I turned reality into a romantic comedy.

After removing her heavy down jacket, sweater, and scarf, Lin Mu, now wearing only a cotton shirt and trousers underneath, looked much smaller than during the day. However, her imposing presence made Xu Youwei feel uneasy and unable to look directly at her, so she could only look away averted her gaze.

"It's probably because I didn't know how to answer Mu Mu's question just now, what does it mean that just you are enough? I didn't understand at all."

"Although I really want to say it in the literal sense, I also know that it is impossible. But, but, I also know that it is something that seems impossible right now, so every time I think about this, I feel like I can't breathe... It has been like this since New Year's Day."

As if to prove his point, Lin Mu, sitting on the bed, reached out and grabbed the collar and chest of his shirt, crumpling the soft pink and white fabric into unsightly wrinkles without stopping. He then collapsed back onto the pillow as if exhausted, looking at the marriage certificate of Chen Junqian's parents in his field of vision, and clicked his tongue loudly.

This was probably the first time Xu Youwei had heard her best friend smack her lips so loudly since she had known Lin Mu for so long. For a moment, it even reminded her of the impatient, spirited girls in Class 17 who always made similar sounds. However, the next second, the expression on Lin Mu's face seemed to return to normal, as if she was lost in some distant and beautiful memories. But what she said left Xu Youwei a little unsure how to respond.

"If I hadn't introduced Qianqian to Weiwei back then, would many of the things that happened afterward have been different?"

Fortunately, Xu Youwei didn't need to answer this question, because Lin Mu completed the process of asking and answering himself in the next second, and continued, somewhat helplessly and disappointedly:

"No, no, because Qianqian would definitely notice Weiwei. He's that kind of person. Otherwise, he wouldn't have taken the initiative to ask me if I needed help. And you two met in the countryside. So, so, if I told my family not to pick me up after school when I was in elementary school, well, that would definitely have worked. By the way, Weiwei, do you know? Actually, Qianqian and I followed you back then. Two kids set a goal for themselves and walked home together after school. What you and he did, I, I did a long time ago too."

It seemed like they were in some kind of debriefing mode, but Xu Youwei obviously couldn't play the role of the coach who would say, "Did you play wrong this game?" or "Was I too lenient before, or are you going through a rebellious phase?" After all, she was the one who took advantage of the two of them arguing to steal the jungle, so she could only temporarily play the role of a quiet listener and simply say "hmm".

"As for Wenyun, she and Qianqian weren't even in the same class at first. They only got to know each other after meeting at the market. Nobody knew her before me, right? And Xiaoxi, I even asked her dad today. The reason they lived in the same building in junior high was because she insisted that her dad buy a house in the school district there. In fact, if Lin Guo hadn't bought the house next door from the beginning, the two families would have been neighbors. So why is that?"

"...Why were you all able to realize you liked him so early on?"

Having said all that, Xu Youwei felt she couldn't keep mumbling anymore, since Lin Mu's eyes were already looking over. Her round, chubby shape looked exactly like the kitten that once shared her name, only now it was faintly filled with a layer of water, shimmering as if she were about to weep.

"Actually, it's not necessarily true that I'm sure I like it."

Carefully choosing her words, Xu Youwei tried her best to express her true thoughts in response to her best friend's question:

"If adults were to judge, they certainly wouldn't think that two elementary school students could really have feelings of liking or disliking each other. Even now, after we've gone up to high school, it's still the same. To them, the various feelings of minors are very naive, fragile, and ever-changing. But Mu Mu has always looked at things from an adult perspective, at least in terms of feelings."

"Because the parents you've been in contact with the most and the ones you've always admired since childhood are like this. They met, got to know each other, and fell in love after they became adults, and they still have a great relationship now. When you kept telling me that you wanted to take care of Qinqin, I already realized that you just wanted to fit your situation into the right path because it was right in front of you. But everyone's path to happiness is different. Even your own parents think that you and Qinqin, who are childhood sweethearts, have a better relationship. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been helping you out so long ago."

