I turned reality into a romantic comedy.

"It's nothing. I fainted because I was too emotional."

"Is your emotional outburst because of what I said to Qianqian back then?"

Lin Mu didn't yet believe that his confession would make his childhood sweetheart faint with happiness, after all, such a scene was something that only existed in Mary Sue comics and novels, but Chen Junqian in front of him actually nodded:

"Yes, but the main reason is another matter that has been bothering me for a long time. However, there is no need to worry about it anymore now, thanks to Mu Mu."

Actually, if it weren't for this sudden accident, this was something Chen Junqian had planned all along.

That's why he told her that the first sign and characteristic of growing up is having your own secrets.

That's why he only took her to see that movie last year.

After all, he wasn't like Subaru Natsuki from the new anime series that started this April, whose secret was always hidden by the voice of a jealous witch.

From beginning to end, Chen Junqian only hoped that Lin Mu would be the first person to know this, just like the cat at home that shared the same name as her would only lie on its back with its paws in the air and expose its snow-white and soft belly to the two of them who were closest to it.

"Mumu, do you remember last year during the National Day holiday when I picked you up from your tutoring class and took you to see that movie?"

Undoubtedly, even if Lin Mu were a childhood sweetheart with a terrible memory, she would still remember this event that hadn't been over for a year. After all, it was a movie segment with Chen Junqian that she hadn't had in a long time, and the movie was indeed interesting, even giving rise to a series of related fantasies in her mind after watching it.

"I remember, the movie was called 'Goodbye Mr. Loser'."

Then, Lin Mu felt Chen Junqian gently pull her closer, their foreheads touching, instantly bringing them into a space reserved for whispering and sharing secrets.

Compared to so many reborn predecessors, he is probably the least successful one. Even Xia Luo was able to plagiarize songs and become a top star in the Chinese music scene, appearing on the cover of Time magazine. So far, he has only been wandering around in his small hometown county. He has neither built a business empire nor become a big star in the entertainment industry. Right now, he even has to confide in or ask for help from his childhood sweetheart.

But Chen Junqian still chose to speak this truth aloud. It had nothing to do with the system, so there was no need to say it; it was simply everything as a reborn person.

"Yes, that's my problem too."

"Okay—I'll take you back."

"But the price is, I want you—"

"To create the best romantic comedy in a world that you find more interesting than the plots and characters I'm talking about, but which I find utterly boring."

For a very long time, Chen Junqian felt that his actions were based on this agreement with the system, even if it seemed to have no binding force at all. After all, he himself had already merged with the Heavenly Dao, and even if he did not abide by it, the other party could not kick him back.

Moreover, in the months immediately following his rebirth, he had absolutely no understanding of what a romantic comedy was. But as he thought at the time, literally speaking, it was just romance plus comedy.

In one, or rather many, of the rebirth novels Chen Junqian had read, the male protagonists always had regrets about a certain girl before their rebirth. But after they were actually reborn, they suddenly began to get to know and understand more girls, because that's how the world works.

When life trajectories are altered, new stories naturally emerge, leading to new conflicts and regrets. The protagonist then finds themselves caught in a new vortex, either hesitantly severing ties to declare a lifelong commitment to one person, or belatedly realizing that everyone is a wing to which they can be swayed. But the process is always incredibly agonizing. If given a second chance, most people would probably gladly accept it.

Compared to comedies that depict romance, tragedies have always been better at this genre. Even when Chen Junqian himself started watching various romantic comedies, he found that most of them did not meet the system's standard of a happy ending for all characters. This was because after many female protagonists fell in love with the male protagonist and he established bonds with all of them, he still only chose one of them in the end.

Party strife, stock speculation, forced marriages.

Regret, missed opportunities, and a sense of reality.

Therefore, Chen Junqian wanted to avoid such a situation from the very beginning. He had been on guard against it since he was a child, and the achievement of "[Shura Field in Progress]" that he had only triggered once so far was also because of this. Once some words are spoken or some things are done, the interpersonal relationships between everyone will collapse irreversibly. The aftermath and mess of the New Year's Day incident this year has been left for him to clean up until today.

Just like lighting a fire that burns everything to ashes, past memories and experiences are like layers of fuel that are added to the fire. Throwing them all into the fire will certainly cause a more violent explosion, making the flames soar into the sky and burn the entire night sky. But after they are burned to ashes, all that will be left is a blank white space where nothing exists.

If we were to describe it using the term "galgame," then Chen Junqian never chose the common route. After all, the concept of a common route is essentially based on the premise that the paths will diverge later on. From beginning to end, he chose to simultaneously advance the routes and progress of everyone.

