"Senior, are you alright?" Fang Ruoshi reached out and helped Du Yifan to his feet.
Du Yifan turned his head away, wiping the tears from his face. "Why are you here?"
"I'm here to find Shu Lanzhou!" Fang Ruoshi bit her lip hard. "I want to ask her why—why she refused to help me with something so simple. She's so heartless!"
Du Yifan grew visibly upset at her words. "What right do you have to demand anything from her? She doesn't owe you anything!"
"But… she used to—" Fang Ruoshi took a deep breath, frustration written all over her face. Shu Lanzhou had helped so many people prepare for exams in the past.
Why, when it came to her, had Shu Lanzhou coldly refused? If it weren't for that, would she have failed the entrance exam for graduate school?
If it weren't for her, she'd be a first-year grad student by now. Han Weicheng wouldn't be looking down on her, and he might have let her into his new research project!
Du Yifan swung his fist and punched Fang Ruoshi in the face.
"Wake up! We bullied her in the past. Just because she didn't say anything doesn't mean we were in the right. That kind of thinking is disgusting!"
"You have no right to blame her for anything."
Fang Ruoshi tasted blood in her mouth.
"Heh... Du Yifan, is that what you really think?" she sneered.
"You bullied her more than anyone else. You wanted her to be your personal assistant, your tool—someone who existed to serve only you."
"Why else would you pretend to like her, say you wanted to date her, offer her money? It was all just a ploy to get her to work herself to the bone for you!"
"But she turned you down. And when she did, you lost it and pushed even more work onto her. Think about it—over the years, didn't she do the most for you?"
"That's bullshit!" Du Yifan denied flatly.
"She clearly helped Luo Jialin the most. She liked him, so she was willing to do anything for him. She barely did anything for me!"
Fang Ruoshi's expression was cold and unreadable as she replied, "Yeah, she did the most for Luo Jialin. She wanted to please him, so she helped him with everything. But why couldn't she do the same for us?"
"That's exactly why we all took advantage of her—pushed her, used her—until she couldn't take it anymore and left the team."
"After she left, everything changed. Nothing's been the same since."
"No, you're wrong!" Du Yifan wiped his face.
"She didn't leave because she couldn't take it. She left because of Lin Muyao. That woman manipulated her, turned her against us!"
"That's why things got so bad. That's why we're all in such a mess now!"
"If she hadn't left, if she hadn't turned on us, we wouldn't be like this. It's all Lin Muyao's fault!"
"She's the one who gave you your review materials for the grad school exam. Didn't she think she was better than Shu Lanzhou? Then how come everything she gave you was wrong?"
Fang Ruoshi grabbed Du Yifan by the collar.
"Isn't it all your fault? If you'd just shared your own prep materials with me back then, I wouldn't have had to rely on Lin Muyao!"
"If I hadn't relied on her, would I have failed the exam?"
Du Yifan let out a bitter laugh.
"Weren't you always one of the top students, just like Tian Hua? Weren't you only a fraction behind Luo Jialin? Didn't you place first in the year just last semester?"
"And you couldn't even get into grad school?"
"Haha... Fang Ruoshi, can't you see? We all became too dependent on Shu Lanzhou. Because of her, we all turned into useless wrecks."
"She left, and we got even worse. That's why Lin Muyao was able to manipulate us so easily."
If Fang Ruoshi had simply taken a bit of time to organize her own review materials and studied at a steady pace, there's no way she would have failed the exam.
But she'd put all her trust in Lin Muyao—used the materials she prepared, spent all her study time on them—and in the end?
Not a single key topic was covered. She would've been better off not reviewing at all. Her mind went blank during the test, and aside from what she vaguely remembered from regular classes, everything she'd prepped was useless.
Fang Ruoshi clenched her teeth. She knew deep down that the person she should blame most was Lin Muyao. But how could she afford to cross her?
That was the daughter of Vice Dean Lin, the student Han Weicheng valued most, a rising star in medical academia with three high-profile papers under her belt. She wasn't someone Fang Ruoshi could afford to offend.
She looked at Du Yifan. "Even if you're right, what can you do? You're going to take on Lin Muyao? Face it—we were the fools who gave her the opening."
"Of course I'm going to take her on!" Du Yifan snorted. "I'm not you—I'm not afraid of offending her. Once I get the evidence I need, I'll make sure she regrets it."
With that, Du Yifan turned and walked out of the campus gates. Fang Ruoshi didn't have time to look for Shu Lanzhou anymore—she ran after him.
"Wait up! Is there anything I can do to help?"
———
By the time the two of them left, Shu Lanzhou was already walking away with Mu Side.
"Brother, what are you doing here at school all of a sudden?" Shu Lanzhou beamed as she looked up at him.
Even though they were officially dating, they hadn't had much time to spend together. Especially now that Mu Side had taken over more responsibility at the Mu Group, they barely saw each other.
Mu Side tapped the tip of her nose. "Didn't I promise to take you out for good food and a movie?"
"I knew it!" Shu Lanzhou grinned happily. "You're here to take me on a date, right?"
"Silly girl." Mu Side chuckled and pinched her cheek lovingly. "Stay away from Han Weicheng's people—they've all lost their minds."
"This is just the beginning!" Shu Lanzhou giggled.
"As our research progresses, each and every one of them will pay for what they did. What's happening now? It's nothing. They haven't even begun to feel true despair."
Mu Side looked worried. "I know you've been hiding your strength, avoiding direct confrontation so you could deliver a fatal blow at the right time."
"But just remember, you're not alone anymore. We're all here for you. Whatever happens, talk to us first. Always keep yourself safe."
"I know, I know!" Shu Lanzhou clung to his arm and acted playfully. "Don't worry—I won't put myself in danger."
People in despair can do anything, and Mu Side still remembered the time Shu Lanzhou had been kidnapped. Of course he worried.
But Shu Lanzhou knew Du Yifan and the others too well. Right now, they still believed they could control things and were desperately trying to fix everything.
But would Lin Muyao really allow them to switch sides?
If she struck first, Shu Lanzhou wouldn't mind helping her along.
After all, in her previous life, it was Shu Lanzhou's kind heart that exposed the fake future Lin Muyao had crafted for them—and they had responded with nothing but hatred. Meanwhile, they clung to Lin Muyao with blind faith.
This time, when they walked willingly into the trap Lin Muyao had laid for them—would they regret it? The dog-eat-dog chaos to come was bound to be entertaining.
———
After that incident, gossip exploded across the campus.
Some said Du Yifan had tried to harass Shu Lanzhou and got beaten up by Mu Side. Others claimed Shu Lanzhou had publicly announced her relationship with him.
Still more insisted that Du Yifan and Fang Ruoshi had fought over Shu Lanzhou—screaming at each other, full of regret, admitting they'd been played by Lin Muyao all along.
The argument was even recorded and uploaded to the campus forum.
Everyone was stunned by what they heard.
Doubts about the competence of Han Weicheng's team began to spread.
New students started asking around about what had happened with his group last year—and every scandal was dug back up.
Especially the one where Guo Jialiang got arrested and sent to prison…
Before long, students who had signed up for Han Weicheng's courses began applying to transfer out.