Chapter 71: Sensation

She opened her mouth, unsure whether she should defend this nonexistent “imaginary rival” with a few words.

The room door behind her suddenly rang with two knocks.

“Guest, your drinks…”

The door handle turned, and the staff member seemed to want to push the door open, but felt obvious resistance on the door.

The pushing force and the voice came to an abrupt halt.

Clearly, the person outside realized that their VIP guest might be leaning against the door.

After a moment, they asked, “Guest, is it convenient now?”

Su Mi froze for a moment, inexplicably feeling a bit embarrassed, as if she and Shen Han were doing something shady and had been caught by the server.

She stretched out a finger and gently pushed Shen Han’s shoulder.

Her voice was kept very low, afraid that the people outside would hear. “Th-there’s someone here.”

Shen Han hummed in acknowledgment.

Her gaze, cold as a frigid pool, reluctantly left Su Mi’s cheek and slightly closed her eyes.

She stepped back and smoothly took the bouquet from Su Mi’s hand, placing it carefully on the tea table.

Su Mi smoothed down her skirt hem and went to open the door of the VIP box.

The server outside smiled as usual, pushing a small cart with various drinks on it, and asked Su Mi which one she wanted.

Su Mi took a cup of watermelon juice, and Shen Han also walked over from inside, selecting a pot of flower tea.

The VIP box faced the music hall stage directly. Su Mi touched the glass wall, and Shen Han explained that it was a special sound-absorbing material, allowing them to hear the performance on stage with the best effect.

There were still more than ten minutes before the performance began. At that moment, the music hall stage was empty, with a glossy, thick wooden floor in the center holding a wooden platform, surrounded by a circle of colorful fresh flowers.

This private concert, not open to public ticket sales, only sold seats in the orchestra pit and the surrounding VIP boxes. Su Mi looked at the people entering the orchestra seats below through the glass and also sat down in her spot, searching online for the performer’s name.

Shi Shuyue.

Su Mi murmured the name, feeling that it truly matched the person. Shi Shuyue had a social account online, sporadically sharing snippets of her daily life and some photos. The woman playing the cello in them always had long hair like a waterfall, wearing a long skirt, with a temperament that was pure, aloof, and cold, like a crescent moon.

When the real person appeared on stage, Su Mi softly exclaimed in admiration.

“So beautiful,” she said.

The VIP box had the best sound effects, though the view was slightly obstructed—not as close-up as the orchestra seats, where one could see the performer’s expressions clearly. Su Mi leaned forward to look, squinting her eyes. She could make out Shi Shuyue on stage in a long skirt, carrying the cello with one hand as she sat in the center, every movement like someone stepping out of a painting.

Even though she couldn’t see the face clearly from this position, the vague outline was still very beautiful.

The performance hadn’t started yet. A staff member was introducing the pieces for today’s concert and how to feel the healing power of mental power in the music.

Su Mi was still craning her neck forward eagerly to watch.

Shen Han set down her teacup beside her, pinched the ribbon at the back waist of Su Mi’s skirt with her fingers, and pulled the person back.

Su Mi turned back in confusion.

Shen Han asked, “Do you need me to get you a pair of binoculars?”

“Good…” Su Mi agreed halfway, suddenly noticing the low pressure around her, and immediately sat up straight. “It seems a bit inappropriate.”

What did that mean? Was Shen Han jealous?

Su Mi thought it unlikely. She leaned back into the soft sofa backrest, casually tilting her head to glance at Shen Han as if by accident.

Everyone appreciated beauty. Wasn’t admiring a beautiful lady a kind of enjoyment too?

Surely Shen Han wouldn’t refuse to look, right?

She glanced over and found that Shen Han really wasn’t looking.

Her sitting posture was as upright as ever, elbow propped on the armrest closer to Su Mi, holding the transparent teacup where the pale flower tea liquid swayed slightly.

Her gaze wasn’t on the stage ahead at all; it seemed her attention had always been on Su Mi’s side. She quickly turned her eyes over and asked, “Did you hear the introduction clearly?”

Su Mi: “…”

Um, no.

Shen Han let out a helpless chuckle and reached out to tap Su Mi’s forehead.

“Feel it with this. The first piece later is an introduction. Try it first.”

Soon, the staff member stepped down, the surrounding lights gradually dimmed, leaving only the stage as the sole light source. All the lights focused on Shi Shuyue on stage.

Shi Shuyue on stage held the bow in her right hand, her lotus-root-segment-like right arm gently swinging, and smooth, gorgeous music flowed out.

Even though they were far away and the VIP box had no amplification tech, the solo piece’s music rang clearly in the box, like a smooth, soft silk fabric pouring down from above, gliding over inch by inch of skin.

Even as a layman in classical music, Su Mi found the melody uplifting and pleasant.

Not to mention the playing motions were extremely visually appealing—the arm lines swaying like willow leaves in the evening breeze occasionally veiling a crescent moon. Even without listening to the music, just watching the performer made it impossible to look away.

But… she didn’t seem to feel much effect on her mental power.

Su Mi tried very hard to sense it, but the spot on her forehead that Shen Han had tapped earlier felt no different, as if it hadn’t been awakened. She felt nothing.

It was just a bit comfortable, that was all.

One piece after another, soon the first half ended, and it was intermission time.

Watching the beauty like a bright moon carry her cello offstage, Su Mi let out a breath, feeling that the experience wasn’t bad.

Though she didn’t understand it, though it wasn’t very useful, it was pleasant to listen to and watch, and quite fun.

Su Mi took a few sips of her juice and wiped her hands.

Shen Han asked, “Did you feel anything?”

Su Mi said pitifully, “No. Could my mental power test result be wrong?”

Shen Han let out a faint chuckle and gave an objective evaluation. “Maybe her skills aren’t refined enough.”

Quite blunt.

Su Mi subconsciously thought that since this beautiful lady could hold a solo concert, how could there be a problem? She took the blame onto herself. “If I had to say, it did feel pretty comfortable… But maybe it’s me. All this time since then, I actually haven’t felt my own mental power at all.”

That was true. Ever since her mental power was tested as S-Grade, Su Mi had searched online these past few days.

There were almost no SS-Grade mental powers, so the highest she could find was S-Grade, and those were already top figures in their fields. She only found a few vague interviews.

This world had perfected research on secondary genders, but applications for mental power weren’t deeply developed.

Su Mi tried searching for info on mental power healing and usage, only to find that this stuff mostly existed in the upper echelons of various fields—either high society or cutting-edge tech domains—far removed from daily life.

Like this mental power-related concert now: attendees were all rich or noble, no public tickets, a resource firmly locked in the upper class.

So there was no info online on how to explore, stimulate, or heal mental power.

What she could find was either cutting-edge tech research papers full of terms she couldn’t yet understand, or perfunctory institution promo pages. They all seemed to be private mental power assistance organizations, not open to the public, mostly membership-based.

That morning, Su Ciyu had recommended a private mental power training club to Su Mi. She had just added the contact, glanced at the intro manual sent by the club’s exclusive butler, and felt it seemed quite troublesome.

At this moment, she naturally looked toward the person beside her—Shen Han, whose mental power was not only SS-Grade but also materialized to perfection.

She blinked, seeking some advice. “Sister, how did you first sense your mental power?”

Shen Han indeed picked up on her signal.

Her eyes turned over, and the cool pad of her finger gently pressed on Su Mi’s forehead, rubbing there before she leaned closer, pressing her forehead against Su Mi’s.

It was as if something passed through the skin and touched Su Mi’s brow center.

The closeness lasted only an instant before Shen Han quickly pulled back, furrowing her brow as if about to say something.

“Strange,” Shen Han said.

Her words suddenly paused, and Shen Han fell silent for a moment.

After a while, her brow furrowed tighter. “Maybe the situation is different. I didn’t have a step where I couldn’t sense mental power at S-Grade. But later, when I differentiated to SS-Grade, I did encounter some difficulties… though…”

Though she couldn’t recall it.

Shen Han found it odd. Her memory had always been exceptional; she almost never forgot anything.

Su Mi thought Shen Han was being humble.

She waited obediently for a bit, seeing Shen Han furrow her brow as if recalling, but the crease grew tighter, as if her thoughts had drifted elsewhere.

Su Mi suddenly remembered that in the original plot, the point where the antagonist blackened and ended everything was when breaking through to SSS-Grade, and their mental power collapsed.

A breakthrough in mental power should be an important milestone for Shen Han, but this was the first time Su Mi knew that Shen Han had originally been S-Grade before breaking through to SS-Grade.

And now, she couldn’t remember that milestone?

She had to stop this.

She hurriedly reached out and grabbed Shen Han’s wrist. “Forget it, forget it.”

Shen Han looked at her.

Su Mi chuckled and stubbornly changed the subject. “I know you’re the most amazing, but I’m pretty dumb, so it’s better to find a professional institution to learn how to stimulate mental power first. Look, I’ve already added a contact for one. They sent me an intro. This weekend when my parents are free, we’ll go check it out together.”

Shen Han’s gaze swept over the intro manual, paused, and pointed to one action on it. “It’s indeed like this. Touching foreheads can touch mental powers, but generally, the guide’s mental power grade needs to be higher.”

Su Mi hadn’t looked too closely, but said, “The institution should have plenty of other instruments and methods, right?”

Shen Han agreed, seeming lost in some thoughts, and didn’t say more.

Soon, the second half of the concert began. Su Mi listened attentively to the entire thing and gave her verdict: pleasant!

Though it seemed useless for her, it was useful for others. At the end of the final encore, thunderous applause surged endlessly. Shi Shuyue, a slender and beautiful Omega, carried her cello back and forth for several curtain calls.

When the concert officially ended, Su Mi hugged her flowers and followed Shen Han out via the elevator.

She placed the bouquet on the back seat of the vehicle and sat in the passenger seat, softly humming the tune of the final encore.

The vehicle drove out of the parking spot. At the edge of her vision, she glimpsed the nearby elevator doors opening, and Shi Shuyue in a long skirt surprisingly walked out from there.

Flanked by a few staff members, Shi Shuyue stood at the entrance, subtly looking around left and right.

Su Mi was surprised and pointed it out to Shen Han. “Wow, it’s her, Miss Shi.”

Shen Han glanced over. “Mm.”

Su Mi curiously twisted in her seat to look back. “Doesn’t she need to remove her makeup? What about her instrument case? Is she leaving just like that?”

Shen Han turned the steering wheel and added a new destination to the car light brain.

She seemed unconcerned. “Maybe everyone has their own habits.”

Su Mi responded with an “oh” and looked at the destination, which was some gallery.

“Where are we going next?”

Shen Han said, “I originally planned to take you somewhere else… but Li Zhao said there’s something at her art exhibition that’s suitable for you. Let’s go take a look.”