I turned reality into a romantic comedy.

The bright light swept across the woods again and again, like a distant beacon, guiding her in the way back.

However, just as Xu Youwei was about to walk out following the direction of the fireworks with a bit of helplessness, her steps suddenly froze, because the pattern of the fireworks above her head began to change.

What appeared before her eyes were three rather familiar cartoon squirrels.

Then came several lines of dazzling, large characters, seemingly created by drones:

[The Three Fierce Xu Group and all its employees extend New Year's greetings to the people of Guoning!]

Squirrel Xiaoxi wishes you a joyous, harmonious, and happy Lunar New Year!

Squirrel Xiaoqian wishes you all the best, a soaring career, and continuous advancement to great heights!

Squirrel Xiaomu wishes you abundant romance, a growing love, and the perfect match!

Ignoring the cartoon squirrel on the far left, Hsu Yu-Wei only looked at the two on the right.

...Maybe I should just stay here alone and be quiet for a while longer.

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Chapter 72: She'll never worry about this again (Part 2)

To be honest, when Chen Junqian saw those large characters in the night sky, he was quite bewildered. Lin Mu, standing next to him, thought it was all part of his plan. He was happily watching the fireworks, casually pointing to two cartoon figures blooming in the night sky with an excited expression.

"Qianqian, look, those are the two of us."

So that's the problem, my Mumu.

Feeling a bit conflicted, Chen Junqian casually sent a message to a manager he knew at the company to inquire. Unexpectedly, the other party replied quite righteously, saying that even if a fireworks display was arranged in this remote corner, there had to be a reason for it. They even told him that if he did that, it would be paid for by the company's public funds, which would be more cost-effective in every way.

"What a waste! I feel like I'll have to check your background when I get back to see if you've accepted any bribes from Lin Youfeng. Xiao Xi is all about a harmonious family, and Mu Mu is all about having many suitors, right? Anyway, Chen Junqian doesn't even want to think about what Xu Youwei in Cangshan would think if she saw this scene."

"With such a grand display, it feels like half the mountain is illuminated. Even if Weiwei gets lost, she should be able to find her way out quickly."

After enjoying the fireworks for a while, Lin Mu finally remembered that the person who should have seen them was not there, so he looked around and began to search for Xu Youwei.

"Based on my understanding of Youyou, she probably doesn't want to come out now."

"Huh? Why?"

"Because half of the mountain was illuminated, the fear that would have made her come out disappeared."

"Qianqian's meaning is like saying that Weiwei wasn't lost, but was deliberately hiding from us."

Lin Mu, somewhat puzzled and disappointed, poked at the firecracker debris on the ground with his foot.

"Did either of us do anything to upset her?"

"Once we find her, Mu Mu can ask her herself. Let's go, since she won't come out, we'll go and find her ourselves."

Faced with his childhood sweetheart's outstretched hand, Lin Mu subconsciously took it. If this were a romantic comedy film set, this would probably be a close-up shot, capturing the hands along with the brilliant fireworks blooming in the night sky above them.

"I always felt that Qianqian was very confident that he could find Weiwei, even though this mountain is very big. Did he know where she was hiding from the beginning?"

"No, it's just that we both feel we're sure to find her."

After all, that's how romantic comedies are portrayed.

Of course, some girls will get lost during the test of courage, but the male lead will eventually find the lost female lead.

Living in a reality that is increasingly resembling the worldview of romantic comedies, Chen Junqian, as the only male protagonist, has already proven this point.

So there's absolutely no problem... what a load of rubbish!

It can only be said that after a few minutes, not only did the two not see any trace of Xu Youwei, but after the grand fireworks display that lasted for nearly ten minutes in the night sky came to an end, Chen Junqian suddenly realized that he and Mu Mu seemed to have gotten lost in this mountain forest.

So the "Test of Courage" achievement that lit up at the beginning wasn't meant for Xu Youwei at all, but for myself and Lin Mu?

Indeed, compared to getting lost, Yoyo simply hid herself away.

"Qianqian?"

