I turned reality into a romantic comedy.

So of course I'm willing to accept it, as long as you're still by my side.

After all, I'm a bit of a chuunibyou (a person with delusions of grandeur), so I knew from the beginning that romantic comedies often have more than one female lead.

The instant Chen Junqian finished reading the letter, he heard a question from Gu Linguo:

"So, has your brother suddenly come up with any new ideas?"

"No."

He simply shook his head and replied firmly:

"My thinking has never changed from the beginning."

"That's wonderful!"

And so, the female protagonist in front of him smiled sincerely and opened her arms to cheer softly.

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

Chapter Twenty: Just how many chess pieces do you have in Guoning, huh?

Although there wasn't a group beach trip organized like last year, the summer of 2016 was still quite lively for Chen Junqian. After all, there are ways to have fun at home, especially after Shen Nianqiu returned to Guoning after finishing a series of things including interviews and filling out college applications.

It has to be said that Chen Junqian is now increasingly able to understand why most romantic comedies skip over or completely omit certain parts. After all, from any perspective, this is not a good way to pass censorship. In addition to the social censorship system, it is also closely related to the behavior of the male and female protagonists. Just like most artists in the sea will grasp a certain characteristic on the surface of the character and use this to vividly depict the other person's private behavior, it is indeed reasonable to some extent.

The impact of such events on the growth of teenagers is indeed immeasurable in every sense.

The older sister, who was sitting there retying her hair up, was completely unrecognizable from the person who, not long ago, was holding the admission notice on the table, smiling brightly at the camera, and posting it on her personal social media. While slowly tidying up the clothes beside her, she continued to complain to Chen Junqian about some things that had happened since returning to Lin'an:

"I feel like I'm getting more attention there this year than the actual top scorers in the provincial college entrance exam. I really don't understand it."

"After all, there are top scorers in the provincial college entrance examination every year, but it is quite rare for a singer in the entertainment industry to get this score. It's no use if you don't admit it yourself. When reporters report, they will definitely emphasize your identity as a singer first. However, it can also help you explain why you haven't released a new song since last year, and then promote 'Chasing the Light' and the drama. It feels like a win-win-win situation."

"That's what they say, but I still hope the hype will die down soon."

"Don't you want to be a big star, sister?"

"That's one aspect. On the other hand, as more and more information about me is being exposed, my family is going to sue me for cyberbullying again. In fact, some fans are already inclined to do so. I should have known better than to admit it directly back then."

"I thought my sister would think she deserved it."

Seemingly not wanting to discuss this matter in depth with Chen Junqian, Shen Nianqiu proactively changed the subject again:

"By the way, what has your younger brother been doing while I was away from Guoning? For example, has there been any progress with Wenjun? I feel that you two should be getting along very well."

It's safe to say that such a direct and uncharacteristic conversation, unlike anything a couple would say, could only have occurred between these three. In response to Shen Nianqiu's question, Chen Junqian casually pulled his shirt over his shoulders and shook his head in denial:

“Wen-yun has been at school with the film crew lately. She’s one of the screenwriters for this show, so she’s very busy.”

"Oh, that's a pity. After all, I thought it would have been a great opportunity during the last campus top ten singers competition. Didn't Wenyun look incredibly cute that night? That was a confession pose I specially tricked for my brother, but we didn't capitalize on it."

After sighing with a hint of regret, Shen Nianqiu got up and went to the bathroom outside to wash up. The girl, who seemed to be in a very good mood, was like a newlywed after a short separation. She walked briskly and hummed an unknown tune, which made Chen Junqian, who was lying on the bed, relax unconsciously. With a sense of satisfaction, he lazily closed his eyes and began to take a nap.

However, after only a short rest, his phone, which was on the bedside table, suddenly vibrated. Someone had sent him a text message. When he opened it, he saw that it was from Gu Linguo.

【I've already made plans and arranged the time and place. Are you free this afternoon, around four o'clock? I'd like you to come with me, like Kyosuke and Kirino did.】

Although she had been preoccupied with a certain manga author whose work was left unfinished, Gu Lingguo hadn't forgotten what she had agreed on last month. After the summer vacation started, she really began to prepare for a small-scale offline event. However, just like Kyosuke and Kirino mentioned in her text message, they seemed to have some concerns about their first real-life gathering with their online enthusiasts, just like the latter.

Chen Junqian certainly didn't think the other person would actually encounter more than one mysterious beautiful girl at offline gatherings like Kirino, so after thinking about it, he replied:

"Okay, I'll go with you then."

"Yay—I'll send you the address."

After agreeing to Gu Linguo's request, Chen Junqian stood up, left the room, and went to the bathroom to tell Shen Nianqiu about it.

"Is she going to an offline gathering alone?"

"Yes, that's why I decided to go and go with them."

"I won't get involved in your anime/manga stuff, but if anything interesting happens, remember to share it with everyone in the group."

"I hope it's just something funny and not because I've encountered some kind of lunatic."

Chen Junqian almost blurted out the internet term "god-like person" from several years later. Although he wasn't into anime and manga in his previous life, he had seen quite a few compilations of various "god-like people," like that meme that says, "It's because of people like you that otaku get misunderstood!"

After saying goodbye to Shen Nianqiu, Chen Junqian left the villa that had literally been used to keep a mistress since the beginning of this year. He had just ridden his bicycle home when he didn't see Gu Linguo. Instead, his younger sister was there right on time.

Well, Chen Junqian didn't even need to think to know that the other party was online urging for more updates. In fact, with the first part of "My Sister's Life" almost finished being translated into Chinese, Chen Xi was now a little more patient than at the beginning, as if she was reluctant to finish reading it.

As always, he sat down in front of the computer, and his sister nestled in his arms as always. For this brother and sister, the biggest difference from the male and female protagonists in the book is probably that they adopt this posture, so that their family won't ask, "Are you two worried that you've gone the wrong way?" or "Are you still taking a bath together?"

He is probably the most ordinary male protagonist in all the light novels that Chen Junqian has translated or even read. After graduating from university, he went with the flow and entered a factory to work. On the contrary, his younger sister continued her childhood interest in writing a diary and made a declaration of her dream to become a novelist. In the last part of the first half of the book, she won an award and debuted as a new novelist. While his sister went to attend a peer exchange meeting, the male protagonist began to think about the relationship between the two siblings on the street.

I have to admit, I like my weak and incompetent younger sister.

Being relied upon by a younger sister like that makes me feel important.

It's so obvious, what I want isn't a 'sister who becomes a novelist,' but a scenario where 'I support my sister who has dreams from behind.'

"The story of a brother without talent and a sister with talent is surprisingly common, but it is also surprisingly dramatic. It feels like it can be used in the three-part structure. When I was a child, I thought my brother was always omnipotent. When I grew up, I found that my brother was actually not capable of many things. But after growing up further, I found that my brother would still do anything for me. That's roughly how I feel."

The younger sister, nestled affectionately in his arms, looked up at Chen Junqian and expressed these thoughts. She wouldn't even consider changing the pronoun from "younger sister" to "older brother." Perhaps a childhood friend or older sister might have thought that way, but Chen Xi always felt that she had grown up to this point by chasing after her brother's excellence, so this premise would never change. Rather, words like "weak" or "incompetent" would never be associated with Chen Junqian in her mind.

"Indeed, if I were Iruma Hitomi, I would definitely review a lot of the content of this volume from the perspective of the younger sister in the second half. After all, it has been said that the younger sister likes to write diaries. I feel that presenting it in the form of a diary can easily achieve the correspondence between the two."

"So when will we be able to see the second half of the book?"

"The epilogue mentions autumn, so it should be September or October."

Okay.

Although she initially complained that the content about the characters from zero to fifteen years old was too short, after reading all the way to the end, Chen Xi had to admit that she was indeed moved by the story of the two living together during their university years. After all, the younger sister in the book used this method to effortlessly drive away the mysterious ex-girlfriend. This genuine atmosphere of two people living under the same roof made her unconsciously start to imagine her university days a few years later. She thought that she could also come out wearing only a towel after taking a shower, just like the younger sister in the book, without blushing or skipping a beat.

Chen Junqian glanced at the time and realized it was almost four o'clock, the time he had agreed to meet Gu Linguo. He had initially asked his sister if she wanted to come along, but she said that Gu Linguo had already invited her, but she was completely uninterested in this kind of anime and manga gathering and had even declined in advance.

In the end, it all came down to Chen Junqian setting off alone.

According to Gu Lingguo, she was a little worried that a guy like Chen Junqian, who stood at the pinnacle of popularity in the entire grade and even the whole country, would ruin the atmosphere of the party. So she hoped that he could be like Kyosuke from Oreimo, just observing from afar at the beginning, and waiting for any sudden changes.

Chen Junqian had no objection to Gu Lingguo coming over later, since he was quite curious about how she would socialize on her own without him and Chen Xi by her side.

Of course, Guo Ning wouldn't choose a place like the maid cafes in Tokyo from the anime, which would screen the audience from the very beginning and make otaku feel at ease. So Gu Lingguo chose an ordinary coffee shop. After Chen Junqian went in, he found a corner seat, ordered a coffee, and began his observation.

Because it was a small gathering, there were only five people including Gu Lingguo. The gender distribution was also quite even, with two men and two women. The men came with men and the women came with women. The two men were a bit older, with Chen Junqian appearing to be around college students. The women, on the other hand, were surprisingly younger, with one being at most a junior high school student and the other looking like an elementary school student.

...So the internet really is a mysterious environment where you have no idea whether the other person is a human or a dog before you meet them offline, huh?

After taking a sip of his coffee, Chen Junqian continued to observe the situation not far away with great concentration. Unlike the other four people, who were all of average appearance, Gu Lingguo stood out the most, even without any special dressing up. As the initiator of this gathering, she had attracted everyone's attention from the very beginning, standing there seemingly giving some opening remarks.

I remember in the second episode of Oreimo, Kirino's offline gathering didn't go well at first. It was because Kirino herself was dressed like a typical social butterfly, even though she was a veteran anime fan. However, the trendy brand accessories she unintentionally showed off made the other otaku girls unconsciously distance themselves. Meanwhile, the second female lead, Kuroneko, was dressed in a completely different, pure old-school anime gothic style. As a result, their communication also failed miserably. In the end, they were all dragged into a small meeting by the organizer, which led to their fateful encounter and acquaintance.

Perhaps it was because of these experiences and lessons learned that Gu Lingguo wasn't dressed in a trendy way today, nor was she doing any cosplay. On the contrary, the college-aged boy in front of her looked like he was dressed in a very street-smart style, except that his blond hair looked somewhat familiar. The girl, who looked to Chen Junqian as an elementary school student, was wearing a Lolita-style dress in the sweltering heat, which drew curious glances from the other customers around her. This made the remaining boy look rather uncomfortable and embarrassed.

After observing the attire and performance of the people present, Chen Junqian felt that Gu Lingguo's first offline event might not end well, but it was still a good opportunity to gain experience or make some friends.

"If there's an opportunity, do you guys think it would be possible to hold a comic convention in Guoning as well?"

After a brief chat, Gu Linguo tentatively revealed her true purpose. Then, the mysterious blond-haired man in front of her, who had been mostly silent during the conversation and seemed completely unlike an anime character—more like someone with ulterior motives—suddenly spoke up:

"I don't know what a comic convention is, but if it's an event, I can help. Would you like to add me on social media?"

Here it comes, here it comes, here it comes—just as expected, it's different from the world of anime. When you hold these kinds of events offline, this is the kind of situation you'll encounter. If you refuse here, won't it turn into the classic hero-saves-the-damsel or rescue-the-damsel scenario? Chen Junqian just happens to be sitting nearby.

Just as Gu Lingguo was thinking these thoughts, she saw the other person laugh heartily:

"After all, you know Brother Chen, right?"

Heh... I've inexplicably started to dislike someone's seemingly omnipresent presence in Guoning.

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

Chapter Twenty-One: The Most Successful Birthday Star

"So frustrating..."

After ending what could not be described as a pleasantly unsuccessful first offline gathering with like-minded people, Gu Lingguo immediately returned to Chen Junqian, who was sitting in the corner, and began to complain listlessly while slumped on the table.

"Even though my brother didn't even come here to meet us, the conversation still revolved around him. I feel like that girl will go back and confidently tell her parents that even the top student in the city watches cartoons. The only thing to be thankful for is that at least we didn't actually run into another mysterious beautiful girl who was saved by my brother on the street?"

"I've always felt that good grades have nothing to do with whether you're a fan of anime or manga."

After all, ten years later, a Chinese winner of the Fields Medal will still cause a stir on the Internet because of his love for yuri anime. As for what Gu Lingguo said in the second half, Chen Junqian also remembered that the mysterious blond character who should be a hoodlum in an urban novel was the same energetic young man he saved when he was shopping with Xu Youwei. It can only be said that Guo Ning is indeed quite young.

"So what did that person say to you?"

"Just say that their family is a milk tea franchisee in Guoning. Basically, they have a shop near every primary and secondary school. So if we ever hold a comic convention, they can help us promote it in front of the milk tea shop. That's about it."

"Oh, this kind of offline promotion seems pretty good. Even the ticketing business can be handled by these milk tea shops."

"Yeah, but I basically didn't have a chance to say those things just now. Wow, I was just being chased around by people asking me what I like to watch. I should say I'm a pretty cute girl, but nobody really cared."

"If someone really starts clinging to her, Lin Guo will probably complain about it again."

"Wouldn't it be the senior's turn to appear then? Sigh—I had already planned out such a classic scene, but it has never come true even once."

After feeling dejected for a while, Gu Lingguo cheered herself up again and started chatting with Chen Junqian about the various anime and manga-related information she had been following recently:

"By the way, did you know, brother? No Game No Life is finally getting a sequel! It's not a second season, but it's a theatrical film adapted from the original work. It'll probably be released next year, right? At this rate, I feel like we might see the second season around 1819."

"Yes, I saw the news too. To be honest, I'm quite looking forward to it. After all, the sixth volume's standalone story is indeed suitable for adaptation into a theatrical version. However, since Lin Guo hasn't read the original work yet, I won't spoil it for you. It seems very exciting in all aspects, and it can be considered a prequel-like theatrical version."

"I wish we could see theatrical versions of these anime in China someday. It seems like FSN's Sakura Arc will be released next year, but I don't think there's much hope. After all, importing movies is definitely for making money, but theatrical versions of these anime are obviously not going to make any money."

As someone who still frequently goes to the movies at this age, Chen Junqian nodded in agreement with Gu Linguo's statement. Rather than saying that animated theatrical versions have no box office success, it's more accurate to say that animated films as a whole have a very narrow audience, and importing them is inherently a troublesome matter. To be honest, this situation only improved after the first import of Makoto Shinkai's "Your Name" at the end of this year. Before that, basically only well-known national IPs had a chance, such as Disney's animated film series, Doraemon, and Detective Conan series, etc.

The July anime season has been airing for a month now, and it's definitely time for the mid-season commentary. It has to be said that with the gradual increase in Bilibili's traffic and the expansion of the anime audience, the trilogy of seasonal commentary—preview, mid-season, and finale—that Chen Junqian copied a long time ago and which has been validated by the internet in later generations, has begun to be widely imitated by others. Although he wasn't an anime fan in his previous life, he did watch videos on Bilibili, so he has a deep impression of those two years when he would open the rankings and see a bunch of commentary videos, some even using the same meme from the same anime as their cover. In particular, there was a season where they all seemed to use the feet of a certain female character (I think some people can guess which year, which season, which anime, which character).

So, after chatting for a while, Chen Junqian took Gu Linguo home to continue writing copy, but he didn't intend to stay for dinner. After saying goodbye to his mother, he rode his bicycle off again. He had made plans with someone else that night, or rather, someone else had made plans with him.

Today is August 10th, which is Xu Youwei's birthday.

It's quite a strange story. Yesterday was Qixi Festival, and the day before yesterday, Naoshi Komi drew that Nisekoi ending that left Gu Lingguo and him speechless. It's hard not to suspect that the other party did it on purpose. It's almost comparable to a certain male protagonist in anime who personally sent his adoptive mother away on Mother's Day.

As in previous years, Xu Youwei celebrated her birthday with her family at noon and with friends in the evening. However, this year she only invited Lin Mu and Chen Junqian. But the others didn't seem to mind. After all, apart from Chen Junqian and Lin Mu, who always celebrated together, everyone else celebrated separately. Although they were all friends, there were still degrees of closeness.

However, Chen Junqian did not go directly to Xu Youwei's house immediately. Instead, he went to a convenience store next door first, where his childhood sweetheart was already waiting for him.

There's a persistent feeling that Mu Mu is getting better at dressing up, or perhaps it's true that growth in temperament can happen overnight, or maybe Shen Nianqiu has simply awakened the burgeoning hormones of a boy of this age. When Chen Junqian's arm was suddenly linked with the girl's fair skin, he felt his heart skip a beat and quickly pushed out the shopping cart next to him.

Spare ribs or beef brisket?

"Yesterday, Weiwei said she wanted to eat tomato beef brisket."

"Then beef brisket will do."

"Hmm... I'd also like sweet and sour pork."