Faced with Xu Youwei's statement, Lin Mu refuted it in just one second:

"But what's wrong with that? If you don't consider dating with marriage in mind, that's irresponsible to both of you. Besides, Vivi's thinking is wrong. It's just that your own experiences have made you not want to build a long-term relationship, and you even feel that no relationship is forever. That's why you want to seek this kind of temporary emotional comfort. This is not love at all. You just wanted to find a lifeline to hold onto at that time, didn't you?"

Xu Youwei was practically being attacked face-to-face by Lin Mu, and she was also somewhat emotionally charged:

"Even so, to me it's just liking someone. I don't want to argue with Mu Mu about what liking someone is, which is a meaningless question."

"But you kidnapped Qianqian because saying 'I like you' is the most effective way to kidnap someone. You think that the relationship between a boyfriend and girlfriend is stronger than that between friends, so you confessed to him. You didn't even tell me afterwards. No, before that, you had already secretly written on my gifts. Whether you like Qianqian or not is your business, but why did you drag me into this?"

As it turned out, as soon as the conversation turned to bringing up old grievances, Xu Youwei could only immediately surrender. After all, she was in a position where she was in the wrong and couldn't refute a single word. So she could only bite her lip and lower her eyes again, because she herself didn't know what she was thinking at that time.

"...Weiwei's possessiveness has always been much, much, much greater than mine."

Thus, Lin Mu summarized Xu Youwei's situation in this way. The girl sat up in bed again and smiled at her:

"But I won't hide it from Weiwei."

"So you have to help me, okay?"

"I like Qianqian so much, I'm dying to like him."

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

PS2: The reason it's 1.5 is because version 2.0 is about to make a move on the male protagonist of a certain romantic comedy.

Chapter 212: A Girl Like Mu Mu

As it turns out, the man and woman spending half the night alone in a room together might have been playing Ludo, or they might have been reading diaries. Chen Junqian was even a little sleepy when he woke up this morning because he didn't go to sleep until the early hours of the morning. However, this time there was no one else in his bed. It seems that everyone spent the first night of the Lunar New Year quite peacefully, which is commendable.

Before his sister or Lin Mu could wake him up, Chen Junqian quickly got dressed and left the room on his own. Although the second day of the Lunar New Year was the beginning of the holiday, for Shen Nianqiu, a senior high school student, it was the last day of her entire winter vacation. She would have to start classes again tomorrow morning, so Chen Junqian had to take her back to Guoning today.

With his mind filled with plans for the day, Chen Junqian greeted the elderly people who had also gotten up early. After a quick wash, he began to help prepare breakfast. Since there were several more people, the amount of food needed to be prepared had to increase. Moreover, the older generation was particularly concerned about the children not eating well, so they prepared a variety of options, from noodles and dumplings to wontons and rice cakes. The menu was quite extensive.

Besides Chen Junqian, the first girl to get up was her younger sister. Her childhood sweetheart, who had been her rival throughout the winter break and had stayed up until almost midnight, was nowhere to be seen. Then there were Shen Nianqiu and Zhu Wenyun, who also lived on the first floor. The latter had also stayed up all night like him, but she looked radiant. It was clear that Mu Mu's diary entries from last night had given her a lot of inspiration.

It wasn't until breakfast time that Lin Mu and Xu Youwei, who lived on the second floor, finally arrived late. However, it's normal to stay in bed a little longer during holidays, so it would be strange for them to get up early. Therefore, no one asked any questions and assumed that the two of them had been looking at photos and toys in the room last night.

It has to be said that the others present unanimously expressed their humanistic concern for Shen Nianqiu, who was about to leave Guoning again today. They said that Chen Junqian should see her off if he wanted to, which gave them a sense of leisure, like "I still have a winter vacation in hand, and I am happy to see the senior students who have already started school." Whether it was because of their student status or other thoughts, the situation of watching others go to school and work while they were still on vacation is something that makes people feel genuinely happy.

But that's only for these few months. After all, in just over three months, Shen Nianqiu will become one of the earliest high school graduates in the country to have a holiday... Of course not.

Chen Xi held the rim of the bowl with both hands and sipped the rice cake soup slowly. She always liked to drink soup when she ate rice cakes since she was a child. As she drank, she denied her earlier thought, because in fact she was the student who got the earliest holiday this year.

