Shu Lanzhou's lips curled into a soft smile. "I accepted his proposal!"
"Wow!" Nan Xi let out a delighted squeal. "Congratulations, girl! Does this mean I can write about you two in the next issue of the Mu Group's medical feature?"
"I'll have to ask him first," Shu Lanzhou replied, her cheeks turning a rosy pink. "I'll let you know next time we meet."
Not long after she ended the call, Mu Side came in to call her for dinner.
"Grandma asked us to drop by sometime in the next couple of days," he said as he placed a piece of meat into her bowl during dinner. "She'll probably want to talk about Han Weicheng. You should mentally prepare yourself. In media storms like this, neither side usually comes out a winner."
"This hasn't exactly been easy on you either," he added. "The public hides behind screens. They often don't know the truth, but a few keystrokes can be enough to destroy someone."
"Shushu, none of us want to see you get hurt."
Shu Lanzhou nodded obediently. "I know. I just called my professor a moment ago, too. I admit the livestream was a bit impulsive, but it was the best solution I could think of at the time."
"I'll keep a low profile from now on, and I won't post so much on social media. I promise, once this is over, I'll focus entirely on my studies and research."
"I'm not blaming you," Mu Side reassured her, motioning for her to eat more. "You haven't been to the attic this month. In a few days, I'll go with you."
Shu Lanzhou nodded. "Alright."
After dinner, she sent a quick message in a few chat groups to let everyone know she was safe, and then she noticed the chaos brewing online.
Sure enough, it was a war without smoke or fire—terrifying in its own way. Shu Lanzhou quietly logged off, deciding to organize her materials. Tomorrow, she would return to the Mu family estate.
She had done everything she could. All that remained was to wait for the results. As for the rest, she didn't need to concern herself.
Compared to her calm and ease, Han Weicheng was having a truly miserable day.
He had originally thought that his sincere apology, combined with the fact that he had been accidentally injured and hospitalized while trying to handle the situation, would at least earn him a bit of sympathy from the public.
But he had gravely underestimated Shu Lanzhou. Not only had she tracked his whereabouts, but she had also exposed a glaring discrepancy in the timeline he mentioned in his apology letter regarding his "personal experimentation," directly calling out his lie.
First, his reputation was utterly shredded. Then, for some inexplicable reason, Lin Jiayi suddenly seemed to lose her mind—applying first thing in the morning to terminate their collaboration and requesting a new project lead at the research institute.
Without him, that ragtag group at the institute still expected to make progress? Utterly delusional.
Han Weicheng simply assumed Lin Jiayi was throwing a tantrum. After all, he had personally abandoned Lin Muyao, who was now sitting in a detention center.
But what he didn't expect was that Lin Jiayi seemed determined to go down with him. She refused to meet him and even went directly to the director of the institute—rumor had it she invoked her father's name as well.
Han Weicheng had been planning to visit Xiao Anning, hoping the National Hospital could pressure the institute into ignoring Lin Jiayi's "nonsense." But just as he arrived at Xiao Anning's residence—before he even got to see her—news of Shu Lanzhou's livestreamed paper presentation exploded online.
Three papers in a row—published, no less.
In just a few short hours, he'd been branded a flamboyant, showboating professor.
The fury hit Han Weicheng like a blow to the chest. He collapsed in the street.
When he came to in the hospital, there was someone else in the room—Luo Jialin.
Luo Jialin stared at him with mocking disdain.
"Oh, you're awake? Then tell me—what were you thinking back when you chose Lin Muyao over Shu Lanzhou? Do you regret it now?"
"Don't try to bait me," Han Weicheng sat up stiffly. "Don't say I didn't warn you. That research project has been underway for over a year. We're on the cusp of a breakthrough. If something happens to me now, your investment goes straight down the drain."
Luo Jialin's gaze turned frosty.
"You really are the pinnacle of selfishness. Even now, all you care about is your own interest. Have you stopped to consider whether you even deserve to be leading this research anymore?"
"Do you plan to give any kind of explanation—to the public, to the medical community, to your investors, to the research institute? What about your past students—the ones you exploited and suppressed?"
"You picked me back then, not because of my abilities, but because of my background, right? Just like how Tian Hua and Fang Ruoshi each had their flaws. I'll give you credit—you're good at picking students."
"If I recall correctly, the project we won an award for back then actually had some research value. But because it wasn't profitable enough, you abandoned it. You let Tian Hua write a paper."
"And that paper—wasn't it eventually published under your name?" Luo Jialin sneered. "Tian Hua was by far the most capable among us, but he had a gambling problem."
"Let me guess—you paid off his gambling debts, and once you had the paper, you spruced it up with some fancy jargon, added a high-sounding title, and presented it as your original research."
"We were so blind back then, thinking your papers were far superior to ours. We even admired you in private—saying a teacher's work really was on another level."
"But after reading Shu Lanzhou's paper—her unapologetic use of the term 'flamboyant' opened my eyes. Academic research should be just that—academic."
"No need for pretentious phrasing or impressive titles. What matters are real data and valid results."
"And those complex, seemingly sophisticated calculations in your papers—how many could actually stand up to proper experimental scrutiny? How are you any different from Lin Muyao?"
Luo Jialin seethed with suppressed rage.
"Oh wait—no, you wanted to replicate your so-called 'success' through her. You wanted to shape her into the medical field's next rising star."
"But too bad—she was a fool. Her impatience gave Shu Lanzhou the perfect opening."
"She didn't realize real research takes time to settle. Success doesn't come easy. In that regard, Shu Lanzhou is far more patient than she ever was."
Han Weicheng's eyes narrowed in displeasure. "What are you trying to say?"
"You still don't get it, do you, Professor Han?" Luo Jialin smiled coldly. "Your reputation is in ruins. You'll never be that dazzling academic star again."
"As long as Shu Lanzhou remains at the university, your chances of returning to teaching are exactly zero. Given how much the Mu family despises you now, do you really think they'll tolerate you again?"
"Between you and Mu Yaning, who do you think the school would choose?"
Luo Jialin chuckled, watching Han Weicheng's expression turn ashen.
"You did say one thing right just now," he continued.
"The Luo family's investment can't go to waste. As much of a fraud as you are, you were once handpicked by the Mu family and personally mentored by both Elder Mu and Professor Gu."
"You must have some real skill. Your fame went to your head—but now it's time you returned to the lab. No more grandstanding. No more shortcuts."
"Time to buckle down and do real research, Professor Han. Don't you agree?"