I turned reality into a romantic comedy.

"I know, I'm off now. Have a great time this New Year, see you next time—"

Reluctantly leaving Chen Junqian's embrace, Shen Nianqiu pulled her suitcase and followed the flow of people into the campus, turning back twice to wave at him. If Zhu Wenyun were here at this moment, she would probably write a long, lyrical essay about this scene. However, for the two who had been separated for long periods since they met, this parting did not evoke any melancholy, because everyone knew that their time together would truly increase after the college entrance examination.

After the New Year, the pace of winter vacation finally slowed down.

Visiting relatives, exchanging New Year's greetings, having New Year's Eve dinner, and receiving red envelopes—these lively events swept by like a gust of wind. By the time the first few days of the Lunar New Year were over, although lanterns were still hanging on the streets and the festive atmosphere lingered in the air, people's lives had gradually withdrawn from that non-stop excitement.

Chen Junqian had already finished his winter break homework, so even in the last few days of the winter break, he could leisurely scroll through his phone and then witness how the body challenge suddenly became popular on various social media platforms overnight.

From the initial challenge of placing coins on the collarbone to the later challenge of touching the belly button with the hand behind the back, and now the A4 waist challenge that has swept the internet, girls seem to have found a new way to show off their figures in an instant. The internet is full of all kinds of photos, such as covering the waist with a vertical white printed paper, or reaching around the back with a slender arm to touch the other side of the waist.

It seems there was a trend like this back in my high school days. So it was this year... I guess I was in a state of complete isolation at that time in my past life, completely absorbed in my studies, and didn't really care about these kinds of challenges. The Ice Bucket Challenge was the same way.

Just as Chen Junqian was vaguely recalling what he was doing at this time in his past life, he suddenly heard a knock on the door, followed by the familiar voice of his childhood sweetheart:

"Qianqian, Qianqian, open the door for me."

"...Doesn't Mu Mu have the key?"

As Chen Junqian walked over and opened the door, he casually made this comment. However, Lin Mu, standing outside the door, didn't smile shyly as usual. Instead, she replied seriously:

"Because I wanted Qianqian to open the door for me."

She was still wearing a down jacket today, completely bundled up, with a scarf around her neck, only revealing her fair and delicate face. She was also carrying a small bag, which seemed to have been generously given to her by Gu Lingguo when they were coordinating outfits last time. Compared to her previous image of just carrying a tote bag to tutoring classes, she did look more mature.

"Wow, Qianqian's house is so warm."

As Lin Mu closed the door, she casually took off her heavy down jacket and hung it on the coat rack by the door. After taking off her coat, she was wearing a light pink soft knitted undershirt. Because of her petite frame, even though she was wearing a loose-fitting wool sweater, she still looked slender and delicate, like a fluffy little white rabbit.

"So, is Mumu here to help me finish my homework?"

No!

His childhood sweetheart gave him a reproachful glare, took out her phone and swiped a few times, then moved her chair closer to him.

"Hasn't Qianqian been checking online lately?"

Chen Junqian glanced at her phone screen, which displayed a photo of an online influencer showing off her A4 waist in front of a mirror. He suddenly realized what Lin Mu was about to do:

"I saw it."

"So what do you think?"

Lin Mu tilted her head slightly, her round eyes filled with anticipation. Combined with the kitten that had been affectionately snuggling up to her since she entered, it gave one the feeling of 'how long will the world be ruled by such adorable creatures?'

"Well, it's just so-so. It feels like it's just using visual obstruction and angle deviation to create an online celebrity effect. Moreover, everyone's bone structure is different, and blindly pursuing an A4 waist can easily lead to malnutrition and excessively low body fat percentage, which is not worth advocating."

If his younger sister were here, she'd probably solemnly utter a line like, "King Chu loved slender waists, so many starved to death in the palace." But hearing his typical straight-man conclusion, Lin Mu just puffed out his cheeks in dissatisfaction and muttered under his breath:

"But I also think this kind of figure is very beautiful."

"There are many definitions of a good figure, but physical health is the most important."

"But...but!"

As he spoke, Lin Mu stood up, crossed his arms, and gave him a somewhat proud look:

"I can do it too, and I won't miss a single one. I passed the physical test smoothly before."

"...However, I vaguely remember that time when I carried someone all the way to the emergency room."

"Then let Qianqian say whether it passed or not, and there was nothing wrong to begin with."

Hearing Chen Junqian mention what happened last year, Lin Mu also pursed her lips. She did look very competitive today, and it was unclear who she was competing with. Suddenly, in front of Chen Junqian, she took off her cardigan, leaving only a cotton shirt underneath.

The girl was petite and slender, appearing light and airy on the surface. However, due to her small frame and lack of excess fat, her proportions were surprisingly good. She tilted her head up at him, her eyes gleaming with a determined light.

"And I am capable of doing these things myself."

After saying that, Lin Mu walked to the relatively empty carpet in the center of the room, wearing slippers.

