Chapter 62

Tao Shushu knew Wang Tianba’s grandfather was overprotective, but she didn’t expect to be confronted that very night.
Father Tao had left a confidential file in his home study, so Tao Shushu personally went to deliver it to her parents.
Just after dropping it off and walking to the parking lot, she was suddenly blinded by the high beams of two cars.
For a moment, Tao Shushu desperately wished she had Nan Yuan’s light-based ability, she would have reflected that blinding flash right back.
Turning her head to adjust to the brightness, she was about to head over to the parking lot attendant when, after just a few steps, two bodyguards blocked her path.
“Our family’s elder would like to have a word with Miss Tao,” the bodyguard said politely, but the outstretched hand and the way they blocked all her escape routes were anything but courteous.
Tao Shushu asked, “Which elder is your family’s elder?”
At the same time, the system explained, [It’s Wang Tianba’s grandfather.]
After a moment’s thought, Tao Shushu got into the Wang family’s car and instructed the system to be ready to call the police and track her location at any time.
Since they had come all the way to the Tao family’s company building, she had to consider her parents’ business.
The car arrived at an antique-style teahouse, decorated in a classical manner, every folding screen and vase inside was an authentic antique. Its location was prime, situated next to Yancheng City’s largest museum, with the former residence of a certain dynasty’s prince right in front.
Despite the teahouse’s luxurious ambiance, there were very few patrons inside.
Tao Shushu still remembered Old Master Wang from the original story, he was fiercely protective of his own, got along exceptionally well with Su Momo, had a passion for antiques, and was a renowned appraiser and expert in cultural relics, wielding both wealth and influence in the art world.
Tao Shushu had never interacted with him directly. The last time, she had leaked information about Su Momo allowing antiques to flow overseas, damaging Old Master Wang’s impression of Su Momo.
At the same time, she also recalled some of Old Master Wang’s vulnerabilities and, without any moral qualms, passed them along to his archrival.
Yet, even after all this time, there had been no repercussions.
Though Wang Tianba was rather foolish, Old Master Wang had climbed to his position through shrewdness, and Tao Shushu dared not underestimate him. After some thought, she opened her phone and sent some materials to Gu Tongqiu, the Gu family also held some influence in Yan City.
Once that was done, she entered Old Master Wang’s private room.
Old Master Wang was brewing tea, acting as though he hadn’t noticed Tao Shushu’s arrival.
Tao Shushu naturally understood, choosing such an opulent teahouse for their meeting and pretending not to see her were all tactics to assert dominance.
Without hesitation, Tao Shushu walked straight over and sat down opposite Old Master Wang.
“This is a Ding kiln teacup. Only a few hundred were fired in that batch, and for over seventy years afterward, out of respect for the new emperor’s name, no porcelain with carp patterns was ever painted again,” Tao Shushu said. Of course, the system had fed her this information. After speaking, she casually adjusted the relatively worthless teapot, pointing its spout directly at Old Master Wang.
Old Master Wang realized this young woman was no simple character, she had instantly identified the most valuable item in the room. Perhaps her rudeness in sitting uninvited could be overlooked. But then, the sight of the teapot spout aimed at him made him furious.
His temples throbbed with rage.
As a traditionalist and tea ceremony enthusiast, he considered pointing a teapot spout at someone the height of disrespect.
If Tao Shushu had done it unintentionally, her timing was infuriatingly perfect. If she’d done it deliberately, Old Master Wang refused to believe it, her records showed no knowledge of tea ceremonies, and Chinese was her worst subject.
Within a minute, Old Master Wang cycled through three emotions: disbelief that anyone would dare disrespect him, fury, a flicker of amusement at this bold junior, and finally, sheer outrage at her blatant disregard.
If not for his pride in front of a younger generation, he would’ve pulled out his blood pressure medication on the spot.
Tao Shushu sat quietly. The moment Old Master Wang began brewing tea, her system flooded her with tea ceremony rules and even attempted to play an educational clip in her mind about hosts dramatically pouring out tea and storming off.