After all, the early admission exam for the special admission class of Guoning Middle School starts at the end of April or the beginning of May every year. This is why she has not yet had to work out properly to prepare for the physical test. She is very confident that her academic performance will be good enough to pass this early admission exam, and then she can theoretically have a holiday in May, just like her brother did last year.

However, unlike last year when Chen Junqian took Zhu Wenyun, who also passed the early admission exam, all over the country, Chen Xi hasn't thought about what she should do if she has an early vacation. She's not a particularly active person, and in the past, Chen Junqian or Gu Linguo would take her out to play. But right now, Gu Linguo is definitely preparing for the high school entrance exam in mid-June.

After breakfast, the Guoning team officially disbanded temporarily. After all, Chen Junqian had already said that he would accompany Shen Nianqiu and send her back to Guoning today. The others also had relatives to visit. However, Chen Junqian felt that his childhood sweetheart's expression when she left was a little puzzling. More precisely, Xu Youwei, who was with Lin Mu, seemed to have a subtle feeling of wanting to say something but holding back.

Could it be because he had a long-awaited heart-to-heart talk with Lin Mu last night and realized that the problems he had been worried about for years were actually nothing, and that he had come to realize that if they were to have an open and honest discussion, the multi-person proposal might actually be approved? So he fell into a state of confusion and nihilism?

Recalling the contents of the diary he had seen with Zhu Wenyun last night, Chen Junqian made this conclusion quite naturally, and then his attention was drawn back to Shen Nianqiu, who had called him over.

Shen Nianqiu wanted to take advantage of her last day in Guoning to try out her new song in the recording studio, which was "Chasing the Light" that Chen Junqian had given her just two days ago. She had practiced it in her room last night and wanted to see how it would sound in a formal setting today. So Chen Junqian took her directly to the company's recording studio, which was essentially half his and half hers. Actually, he was underestimating it, since most of the expensive equipment there was actually purchased by Chen Junqian himself.

After all, there are quite a few people who need this place. Gu Linguo needs to do video recording and voice-over practice here. Lin Mu will occasionally come to record a childhood sweetheart version of ASMR. Chen Junqian does the same. According to the staff, Chen Xi will also come to visit occasionally, but she just wanders around. Anyway, the company is practically her second home. Who would dare to offend the group's little princess?

However, it can't be said to be small now... It feels like it was only recently that I was reborn and started Three Fierce Faiths with my uncle and the others, but now the development momentum is even better than at the same time in my previous life. Even if Chen Junqian does nothing from now on, the annual dividends will be enough for him to live comfortably for the rest of his life.

"This winter break feels like it went by so fast."

"There are only four days left in total, but there are only three months left until the college entrance examination. We've already made it through three years, so let's keep going!"

"The way my brother said that sounds too much like a teacher or senior student. You're actually two years younger than me. I was thinking that when my brother faces the pressure of the college entrance exam in a couple of years, I, as his senior and older sister, can give him some advice and comfort him."

Unlike her childhood sweetheart, who still thinks to this day that she must take good care of Qianqian and so please feel free to act cute and show me your vulnerable side, Shen Nianqiu, as the older sister, had actually given up on this idea a long time ago. She knew very well that, at least on the surface, the boy in front of her, who was already taller than her, would not cause any concern in any aspect. If she really had to pick one, it would probably be in terms of romantic relationships. However, this was also related to the fact that the other party had chosen the most difficult and greediest option.

"By the way, I didn't see Mu Mu and Wen Jun for a while yesterday. Does your brother know what they were up to?"

Thinking of this, Shen Nianqiu took the initiative to inquire about whether the other person might be troubled and whether she could help him share some of the pressure. She tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear and asked softly.

"Mumu talked to Wenyun about the subject matter of her new book. She said she hoped to write about herself again, and then she gave Wenyun her diaries from all these years. She said that I could open them and read them too, so last night I basically spent reading the diaries with Wenyun."

"I see."

