Luo Jialin's face darkened immediately.
Well, well, well. Shu Lanzhou, you're something else. No wonder you had the confidence to march in here with your people and claim that everything marked with a red tag was yours—you'd already labeled them in advance.
This woman was calculating to the core. Even while organizing materials for the team, she'd made sure to distinguish what was hers, meticulously marking every contribution under her name!
Luo Jialin yanked Lin Muyao back. "The professor already said she's allowed to take the materials. What are you all making a scene for? Step aside and let them move it."
"Step aside? It's too late for that now!" Shu Lanzhou folded her arms and took a step back, her gaze icy. "I said it already—however she tossed these materials onto the floor, that's exactly how she's going to pick them back up."
"Either she returns every file to its place on the shelf, or she hands each one over personally to my people. Otherwise, I don't mind gathering the whole school here to witness the professionalism of Professor Han's team."
"Exactly." Zhang He snorted coldly. "If you're so afraid of Shu Lanzhou taking these materials, could it be… you all were planning to rely on her work all along?"
"Bullshit!" Du Yifan shouted, still trying to assert himself. "We don't need her damn materials. Go on, take it all!"
Shu Lanzhou couldn't even be bothered to respond to this idiot anymore. She simply fixed her cold gaze on Lin Muyao.
"Pick. Them. Up."
"I…" Lin Muyao gritted her teeth, unwilling to stoop down. She started to turn away, but Luo Jialin grabbed her arm. "Pick them up. Move faster. I don't want the professor coming here and rushing us!"
The mention of Han Weicheng was enough to make Lin Muyao hesitate. No matter how unwilling she was, she had no choice but to lower herself—because Han Weicheng had already granted Shu Lanzhou permission to take the materials!
Damn Shu Lanzhou. You shameless woman. The grudge between us just got even deeper. You wait—I won't let this go!
When they finally left Han Weicheng's archive room, everyone in Shu Lanzhou's group carried thick stacks of files in their arms.
"Shu Lanzhou, where are you planning to store all this?" He Sixin asked, flipping through a few pages by accident. To her surprise, the materials covered not only cytology but also other medical fields.
"I haven't decided yet," Shu Lanzhou replied with a shake of her head. "For now, let's put them in our own resource room. If anyone's interested, feel free to read them."
"Interested? Are you kidding?" Ke Beichen raised an eyebrow. "Your compiled notes are gold. I probably owe my first-place score last semester to the practice tests you gave me!"
"Exactly," Dong Anlan chuckled. "The study guides you recommended really helped too. Our whole dorm saw improvements in the finals thanks to you."
Laughing and chatting, they walked along together. With so many people carrying so many conspicuous files, they quickly became a unique sight on campus.
Some students, puzzled by the scene, started whispering:
"Is there some school event today? Why wasn't I informed?"
"Event? Look at them—does that look like a group heading to an event?"
"Then what's going on? Why are second- and third-year grad students mixed in with seniors?"
"You haven't heard? I heard…"
…
Groups of students gathered and whispered excitedly as rumors spread:
Professor Han Weicheng lost a bet with his student, forcing him to let her empty out his archive room.
The more it spread, the more exaggerated it became. By the end of the day, the story turned into:
Han Weicheng lost to Shu Lanzhou in a bet, and she led a team to move out the entire archive room.
This sparked even more speculation.
"Wait, does this mean Shu Lanzhou hasn't really given up on cytology?"
"Why else would she go to such lengths to take all those materials? Sounds like she's still planning to learn from her old team, doesn't it?"
"Isn't that too much though? After all, they were once teacher and student. She left the team voluntarily—what right does she have to clear out their archives? What's her angle?"
Some more clear-headed students raised a different question:
"Hold on—Han Weicheng bet with his own student, and he actually lost? What was the bet even about?"
"Yeah! What kind of bet could make a professor lose to his student?"
…
As the speculation swirled, the university posted the semester honors board and the scholarship recipient list at the same time.
Students crowded around the board, voices filled with outrage:
"Shu Lanzhou placed fortieth in the year—how the hell did she still get a scholarship? This is so unfair!"
"Yeah! I thought one of the requirements for a scholarship was being in the top ten of your major? How does someone ranked fortieth qualify? We need answers!"
"We're filing a complaint!"
"…"
Just as the crowd's complaints grew louder, a student standing by another board hesitantly called out:
"Uh… guys? Isn't she listed as first place on this other board? How could she be fortieth? Did you read it wrong?"
"Could it be a different person with the same name?"
"But they're from two different majors—how could her name appear on both?"
"Wait a second. Are you forgetting something?"
…
Suddenly, the crowd fell silent. Someone who wasn't in the loop asked curiously:
"Uh… forget what? Why did everyone stop talking?"
"Pfft—" Yi Ming couldn't hold back a laugh. "Of course it's Shu Lanzhou. Damn, my junior is killing it."
"Yi Ming, what are you talking about? Who's Shu Lanzhou? Which junior are you bragging about? Tell us!"
"Yeah! Who is it?"
…
Someone in the know shouted: "Who else could it be? Shu Lanzhou! You know—the senior who's been trying to change majors even in her final year."
"Well, turns out she wasn't joking at all. She really had the skills. Double major: first place in one, fortieth in the other. What kind of genius is she?"
"Oh, it's her? Then… could that bet with the professor have something to do with her new major's grades?"
"Now that you mention it, that makes sense!"
"Seriously though—if she's this talented, why would Professor Han let her go?"
"Maybe… it wasn't him who let her go. Maybe she chose to leave him."
That question struck a nerve.
In the past, people would've scoffed—"Yeah right, no one would walk away from such a prestigious lab unless they were crazy!"
But now? No one said a word.
"Actually, it's totally possible," someone admitted quietly. "Word is, Shu Lanzhou was never really treated well on the team. Everything that's happened kinda proves she was always the scapegoat."
"And look at her now—she's prettier, got more friends, and honestly, everything shows that Professor Han wasn't as untouchable as everyone thought."
"True. Their lab didn't even get a special award last semester. Their team only had two people ranked top of the year—and I heard one of them bombed hard."
"Probably got in through connections, huh?"
"Hey, watch it! Don't drag us into this—you're not Shu Lanzhou. You trying to get yourself killed or what?"
…
As the crowd around the bulletin boards shifted, the names Shu Lanzhou and Professor Han Weicheng became the hottest topic on campus.
Meanwhile, Guo Jialiang had returned to campus to officially withdraw. After wrapping up his paperwork, he decided to invite the old lab team out for a farewell meal—to share that he'd been accepted into a research institute, and to say a proper goodbye.
As they passed the bulletin boards, they couldn't help overhearing the swirling rumors.
It was then that Guo Jialiang learned the truth:
Professor Han had bet with Shu Lanzhou—betting that unless her grades in her new major scored above ninety, she couldn't demand his recommendation to withdraw.
But the result? Shu Lanzhou didn't just score above ninety—she cracked the top fifty of the entire year!
It wasn't just a slap in Han Weicheng's face. It sealed Guo Jialiang's departure for good.
Though Guo Jialiang felt some gratitude toward Han Weicheng, he'd already come to terms with leaving. But his old teammates, overhearing the whispers and seeing the truth unfold, wore expressions darker than ever.