TMLSG -Chapter 35 The Group’s “Precious One”

Ren Yanjing won two first places in a row, completely defeating Zhang Ziyu. Zhang Mian and the others cheered as they rushed to the side of the swimming pool.

Shen Quanli didn’t forget to turn back and call Tang Zhen, “Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, come over quickly!”

Ren Yanjing climbed out of the pool, water droplets streaming down his body. Zhang Mian and the other good brothers immediately handed him a towel and draped the extra one over his broad shoulders.

“Captain, you beat a professional swimmer!”

“Captain, you really can’t tell from looking at you—your stamina is amazing.”

Ren Yanjing took the bath towel and casually wiped himself off. Then he went into the individual shower room and quickly took a hot shower. By the time he changed his clothes and came out, Zhang Ziyu’s group had already slipped away in embarrassment.

Shen Quanli waved at him. “Captain, come take a group photo!”

Zhang Mian joked with a grin, “This is the victory results screen.”

Ren Yanjing’s hair was still wet. Surrounded by the group in the center, he stood with Tang Zhen still at his side, his arm around her shoulders.

It was the same group from the morning.

Including Tang Zhen, there were thirteen people in total.

Shen Quanli was still the one taking the photo.

He raised his head high, holding the phone so that all twelve youthful and carefree faces behind him were captured in the frame.

Click.

The phone camera captured the second group photo of the day.

Shen Quanli excitedly posted it on his Moments with the caption: “Total victory!”

Ren Yanjing defeating Zhang Ziyu from the Sports Institute quickly spread around.

Shen Quanli was young and hot-blooded and terrible at keeping secrets. As soon as he posted on Moments that night, many people had already guessed what had happened.

Besides, although it was late at the time, there were still people who had seen the two groups enter the swimming hall, so the private competition between Ren Yanjing and Zhang Ziyu couldn’t be hidden.

Moreover, Ren Yanjing’s side had no intention of hiding it.

They were the absolute victors. Shen Quanli wished the entire school would know about it.

Someone who loved gossip combined the two photos Shen Quanli had posted that day and uploaded them to various social platforms with the caption:

“I really love your group photos. They look so good and fun. Please post more!”

Soon, the two photos were reposted countless times.

By the time Ren Yanjing and the others found out, the repost count had already reached several million.

Ren Yanjing had no intention of being so high-profile. He told Shen Quanli to hide the Moments post and contacted the person who first reposted it, asking them to set it to private.

However, the photos had already spread everywhere.

Anyone who should see them—or shouldn’t—had basically seen them.

Because there were simply too many reposts to delete completely, even Tang Zhen saw many comments.

【12 boys and 1 girl. That girl must be the group’s precious one.】

【So jealous! A single flower among a sea of green.】

【Isn’t the girl the one from the Media Arts School who was holding the class sign? I remember her.】

【Yes, it’s her! With such a beautiful face, it’s hard not to remember!】

When Tang Zhen saw the phrase “group’s precious one,” she was slightly stunned.

Wasn’t that supposed to be the heroine’s title?

How had it ended up on her now?

But she didn’t think too much about it.

After all, she had been carefully completing every task given to her lately without missing any, so the storyline shouldn’t have any major problems.

When Tang Zhen saw the photos, Li Ran and Lu Yu saw them as well.

In the photos, the boys and girl were smiling brightly.

The smiles were so bright they almost hurt to look at.

Li Ran murmured, “A-Yu… seeing how happy they look makes me feel so sad.”

Sad enough that her heart felt like it was about to shatter.

Lu Yu quickly comforted her. “It’s okay, it’s okay. Couples always look sweet on the surface, but aside from the two of them, who knows how good Ren Yanjing and Tang Zhen’s relationship really is in private?”

The more Lu Yu spoke, the more convinced she became by her own analysis. She had known Li Ran for over ten years and had known Ren Yanjing for more than four years.

During those four years, she had roughly figured out what kind of person Ren Yanjing was.

“Ren Yanjing has strong principles. He doesn’t like his rhythm being disrupted, and he hates people who drag him down the most.”

“But Tang Zhen has already dragged him down more than once.”

“I suspect Ren Yanjing is already very impatient with her.”

“A-Ran, look at the photos. Ren Yanjing’s smile is very faint. You can’t see any love for Tang Zhen at all, right?”

Li Ran studied the two photos carefully and successfully convinced herself.

“There really isn’t any love in his eyes.”

“Tang Zhen… isn’t that special after all.”

On Sunday morning, Tang Zhen received a call from her mother.

On the phone, Mrs. Tang asked her to come home for lunch.

Tang Zhen hesitated. “But… I already made plans with a friend…”

As early as Tuesday, she had already agreed with Ren Yanjing that they would go skiing today.

