Guo Jialiang's eyes flickered, and he couldn't find a way to answer Shulan Zhou's question.
"But everything you're saying didn't happen, did it?" Guo Jialiang lowered his head, trying again to grab Shulan Zhou's hand.
"Enough!" Shulan Zhou dodged his hand.
"You never regret anything, do you? You would only feel relieved if I were to break down and commit suicide because of these rumors. You'd be glad!"
"Because in that case, no one would ever know how much better I am than you, and no one would find out about the shady things you did within the team."
"You would still be the outstanding graduate student in Professor Han's team, graduating smoothly, finding a respectable job under Professor Han's reputation. By then, you'd probably forget who I am."
Shulan Zhou sneered.
"Guo Jialiang, I will never forgive you. Absolutely not. We are adults now, and we must take responsibility for our choices. Since you dared to do this, you should be ready to face the consequences."
"Stop talking to this kind of person. Let's go." Mu Yaning grabbed Shulan Zhou's arm and began to walk away from the faculty building.
He Sixin and Mu Side followed closely behind.
"How did it go?" Mu Side asked, looking at Shulan Zhou.
Shulan Zhou raised a smile and replied, "Everything is resolved. The school said they will handle the whistleblower seriously, and the rumor-monger will also face consequences."
"That's great!" Zhang He sighed in relief. "We saw that girl crying as she came out earlier, so we figured this matter must be settled."
"But it's so frustrating! How could they say those things about you? It's just despicable."
Shulan Zhou stepped forward to comfort him. "It's okay, don't get mad. In the end, I don't really care. People have their mouths, and we can't sew them shut."
"No, I won't stand for this," Zhang He gritted his teeth. "Once the school's verdict comes out, it'll be too late to change anything. I don't want to hear any more rumors about you. I'm going to talk to them right now."
Zhang He dragged Ding Yuejiao toward the girls' dormitory.
Shulan Zhou couldn't stop them.
"Let them go. They care about you," Mu Yaning said, pulling Shulan Zhou aside. "This matter has been going on for a while, hasn't it? Didn't Director Zhou already come to talk to you? And you didn't say a word."
"If it weren't for Professor He coming to the school, would you have kept this from us too?"
Mu Yaning was both angry and heartbroken.
She still remembered what Shulan Zhou looked like when they met in the hospital more than two months ago!
Then she thought about it—Shulan Zhou had lived her entire life like this, never eating a full meal, never having a proper rest, suffering from long-term malnutrition, small and frail.
It was heartbreaking!
Shulan Zhou looked apologetic. "Sorry, I didn't know how to bring it up. But didn't Professor He come to the school for a contract signing?"
She winked with a smile.
"You little rascal!" Mu Yaning felt a twinge in her heart. "Forget this time, but in the future, you can't just quietly solve things on your own."
"I'm your teacher, and these are your senior sister and brother. We're not outsiders. From now on, we're a team—a community of interests. Your business is everyone's business."
"I don't care how things were when you were little, but from now on, you need to remember that you are someone who's protected. You don't have to charge forward on your own anymore. Understand?"
Shulan Zhou's tears fell one by one.
"I understand, teacher."
She really wanted to cry, she longed to cry!
For the first time, she felt like she wasn't alone, that there were people who would protect her!!
Compared to Professor Han, Mu Yaning was completely different!
"Alright, enough, Auntie," Mu Side raised his hand to wipe her tears, but He Sixin pulled him away.
He Sixin took out a tissue and handed it to Shulan Zhou. "Don't cry. Senior Sister will take you to eat. After we eat, I'll buy you a small cake. Be good."
"Poof…" Shulan Zhou had never been comforted like this. Her heart bloomed with joy, feeling as if she were enveloped by sunlight, warm and cozy.
"I won't cry anymore, thank you, Senior Sister!"
Looking at her laughing and crying at the same time, the people around her couldn't help but laugh as well.
The village head, with his hands behind his back, smiled slightly. "Now that so many people care for you, seeing you doing well, I can finally be at ease."
"Thank you, Grandpa!" Shulan Zhou wiped away her tears. "Let's go, I'll treat you to a meal!"
"I have to go back to the village this afternoon. I bought my ticket when I came," the village head waved his hand. "Don't go making a fuss. Let's just go to your school's cafeteria and try it out, okay?"
Shulan Zhou smiled brightly. "Sure, we'll go wherever you say!"
In the afternoon, Mu Side drove the village head to the train station.
Shulan Zhou followed along.
After leaving the train station, Mu Side drove the car to a shopping mall entrance.
"Wait for me here!" he got out of the car in a hurry.
Shulan Zhou leaned against the car window, not moving.
Deep down, she still felt a little sad.
In her past life, it was she who made Guo Jialiang succeed. He got into the research institute and was heavily relied upon by Luo Jialin—all because he stole her research achievements. Even his paper was copied from hers!
She had originally thought that by changing her fate in this life, she wouldn't have to endure the same harm again. But she had still underestimated Guo Jialiang's character.
Or rather, humanity was something he completely lacked!
Shulan Zhou looked out the car window. She saw Mu Side running into the mall, and shortly after, he came out holding a box.
He was running quickly, seemingly eager to do something!
What could he possibly be doing?
The car door opened, and Mu Side got in, placing the box on the backseat.
The car quickly started again, and when it stopped, Shulan Zhou was a little surprised. "Where are we?"
"A park," Mu Side opened the car door and got out, taking the box from the backseat. He circled around the car and opened the door for Shulan Zhou. "Come on, I'm taking you to a place!"
Shulan Zhou, still feeling a little down, met Mu Side's eager and sincere gaze, and obediently got out of the car.
It was almost New Year's, and the weather was bitterly cold. Shulan Zhou shrunk her neck, hiding inside her large down jacket.
Mu Side reached out and grabbed her arm. "It's not far. We'll be there in a moment."
They probably walked two or three hundred meters before Shulan Zhou saw a glass greenhouse.
"This is the park's flower-growing greenhouse. It opens to the public in winter," Mu Side explained briefly, leading her inside.
"What flowers do you like?"
"Huh?" Shulan Zhou looked at Mu Side in confusion.
Mu Side pointed at the long corridor. "There are at least a dozen different flower beds over there. You should pick the one you like and go in."
"Then let's go with camellias!" Those were the flowers she had seen the most when she was young!
Mu Side smiled. "Good choice."
He led her into the camellia hall.
"It's the peak season for them now, and this is the city's designated breeding station, so the varieties are quite unique. If we're lucky, we might even see a new variety!"
"Looks like we're lucky!" Mu Side walked up to a row of brilliantly blooming camellias, lifting his chin and gesturing for Shulan Zhou to look.
Shulan Zhou was amazed by the dozens of different camellia varieties in front of her. She had never known there were so many kinds of camellias.
"These… are all camellias?"
Mu Side nodded. "Yes, Tamiya, Swan Lake, Debbie, Lotus Fairy, Peerless Beauty, and Haizhenkes."
"These are their names?" Shulan Zhou's eyes widened in surprise. "I love this one! So many petals! It's so beautiful!"
"Peerless Beauty?" Mu Side glanced at it. "This is a double-flowered variety, so it has a lot of petals!"
Shulan Zhou looked at him with admiration. "Senior, you know so much. I don't recognize any of these flowers."
"Poof…" Mu Side chuckled softly.
Shulan Zhou looked puzzled. "What's so funny? I'm being serious. Is it really that funny?"