I turned reality into a romantic comedy

"At this pace, we should reach the top in about half an hour. The meeting time for the photo at the summit is 4 p.m., so we should have plenty of time."

Because cell phones aren't allowed on the spring outing, Chen Junqian brought a digital watch from home and wore it on his wrist. After glancing at the time and then at the road signs, he made this decision, took the ground sheet Lin Mu had brought out of his bag, and laid it on a bluestone slab by the roadside:

"Rest here one last time, then walk up in one go."

"How are you feeling? Can you still keep going?"

Instead of asking any one of them individually, Chen Junqian addressed all three girls at the same time. Then, he took Mu Mu's water bottle from the right pocket of her backpack and handed it to her, while looking towards Zhu Wenjun's direction.

"Fortunately."

To be fair, Zhu Wenyun's physical condition is actually quite good. It's mainly because she has excellent innate qualities. Unlike the sickly, literary girls in typical romantic comedies, she doesn't spend all her time reading and writing. On weekdays, she not only helps her grandmother with housework and farm work, but also occasionally goes to do outdoor sports with Chen Junqian. For example, she is already very skilled at roller skating, which Chen Junqian taught her last year.

"I'm fine, just one last step."

Although Lin Mu's words sounded somewhat unsure, her tone remained upbeat. Not long ago, she had said that if she couldn't climb, Chen Junqian could carry her. But judging from her current appearance, she was clearly determined to climb up herself.

Actually, this is quite reasonable. After all, along the way to school, you could see groups of students from the same grade every now and then, so Chen Junqian never really believed that Mu Mu could do something like this.

His childhood sweetheart has always been very shy. If only the two of them were present, she would probably have jumped on his back and waved her arms to direct him forward. But with Zhu Wenjun and Xu Youwei both present, and other students around, Lin Mu would never do such a thing, just like those little tricks he wouldn't do at lunchtime.

Xu Youwei remained silent, only sipping water in small sips, her mind drifting back to the scene of Chen Junqian carrying her to the cemetery.

After all, she had only pushed, pulled, dragged, and helped Lin Mu across this section of the road, and she was already exhausted. It was really hard to imagine how Chen Junqian had managed to carry her all the way up there.

After resting briefly and replenishing their energy with water, the group packed up their groundsheets and began their final journey, heading back towards the observation deck at the mountaintop.

In reality, the classic scenario of twisting an ankle while hiking doesn't necessarily occur. Aside from the visible fatigue, all Chen Junqian could see as he frequently turned back to check on Lin Mu's condition during this final stage was the smile on the girl's lips. Even though her smooth forehead was covered in sweat and a few strands of hair were stuck to it in a mess, Mu Mu showed absolutely no courage or determination to give up...

Well, although Lin Mu herself really wanted to describe today's mountain climbing experience in her diary with such passionate words, the truth is that willpower alone cannot overcome a body that has not been exercised for a long time. All I can say is that by the last section, apart from still being tough on the outside, Mu Mu's legs were almost as weak as noodles, and she was practically dragged up by Chen Junqian and Xu Youwei, one hand each.

"I feel like I talked about Mumu's exercise problem a long time ago."

Sitting in a small pavilion on a viewing platform built on the mountaintop, Chen Junqian looked at his childhood sweetheart, who was so exhausted that she had no manners at all and was just lying there panting like a salted fish without any dreams. He casually unscrewed the cap of a bottle of mineral water he had bought and handed it to her, and then gave a bottle to Xu Youwei and Zhu Wenyun next to her.

Although he really wanted to complain that the bottled water on the mountaintop was now selling for four yuan a bottle—enough to buy a bottle of premium water like C'estbon outside—Chen Junqian refrained from saying it, considering the presence of a girl who was particularly sensitive to prices and numbers. Instead, he reached out and gently pinched Lin Mu's calf.

"Are you alright? We still have to go down the mountain in a bit."

"Indeed, Mo Yan said that once you descend the mountain, there is no difficulty, which makes travelers happy in vain; but once you enter the circle of ten thousand mountains, one mountain after another blocks your way."

Faced with Zhu Wenyun suddenly starting to recite poetry, Chen Junqian quickly reached out to interrupt her:

"Ahem, don't scare Mumu like that. Mount Jingting isn't that exaggerated."

"Mumu must have been to Huangshan before, right? It must be much harder to climb than Jingting Mountain."

Xu Youwei propped her chin up and looked at her best friend lying on the ground, who had lost her dreams. Suddenly, she felt that if she were really the kind of character in an eight o'clock drama who liked to get her hands on others, even three of her best friends combined might not be able to beat her with her weak stamina.

"...So I've never climbed it before, I've mostly just taken the cable car up and down. But today I've finally climbed a mountain... Qianqian, pinch it a little higher."

"Oh."

