I turned reality into a romantic comedy.

After receiving a promise from the third tree she had chosen to sing the lyrics, the little girl seemed to feel a bit better. But thinking about it carefully, it seemed like she hadn't seen her in a bad mood many times. Even though she was already a second-year junior high school student, compared to others her age, Mu Mu seemed to still maintain a certain unwillingness to grow up, remaining stuck in the past, both physically and mentally. It seemed that the stages of growth and adolescence always came a little slower for her.

"The next chemistry class will be in the physics and chemistry lab, so everyone can go there now!"

As the two were talking, Lu Cheng, the class monitor and chemistry representative, hurriedly walked up to the podium and announced this. Upon hearing this, the other students in the class lazily got up from their seats and began to move towards the physics and chemistry laboratory, chatting and laughing.

Compared to the monotonous classroom lessons, students always prefer to try something different. The physics and chemistry lab classes were something everyone had been eagerly anticipating. Lin Mu, standing next to Chen Junqian, displayed the same lively energy she had when going to computer labs in elementary school, skipping and hopping around, her tone noticeably more cheerful:

"This is my first time in a physics and chemistry lab. By the way, what kind of experiment are we doing there today?"

"Didn't the teacher talk about it in the last class? Testing the properties of oxygen and trying to produce oxygen?"

Lu Cheng, standing beside him, nodded in agreement and added more detailed information:

"Yes, there were tests on burning glowing wooden splints in oxygen, burning sulfur, and burning thin iron wire. The oxygen production experiment used a method of heating a mixture of potassium permanganate and manganese dioxide."

To Lu Cheng's rambling explanation, Zhong Yu, a typical underachiever, simply sang a subtly humorous internet song in a "Love My China" tune: "Fifty-six elements, increasing valence, fifty-six ethnic brothers and sisters oxidized, fifty-six acids and bases, all merged into one sentence: Potassium permanganate! Potassium permanganate! Potassium permanganate!" The chemistry class representative had to give him a couple of slaps to quiet him down.

Just like her computer classes in elementary school and the open classes she had attended before, the biggest advantage and convenience of this kind of class, which was not held in the classroom, was that she could temporarily sit next to Chen Junqian as his deskmate. So as soon as she entered the physics and chemistry lab, she followed closely next to Chen Junqian and walked to the same lab table together.

Alcohol lamp, matches, test tubes, iron stand, tubing, rubber stoppers, and glass bottles containing various chemicals...

To the middle school students who were encountering these experimental devices for the first time, everything in front of them seemed quite novel and attractive. If it weren't for the chemistry teacher on the stage keeping a serious face and scanning each student below, the playful boys would probably have already been eager to try it out.

"The first experiment is the combustion of combustibles in oxygen. There is a gas collecting bottle filled with oxygen on each table. The first thing you need to do is light the alcohol lamp, then light one end of the wooden stick. When it is extinguished and only a spark remains, put it into the gas collecting bottle and observe the changes in it. Pay attention to safety during the experiment. If there is any accident or anything you don't understand, raise your hand immediately."

As soon as the chemistry teacher gave the order, the students, who had been waiting impatiently, immediately reached for the matches. Although everyone present was a master of fireworks and firecrackers at home for countless years, the thrill of playing with fire at school was definitely a hundred times stronger. It was hard not to think of the lyrics of the old children's song, "I'm going to blow up the school."

Because the middle school entrance exam in Anhui Province includes compulsory physics and chemistry experiments, even though Chen Junqian was only a liberal arts student in his previous life, he had studied the relevant physics and chemistry experiments very seriously. After being reborn, he also had the added bonus of doubled learning efficiency. So let alone this simple oxygen property experiment, if it weren't for the limitations of the laboratory equipment, he felt that he could accurately replicate even the most complex experiments. Therefore, he simply treated it as taking care of a child. After lighting the alcohol lamp, he handed the wooden stick to Mu Mu, who was watching eagerly, and told her to go and have fun... Hmm, do this experiment.

"As you can see, the wooden strips reignited, and burned even more intensely than they would in air, which proves..."

As the chemistry teacher, who was circling around explaining, walked by, Lin Mu quickly stuffed the wooden stick into the gas collecting bottle. Then, watching it reignite with a snap, he stared at it intently for a while, like the little match girl in the fairy tale, before finally taking it out again.

