TMLSG -Chapter 129 What Meaning Is There Without You

Tang Zhen tried to push Ren Yanjing away, but she quickly said, “Just listen to me first.”

Ren Yanjing pressed his lips firmly against hers.

“I’m not listening.” He didn’t want to hear anything.

Tang Zhen: …

This time, she didn’t want to break up.

Really.

Because she wanted to leave the choice of breaking up to Ren Yanjing.

Whether they broke up or not, the decision was in his hands. She could accept any outcome.

But Ren Yanjing didn’t give her a chance to speak.

Tang Zhen really wanted to say: can the male lead stop being so childish? Can he stop not letting me talk?

111, as always, remained neutral: 【Zhen, I don’t think the male lead is being childish.】

Maybe he was just too afraid.

Too afraid of being abandoned.

Too afraid of breaking up.

His way of coping was to lower his head and kiss her, not giving her a chance to speak.

Today wasn’t a good time to talk anyway. Ren Yanjing was already feeling down, and Tang Zhen didn’t want to pour salt on his wounds.

Originally, with Robert winning the robot boxing match, the Future team should have gone home happily. But now, all they wanted was to return to the lab and work overnight on a new core to restore Robert’s functionality as quickly as possible.

Tang Zhen told her current mother she wouldn’t be coming home tonight and followed Ren Yanjing to the lab.

The supervising teacher hadn’t gone home either and stayed in the lab, comforting them and encouraging them to take things in stride.

Before long, the Fate team arrived as well.

Although they were rivals, they were from the same school, and out of basic decency, they couldn’t pretend nothing happened.

In times like this, morally and socially, they should offer some comfort to the Future team.

But when Fate arrived, Shen Quanli and the others felt even worse.

Because if they hadn’t been so eager to beat Fate in a flashy way, Robert wouldn’t have been scrapped today.

Zhang Mian wiped his face, looking exhausted.

“Thank you for your concern, but today we really don’t have the mood to entertain you.”

The Fate members didn’t stay long. Li Ran shot Ren Yanjing a meaningful glance, like a swan, and left with her back straight.

She wanted Ren Yanjing to understand clearly how much he would lose if he let her slip away.

The team stayed in the lab until past midnight.

Finally, Ren Yanjing didn’t want Tang Zhen to stay up with them and suggested they call it a night.

But even after that, Shen Quanli and the others said, “Captain, we want to sleep in the lab tonight.”

They wanted to stay close to Robert.

Robert wasn’t just a robot; it embodied their dreams. They had poured time, effort, and all their passion for robotics into him.

After Shen Quanli spoke, Tang Zhen immediately said, “I want to stay too.”

Ren Yanjing nodded, “Okay. Then I’ll take you to the dorm supervisor to freshen up.”

They went to the campus store, bought toiletries, and borrowed the dorm supervisor’s space to wash up.

Afterwards, they prepared to return to the lab.

They bought a large bag of food—some for themselves, some to share with Shen Quanli and the others, who must be hungry too.

It was now 12:30 a.m. The campus was quiet, lit only by the soft glow of streetlights.

Tang Zhen couldn’t help but ask 111, “Santiao, do you think the male lead is smart enough to guess something?”

Even if he didn’t guess, he would definitely feel something.

He would vaguely sense that Robert’s failure had nothing to do with their team or their abilities—it was entirely connected to his own choice.

If he hadn’t chosen the supporting female, everything related to Robert yesterday would never have happened.

Robert would still have been Future’s pride and would continue fighting for Future in the future.

On the deserted night road, the only sounds Tang Zhen could hear were their footsteps.

Seeing her walking slowly, Ren Yanjing turned back, held her hand, and asked, “Scared?”

At this moment, they were alone on the road.

If Tang Zhen were walking alone, she might be a little afraid—but with Ren Yanjing at her side, she wasn’t afraid at all.

She shook her head.

Ren Yanjing held her hand tighter and slowed his pace to match hers.

The night sky, the gentle breeze, the soft glow of the streetlights—it should have been a romantic, gentle night.

But the incident with Robert’s core explosion weighed heavily on both Tang Zhen and Ren Yanjing’s minds.

Tang Zhen suddenly asked, “A-Jing, between Robert and me… who’s more important?”

Would his choice change?

111 fell silent too, ready to listen for the male lead’s answer.

Ren Yanjing stopped walking.

Left hand holding the snacks from the campus store, right hand holding Tang Zhen’s hand, he reflected on the biggest career crisis he had faced since entering the robotics industry—just yesterday.

And now, he heard Tang Zhen’s question again.

Who is more important, Robert or her?

He had given three different answers before.

Today, he had a new answer.

Moonlight poured down, a gentle breeze stirred. In the soft rustling of the night wind, Tang Zhen heard Ren Yanjing whisper, “If I didn’t have you… even if I reached the top of the robotics industry, even if I developed an all-purpose robot, even if I achieved countless successes… what meaning would it all have?”