It can only be said that the "multi-talented" package did include basic massage skills, so when Chen Junqian tried it out, Lin Mu surprisingly felt pretty good. So even though she felt a little embarrassed, her body still honestly followed the instructions. Anyway, she just closed her eyes and pretended that Xu Youwei and Zhu Wenyun in front of her didn't exist.

However, as soon as she closed her eyes, Zhu Wenyun simultaneously put her leg over her shoulder without saying a word, acting as if she was just casually helping her out. Xu Youwei, who was standing next to her, couldn't help but glance at her and subconsciously wanted to do the same. However, Chen Junqian rolled his eyes at her, implying that she was just trying to join in the fun without even looking tired.

But Xu Youwei's mind worked very quickly. If Chen Junqian wouldn't massage her, she would run over and massage him instead. After going around behind him, she pretended to put her hands on his shoulders.

From an outsider's perspective, the four of them did look rather strange. Fortunately, the viewing platform on the mountaintop was large enough, and they were hiding in the pavilion, so not many people noticed them.

It was at this moment that the first achievement since his rebirth, which even Chen Junqian couldn't determine who had triggered, was successfully achieved with a "ding":

Temperature difference between the palms

When your fingertips sink into her stiff shoulders, when her palms gently caress your tense back, when the warmth of her palms penetrates your clothes and strikes your heart—this intimate contact, ostensibly for relieving fatigue, transcends the boundaries of ordinary friendship.

The most skillful massage is never about how exquisite the technique is, but rather the sudden disappearance of the temperature difference when your palm leaves her skin, which makes her subconsciously grab your wrist and say, "It's not over yet."

Condition for completion: Complete a massage session with any heroine who is suited for romantic comedy.

So, is this some kind of unorganized achievement jointly created by Lin Mu, Zhu Wenyun, and Xu Youwei?

Or will the system recognize this triggering method where half of the achievement is accomplished with one female protagonist, and the other half is accomplished with another female protagonist?

Such a thought flashed through Chen Junqian's mind, and then he saw a mischievous friend walking over to him not far away, winking and making faces at him, and the camera in the friend's hand. It should have been taken from the homeroom teacher for taking a group photo later. After all, as the student who was most good at this in the class, Zhong Yu usually did this kind of work.

Then, he watched as the other person first raised their camera and snapped several pictures of him, before running off again, seemingly to take pictures of other students in the class.

Lin Mu was still lying there with his eyes closed, and Zhu Wenyun was also enjoying Chen Junqian's massage in a drowsy state. So Chen Junqian could only look up and ask Xu Youwei, who had the same viewpoint as him and could definitely see Zhong Yu's actions just now:

"Did Youwei see that just now?"

"what?"

“Zhong Yu came over and took photos.”

"Oh, this? Of course I saw it."

"I thought you would try to stop him, since he's quite afraid of you."

"What's there to stop? Besides, it's not very interesting to go on a trip without taking photos, and group photos don't count."

She had a completely indifferent attitude, and could even be described as quite delighted. After all, compared to the class photo where it was inconvenient to cut out the two people individually with scissors, if Zhong Yu took the photo from where he was standing, Mu Mu, who was lying down, would only be partially visible, and Zhu Wenyun would only be on the right. The main subjects of the picture would definitely be Chen Junqian and herself. After she got the documents from Zhong Yu, she could just crop them a little with the computer.

After resting for almost half an hour, Lin Mu, who had finally regained some of his strength, led the three of them to stroll around the observation deck near the mountaintop. After all, when traveling, you always have to see the scenery, otherwise it will become a strange situation where you 'sleep on the bus, pee when you get off, and don't know anything about what you did when you go back.'

After all, it is the Jingting Mountain Scenic Area, and the most famous thing is naturally Li Bai's poem "Sitting Alone on Jingting Mountain". You can also see various related landscapes on the platform at the top of the mountain. In addition to the pavilions and towers that are said to be relics of the 21st century and where the poet wrote this poem, there is a huge stone with the words "We look at each other without getting tired" engraved on it.

We never tire of looking at each other.

As a literary-minded young woman, Zhu Wenyun naturally paid special attention to classical Chinese poems and verses that could be used in her own story. After muttering to herself for a long time, she glanced at Chen Junqian again and suddenly felt that the last two lines of the original poem, "We gaze at each other without weariness, only Mount Jingting remains," could rhyme if the subject were changed from the mountain to a person's name. Then, she could smoothly connect it to Xin Qiji's poem, "I find the green hills so charming, I suppose the green hills find me the same way," and thus begin a story...

Well, just looking at Zhu Wenyun who was lost in her own world, Chen Junqian could pretty much guess that she was probably engrossed in her own little world again. So he could only shake his head helplessly and walk over to Lin Mu and Xu Youwei, who were leaning on the railing looking at the distant mountains and rivers.