"The next experiment is to observe the combustion of sulfur."

Following the chemistry teacher's instructions, Chen Junqian used the nearby combustion spoon to scoop up a small amount of sulfur, lit it on the alcohol lamp, and handed it to Mu Mu. The sulfur burning in the air emitted a faint blue light like will-o'-the-wisp. When Lin Mu inserted it into the gas collecting bottle, the flame burst open instantly, and the faint blue flame turned into a bright blue light, sparkling like fireworks. Lin Mu immediately moved closer, almost pressing her face against it.

"Qianqian, look—it's so blue! It's like fireworks, so beautiful."

"That's how fireworks work, don't get too close, it's not safe. If you keep doing that, the teacher will scold you later."

Lin Mu's head was pulled back slightly. Just then, the sulfur in the combustion spoon had completely burned out, emitting a tiny bit of light before going out completely. This made Mu Mu puff out her cheeks slightly, looking like she hadn't had enough fun at all.

But since it was a class, the physics and chemistry lab wasn't really a place for her to play, and the chemistry teacher's instructions continued:

"Then comes the burning of the thin iron wire. A short matchstick is tied to the lower end of the spiral-shaped thin iron wire, the matchstick is lit, and when the matchstick is almost burned out, the thin iron wire is inserted into the bottle to observe the reaction."

Here, take it.

After everything was prepared, Chen Junqian handed a thin wire to Lin Mu, who had finished playing with sulfur:

"This is more fun."

Really?

Hearing Chen Junqian's words, Lin Mu also eagerly inserted the entire thin iron wire into the hole. She then saw it immediately burst into flames, sparks flying everywhere, as if it were about to explode. She was so frightened that she almost let go. It was only after Chen Junqian reached out and helped her grip the tweezers that she felt steady and could then confidently observe the specific chemical reaction.

"The solid formed when it falls into the bottle is iron(III) oxide."

Hearing his childhood sweetheart's soft voice in his ear, even though what she was saying was perfectly normal chemistry knowledge, he felt his chest pounding a little fast, perhaps because he had been startled earlier. He didn't dare to look at her, and could only nod and stare at the thin iron wire that was still burning fiercely in front of him until it had completely burned out. Only then did he belatedly take out the remains.

Compared to the combustion observation experiments, the oxygen production experiment was undoubtedly several levels more complex. Therefore, the chemistry teacher first demonstrated it himself on the stage and repeatedly emphasized the operational sequence that could cause safety hazards. After all, unlike writing the wrong answer on a test paper, mistakes in experiments in reality can indeed lead to accidents. Therefore, he also patrolled the area much more frequently, walking around to check for any problems that might have occurred.

Because Lin Mu said he wanted to do the experiment himself, Chen Junqian immediately transformed into a full-time instructor, teaching him step by step how to mix potassium chlorate and manganese dioxide in a 3:1 ratio and put it into a test tube, then attach the rubber stopper and tubing to fix it on the iron stand. After checking that there were no leaks in the equipment, the oxygen production experiment could begin.

The subsequent steps were also largely without problems. After preheating the test tube once with the alcohol lamp, local heating began. Under the action of the water displacement method, the oxygen formed through the chemical reaction was gradually collected into the gas collecting bottle along with the descending water level. Everything seemed to be going quite smoothly. Lin Mu, having completed all of this, also breathed a sigh of relief and lay there quietly watching the oxygen collection process. As long as all the oxygen was collected and the delivery tube was pulled out and the alcohol lamp was removed, the task would be completed.

It was at this moment that Zhong Yu, a struggling student, took the initiative to call Chen Junqian over for help. His partner, Lu Cheng, who was also the chemistry class representative, had already been called away to teach other students, leaving Chen Junqian alone and somewhat at a loss. Chen Junqian had no choice but to step forward and continue to guide his good friend to complete the experiment, but his gaze kept drifting towards Lin Mu.

After all, it's hard to say that Lin Mu's level in chemistry is much better than Zhong Yu's. Chen Junqian can already see the future trend of his childhood sweetheart Mu Mu being forced to study humanities in high school because of her poor science grades.

