Chapter 38

Su Momo was immersed in the vanity brought by the photos, completely unaware that a backlash was imminent.
Tao Shushu, on the other hand, went about her routine normally, eating meals and attending competition training.
Over the past few days, Li Xin had covered all the extended knowledge points for the competition, and Tao Shushu was so absorbed that she even dreamed of formulas and theorems.
Fortunately, the experimental training segment was about to begin soon.
Li Xin announced that the next day’s competition training would be moved to the laboratory.
The students couldn’t help but cheer. Although experiments weren’t easy either, they were finally free from having to solve a set of brain-cell-killing competition problems every night and no longer had to rack their brains studying university physics. That alone was worth celebrating.
Tao Shushu was also swept up in the mood and let out a soft laugh. She had been scoring almost perfect marks on the problem sets and had already collected all the gold coins available from the study tasks. Now, she could earn even more rewards during the experimental segment.
After Li Xin dismissed the class, Tao Shushu was held back by classmates wanting to borrow her notes, delaying her for over ten minutes.
By the time she left the classroom, there were only ten minutes left before the English drama rehearsal was set to begin.
Tao Shushu dashed toward the auditorium.
Fang Le, the class culture and arts committee member, was incredibly efficient. She had requested to borrow the auditorium to test the play’s effects and managed to secure it that very day.
The allocated time slot was from 21:30 to 22:30 p.m., just half an hour after Tao Shushu finished her training class.
She finally made it to the auditorium entrance, only for a car to pull up beside her.
The man in the suit who had approached her before appeared once again. "Miss Tao, I intended to give you a ride, but you ran too fast."
Tao Shushu scoffed. Could four wheels really not outrun her two legs?
"Whatever you want, I’m not agreeing to it," she retorted, not bothering with pleasantries.
"Miss Tao, don’t you want to hear the terms?" The man in black opened his briefcase and began rummaging through it. "Why go through all the trouble of polishing your resume? Instead of participating in a physics competition you might not even win, just nod your head. Whether it’s fame or…"
"Is it really that much trouble? I don’t think so. I’m picking it up effortlessly, aren’t I?" Tao Shushu shook her head. "Oh, right, my talent just happens to lie in this area. Tell whoever sent you to save their breath."
She shot a disgusted glance into the car before turning and entering the auditorium.
She had been worried that her delay would disrupt the rehearsal progress, but upon entering, she found that not only had it not started, but the scene inside was chaotic.
On the stage, Su Momo was playing the piano as if no one else were around, while a group of mesmerized classmates, mostly members of the student union’s entertainment department, stood by the stage, looking entranced.
Fang Le was in the middle of a confrontation. "Our class reserved the auditorium for this time slot. It’s our turn to use it now. Please step aside."
"What’s the harm in waiting a bit? Su Momo has finally found her inspiration, and this is crucial for the school anniversary performance," a boy argued.
"We’re also performing at the school anniversary. Besides, did she have to wait until we came in and were about to rehearse to find her inspiration?" Fang Le’s voice cracked with frustration.
On stage, Su Momo smiled gently, seemingly oblivious to the argument unfolding beneath the cover of the piano music.
"Can your class’s performance even compare to Su Momo’s? Stop making so much noise, you’re disturbing her creative process," the boy said, his gaze fixated adoringly on the stage. He even pushed Fang Le aside for blocking his view.
At that, the students from Class One erupted in anger.
Tao Shushu rushed over and stood by Fang Le’s side.
She called out to her system, [Use the Primary Clarity Card.]
[There are many people here, and they’re deeply affected by the female lead’s intelligence-dampening aura. You’ll need multiple cards…]
["As long as it works, use as many as you need."] Tao Shushu’s face was cold. She remembered from the original book that Su Momo had suffered greatly while living away from home. Her childhood circumstances hadn’t allowed her to learn the piano, and now, having only been back for a month, it was obvious how she had acquired her playing and composition skills.