The two were looking at several strange trees growing from the cliff face.

"It looks a bit like the Welcoming Pine in Huangshan, don't you think, Weiwei?"

"There is a little bit, but there are three trees here, one, two, three, but they are too far away to see clearly. It could also be a branch from one tree."

Upon hearing Xu Youwei mention the three trees, Lin Mu paused for a moment, then smiled and said:

"There need to be three little squirrels in that tree."

Actually, Xu Youwei's previous idea about the Three Fierce Xu logo and mascot wasn't entirely wrong. The most important partners of Three Fierce Xu in the early stages were Chen Junqian's uncle, Lin Mu's father, and Chen Junqian himself. So if you really want to say something, two of the prototypes of the three mascots are exactly as she thought. It's just that the last one is Chen Xi, who didn't have any interaction with Xu Youwei, so she didn't guess it.

As she spoke, she turned to look at Chen Junqian, who was walking over:

"Qianqian, do you know? The logo of Anhui TV is that welcoming pine tree from Huangshan Mountain."

"Well, what's wrong?"

"Actually, I've always wanted a TV station that shows cartoons 24 hours a day. Let's call it MuMu TV. In my imagination, its logo would be similar to Anhui TV's, but with three trees."

Only in front of Xu Youwei did she openly explain to Chen Junqian for the first time the online name 'Senmu,' which she had changed for a long time but which still puzzled Youyou:

"They are Dad and Mom."

"And Qianqian."

Chapter Sixty-Nine: Yoyo's Huge Failure

Just as Lin Mu said this to Xu Youwei and Chen Junqian at the same time, an unlocked achievement related to childhood sweethearts in the latter's mind also lit up faintly. Unfortunately, it seemed that there was still a problem with the judgment in the end, and it failed to be truly achieved.

[The Childhood Sweethearts' Declaration of Sovereignty]

When your childhood sweetheart suddenly takes your arm and smiles at another girl who approaches, saying, "Sorry, this person has been my possession since childhood," the possessiveness accumulated over the years is more destructive than any confession from a girl who isn't your childhood sweetheart.

Whether it's using childhood secrets about the other person that only they know to intimidate a rival, adjusting their collar and tying their shoelaces as naturally as breathing, or directly lying about "our parents have already arranged for us to get married after graduation," childhood sweethearts sometimes have more tricks up their sleeves than you might imagine.

The idea that "it's been like this since childhood" is the most natural yet never realized possessiveness of the childhood sweetheart character.

Condition for achievement: The female protagonist of a romantic comedy, recognized by the system as a childhood friend, asserts her claim to the male protagonist's ownership in front of other female protagonists, through words or actions.

It can only be said that Chen Junqian himself didn't really think that Mu Mu's two sentences were meant to assert her dominance. He knew her little brain very well, and this wasn't the first time she had shown her dominance. She had shown it once before when she first met Shen Nianqiu at the Shanghai World Expo, when Lin Mu took the initiative to say, "I am Qianqian's best friend." It was just not as obvious as this time.

Even without Lin Mu's explanation, Chen Junqian would have already guessed the meaning of the other party's online name 'Senmu' much earlier. After all, he had specifically heard Mu Mu talk about the origin of his name. The name Senmu is essentially the same as Lin Mu, but with an extra 'wood' character, meaning there is a tree named after him.

Of course, if any of the three people on the field really felt that Lin Mu's two sentences were a declaration of sovereignty, then it would probably only be Xu Youwei, who was not involved in the two parties involved.

To be honest, Xu Youwei wasn't really surprised by Lin Mu's opinion of Chen Junqian. After all, she was the closest observer to the two of them, and she could see Lin Mu's dependence on Chen Junqian, his attachment to him, and some kind of inexplicable feeling.

Just last year, she was full of confidence and had planned everything she could do to refute Mu Mu's personality and speech, using sophistry to leave the other party speechless.

Xu Youwei could say that Chen Junqian was just her third tree, and even without him, she would still have her first and second trees to accompany her. But she had no one else to accompany her except Chen Junqian.

She could also take the initiative and confess her feelings first, then argue with Lin Mu, saying, "If you've also realized these feelings, why haven't you dared to act on them?"

She could directly lay bare all her feelings, vulnerabilities, and thoughts to the other person, since Lin Mu was the kind of person who would want to help her friend if she noticed anything amiss. This trait was both her strength and her weakness.

But now Xu Youwei can't say a single word.

Even the casual remark the other person made a few minutes ago about the third tree sounded more natural, brighter, more relaxed, and more... like a confession than her supposed confession during winter break.

Combining what she heard from the other person on the bus this morning, Xu Youwei herself was a little confused about what she was thinking. It was as if something she had always insisted on had been impacted by something new. She didn't know which side was right or wrong, or whether she should make a change.

