TMLSG -Chapter 14 Praising Him

After Ms. Wan stopped talking, Tang Zhen finally had a moment to check the status of Task Six.

Not checking before, she had no idea—now seeing it, she was startled.

Seeing 23:58 on the timer, Tang Zhen blankly asked the system, “Sanquan, is this the time we’ve been holding hands?”

000 replied matter-of-factly, 【Yes.】

Tang Zhen’s tone was awkward. “So… on the eve of the competition, in a venue with at least a few thousand spectators, we held hands for nearly 24 minutes?”

【Yes.】

All 23 minutes and 58 seconds of this high-sweetness moment were recorded in the chip. Later, even after the male lead and the supporting female broke up, it could still be pulled out to savor again.

000 seemed pleased. 【The task only required three minutes, but you overachieved! Did you just not want to let go once you held hands?】

Tang Zhen: … “I probably just forgot.”

【Forgot to let go? Xiao Zhen, do you really believe that yourself?】

“I do.”

At first, she hadn’t been used to Ren Yanjing’s hand warmth, but later she did. Once she got used to it, she didn’t even notice that she had been holding his hand the entire time.

Maybe something else had caught her attention back then, like the myriad of gazes from other people.

So they had been holding hands the whole time.

Before Ren Yanjing entered the arena, his teammate Zhang Mian leaned close and sniffed, eyes wide in awe. “Bro, you smell amazing!”

Ren Yanjing pushed his head away casually. “Don’t get so close.”

Zhang Mian then called the others over. “Come smell! It really smells amazing!”

The remaining six teammates crowded around.

“Is it for real?!”

“Captain, what brand of cologne are you using? It smells incredible!”

“It’s a bit… too sweet. Not your style.”

Ren Yanjing hardly ever used cologne. The scent on him usually came from laundry detergent, body wash, shampoo, or aftershave. But he had been using the same products for many years, never switching.

He was used to them and never thought to change. Even though there were plenty of good products, he had no desire to try others—unless the product was discontinued, he wouldn’t switch brands.

He spent a fair amount of time with his teammates, so they should have been used to the smell of his detergent on his clothes. Why were they reacting so strongly this time?

Then Zhang Mian suddenly shouted, “I know! It’s the scent left on the captain’s right hand!”

Right hand?

Ren Yanjing remembered.

That was the hand he had been holding Tang Zhen’s hand with.

On impulse, he lifted his right hand to sniff.

Sweet.

Really pleasant.

He cleared his throat. “Alright, let’s get ready to enter.”

His teammates teased a bit, but as they were about to enter, the group of young men immediately composed themselves, returning to their serious demeanor.

Today’s robotics competition was a street dance contest for robots.

As everyone knows, street dancing is difficult for those with inflexible limbs, so the competition required very high standards for the robots.

The first team to perform was the host team.

Their robot was named “Princess”, a humanoid robot with a round head and round body.

Upon entering, the robot waved cutely to the audience. “Hello everyone, I am Princess. I will now perform a street dance for you.”

Applause rang out in the audience.

The arena lights dimmed, with a single spotlight on Princess. Upbeat music played, and Princess began to dance.

From Tang Zhen’s outsider perspective, the performance was fairly good. Although the robot’s four metal limbs weren’t very agile and it made one mistake, at least she felt happy watching it.

So this was what watching a robot street dance felt like.

Clumsy.

Still kind of cute.

The second team to perform was from N University. Their robot was tall and sturdy, named “Mighty”, and it did look mighty.

Unfortunately, while its name and appearance were imposing, its street dance performance was not. Halfway through, it froze completely, as if it had crashed. Its designer immediately pulled it off the stage.

Tang Zhen realized something: in a competition at this level, simply completing a three-minute dance was already a huge success. Many robots gave up halfway through.

This also indicated that many teams’ robots weren’t up to par.

Soon, it was time for Ren Yanjing’s team. They were the 16th team to take the stage, with four more teams to follow.

Almost everyone in the arena knew their robot was named “Robert”, a sleek, cool-looking, especially handsome robot.

The robots’ appearances varied greatly. At least in terms of design, Ren Yanjing’s team had done very well.

Upbeat music started, and Robert began its street dance. It opened with a “wave” move, drawing gasps from the audience.

After the wave, it did a headstand spin—a common street dance move—and then smoothly transitioned into popping. Robert executed everything perfectly.

Applause erupted from all directions, and Tang Zhen clapped vigorously as well.

Ms. Wan whispered in her ear, “Your boyfriend’s team is guaranteed to be in the top three.”

Robert finished its performance gracefully, bowing to the audience like a true gentleman, then stepped down with slow, elegant movements of its metal legs.

Ren Yanjing and his teammates clapped and celebrated Robert’s excellent performance.

Out of the sixteen teams that had performed so far, only five robots had completed their dances without a hitch. Among these five, Robert had the most difficult routine and the most flawless execution.

The remaining four teams quickly finished their performances.

Once all twenty robots had performed, the judges’ scores were released.

On the screen in front of the arena, the final scores of all twenty teams appeared.

Without a doubt, Ren Yanjing’s team from B University scored the highest!

They were the undisputed first place!

The young teammates threw their arms around each other, forming a circle, and cheered loudly!

Tang Zhen stood with the crowd, applauding alongside everyone.

Ms. Wan commented appreciatively, “Such an excellent team. Robert’s performance was outstanding.” She had only said “top three guaranteed” earlier because she couldn’t be too definitive.

At that moment, Tang Zhen overheard the audience behind her discussing Robert and Ren Yanjing. She instinctively turned her head to listen and realized they were all praising Ren Yanjing, loudly.

Her eyes curved into a smile. Just as she was about to return her gaze to the B University team, she was suddenly picked up and spun around on the spot.

Her skirt flared beautifully in the air.

It was Ren Yanjing!

Panicked, Tang Zhen wrapped her delicate arms around his neck.

Why did he just come over and pick her up without a word?!

For goodness’ sake, everyone is watching!

“I got first place!”

Ren Yanjing’s eyes sparkled like stars—they shone with his excitement.

At last, the male lead showed a hint of the boldness and spontaneity expected of someone his age.

Tang Zhen immediately forgave his sudden embrace.

She smiled and said, “Congratulations, A-Jing. You’re amazing.”

The surrounding cheers were so loud that only Ren Yanjing could hear her praise.

He paused and looked at her quietly, asking, “Really?”

Tang Zhen thought he didn’t believe her.

So many people were praising him—like the two spectators behind her—they were praising Ren Yanjing too.

If the audience could praise him, she wanted her praise to be sincere and heartfelt. She looked him squarely in the eyes and said seriously, “Of course it’s true! You’re super talented, super capable, really amazing!”

000: …

Xiao Zhen, you’ve been tricked! This cunning male lead is just trying to get you to praise him more!

Enjoying it, aren’t you, male lead?