Chapter 35

Tao Shushu put some thought into crafting a story about a devoted senior outsmarting a campus bully to help a junior girl escape his clutches, then posted it on the school forum.
Lately, the trending ship on the forum was Wang Tianba x Su Momo, he, arrogant and untamed; she, sweet and gentle; she flees, he pursues, leaving her with no escape. One of the involved parties, Wang Tianba, openly declared his claim, while Su Momo often hurried to his house right after school. Everyone tacitly accepted they were together.
As the female lead, Su Momo was naturally the center of attention, anything with her name attached spread explosively. So, Tao Shushu’s story made a bit of a splash, though it was mostly the shippers who were angry.
Tao Shushu wasn’t in a hurry; fires need to be stoked gradually.
After posting the story, she shared a picture of Su Momo wearing a crown, deliberately linking her to the idea of a "princess."
The original photo was taken during Su Momo’s rehearsal for the school festival performance. The lighting was poor, so it wasn’t particularly stunning, but after Tao Shushu’s skillful editing, the photo took on a gentle atmosphere, truly resembling a princess descending to the mortal world.
After finishing all this, Tao Shushu was exhausted. Battling the female lead and her admirers was more draining than solving math problems.
Sighing, she logged into the game to recharge by spending time with her "cub."
It was also late at night in Nan Yuan, but everyone in the base was still full of energy, busy producing energy and crafting Bloodsucking Grass fibers.
Watching them, Tao Shushu felt her mood settle. Even her cub in the post-apocalyptic world was working so hard. She had been coasting comfortably for years, as long as she studied hard, she could overcome the female lead’s dumb-down aura. She could still strive!
She poked Nan Yuan. "Cub, let’s finish making the clothes."
Recently, through her studies, Tao Shushu had saved up over 200 gold coins. Making one piece of clothing cost 5 coins, and with just over thirty people in the base, it was more than enough.
Nan Yuan and Tao Shushu walked to the warehouse storing the fiber materials, with Tao Shushu ruffling Nan Yuan’s hair the whole way.
At the warehouse, Tao Shushu clicked to start production, and the fibers began moving on their own.
Nan Yuan smoothed his hair and asked, "Shushu, are you tired today?"
Tao Shushu replied, "How did you know, cub?"
Nan Yuan chuckled softly. "If you’re unhappy, you can keep ruffling my hair."
"No need." Tao Shushu withdrew her hand a bit sheepishly. After all, her cub was already a grown "big kid."
"Here, this is for you." Nan Yuan walked to the corner and brought out a doll.
It was a small doll made from Bloodsucking Grass fiber, with a base of snow-white, thick gloves holding up a boy and a lion.
The lion’s fur was dyed yellow, while the boy’s hair and clothes were black, and he also wore a pair of gloves on his hands.
This wasn't the first time Tao Shushu had received a gift from her cub. Though the environment was harsh, Nan Yuan always found ways to give her little trinkets, fireworks before, and this time, a doll.
As if to make it easier for her to observe, Nan Yuan held the doll up with both hands. It was clear the doll resembled him.
Tao Shushu smiled. "Cub, you cut your hair too short this time."
She poked the doll. "It should be the same length as his."
"Okay." Nan Yuan nodded, rubbing the doll's head. "This length does feel nice to the touch."
Tao Shushu suddenly felt that life being a bit exhausting wasn't so bad after all. No matter what, her cub would always let her ruffle his hair to vent her emotions.
The more Tao Shushu looked at the doll, the more she liked it.
She asked, "Cub, how much fiber did it take to make such thick gloves? There are quite a few people in the base, is there enough fiber material?"
"The softness and hardness of the Bloodsucking Grass fiber depend on the state of its stems and leaves when collected. I gathered and separated these myself according to the texture I wanted, so it doesn't affect the overall progress," Nan Yuan explained. "The doll's frame is also made from harder fiber. Bloodsucking grass is very useful."
Tao Shushu felt reassured.
As she poked the thick gloves, she suddenly heard her cub ask, "Shushu, is it cold where you are?"
Afraid she might be cold, even though he knew she couldn't wear them, he had still knitted her thick gloves.
"Not really cold," Tao Shushu replied. Suddenly, she remembered the drastic temperature differences on the barren planet. At night, the Bloodsucking Grass contracted to its limit, and its fibers became the hardest. So, had her cub gone out alone in the cold night to collect the fibers?
Tao Shushu felt both heartache and joy.
She quickly checked on her cub, thankfully, he wasn't injured. "Cub, you mustn't sneak out alone at night. It's too dangerous."
After giving her warning, Tao Shushu patted her chest.
Oh my heavens!
Her cub was just too sweet!
Going out of his way to gather materials and make gloves for his mom, who could resist that?
Tao Shushu immediately opened the system shop and bought several bottles of Health Potions. "Cub, take these with you."
"Okay." Nan Yuan accepted them. "Do you like this color, Shushu? I also prepared clothes in other colors for the doll and the lion."
Nan Yuan brought out the tailored clothes and colorful lion fur.
Tao Shushu noticed that today, her cub was wearing the same black outfit as the doll.
"I love it so much!" Tao Shushu said. "Cub, I'll work hard to save up gold coins and buy you clothes in many colors. Then you and the model doll can always wear matching outfits."