From the options, Tao Shushu chose one she could afford to replace, a teapot worth just over ten thousand, and nudged it.
Old Master Wang, face dark, pushed the teapot back. Bound by tea etiquette, he couldn’t point the spout toward her, letting her off easy.
When cleaning up Wang Tianba’s messes before, even dealing with the Qin family, Old Master Wang had always leveraged his seniority. He knew people whispered about his doting on his grandson, but he didn’t care, no one dared say it to his face.
Today, however, he was the one constrained by propriety, forced to swallow his anger. Tao Shushu was driving him mad.
He took a sip of tea to calm himself.
Steeling his nerves, he glared at her. “I heard you don’t like my grandson.”
“What kind of ‘don’t like’ are we talking about? Romantic? Platonic? Or the disgust kind?” Tao Shushu shot back.
Old Master Wang faltered. Wang Tianba was heartbroken over the romantic kind, but Tao Shushu clearly meant the third type.
“You know very well.”
“Oh, so? Do you want Wang Tianba to be universally adored? Then I’m number 9999+. Maybe start with the ones ahead of me.”
Tao Shushu glanced at her phone. She wouldn’t have to humor him much longer.
Old Master Wang wasn’t so out of touch that he didn’t understand the reference. “How could ten thousand people dislike my grandson?”
“What a pity.” Tao Shushu feigned regret. “I hope your judgment remains as sharp as when you appraise antiques. After all, Wang Tianba has quite a few flaws.”
“You!” Old Master Wang shot to his feet, then sat back down, panting.
Tao Shushu didn’t enjoy trading barbs, but if she didn’t seize the chance now, she’d miss it once he was behind bars.
“One thing I dislike about Wang Tianba is how he hides behind you to throw his weight around. Satisfied with that answer?”
Old Master Wang finally took his blood pressure pill and decided to skip the intimidation phase. “He’s been very upset lately. Don’t think I don’t know, you instigated his fight with that Qin boy.” He’d seen the surveillance footage: his grandson had spoken to Tao Shushu before confronting Qin Rui.
“Back when Su Momo stirred him up, Wang Tianba came to teach me a lesson. This time, without any instigation, he went and fought Qin Rui. And before that, he played the school bully at Huiwen, backing his lackeys without question. With all these actions, don’t you think disciplining Wang Tianba would be more effective?” Tao Shushu retorted.
No one understood his own grandson's flaws better than Old Master Wang, but he would never discipline the child in front of outsiders. "That’s my family matter, Tao Shushu. You’d better remember, he is my grandson."
"So what?"
"His affection for you is an honor. Don’t be ungrateful. I can ruin your family’s business anytime I want."
Tao Shushu snorted coldly. In the original plot, it was Old Master Wang who took the lead in crushing the Tao family’s business, causing her parents’ careers to collapse and the Tao family to fall into ruin. Now, it was indeed time for the Wang family to crumble.
"Old Master Wang is truly experienced," Tao Shushu mocked. "Anyone who didn’t know better might wonder what kind of money was used to buy all the antiques in your house."
"Also, a long time ago, I gave you evidence that Su Momo was secretly selling cultural relics overseas. But you pretended not to see it, which makes me doubt whether your love for antiques is genuine or not."
Old Master Wang’s eyelids twitched. "It was you?"
Tao Shushu smiled faintly. "Old Master Wang, it’s your turn to go bankrupt now."
Amid the wailing of police sirens, Tao Shushu walked out of the teahouse.
She couldn’t help but ask her system, [Why are the main characters in this book such flawed individuals?]
The news of Old Master Wang’s downfall made the headlines in Yancheng the very next day.
Within Yancheng’s wealthy circles, many had harbored both hatred and fear toward him. Now that he was under investigation, countless people, afraid the probe wouldn’t be severe enough, eagerly jumped in to add insult to injury.
Revelations flooded the media, with various reports taking turns to expose him.