Shen Nianqiu nodded thoughtfully. Of course, she hadn't read Lin Mu's diary. All she knew was the one related to the World Expo that Lin Mu had shown her. So, what came to mind at this moment was the diary entry of Xue Ya in Zhu Wenyun's book "How Can I Be Absent". Although she really wanted to ask if Lin Mu had also written a lot of resentful and morbid content with Xue Ya, she thought that it was Lin Mu's privacy and that Lin Mu hadn't authorized her to know. In the end, she swallowed her words.

"Alright, all the equipment is set up. Sister, give it a try. I'm really looking forward to this song, 'Chasing the Light.' I talked to the investors again a couple of days ago, and they said that if the response is good, we can continue to cooperate next time. It seems that they know about our relationship with Wenyun. They're planning to sell it as a package deal."

“I think it’s pretty good. Wen Yun wrote the original, my brother wrote the lyrics and music, and I sang it. It’s a golden trio.”

After responding with a smile, Shen Nianqiu stood in front of the microphone with the lyrics printed on it and put on the in-ear headphones. Her eyes fell on the paper, and the title in bold black at the top was the song title - "Chasing the Light".

Judging from his younger brother's current state, he must have sensed the positive trends and changes from Lin Mu's diary last night; otherwise, he would never have spent the day with him in such a relaxed mood.

But thinking about it, it's understandable.

After all, just like the saying, "I could have endured the darkness if I had never seen the light," only people in some harsh environment would be so eager to chase after the ray of light that pierces through the dark clouds and seems to have crossed countless light-years to finally shine on them.

Lin Mu's world should be a place of sunshine and bright sunshine, where love and kindness are readily available.

From the first time Lin Mu saw a poor girl in a romance drama hysterically yell at the wealthy second female lead, "You were born with everything, why do you have to fight me for what I only have? Even without him, so many people would still love you, wouldn't they?", she felt a deep-seated disgust for that kind of plot.

In this respect, perhaps Chen Junqian should be removed from her statement to Xu Youwei last night, "If I hadn't introduced Qianqian to Weiwei back then." Maybe it would have been better if she had never become friends with Xu Youwei in the first place.

Actually, things were fine until the summer of 2009 when she was in fourth grade, because Xu Youwei was genuinely loved by her family at that time. Thinking about it carefully, it was probably because of the similar family circumstances that they developed similar mindsets, which is why the two of them became friends in elementary school.

But the story took a turn when Xu Youwei's mother suddenly passed away and her father remarried soon after. At that time, I undoubtedly felt great sympathy for Xu Youwei, who was facing a sudden family crisis, and I really wanted to help her get through this difficult time. Otherwise, I wouldn't have immediately sent out an invitation to "Let's help Weiwei together" after my relationship with the seemingly reliable Qianqian improved.

At first, things went smoothly, and then Zhu Wenyun appeared. Lin Mu swore that at that time she never wanted to only let Qianqian play with her and not play with the others. Instead, she felt that she had made some great new friends. However, as time went by, she increasingly realized that, compared to these two friends, she could no longer be unhappy.

Just like how people often comfort others by giving examples like "Look at so-and-so, they're doing even worse than you," for Lin Mu, these bad experiences from her friends, besides making her feel sincere sympathy and wanting to help, only made her feel like she was being built up higher and higher, like she had really become a princess living in a castle.

Everyone praised her, everyone envied her, and more importantly, what they said was often true. Her family's conditions were definitely among the best in Guoning, a small county. Her parents had always had a happy relationship and loved her very much. Her childhood sweetheart was not only outstanding but also very caring. She was even an excellent student and athlete among her peers.

In such a situation, it would be natural for her to feel happy and joyful, and it would be abnormal and unacceptable for her to have inexplicable troubles. After all, compared to Xu Youwei or Zhu Wenyun, she was a child who won at the starting line from the very beginning.

If that's the case, wouldn't it be inappropriate for me to get angry about the same thing as other children? Wouldn't that seem too dramatic? Wouldn't people think I'm just making a fuss over nothing?