Double the joy of having a miraculous cub, soon to be achieved.
Hearing Tao Shushu's words, Nan Yuan nodded. "Sure."
Just then, all the clothes were finished.
Tao Shushu inspected them, they were all sturdy.
A system notification popped up: [Congratulations! You have crafted sufficient clothing for all 37 members of the base. Reward obtained: Gold Coins ×500, Primary Clarity Card ×3.]
Tao Shushu instantly felt like a little rich lady. She wanted to immediately outfit her cub with six or seven sets of clothes, but remembering they would soon leave the barren planet and not knowing what awaited them outside, she decided it was wiser to save some gold coins for emergencies.
"Cub, let's distribute the clothes to everyone together," Tao Shushu said. She loved seeing everyone gather and share in the joy.
"Mm."
Nan Yuan called out.
Soon, everyone gathered in the room.
Cheng Feimao was the fastest to rush over. Gazing at the rows of clothing, he clicked his tongue in amazement, "Brother Nan Yuan, you made these clothes so quickly, you're truly incredible."
Everyone had tried making things by hand before, but without proper machinery and with the Bloodsucking Grass fibers being so tough, crafting even one garment was exhausting work.
Cheng Feimao ran his fingers over the fine stitching and praised, "This is amazing. Only pre-apocalypse garment factories could achieve this level of quality."
Nan Yuan glanced at the clothes but didn't respond.
Though the others weren't as quick as Cheng Feimao, they were equally astonished when they saw the sheer number of garments.
Some were even moved to tears on the spot.
The joyful crowd looked eagerly at the clothes, yet no one rushed to touch them. Instead, they all gazed at Nan Yuan with deep respect.
Standing at the center of everyone's attention, Nan Yuan said, "With these clothes, each of us can improve our defenses. We will all survive well."
He began distributing the garments, but each time he handed one out, he made a small mark on it.
Cheng Feimao asked, "What does 'Shu' mean? But this clothing really is comfortable, it feels as soft as intimate wear, yet it's sturdy."
"It's a technique given by a very good person," Nan Yuan replied.
As he spoke, the corners of his eyebrows lifted slightly, carrying a lightness he himself hadn't noticed.
Cheng Feimao scratched his head. Anyone who could make Nan Yuan this relaxed must share a deep bond with him, yet Nan Yuan was alone now.
Sensing it was best not to pry further, Cheng Feimao praised, "Brother Nan Yuan, you're amazing. The craftsmanship is outstanding, truly brilliant."
Tao Shushu curved her lips into a smile, watching the room full of people cheerfully trying on the clothes, unable to resist stroking the fabric. Even though their hands weren't dirty, they wiped them several times before daring to accept the pristine white garments.
"Thank you, Boss Nan Yuan!" everyone chorused.
"And thanks to Boss Nan Yuan's friend for the technique," Cheng Feimao added, flattering.
Nan Yuan was in a good mood. "Before we leave, we'll make another batch of clothes and protective gear."
No one knew what the situation was like in the prosperous star systems now.
But they already had hope, a power source, food, defensive clothing, and a group of companions.
Things couldn't get any worse anyway.
Once the excited crowd had dispersed, Tao Shushu finally said, "Cub, you didn't have to mention me."
"But you've done so much. I didn't want you to go unnoticed," Nan Yuan said gently.
He wanted to ask if the gold coins were hard to save up, if obtaining things for his world was difficult, but Nan Yuan only curled his fingers slightly in his palm. "We will reach the technologically advanced star systems."
So advanced that she no longer needed to save up gold coins for basic tasks like crafting textile clothing.
Even more, he could break through barriers to see her.
Tao Shushu rubbed Nan Yuan’s head. Her little cub was so young, yet already knew how to care for his mama, what a good cub.
She thought for a moment and decided to spend 5 gold coins to create a small fiber doll.
"Look!" Tao Shushu tugged at Nan Yuan, urging him to look at the fiber doll.
Between the little boy and the lion cub, a little girl was added, a chibi-style doll with eyes curved like crescents from smiling, one hand tugging at the little boy’s clothes and the other pulling the lion cub’s ear.
"There! She’ll keep him company, and I’ll keep you company!" Tao Shushu said cheerfully.
Nan Yuan nodded, listening to the girl’s crisp voice as he stared intently at the chibi doll before him.
At that moment, the impression of her in his mind grew even more vivid.
She would have long hair like this, and when she smiled, her eyes would curve like crescent moons.
Nan Yuan curled his fingers slightly. "Shushu, I’ll take good care of it."
"Okay," Tao Shushu replied.
After bidding each other goodnight, Tao Shushu logged off and took out her homework to continue studying. Having spent some time with her cub, the frustration caused by the female lead’s provocations had completely vanished.
Tao Shushu was filled with fighting spirit.
If others could come for her, she could also take the initiative to deal with the female lead, starting by becoming an academic prodigy.
Nan Yuan, lying peacefully in bed, woke after only an hour of sleep and sat up. He glanced at the three fiber dolls nestled together by his pillow and smiled faintly.
Then, he walked to the spacecraft chamber and began planning his next moves.
He suddenly realized he was greedier and more impatient than he had thought.
But what he possessed was far too little.
He didn’t know what the situation outside was like, but better items could always be exchanged for better resources.
Only then could he find her faster.