Of course, he has had a lot of troubles, and he has thought about giving up somewhere. After all, what he has done so far is not even considered a top-tier scumbag. In fact, from the perspective of social morality and laws and regulations, withdrawing would be the choice that would not be criticized or condemned. But in the end, he still made it to where he is today.

After all, he was the one who started this story first.

The female lead is the one recognized by the male lead. All the female leads are those he gets to know first, becomes familiar with first, are certified first, and are finally included in the system. So this is his responsibility, and also the happiness he wants.

Of course, there will be all sorts of troublesome things, but being liked and loved is something that can make you overcome all those troubles.

When he and Zhu Wenyun returned from Shanghai this winter vacation, his parents pulled him into the house and complained about his relationship problems and girls all night long. But in the end, they all had smiles on their faces. In their own words, this was a happy kind of trouble.

Chen Junqian has always felt the same way.

So he still remembers the day he was reborn, the way those two people looked when they opened the door.

That was the first time he had lost control of his emotions since his rebirth, and this is the second time.

However, unlike the time he lost his composure and couldn't let his parents see it, so he had to hide back in his room, this time someone was holding him.

Yes, like one tree connected to another.

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

PS2: The outline of this book was planned from the beginning and is very complete. I will only write according to the outline until the end of the story and write everything I want to write. After that, I will speed up the updates and try to show all my ideas to prevent misunderstandings about the plot and settings due to slow updates. Thank you everyone.

Chapter Twelve: Only today did I learn about our childhood sweetheart relationship.

Lin Mu had heard the saying "truth comes out when one is drunk" since she was very young, but in fact, she thought that the credibility of this saying was probably less than 50%, because more often than not, her father, Lin Youfeng, who was drunk because of social engagements, would either snore loudly and deeply or vomit in the toilet, and not a single coherent word could be found in the ten noises that came out of his mouth.

But as she grew a little older, she began to look at the statement from a different perspective. To be more precise, not from her father, who was drunk and fast asleep, but from her mother, who was sitting next to her. Because at that time, she would always ask a lot of questions out of curiosity, and her mother would always answer them patiently. Then, she would unconsciously talk about many things that happened between the two of them back then.

If Lin Youfeng were still awake and retained some consciousness at this time, the two would engage in a back-and-forth bickering and sabotage of each other. They would each have a lot of so-called dirt on each other to dig up, but in the end, the delirious Lin Youfeng would be the first to surrender. Then, his mother would coax him like a child, admitting that he was also good, hardworking, and capable, and then gently patting his back to take care of everything for him.

Therefore, Lin Mu had long understood that the so-called vulnerability and the tolerance it inspires were not only physical, but also complementary to the spiritual level... But since she met Chen Junqian, he had always acted as an omnipotent and perfect superman, as if nothing could stump him, which made her unconsciously develop the illusion that only physical vulnerability could make her childhood sweetheart become small and soft, and preferably be held in a tight embrace.

But, but what exactly is going on with this situation?!

Although Lin Mu felt that his brain hadn't fully caught up with the development of events, could it be said that his muscle memory hadn't fallen behind? Especially after realizing that his childhood sweetheart was crying in his arms, every muscle and nerve in his body seemed to cheer and start to act on its own, as if it had finally waited for this day. It could even be said that it was all done in one go.

While her little brain was still struggling to keep up with and process this massive amount of information and the overwhelming surge of emotions, her rehearsed body was desperately using every part of her body that could touch him to convey to her childhood sweetheart, "I'm here, I'm still here, I'll always be here with you." Whether it was whispering sweet nothings or sharing joys and sorrows, all sorts of intimate and even cheesy descriptions were perfectly acceptable at this point, but even so, it didn't seem enough, because the gap that the other person revealed was so huge.

Past lives and present lives.

Many questions that had troubled Lin Mu in the past were finally answered at this moment: why the other party seemed to be omnipotent, why the stampede accident in elementary school seemed to have been known all along, and why the other party agreed to Shen Nianqiu's confession... and so on.

Just over an hour ago, she looked like that disheveled girl, but now her childhood sweetheart in front of her looked even more disheveled than she had been then. He really looked like a child, his face and chest all messed up. His usually clear voice was hoarse. Lin Mu wanted to get some tissues to wipe him, but she was worried that he would collapse if she let go, so she had no choice but to continue holding him.