Having just finished helping Zhong Yu, Chen Junqian noticed that Lin Mu seemed to be finishing up as well. He had already extinguished the alcohol lamp that was heating potassium chlorate and manganese dioxide, and was about to take out the tubing and the gas collecting bottle that was in the water...?

Sensing something was amiss, Chen Junqian quickly rushed back to Lin Mu's side. Lin Mu was softly humming the tune of "You are my everything," and greeted him with a cheerful smile upon his return.

"Qianqian's back! I've finished everything here, including the oxygen..."

Before she could finish speaking, a clanging sound came from the lab table, and Chen Junqian, anticipating the situation, pulled Lin Mu's hand and jerked her backward.

The next second, the backflow caused by the incorrect order of extinguishing and removing the alcohol lamp and pulling out the delivery tube flowed back into the test tube. The violent chemical reaction directly impacted the bottom of the test tube from the inside out, and the falling test tube fragments fell directly onto the alcohol lamp, stirring up a ring of glass shards. A few of them even flew towards the two people next to them.

Because Chen Junqian pulled Lin Mu back to protect her, she wasn't splashed at all. One of the projectiles that came towards Chen Junqian hit the long sleeve of his autumn school uniform, while the other scratched the back of his right hand, which he was covering, causing a slight pain.

The achievement titled "Hero Saves the Beauty" in my mind shone brightly at this moment.

After many twists and turns, this achievement, which should have been triggered twice by his younger sister, still ended up on his childhood sweetheart.

P.S.: Thank you for reading and subscribing.

PS2: The most serious incident that happened in my junior high school chemistry lab was when someone stole an alcohol lamp and matches to play with things in the classroom, and as a result, they were immediately reprimanded...

Chapter 90: A Mother This Tall Is Necessary (Part 2)

This unexpected turn of events quickly attracted the attention of the entire class. Before the other students could swarm around and see what was happening, the chemistry teacher hurried over and asked somewhat nervously:

"What happened? Are you injured?"

Just as physical education teachers would never force girls who are genuinely or jokingly saying they are on their period to do certain exercises, schools are always highly vigilant about the safety of their students. If it weren't for the requirements of the high school entrance examination, even risky teaching methods like chemistry experiments probably wouldn't be used. After all, you really don't know what kind of tricks or dangerous things high school students of this age might do with these chemical products.

In his past teaching career, the most serious accident was when a student mixed potassium chlorate and manganese dioxide and mistakenly took sulfur instead of the latter, which directly caused the test tube to explode. As a result, when he does this experiment in class now, he only provides the necessary two or three ingredients and has to give repeated instructions before the experiment. But unexpectedly, another small accident happened today.

After a quick glance at the scene, the experienced teacher had already figured out the cause of the accident: the liquid backflow was caused by an incorrect experimental sequence. Initially, there wouldn't have been so many problems, but the alcohol lamp wasn't completely removed beforehand, causing the collapsed test tube to hit the alcohol lamp again, which triggered a secondary splash of fragments. Otherwise, it would have just shattered on the table with a thud.

"The test tube broke a little because of liquid backflow, and I cut my hand. I'll go to the school clinic to get it bandaged and I should be fine. Lin Mu was next to me just now and might have been splashed with something too. I'll take her to get it checked out."

Chen Junqian first explained the situation clearly to the chemistry teacher, and then, thinking that he couldn't leave Mu Mu alone to be scolded in front of the whole class, he deliberately blurred the main person responsible for the incident, while taking advantage of his status as the injured party, he pulled Lin Mu, who still seemed confused, out of the classroom before she could react.

Soon, Lu Cheng, the class monitor and chemistry representative, chased after him at the teacher's behest. With the concern of a friend, he grabbed Lu Cheng's wrist and examined the wound on the back of his hand.

"How are you? Does it still hurt? It seems like there's not much bleeding anymore."

With Lu Cheng's action and greeting, Lin Mu finally seemed to snap out of his daze. He hurriedly pulled out a large wad of tissues from his pocket and shoved them onto the wound like a tidal wave, wiping away the barely noticeable blood. He was completely speechless, on the verge of tears.

"Don't rush to do it like that. What if there are still small shards of glass inside? Wouldn't that just push them in deeper?"

