Ma Chao was the first to back down.
"Principal, this has nothing to do with me. An Shimeng wrote the initial draft of the paper, and she also listed the data we needed to test in our experiments."
Unlike Chen Xiangyu, Ma Chao had joined the group merely to bask in the reflected glory of Chen Xiangyu and An Shimeng, hoping to add some highlights to his resume. Now that the paper had been identified as plagiarized, he naturally wanted to disassociate himself from it as quickly as possible.
Once he spoke, Lin Jiahang, Song Yushu, and Sun Wenbin hurriedly chimed in, "Ah, right, it was An Shimeng. In our group, An Shimeng is the first author. We were only responsible for conducting experiments according to her requirements and providing the experimental data..."
"But An Shimeng's name isn't in the list of authors on your paper!" The man's finger tapped the printed draft of the paper.
Ma Chao and the others quickly checked and found their names listed as joint authors.