While Xu Youwei was in a state of utter confusion, Chen Junqian gave Lin Mu his answer, making a lighthearted and teasing remark:

"So, in Mu Mu's heart, I'm actually a tree?"

"Yes, but my dad and mom are trees too, and so am I, the little tree on the far right of my name."

Not wanting to hear the rest of their conversation any longer, Xu Youwei unconsciously took several steps back, bumping into Zhu Wenyun, who was still lost in thought, gazing at the stone they seemed to love. This brought her back to reality.

"Excuse me."

"Excuse me."

The two apologized to each other almost simultaneously. Looking at Zhu Wenyun's face, which seemed to have just woken up from a dream, Xu Youwei suddenly became curious about the other's reaction after hearing what Lin Mu had just said. So she briefly recounted what had happened a few minutes ago to her.

"It's not just mountains, it can also be trees... Indeed, specific people can be transformed into all sorts of images."

Well, after listening for a while without understanding what Zhu Wenyun was muttering to herself, Xu Youwei had no choice but to ask her directly again:

"Doesn't Wenjun have any particular thoughts?"

Although she and Mu Mu still have an alliance against Zhu Wenyun, it is well known that alliances are inherently fragile, and the two initially formed an alliance because they sensed that something was wrong with Zhu Wenyun.

But now it's clearly Lin Mu who's starting to act strangely.

It can only be said that in Xu Youwei's field of vision, who has never met Gu Linguo and is even more unaware of Shen Nianqiu's existence, there are indeed only the two of them left. It's just that the king on the city wall keeps changing, and it has never reached the point where she is so powerful that she needs two other people to form an alliance.

...I fantasized again, imagining myself confessing my love to Qinqin successfully amidst the fireworks blooming in the night sky on the eighth day of the Lunar New Year.

"Any special ideas? No."

People's joys and sorrows are indeed different. For Zhu Wenyun, she is currently writing articles every month, earning money, honing her skills, and will be able to embark on her first trip during the summer vacation. Then, when she grows up, she can help Chen Junqian fulfill the promise between them and write the story he wants. She has a lot of hope and goals in the present and future, which makes it really hard for her to empathize with Xu Youwei, who is still worried about gains and losses.

"So, in your eyes, what kind of person is he?"

"For me?"

Upon hearing Xu Youwei's question, Zhu Wenyun instinctively wanted to answer with "mountain," since the image she had been contemplating was a mountain—a mountain that one never tires of gazing at, a mountain whose verdant beauty she found captivating.

But after hearing Lin Mu's answer, she became somewhat uncertain again. Her gaze slowly shifted from the entire mountain to a tree, and then to a weed under the tree. Suddenly, she thought about how to write the opening of the next article.

"Rice, and then I am barnyard grass."

"...What is a 'baizi'?"

"A type of field weed that grows alongside rice and looks similar. Although it competes with rice for nutrients in the field, it is also highly nutritious as animal feed. It is said that barnyard grass is the ancestor of rice, and the earliest rice was cultivated from barnyard grass generation after generation."

Once again immersed in her own world and storyline, Zhu Wenyun stood there, slowly rehearsing the opening of her next article and reading it aloud:

"If I were to send you a book, I wouldn't send you poetry. I would send you a book about plants, about trees and crops, to tell you the difference between rice and barnyard grass, to tell you about that spring when I was a barnyard grass, filled with anxiety, and to tell you that before we met, I could only watch the long stars shine on thirteen states all by myself."

Well, this was another answer that left Xu Youwei somewhat at a loss for words.

She could only stand there, between the two girls on her left and right, looking at the third tree and the sapling, at the wheat and the weeds, not too close and not too far away.

If names truly possessed any magic, Xu Youwei would probably want to become the deer from the "Yo-yo deer's cry" that her mother gave her nickname, and then run up to them and devour all the trees, wheat, and other things right in front of them.

Not a single bit will be left...

Chapter 70: Youyou's eyes sharpened (Part 2)

Not long after, it was time for the group photo at four o'clock. The homeroom teacher glanced at the time on his phone and felt that there was no need to wait for the students who hadn't reached the top yet. So he had Lu Cheng and Zhong Yu call over all the students who had reached the top, and they stood together laughing and joking, ready to take a group photo.

Since it was a commemorative photo taken during a spring outing, the homeroom teacher didn't force everyone to stand in a line according to the order of boys and girls or their seats. Basically, they just let close friends stand together and pose for the camera.

Zhong Yu, who had just helped the homeroom teacher adjust the camera's automatic time-lapse function, originally wanted to stand with Chen Junqian, but after glancing at Lin Mu and Xu Youwei, his two protectors, he was about to retreat when the latter grabbed him and made him squat down to block Chen Junqian and himself.