Lin Muyao felt as if she had fallen into the pits of hell—her whole body went cold. She stared at the paper on her phone, trembling uncontrollably.
"It's Shu Lanzhou, isn't it? She's the one who took that minor research topic and ran a complete set of experiments—just to go against me? That bitch Shu Lanzhou, why would she do this to me?!"
Lin Muyao wailed uncontrollably, and when her tears finally dried up, panic took over. "Professor, you can't abandon me now. This wasn't my fault. I didn't do anything wrong! I couldn't have!"
"She's the one who's wrong. It must be her! Check again! There's no way her experimental data is real—it has to be flawed!"
"My paper was given to me by Senior Luo. Are you telling me Luo Jialin isn't better than Shu Lanzhou? That his work isn't as accurate as hers?"
"That's impossible. Absolutely impossible!"
She was spiraling. Lin Muyao frantically tried to defend herself, desperately wanting to believe that she had done nothing wrong—that it was someone else who was at fault!
"…So that's what happened." Han Weicheng turned the steering wheel sharply and drove straight to the Luo residence.
No wonder Shu Lanzhou hadn't published the paper under her own name. If she had, she'd be basking in all the glory by now—stomping them underfoot.
It turned out she lacked the confidence to beat Luo Jialin directly, so she used Yi Ming instead—so quickly latching onto another senior to carry out her plan. Han Weicheng had seriously underestimated her.
Luo Jialin wasn't home—he'd been out socializing lately for the company. When he returned, slightly drunk, he bumped into Han Weicheng and Lin Muyao at the gate.
"Professor? What brings you here?" Luo Jialin leaned against the car door, lighting a cigarette with no intention of inviting them inside.
Han Weicheng didn't bother with pleasantries. "Tell me the truth. Did you write all those papers Lin Muyao published over the past year? Did you ever conduct real experiments?"
"No." Luo Jialin shook his head, exhaling a puff of smoke as he cast a languid glance at Lin Muyao.
"I only gave her the first paper and some of the follow-up simulation data. As for actual experiments, only the first one was real. I didn't run any after that."
"Shu Lanzhou knew about it. After you assigned the project, she said she wanted to do real experiments, but she got delayed and never brought it up again."
"Also, after I finished the paper, she revised my data. But I thought her changes were unrealistic, so I changed it back."
Luo Jialin let out a derisive laugh. "There's quite the buzz in the academic circle today. I'm guessing that's why you came. Well, that's everything I know."
His smile widened. "I really had blinders on back then—actually thought Shu Lanzhou was some lucky, talentless fool who just happened to pass the entrance exams. Looking back… wow, was I wrong."
"Her revisions were probably the correct ones. She's always been better at deduction than the rest of us. But you, Professor, always dismissed her as a dreamer."
Luo Jialin turned to go inside. "You should leave. I can't help you. Take my advice—rather than propping up a useless student, focus on your own research."
"Don't forget, the Luo Group invested a lot in this. If you let them end up like the Du family—investing everything and getting nothing in return—your sterling reputation will be over."
Maybe it was the alcohol talking, but Luo Jialin was far ruder than usual to Han Weicheng.
"You bastard!" Lin Muyao suddenly burst out of the car and kicked him hard in the back.
Luo Jialin staggered and fell to the ground. Lin Muyao pounced, straddling his lower back, grabbing his hair, and slamming his head into the ground.
"You lied to me! You said these papers would get me recognition in the medical field! And now look!"
"You let Shu Lanzhou see them but didn't tell me? Why would you do that?! You did this on purpose, didn't you? You wanted to set me up!"
"You knew she altered the data! She saw the problem from the start! Why didn't you tell me?! Were you trying to humiliate me?!"
"What did I ever do to deserve this from you? You bastard!"
…
By the third time she smashed Luo Jialin's head into the pavement, Han Weicheng finally snapped out of his shock.
"You're insane!" he shouted, just as the Luo family stormed out of the house.
Two bodyguards rushed forward and dragged the crazed Lin Muyao off Luo Jialin. She thrashed and kicked even as they restrained her.
"Luo Jialin, you bastard! Rot in hell! I hate you—I hate you so much!"
Smack!
The world fell silent.
Luo Jialin's mother, having helped her son up, marched forward and delivered a flurry of slaps to Lin Muyao's face.
"Where did this lunatic come from?! She dares hurt my son? Call the police! She's going to prison!"
"Wait, wait, please…" Han Weicheng rushed forward in a panic, only for one of the bodyguards to shove him to the ground.
In the end, Lin Muyao was dragged off to the police station, and both Han Weicheng and Luo Jialin landed in the hospital.
Han Weicheng regretted everything. If he'd known it would turn out like this, he never would have come in person. A phone call would've sufficed to ask about the paper.
Still, it wasn't a complete loss. At least now he knew that Shu Lanzhou had identified the flaws in Lin Muyao's paper the moment it was published—she had known it came from Luo Jialin all along.
But she had kept silent—until today. Until all the experiments were complete and the results finalized. Then, she struck back.
Not only did she snatch away the award they were on the verge of winning, but she also exposed his negligence for all to see.
What a cunning little snake. If she wanted to take him down, she'd better have the skills to match.
Han Weicheng pulled out his phone and contacted a journalist…
The next morning, Shu Lanzhou was jolted awake by her phone ringing sharply and insistently.
Still groggy from sleep, though otherwise fine, she reached for her phone as Mousse handed it over.
"It's Nan Xi."
Shu Lanzhou sat up in bed in a flash, all sleep forgotten.
"Xi-jie?"
"That bastard Han Weicheng! I'm furious! I've never seen anyone so shameless!" Nan Xi was so livid her voice went up an octave.
Shu Lanzhou instinctively moved the phone a little farther from her ear. "What happened? Take a deep breath and tell me slowly."
"I just sent you a link—check it out later. I'm so pissed. I went to see one of my coworkers first thing this morning, and we almost came to blows!"
"That damn man actually claims he did nothing wrong! I can't believe it. Lanzhou, think carefully—do you have any evidence that links Lin Muyao's paper directly to Han Weicheng?"
Shu Lanzhou furrowed her brow slightly. "Let me guess—he's denying his connection with Lin Muyao? Saying he didn't know she was publishing that paper and that he wasn't her advisor?"
Nan Xi paused. "Wait… did you already read the link I sent?"
"Not yet," Shu Lanzhou sighed. "But I figured as much. Don't worry, Xi-jie. I'll think it over. If I find any evidence, I'll send it to you right away."
Nan Xi gave a soft "Mm." "Alright. Hurry though. I swear, Han Weicheng is so shameless—and the worst part? Some people on our team are actually helping him write statements defending himself!"
"…." Shu Lanzhou didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She patiently soothed Nan Xi, eventually calming her down.
But once she ended the call, her face turned cold. She tapped the link Nan Xi had sent.
It was an exclusive interview with Han Weicheng.
According to the article, the journalist had tried to book this interview several times before, but Professor Han had always been "too busy." The only reason he finally agreed was because he'd received numerous calls over the past two days asking him to verify something—so he decided to clear things up once and for all through the media.