Although Lin Mu wasn't afraid because she was holding Chen Junqian's hand and following behind him, it was still obvious that the two of them seemed to be wandering around in the woods.

Are we lost?

"Maybe, let me check my phone."

Great, as expected, the phone won't provide any signal in this scenario; it can only temporarily function as a flashlight for some illumination.

"Does Mumu know how to get out of this area?"

"Well, although this is my hometown, I don't come to this area much, especially since it's nighttime now."

If it were Gu Lingguo, she would probably be staring at him with wide eyes, just like in the elevator, saying, "Oh my god, this is a perfect recreation of a romantic comedy scene!" Then she would pretend to be scared and throw herself into his arms or twist her ankle and have him carry her out. But Lin Mu remained quite normal, talking while using his phone's flashlight to look around.

To be honest, rather than feeling apprehensive or nervous, she was actually feeling more like she was on an adventure, something that Chen Junqian and Xu Youwei would do together.

"Weiwei should have reached where we started, otherwise she would definitely be worse off facing this situation alone than the two of us together."

"Indeed, in the end, we've both lost out."

Missing out on things that are right next to each other is probably an indispensable part of romantic comedies.

"Are all these hickory trees here?"

"Hmm, Qianqian, don't you remember? You used to climb up here with me. That was the first time I brought you here to play."

Childhood memories do require a medium to be recalled clearly. Although Lin Mu is a girl with a bad memory, when she sees these hickory trees that are so familiar to her, she can still naturally recall those times.

"Did Qianqian watch the movie 'Fleet of Time' from the second half of last year?"

"I've seen it, so what?"

"I watched it with Weiwei. Wenyun was there too. Weiwei kept complaining to me that half of the actors were guests from Running Man, which made it too jarring to watch. It was also strange for someone in their thirties to play a high school student. But there were a few scenes that she really liked, like writing the name of the person she liked on the beach and carving words on a tree, like 'We'll be together forever.' I remember it was that. But the ending wasn't very good."

Looking at the trunk of a hickory tree in front of him, Lin Mu suddenly started talking, and even stood on tiptoe and scratched the bark a few times with his finger.

"The words carved in the summer are not obvious at all, but when the winter of the breakup came, the snow and ice made the words particularly clear. This design is what Wenyun likes. However, I just think that Faye Wong's theme song is very nice. The rest is the love triangle and abortion trope that Qianqian always complains about in domestic youth dramas."

As she spoke, she softly hummed two lines: "If we can't meet again with tears in our eyes, can we still blush with happiness, just like that beautiful lie we hastily carved into the promise of being together forever that year?"

Although it was still Lin Mu's usual off-key voice, it seemed to add a touch of atmosphere to the quiet night.

"So, does Mumu want it engraved?"

Chen Junqian took two steps forward, and then, under the somewhat surprised gaze of his childhood sweetheart, he snapped a folding Swiss Army knife out of his pocket and unfolded it.

"Why does Qianqian still carry this with him all the time?"

Of course, it's to prepare for the 'test of courage' that's bound to go wrong tonight.

“Zhong Yu gave it to me to play with. He was obsessed with it before, playing with it every day, but after cutting his hand once, he learned his lesson.”

Lin Mu nodded thoughtfully, feeling that Zhong Yu was indeed capable of doing something like this, having his good friend take the blame for him without any psychological pressure.

"But let's forget about it. It feels like in the movies, if you actually get the carving, you won't be able to be together anymore. And the idea of ​​being together forever is too childish. I don't even say things like that anymore. They're still soon-to-be college students."

"Indeed, then forget it."

After putting the sword back into his pocket, Chen Junqian continued to lead Lin Mu on a aimless search for a way out. However, after taking only a few steps, he heard a cry of "Ouch!" from beside him. Turning around, he saw Mu Mu using him for support, lifting one leg forward to check the situation.

"what happened?"

"I just missed a step and twisted my ankle, but I should be fine. I'll rest for a bit."