As soon as Lu Cheng said these words in a slightly anxious tone, Lin Mu, feeling like she had done something wrong again, froze on the spot. It wasn't until Chen Junqian said, "No, it was just a big piece of shard that scratched me, and it wasn't very deep," that she seemed to come back to her senses a little. But overall, she was still quite disoriented and followed him there.

To be honest, if Lu Cheng hadn't followed her out, and it was just her and Chen Junqian, Lin Mu probably would have actually done something like that. But now that another person is standing here, she feels uncomfortable again, or rather, it's a more complicated feeling. In short, it makes her heart ache a little, and her eyes are already red.

"sorry."

Her lips, which were slightly pale from being bitten, twitched very little. It took her a long time to utter this sentence. Her mind was still in a daze, just replaying everything that had happened a few minutes ago.

The hero saving the beauty is indeed a scenario that both boys and girls would fantasize about. Just like Xu Youwei, Lin Mu herself had also thought about what it would be like if she had been there during that stampede. But those incidents were completely different from the current man-made accident caused entirely by her own negligence and mistakes. Moreover, Chen Junqian was injured and bruised as a result.

Without a doubt, Lin Mu has always been the most afraid of those around her getting hurt. Back then, when Xu Youwei only showed signs of this, she was able to pull Chen Junqian along to seriously investigate and resolve the issue. But now that this has happened, it can be said that immense self-blame, guilt, and a certain fear surged up from the bottom of her heart in an instant, stuck in her throat, unable to go up or down. All she could do was tightly hold onto the arm of the person next to her, staring intently at the wound with a resolute attitude as if she wanted to remember everything in front of her, as if she was afraid that it would start bleeding again at any moment.

Guoning Middle School does have a school clinic, but it's not staffed by any strange health care teachers—some with slender figures in white coats, or perhaps college student interns or seductive young women. Instead, it's staffed by an ordinary, balding old man. After asking about the cause of the accident, he immediately took Chen Junqian to the side to wash his hands with running water.

Just as Chen Junqian confirmed, because the force of the splash was not great, and he had already pulled Lin Mu away to a certain distance, the damage caused by the glass shards that actually grazed the back of his hand was not significant. There was almost no residue of chemical components and glass fragments. After rinsing with clean water for fifteen minutes, disinfecting with iodine, and finally wrapping it with sterile gauze, the treatment was considered complete.

Of course, the school clinic wouldn't make any definitive statements. The gist of it was that if you feel unwell later, you still need to go to the hospital for examination and treatment. The school clinic can only provide basic treatment and cannot completely replace anything else.

Actually, Chen Junqian thought that a band-aid would be enough for a wound of this size, but Lin Mu next to him kept thinking that sterile gauze would be more effective or at least look more reliable. However, having such a thing wrapped around his hand would really attract too much attention, and he wasn't the kind of person who would take the opportunity to press on the bandage on his right hand and shout something like, "Damn it, is it going to break free of the seal again?"

Although he noticed that his childhood sweetheart's mood had suddenly dropped because of the accident, Chen Junqian didn't know how to comfort her for a while. Telling her that he was fine, or that "it wasn't Mu Mu's fault," didn't seem to help much. She just walked there silently with her head down, occasionally glancing at his left hand before quickly looking away again.

Exciting news spreads quickly in schools, especially since Chen Junqian is a prominent figure at Guoning Middle School and even in Guoning itself. With such a large bandage wrapped around his hand, by the time the three of them returned to class and finished the next Chinese class, which had only been going on for a few minutes, the students who had come to watch had completely blocked the windows outside the classroom. In the end, the homeroom teacher had to come over to disperse the students, while emphasizing the importance of safety awareness again. He also called Chen Junqian and Lin Mu, the two people involved, to the office.

Chen Junqian himself certainly wanted to and was willing to share the responsibility for the accident with Mu Mu, but after all, there were other students present at the time, and the whole process was recorded by surveillance cameras, so a little investigation would reveal that it was Lin Mu's full responsibility. Therefore, the homeroom teacher also spoke to Lin Mu again in a very serious tone. If it weren't for the fact that the accident did not cause any greater harm, and that it was due to his own negligence rather than intentional, and that Lin Mu had a good reputation among the teachers, he would have received a public reprimand and his parents would have been called in.