Mrs. Tang didn’t take it seriously. “What friend? Can a friend be more important than family?”

Tang Zhen said helplessly, “Mom, I really made plans with him a long time ago.”

Mrs. Tang replied, “Your older brother will come pick you up soon. Come home for lunch, and then go to B University with your brother in the afternoon.”

Tang Zhen asked in confusion, “What are we going to B University for?”

“Your brother will give a lecture at B University at six this evening, sharing his entrepreneurial experience. Go support him.”

Did Zhou Xusi really need her support?

“Mom, I really don’t have time.”

“Then it’s settled.” After saying that, Mrs. Tang hung up directly.

Tang Zhen held the phone and stayed silent for a long time.

So long that even 000 couldn’t help asking:

【Xiao Zhen, are you going to stand the male lead up?】

Tang Zhen shook her head.

“First come, first served. He invited me so long ago. How could I stand him up?”

If her mother had an emergency, that would be another matter. But something like going home for a meal could happen anytime.

Tang Zhen simply took out her phone and sent Zhou Xusi a message.

【Big Brother, I have something to do today, so I won’t be coming home for lunch.】

Zhou Xusi replied very quickly.

【What is it?】

Tang Zhen: …

How come she remembered that the male supporting character wasn’t the type to dig into things like this?

【Anyway, I’m not coming home today. You don’t need to come pick me up.】

Zhou Xusi replied:

【Going out with your boyfriend?】

Eh???

Why did her big brother’s tone… sound a little strange?

Her older brother didn’t seem like the type of person who would ask that kind of question.

Had Zhou Xusi seen the group photo circulating online?

Or had he seen the video of Ren Yanjing and the others cheering for her?

For some reason, from those simple seven words, 000 sensed a faint hint of a Shura field in the air.

No… that must be an illusion!

The male supporting character had always looked down on the daughter his stepmother brought into the family.

And he had never liked things or people that were overly beautiful. In his opinion, excessively beautiful things could easily bewitch a person’s mind.

So it must have sensed it wrong!

After Tang Zhen met up with Ren Yanjing, the phone in her bag kept ringing without stopping.

It was her mother calling—probably urging her to go home.

At first she just waited for the calls to hang up automatically, but when they kept coming endlessly, she simply turned off the vibration.

Ren Yanjing noticed. “Why aren’t you answering?”

Tang Zhen bit her lip. “My mom asked me to go home. I refused.”

“So it’s Auntie.” Ren Yanjing recalled the time Tang Zhen had secretly slipped out of the house. “Last time it was too late, so I didn’t get the chance to properly visit her.”

Tang Zhen had no intention of letting Ren Yanjing meet her mother, so she casually replied, “Maybe next time.”

Ren Yanjing didn’t ask why Mrs. Tang insisted on her going home. Zhou Xusi had a lecture at six this afternoon—perhaps that call was related to Zhou Xusi in the first place.

He took an exquisite box out of his pocket.

“A gift.”

Tang Zhen blinked in confusion. “Is today some kind of holiday?”

As far as she knew, today was just an ordinary Sunday.

Ren Yanjing asked in return, “Do I need to pick a special day to give my baby a gift?”

000: 【Ahhhhh!】

As the atmosphere team, the system was definitely doing its job well.

Tang Zhen reached out and took it.

When she opened the box, she discovered a pair of luxury-brand clip-on earrings. Under the sunlight they sparkled brilliantly—bright and beautiful.

“I’ll help you put them on.”

Most of the time Tang Zhen wore her hair loose behind her back. Yesterday, when she was holding the class sign at the school sports meet, he had noticed that she wore very few accessories. Aside from the bracelet he had given her earlier, she had nothing else.

She looked too plain.

Ren Yanjing fastened the earrings onto her earlobes. During the process, his fingers inevitably brushed against them.

He couldn’t resist pinching them.

So soft.

He pinched them several more times.

Tang Zhen turned her head away to avoid him, both embarrassed and annoyed.

“Ren Yanjing! Stop pinching my ears!”

It was really ticklish!

Ren Yanjing chuckled and withdrew his hand.

Her earlobes were small, pale with a faint blush. After putting on the delicate gemstone earrings, she looked even more refined and beautiful.

After helping Tang Zhen put them on, Ren Yanjing took out another box.

“Baby, help me put mine on.”

He had bought two pairs—a couple set. His was made of obsidian, while Tang Zhen’s was ruby.

Ren Yanjing said meaningfully, “You can pinch mine as much as you want.”

000: 【Ahhhhh! Pinch him! You have to pinch him!】

【Xiao Zhen, if you don’t pinch now, you’ll miss your chance!】

Tang Zhen: …

She asked Ren Yanjing to lower his head. He slightly bent down, leaning closer to her shoulder so it would be easier for her to put it on.

