I turned reality into a romantic comedy.

His tone gradually became hesitant and stammering.

The voice grew softer and softer with each word.

All of the above ultimately turned a simple and straightforward statement, "I like you," into a bewildering question.

"I...I think I've fallen for you."

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Chapter 65: Just a little closer and I'll hold your hand (Bonus Chapter 2/?)

It was another confession.

However, unlike the last time when he couldn't hear a single word clearly and could only judge that the other party had indeed confessed through the triggering of the system achievement, this time Chen Junqian listened carefully to every word of Xu Youwei's stuttering words, which could also be considered a confession.

Thus, following the previously triggered achievement "Fireworks Festival with No Sound", Xu Youwei unlocked the genuine and concise achievement named "Confession" by the system.

Chen Junqian, not paying much attention to these details, only glanced at one sentence in the achievement description:

But please remember, a confession is always a triumphant anthem after a long period of getting to know each other, not a battle cry to send you into battle.

In Chen Junqian's mind, there was an achievement description called "The Battle of Wits in Love Among Geniuses," which included the following line:

In the battle of love, the one who confesses first often becomes the loser.

Although Chen Junqian himself has never thought that love is a war, nor does he intend to engage in any intellectual battles of love among geniuses, and has never been in a relationship in his past or present life, he can still empathize with and understand the meaning behind this statement.

Whether in a one-on-one romance or a romantic comedy with multiple parties, the one who confesses first is often like a gambler who has gone all in, handing over the initiative to the other person. It seems that they have inherently placed themselves in a subordinate position in the relationship. Even if the two do end up together, it can easily become a hidden danger in their future relationship. At some point, they might intentionally or unintentionally say, "You were the one who pursued me first, weren't you?" It's entirely possible that the relationship will explode as a result.

Of course, not all confessions will necessarily lead to this outcome. Ultimately, it depends on the feelings and attitudes of the person who makes the first statement, as well as their relationship with the confessor.

Chen Junqian himself has received no fewer than ten confessions of love on the campus of a middle school so far.

Some of them were outgoing and bold, even though they were a head shorter than him, they would still try to imitate the wall-slamming moves from the idol dramas they had watched. Others were reserved and shy, their lips trembling for a long time before they could utter half a sentence, or they would run back to their friends waiting on the other side without daring to come over. Some didn't even dare to show their faces, and just asked other students in his class to stuff those 'love letters' or gifts into his desk drawer. But no matter what kind of girls they were, the words that came out of their mouths and the burning passion in their eyes belonged to the innocent teenage years. It could not be said to be serious, but it was definitely not frivolous affection either.

Chen Junqian knew very well that they didn't really understand him. Most of the time, they just liked a conjured shadow, an object constructed by others, and the image he presented to the public and society.

They don't know what kind of anime or TV series they like to watch, whether they want savory or sweet tofu pudding, whether they usually listen to Jay Chou or the Big Three, and they don't know what he is happy or worried about every day. In this respect, none of the girls who have confessed to him so far understand him or know anything about his true self.

But Hsu Yu-wei knew everything.

This girl, who would secretly follow him whenever another girl confessed her feelings to him, and whose defensive skills were even better than those of his childhood sweetheart in the same class, undoubtedly knew this, because a significant part of his life's experiences were created with her.

That's why the other person's confession carried so much weight, was so unique, and left Chen Junqian completely at a loss for words.

Therefore, he really doesn't want a dog-like character like a golden retriever by his side, because Chen Junqian is not a very skilled romantic comedy male protagonist, both physiologically and psychologically. He can't be like the male protagonists in those stories and become an indifferent block of wood in the face of various confessions and fan service. Even if he is indeed moved in that moment, he will formulaically finish the female lead's episode and immediately switch back to his original attitude on the set of the next female lead.

Of course, he would experience emotional fluctuations, excitement, satisfaction, and a racing heart because of these things. Reality and romantic comedies are always different, and watching such a scene as an audience member is different from experiencing it firsthand as the male protagonist. When faced with such straightforward, almost naked, affection and liking directed directly at him, Chen Junqian himself couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't be swept away by emotion and overwhelmed by reason, just like those boys and girls who, under the influence of the atmosphere and the cheers of passersby, impulsively agree to a confession and nod their heads.

In fact, judging from the current atmosphere, Xu Youwei's somewhat hasty and unexpected confession was no less impressive than the carefully prepared fireworks display at the beginning of last year. Chen Junqian, sitting in the room, only needed to look up and raise the ultraviolet light in his hand to see the hand-drawn galaxy and fireworks composed of fragments of memories that bloomed just for him. Moreover, the possibility of unexpected noise was completely eliminated, allowing her confession to reach Chen Junqian's ears smoothly.

However, it must be said that the adverbs that were inexplicably added when spoken, the increasingly soft voice, and the increasingly uncertain tone did indeed bring down the atmosphere. Otherwise, Chen Junqian would not have had any rationality or leeway to sit here and rethink and organize the above content in his mind. It can only be said that the big dog that he found most difficult to deal with shrank into a small cat in the end, and rationality naturally triumphed over emotion.

Chen Junqian stood up and opened the unlocked door. As soon as the door opened, Xu Youwei, who was sitting outside leaning against it, stumbled backward. However, Chen Junqian, who was prepared, caught her immediately. He put his hands under her armpits and lifted the girl off the ground. Then, with a little force, he turned her around so that she was facing him instead of back.

Then, Chen Junqian leisurely withdrew his hands from under her armpits, cupped her still slightly chubby cheeks from both sides, and made her look directly into his pupils.

"Hmm... Yoyo, say it again?"

While real-life girls can't express shyness as simply and directly as characters in comics or anime through facial lines, red makeup, and steam rising from their heads, as the person who will be deliberately shown in close-up as a meme on a CCTV program in a month or two, Yoyo's emotional changes are indeed easily conveyed.

So the instant Chen Junqian finished making that gesture and saying those words, his palm could clearly feel the sudden rise in the other person's facial temperature, and even more clearly and easily observed than the blush on his face, the earlobes that turned several shades red in an instant.

Xu Youwei's earlobes are fleshy. Although those who have studied biology know that this is related to dominant and recessive genes, for the older generation in Guoning, these fleshy earlobes that feel comfortable to the touch are the same as those of Buddha, a symbol of good fortune. However, after Xu Youwei's biological mother passed away, her maternal grandmother never said anything like that again.

Thinking of this, Chen Junqian subconsciously reached out and pinched the girl's earlobe, which did feel very nice. However, this action seemed to be the last straw that broke the camel's back. Just like a kitten in a GIF that was frightened and suspiciously started to run away when its owner poured too much cat food than usual, Xu Youwei also slipped out in front of Chen Junqian in a flash, performing a dramatic escape.

Chen Junqian, who did not follow to try to get back the door panel of his old home, stood there shaking his head with a bit of a laugh, then turned around and walked back into the room. Now that he understood why there were so many invisible pens in the pen holder on Xu Youwei's desk, he picked up one of the ones placed aside and found a small blank space under the bright ultraviolet light.

After thinking for a moment, he put the invisible pen down again, found a ballpoint pen on the desk, moved it to a different spot, and circled back to the area around the five words "Don't hate me" that he had seen at the beginning, preparing to write his own message there.

Is the opposite of "dislike" "like"?

Chen Junqian would not actually define it in such a simple and crude way.

In one episode of Yang Hongying's "Ma Xiaotiao the Mischievous Boy" that involves Xia Linguo, Ma Xiaotiao is rumored to like Xia Linguo. He is then called to the teacher's office, where the teacher says that he has a problem with his thinking and that he is not allowed to like Xia Linguo anymore. So Ma Xiaotiao writes a guarantee on his own, solemnly promising in it that he will "promise to hate Xia Linguo from now on." As a result, the whole thing gets out of control again.

So he didn't intend to write "like" on the paper; he simply wrote a response to the sentence objectively.

I've never disliked you.

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

After being completely dumbfounded by Chen Junqian's single sentence, Xu Youwei deliberately played the disappearance trick. She didn't come out to see Chen Junqian again until he was driven home. She just hid in her father's office, lost in her own thoughts, and it seemed that it would take her quite a long time to calm down.

Chen Junqian wasn't doing much better. On the way back, he kept staring at the talent called "Confession" that the system had activated. This was one of the few achievements he had unlocked so far that wasn't obtained by fooling the system's idiotic review mechanism, but by fully meeting the conditions for achievement.

What he wanted to complain about was that this was an achievement that could be repeatedly obtained and triggered, and could be counted as an achievement reward, but it was limited to the first confessions of heroines who were suitable for romantic comedies.

Yoyo confessed her feelings to me...

Even though Chen Junqian did think that the scene of the two of them sitting with their backs to the door in the room was not bad, and as the system described, it was a classic scene in a romantic comedy, he still felt a little regretful that he couldn't witness the moment when the girl confessed her feelings.

However, on the other hand, if it were really face-to-face, just like his last confirmation attempt, Xu Youwei probably wouldn't even be able to utter that stammering confession.

With a slightly dazed expression, Chen Junqian carried his luggage back to the long-missed neighborhood. As soon as the car stopped in front of his building, Chen Junqian saw someone waiting there. It was Mu Mu, who had promised to pick him up yesterday and even skipped her tutoring class.

As for Chen Xi and Gu Linguo, it can only be said that these two obviously don't have a high credit score with their respective parents. Moreover, since they can come over for dinner after the tutoring class, there's no need for them to go through the trouble of upsetting their mothers just to see Chen Junqian, who is returning to Guoning, earlier.

"Qianqian is back!"

Completely unaware that his childhood sweetheart had just experienced a confession from her best friend thirty minutes earlier, Lin Mu couldn't wait to run over and greet Chen Junqian as soon as he got out of the car. She then stood directly in the trunk of the car, seemingly intending to help him carry his luggage up.

Although his height and physical condition meant he couldn't carry a large suitcase, Lin Mu could still help with the various small bags and tote bags. Although Chen Junqian's current core strength and stamina level made it easy for him to carry all the luggage and even carry Mu Mu upstairs, he didn't refuse his childhood sweetheart's kindness and hung two tote bags on her two fair arms that she stretched out in front of him.

"Yes, I'm back."

Having experienced what was arguably the most eventful summer vacation in every sense of the word, especially after being dealt a shocking blow by Xu Youwei at the end, seeing Mu Mu's familiar and reassuring smile and her walking ahead of him, carrying a tote bag and climbing the stairs step by step, deliberately using the two steps ahead to support her petite figure that was the same height as him, Chen Junqian's mood unconsciously calmed down, and his tone also became much more relaxed.

It's probably because I just read Hsu Yu-Wei's 'diary'.

For the first time, Chen Junqian wanted to know what Mu Mu had written in her diary.

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Chapter Sixty-Six: Starting a Business is Risky! (Two Chapters Combined)

Knowing that Chen Junqian was coming back today, Wang Hongling also found someone to watch the chess and card room for her temporarily. She went home early and cooked a big meal for her long-awaited son. After all, although there seemed to be only two people in their family now, there would be three girls to eat tonight, so there was no need to worry about whether they could finish the food.

After putting all the luggage away, Chen Junqian sat in the living room with Lin Mu, cuddling the kitten that jumped into his arms and chatting about some interesting things that had happened in Beijing over the past month. Then, he heard a knocking sound at the door. It was Chen Xi and Gu Lingguo, who had been attending tutoring classes together, returning home.

Although it's unknown whether the two girls will be in the same class again after junior high, they are indeed attending the same after-school tutoring classes, and this will not change after junior high. At least they can keep each other company during the arduous tutoring journey, which is better than Mu Mu having to go to tutoring classes alone with her bag every time. After all, his childhood sweetheart's grades are at a level that doesn't require tutoring at all.

As soon as Chen Junqian got up and opened the door, he was greeted by two people standing there, one in front of the other. His sister, who had been described by her own mother on the phone as "her dear brother, asking several times a day when he's coming back," didn't seem to have much emotion about his return. She just dryly called out "Brother" and then walked in to change her slippers. On the other hand, Gu Lingguo, who was following behind, raised her hand and gave him a high five. Well, Chen Junqian didn't know what this gesture was trying to express.

Unlike Chen Junqian's situation after he grew up, for the older generation, neighborly relations were actually a very important part of interpersonal relationships. Otherwise, there would be no saying that "a close neighbor is worse than a distant relative." At this time, the relationship between neighbors was not as distant as it would become later. Therefore, Wang Hongling certainly had no objection to the neighbor's child coming to her house for dinner. On the contrary, she would think it was a good thing. Gu Linguo's family was the same, only their starting point might be a little more complicated.

After everyone arrived, the children obediently lined up at the washbasin to wash their hands and prepare for dinner. Chen Junqian found it a bit funny to see Lin Mu playing with the hand soap foam for half a day in front of him. He felt that this might be the most childish child on the field today.

Then, during a casual chat at the dinner table, Chen Junqian received some rather ominous news from his mother, which almost made him choke on his food.

"Your aunt recently said she found a project that can make you rich."

Since Chen Junqian set the perfect precedent, a wave of investment and entrepreneurship swept through his relatives. Every year when they returned home for the New Year, watching him talk about getting rich was like watching a CCTV agricultural channel program. They hoped that they could replicate the miracle of the three fierce men and achieve a leap in social class on the spot. But basically, it was all just talk. Even if they took action, it was only on a small scale. Unexpectedly, the first one to make a real move was his aunt, Chen Xi's mother.

