Tang Zhen felt guilty.
She had nothing to do with the puppy—it was just an innocent little robot dog. Yet now it had to bark apologies at her.
It felt like a child being scolded unfairly.
Tang Zhen bent over, cupped her knees in her hands, letting her smooth hair fall to the side of her face, and whispered, “I’m sorry.”
Those three words were for the puppy. Even though it was just a machine.
Ren Yanjing cupped her face, frowning slightly. “Why are you crying?”
Tang Zhen hadn’t even realized she was crying.
000 timidly said, 【Zhen, what’s wrong? Is the mission too hard? It’s okay—the mission’s done. Next time, if it’s too tough, you can even skip it.】
A beauty in tears is still beautiful.
Especially Tang Zhen. A crystal tear slid down her pale little face, adding a fragile, broken charm—like a delicate doll that had been slightly damaged.
Ren Yanjing’s eyes deepened.
The teammates exchanged glances and instinctively left the lab to give them privacy. Zhang Mian even thoughtfully closed the lab door behind them.
Tang Zhen didn’t know why she felt sad.
Maybe it was the pressure of rushing through missions in this new world. Maybe it was the unfamiliarity of this world.
Of course, the most direct reason was that, to complete a mission, she had kicked an innocent robot dog.
And then the puppy had ended up apologizing to her.
She was supposed to act like the scheming, shallow, foolish second female lead—but she felt like she had failed completely.
She couldn’t do anything right.
Ren Yanjing brushed the tear off her cheek with his finger. “The puppy is a companion robot. In theory, no matter what happens, it should never cause any risk or trouble for its owner.”
“Even though it’s just a prototype, an apology is still owed. We can’t wait until it hits the market and buyers start complaining, can we?”
This was the first time Ren Yanjing had explained so much in one go.
Normally, he rarely spoke at such length, but at this moment, he broke his usual principle of brevity.
He waved at the puppy. “Come on, cheer up our baby.”
The puppy clattered forward on its mechanical legs, stepping right up to Tang Zhen. It nudged her legs gently with its head.
So obedient!
So smart!
And it’s just a prototype? How intelligent will the final version be?
Tang Zhen’s admiration for Ren Yanjing and his team grew even stronger.
They were truly amazing.
And so was the puppy.
【Ahhh! The male lead actually used a little robot dog to cheer you up!】
【Too sweet, too sweet!】
【Zhen, I’m melting from the cuteness!】
Tang Zhen: …
Outside the lab, Zhang Mian and the other teammates exchanged glances and whispered to each other.
“Sister-in-law really is beautiful.”
“She got hurt today… her hand too.”
“The puppy’s algorithm still needs work—it shouldn’t have made that mistake.”
“Speaking of which, sister-in-law helped us a lot just now.”
Shen Quanli grinned mischievously. “So, what do you think Ren Ge and sister-in-law were doing inside?” He wiggled his eyebrows toward the lab, a cheeky smile on his face.
Zhang Mian leaned against the wall, hands in his pockets, and smiled. “This is a lab. Our captain has self-control. Do you really think he’d do anything inappropriate?”
It was just playful teasing. They trusted Ren Yanjing’s character completely.
The lab had cameras, and Ren Yanjing was always responsible and well-mannered—no inappropriate actions here.
While they joked, a female voice suddenly rang out nearby.
“Hello, is this the Future team?”
Zhang Mian and the others instinctively looked up toward the voice.
Two girls stood there, both delicate-looking, and one had striking icy-blue hair.
Zhang Mian stepped forward from the team. “Yes. Can I help you?”
Li Ran’s eyes swept over them, but she didn’t see the face she wanted. She glanced around. “Is your captain here?”
Shen Quanli blurted out nervously, “The captain’s busy with his girlfriend. You can just tell us whatever you wanted to say.”
Li Ran almost lost her smile.
After spending so much time together today, Tang Zhen still hadn’t returned to her school?
She had forgotten that her friend also hadn’t returned yet.
Li Ran paused, then said, “Is your lab looking for new members?”
The group froze. They hadn’t announced any openings.
Li Ran smiled politely. “Let me introduce myself. I’m Li Ran, a sophomore in electronic engineering. I ranked first in my professional courses for the last two semesters.”
Whoa—a genius.
Being first at B University was no small feat.
But—
“Sorry, we’re not recruiting.”
Li Ran’s companion couldn’t hold back. “You’re turning away such a talented girl? That’s so short-sighted!”
Zhang Mian, calm as ever, didn’t take offense. “Most of our members are male. Bringing in a female abruptly might not be suitable. And currently, we simply aren’t recruiting.”
Li Ran’s hand tightened slightly. “I want to speak to your captain.”
Shen Quanli grew impatient. “Talking to our captain won’t help. He’s not a tyrant; he listens to our opinions.”
Zhang Mian smiled. “Look, once we recruit, we’ll post it online. If you’re interested, keep an eye out.”
A polite rejection.
Li Ran, used to being top of her class and admired, had never been turned away. Proud and high-spirited, this was the first time she had asked to join a team. Being rejected, she couldn’t stay any longer and left immediately.
Lu Yu sneered at Zhang Mian and the others. “I’ll be waiting for the day when you’re begging for my friend to join your team!”
After they left, Shen Quanli laughed in disbelief. “I admit that Li Ran is talented—but begging for her to join? That’s unnecessary.”
The other teammates chimed in with their thoughts.
Shen Quanli glanced at Zhang Mian. “Old Zhang, why so quiet?”
Zhang Mian looked thoughtful. “I was thinking… that icy-blue-haired girl… could she be Lu Yu?”
“What? Lu Yu?”
“The one who came to warn sister-in-law?”
“I laughed—I think that’s her!”
“She’s energetic and fierce.”
“Good thing our team isn’t recruiting; otherwise, we’d be in trouble.”
Although Li Ran and Lu Yu had left, Zhang Mian knew this wasn’t over.
Li Ran probably wouldn’t give up so easily.
Half an hour later, the lab door opened.
Everyone except Zhang Mian had gone to the library to study.
Zhang Mian glanced at Ren Yanjing, then at Tang Zhen, mouthing silently, “All cheered up?”
Ren Yanjing nodded.
Companion robots were naturally good at cheering up girls.
Looks like their future applications would be broad—not just for autistic children or lonely elders, but even little girls.
Zhang Mian patted his forehead. “Earlier, someone came by asking if we were recruiting.”
Before Ren Yanjing could answer, 000 spoke inside Tang Zhen’s mind: 【It’s the female lead! In the original plot, the male lead invited her to join later, but now she came on her own!】
Tang Zhen blinked, a little surprised.
Looks like the plot has already changed quite a bit.
No worries—Sanquan said it herself: as long as the main storyline doesn’t change, it’s fine. x