in the class this time.

Moreover, in Lin Mu's statistical work, the most common cases he has seen are those who did well in elementary school but started to fall behind quickly after junior high. Conversely, those who started to decline in elementary school and hoped to make a comeback in junior high are either suddenly enlightened or they simply have to say goodbye to weekends and have their holidays filled with a dense array of tutoring classes.

If parents pay more attention, they might even send their children to one-on-one or one-on-two small classes. Lin Mu herself has seen many cousins ​​like this when she visited relatives during the Chinese New Year. They were still in their rooms studying hard during the holiday.

"If you still don't understand, I'll explain it to you again?"

Chen Junqian didn't think Lin Mu was a stupid child. After all, average grades are not directly equivalent to being stupid. Moreover, in Chen Junqian's eyes, Mu Mu was actually quite skillful. Although she couldn't compare to Xu Youwei, who was more skilled, she was the only one among the girls he knew in Guoning who could embroider cross-stitch, make bracelets, and fold origami cranes. He had many of her works displayed in his own room.

"Okay, Qianqian, please explain it to me again, starting from this step."

After all, it was her closest childhood friend and the top student in her grade tutoring her, so Lin Mu's attitude was perfectly fine. Moreover, there were no other girls around, so she didn't have to say things like, "If Qianqian had always taught me, I could have done this or that."

As it turns out, besides the exciting and tense game of Ludo, the boys and girls in the same hotel room sometimes actually do study together, at least in the two days before their official departure, Chen Junqian and Lin Mu did just that.

"Did Qianqian teach her this way when she and Weiwei were deskmates?"

After one of his studies, Lin Mu suddenly asked Chen Junqian this question.

“I didn’t specifically teach her, but she does ask me questions from time to time, so Weiwei’s progress should be attributed to her own efforts.”

"Indeed, Vivi is smarter than me."

Although he said that, Lin Mu seemed quite satisfied with the fact, and then he talked about going to sing karaoke with his parents in Guoning.

"Actually, my dad always says that he's not that smart, so every time we go to karaoke, he always orders Andy Lau's 'Stupid Kid,' the one with the lyrics 'Hey, pat your chest and stand up bravely, don't be too upset, hey, pray to the sky and don't think too much, God has his own arrangements.'"

As it turns out, little Lin Mu really doesn't have much talent for singing; she sang even a few lines of "Stupid Kid" completely off-key. However, she didn't seem to realize this at all, and even felt quite pleased with herself as she extended an invitation to Chen Junqian.

"Qianqian, let's go to karaoke together next time. I've never heard you sing before."

Upon hearing Lin Mu's words, Chen Junqian realized that even after being reborn for two years, he had indeed never been to a karaoke bar.

This is normal, since such places are definitely not open to elementary school students. They usually go with their families, but Chen Junqian's parents have never been interested in this.

I remember the first time I went to a karaoke bar or KTV in my past life was when Zhong Yu dragged me there around this time next year. It was like a farewell to my elementary school graduation.

Come to think of it, there do seem to be a few karaoke-related achievements in the system's achievement list.

Thinking this through, Chen Junqian nodded in agreement:

"Okay, I haven't heard Mumu sing much either."

"No, I just sang a song for you."

"Ahem, singing a cappella doesn't sound as good in a place like that."

I felt a little insincere saying this, after all, the quality of Shen Nianqiu's impromptu singing for him across QQ was several times worse than Chen Xi's, but Lin Mu seemed to enjoy it quite a bit:

"Yes, yes, the unlucky thing is that the songs I sing never have a scoring system, otherwise I would definitely get a very high score."

...Is it possible that the uncle and aunt operating the karaoke machine were just trying to protect their daughter's fragile ego?

In any case, after making a promise with Lin Mu to go to karaoke together sometime in the future, the two put all their studies and summer homework behind them and put them to rest. After all, they had studied hard when they were studying, so now that it was time to play, they should play hard.

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According to the pre-arranged travel plan, Chen Junqian and his group first went to Shanhaiguan, which is known as the First Pass Under Heaven.

In fact, Chen Junqian himself was quite interested in these historical sites, but unfortunately, his parents and Lin Mu seemed to be just looking at the sights without really enjoying themselves. This made him miss Chen Xi, who would always have a serious talk with him about history whenever they met.

Thinking this, Chen Junqian took several more photos with his father's camera, planning to show them to his sister when he returned to Guoning.

However, he could understand. After all, Mu Mu had been to Beijing with her family before and had also seen the Great Wall on her own. So, seeing similar scenery again wouldn't evoke any strong emotions. The only part she really liked was the section of the Ming Great Wall that meets the sea in the east, the Laolongtou Scenic Area.

More precisely, Mu Mu just wanted to see the sea and play in the water.

For this reason, Chen Junqian and his father temporarily gave up climbing the most precipitous section of the Jiaoshan Great Wall north of Shanhaiguan. Instead, after briefly visiting the nearby attractions, they drove to the nearby Ledao Ocean Kingdom, a large-scale comprehensive amusement park with an ocean theme, which includes numerous water entertainment facilities and marine animal performances.

It can only be said that even in their pseudo-family of four, Lin Mu is indeed the most beloved, fully fulfilling Chen Junqian's parents' imagination of having a cute little girl. But that's how childhood sweethearts are, right? After all, Chen Junqian himself received the same treatment in Lin Mu's family.

As soon as Chen Junqian stepped into the room, a wave of accomplishments began to radiate from his mind. However, he didn't have time to pay attention to these thoughts, because Lin Mu, who had changed into her swimsuit in the changing room, had already taken his hand and led him towards the beach.