After all, her complaints about how hard she felt about studying and how tiring it was to train for physical tests couldn't compare to the pain of losing a close relative, nor could they compare to the worries of having to support her parents whom she rarely saw after earning money. Furthermore, she couldn't be understood by others who were more distant from her, because everyone would just think that even if she didn't study anything now, or even if she couldn't afford to go to high school, it wouldn't affect her future life at all.

You are already so happy.

You were born with everything.

Even without him, there would be many people who love you.

I have nothing left, and the whole world is just him.

The lines I heard as a child always annoy me whenever they come to mind, but I could never find the reason for these feelings or the words to refute them.

But Lin Mu now could probably easily come up with two sets of arguments to refute this set of claims.

What you said is all true, but I can't just give up the person I like just because I seem happier. My life isn't without pain, and my feelings aren't cheapened just because I have more.

I will not use sympathy to decide on love, nor will I use concessions to prove kindness.

Of course I can understand why you would say that.

But I don't think loving someone can be determined by who needs Qianqian more. My childhood sweetheart has never been anyone's compensation, nor is she something that anyone deserves after suffering in life.

I know you're in pain, and I know you feel like you have nothing left to lose, but feelings aren't distributed based on who's more pitiful or who has less. What I've had doesn't mean I can't truly love someone, and what you've lost doesn't mean he has to belong to you.

I will not give up because of guilt, nor will I deny my own feelings because of your pain. Therefore, I will not deny your feelings, nor will I belittle your pain, but I will absolutely not deny my own feelings because of it.

I just like him.

Of course, if she were to put herself in that situation, she probably wouldn't even have the mood to calmly say those words, and sometimes a single sentence would be enough.

The girl kicked off her slippers and lay back on her large bed in her room. She slowly rolled over, picked up the squirrel plush toy on the bedside table, wrapped her legs around it, and buried her face in its soft, fluffy body. A cool touch came from her chest, and the childhood photo of her childhood sweetheart, which she had taken from the bridal room, was pressed against her skin, close to her heart.

Yes, I am the kind of girl you described. And someone like me, who can easily get all kinds of love, naturally feels that the love I've chosen will rightfully belong only to me.

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

Chapter 213: Hum, hum, hum, I have an A4 waist!

Although there's a saying that people go back to their maternal home on the second day of the Lunar New Year, neither Chen Junqian nor Shen Nianqiu felt that way on the road to Lin'an. According to the latter, after the college entrance examination in three months, she would have no connection with the city of Lin'an anymore. Chen Junqian didn't even make any jokes about maybe returning to his alma mater as a famous alumnus and hanging a portrait in the corridor. After all, in Shen Nianqiu's life so far, her memories of Lin'an have been mostly gloomy and gray.

"See you after the college entrance exam."

He escorted his sister all the way to the school gate. Although many returning senior high school students had already gathered there, Chen Junqian still hugged her tightly as if no one else was around, and whispered his most heartfelt wishes in her ear, like a true couple temporarily parting:

"I trust my sister."

"I thought you were going to say something like, 'Don't be too nervous, I'll support you even if you do poorly on the test.'"

"Well, after all, my sister can support herself now, and I feel that if I really said it, she wouldn't be so happy. She might even complain that it sounds like I'm being kept."

"Hehehe, now is the time for me to teach my little brother a lesson. Actually, when the relationship between two people is really unbalanced, saying such things will indeed make people overthink. But when it is balanced, it is actually just sweet talk. So when you take the college entrance exam in two years, your sister will definitely hug you and say it doesn't matter if you don't do well. Your sister will take care of you in the future."

It's clear that Shen Nianqiu has become much more cheerful and optimistic since having her own income. I almost wanted Chen Junqian to recite something like "The Best Summer, the Golden Age" again.

However, on the other hand, the summer of 2018, when I took the college entrance exam two years later, was indeed a summer that left the deepest impression on many people, or even a golden age. At least Chen Junqian thought that Zhong Yu, who was still resentful about the LPL region's performance in the League of Legends World Championship last year, would like it very much.

"Yes, if anything happens to you, sister, you can tell me right away. Guoning and Lin'an aren't actually that far apart, so it's quite convenient for me to come here. The driver has driven this route countless times already."