I turned reality into a romantic comedy

It was just like a kiss.

Chapter 35: Come to my bowl! (Part 2)

If there's anything that makes Mu Mu happy during this September back-to-school season, it's probably that his parents have returned to their hometown in the mountains once a year to handle the walnut harvest.

After all, there is no pecan festival like last year. In fact, the 2010 pecan festival was the last glory of Guoning pecans. Chen Junqian remembers that the next time it was held was in 2017, when the sun was setting, and the scale was many times smaller.

However, all of this has nothing to do with Mu Mu now. For her, it actually means that she can legitimately requisition Chen Junqian's evening after-school time again.

Of course, since this period was Xu Youwei's territory as usual, Lin Mu first greeted his good friend.

In fact, Xu Youwei was well aware that if she suggested that the three of them go together after school, Lin Mu, who was actually thinking of just the two of them, would most likely agree, albeit with some hesitation.

But after all, it was an annual opportunity for best friends, and there hadn't even been one last year, so Xu Youwei ultimately didn't say that. Besides, the two of them were still an unbreakable alliance in their fight against Zhu Wenyun, so they had to stick together at this point.

Anyway, she had already figured it out. Even if she gave the other person more time, let alone a week, their relationship wouldn't make any breakthrough progress.

In this respect, Lin Mu and Zhu Wenyun are on completely different levels. According to Xu Youwei's own investigation, Chen Junqian and Zhu Wenyun went out together to participate in a one-day essay competition at the end of last semester. Zhu Wenyun herself had already shown a kind of imposing aura that made her take notice. In every aspect, she was much stronger than Mu Mu, who was in front of her and said, "Lend me Qianqian for a week."

Of course, this doesn't mean that Xu Youwei was truly indifferent to Chen Junqian's absence for a week. After all, the end of the world is just around the corner, and the two of them are still stuck in the food conquest stage of figuring out how to make instant noodles taste the best. The other party just ran away like that. Didn't the Mayans' prediction from thousands of years ago go to waste?

As we all know, Xu Youwei is indeed the kind of child who becomes restless if you leave her alone. The last time Chen Junqian left her alone for a long time, the result was that she lost her umbrella in the pouring rain that day.

The good news is that this time the placement period is not long, and we were mentally prepared.

The bad news is that Hsu Yu-Wei's own mindset has also undergone subtle changes.

In short, right after Chen Junqian was taken away by Lin Mu after school, Xu Youwei ran to Lin Mu's house at the same time. She told Wang Hongling, who opened the door, that Chen Junqian had borrowed a book from her and hadn't returned it yet, and that he had gone to Lin Mu's place, so she should come and find it herself.

Once inside Chen Junqian's room, she would squat down, take out the invisible pen she had brought from her pocket, and begin her grand undertaking, trying to write and draw something else on the walls of his room, just like drawing a blackboard newspaper in a classroom.

However, even now, Xu Youwei still hasn't figured out her specific thoughts.

If the diary she fabricated before was meant for her father to see, then does she want Chen Junqian to see what she's writing now?

If you want to, are you really hoping that the other person will accidentally discover it one day, or do you want to deliberately leave a loophole for him to discover, just like you did with your father?

If it's the former, then when exactly will we have to wait?

If it's the latter, then can such an action be considered genuine or feigned? Will it make him also believe that these words and pictures are the exaggerated things she told her father when she was deceiving him?

Just like the story of the boy who cried wolf, a child who lies too much will eventually lose the trust of others, so when he tells the truth, no one will believe him.

and so.

If possible, Hsu Yu-Wei might want to meet the same little elf that Pinocchio, who loves to lie, encountered, and then be cursed with the strange curse that makes her nose grow longer when she lies.

Perhaps by then, she will feel much more at ease when facing Chen Junqian.

She could illuminate the entire room with ultraviolet light without thinking, and then, with the handwriting visible on the numerous items, she would confidently smile at him and say:

Yes, a long, long time ago, I already wanted to be with you forever.

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

Chen Junqian had no idea that a girl was currently in his room, feeling anxious and confused, because after school, Lin Mu had dragged him directly to the subway milk tea shop near Ningzhong.

After all, Lin Mu didn't lose the food allowance his parents gave him in advance this time, so the two of them didn't need to figure out how to survive a week on nine yuan and fifty cents like before. Their diet evolved directly to milk tea, and they didn't even plan to cook for themselves in the evening. Instead, they decided to have a good meal outside first.

Before coming over, Lin Mu, who was holding his hand and walking a little ahead, proudly announced that she had come up with a new recipe. Then, when it was her turn to order, Chen Junqian saw his childhood sweetheart proudly take out a bag of Want Want Little Buns from her backpack and say to the milk tea shop clerk:

"Please add this to both glasses, thank you!"

"So your secret recipe is to bring a bag of Want Want Little Buns with you?"

Since he doesn't drink milk tea very often, this was the first time Chen Junqian had ever seen someone bring their own toppings for the staff to add.

"Mmm, this tastes really good, and it's much cheaper than having her add toppings directly. If she comes again tomorrow, I'll bring a bag of Oreo cookies to crush and have her add them; that should be good too."

At that moment, Ningzhong Middle School next door had just finished school, so you could see middle school students wearing their uniforms everywhere. Looking at the backpacks that were obviously much heavier than those of elementary school students, Lin Mu felt a little guilty.

"Does junior high school have evening self-study sessions?"

"I remember it was added starting from the third year of junior high school, since people had to prepare for the high school entrance exam."

Recalling his junior high school life in his previous life, Chen Junqian didn't actually feel much pressure, probably because his grades had always been relatively good. What really bothered him at that time were various family changes outside of school.

Most importantly, just like his elementary school homeroom teacher, his middle school homeroom teacher was also a very good teacher. He just doesn't know if he will be assigned to the other person's class again after being reborn.

Lin Mu seemed to be thinking the same thing. While resting her chin on her hand and waiting for the milk tea to be made, she looked at the sticky notes on the wall covered with wishes and made her own wish to herself:

"I wish I could have been in the same class as Qianqian in junior high school."

"Well, I hope so."

Although he said that, Chen Junqian remembered very clearly that he only had two elementary school classmates in his junior high school class, and neither Lin Mu nor Xu Youwei were among them. However, considering the butterfly effect after his rebirth, the result of class assignment might be different, since he had never been Xu Youwei's deskmate in his previous life.

Just then, two cups of milk tea with the Wangzai Little Buns that Lin Mu had brought were ready. After taking them from the clerk, the two of them took the milk tea to a nearby KFC, which Chen Junqian had visited once with Xu Youwei.

There was no other way. With KFC not expected to open in Guoning until next year, Dicos was already the best Western fast food brand that could be found in the entire city. When they came in today, there were quite a few people, and most of them were children brought by their parents. The high-pitched voices of the children were mixed in and made Chen Junqian's head spin.

Chen Junqian deliberately found a spot quite far from the front desk and the children's play area with a small slide, before leading Lin Mu to sit down. Then, he noticed Lin Mu looking at the children's play area with great interest.

Although it wouldn't be impossible for her to sneak in with her size, Lin Mu, being a big kid about to enter junior high school, restrained herself from such thoughts. However, the sight of the scene did remind her of the time when the two of them had followed Xu Youwei.

Did Qianqian and Weiwei go to play on those big trampolines later?

"Yes, I've played it. I think I've played it quite a few times, after school."

Upon hearing Lin Mu mention trampolines, Chen Junqian nodded in agreement.

Xu Youwei did like staying in those kinds of places, but not to enjoy the feeling of punching the boss of Nanshan Nursing Home and kicking the boss of Beihai Kindergarten back to the newbie village to bully the weak. She simply thought it was a good place to pass the time, so Chen Junqian played with her many times.