Tang Zhen took out one earring and attached it to his earlobe.

She wasn’t that bored—there was no reason to deliberately pinch his ear.

Since Tang Zhen didn’t pinch him, Ren Yanjing actually felt a bit dissatisfied.

000 was also disappointed.

Such a good opportunity—who knew when the next one would come!

After all, these kinds of everyday couple moments were one less day every time they passed.

Meanwhile, Tang Zhen was thinking about what gift she should give in return.

She had already received two gifts from Ren Yanjing, yet she had never given him anything.

But Ren Yanjing’s birthday was next year.

By then, she would have already exited the stage.

Still, giving a gift didn’t really require a special occasion. When she got back, she would carefully prepare one for him. And when they broke up later, she would prepare a breakup gift as well.

Ren Yanjing didn’t drive his sports car today. Instead, he came riding a Ducati motorcycle.

The bike wasn’t his either—it belonged to his cousin.

His cousin had seen the videos and photos online and shared them in the family group chat, which meant the entire family now knew about it.

From yesterday until now, the family chat hadn’t stopped buzzing.

It hadn’t even been this lively during the New Year.

The commotion was so great that it even drew out his workaholic grandfather.

The old man rarely used WeChat and almost never read group chats.

But this time, for some reason, he unexpectedly appeared and replied with just two words: “Not bad.”

That alone shocked everyone.

There were more than a hundred members in the family group.

In other words, his relationship was now being watched by the entire family—cheering, teasing, and offering advice.

After learning that he had a date with Tang Zhen today, his cousin even offered to lend him the Ducati.

Ren Yanfu’s original words were:

“If you ride a motorcycle, you and my sister-in-law can sit closer.”

So today Ren Yanjing deliberately wore a motorcycle outfit. Early in the morning, he even had the family hairstylist style his hair, revealing his smooth, full forehead—giving him a sharper, more striking handsomeness than usual.

He handed a women’s helmet to Tang Zhen. After watching her put it on, he put on his own.

“Hold onto me tightly later.”

Tang Zhen was thinking.

Did this scene exist in the original story?

It seemed like it didn’t. In fact, in the original story, when his cousin invited him to try riding a motorcycle, he had refused.

The reason was simple—he didn’t like it.

The plot had really changed a lot.

Tang Zhen couldn’t help asking, “Sanquan, are you sure there won’t be a problem?”

000 answered confidently:【There definitely won’t be! This bike isn’t the male lead’s—it’s borrowed. He probably just got a sudden urge and wanted to take you for a ride.】

000 sounded so certain that Tang Zhen didn’t think about it further.

After getting on the bike, she leaned against Ren Yanjing’s back and wrapped her arms around his waist.

Under his helmet, the corners of Ren Yanjing’s lips lifted slightly.

The feeling of being completely relied upon like this… wasn’t bad.

Ren Yanjing rarely rode motorcycles. But since his cousin loved them, he had tried riding twice before. After those two times, whenever his cousin invited him again, he always refused.

So he wasn’t exactly a beginner, but he wasn’t experienced either.

Therefore, even though he was riding a flashy Ducati, his speed was only 30 km/h.

Small electric scooters kept zipping past them one after another. Occasionally some riders even turned their heads to look at them.

Riding such a high-profile motorcycle but going at this speed?

They might as well go home and ride a little electric scooter instead.

Ren Yanjing naturally noticed the curious and mocking looks from passersby.

But he didn’t care.

Speed was never the important thing.

What mattered was the process of riding the motorcycle itself.

By the time Tang Zhen and Ren Yanjing arrived at the ski resort, it was already an hour and a half later.

When they were about to change into their ski suits, Tang Zhen noticed two young men nearby repeatedly glancing at them.

Could they be fans?

It turned out they weren’t fans at all—they were Ren Yanjing’s younger cousin and fifth younger cousin.

The older cousin had already finished his master’s degree and was working in the family business. The younger cousin was the same age as Tang Zhen and a freshman at a Top-2 university.

Ren Yanfu walked over familiarly and greeted them.

“So you’re my sister-in-law? I’ve heard a lot about you.”

The younger cousin also greeted her warmly.

“Hello, sister-in-law. You’re really beautiful.”

From the photos alone, they had already known Tang Zhen was pretty.

But they hadn’t expected the real person to be a hundred times—no, a thousand times—more beautiful than in the photos.

When looking at the pictures, they had only thought she was pretty—just pretty.

But seeing her in person, the impact of her top-tier beauty hit them directly. All doubts instantly disappeared, leaving only admiration for her looks.

Ren Yanfu couldn’t help complaining inwardly:

No wonder Ren Yanjing had never dated before.

Turns out his standards were this high.

With Tang Zhen’s level of beauty, there really wasn’t anyone around who could compare.