After confirming that Fang Le was okay, Tao Shushu learned the details from the Class One students, by 21:30 p.m., Class One had already prepared, but Su Momo refused to get up from the piano and kept playing. After waiting for five minutes, Fang Le went to reason with her, and Su Momo suddenly started playing the piano again, which led to an argument.
Tao Shushu hoisted Class One’s prop, a large potted tree, onto the stage.
"Shushu, let me handle that," a boy from Class One quickly offered upon seeing this.
Tao Shushu shook her head easily. "It’s fine, it’s not heavy."
She deliberately brushed past Su Momo’s audience, and with the combination of the high-level Primary Clarity Card and the distraction caused by dodging the branches, many audience members began to snap out of it.
Tao Shushu finally reached the stage and stood beside the piano, tapping it lightly with her knuckles.
Su Momo had been on guard since Tao Shushu entered, and seeing her confrontational stance, Su Momo secretly rejoiced.
"Excuse me, is there something you need?" Su Momo looked up with an innocent expression, feigning confusion.
But Tao Shushu wasn’t buying it. She chuckled and said, "Su Momo, the auditorium is reserved for Class One from 21:30 to 22:30 p.m."
"Really?" Su Momo blinked innocently. "I’m sorry, I was so caught up in my inspiration that I didn’t notice."
"The time is displayed on the large screen in front of you, the school bell rings at nine, and our classmates have already reminded you. I’m not sure if you need to see an ophthalmologist, an ENT specialist, or get your H-zone central system checked."
Su Momo didn’t fully understand what Tao Shushu meant, but she could tell from the first part that Tao Shushu was bluntly calling her sick.
She hadn’t expected Tao Shushu to be so bold, and her expression stiffened momentarily.
Then, a flash went off below.
Fang Le was holding her phone. "Shushu is so cool."
Su Momo paused. "I just really want to make the school celebration performance perfect. The Arts Department has too many programs, and I need to perform the grand finale on the piano, so…"
"So, you’re saying you must stay on stage and refuse to give it up, right?" Tao Shushu asked.
"No, I…"
"Alright then, I get it. You had no inspiration from 19 p.m. until now, and it only surged after 21:30 p.m., when our entire class was waiting below the stage," Tao Shushu said.
Su Momo bit her lip and said pitifully, "But inspiration is…"
"Su Momo, the auditorium is reserved for Class One from 21:30 to 22:30 p.m. You were supposed to leave by 21:20 p.m., but you waited until 21:35 p.m. to start your passionate creation. It seems you neither understand your classmates’ reminders nor the clear auditorium reservation rules. You’d better get both your V-zone and H-zone central systems checked," Tao Shushu said coldly.
Su Momo: "I... I didn't realize I was disturbing you..."
"Area V cortex relates to reading comprehension, Area H cortex determines speech perception. If Miss Su Momo doesn't know how to explain this, I'll translate for you." Tao Shushu shrugged.
By the stage, those who had been listening to Su Momo with rapt attention suddenly snapped back to reality. Indeed, the school auditorium had scheduled time slots, their group should have left by 21:20, and staying until 21:30 was already pushing it. Nobody understood why they were still using the auditorium at 21:35 today.
Moreover, they had said such harsh words to Class One, making them appear like student council members throwing their weight around.
Several more sensitive individuals had already blushed with embarrassment.
"Momo, let's get up. We should gather our things - it's Class One's turn now," said the Arts Department president
"Yes, Momo, we should have left over ten minutes ago."
"Class One, we're truly sorry for delaying your auditorium time."
Su Momo sat rigidly on the piano bench, feeling flustered under her classmates' reproachful gazes. What was happening? Shouldn't they be angry at Tao Shushu for interrupting her heavenly performance? Why were they all criticizing her for being unreasonable?
Tao Shushu tapped the piano again. "What, Su Momo still planning to linger here?"
Su Momo gritted her teeth. Tao Shushu's words were too harsh - she merely wanted to create better music, how could she be described as "lingering"?
"I..." Su Momo stood up, teeth clenched.
But before she could speak, two quick-witted classmates had already pushed the piano bench back and began restoring the stage.