Then it was lunchtime when school let out. Chen Xi, who came to meet Chen Junqian, was shocked when she saw his condition. After all, she and her brother were fine when they came to school in the morning. How could he have become like this in just one morning? Although she had heard some rumors, such a large piece of cloth wrapped around his hand was still a bit too frightening. It looked like a moderate or even severe burn.

As she inquired about Chen Junqian's situation with concern, and followed him on his bicycle out of the school gate toward home, a car suddenly stopped in front of them.

It was Lin Mu's mother's car that picked her up from school every day at noon. She had been doing this since elementary school, rain or shine, parking in front of the school gate in advance. As parents, they were definitely very responsible. But from the perspective of a romantic comedy, it was also an unintentional deprivation of Lin Mu, as her childhood sweetheart, of the time she spent with her on the way home from school every day. This allowed another classmate, Youyou, to fill the gap.

The car's back door clicked open from the inside, and Lin Mu's hand reached out and grabbed Chen Junqian's wrist. The girl, who had been pursing her lips tightly, revealed a slightly unreasonable side to him for the first time, speaking in an unyielding manner that left him no room for refusal:

"Shall we go to the hospital for another check-up?"

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

As it turns out, human imagination never stops leaping forward when it comes to white arms; the same applies to physical conditions. Coupled with strange search mechanisms, this combination has given rise to the saying "online medical consultations, starting with terminal illnesses," and Lin Mu's current mindset seems to reflect the same.

"This is not just a simple glass cut; it should be considered a complex injury caused by chemical contamination. Potassium permanganate has strong oxidizing properties, and contact with skin tissue can cause chemical burns, leading to skin staining and tissue damage. Although manganese dioxide is a solid, fine particles embedded in the wound can also cause continuous irritation and foreign body reaction, and there is also a possibility of tetanus infection."

Watching this chemistry idiot reading aloud the words displayed on the phone screen with utmost seriousness, Chen Junqian didn't think anything of it. However, his younger sister, who had just boarded the bus, seemed a little nervous because of her.

"What should I do?"

"Of course, you should go to the hospital for a more detailed examination."

Whether it was because several hours had indeed passed and she had calmed down again, or because she was in front of her mother and Chen Xi, Lin Mu seemed to have returned to her usual self, only now she was much more serious. She even turned around and looked Chen Junqian in the eyes with a very formal air, and said:

"I will definitely take responsibility for Qianqian!"

Well, the moment those words were spoken, the atmosphere completely collapsed. Lin Mu's mother, who was driving, was the first to cover her mouth and laugh, then quickly coughed a few times to cover it up. Chen Junqian, on the other hand, couldn't help but chuckle as well, reaching out his still-intact left hand to pat the other's head.

"Okay, okay, I understand."

After calling his mother to explain the situation, the group went through a lot of work at the hospital's emergency room. They had X-rays done and he received a tetanus antitoxin injection. After the doctor confirmed that he was alright, Lin Mu finally calmed down with a sigh of relief, but his gaze kept drifting to Chen Junqian's right hand, lost in thought.

Because they had already missed this opportunity, they felt that if they went home for dinner, they wouldn't make it in time for their afternoon classes. So they simply found a fast food restaurant outside the hospital, since it was easy to find restaurants near the hospital.

Considering that his right hand was indeed bandaged and he couldn't use chopsticks very well, Chen Junqian simply took a spoon. However, Lin Mu, sitting next to him, had already anticipated this and spoke up in a serious tone:

"What would you like to eat, Qianqian? I'll pick it up for you and then feed it to you."

"No, no, no, it hasn't come to that yet..."

Chen Junqian's refusal was cut short, because he could indeed sense the earnest plea from Lin Mu's eyes—"Let me at least do something for you"—so he finally nodded in agreement.

"Then I'll move over a little."

After receiving Chen Junqian's affirmation, Lin Mu moved her chair closer to him and, like a caregiver in a hospital looking after a patient, picked up his bowl and took the chopsticks and spoon from his hand in the most intimate way.

How can I describe the scene before me?

All I can say is that a very mysterious idea of ​​"a mother who is this tall" has begun to flash in Chen Junqian's mind.

Just as Chen Xi, sitting on the other side, was about to complain in annoyance, Lin Mu spoke to her first:

"I can take care of Qianqian at school and outside, but I'll leave the house to you, Xiaoxi."

Oh, I see. Then it's alright.

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