Despite Chen Junqian's questioning gaze, Chen Xi calmly continued eating, as if the matter had nothing to do with her. Finally, Wang Hongling, somewhat helplessly, offered an explanation:

"Actually, we've tried to persuade her many times ourselves, and your uncle has made many phone calls. We even considered having you make a call to try and persuade her, but she's like she's possessed and insists on trying."

In fact, Wang Hongling herself could understand her sister-in-law's thoughts. Before the three of them became successful, the couple were not too different; one was a salesperson at a walnut company, and the other was a teacher at a local middle school. However, as the former's career rose, and now he is often away from Guoning but has to stay in Xinjiang for the company, it does make the latter, who is staying in Guoning to take care of their daughter, start to overthink things. She then feels that she also needs to find something more lucrative to do, which, in a sense, is putting pressure on herself.

While it's theoretically possible for teachers to earn a substantial income by running after-school tutoring classes, unfortunately, Chen Junqian's godmother teaches history, a minor subject. There are plenty of tutoring classes for math and English, and some for weaker subjects like physics and chemistry, but for history, well, in the current period before the college entrance examination reform has been implemented in Anhui, very few people specifically seek tutoring in that subject.

"Okay... so what project is Auntie looking for?"

As soon as Chen Junqian spoke, Chen Xi, sitting on the other side, glanced at the clock on the wall again, then got up from her seat, ran to the coffee table in the living room, picked up the TV remote, turned on the TV which hadn't been used in a long time, changed a few channels, and then pointed to a popular advertisement on the screen and gestured with her lip:

"Look, that one."

Following Chen Xi's words, Chen Junqian turned his gaze to the television screen and immediately saw the true face of the project that his aunt had described as a way to make money. Then he heard a few rather inflammatory advertising slogans:

[Challenging the traditional pizza model, we're determined to create a completely new foodie experience!]

Eat it while you're holding it, eat it while you're walking, eat it while you're playing, eat it while you're grabbing it!

[WeiSa – A different kind of pizza. Follow us on Weibo, use WeChat, and eat WeiSa!]

Alongside these advertising slogans, images of customers crowding around food carts or physical stores, reaching out to grab those ice cream cone-shaped pizzas that look like a perfect blend of East and West, neither too traditional nor too modern, do indeed look quite convincing.

[Headquarters support, suitable for all budgets! Multiple business models are available for investors, with a minimum investment of only around ten thousand yuan!]

[You can open a small stall of a few square meters, a standard start-up store of ten or twenty square meters, a luxury store of several tens of square meters, a flagship store of hundreds of square meters, or even sign a regional agency agreement, or operate a mobile station that does not require a storefront!]

Then several celebrity endorsers, such as Du Haitao, Wu Xin, Simon Yam, and Rising Sun, took turns appearing, and the campaign ended with a message like, "Don't hesitate, call us now to join us!"

It can only be said that each generation has its own television fraud advertisements.

Children like Chen Junqian are most likely to be scammed by quiz ads promising various toy prizes for answering silly questions. One phone call and your phone bill will be depleted the next day. The elderly are easily fooled by various plasters for treating rheumatism, bone pain, and arthritis, or health products like Hongmao medicinal wine and thousand-year-old Dendrobium officinale. As for middle-aged people with some spare money who dream of getting rich, the pizza in front of them, as well as the multi-functional snack carts or crystal bubble pots that are similar in origin, are their special targets.

However, on the other hand, Chen Junqian himself also enjoyed watching these kinds of commercials when he was young. After all, there are good and bad commercials, and these are obviously good ones. At least the various snacks and foods look quite tempting.

But if someone in his family actually believed this and wanted to invest...

"In fact, the bigger the investment, the more you lose."

Chen Junqian made this judgment very simply, and then offered an explanation:

“This is completely different from the KFC branch we opened in Guoning before. Although they both look like Western-style snacks, they are completely different.”

Then he turned to Chen Xi and asked:

"Where is Auntie now? I'll go and try to talk to her."

"late."

Chen Xi answered calmly, then shook her head:

"We already set off for headquarters yesterday to discuss franchise matters."

"The good news is that my mom doesn't have much spare money. Most of the family's money is with my dad, so my dad's idea is to let her try her luck. If she fails in the end, she'll lose interest."

That makes sense.

Regarding this doomed business venture, Chen Junqian shared the same thoughts as his uncle. After all, some people don't know the pain until they actually suffer a major setback. In any case, Chen Xi's family is quite wealthy, so let them go through this ordeal.

"But then again, since your uncle is still in Xinjiang and your aunt went to that headquarters, aren't you living alone at home now?"

"Ah."