Of course, she believed that Chen Junqian was not lying to her. Even though it sounded like a movie plot, she didn't have the slightest doubt. She was already immersed in a kind of sacred yet selfish maternal instinct that she had longed for for a long time. Girls like her can never resist the idea of ​​saving someone around them. And now that the object of her desire was Chen Junqian, the satisfaction that it brought to Lin Mu even made her unconsciously curl all her toes.

As the child with the strongest empathy, even though her mind hadn't fully caught up, Chen Junqian's feelings had genuinely reached her heart. Especially after hearing him talk about the accident that happened to his parents in their past lives and how this changed their fate, Lin Mu herself felt her eyes well up with tears. But she felt that she couldn't cry, because they couldn't both cry. So she could only rub against him, touch him, and comfort him, saying that it was okay, it was okay, even if it meant smearing her own face with dirt.

Through Chen Junqian's explanation, Lin Mu gradually clarified many relationships.

So it was because Qianqian wanted to prevent that stampede that she didn't want herself and Weiwei to get involved. In the end, she successfully saved people, one of whom happened to be Lin Guo and the other to be Xiao Xi. Then, because she was worried that the accident that had affected her parents might implicate others, she saved Lin Guo's father again. That's how the two of them became acquainted. Okay, no problem.

As for Sister Shen's situation... Don't automatically filter or block this part, listen to me! It turns out that Qianqian knew that if she didn't take care of her, the other person would be driven to suicide by their family. Well, it's okay, after all, she also knew about Shen Nianqiu's family situation and knew that if it weren't for her, her childhood friend, taking the initiative to intervene, the other person's situation would indeed be much worse. But she didn't expect it to go so far as to lead to death.

In short, it was such a massive amount of information that it was almost terrifying. After a period of emotional outpouring, Chen Junqian realized that he couldn't finish speaking in one breath, and even if he did, Lin Mu probably wouldn't be able to process it all at once. So he paused for a moment. Lin Mu quickly grabbed the water next to him and pulled out a large stack of thick tissues, and began to wipe away the messy tear stains on the other's face.

She felt so heartbroken, her heart ached terribly.

She was fine when he was nestled against her chest, her voice audible but his expression hidden. But now, seeing Chen Junqian's face clearly, Lin Mu suddenly felt breathless. She had almost cried when he spoke, and now she felt even more overwhelmed, though she forced herself to hold it in, managing a smile even as she sobbed.

"If you're tired, Qianqian, you can talk to me later. We'll definitely have a long, long time ahead of us... because I finally know just how much Qianqian likes me."

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

Chapter Thirteen: Painting You a Touch of Red

After all the examinations were completed, with the doctor's conclusion of 'vasovagal syncope,' or simply 'fainting from anger,' Chen Junqian was finally able to be discharged from the hospital. Fortunately, the evening self-study time for high school students is indeed long enough. After going through so much trouble, when the two of them returned to school, the third period of evening self-study hadn't even ended yet. Thinking about experiencing an extra-long version of evening self-study again after entering the senior year of high school, one really wants to complain about how to make a romantic comedy happen in a school where you can't leave until 6:30 pm.

After disappearing for most of the evening self-study session, Chen Junqian and Lin Mu returned to the classroom and immediately attracted the attention of the entire class. However, since the person standing on the stage explaining the problem was their usually strictest math teacher, neither of them dared to look too closely. The two of them obediently returned to their seats and began to process the ups and downs of the night.

For Chen Junqian, in the short term, he had resolved the issue of Shen Nianqiu's confession tomorrow. After all, his childhood sweetheart, whose information had been so overwhelming that it was about to overflow, no longer cared about the matter. In fact, she dared to say that she understood Shen Nianqiu better than Shen Nianqiu herself. To put it jokingly, tomorrow she could imitate Xia Luo stubbing out her mother's cigarette and say to Shen Nianqiu, "Don't you know how you died?"

From a longer-term perspective, he had finally put an end to a long-standing worry. His deskmate, Zhu Wenyun, understood this clearly and quickly wrote on a note:

"Is the problem solved?"

"Yeah, I feel much more at ease now."

"You can tell he was really emotional...did he cry?"

Although Lin Mu had tried her best to help Chen Junqian fix it up, Zhu Wenyun, who was standing very close, could still faintly see some remaining traces when she looked closely. She raised an eyebrow at this, since she herself had never seen this scene before.

"Having a good cry can be a good thing sometimes, right?"

"I don't deny that, but I thought you would cry in front of me."

"Would you also like to compete in this area?"

"Because it's a very rare scene, it's just that I really wanted to see it."

"Wait until Wenyun cries for me once."

"whispering sound."