The Arts Department president scratched his head, still unable to understand how he could have acted this way. "We're really sorry - we've already delayed you for over twenty minutes today. Since we've reserved tomorrow evening's slot, you can use our time tomorrow."
Tao Shushu looked toward Fang Le, and seeing her nod, said: "Acceptable. However, your person pushed Fang Le earlier - an apology is necessary."
The one who had pushed Fang Le was Zhang Zhou, also from the Arts and Entertainment council. Already infatuated with Su Momo, he had been single-mindedly focused on protecting his beloved girl.
Now coming to his senses, Zhang Zhou realized his earlier behavior had been too rough, and they were clearly in the wrong here.
Just as he was about to say something, he saw Su Momo gazing toward them with tearful eyes, instantly reigniting his heroic fervor. Stiffening his neck, he retorted: "She's the one who started shouting first!"
Tao Shushu cast a cold glance at Zhang Zhou, then turned to lift a two-meter-tall potted plant and thumped it heavily on the ground.
Zhang Zhou flinched, but thinking of his beloved goddess being criticized by so many, his heroic determination to save the damsel in distress only grew stronger. "What of it? The Art Department has multiple programs, which are obviously more important than one class's minor performance. If you hadn't come to reserve the auditorium, none of this would have happened!"
Tao Shushu cracked her knuckles and walked toward the Class One group.
Zhang Zhou shrank back. "What are you trying to do? Start a fight?"
He suddenly threw a punch. "I'm not afraid of you!"
"Ouch!" Tao Shushu pretended to dodge too slowly, stumbling slightly. "No need for physical contact, alright?"
But her foot happened to accidentally step on Zhang Zhou's foot.
Zhang Zhou immediately gasped in pain.
"Zhang Zhou, have you had enough?" the Arts Department president scolded.
"I..." Zhang Zhou was in too much pain to speak. If it weren't for trying to maintain his dignity in front of the girl he liked, he would have already crouched down to hold his foot.
"Alright, quickly apologize to Tao Shushu as well."
Zhang Zhou groaned and moaned, about to accuse Tao Shushu of stepping on him, when he saw her holding her head.
"You..." Zhang Zhou's eyes widened in disbelief. What was Tao Shushu doing?
"Can't you be more mature? Tao Shushu was just moving props, and you threw a punch at her,"
Zhang Zhou felt wronged. He clearly hadn't even touched Tao Shushu and had instead been stepped on hard by her, but he couldn't speak.
Tao Shushu rubbed her head. "Let me apologize first. I'm sorry, I lost my balance while dodging Zhang's punch and ended up stepping on his foot. My apologies."
"It's fine, it's fine," The Arts Department president said. "Shushu, you're such a slender girl. How much force could a step from you possibly have?"
Zhang Zhou was at a loss for words. He couldn't just take off his shoe right there to show everyone his foot. To make matters worse, he was wearing dark-colored sneakers, and there wasn't even a mark on them.
"Do you need to see a doctor, Zhang Zhou? I'll cover the medical expenses," Tao Shushu said with a smile.
The Arts Department president gave the useless Zhang Zhou a slap. "He's not that fragile. Zhang Zhou, aren't you embarrassed enough? Starting today, you're out of the student council. Don't wait for us to expel you."
Zhang Zhou's face stiffened. "I'm sorry."
Tao Shushu didn't respond, ignoring the grim-faced Zhang Zhou as she walked away.
Fang Le, however, was delighted. "It's fine. I think Zhang Zhou could join the drama club. Your expression right now is really amusing. I was testing the equipment earlier and recorded the whole thing. If you want to join the drama club, Zhang, you can come to me for the recording."
Su Momo froze. Did that mean her embarrassing moment had been recorded too?


Author's Note:
Sorry, I was working overtime yesterday. This silly author wanted to edit the leave request but accidentally canceled it and couldn't add it back.
Today, I'll send small red envelopes to all comments as an apology, mwah mwah mwah. I'll also update on time from now on.