I turned reality into a romantic comedy.

"No problem, it's been a while since I've done this."

Pushing his cart, Chen Junqian turned the corner of the supermarket and encountered a familiar face—it was none other than Class Monitor Lu! While remarking on how young Guo Ning was, Chen Junqian greeted him, chatted for a bit, and then complained to Lin Mu afterward:

"Actually, Lao Lu has been asking me since junior high school: who is a couple between you, me, and Youyou?"

"And then? What did Qianqian answer?"

“I said the three of us talked together.”

"Qianqian—"

The petite childhood sweetheart raised her hand to hit him, but Chen Junqian nimbly dodged to the side. The shopping cart wheel veered slightly and almost crashed into the condiment shelf. The two of them grabbed the handlebars at the same time and burst out laughing when they looked at each other.

Since they've opened up to each other, Chen Junqian is now able to joke around with Mu Mu a little more about these things. When he walked to another refrigerated cabinet, he reached out and took out a carton of yogurt.

"Vivi doesn't really like yogurt, does she?"

"So it was bought for you."

"Oh...but drinking yogurt won't make you grow taller."

"Is Mu Mu still struggling with this issue?"

"There's no way I can avoid feeling conflicted."

"But I think it's very cute, and it would be easy to hug."

"Qianqian is strong enough to easily hug any girl, maybe even Bo Gang."

"Then forget it."

After shopping for dinner with his childhood sweetheart, Chen Junqian took her back to his home. He stood outside carrying the groceries while Lin Mu changed her shoes and went inside.

Where's the cake?

"In the refrigerator."

Upon hearing this, Lin Mu opened the refrigerator door and found the cake sitting quietly on the top shelf. A red ribbon was tied to the transparent cake box. After looking at it for a while, Lin Mu suddenly took out his phone and took a picture.

"Should we send it to Youyou?"

No, that's not it.

What are you filming Mumu for?

"Keep this as evidence. If she ever thinks you're being biased, I'll use the evidence."

When have I shown favoritism?

Lin Mu leaned against the doorframe, his tone light and airy:

"Then Qianqian asked her."

Chen Junqian didn't reply, but simply zipped up the insulated bag. Lin Mu looked at his lowered profile and suddenly felt that what she had just said was a bit funny. Just as she was about to change the subject, her phone rang.

It's Xu Youwei.

As soon as the call connected, the girl's clear voice came through the receiver:

Where are you?

"Still on the way, we'll be there soon."

"Okay, I'll be waiting for you at home."

Xu Youwei's house wasn't far away. After picking up the cake, Chen Junqian took Lin Mu and they arrived at their destination in no time. The other party was standing at the door waiting to pick them up.

"I'll get it."

Before she could even finish her sentence, Lin Mu pressed Xu Youwei back down.

"The birthday person is not allowed to work."

"Then I'll at least help wash the vegetables."

"Actually, I would prefer that you two stay outside and wait for dinner to be served."

"It can't be that bad, right? I should be able to help out a bit...?"

Meeting Chen Junqian's gaze, Xu Youwei's tone became increasingly insecure, mainly because she and Lin Mu were indeed the kind of girls who never lifted a finger.

"Alright, then let's all lend a hand."

Feeling it was a bit awkward to leave the two of them alone in the living room to chat, Chen Junqian thought for a moment and then called them both into the kitchen. Xu Youwei's kitchen was quite large, but with three people, they still had to be careful when turning around. However, they didn't feel cramped inside. Chen Junqian tied on an apron and blanched, cut, and cooked the beef brisket with practiced ease. Lin Mu and Xu Youwei washed vegetables or handed out seasonings, doing some safety work.

"Salt."

Lin Mu handed it over without turning around.

Light soy sauce.

Xu Youwei rushed to take it from the spice rack, but ended up grabbing dark soy sauce instead. Chen Junqian glanced at it, his lips twitched, but he didn't say anything. After Xu Youwei noticed, she sheepishly changed it back, but still tried to be stubborn:

"Of course I can tell the difference between dark soy sauce and light soy sauce, I just wanted to test Qinqin."

"Did you pass the test?"

"He didn't fall for it, which means it passed."

"...Alright then."

It turns out that these two weren't really suited to helping in the kitchen together. Their combined efficiency probably wasn't even as good as Zhu Wenyun's alone. Lin Mu started daydreaming when he was peeling the third shrimp, and began trying to stuff the whole shrimp into Chen Junqian's plate. Xu Youwei also treated the ingredients like toys. The two high school students seemed to be back in their elementary school pottery class, prompting Chen Junqian to complain:

"Can you two be serious for once?"

"Don't be so harsh, chef."

Xu Youwei echoed Lin Mu's playful tone, saying:

"Indeed, the birthday person is the most important today."

"The birthday person just put the cilantro and scallions into the same bowl."

"Anyway, it has to be cut in the end."

I don't eat cilantro.

"……terribly sorry."

Chen Junqian sighed, took the bowl of vegetables, and resignedly began picking through them again.

The beef brisket in the pot was simmering and the aroma quickly filled the entire house.

Xu Youwei stared at Chen Junqian standing by the pot for a long time, then remembered what Lin Mu had said to her before. In the end, she couldn't help but stand up, walk around behind him, and hug him tightly.

Chen Junqian was still holding a spoon, so he could only stand there stiffly, his arm outstretched. Xu Youwei buried her face in his shoulder, her voice muffled, as if she were inhaling deeply.

"Whew—it's been so long!"

Seeing this, Lin Mu smiled and put his hand on Xu Youwei's back.

"Hey, we can't let Weiwei be the only one holding him."

Xu Youwei immediately reached out her other hand and pulled Lin Mu over as well. The three of them squeezed into the kitchen, shoulder to shoulder, like when they were kids sheltering from the rain at the alleyway. Chen Junqian, with the two girls pressing against his back, had some difficulty moving. After a few seconds, he still whispered a reminder:

"The pot is going to burn."

"Oh oh."

Xu Youwei was the first to let go, and Lin Mu also smiled and stepped back. Chen Junqian turned around to look at the pot, and Xu Youwei's voice came from behind him:

"Don't worry, Qinqin. Even if this pot burns today, I won't blame you."

"Because the responsibility is actually on your shoulders, hey."

"Then Qinqin can be brought back too."

"Let me finish cooking first."

Dinner consisted of five dishes and a soup. The tomato and beef brisket stew was tender and soft, the sweet and sour pork tenderloin was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, the steamed shrimp was perfectly fresh, and the sweet and sour pork ribs had a beautiful color. Lin Mu initially took photos of each dish, but later she got so engrossed in eating that she simply put her phone down. Xu Youwei ate two bowls of rice, looking completely satisfied, and leaned back in her chair, sighing:

"Although it's not the first time, I really think Qinqin can definitely open a shop in the future."

"If I open a shop, I won't have time to cook for you."

"Oh, then forget it."

After seeing Xu Youwei quickly retract her suggestion, Chen Junqian took out the cake he had brought and baked himself from the refrigerator. Lin Mu turned off the main light in the living room, leaving only a small warm yellow light in the corner. Chen Junqian took the cake out of the refrigerator, inserted number candles, and lit them with a sense of ceremony.

The moment the candlelight flickered, Xu Youwei suddenly fell silent. The pale purple cream reflected the tiny light, and the words "Happy Birthday Youwei" on the cake were clearly visible. Outside the window was the city night, with car headlights sliding past in the distance. Inside, there were only the three of them, gathered around a small coffee table, as if they had temporarily gathered all the unspoken emotions from the long years into this gentle light.

"Yoyo, you can make a wish now."

"Mmm, let's make a wish!"

Listening to their conversation, Xu Youwei clasped her hands together, closed her eyes, and inexplicably recalled the banquet where Lin Mu celebrated his tenth birthday.

Wow, so much time has passed already.

Xu Youwei opened her eyes, took a deep breath, and then exhaled heavily.

"call--"

The candle went out, and the living room instantly went dark.

In that brief patch of darkness, Chen Junqian first smelled a very faint citrus scent, and then it felt as if a soft feather had landed on his cheek.

Someone quickly kissed him.

Before he could react, he felt something brush against his side, and heard a soft, suppressed laugh. The next second, Lin Mu turned the light back on, and Xu Youwei had already sat back down, her hands on her knees, her expression as composed as if nothing had happened.

Lin Mu sat on the other side, looking down and fiddling with a lighter, his expression calm.

Both of their ears were a little red. Chen Junqian stood there, still holding the cake box, his gaze shifting from left to right and then from right to left.

"just……"

"What just happened?"

Xu Youwei asked first, her eyes looking excessively innocent, and Lin Mu followed suit:

"Didn't Qianqian want to cut the cake? I want this piece with fruit!"

If his sister were here, he would definitely smile and turn around to say, "This matter is also recorded in the Jueying Gathering." However, there was no need to say that now, so Chen Junqian simply leaned forward and bent down, first gently touching Xu Youwei's left cheek, and then turning to Lin Mu to place a very light kiss on her right cheek as well.

Xu Youwei was completely stunned, her eyes wide open. Lin Mu, who had been holding the lighter, dropped it onto the carpet with a thud. He could no longer maintain his composure, and his face flushed red all the way to his ears. Chen Junqian straightened up, as if nothing had happened, and picked up the cake knife again.

"Since we don't know who it is, let's reply to everyone to avoid misunderstandings."