There wasn’t even a need for the Gu family to intervene.
Even Tao Shushu, who rarely paid attention to gossip, heard that the Wang family’s villa had been sealed overnight. Even the Su family, once closely tied to the Wangs, suffered some collateral damage.
Gu Tongqiu looked somewhat apologetic. "Shushu, I’m sorry we couldn’t help you in time. Yesterday, all we managed to do was call the police."
"That was more than enough. Thank you," Tao Shushu replied. It was the Gu family’s bold decision to blow the whistle that had prevented the matter from being swept under the rug so quickly.
Both the Tao and Gu families had been cannon fodder in the original story, yet now they remained unscathed. Instead, it was the Wang family, the number one sycophants in the book, that had collapsed.
[Just as many people don’t realize that Su Momo’s good grades came from copy-pasting, the truly unsettling aspect of this novel is how it conceals the ugly truths and disguises them as something beautiful to present to readers.]
Tao Shushu flipped through the news, answering the question she had posed to herself the day before.
She had an inkling that there was a deeper layer to the answer, one that held the truth, perhaps even the truth of this world.
Closing the news, Tao Shushu opened her game.
Today was the day the survivors were set to leave the barren planet.
By the time Tao Shushu logged in, the survivors were already mostly prepared.
The starship's storage compartment was fully stocked with supplies. Everyone wore protective suits made of blood-devouring grass fibers, carrying materials in their hands as they boarded the ship with resolute expressions and hopeful anticipation.
Nan Yuan was leading a team to inspect the fuel energy. After completing one check, he moved on to examine the water and food supplies.
Some people kept doubting whether they had left anything behind, unable to resist the urge to return to their rooms for one last look.
Tao Shushu followed the crowd and wandered into Nan Yuan's room. Only after confirming nothing had been forgotten did she feel relieved and return to Nan Yuan's side.
Nan Yuan was particularly captivating when focused.
Realizing she had been staring again, Tao Shushu quickly averted her gaze, looking around to distract herself. As she scanned the area, she noticed Nan Yuan's influence value had reached 2500. She wondered what purpose the influence value served, especially since it seemed to have no upper limit.
Just as she was pondering this, she saw Nan Yuan enter the cockpit alone.
"Shushu, we're about to depart."
"Mm." Tao Shushu used her exploration ability on the starship, it was in good condition and ready for takeoff.
Approximately half an hour later, the ship would leave the port.
Finally leaving the barren planet, Tao Shushu felt a tinge of melancholy, sensing the atmosphere of farewell. She wandered around, taking screenshots as mementos.
Unconsciously, the base had become filled with memories of her and Nan Yuan. After capturing her screenshots, she returned to the starship.
Nan Yuan happened to be free at that moment, studying the map of surviving humans. Their destination was the Trash Planet, requiring a jump through another planet along the way.
Tao Shushu looked over his shoulder. "By the way, Nan Yuan, don't let outsiders know the barren planet is our base."
The barren planet hosted rapidly intelligent blood-devouring grass colonies, along with some weapons and energy sources they had left behind.
Moreover, it was a planet not occupied by artificial intelligence.
"Mm. Already instructed." Nan Yuan replied.
Tao Shushu nodded, once again contemplating how to exclude the barren planet from the C1 star system's gravitational field.
Due to its remote location and scarce resources, the C1 system had invested very little in the barren planet. Even before the apocalypse, hardly anyone visited.
This meant any operations on the barren planet wouldn't attract much attention and might be accomplished discreetly. The problem was, the gravitational field was entirely controlled by artificial intelligence.
Uncertain about success, Tao Shushu didn't elaborate further to Nan Yuan.
Soon, the scheduled departure time arrived.
Amid the sounds of mechanical operations, the starship began to vibrate slightly.
More sentimental survivors couldn't help but glance back, gazing through the portholes one last time at the interior of the base.
Then, they turned their attention forward, toward the direction of home, hope, and the future.