Chapter 68

Tao Shushu walked to the meeting room Li Xin had mentioned.
Tao Shushu politely greeted the other teachers in the conference room.
After hearing what was said on the other end of the line, Li Xin visibly relaxed. "Jia Xu has been taken away by the police."
Tao Shushu saw the so-called "evidence" playing on the computer.
The school was taking public opinion so seriously this time because Jia Xu had actually produced evidence of her using dark arts. On the screen was a surveillance video, inside a dimly lit room, Tao Shushu was talking to a mysteriously dressed woman. The video even came with subtitles.
"Tao Shushu" was asking the witch for some magical power.
The witch agreed.
"Tao Shushu" exclaimed excitedly: from now on, anyone who offended her would suffer misfortune.
Although she had already seen this video once through the system, Tao Shushu was still speechless.
She spent a few Primary Clarity Cards.
The head of the academic affairs office was the first to notice something unusual. "This person's nose is very flat, the image has been processed. Her nose doesn't resemble Tao Shushu's."
"Right, look at her fingers when she's gesturing wildly. Her thumb is hyperextended, that's not Tao Shushu."
"We almost fell for it just now."
The teachers discussed the discrepancies and quickly noted them down, preparing to send them to the police as evidence.
A few minutes later, the dean of students said to Tao Shushu, "Student Shushu, we apologize for wrongly suspecting you. We were concerned you might be affected, so we called you in to clarify the situation. It seems now that you are the victim."
Tao Shushu graciously said it was no problem.
The dean of students continued, "Actually, the Su and Luo families simultaneously pressured the school board, claiming your dark arts caused accidents to their children."
An unfamiliar person coughed twice, and Tao Shushu guessed he was a board member.
"I forgot, the Luo family's youngest son had an accident. It's a very private matter; he was previously a student at Huiwen too," the dean of students said. "But it appears you've been framed. You only retaliated when others were disrespectful, you haven't done anything wrong."
Li Xin said to Tao Shushu, "Your talent is undeniable. I've kept every one of your exam papers, they're proof that you're already exceptional on your own."
Tao Shushu smiled.
The board stated they wouldn't interfere with the school's handling of students, and the school promised to help Tao Shushu gather evidence. Since public opinion involved the school, they would notify Tao Shushu as soon as there was any news.
The teachers, still concerned, not only instructed the security department to enhance safety measures but Li Xin also "coincidentally" escorted Tao Shushu back to her car.
A conspiracy targeting Tao Shushu had been temporarily resolved.
Li Anyu was even sending furious messages. "This is terrible! Who's targeting you, Shushu? If I find out, I'll definitely settle the score with them."
Tao Shushu reassured her, "Yeah, yeah, if there's any news, I'll tell you first so you can help me vent."
Casually clicking on the link Li Anyu sent, Tao Shushu noticed that Jia Xu's identity information was blurred out.
She did a quick search of recent news and found that, aside from the deleted campus forum post, Jia Xu's personal information was censored everywhere.
Except for a few people who knew Jia Xu, no one was aware that he had suddenly gone mad.
Tao Shushu frowned. This was strange.
Qin Rui and the Academic Genius System operated solely on the principle of maximizing benefits, covering up Jia Xu’s identity did not align with their style.

Back at home, Tao Shushu wanted to revisit the screenshots from when the game first appeared, hoping to find more clues about the system’s definition.
As she scrolled through, she realized her photo album was almost entirely filled with screenshots of Nan Yuan.
Back then, she had thought Nan Yuan was just a game character. She would affectionately call him "cub" and tease him like a weird auntie.
It wasn’t until she switched to the original art mode that she gradually realized Nan Yuan was a real person existing in another dimension.
Tao Shushu paused abruptly, yes, the form.
Nan Yuan’s world was real, but what had initially appeared before her was presented in the form of a "game."
Earlier that day, Xun had said, "Any drama can originate from reality, but it doesn’t have to be reality."
