Shu Lanzhou didn't have time to question Mu Side about what happened the night before. She rushed back to campus with him at her side.
At the academic affairs office, she found Dong Anlan pacing anxiously in the hallway.
"Anlan?" Shu Lanzhou called out, slightly out of breath.
Dong Anlan looked at her, eyes filled with gratitude. "I'm so sorry, Shu Lanzhou, for dragging you here so early… but you're the only one who can prove that Ke Beichen is telling the truth!"
"Wait—what's going on? Prove what?" Shu Lanzhou was utterly confused.
It turned out that Ke Beichen and Dong Anlan had planned to visit their new company together today, but Ke Beichen hadn't even made it off campus before receiving a call from the academic office.
Someone had accused him of cheating on his exam, demanding the school investigate the authenticity of his grades.
Normally, this would've been easy to clear up—just check the surveillance footage from exam day. But the accuser refused to believe the footage, insisting that Ke Beichen had obtained the exam questions in advance.
Given that Ke Beichen's usual grades trailed Luo Jialin's by about ten ranks, it wasn't exactly surprising that the office had their doubts.
Shu Lanzhou couldn't help but laugh. "Let me guess… the one who reported him was either Han Weicheng or one of his students?"
She remembered this happening in her past life too—except back then, the target wasn't Ke Beichen, and it wasn't to help Luo Jialin, but Du Yifan.
In her previous life, Du Yifan had also performed poorly on this exam. But because Shu Lanzhou had prepared review materials for him ahead of time, it wasn't as bad as it was now.
And the reason was simple: Huang Tiantian, the woman Lin Muyao had crafted perfectly to fit Du Yifan's tastes.
Back then, once Lin Muyao joined the team, she'd bent over backward to please everyone, arranging everything exactly to their liking. Afraid the group's studies would suffer, Shu Lanzhou had often opposed Lin Muyao, earning herself increasing resentment from the others.
Looking back now, Shu Lanzhou realized how foolishly self-sacrificing she'd been.
But after being reborn, she decisively distanced herself. Huang Tiantian met Du Yifan earlier this time, but without Shu Lanzhou's review materials, Du Yifan's grades tanked—landing him squarely at the bottom.
With Han Weicheng's vain and selfish personality, he'd probably already given up on Du Yifan. If not for the Du family's financial backing, he might've kicked him off the team already.
But Luo Jialin? That was someone Han Weicheng would never abandon.
In her past life, Luo Jialin had always been top of the class. After being reborn, Shu Lanzhou had long wanted to tear off his hypocritical mask. And since Ke Beichen was in the same major as Luo Jialin, it was only natural for Shu Lanzhou to give Ke Beichen the study materials she'd originally intended for Luo Jialin.
Plus, Luo Jialin had discussed the exam topics with her last time—so she'd had a crystal-clear idea of the test's focus. Helping Ke Beichen prep with precision had been easy.
Ke Beichen wasn't lacking in ability to begin with. Motivated by his feelings for Dong Anlan and armed with Shu Lanzhou's materials, he'd worked harder than ever.
It wasn't shocking at all that he'd leapfrogged Luo Jialin to become first in the year—or that Han Weicheng and his camp would accuse him of cheating.
As Shu Lanzhou finished speaking, the office door opened.
"Shu Lanzhou?" Ke Beichen's face lit up in surprise. "Anlan told you?"
"Yeah." Shu Lanzhou glanced inside the room. "So… what's the situation? They still don't believe you?"
Ke Beichen smiled faintly. "My advisor's inside. Come on in."
Shu Lanzhou pulled Dong Anlan along as they stepped inside.
When Luo Jialin saw them, he frowned and turned to the director. "Director, I don't think it's appropriate to have outsiders present. Could you please ask them to leave?"
"Outsiders?" Ke Beichen's gaze sharpened, cold and unwavering as he looked at Luo Jialin.
"They've been questioning whether my review materials were stolen from the exam paper. Honestly, I find their accusations absurd and hardly worth my time."
"My advisor said it himself: the burden of proof is on the accuser, not the accused. But…" Ke Beichen's lips curved faintly, "when I saw Shu Lanzhou outside, I changed my mind."
He chuckled softly.
"Professor, you've been asking me where I got my review materials, haven't you? Well, they came from Shu Lanzhou."
"Not just me—she provided tailored review notes to all her friends. Thanks to her, we all improved this time."
"It's just… my improvement was a bit more dramatic."
He tilted his chin, a confident smirk playing on his absurdly handsome face. His alluring peach blossom eyes flicked meaningfully toward Dong Anlan.
"Geez, kid—still showing off at a time like this?" his advisor snorted, shoving Ke Beichen aside like swatting a fly. "If you want to flirt, do it elsewhere. Don't block the way."
Professor Chen was a character, alright. He strode right up to Shu Lanzhou.
"Shu Lanzhou, I'm Professor Chen. I teach cell biology. I was introduced to your work through Professor Wang, and I've read many of your papers. I'm very impressed."
He lowered his tone eagerly. "Have you considered grad school? I'd be honored to be your advisor."
"I promise—I treat all my students fairly. No one under me gets bullied. You can ask Ke Beichen if you don't believe me."
"Any achievements you earn will belong to you alone. No one will steal credit. And as your teacher, I'll do everything I can to help you. What do you say? Think about it?"
His eager, almost fawning tone made Han Weicheng scowl.
"We're here to discuss cheating, Professor Chen. Don't change the subject!" Han Weicheng snapped.
"Change the subject, my ass!" Professor Chen shot back, sleeves rolled up like he was ready to throw down. "If you've got evidence, show it! Otherwise, what are you doing here running your mouth?"
"What—only your students are allowed to get first place? No one else is?"
"Yeah, why not?" Shu Lanzhou's smile was cool as she turned her gaze on Han Weicheng.
"Professor Han, do you truly believe only your students deserve to be number one? That your teaching methods are the best in the entire school? That your students are the only ones worthy of top scores?"
"What makes you so sure?"
Her voice was light, her tone calm. There wasn't an ounce of hostility—yet somehow, the entire room fell silent, like the air had frozen. Even the director of academic affairs drew a sharp breath, stunned.
This girl… she's here to stir the pot, isn't she? Everyone thinks it, but who's ever dared to say it aloud—much less to Han Weicheng's face?
She must be crazy!
She's clearly not afraid of burning bridges. Clearly not afraid of retaliation.
And suddenly, everyone wondered: just how badly had she been wronged… to push a girl like this to the brink?
Han Weicheng's breath caught in his throat, neither in nor out. He was practically choking on his own anger.
"You have no right to speak here!" he barked. "This is a matter between me and Professor Chen. You're just a student—don't you even know the basic respect owed to your teachers? What kind of teaching did you even receive?"
"Oh, my teachers?" Shu Lanzhou let out a quiet, sardonic laugh.
"Maybe… they never had time to teach me that."
"After all, they only cared about grades. If you didn't have the grades, you weren't their student—right, Professor Han?"
A sharp "pfft" burst from Professor Chen, unable to hold back his laughter.
"Isn't that the truth!" Professor Chen roared with mirth. "Every year, he scoops up the best students. But once they're in his hands, all he sees are test scores. Heaven forbid he notice anything else—like his own students being bullied right under his nose."
"Ran a girl so ragged she looked like a skeleton. Lucky that kid was tough. Otherwise? She'd have been dead before graduation."
He turned to the director. "Tell me, Director—how does a man like that deserve to be called a teacher?"