However, just as she said, some places are just a place to sit and do nothing if you go alone, but if you go with someone, they can turn into a secret base for fun. Chen Junqian really did play tag with Xu Youwei on those trampolines, but now that they are both grown up, they are too embarrassed to sneak in again. So when Lin Mu said that, it seems that they haven't played like that in a while.

"That's great."

There was nothing sarcastic about it; Lin Mu was simply expressing her feelings. After all, she never thought that introducing Chen Junqian to Xu Youwei was a wrong decision. At least from her perspective, since the two became acquainted, Xu Youwei had never made any strange remarks or done anything strange, and she certainly wouldn't casually talk about life and death.

In fact, she usually doesn't ask Chen Junqian and Xu Youwei about the details of their relationship. The reason she suddenly asked today was not only because she happened to see the children's play area in Dicos, but also because they both saw her sitting alone on the trampoline at that time.

That's why Lin Mu didn't really know what the two of them were doing after school or during summer and winter vacations. Basically, Xu Youwei would take the initiative to tell her a few things. So even though Chen Junqian and Xu Youwei's shelter plan had been going on for almost a year, she still didn't know about it.

However, just as she would inform Xu Youwei in advance today, Lin Mu would also guard her own territory, namely the time after school at noon, with utmost care.

Judging from the current situation, what will destroy this territory she has established is not any other person, but the passage of time.

After all, after-school care is indeed more popular among elementary school students.

"Qianqian stopped attending after-school care after junior high, right?"

"Yes, I should go back for dinner. After all, my new home isn't far from Ningzhong, and my mom will be cooking at home too."

"Isn't your aunt working anymore?"

“I plan to have her open a card and mahjong parlor nearby.”

At a time when gambling was not strictly investigated, card and mahjong parlors didn't need to be disguised as teahouses, tobacco and alcohol establishments, and could openly operate in the open. Therefore, Chen Junqian suggested that his mother import a few fully automatic mahjong machines and try to open the first fully automatic mahjong and mahjong parlor in Guoning.

After all, his mother is a seasoned mahjong player, and she naturally has the advantage of connections and customers in this industry. She has indeed demonstrated business acumen this year, as even her uncle, who is the most successful in the business world among their relatives, said. Therefore, his mother is also quite interested in her son's suggestion and has recently begun to make relevant preparations.

Where is Mu Mu?

"I should go home for dinner too, my mom said she'd come pick me up."

After chatting for a while about junior high school, the food they ordered finally arrived. After having a hearty meal of milk tea and fried chicken, Lin Mu invited Chen Junqian to her house to play computer games for a while.

Upon arrival, Chen Junqian changed into his personal slippers, which were of unknown generation. After all, he had grown quite a bit in the past two years, and his shoe size had also increased. However, Lin Mu's family had been updating their shoes accordingly, and they were always placed on the top shelf of the shoe cabinet with the shoes worn by the three of them, so they could be found as soon as one entered.

"Oh right, Mom bought this yesterday, Qianqian, do you want some?"

As soon as she got home, Lin Mu scurried to the kitchen cabinet in her slippers and grabbed a bowl.

At first, Chen Junqian thought there was something in the bowl, but when she picked it up, she found it was just an ordinary empty bowl with nothing inside.

But when he looked up again, he heard a splashing sound, as if something was being poured out. It turned out that Lin Mu had poured a whole bunch of M&M's chocolate beans directly into the empty bowl in Chen Junqian's hand.

"So why use a bowl to hold it..."

"Because that's what its advertising slogan is, hasn't Qianqian seen it?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Mu simply tilted his head, then took an empty bowl from the kitchen and struck a pose reminiscent of the Silver Horned King holding the Purple Gold Gourd:

"Come to the bowl."

Should I say 'You should get in the bowl now?'

"Hmm...actually, Qianqian could just obediently come straight into my bowl like this, hmm, that's it—"

Chapter Thirty-Six: The Girl Who Kissed Her Shadow (Part Two)

As in previous years, not long after the start of the new semester in September, the class monitor began recruiting participants for the upcoming autumn track and field meet next month. Every day, he was begging and pleading to fill the minimum number of participants for each event.

