TMLSG -Chapter 58 When Will We Break Up?

Tang Zhen heard clearly, but at the thought of the possible breakup ending for the two of them, she could only pretend she hadn’t heard.

Ren Yanjing didn’t speak either.

The wedding venue, which had cost a fortune, was surrounded by fresh flowers. The air was filled with the rich scent of various blooms mingling together.

Tang Zhen wore a shiny black strapless dress today, paired with a white fur coat. Originally, Ren Yanjing had planned to wear a royal blue suit this morning, but when he saw the color of her dress, he proactively changed back to black.

Tang Zhen held Ren Yanjing’s hand as they walked inside.

The venue was large. The bride and groom hadn’t arrived yet, but many guests were already present, with neatly dressed waitstaff weaving through the crowd.

One male waiter saw Tang Zhen and covered his mouth in disbelief. “Tang Zhen? You’re… Tang Zhen?”

Tang Zhen looked at the unfamiliar face and couldn’t recall his name.

111 reminded her, 【This is the original owner’s elementary school classmate, Yu Yu.】

Tang Zhen was slightly stunned. “Yes, that’s me.”

Yu Yu glanced at Tang Zhen, then at Ren Yanjing, his emotions complex. “You followed your mom and really made it big. I remember back when we were classmates, your family was poor—you could only afford five-cent steamed buns for breakfast every day.”

“Back then, we all thought you had a hard life.”

A father who wouldn’t bow for mere rice, a mother full of ambition, living in a run-down home.

And now?

He was working as a waiter here, a minor player at this high-society wedding, while someone who had once been so poor she could barely eat now appeared before him, shining and glamorous.

It highlighted just how big the gap between them had become.

Yu Yu’s colleague tugged at him, signaling to stop talking.

Yu Yu sighed. “Your dad still lives in that same little alley.”

The idealist father still pursued his art, messy and underfed.

The ex-wife had married into wealth with her only daughter.

They were no longer living in the same world.

After saying this, he didn’t wait for Tang Zhen’s reaction and followed his colleague away.

In just a short while, many people had overheard the conversation. But everyone wore the mask of decorum.

Everyone pretended nothing had happened.

If the supporting character had a wound she would never let anyone mention, it was undoubtedly her origins.

She had always been careful, never wanting others to know what kind of life she had lived.

Because that period had been so ungraceful.

Later in the story, her past was exposed. Coupled with her breakup with the male lead at that time, losing her emotional anchor, she had a car accident in a daze.

Before Tang Zhen could fully process it, the mission alert sounded again: 【Mission 24: Convince the male lead that the past was not as bad as it seemed.】

The supporting character was shallow, flashy, vain, and proud.

She had her dignity.

Even though she had a hard childhood, she didn’t want anyone to know. She didn’t need anyone’s pity.

She only wanted everyone to remember her glamorous side.

After becoming the supporting character, Tang Zhen occasionally recalled fragmented memories.

For the supporting character, it had been a dark chapter she never wanted to mention—but unexpectedly, Tang Zhen felt that period also had warm moments.

Ren Yanjing picked up a small, beautifully decorated cake from the table and asked, “Baby, want some?”

He thoughtfully didn’t bring up the earlier conversation.

Tang Zhen carefully considered this mission.

The mission seemed to be about making the male lead believe that she had lived well in the past, right?

In truth, she didn’t think those days were really miserable.

Tang Zhen took the cake. They happened to walk to a quieter area. She took a bite and said, “My dad is a painter—he does traditional Chinese painting. He didn’t make much money, but he would buy me candied hawthorns and roasted sweet potatoes.”

“In winter, he would even ride a tricycle to take me for walks.”

“We lived in a small alley. Back then, neighbors shared whatever good food they had with me.”

“Everyone took good care of me.”

“Actually, steamed buns were really tasty—sweet. Just one in the morning was enough to fill me up.”

“I had a pretty good life.”

Ren Yanjing pulled her into his arms, resting his chin on the top of her head. His voice was low, tinged with a kind of aching emotion. “I understand.”

Tang Zhen glanced at the mission prompt and saw it was still marked “Incomplete.”

What was going on?

111 explained, 【It’s probably because the male lead doesn’t believe you—he thinks you really had a hard life before.】

Tang Zhen pursed her lips, blinking as she continued, “You don’t believe me? Actually, my life was pretty good.”

Not bitter at all.

There were no dolls, no exquisite home, but there were candied hawthorns and roasted sweet potatoes.

Although Tang Zhen’s mother often argued with Tang Zhen’s father over money, her father had a good temper—he rarely spoke back, let alone fought.

He immersed himself in his art, spending sixteen out of twenty-four hours a day painting.

The rest of the time was for meals, sleep, and family.

To Tang Zhen, the candied hawthorns and roasted sweet potatoes were warm, comforting memories.

Ren Yanjing said, “I believe you.”

Liar.

Even though he said he believed her, the mission still hadn’t completed.

This was the first time Tang Zhen had encountered a mission she couldn’t finish.

111 was frustrated too.

【Xiao Zhen, see? Every mission is precious. The later missions get harder, so they may be more difficult to complete.】

Tang Zhen asked, “Then what should I do?”

111 replied, 【It’s okay. If a mission truly cannot be completed, it will refresh into a new mission later.】

Tang Zhen felt reassured.

Actually, she had expected from the start that there might be missions she couldn’t finish. Now that it had happened, it wasn’t a big deal.

She wasn’t some ace mission executor—she couldn’t possibly complete every task perfectly.

She had just finished a small piece of cake when her mother arrived, striding in on ten-centimeter-high heels.

Her mother didn’t look at Ren Yanjing, only at Tang Zhen, saying calmly, “I want to talk with my daughter. Could you give us some privacy?”

Ren Yanjing didn’t want to step aside, but it was a mother-daughter conversation—he had no reason to stay.

He said to Tang Zhen, “I’ll be nearby. Call me if you need anything.”

Throughout, her mother didn’t spare Ren Yanjing a single glance.

After he left, her mother’s face darkened. “I heard you ran into your elementary school classmate?”

In this circle, secrets couldn’t stay hidden.

No one would openly mock, but gossip traveled fast.

Tang Zhen replied, “Yes.”

Her mother glared and scolded Yu Yu harshly. “In a setting like this, what’s the meaning of bringing up the past? Just trying to annoy us, isn’t it?”

If that memory was a dark history for the supporting character, for Tang Zhen’s mother it was a lifetime of darkness she never wanted to recall.

It was her most impoverished, wretched period.

Her first husband—a dreamer, an idealist obsessed only with art, clueless about daily necessities—had left all the burdens of life on her alone.

And Yu Yu even mentioned him—what did he mean by that? Was he implying she had married for money?

Tang Zhen’s mother didn’t even want to think about that man.

She had endured the days of barely having enough to eat.

So, she had to secure her place as Mrs. Zhou.

She looked at Tang Zhen and said calmly, “When are you going to break up?”