TMLSG -Chapter 120 I Just Like Scheming Ones

111 could no longer follow this part of the plot.

On one hand, the male and female leads were encountering each other more and more frequently — almost constantly running into one another. On the other hand… their relationship seemed to be racing toward the “enemies” direction?

The female lead’s competitive drive had been completely triggered. In every aspect, she wanted to compete with the male lead. Watching it unfold, it really looked like love turning into hatred.

But the relationship between the male and female leads wasn’t so simple. After all, in this era, “arch-enemy” was synonymous with “lover.”

Called arch-enemies, but not really.

Who knows? Maybe after a bit of rivalry, the male and female leads might end up admiring each other.

The lab had many concept-model machines.

These humanoid robots were all cutting-edge designs, full of futuristic technological feel.

During the tour, the lead supervisor would demonstrate these robots, inevitably using many technical terms.

Occasionally, the supervisor would ask questions to assess the visitors’ professional knowledge.

Li Ran was the most proactive among them. Even the supervisor repeatedly nodded in approval, praising her highly.

Passing by a cat-shaped robot, Tang Zhen couldn’t resist and bent down to pet its head.

The supervisor introduced it: “This robot is called ‘Ke Ai’ (Cute).”

The cat robot gave Tang Zhen a haughty look, swished its mechanical tail, and turned away.

It really had a personality of its own!

After the robot tour, the group went to the cafeteria for lunch. When they finished, it was nearly time to leave.

At that moment, an engineer hurried over and whispered something to the supervisor. After hearing it, the supervisor’s expression changed slightly.

Everyone at the three tables, along with their friends and companions, immediately noticed the subtle change in his expression.

Shen Qi, glancing at the others, spoke first: “Shen Gong, what happened?”

The supervisor put down his chopsticks. “Nothing serious. It’s just… the cat robot suddenly broke.”

Broke?

Li Ran furrowed her brows, a guess flashing through her mind: “Was it ‘Ke Ai’?”

The supervisor looked a little troubled. “Yes.”

At this point, aside from the Future team, everyone immediately focused their subtle suspicion on Tang Zhen. After all, she had been the only one interacting with ‘Ke Ai,’ and due to its programmed personality, it had treated her with disdain.

This wasn’t Tang Zhen’s fault, nor the robot’s. Its character had simply been programmed that way.

But who could know if she had actually grown fond of ‘Ke Ai’ because of it?

Tang Zhen looked confused, biting her lip and murmuring, “I don’t know…”

Li Ran’s best friend, Lu Yu, suddenly said, “I noticed her. She went to the bathroom earlier — at least five minutes away from the group.”

The Future team: …

They had been touring the lab for several hours. Very few hadn’t gone to the bathroom.

If one had to make such a claim, anyone who had gone to the bathroom was technically a suspect.

Besides Lu Yu and Li Ran, everyone else had gone alone — no one went in groups.

But Lu Yu and Li Ran were best friends. Their testimonies for each other weren’t reliable and couldn’t remove them from suspicion.

Ren Yanjing cut in: “My girlfriend doesn’t accept baseless slander. Check the surveillance.”

The supervisor sighed. The engineer reporting the situation rubbed his forehead helplessly. “The problem is… that area happens to be a blind spot in the cameras. Just a coincidence.”

How could it be such a coincidence?

Tang Zhen fiddled with her fingers, uneasy. She asked 111, “111, how could the cat robot suddenly break?”

111 thought for a moment. 【It could be the backlash of the female lead’s aura, or it could be the plot correcting itself.】

Tang Zhen had once been a shallow, scheming, foolish supporting female. After her role ended, she became a shallow, scheming, foolish bystander.

No matter what, those previous labels would follow her.

As long as she didn’t interact with the leads, those labels wouldn’t affect her.

But as soon as she kept having interactions with them, she became the shallow, scheming, foolish character by default.

From a character perspective, the cat robot would ignore the scheming bystander Tang Zhen, and she, dissatisfied, would find a way to break the robot — logically, it made sense.

Hadn’t everyone immediately focused suspicion on Tang Zhen?

And with the surveillance conveniently failing, it was hard to say anything for certain.

Breaking the robot meant compensation was necessary, but ultimately, it wasn’t a huge problem.

The main downside of the cat robot being destroyed was that, in the male lead’s mind, the bystander Tang Zhen would leave a “scheming, petty” impression.

After all, the robot hadn’t done anything wrong.

It was simply programmed to be proud and tsundere.

Once the male lead had this impression, he would most likely let go of his concerns about the scheming bystander.

After all, Tang Zhen and Ren Yanjing hadn’t reconciled yet.