Chen Junqian hadn't participated much in the previous two years. Last year, because no boys in his class were willing to run the 1000 meters, he signed up with Lu Cheng out of a desire to help him out, and then easily came in first place.

However, perhaps because it was indeed the last year before graduation, the students in this year's class were quite enthusiastic about signing up for the sports meet. Even Lin Mu, who had never been interested in it, seemed a little eager to try.

"Of course, I definitely won't sign up for events like running or long jump, but I'm about to finish elementary school, and I can't have gone through six years without ever participating in a single sports meet."

Today's after-school care program unusually didn't include bitter melon; instead, it featured juicy red spinach. Thanks to the influence of a certain Popeye the Sailor Man, Lin Mu was also diligently eating leafy greens today.

"So Mumu wants to sign up for something more recreational, like tug-of-war or three-legged race, right?"

In fact, the Experimental Elementary School has these kinds of entertainment-oriented events in its annual sports meet. Of course, reality is not anime, and the sports meet is not a sports festival, so there are definitely no events like the mysterious "Borrowing Objects Race" in the system achievements.

However, the three-legged race did exist.

Three-legged race (two-person leg battle)

When your ankles are tied together by the same rope, and when the chant of "one, two, one, two" becomes the shared rhythm of your heartbeats, this comical yet intimate battle of advancing and retreating together begins.

Whether it's the warmth of knees touching shoulders, the amazing chemistry or complete absurdity displayed in front of the entire school, or the instinctive act of protecting each other when accidentally falling, these will all become close-up shots in this romantic comedy.

The sweetest bond is never the rope, but the strong lingering impulse in your heart after you've been freed—the desire to continue walking in step with you through the rest of your life.

Condition for completion: Complete a three-legged race with any heroine who is suited for romantic comedy.

Chen Junqian remembered that before his rebirth, he and Zhong Yu had participated in the last three-legged race in elementary school and even made it to the top three and stood on the podium.

"Yes, but since tug-of-war is between men and women, I want to participate in the three-legged race with Qianqian."

"Sure, I'll register with Lu Cheng after I go to school this afternoon."

"Then let's practice at noon."

"Okay, as for the rope... let's use the red scarf for now."

After making this decision, the two of them unconsciously sped up their eating, putting the "Clean Plate Campaign" into practice before dashing off to the open space downstairs in the dormitory building.

"I'll take care of it."

As if he had planned it all along, before Chen Junqian could even speak, Lin Mu took off the red scarf around her neck and squatted down in front of him. Chen Junqian squatted down at the same time, bringing their legs together.

Unlike the cotton rope used to connect the paper cup phone two months ago, the red scarf in Lin Mu's hand has a very good texture and is obviously not the kind of cheap plastic one you'd find for five cents. Its color is clearly closer to some kind of prop held by the God of Marriage.

"Tie it a little tighter... otherwise it will come loose."

Hearing Mu Mu mutter to herself like this, her fingers pinching the red scarf and wrapping it around their calves—her right leg and his left leg—Chen Junqian subconsciously tensed his muscles as the cloth brushed against their skin.

Lin Mu's fingertips were slightly cool. As he tied the knot, the ends of his hair fell naturally with his movements and posture, brushing against his knees lightly, tickling him as if he were being gently brushed by some feather.

"Okay."

After tying a tight knot, Lin Mu looked up at him again, her eyes sparkling:

"Try?"

Chen Junqian grunted in acknowledgment, stood up first, and then reached out to pull Lin Mu, who was squatting on the ground, up. The two, whose legs were tightly bound, were forced to press together, the fabric rubbing against each other, and their body heat was transmitted through the thin pants of their summer school uniforms.

"Left leg first, then right leg, following the count of one, two, one, two, one. You can start slowly, just be careful not to use the same hand or foot at the same time."

Compared to Lin Mu, who was playing three-legged race for the first time, Chen Junqian was quite experienced in this area and began to try to direct Mu Mu.