TMLSG -Chapter 10 Seeing Each Other Every Day

Another straightforward move.

Ren Yanjing lowered his head and saw Tang Zhen’s sincere, sparkling eyes. Her eyes were truly beautiful, each curve nearly perfect, and her moist gaze was full of earnestness.

At first, Tang Zhen had spoken just to get by, but by the end, even she believed it. Or perhaps it didn’t matter whether she believed it or not—at least the moment she saw Ren Yanjing, she genuinely felt reassured.

So what she said wasn’t entirely a lie.

If it started as a lie, it had turned into the truth.

Ren Yanjing looked away, cleared his throat, and tried to suppress the twitch of a smile, forcing his voice to sound calm. “Got it.”

Though he controlled his lips, the smile still leaked from the corners of his eyes and brows. “Let’s go. Are you hungry?”

As it happened, Tang Zhen was indeed a bit hungry. She followed Ren Yanjing cautiously, worried about running into Zhou Xusi and Zhou Wan again. Fortunately, she didn’t encounter a single familiar face along the way.

After breakfast, Ren Yanjing drove Tang Zhen back to her school.

She was currently a first-year student at a second-tier university, majoring in art, one year below Ren Yanjing. Her school was just two streets away from the top university where he studied.

After getting out of the car, Tang Zhen waved goodbye to him and ran back to her dorm.

There was no 8 a.m. class today, so she could rest for a while.

As soon as Tang Zhen entered the dorm, her best friend Tiantian grabbed her to gossip. “Zhenzhen, you didn’t come back all night. You…”

Tang Zhen raised her hands in surrender. “Nothing happened.”

Tiantian’s eyes widened. “No kissing or hugging?”

“Nothing!”

Tiantian looked incredulous. “Nothing at all? Your boyfriend sees a face that pretty and doesn’t even kiss you? What’s wrong with him?”

Tang Zhen pressed her lips together. “We’ve only been together less than a week.”

Yezi smirked and leaned in. “Got it. You two aren’t that familiar yet.”

“Mm.” Indeed, they weren’t. They had only been on two dates since officially dating.

Yezi rubbed her chin. “Actually, that’s a good thing. It shows your boyfriend isn’t a jerk. Taking things slowly is fine too.”

Then she added, “Last night, when you went downstairs, I happened to go out on the balcony and saw you with your boyfriend.”

Tang Zhen said “oh” and, for some reason, felt a little embarrassed.

Yezi giggled. “Your boyfriend seems well-mannered, probably very respectful toward girls. So I think, if he’s responsible in a relationship, taking things slowly is the right way.”

While they were chatting, Tang Zhen received a message from Ren Yanjing: “Over the weekend, I’ll be competing at C University, Jiangyi Campus. Do you want to come watch?”

Tang Zhen thought about the robot “Robert” that Ren Yanjing’s team had been preparing for so long and quickly replied, “Sure.”

“I’ll pick you up that day.”

“Okay.”

In the afternoon, Tang Zhen went sketching with her roommates Tiantian and Yezi.

They sat by the river on campus, laid out their canvases, and each chose a subject.

Tiantian chose the river view, while Yezi and Tang Zhen chose autumn leaves.

Time passed quickly while they painted. By the time Tang Zhen finished, dusk had already settled.

Tiantian had been standing behind her all along. When Tang Zhen put down her brush, Tiantian exclaimed, “Zhenzhen, your painting style has changed…”

Changed?

How?

Tiantian quickly explained, “Your paintings have become full of spirit.”

“Yes, full of spirit,” Yezi chimed in. “Wow, Zhenzhen, did falling in love suddenly unblock your creative flow or something? Your painting has improved so much!”

Tang Zhen was clearly surprised and delighted. “Really?”

“Really. When the teacher sees your work tomorrow, she’ll definitely praise you.”

Tang Zhen had always loved painting, but she had never received systematic training before—she was mostly self-taught. She hadn’t expected such direct praise from her roommates on her very first sketching session.

“Thank you.”

Yezi grinned. “Our dorm might end up producing a big-name painter who can hold a solo exhibition, huh?”

Even though Yezi was joking, Tang Zhen couldn’t help feeling a little hopeful. Could she really hold her own solo exhibition someday?

000 was also confident in her. 【Xiao Zhen, you’re very talented. You can definitely do it!】

Tang Zhen blinked in surprise. “Sanquan, you really think I have talent too?” She found it funny calling the system by name, so she just shouted to it, “System, Sanquan!”

000 replied, 【Yes, keep going! The International Youth Painting Competition has started recently. Xiao Zhen, you can check the announcement and decide whether to participate.】

Of course she wanted to participate!

Tang Zhen excitedly went back to her dorm to search for information. The competition allowed electronic submissions, which was very convenient.

She made up her mind: she was going to enter!

Having a clear goal made the past two days fly by. Tang Zhen immersed herself in painting, so much so that even when Ren Yanjing sent her a few messages, she had no desire to meet up.

It wasn’t until the night before the university robotics competition that Ren Yanjing sent her a message: “I’m downstairs at your dorm.”

Tang Zhen, lost in her creative world, was slightly startled. She blinked, put down her brush, told her roommates, and ran downstairs quickly.

The system hadn’t issued any tasks these past two days, so Tang Zhen hadn’t actively sought out Ren Yanjing.

The moment she reached him, she was pulled into a warm embrace. From above, faint cheers and applause seemed to echo from the dorm.

Ren Yanjing’s deep voice rang over her head: “We haven’t seen each other in two days, my girlfriend.”

Tang Zhen spoke honestly. “We didn’t contact each other at all for a full three days before.”

So compared to last time, two days apart wasn’t much. Over these past two days, they had at least exchanged a few messages each day, so it wasn’t a total break in contact.

But to Ren Yanjing, her words sounded like she was still a little mad.

He held her in his arms, resting his chin on her fluffy head. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t considerate before and ignored you.”

Tang Zhen felt a bit embarrassed. She had already let that incident go. Now that she had something she genuinely enjoyed doing, she could fully understand why Ren Yanjing hadn’t thought to contact her.

When you’re immersed in something you love, it’s really hard to notice anyone else—even if that someone is your boyfriend.

After a few days apart, Ren Yanjing noticed Tang Zhen had grown a bit distant. She had been clingy at the very beginning of their relationship.

He frowned slightly and suggested, “Let’s see each other every day from now on.”

Tang Zhen: ???

000: Oh no!!!