At the time, Tao Shushu hadn’t grasped the deeper meaning behind the AI’s words.
Now, everything clicked into place.
This world was never a novel, the Academic God novel, with Su Momo as the protagonist, was merely the form chosen by the Academic Genius System.
Its recent actions, transferring the talents and energy of all supporting characters to Qin Rui while meticulously preserving the reputations of the main and supporting roles, were contradictory. Perhaps some unexpected event had disrupted their plan, forcing the Academic Genius System and Qin Rui to also focus on the latter.
Previously, they had even abandoned Su Momo, the female lead. Now, Su Momo was already in a mental hospital, yet the self-serving Su family continued to use her name to demand justice.
Perhaps it was because only by maintaining the "novel" form could the Academic Genius System continue to exert its power. The stability of the characters ensured the stability of the novel.
Luo Liming’s death had not been made public, and Qin Rui had incited Jia Xu to cause trouble while keeping Jia Xu’s identity well-hidden… All of this was proof enough.
All these anomalies seemed to have started when Qin Rui saw her playing the game.
The game was a projection of another world.
[The prerequisite for the Academic Genius System to harvest energy from this world is to disguise it as a novel. Otherwise, it would face restrictions, perhaps it cannot harvest energy from a real world.] Tao Shushu asked.
["You figured that out yourself! I didn’t remind you."]
As soon as the system spoke, Tao Shushu smiled confidently. [Since I’ve already guessed it, could you explain a bit more?]
The system thought for a moment and said: ["You’re right. Systems are also bound by ethics. Just as humans cannot kill, systems cannot indiscriminately take lives, meaning they cannot harvest energy from a real world, because without energy, a world cannot sustain itself."]
["The biological community on Earth often debates whether embryos count as life. In a system’s ethics, the authenticity of life has strict criteria. A world where only the main and supporting characters possess autonomous consciousness is considered unreal, a world from which energy can be harvested."]
["Just like the so-called original book you showed me, which only contained the love and hate between Su Momo and the supporting characters."]
["Yes."]
But this world is clearly real. The Academic Genius System used some method to make the judgment program believe that this world has a very low degree of reality.
["I can't say more than that."]
["Mm."]
Tao Shushu didn't press the system further, as she already understood. Since there was a judgment, there might also be re-evaluation or other monitoring mechanisms.
Everything had been following the plot before, but perhaps recently, there had been too many deviations from the "plot," increasing the risk of the Academic Genius System's scheme being exposed.
Still, Tao Shushu couldn't figure out what this had to do with her family's chip technology.
Unless she guessed the answer herself, the system wouldn't reveal it.
Tao Shushu didn't force the issue.
Soon, she would learn exactly which events had caused the "plot" to deviate so much that even the Academic Genius System was panicking.

Tao Shushu received another call from Professor Angus's assistant.
Upon learning that Tao Shushu had participated in the physics competition, the assistant congratulated her, "Congratulations! I believe you'll soon stand out among the world's top physics talents. When that time comes, I hope you'll consider Professor Angus's university first."
"Professor Angus said that if I can't compete with representatives from other schools, he won't allow me to keep plants in the lab anymore. Without my stress-relief plants, I won't be able to conduct experiments," the assistant added.
Tao Shushu chuckled, "I've looked into the International Physics Olympiad. Some schools do extend offers to award winners, but I haven't even competed yet..."
"Shushu, we all believe you'll definitely win the gold medal. I suspect you might even get the perfect score award, your ideas are bound to be the most brilliant. Besides, Professor Angus just attended an exchange summit and couldn't stop praising you. Everyone knows he has a favored student now."
Professor Angus was a towering figure in the field of physics, and his influence was so immense that his endorsement significantly raised Tao Shushu's profile. This was also why the Princess of F County specifically sent her an invitation.
The assistant expressed further admiration before getting to the main point, though, to him, persuading Tao Shushu to study under Professor Angus was the top priority. "Recently, one of your schoolmates claimed that you would join his lab and used this to persuade Professor Angus to leave his current university and move to F County. Is there any truth to this?"
