Shu Lanzhou was still worrying when she heard Ding Yuejiao clap her hands and shout:
"Wu Cheng is right—we might lose, but we can't lose without a fight. We once beat Professor Han's team. We can't let people think that victory was just dumb luck!"
"Even if we lose, we'll lose with style. Let them see we're not that easy to beat. So, everyone—do we have the confidence to give this paper our absolute best?"
"Yes!" Yi Ming responded immediately. "If we're going to do it, we'll do it right."
Shen Mo was also fired up. "Give it everything we've got. No regrets!"
"Everyone, rest assured—no matter what happens, once the formal hiring process is done, we'll have officially interned at the institute. If we want to stay, we've got to give it our all!" Ding Yuejiao grinned at the group.
In an instant, the low spirits vanished, replaced by high tension and productivity. Everyone got back to work.
Shu Lanzhou paused in surprise. She was starting to understand how Wu Cheng's team worked together.
These two really were made for each other—one knew how to comfort, the other how to motivate. Together, they had a synergy that was more than the sum of their parts.
Seeing everyone suddenly charged with energy, like they'd been shot full of adrenaline, Shu Lanzhou felt a powerful rebound effect.
What she hadn't expected was just how powerful that rebound would be—so much so that she almost couldn't keep up.
By 8 p.m., the first-phase research paper—originally scheduled for completion in three days—had gone through several revisions and was now complete and polished.
Shu Lanzhou was exhausted. "I'll take it to our teacher tonight. If there are no issues, we can submit it to Authoritative Medical Journal tomorrow. Sound good?"
"The earlier the better. It's not like their patent will be granted that quickly anyway. Getting our paper out first is an advantage," Wu Cheng yawned.
"But what about Professor He's foreword?"
He looked troubled. After all, He Xin was busy, and as an intern, he wasn't exactly in a position to rush him.
Just as Shu Lanzhou was about to respond, her phone rang from inside her bag.
It was Mu Side.
She answered. "Brother?"
"Come downstairs. I'm outside," he said gently. "Your teacher said the foreword is done. She's free tonight to help you revise the paper."
Shu Lanzhou's ears tingled at the tenderness in his voice. "Okay, I'll be right there."
As she was about to hang up, Mu Side added:
"If Wu Cheng's there, bring him too. Professor He wants to see him."
"Got it!" Though she wasn't sure why Professor He wanted to meet Wu Cheng now, it was definitely a good sign for him.
Wu Cheng was visibly excited when he heard Professor He wanted to meet him. He didn't ask too many questions and quickly followed Shu Lanzhou to Mu Side's car.
The Mu Family Residence.
He Xin didn't look great—he clearly hadn't slept in days.
"Sorry, I've been swamped with experiments lately and haven't had time to check in. How's your paper coming along?" he asked, turning to Wu Cheng.
Wu Cheng, a bit nervous, pulled out the paper. "We just finished it. I haven't had a chance to send it to you yet."
"Alright. Come in—Shu Lanzhou too. Your teacher's in the study waiting," He Xin said, leading them into the study.
Shu Lanzhou was relatively calm—after all, she had stayed at the Mu residence during New Year's. Wu Cheng, on the other hand, was overwhelmed.
The Mu family was ridiculously luxurious.
So this is what an old aristocratic family in Shen City looked like—pure elite class!
He swallowed nervously, afraid his posture wasn't proper enough, that his paper wasn't good enough… basically, he felt like he didn't belong.
Walking beside Shu Lanzhou, Mu Side said softly:
"I heard from your teacher that Master Long agreed to write your foreword?"
"Mm!" Shu Lanzhou's smile curled sweetly. "Master Long is so kind. I was so nervous—worried my paper wouldn't be worthy of his words."
"It's worthy." Mu Side chuckled softly. "You're worthy too."
Wu Cheng glanced at Mu Side—man, this guy really knows how to charm a girl.
Still, Master Long writing a foreword? That was insanely enviable.