It would have been better if Chen Junqian hadn't brought this up, because once he did, Zhu Wenyun couldn't help but recall the scene from a few years ago when he was scolded and made to cry over the phone. But things have changed now; even the smartphones they'd used for so long have officially retired and their mission is over. Time really flies.

After getting through the remaining time of the third evening self-study session, someone came over to ask Chen Junqian where he had been during the second period and why he was only returning now. Chen Junqian, who had already coordinated with Lin Mu, said it was about the competition. As for whether or not an ambulance was needed, it was like that joke circulating online about someone not knowing how to handle something and just throwing it into the school wearing a school uniform. The school itself was the least willing to admit to such things, so everyone should just pretend it didn't happen. In short, students should never have an accident at school.

Although tonight is one of the most important days in the lives of both Chen Junqian and Lin Mu, everyone's joys and sorrows are different. So, just like any other ordinary day, they started packing their bags and discussed the campus's top ten singers competition that was to be held tomorrow.

The childhood sweethearts who had communicated with each other still acted normally in front of others. Lin Mu still went home, and Chen Junqian still drove his bicycle out of the bicycle shed and took Xu Youwei home.

"From now on, Youyou doesn't need to be so nervous and overthink things when she's with Mumu. I've already told her everything about us and our thoughts."

If we were to name the biggest victim of the one and only chaotic incident six months ago, it would undoubtedly be his ex-girlfriend classmate, who now only dares to hug him affectionately on this road between the two of them. The main reason is that as soon as she gets home and sees those surveillance cameras, the memory of that New Year's Day incident will play on repeat. Therefore, Chen Junqian tried to keep her updated on the progress of the situation as soon as possible.

"Hmm... what does Mu Mu think?"

"Her mind is probably quite confused right now, but she should feel better in a couple of days. I also believe that Mu Mu will understand me."

Chen Junqian's tone was both calm and firm, which reassured Xu Youwei. To be honest, if she could do it all over again, she would definitely... well, it's hard to say. After all, they were truly happy when they were happy, and they truly enjoyed themselves when they were enjoying themselves. More importantly, they were indeed each other's first love, and this was definitely a reconciliation story, perhaps even ahead of 90% of first loves. Just let's not worry about whether other fragments of the mirror got mixed in during the reconciliation, resulting in an even bigger mirror.

After comforting Xu Youwei and leaving her house, another familiar figure was already waiting for him under a street lamp. It was Shen Nianqiu, whom he had arranged to meet earlier.

"I feel like my personality is quite different from when I was a child."

Knowing that the other party was referring to Xu Youwei, Chen Junqian smiled and explained:

"She's just going through a low period lately. When Mu Mu and I were little, we often said that she had a tiger charm. Sometimes she was pure and gentle, and sometimes she was evil and snarling. Right now, let's say she's in form one."

"I see, that's quite an interesting explanation."

"Actually, it's essentially due to her childhood experiences that her personality is shaped. Sometimes she can be overly unrestrained, and other times she can suddenly feel insecure. I think Youyou is a lot like a wild cat in the countryside. In the summer, she runs around everywhere and you can't catch her. In the winter, she comes to your fire pit as if she's a friend. At that time, you can pet her a couple of times and it won't hurt at all."

As the two chatted, Shen Nianqiu also got on the back of Chen Junqian's bicycle. However, unlike Xu Youwei's posture earlier, she chose a more mature position with her legs spread to one side. Chen Junqian didn't mention any safety issues, because he only needed to set the scene in his mind as a dating and heart-to-heart talk environment. Then, time would pass, accidents would be eliminated, and the stars and birds that would create love stories for the protagonists would begin to appear faintly.

When Shen Nianqiu visited Guoning during the last winter vacation, she asked him to take her to explore the countryside where Chen Junqian had lived for more than ten years. Now, she wanted to explore the city of Guoning. Like a couple, they rode their bicycles through every street and alley. Every place had stories to tell and traces of Chen Junqian. This was probably what a hometown was like.

"By the way, Xiaoxi and Linguo will also be there when my sister performs tomorrow."

"Okay, that's good. I'll do my best tomorrow too."

Although he already knew about Shen Nianqiu's confession plan and even told Lin Mu about it, just like knowing there would be a surprise but not actually saying it, Chen Junqian didn't directly point out his sister's true thoughts. Moreover, now that Lin Mu, who was most likely to cause trouble, had been successfully defused, all he could do was prepare well for tomorrow's performance.

"I'm really looking forward to it."

He said so.

The next day, which was the day of the final of the Top Ten Singers Competition at Guoning Middle School, the atmosphere of the entire school was completely different from usual starting in the evening.