He Sixin was happier than Shu Lanzhou after hearing that she had been kept behind.
"Great! Finally, I'll have some company! You have no idea how much I've been going crazy staring at Mu Side's cold face every day. I was almost depressed," He Sixin said, pulling Shu Lanzhou toward the hospital's temporary dormitory.
"The place where we stay is the intern dormitory provided by the hospital. I'm the only one in my room, with a bunk bed and ready-made bedding. I've got clean sheets and comforters, and I'll change them for you when we get there."
"Professor Mu is here for consultations these days. To gain more experience, we all stay with her. If you don't have any classes, you can stay with us for a few more days."
"By the way, what's your major? Have you finished all your courses? Why aren't you interning in that field?"
He Sixin's question made Shu Lanzhou think of Professor Han and the seniors from her previous life. However, she didn't feel sad this time. Instead, she felt happy to have taken this first step toward changing her fate.
Having been reborn, wasn't this exactly what she wanted to avoid—the tragedy of her past life? Changing her major was the first step in turning things around.
He Sixin's enthusiasm and natural friendliness made Shu Lanzhou feel less awkward and uncomfortable, even though she wasn't very good at talking:
"I majored in cell biology. My mentor is Professor Han Weicheng, but he doesn't need any interns right now."
He Sixin, while cheerful, had a great sense of boundaries, and she didn't push further on the topic:
"Yeah, rather than being a small fry in Professor Han's team, it's better to join us as a key player. Professor Mu has fewer students, so she can give more attention to each of us. You're definitely in the right place."
"Mm." Shu Lanzhou smiled, feeling a bit lighter, her mood inexplicably better.
By the time they reached the dormitory, He Sixin helped Shu Lanzhou settle in and then dragged her off to eat.
They went to the hospital's canteen. On the way, Shu Lanzhou sent a message to her roommate, Ding Yuejiao, telling her that she would be staying at the hospital for the next couple of days and wouldn't be returning to the dorm.
Just as she was about to turn off her phone, a call came in. The caller ID read—Luo Jialin!
Upon seeing the name, Shu Lanzhou's eyes remained calm, her expression indifferent as she hit the mute button and tossed the phone back into her bag.
"Why didn't you answer?" He Sixin glanced at her.
Shu Lanzhou smiled lightly. "It's not an important call. Let's go, time to eat!"
Eating was far more important than answering Luo Jialin's call.
At the Medical University Girls' Dormitory
Luo Jialin stared at the darkened screen of his phone, his face sinking with frustration. "She didn't answer the call!"
"Shu Lanzhou is getting more and more unreasonable. How could she not answer Senior Luo's call? What is she trying to do?" Guo Jialiang said angrily.
"She doesn't seriously think that after treating Mu Yao like that, we'll still come running to apologize, does she?"
"Senior Guo, don't say that." Fang Ruoshi shot him an irritated look. "Lanzhou isn't like that. She already apologized to Mu Yao and faced the punishment. You shouldn't be saying these things about her."
Guo Jialiang wasn't happy with Fang Ruoshi's defense. "How can I not say anything? I kindly went to the library to help her this afternoon, just trying to persuade her to apologize to Senior Luo, but she just gave me the cold shoulder and walked off. She wouldn't even finish the materials."
"If I hadn't been worried about her being punished by the professor, I wouldn't have bothered asking you all to go persuade her. And now, she won't even pick up the phone!"
Guo Jialiang's words left everyone in the room silent. Their expressions were all unpleasant, and a sense of reproach toward Shu Lanzhou began to take shape.
"I'll call her dorm." Du Yifan took out his phone.
The call ended quickly.
He turned to Guo Jialiang, his face serious. "Didn't you say that Lanzhou walked off because she was angry with you? So you didn't notice that she's sick?"
"What do you mean?" Luo Jialin's previously dark face softened.
Du Yifan sighed. "Her roommate said that after she came back this afternoon, she went straight to the hospital. It looks like she might need to be hospitalized, and she won't be coming back anytime soon."
"She's faking it, right? I saw her in perfectly good condition this afternoon!" Guo Jialiang didn't believe it.
Fang Ruoshi shot him a look. "So, what, you think she's going to bribe a doctor to let her stay in the hospital for two days?"
"Who knows if she's really in the hospital? Otherwise, why wouldn't she answer the phone?" Guo Jialiang snapped, his temper flaring.
Luo Jialin glanced at the group. "Enough. Lanzhou is always frugal, and she doesn't have many friends in Shencheng. If she's not in the hospital, she wouldn't have stayed away from the dorm."
"Yifan, go check which hospital she's in. We'll go visit her later. Why would she suddenly be sick?"
Du Yifan was about to leave when Tian Hua stopped him.
"Senior, we had promised to have dinner with Mu Yao tonight. She just returned to the school and is in an unstable mood. The professor said she shouldn't be further provoked. If we all go visit Lanzhou…"
Before Tian Hua could finish, Luo Jialin cut in.
"You're right. We can't go back on our promise to Mu Yao. Let's leave Lanzhou for now. She's always been capable of taking care of herself, so there's no need for us to worry too much."
Fang Ruoshi's expression darkened.
"What about the materials in the library? If she's in the hospital, who knows when she'll be able to finish organizing them? The professor is going to be upset!"
"She's already angered the professor. If the research is delayed any further, she might get kicked out of the team," Luo Jialin said, rubbing his forehead.
"She's been working with us on research for years, and we've built up a good rhythm. I don't want her leaving now. We'll go help with the materials in the library."
Everyone exchanged glances and nodded in agreement.
"Understood, Senior."
"Got it, Senior."
Shu Lanzhou had no idea that the tasks that had once led her to develop a stomach illness in her past life were now being taken on by Luo Jialin and the others.
She had already eaten with He Sixin and returned to her place. After they finished eating, Professor Mu assigned them some homework. When they got back to the dorm, He Sixin settled in with her computer and didn't speak again.
Shu Lanzhou, who wasn't a talkative person, didn't have much to say either. However, after opening her laptop, instead of starting her homework immediately, she wrote an email to formally withdraw from Professor Han's research team.
In her past life, after receiving a reprimand, she had done many things to win back the approval of the seniors and Professor Han, eventually convincing them to let her join the team.
Once in the team, her internship file landed in Professor Han's hands. Because of her past punishment, she had to comply with everything he asked in order to secure a good job after graduation, even though she ended up doing all the dirty, thankless work and was the one who broke through multiple research bottlenecks.
In the end, her evaluation simply stated: "She is dull and lacks professional expertise. She is suited for administrative or basic research work and is unfit for academic research."
Seeing that evaluation, she was furious and confronted Professor Han. His response at the time was:
"I will never allow someone with such a moral character into the academic research division. I have to be responsible to the entire medical community!"
Such righteous words!
But back then, Shu Lanzhou, too naïve, thought that Professor Han had misunderstood her. She worked tirelessly, hoping to change his opinion, only to end up imprisoned.
Now, she would never allow Professor Han to manipulate her again. Her internship report would be pristine, and her evaluation would be fair and truthful.
Shu Lanzhou hit the "send" button, sending the email to Professor Han.
At that moment, it felt as though a bottle of resentment that had been building up inside her for years was slowly being released.