At this moment, Chen Junqian didn't have time to complain about 'the divine hand of the romantic comedy worldview has exerted its power again'. Seeing Lin Mu biting his lip and looking uncomfortable in pain, he had already squatted down to check the situation before he could think. After finding the sprained part, he reached out and rubbed it for her.

For the two who had never showered together, but had washed their feet together quite often, this level of interaction and physical contact was really just a drop in the ocean. Lin Mu naturally leaned half her weight on Chen Junqian and let him massage her injured area.

After a while, she felt a little better. However, Chen Junqian, who knew the nature of romantic comedies, was very clear about what the current situation was trying to lead to. So instead of letting Mu Mu take a few steps, twist her ankle, and feel pain again, he simply chose to take the initiative and gesture for her to get on his back.

"I don't think it's gotten to that point yet, right? I can walk."

"Then, Mu Mu, just pretend I suddenly wanted to carry you on my back, okay?"

Looking at her childhood sweetheart who seemed to have inexplicably become somewhat assertive, Lin Mu was a little puzzled, but she still obediently complied with her request and let Chen Junqian carry her on his back.

"Did Qianqian carry Weiwei on his back before?"

"Why are you suddenly asking about this?"

"Because I feel that if you two are always running and jumping around outside like before, you will definitely encounter situations like mine today."

For Lin Mu, her biggest regret in childhood was that she attended too many tutoring classes. But these were all her own choices, and they did help her improve her grades. However, in the current situation, she still felt a sudden pang of sadness and melancholy.

From this perspective, it is indeed the luckiest thing that she was able to be in the same class as Chen Junqian from elementary school to junior high school, since she had much less free time than Xu Youwei.

However, it is obvious to the naked eye that this classmate relationship will end after high school.

After all, even though she has been studying and working hard all these years, her score is only enough to get her into the top class. There is still a huge gap between her and Chen Junqian's almost guaranteed admission to the special class.

In fact, Lin Mu's goal for the high school entrance exam was not what she told Xu Youwei—that everyone should get into Ningzhong High School together. She wanted to get into the special admission class as well, to maintain her classmate relationship with Chen Junqian. Compared to pure luck, this was indeed an achievement that could be achieved through personal effort, since there was only one special admission class. If she got in, the two of them would definitely be classmates.

But I just can't do it.

"Wen Yun also wrote about it in her book..."

Thinking of this, Lin Mu unconsciously uttered another person's name.

"She did memorize it, but don't worry, Mu Mu, you have it much easier than her."

"I wish it were heavier... to crush you."

Imitating a scene from "Journey to the West" that she had watched as a child, Lin Mu, noticing that her childhood sweetheart was making a height joke again, wrapped her arms around his neck and tried to push him down, but it was like throwing a stone into the sea; Chen Junqian's hands and shoulders didn't even tremble.

"We'll be high school students soon too."

"Don't you feel like time is flying by?"

"Sometimes I feel that way, but I don't want to feel that way. I still wish time would pass more slowly."

"I feel like Mu Mu had the same idea a few years ago."

Is there anything wrong with this kind of thinking?

"It's not bad. In my opinion, the reason why time passes normally is that there are children like Mu Mu who want time to pass more slowly, and there are children like my sister who want time to pass more quickly. So when these two wishes are combined, time still passes normally, little by little."

"That makes sense."

Perhaps it was as if some condition for passing the level had been triggered. Ever since he carried Mu Mu on his back, Chen Junqian suddenly felt that his back pain and leg soreness had disappeared. He could even find his way around the road after walking for two minutes. After walking for two minutes, he felt that the open space in front of him was clear again. The open space where they had set off firecrackers earlier reappeared in front of them, and his cell phone, which had regained signal, started ringing.

However, there was no need to check at this point, because Xu Youwei, whom they were looking for and who was also looking for them, was there setting off fireworks by herself, as if she was guiding them in the right direction, or as if she was silently venting some emotion. The crackling and smoke created a lively scene.

"Weiwei—"

Hearing Lin Mu's shout, Xu Youwei subconsciously looked up and saw her best friend and Chen Junqian carrying her on his back.