Tao Shushu's eyelids twitched violently. So, Qin Rui and the Academic Genius System had left a trap here. She said sternly, "Absolutely not. Qin Rui and I have different paths and do not work together. This is fraud. If you can provide some evidence, I will pursue the corresponding responsibility."
After repeatedly assuring the assistant that there was no truth to the claim, Tao Shushu received an email from him.
Qin Rui's wording was cunning, ambiguous yet clearly using her name to make empty promises. She wondered how much anger the proud Qin Rui had to swallow while sending those messages.
Tao Shushu temporarily noted this down in her little book, planning to settle the score later.
Just as she finished the call with the assistant, her parents returned home.
Tao Shushu was about to ask if anyone at their company was still scheming for their technology when her parents pulled her into a tight hug.
After the Tao family's company grew, Mr. and Mrs. Tao had increasingly less free time. Even on weekends, they were often busy with work and couldn't even find time to accompany Shushu to her competitions.
It was only on their way home that they learned their daughter had nearly been splashed with dirty water that afternoon.
Mrs. Tao hugged Tao Shushu tightly. "Shushu, don’t be afraid. We don’t even want to talk about the messy affairs of the Su family, and now they’re trying to throw mud at you. As for the Luo family, they’re even worse. Their son previously teamed up with Su Momo to cause you trouble, and now they’re trying to pin his death on you. We will seek justice for you."
Mr. Tao was also on the phone, furious.
Tao Shushu put down her phone and gently leaned into her mother’s embrace, like a little fledgling seeking comfort from its parents.
She had been contemplating how to expose the anomalies of the "supporting characters" so they would no longer remain hidden. But now, her parents had taken the initiative to do just that.
With the combined efforts of the Tao, Li, and Gu families, a series of scandals from Luo Liming’s life were brought to light.
Instantly, the elite families of Yancheng turned against the Luo family, condemning them at every turn.
While parents were generally happy to see their children dabble in entrepreneurship and occasionally offered support, the Luo family had maliciously suppressed the businesses of other families’ children to make their own son appear more capable. This infuriated everyone. When it came to their own interests, how could they not be outraged? Several families who had been suppressed immediately slammed the table in anger.
Next, it was revealed that Luo Liming’s consulting company had used its influence and connections to provide favors for clients.
Previously, everyone had lamented Luo Liming’s unexpected death.
Now, Luo Liming had become a rat scurrying across the street, despised by all.
In an instant, public opinion of Luo Liming had completely reversed.
Meanwhile, the Qin family, which had been seizing the Luo family’s business territory, also came under suspicion for acting too quickly. The entire situation made it seem as though the Qin family had uncovered the Luo family’s secrets. However, the Qin family wasn’t entirely clean either.
Those who had long been envious of the Qin family’s business decided to join forces, aiming to take a share of the spoils from the Luo family’s downfall. They weren’t about to let the Qin family reap all the benefits.
The trending searches related to Tao Shushu had long been marked as rumors and taken down.
In their place, one after another, cases involving the Luo family dominated the hot searches, drawing public scrutiny.
Tao Shushu scrolled through the online comments, nodding in satisfaction. She wondered what Qin Rui thought of this situation.
After a moment’s thought, she sent a message to her acquaintances, advising them to stay safe. After all, if Qin Rui realized his plans had gone awry, he would likely take further action.
Because of the Academic Genius System and the mess Qin Rui had caused, Tao Shushu hadn’t been able to study all evening. Instead, she had been checking the latest updates on social media.
She had wasted an entire night.
She opened her phone to the game, where Nan Yuan was writing some small programs.
"Wow, Nan Yuan, you know a lot of things," Tao Shushu said in surprise.
Nan Yuan smiled. "It's nothing much. In our C1 star system, almost everyone knows a bit about programming principles. I learned how to modify the timers on toy guns when I was very young."
"Oh?" Tao Shushu grew curious. "Toy guns have timers?"