But thinking about everything Shu Lanzhou had been through and the months they'd worked together, Wu Cheng felt she deserved it. No wonder Mu Side treated her differently.
A girl like that—diligent, smart, capable, kind, and grateful—who wouldn't like her?
That kid Yi Ming? His chances were probably shot.
Then again, maybe not—Shu Lanzhou clearly hadn't realized her own feelings yet. Even for Mu Side, winning her heart wouldn't be easy.
The thought made Wu Cheng chuckle to himself.
By the time they reached the study, he was no longer nervous.
Still, when he heard He Xin's proposal, he nearly lost it emotionally—it felt too surreal, like he'd just won the lottery.
Meanwhile, news that Han Weicheng's student was filing for a patent had reached Xiang Hua and Xiao Anning.
"This was the theory I mentioned before. I didn't expect them to already have an experimental method in place. Han Weicheng's more capable than I thought," Xiao Anning explained, pointing at a message on his phone.
"If I remember right, the fastest possible approval for a patent is three months," Xiang Hua tapped his fingers on the desk.
"Help them out. Get it done in a month. Just one month."
"It's only a methodology. As long as He Xin's team isn't completely incompetent, they'll figure it out in three months too. We can't let them get the upper hand in application."
Xiao Anning's eyes lit up.
"You're right. I heard the two projects are similar. Whichever team achieves results first, it'll crush the other."
"At best, the other team ends up with nothing. At worst, the entire project gets canceled."
Xiang Hua smiled. "You're too naive. Don't forget, they've got Mu Yanning. Just having ties to traditional Chinese medicine makes this project hard to kill… unless—"
He didn't finish the sentence, but Xiao Anning understood:
Unless they sink in tons of manpower and funding and still produce no results over time.
But would that really happen?
While Xiao Anning was skeptical of traditional medicine, he wasn't confident enough to say it would definitely fail.
It would all come down to how they played their cards later.
He was already forming a plan.
"Don't worry, professor. Their success won't come easy. I'll keep a close eye on them." He was determined not to let Long Xingyue rise to power because of this research. Absolutely not.
What he didn't realize was how absolutely not it was going to be.
After an all-nighter, He Xin was barely hanging on.
"There's still some content left. Mu Side, you finish it up. I can't take it anymore—I need to sleep," he said, dragging Mu Yanning up with him.
"Leave it to Mu Side. Let's go."
After they left, Wu Cheng let out a huge sigh of relief.
"Shu Lanzhou, quick—pinch me. This has to be a dream!"
Just earlier, he'd been envying Shu Lanzhou for having Master Long write her foreword. But now—he didn't need to envy her at all.
After all, he now had none other than Professor Gu Da, the Mu family matriarch and Han Weicheng's former teacher, writing his foreword!
Mu Side gave him a playful punch.
"You awake now?"
Wu Cheng winced and rubbed his shoulder. "Awake, awake! Mu Side, are your hands made of iron or something? That hurt!"
"Pfft… Senior Wu, you actually believe that stuff?" Shu Lanzhou yawned.
Half an hour later, with the sky just beginning to lighten, Mu Side took off his glasses.
"Both papers are solid. You're ready to publish."
That was all they needed to hear. Shu Lanzhou and Wu Cheng finally relaxed.
Wu Cheng stood. "I'll head back to campus. It's been a long night. Mu Side, thanks for everything."
"Mm." Mu Side got up too. "I'll walk you out."
"No—I will," Shu Lanzhou jumped up. "Brother, you sit down."
She walked Wu Cheng out of the Mu residence.
Wu Cheng glanced back at the grand house.
"Junior Shu, really—thank you. Ever since you helped with our proposal for the competition, it feels like everything's been going our way. And now, even the Mu family…"
"You should thank Yuejiao. I helped because she was kind to me," Shu Lanzhou said with a yawn.
"So be good to her."
"Of course," Wu Cheng said without fuss. He waved and left.
The team members who'd pulled the all-nighter slept like the dead once they got back.
But in the medical world… their sleepless night had just stirred up a storm.