There was no need for a breakup step — they could gradually drift apart naturally.

Once Ren Yanjing fully let go of Tang Zhen, the plot would naturally return to its proper course.

The group approached the spot where the cat robot had been.

The cat robot’s tail had been torn off and tossed aside like trash.

The supervisor was a bit troubled.

Was this a big issue? Not really — the main problem was that it would be difficult to figure out who damaged the robot.

Because of the robot’s special material, it almost never retained fingerprints.

This was normally a good thing, but at this moment, it became a clear drawback.

The advantage of not leaving fingerprints was that the robot could always stay in perfect condition, rarely collecting dust, and needed almost no cleaning.

The disadvantage? As now — there was no way to trace who had touched the cat’s tail.

Lu Yu, who had accompanied Li Ran to the lab, didn’t expect to witness this unfold.

She was blunt and impatient, and asked directly, “What do we do now?”

The supervisor gestured for everyone to stay calm. “We won’t wrong anyone. Without concrete evidence, don’t make baseless assumptions.”

Lu Yu glanced at Tang Zhen and couldn’t help saying, “But she’s the most suspicious one.”

After all, she was the only one who interacted with “Ke Ai,” and the cat robot had snubbed her.

No one else had any reason to interfere with it.

Ren Yanjing’s tone turned cold. “As for your baseless slander and defamation against my girlfriend, I’ll have my lawyer send you a formal notice.”

Lu Yu: “!!!”

Okay, his family had an entire team of lawyers — he was formidable!

She kept quiet. Fine, right?

Worried that Lu Yu might actually get a lawyer notice, Li Ran stepped forward to apologize on her friend’s behalf: “My friend is too blunt and said something inappropriate. Ren Yanjing, I apologize for her. She didn’t mean any harm. Sorry.”

The supervisor waved his hand, giving both sides a graceful way out. “This isn’t a big problem. Don’t dwell on it.”

He stepped closer, crouched down, observed for a moment, and said, “It can be repaired.”

Standing up, he added, “The tour is mostly done. Those who want to leave can leave; we don’t need you here anymore.”

Li Ran stepped forward proactively. “Shen Gong, I’ll repair it.”

The supervisor looked at her with slight surprise.

Li Ran smiled, her delicate face full of bold confidence. “Shen Gong, I just happen to want to improve my hands-on skills. Let me fix this cat tail — is that okay?”

Someone volunteering to repair it was exactly what the supervisor wanted. “Fine, you do it. Don’t worry about causing damage — just go ahead boldly.”

Li Ran nodded confidently. “Okay!”

111 noticed the cleverness in this plot adjustment.

On one side was the scheming bystander suspected of destroying the cat robot.

On the other was the top student who voluntarily offered to fix it.

The contrast couldn’t be more striking!

Li Ran, her teammates, and Lu Yu stayed behind to repair the cat’s tail. Shen Qi, having nothing else to do, also stayed to help.

After all, this was a chance to impress the top lab supervisor — an opportunity not to be missed.

The Future team left quickly and efficiently. No need for them to be involved since Star and Fate members were handling it.

As soon as they left the lab, Tang Zhen hesitated. “Ren Yanjing, I…”

But what could she say?

Just explaining would seem too pale and unnecessary.

And she had no intention of reconciling, meaning no explanation was needed.

Back when she was the supporting female, she had completed all those tasks just to get the male lead to let go of her, allowing the plot to progress with the female lead.

Now the opportunity had come naturally, requiring no extra effort or words from her.

The cat robot incident would remain an unsolved mystery — there would be no answers.

The male lead would continue interacting with the scheming bystander under the lingering suspicion of the robot’s destruction.

It was only a matter of time before the feelings cooled.

After all, no relationship can withstand persistent doubt.

Shen Quanli and the others wisely left first, giving Tang Zhen and Ren Yanjing a chance to be alone.

Ren Yanjing glanced at Tang Zhen, sitting silently in the passenger seat with her head lowered. He leaned over, fastening her seatbelt while saying, “Tang Zhen.”

Tang Zhen tensed instinctively. Her lashes blinked rapidly, her beautiful eyes shimmering like a misty morning lake, sparkling with light.

Whenever Ren Yanjing said her full name, he always meant business.

What would he say this time?

Tang Zhen straightened her back and waited for him to speak.

Ren Yanjing reached over and tucked the stray hairs behind her ear, casually saying, “I just like scheming ones.”

111: !!!

Tang Zhen: !!!

This didn’t mean Ren Yanjing believed Tang Zhen had done anything.

He just wanted her to know that no matter what she did — even little scheming things — he didn’t care.

He only wanted her to stay happy, carefree, and without worries.