"Mm, to prevent school-aged children from playing for too long, all toys come with timers. If you play beyond the set time, they lock up," Nan Yuan explained, gesturing to a silver pistol beside him. It was exquisitely crafted, complete with a scope.
Tao Shushu stared intently for a few moments before noticing the magazine was too small, it wasn’t a real gun.
So, in Nan Yuan’s star system, they had anti-addiction designs from childhood.
After working for a while longer, Nan Yuan asked, "Why are you unhappy, Shushu?"
Tao Shushu, lost in thought, paused. Nan Yuan was so far away, and he couldn’t even see her, only hear her voice. How had he detected her unhappiness this time?
"I am unhappy," Tao Shushu admitted honestly. She realized she still needed someone to confide in, someone who wasn’t a real person from Earth, someone the system couldn’t understand. Only Nan Yuan could comfort her. "How did you know, Nan Yuan?"
Nan Yuan set down what he was working on. "You mentioned you had an exam today. I know you have excellent grades, so you’d never be troubled by an exam. That means something else is bothering you, right?"
Nan Yuan curled his fingers slightly. He could hear the listlessness in Shushu’s voice, but everything he could do felt so intangible. How could he bridge the distance across time and space to comfort Shushu in another dimension?
Tao Shushu admired Nan Yuan’s perceptiveness. She hesitated before saying, "There is something. There’s someone who keeps trying to ruin my reputation and plotting against my family. But I don’t know their real motives, so I can only defend passively. It’s frustrating."
Nan Yuan thought for a moment, then began typing rapidly on the keyboard. "Wait for me, Shushu."
"Okay." Though unsure what Nan Yuan was doing, Tao Shushu quieted down and watched him type.
She had always known Nan Yuan had beautiful hands. Whenever he held a particle gun, his pale fingers rested against the silver firearm, the joints distinct like a bowstring stretched to its limit, radiating strength.
Now, the way his fingers moved across the keyboard was just as captivating.
His slender fingers danced swiftly over the keys, as if playing a beautiful melody.
Tao Shushu found herself mesmerized just watching his hands.
Only when Nan Yuan’s hands stilled did she snap out of it, noticing the dialog box above his head asking if she was still there.
Tao Shushu quickly reached out to poke him but paused, her finger landing softly in his palm.
Nan Yuan chuckled. "Shushu, look at this."
He clicked on the program.
On the small screen, a pixelated character appeared, a little girl with a ponytail, throwing punches at another character in front of her.
The character being hit had the word "villain" written above its head.
Nan Yuan said earnestly, "Shushu, I’ll help you beat him up."
The two pixelated characters moved stiffly. The ponytailed girl only repeated the same punching motion, her fist enlarging each time it made contact.
The "villain" had a few more animations, sometimes kneeling and begging for mercy, sometimes clutching its head in pain, sometimes crying out, "I was wrong!"
Tao Shushu watched and couldn’t help but laugh.
"Thank you, Nan Yuan." Tao Shushu mimicked the pixel character's movements, waving her fists. "I'm happy now."
Nan Yuan didn't close the interface. He picked up another machine and began disassembling it to study. "It's a pity there aren't enough materials here, otherwise I could make a real little robot."
Tao Shushu gained a deeper understanding of the development level of artificial intelligence in the C1 Star System. She suddenly thought of Xun - this AI was considered quite intelligent.
"By the way, Nan Yuan, today I saw an AI that's very smart. It acted like it really liked me." Tao Shushu described the adorable Xun's situation in detail. "Its owner said it makes decisions every day through its big data analysis, but I've never interacted with it before. Why would this AI like me?"
Nan Yuan paused for a moment. He moved his lips stiffly. "Caregiving robots for young children are programmed to act like they adore children because children are set as their preferred interaction type."
"Perhaps the person who built the AI core set preferences biased toward user profiles like yours." Nan Yuan clenched his fist, still not daring to ask what kind of person Shushu was referring to as the owner.
He had long known that someone as wonderful as Shushu would definitely have many people around her.
And he... couldn't give Shushu anything. Even when he wanted to make her happy, he only had these laughable methods.
Nan Yuan stood up, blocking the display screen where the character was still waving its fists. He explained awkwardly, "I'm going to organize these things."
As he packed up, he made sure not to expose the screen - it was just a simple code program from the C1 Star System.
Tao Shushu didn't suspect anything and even praised Nan Yuan for being meticulous.
What she actually wanted to know was whether Xun might be an external system, especially since Xun's words carried deep meaning.
But hearing Nan Yuan's explanation, she temporarily dismissed this thought. Perhaps she needed to ask Shen Yichen about the situation with that partner.
While they were organizing, someone knocked on Nan Yuan's locked door.
Nan Yuan took the opportunity to close the small program.
Tao Shushu felt a bit disappointed - she thought the animation was quite fun. But she also knew Nan Yuan had many things to deal with every day, all while being under the watchful eye of Dr. Xie whose true intentions remained unknown.
Rationally, she knew it wasn't appropriate to have Nan Yuan entertain her, but she still felt some regret.
The visitor was Cheng Feimao, who just came to give a routine report about the surrounding situation.
After listening, Nan Yuan saw him out and continued handling his tasks.
He thought for a moment. "Shushu, let me set off some fireworks for you."
Shushu seemed to really like fireworks.
Back on the barren planet, Nan Yuan had used Bloodsucking Grass stems and leaves with fuel to create small burning fireworks through chemical methods.
This time, he put on his welding gear and began repairing the tools.
He manipulated the light beam, and as the electric sparks sprayed out, they instantly transformed into a dazzling array of colorful lights.
Tao Shushu cupped her face, quietly watching the little fireworks Nan Yuan set off just for her, a private display meant only for her eyes.
She smiled at the person behind the fireworks.
After welding one item, Nan Yuan pointed to the room full of machinery. "There's still a lot to fix. It might get boring."
"Not at all. I came to see you right after my exam this afternoon. Dr. Xie was here then, so I didn't say anything, but watching you weld is actually quite interesting," Tao Shushu said. She found it rather soothing.
Nan Yuan paused. Dr. Xie had stayed for a long time during the day, and he wasn't sure how he had come across then.
But welding alone must be dull.
For a moment, Nan Yuan felt both happy that Shushu had come to see him and worried that he might be boring her.
After a moment's thought, he could only continue welding, but he put more effort into making the sparks burst into vibrant, colorful hues.
Tao Shushu watched intently, occasionally exchanging a few words with Nan Yuan.
Just then, a system prompt popped up: [Unlock Nan Yuan's voice pack? Experience your cub's activities through sound without relying on sight, dual sensory immersion! Limited-time special offer...]
Without hesitation, Tao Shushu selected "No." Even with the limited-time discount, it wasn't cheap. Wouldn't it be better to save those coins for energy balls? But the system's advertisement reminded her of a problem: she and Nan Yuan didn't share a common language.
She had no idea what tone Nan Yuan heard when she spoke, but every time she called him "cub," her voice was filled with maternal affection.
Tao Shushu temporarily exited the game and opened a voice recorder, saying Nan Yuan's name.
After recording and playing it back, she immediately covered her face.
Did she sound a bit too... fluttery when she called his name?
It must have been because she was speaking deliberately, distorting her voice.
Recalling the emotions she felt each time she called his name, nervousness, worry, seeking comfort, sharing joy...
She recorded several versions with different emotions and clicked play.
After just two listens, she felt so embarrassed she could have dug a castle with her toes. Why did every single one sound like she was coquettishly whining? That wasn't her intention at all.
Tao Shushu returned to the game, covering her instantly flushed cheeks.
She hoped that when her tone was translated to Nan Yuan's side, it would sound more normal. Less emotionally charged.


Author's Note:
Nan Yuan: Shocked to realize Shushu has never heard my voice.
If Shushu weren't so frugal with her coins...