Waving various small tools she had rented from the staff next to her, Lin Mu began to try to build a castle for herself on the beach—that's what she called it, but in reality it just looked like a three-layered sandcastle with a large cuboid on top of a smaller cuboid, and then an even smaller cube on top of that.

Chen Junqian, of course, couldn't be idle either. He was ordered by the little princess, who was wholeheartedly building the castle, to build a winding sand wall around the castle. She said that this was the castle's protective wall and that the entire castle needed to be completely surrounded.

Since it was the princess's order, Chen Junqian naturally couldn't neglect it. After tamping the sand pile down with a small plastic shovel, he also embedded a few small seashells he had picked up from the side into it, as if this would add more defensive effect, making the entire castle completely enclosed and indestructible.

In the center of the castle surrounded by walls, Lin Mu was trying to build a tall sand tower, like a flagpole, or like the tower in the fairy tale that trapped Rapunzel. But only she knew that it was a tree growing inside, her own tree.

She did it so carefully that her fingertips and nose were covered in fine sand, which shimmered like gold dust in the sunlight.

After everything was completed, Lin Mu admired the artwork for a while with great satisfaction before picking up the inflated, rubber duck-shaped swimming ring that had been placed beside him.

"Let's go play in the water."

"Only allowed in the child safety area."

"Know it."

The two people left a row of footprints on the beach, and behind them, later tourists easily destroyed the sandcastle as they walked, and new children began to enthusiastically start construction on the ruins and relics again, but none of this mattered to Lin Mu.

After all, she never expected a sandcastle to last forever; it could be washed away by the waves, trampled by tourists, or easily destroyed in some other way.

But it doesn't matter. If she wanted, she could go back and build another castle with Chen Junqian, one that was just as beautiful, or even more exquisite. This privilege of being able to try again with him so easily, and the fact that her wishes could be fulfilled at a moment's notice, were the true foundations of the castle she was building in reality. Their unit of measurement was time, which was undoubtedly much more solid and substantial than sand.

So now she and he can build sandcastles on the beach, and then easily destroy them;

So now she and he are running together by the sea, the salty wind blowing, their laughter trailing behind them.

At this moment, Lin Mu certainly didn't believe and never thought that the two of them would be separated one day. After all, she was still planning to climb the mountain with him to chase a butterfly from her dream.

As we all know, unrequited love is also a form of love, except that the object of affection is first the memory, and only when all the memories are exhausted will imagination be helplessly used.

From this perspective, she should indeed be the one with the most substantial resources, because compared to others, childhood sweetheart memories are hard to truly exhaust.

But Lin Mu certainly wasn't the kind of animal that could sense the approaching winter in advance and prepare food for the winter. Rather, the real opportunity for her to get to know Qianqian came when she lost almost all of her food reserves.

Therefore, she never experienced a so-called winter. Sugar and nuts were always readily available, just like a princess in a castle who only needs to grow up beautifully and safely. Even if she suffers some kind of evil curse, it doesn't matter, as she will eventually meet her prince.

But the reason fairy tales are fairy tales is that they can only happen in fantasy.

Just like the real-life case of water flowing in through one pipe and flowing out through another in a math problem, the reservoir of memories never relies on one or a few pipes to release its water. Once it is truly released, it is like a floodgate being opened, and the longer it is stored, the greater its power will be.

For a long time after a certain point in time, Lin Mu would repeatedly flip through his diary, trying to find out exactly where the problem started.

At the beginning of this summer vacation, I wrote down the following:

Summer has begun, just the two of us, Qianqian!

Then, after arriving in Tangshan:

It has nothing to do with BMWs or bicycles; it's just that I feel like laughing when we're together, and like crying when we're apart.

As he continued turning the page, on the first night after the two of them had spent the whole day in Qinhuangdao, following that incident, he wrote:

What exactly is the difference between pretending to be strong and being truly resilient?

Is it possible to pretend to be strong only in front of one person, or to strive to become strong solely for that person?

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Shen Nianqiu, My Lifelong Rival (Part Two)

Although there were four of them staying at the hotel this time, unlike during last year's World Expo, the room allocation this year was changed to adults sharing a room and children sharing a room. After all, according to Lin Mu, she and Chen Junqian had already stayed in a hotel in Tangshan for a few days, so why couldn't they continue to stay like that in Qinhuangdao?

Today, Chen Junqian and his group spent most of their time at the water park and the beach. They had a great time but were also quite tired. However, they had a great harvest in terms of unlocking achievements, almost breaking the record for the number of achievements completed in a single day. By the time the group returned to the hotel in the evening, they had unlocked three new achievements.

Besides "Summer Must Be About Swimsuits," the remaining two are "Aquariums Are Always Romantic Spots" and "Sand Artist."

Aquariums are always romantic spots.

The greatness of the aquarium lies in the fact that all blushes here will turn into a dreamy deep blue. Whenever the ethereal blue light shines through the aquarium and casts flowing ripples on your face, a creature more mysterious than the fish will begin to swim in your chest.

My heart always races the moment a manta ray swims overhead in the underwater tunnel, the instant my fingertips accidentally touch the water in the pool, and the moment I recite the life habits of emperor penguins in front of the penguin pool.

Condition for completion: Go to the aquarium with any of the heroines who are suited for romantic comedy.

Although what he and Lin Mu visited should more accurately be called an aquarium, it was pretty much the same thing. It was an achievement that couldn't be accomplished in Guoning, since their small town didn't have anything like an aquarium.