Chen Junqian wanted to stop her and persuade her not to do these meaningless things, but when he saw Lin Mu rubbing her hands together, even looking like she wanted to come and see him, he swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

Oh well, let her be. All I can say is that our Mumu has a real advantage in this area. I wonder what we'll do when the trend of "XX putting milk tea" becomes popular again. Will she stick her knees into her shirt to pretend to have breasts?

Lin Mu, of course, had no idea that his childhood sweetheart was thinking something very impolite. He simply continued to skillfully pull out a standard A4-sized white printer paper from his bag, seemingly having prepared this all along:

"First, there's the A4 waist."

Standing in the sunlight streaming in from the window, Lin Mu straightened his back and held the white paper out with both hands, gently pressing it against his waist and abdomen.

The 21-centimeter-wide sheet of printed paper completely covered the curves of her waist the moment she landed. Even from the angle directly in front of Chen Junqian, there was still a gap of about half a centimeter on the left edge of the paper.

The entire sheet of paper completely covered her waist and abdomen.

Lin Mu lowered her head to confirm, then raised her chin, her face bursting with an indescribable sense of pride, like a little swan that had just won a competition.

"Qianqian, look! How about it? Doesn't it block the light completely?"

Chen Junqian had to admit that Lin Mu's waist was indeed ridiculously thin. The cotton shirt she was wearing clearly outlined her waistline, and the reflection of that flat white paper made her look even more delicate and petite.

"Yes, it is indeed very standard."

"What do you mean by 'perfectly standard'..."

Seemingly still somewhat dissatisfied with Chen Junqian's assessment, Lin Mu put the white paper on the table and snorted:

"This is clearly called a perfect figure, isn't it?"

What's next?

"Touch your belly button with your hand behind your back!"

At this point, Lin Mu turned around confidently, took a deep breath, and then wrapped her slender right hand along the groove of her spine to her back. Then, her soft arm, like a snake, smoothly hooked around her left waist, and her long, fair fingertips emerged smoothly from the front, gently touching the center of her lower abdomen.

As a result of this stretching motion, the cotton shirt was pulled up slightly, revealing a small section of flat, fair skin on the waist and back. The warm winter sunlight fell on that small patch of snow-white skin, giving it a slightly moist sheen.

"How was it? Did you touch it?"

Lin Mu turned her head, still with her arm around his waist, her eyes crinkling with laughter, and two dimples appearing and disappearing at the corners of her mouth, but she always gave Chen Junqian the feeling of a 'who else can do this' meme.

"Mumu, do not twist your waist or hand."

"No way, I'm very flexible."

As if to prove her point, Lin Mu walked up to Chen Junqian again, extended her hooked finger, and poked Chen Junqian's forehead as he sat there. Her entire waist and abdomen were pressed against his face, and the outline of the girl's slender waist and abs was faintly visible in his vision.

Although Chen Junqian's threshold was already quite high due to the bombardment of various older sister figures, the object of his affections was Mu Mu, who hadn't even triggered fan service a few times so far. So, he still felt a slight jolt in his heart and subconsciously looked away.

Seeing his wandering gaze, Lin Mu's smugness doubled. She released her grip, pulled up the hem of her clothes, and sat back down in her chair with light steps, her eyes practically overflowing with pride.

"Heh heh, there's one last one! The internet says this is the hardest, and only people with very deep collarbones can do it."

Before Chen Junqian could react, Lin Mu reached out and gently pulled open the collar of her shirt a little. The already slightly wide round collar instantly slipped down to one shoulder, revealing the girl's exquisite collarbone. Her collarbone was extremely clear, and the deep valley-like indentation resembled a natural white porcelain wine glass. Then she took out a few one-yuan coins that she had brought with her from her pocket.

The first one was placed steadily in the hollow of the collarbone.

The second one was placed on top of the first one.

The third, even the fourth… four cold coins were arranged in a small cylinder in the hollow of her delicate collarbone, rising and falling gently with her breath, yet firmly embedded there, without the slightest tremor. Lin Mu maintained this slightly tilted head posture, like a model displaying an expensive necklace, her eyes filled with cunning and pride, staring straight at Chen Junqian:

"How about that? Four coins, not only did they not fall, they didn't even tilt! Qianqian, aren't I amazing?"

When she said these words, her childhood sweetheart deliberately lowered her voice, which was sweet and boastful. The girl had a beautiful collarbone and a charming look in her eyes. The sense of pride and slight smugness she showed made Lin Mu, who was usually well-behaved and sensible, seem particularly lively and passionate. Chen Junqian even had the subtle feeling that this was the female lead of a romantic comedy who was manipulating the powerful body of Mu Mu.

...but it still feels a little strange.

Finally, Chen Junqian sighed slightly, stood up, and his tall figure immediately cast a shadow on Lin Mu. Lin Mu's heart skipped a beat, thinking that he was going to praise her. She quickly straightened her chest and brought the tall stack of coins closer to him.

However, Chen Junqian simply extended his slender index and middle fingers and removed the coins from her collarbone one by one. The moment the cold coins left her skin, Lin Mu even shivered slightly.

"Why was it removed...?"

"Because coins have a lot of bacteria, direct skin contact can easily cause allergies."

Chen Junqian casually tossed the coin back onto the table, then reached out and grabbed the collar of her clothes, pulling it back to its normal position, completely covering that glimpse of white skin. This act, which resembled coaxing a child, left Lin Mu stunned. She had a strange feeling that even if she lifted her clothes up now, he would only say that she would easily catch a cold.

"Qianqian, please don't focus on the bacteria right now... Is the bacteria the point? The point is that I succeeded in everything, and I succeeded in the whole challenge perfectly."

Seeing Lin Mu puffing up like a wronged pufferfish, with even the kitten beside her looking at him with a puzzled expression, Chen Junqian couldn't help but chuckle. He reached out and gently placed his hand on her soft hair.

"Yes, I saw it. Mu Mu is really amazing."

Isn't this just coaxing a child...? Although Lin Mu wanted to say that, the real, warm touch coming from above her head completely prevented her from having such thoughts. Like the kitten with the same name as her, whose attention was drawn to catnip, the various scenes from that day in the bathtub suddenly resurfaced in her mind. Her eyelashes trembled incessantly, and her voice became weak again:

"Then... how does it compare to others?"

"Is Mumu referring to those bloggers online? Of course, Mumu's are better looking. Besides, Mumu doesn't need to compare herself to others. And it's enough to just finish this challenge. Stop sticking cold coins on yourself in the future."

"I... I don't do it every day, I just came here to do it for Qianqian to see..."

You can feel that your childhood sweetheart's gaze suddenly becomes even hotter than the heating in the room.

"I just want to hear Qianqian say, 'I am also a very pretty girl.'"

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

PS2: This chapter features a belike of Mu Mu; here's a picture.

Chapter 214: We anime fans have never been in love, but we know a lot about it.

It has to be said that February and March of 2016 must have been one of the periods when Chen Junqian felt like the male protagonist of a romantic comedy. If he were to name it using the title style of Japanese light novels, it could probably be called "The Story of My Childhood Friend Suddenly Becoming Too Clingy" or "Now That Things Have Gone, I've Fallen in Love with My Childhood Friend" or something like that.

As it turns out, Lin Mu's enthusiasm this time was not just a childish three-minute fad. Even after the winter break ended and the new semester started, she still maintained a very high level of aggression towards Chen Junqian. If the accidental incident in the chemistry class two years ago was the first dividing line, then this is undoubtedly the second dividing line. Whether in front of family or in public, Mu Mu has become more and more adept at showing the unique intimacy between the two of them.

As if determined to go against Zhu Wenyun, Lin Mu has now started bringing all sorts of drinks for Chen Junqian. Then, whenever get out of class ends, she always uses the excuse of asking for help with her studies, picks up her thick exercise books and error notebooks, and lightly moves her little bottom to block the aisle next to Chen Junqian's seat, chair and all.

At lunchtime, Lin Mu insisted on taking Chen Junqian out with her, and would talk loudly enough for others to hear what dishes she had cooked at home that day, as if she was afraid that others wouldn't know that the two of them lived together. Judging from Lin Mu's tone alone, one might even think that the two of them were already living together, rather than just having lunch at home and borrowing a place to take a nap.

However, precisely because of this, before Zhu Wenyun, who had been sitting quietly at the same desk with Chen Junqian for more than a semester, Lin Mu, who had suddenly become inexplicably high-profile at the beginning of this semester, was quickly invited to the class teacher's office for tea.

In fact, Teacher Shen has been paying attention to Chen Junqian and Lin Mu for quite some time.

She had been paying attention to the interactions between the former and Zhu Wenyun, but recently, the way Lin Mu looked at Chen Junqian during class and the way the two of them clung to each other after class had flashed red lights on Teacher Shen's radar countless times. It seemed that the relationship between the two had suddenly changed after this short winter break. However, after observing, she felt that Chen Junqian's attitude was actually the same as before, it was just that Lin Mu had become much more proactive, so she chose Lin Mu first.

So, as soon as the bell rang for the end of the second period, Ms. Shen walked to the door of Class 1 and waved to them:

When she calls her students, she usually doesn't ask them to pass on a message saying "Teacher XXX is calling you," because that could easily become a breeding ground for all sorts of rumors. Instead, she asks them to find a simple, plausible reason first, and then chat with them on the way.

"Okay, Teacher Shen!"

Lin Mu obediently responded, then ran up to the podium with small steps, carrying a workbook that was half her height, and followed Teacher Shen into the office.

The office was quiet in the afternoon. Most of the teachers had gone to meetings or classes, leaving only a geography teacher in the corner, head down, grading papers.

Lin Mu neatly stacked his homework on the corner of Teacher Shen's desk, stood up straight, and placed his hands folded in front of him. He looked just like the docile and carefree model student he always was.

Ms. Shen had always liked Lin Mu, a diligent and well-behaved student, and knew that she was able to get into the special admission class because of her hard work and dedication throughout junior high. Therefore, subconsciously, she didn't quite believe that a girl like Lin Mu would engage in early romantic relationships. However, considering that the boy involved in the incident was Chen Junqian, it didn't seem so strange. So, she adjusted her glasses, put on a gentle, elder-like smile, and asked her in a kind tone: