I turned reality into a romantic comedy.

Chapter Thirty-Nine: On the Throne

Thanks to the efforts of a certain romantic comedy male protagonist, Guoning is now experiencing the winter love song atmosphere of snow falling every year. Moreover, Chen Junqian doesn't want to bother the road administration department and sanitation workers, so what falls is basically a sky full of powdery snow with a strong background. It feels cool on the hands but doesn't actually accumulate. For a while, the corridor was filled with students going out to see the snow every time get out of class ended. In this respect, high school students and elementary school students seem to be no different.

However, compared to its role in the development of romantic comedies, the first thing these snowfalls saved was a certain younger sister who finally didn't have to do morning exercises. Now, winter mornings wouldn't feel so unbearable. Every morning when she gets up, she can warm up in her brother's bed first, and then sit on the bicycle and put her hands into his deep down jacket pockets on the way to school. After arriving at school, she doesn't have to do morning exercises. Long live the snow!

And so, the light snow continued to fall until Christmas Day, which happened to be a Sunday. So, without the pressure of school, Chen Xi crawled into Chen Junqian's bed without any worries and closed her eyes. Rather than waking him up, it was more like changing where she was sleeping. Anyway, don't ask, the answer is that when she tried to wake him up, her brother, who was sleepwalking in bed, reached out a hand and pulled her in, only to be sealed in by the warm blankets. This is quite understandable in winter.

My brother is dreaming of pulling people away, did you know that?

If there's any regret about Chen Xi's life as a younger sister over the years, it's probably that she never actually lived in the same bedroom with Chen Junqian like many siblings, sharing a bunk bed. Otherwise, she might have been able to perform a scene where Xi Jiuling could warm the bed for his younger sister.

Just as Chen Xi was drowsily clinging to Chen Junqian's arm, preparing to go back to sleep, she once again vaguely heard the sound of the door opening outside, and faintly heard Wang Hongling talking to someone. However, she didn't want to think about these things right now, so she simply shrank back down, pulled the blanket over her head, and buried herself in the other person's chest and the blanket.

So early...who could it be?

Of course, they are childhood sweethearts.

Just like Chen Xi, Lin Mu also loves winter and snowy days. After all, winter is the perfect season for a cute girl like her. She is already petite, and when she puts on a milky white short down jacket, she looks even more delicate. The collar of the down jacket is fluffy and soft, almost covering half of her face, only revealing a pair of bright black eyes and a nose tip that is slightly red from the cold wind.

She wore a light brown plaid scarf around her neck, the ends of which hung down her chest, swaying with her movements like two restless little ears. On her feet were a pair of brown snow boots, the surfaces of which were covered with tiny water droplets left from walking on the snow. To ward off the cold, she also wore a pair of fluffy white gloves, her fingers wrapped up in rounded circles. When she held the red greeting card, her movements seemed more clumsy than usual.

When she came over, she originally wanted to hide the envelope in the pocket of her down jacket, but the pocket was too shallow, and she had to look down to check it every few steps. Later, she changed to holding it in her hands, covering it with both hands, afraid that it would be blown away by the wind. However, her scarf kept slipping down, so Lin Mu had to hold the greeting card with her hand while reaching out to pull the scarf. After walking a few steps, she was flustered by the hem of her clothes and shoelaces.

In the end, she went to the convenience store next door and bought another gift box before she could properly put the greeting card away.

Mu Mu, bundled up in thick snow boots, did indeed resemble a carefully wrapped ball of cream in winter, but she didn't realize it. She was only focused on protecting the greeting card in her arms and carefully walking across the icy road in her thick-soled snow boots. Whenever her shoes slipped, she would subconsciously spread her arms, the pom-poms on her scarf and hat swaying together. After regaining her footing, she would purse her lips nonchalantly, pretending that nothing had happened.

She didn't stop until she reached Chen Junqian's doorstep, and she looked down to check her clothes.

The down jacket wasn't dirty, the scarf was still on, and the greeting card had no creases.

Alright, now it's time to wish Qianqian a Merry Christmas.

At the same time, the person in question was also disturbed from his dream by his younger sister who was constantly wriggling in his arms. However, Chen Junqian had already gotten used to the fact that every morning he would see a younger sister who was always in front of him instead of always in his arms. It could only be said that now it was once a year but once a day, and every day was like New Year's Day.

After slightly adjusting his sister's position to make her more comfortable, Chen Junqian also noticed the sound coming from outside the door. Thanks to his extraordinary hearing, he could hear it clearly. The person talking to his mother in the living room was Lin Mu.

Before long, the voices outside gradually subsided, followed by increasingly closer footsteps. After pausing briefly in front of his bedroom door, Chen Junqian heard the doorknob being gently turned. He opened his eyes a crack and saw his childhood sweetheart standing in front of his bed.

As soon as Lin Mu walked in, she noticed the extra person under the covers. Wang Hongling had already told her about it, so she wasn't surprised. After sitting down on the edge of the bed, she easily discovered that Chen Junqian was pretending to be asleep, so she reached out and poked her childhood sweetheart's cheek.

"Hey—Qianqian."

"Hey—Mumu."

"Is Xiaoxi here?"

"Hmm, but it seems she's asleep."

He didn't know if it was because he stayed up late reading last night, or if his bed really had some kind of mysterious hypnotic effect, but in any case, his sister was indeed fast asleep. However, she was still clinging tightly to him, their arms and legs intertwined in a haphazard way, and his nose was filled with the scent of his sister's shampoo.

After a few attempts, Chen Junqian realized he couldn't get up without waking his sister, so he had no choice but to continue lying there talking to Lin Mu. This somewhat awkward position made Lin Mu, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, cover her mouth and chuckle softly.

"I feel like Qianqian is one of those kids who doesn't want to get out of bed right now. He wants me to bring him breakfast and feed him here."

It can only be said that after that confrontation in June, Lin Mu really couldn't give up a certain kind of "mother play." However, Chen Junqian, who was completely overwhelmed in the arms of his childhood sweetheart, couldn't say much at the time. Although he didn't really have the obsession or fantasy of "wanting a mother this tall," he could just assume that the other person liked to take care of people. At least Lin Mu wouldn't actually be like some characters in anime, saying "good boy" while touching his head. At most, he would just press his head against his chest and hug him.

"Isn't Mumu going to catch up on sleep today, it's Sunday?"

"But today is also Christmas, look, greeting cards."

Lin Mu proudly displayed the gift box, tied with a red ribbon and truly resembling a Christmas present, in front of Chen Junqian, before temporarily placing it on his desk.

"Qianqian, remember to open and check it later."

"Hmm, but the table in this room looks like it's almost full. It feels like we'll have to move it to the new house after we're done looking at it. I hope this year's castle isn't even bigger than last year's?"

"No, no, it's not that serious. After all, it's just a greeting card, not a toy. And if it's not filled with writing, it doesn't feel like it has any meaning."

"If you can't write it all out, can't you just stick your mouth all over it with lipstick marks?"

"...Last year was an accident, and there's no need for it this year."

As she spoke, Lin Mu leaned down and gave Chen Junqian a sweet kiss on the forehead:

"Now it can be done like this."

Chen Xi felt that the little sister in his arms had suddenly transformed into some mysterious figure, like a sleeping husband, because of his childhood sweetheart's action. But Chen Xi didn't seem to care much about that, so he felt that even if she really woke up, it wouldn't be a big deal.

Seeing the two of them snuggling together in bed, Lin Mu felt she would want to join in if she weren't already wrapped up so tightly and it would be a hassle to take off her own clothes. Although she could sleep with Qianqian like this every two days at noon, she was currently in a state similar to Xu Youwei at a certain point in her life, where she had the strongest need for physical contact with her partner.

"By the way, what are Qianqian's plans for today?"

After suppressing his thoughts, Lin Mu asked again.

"I plan to go back to the countryside today."

"The countryside? Going back to Grandma's house?"

"I guess so, but the main purpose is to accompany Youyou to her maternal grandmother's house. Her grandmother has been hospitalized for a minor illness these past two days, and she asked us to take care of the chickens and ducks she raises."

"Is Youyou's grandma alright?"

"No, it's mainly because Uncle Xu wanted to take this opportunity to give Grandma a comprehensive physical examination, so she's staying in the hospital. Grandma's health is still quite good."

"Oh, I see. You two go ahead, I need to go home and do my test papers later."

As she spoke, Lin Mu stood up again, but before leaving, she took the gift box that had been on her desk with her.

"Hey, hey, hey, why did Mumu take the gift with her?"

"Hmm... It's because Qianqian isn't with me today. Okay, just kidding. Of course, I was thinking of giving it to you during evening self-study tonight in front of the other classmates, how about that?"

"Whatever you want, but have breakfast before you go. My mom should already be making it."

Okay.

Lin Mu, holding the gift box, sat down again and looked at her childhood sweetheart lying on the bed. Suddenly, she inexplicably recalled what Zhu Wenyun had said during their conversation a few days ago:

As for Qianqian, the two of them would definitely be able to handle things together with ease.

When Chen Junqian and Xu Youwei returned to the countryside, the air was filled with the scent of wood ash rising from the chimney of the wood-fired stove, in addition to the cold air. The village dogs barked twice and then retreated back into their kennels, as if they still recognized the two people who had been running around and disturbing their clan's peace several years ago. The two walked along the moss-covered stone path into the village, their shoes making a crisp sound as they stepped on the frosty ground.

Xu Youwei took out a key from her pocket and struggled for a while before finally unlocking the lock on her grandmother's front door. The layout inside was still the same as before, which made her feel very warm and familiar.

"Let's get down to business first. Youyou, go inside and check the appliances. I'll go to the backyard and take care of the chickens and ducks."

"No, I want to go with Qinqin. What if you can't beat the chicken?"

"Hehehe, now I'm not even a chicken, let alone a goose, it wouldn't be a match for me."

The backyard was a fairly large abandoned vegetable garden, with a low chicken and duck coop in one corner. As soon as it heard footsteps, it immediately erupted into a cacophony of clucking and quacking as several mallard ducks and roosters crowded to the fence, stretching their necks and begging for food.

The water in the trough had indeed frozen into a thick layer of ice. Chen Junqian found a wooden stick, broke the ice, took out the ice blocks and threw them into the corner. Then he went to the well and fetched a bucket of clear water and poured it in. Xu Youwei, following her grandmother's instructions, scooped out two large spoonfuls of grain and soybean cake crumbs from the grain storage bucket in the corner and sprinkled them evenly into the large bamboo feed trough.

"Eat up, eat up, don't get cold after you've eaten your fill."

After feeding the ducks, Xu Youwei squatted outside the bamboo fence, cupping her face in her hands as she watched them scramble for food. A gentle smile graced her lips. The winter sun shone through the bare branches of the old elm tree, falling on her and making the fine downy hair on her forehead shine. Chen Junqian stood behind her, sweeping fallen leaves and debris in the yard. He thought to himself that his ex-girlfriend truly lived up to her reputation as a girl who looked like an elementary school student, a middle school student, and a high school student. She had an undeniable grasp of youthful charm, and he almost wanted to pat her head from above again.

After cleaning the chicken coop and adding enough water and food, the two returned inside.

The old house was poorly protected from moisture, and in winter the indoors was even colder than the outdoors. However, Chen Junqian and Xu Youwei were both very healthy and not afraid of the cold, so they immediately began to check the appliances in each room.

“Grandma is getting old and is always thinking about saving electricity. Last time I visited, she was so careful to save one kilowatt-hour that she didn’t even turn on the light when she went downstairs at night, and she almost fell. This time she is sick, but she is still worried about these things the most.”

Chen Junqian was focused and checked very carefully. He climbed a small ladder and unplugged the old-fashioned electric heater hanging on the ceiling. He also checked the wire connections for signs of aging. Then he went to the kitchen and unplugged the old-fashioned rice cooker and water dispenser one by one. He even turned off the main power switch of the old-fashioned electric water heater in the bathroom and pulled down the switch on the circuit that was not frequently used.

"It's not about saving electricity or not. The biggest fear in old houses during winter is that short circuits can cause fires. Well, now Grandma can rest easy in the hospital."

"Qinqin, you've worked hard."

Xu Youwei handed over a tissue, her eyes crinkling at the corners.

"Just wash it by hand."

Chen Junqian walked to the tap in the yard. The cold water made him gasp. After doing all this, it was only a little past ten in the morning. The old house was quiet, with only the old-fashioned clock in the main room ticking steadily.

"Qinqin, would you like to see the room I lived in when I was a child?"

"Hmm? Sure."

"Let's go then."

As she spoke, Xu Youwei pulled Chen Junqian by the cuff, led him through the narrow corridor, and brought him to the door of a small room on the east side of the second floor.

The door was smaller than the others, and several faded cartoon stickers, featuring popular characters like Sailor Moon and Digimon, were pasted on the door panel. The lock was a simple bolt that could be pulled open.

The curtains in the room were half-drawn, letting in beams of golden morning light. The air was filled with the unique scent of sun-dried old paper, plastic toys, and a faint aroma of camphor wood, as if it could instantly pull one back to childhood.

The house was small, with a sloping roof that exposed wooden rafters, but it was packed full of things.

There was a single wooden bed covered with an old-fashioned red floral quilt. Several half-open cardboard boxes were piled in the corner, from which all sorts of colorful objects were spilling out. The whole room was like a museum of time. Tin boxes contained collected colored glass beads and bookmarks made of dried leaves. On the table was a row of paintbrushes that had long since dried out, as well as several small animals made of clay that were now cracked and deformed. There was even a small plastic guitar with a broken string.

Behind each small item seems to lie a piece of time they spent together.

Among all these items, the most eye-catching is undoubtedly the chair.

The back of the paper chair was cut into a crown-shaped serrated edge and painted with a variety of colors, including large patches of golden base paint. Although it was old and somewhat peeled, the care put into it was still evident. The back and armrests were covered with all sorts of strange gems, discarded colorful plastic bottle caps, pull tabs from soda cans, stones wrapped in tin foil, and even a few strings of glass beads taken from old curtains, which refracted a colorful halo in the winter sun.

The cushion on the chair was an old red velvet cushion. Although it was somewhat faded, it looked comically luxurious against the backdrop of the rough cardboard around it.

"...How come I remember the chairs we made back then didn't look exactly like this? Did Youyou modify them herself later?"

Xu Youwei followed his gaze, paused for a moment, then her cheeks flushed slightly, but her eyes shone with an extremely bright light:

"Of course, this is my 'throne'!"

She let out a soft cry, then quickly walked over, lifting the hem of her down jacket. When she reached the throne, she first blew off the dust. Although so many years had passed, the chair, made of thick, heavy cardboard, still maintained its perfect shape. However, it felt like it might collapse if she actually sat down, so Xu Youwei didn't dare to sit down for a moment. After all, she had grown up a lot since then.

Seeing Xu Youwei's hesitant posture, wanting to sit but not daring to, Chen Junqian couldn't help but chuckle. After making a wish in his heart, he generously gestured for Xu Youwei to sit down.

"It feels pretty sturdy. Hey, do you want to sit on it and take a look?"

"Let me try... and it actually works! I can actually sit down!"

After carefully moving her bottom up, Xu Youwei exclaimed softly in surprise. Her body swayed slightly, and the cardboard made a faint creaking sound, but it still steadily supported her slender body.

She leaned back in the crown-shaped chair, tilted her head slightly, and smiled a bright and mischievous smile. The sunlight outlined her profile with a soft glow, and even her eyelashes seemed to dance with golden light.

Xu Youwei slightly raised her arm, her slender, fair fingers gracefully waving in the air:

"I am the king now."

"Should I be called King Yoyo?"

"You should be called Her Majesty—"

After tacitly going over the jokes from the 100,000 Cold Jokes they had read together years ago, Xu Youwei began searching the throne again: