In an exclusive interview, Han Weicheng claimed that the research topic covered in Lin Muyao and Yi Ming's published paper was actually a minor project he had proposed several years ago as a class assignment for his students.
At that time, Lin Muyao hadn't even joined his research team.
He expressed confusion over why Lin Muyao suddenly started working on this minor topic and even wrote a paper on it.
For over a year now, he said, he had been preoccupied with a new project in collaboration with a research institute, and hadn't paid attention to the online attention Lin Muyao's paper had attracted.
Although he had occasionally heard others in the academic circle mention it, he claimed to be too busy to verify the content of Lin Muyao's research—and he absolutely never supervised her experiments.
In other words, Lin Muyao's published paper was entirely her own doing and had nothing to do with Han Weicheng. He also denied being her thesis advisor.
He went on to say that he quite admired Yi Ming's published research. After the controversy between the two papers erupted, he claimed to have personally conducted experiments that confirmed Yi Ming was correct.
In light of the impact caused by Lin Muyao's publication, Han said he bore some responsibility as her teacher for failing to supervise her properly. He offered a sincere apology to the public and promised to urge Lin Muyao to retract all her published work.
Furthermore, he assured that in future teaching and research, he would hold his students to stricter standards to ensure such oversight would never happen again.
What a load of crap. The entire interview was clearly staged to give him a platform to weasel his way out!
No wonder Nan Xi was furious enough to curse. Shu Lanzhou's own breath quickened with anger.
That selfish man—he only ever cared about himself.
At first, she had actually wondered if Han Weicheng would treat Lin Muyao differently—perhaps not abandon her so easily, maybe even do everything he could to salvage her reputation.
But now she realized she had overestimated Han Weicheng's humanity.
Shu Lanzhou turned off her phone and took a deep breath. "I'm going to the research institute. I'm skipping breakfast."
"You can't do that!" Mu Side grabbed her hand. "No matter what's going on, you can't punish yourself. Trust me—eat first. I'll go with you to the institute afterward."
"Shu Lanzhou, a home isn't just a shelter from the storm. It's a place where you're allowed to lean on others, where you're reminded that you're never alone in facing things."
"No matter what happens, you have to remember that you're not in this alone. I'll help you—got it?"
Shu Lanzhou had never considered turning to someone else when trouble hit. Since her rebirth, she had been laying traps for Han Weicheng step by step, all on her own.
Even seeking out Yi Ming and Wu Cheng hadn't really been about asking for help—it was more of a mutually beneficial cooperation in her eyes.
But now, for the first time, she realized—she had allies too. When it came to confronting Han Weicheng, maybe she didn't need to fight alone anymore.
"Then..." Shu Lanzhou looked at Mu Side. "Can you help me check Han Weicheng's whereabouts over the past few days? Especially after Yi Ming's paper was published—where has he been?"
"No problem. I'll make arrangements right away." Mu Side turned to make the call.
After breakfast, Shu Lanzhou changed into outdoor clothes, her thoughts still lingering on Han Weicheng's interview.
Nan Xi had been working on a feature covering the development of Mu's medical research, and because she often interacted with Shu Lanzhou, she had some insight into Han Weicheng's true nature—hence her fierce reaction.
But most others didn't know the real Han Weicheng.
To the public, he was a brilliant academic, a nationally renowned professor with a refined and gentle demeanor—a scholar of high moral standing.
Yi Ming's paper had only just been published. Despite Nan Xi's efforts to promote it, the ripple effect hadn't fully taken hold. The impact so far was limited.
At this moment, Han Weicheng stepping forward to clarify the situation and publicly cut ties with Lin Muyao would likely preserve his reputation.
His loyal admirers would simply redirect their criticism toward Lin Muyao. All the blame and condemnation would fall on her alone.
Although Lin Muyao wasn't innocent, Shu Lanzhou couldn't stand the thought of letting this blow over while Han Weicheng slipped away unscathed.
Let's be honest—if Han Weicheng hadn't enabled her, Lin Muyao wouldn't have had the audacity to go this far.
Clenching her fists, Shu Lanzhou followed Mu Side to the research institute.
On the way, Mu Side got a call—his people had finished investigating Han Weicheng's whereabouts.
From the moment Yi Ming's paper was published until that very morning, Han Weicheng hadn't set foot in the lab.
In other words, his claim in the interview that he had personally conducted experiments to verify Yi Ming's findings was a lie. He never did any verification at all.
Why didn't he verify the results?
The answer was obvious—he already knew the data in Lin Muyao's paper was flawed. He had known all along.
Shu Lanzhou wasn't surprised. "His schedule—is it public knowledge?"
"Not officially, but he was in public places the whole time—plenty of witnesses," Mu Side said, patting her hand.
"Do whatever you think needs to be done. I'll back you all the way. Don't be afraid."
Shu Lanzhou drew in a deep breath. "I want to ask Professor He's opinion on this first..."
That afternoon, Nan Xi hosted an online livestream interview with He Xin.
He Xin appeared in the video alongside Yi Ming.
During the interview, Professor He revealed that the research topic Yi Ming had pursued was actually introduced more than twenty years ago by the late Professor Gu Wan during her teaching career.
However, due to its perceived lack of research value, the topic was long neglected.
This time, when Yi Ming approached him seeking guidance for the experiment, Professor He saw the young man's passion for research and couldn't bring himself to shut him down, so he agreed.
He even arranged for Yi Ming to have his own lab within the research institute to conduct the experiment. After more than a year, Yi Ming not only achieved substantial results, but also made an unexpected discovery that significantly advanced their current research project.
As for the nature of that discovery, Professor He left it as a teaser, saying the public would find out once Yi Ming's remaining papers were published.
He also explained that the reason he proactively contacted reporters to do this livestream interview was to directly address the ongoing controversy online.
First, he didn't want anyone taking advantage of the situation to steal credit for Professor Gu's original topic.
Second, he wanted to explain how Yi Ming began working on this topic in the first place—it was because he discovered errors in Lin Muyao's published data and wanted to verify whether those errors were real.
During the interview, Yi Ming also spoke candidly, admitting that he was impulsive by nature and had a habit of publishing rebuttals whenever he came across inaccurate medical data.
This time was no different—except Shu Lanzhou happened to learn about his rebuttal and encouraged him to run experiments of his own, which led to today's success.
After the livestream ended, the academic community exploded with discussion.
Some said this was the first time Professor He had openly declared war on Han Weicheng—mercilessly exposing Han's attempt to hijack credit for a minor research topic.
Others pointed out that Lin Muyao had been part of Han's team for over a year—it was impossible he didn't know what she was doing. His interview was nothing but a feeble excuse.
Some even joked that Shu Lanzhou was a walking good luck charm. Every team she'd joined had experienced breakthroughs thanks to her critical insights.
As the debates intensified, someone posted Han Weicheng's schedule from the past two days beneath the interview video, claiming to have seen him at specific times and places.
More people chimed in, verifying their own sightings.
In the end, someone summarized it perfectly: "So you're saying… from the moment Yi Ming's paper was published to when Han Weicheng's interview aired, he never had the time to run any experiments to verify Lin Muyao's data?"