Rebirth

"Shulan Zhou, do you know you're wrong?"

Fang Ruoshi's voice pulled Shulan Zhou back into the present, and her gaze gradually fixed on the face before her.

Wasn't she supposed to be dead?

She had died in the second year after her mentor personally sent her to prison—killed by depression after crashing into a wall.

So why was she now witnessing her senior, Fang Ruoshi, before her eyes?

Shulan Zhou blinked, her eyes filling with a bitter, aching sadness.

Could it be that she was experiencing another hallucination?

Was it merely her imagination conjuring up visions of her seniors coming to fetch her from prison?

"We all know you desperately want to join Professor Han's research team. But that doesn't give you the right to slander Mu Yao."

"Do you realize that because you falsely accused Mu Yao of plagiarizing your paper, she's been absent from school for days due to depression?"

"If this continues, sooner or later you'll be the one pushing her to death. Shulan Zhou, when did you become so heartless?"

Seeing that Shulan Zhou remained impassive, Fang Ruoshi's irritation grew; he slammed his cup onto the table with a heavy thud.

The clatter of the cup finally stirred a reaction in Shulan Zhou.

It was not a mere delusion—she was truly face-to-face with Fang Ruoshi. And this was the Fang Ruoshi of ten years ago. It became clear: she had been reborn, returned to a decade earlier.

At this moment, she was still a senior at Shencheng Medical University, fresh from taking Professor Han's entrance exam for his medical research team.

She had scored the highest in the written test and made it to the final selection round.

Coincidentally, in the final round—a paper competition—Lin Mu Yao's topic, research method, and even thought process aligned almost exactly with hers.

Shulan Zhou couldn't believe such a coincidence existed in this world. Yet, during her private investigation, rumors began circulating in their circles that Lin Mu Yao had plagiarized her work.

Professor Han's research project was the first of its kind in the country, and the team was among the best nationally. Among the previous members were her five senior classmates.

These five had supported her from her sophomore year until now. Not only did they help each other academically, but they also cared for one another in life. She had long considered them family.

However, ever since Lin Mu Yao joined, everything changed. At some point, all that support and care had shifted to Lin Mu Yao.

Even Professor Han, who had always praised her hardworking attitude, began to look at Lin Mu Yao with favor.

After the plagiarism scandal broke out, her five seniors unanimously believed that Shulan Zhou had spread such malicious rumors, and even the team's professor furiously reprimanded her!

Shulan Zhou admitted that, because of past issues, she had never liked Lin Mu Yao and had even competed with her at every turn, trying to reclaim everyone's attention.

But she had never slandered Lin Mu Yao! Never once had she spread such a rumor.

"This time, you've really gone too far." Fang Ruoshi's tone softened slightly. "Professor Han has said that as long as you apologize to Mu Yao in front of the entire school, he won't pursue the matter any further."

"He'll also explain the situation to the school to clear your record."

"But if you stubbornly continue to smear Mu Yao's name, any punishment will seem mild in comparison—and you might even be expelled."

"Alright, I'll apologize." Shulan Zhou's eyes turned coldly as she looked at Fang Ruoshi.

Fang Ruoshi was a year ahead of her, admitted from the same county school, and among the five seniors, he was the first she had met.

They had known each other for four years. Shulan Zhou had believed that with such mutual understanding, Fang Ruoshi would trust her words and never think she was fabricating stories.

Yet she never expected that the first person to confront her would be Fang Ruoshi!

Opening his mouth, Fang Ruoshi couldn't help but notice something odd in her expression. With all he knew about her, she shouldn't have apologized so easily. However, an apology was something positive.

Without overthinking it further, he said, "It's decided then. I'm going to inform Professor Han about this right away. You better write an apology letter immediately so you can recite it tomorrow morning in front of everyone."

A wry smile tugged at the corner of Shulan Zhou's mouth.

Having been given a second chance at life, she knew full well that the rumors had been spread by Lin Mu Yao herself—using a self-sacrificial act as a ruse to sow discord between her, the seniors, and the professor!

All this talk of depression was nothing more than a ploy to evoke pity from her seniors.

But at this point, none of it mattered.

What occupied Shulan Zhou's thoughts was how Lin Mu Yao had managed to pilfer her paper so inconspicuously.

In her past life, she had refused to apologize, the matter escalated, and even after the university intervened, no evidence of Lin Mu Yao's plagiarism was ever found.

As a result, not only was she harshly berated by her five seniors for being heartless, but she also received an official reprimand, causing many companies to reject her after graduation.

Given this second chance at life, she decided that whoever would bear the consequences would do so—but she would no longer bear any blame.

The next morning, prepared to apologize publicly, Shulan Zhou slung her backpack over her shoulder and left the dormitory.

All along the way, she was met with pointed fingers and whispered remarks.

"Look, that's Professor Han's only former female student, now accusing the campus beauty of plagiarizing her paper out of jealousy."

"She used her top grades to earn the admiration of our department's five 'gods', but who would have thought that the transferred Lin Mu Yao was not only on par with her academically, but also kind-hearted and beautiful."

"Look at her hideous expression. She isn't even fit to carry Lin Mu Yao's luggage. And yet, our department's five 'gods' still defend her!"

"Didn't you hear? It was those five 'gods' who all sided with the campus beauty in this matter. It was even Luo, our senior, who suggested the public apology…"

So it turned out it was Luo Jialin's idea after all!

Shulan Zhou let out a cold, derisive laugh before quickening her pace and walking away.

Just as she reached the sports field, she encountered a senior—Du Yifan—who had come to see her.

Now a first-year graduate student, Du Yifan had once helped her during her struggling senior year. He had provided her with meticulously taken class notes, which enabled her to pass the professional exams.

Later, when he was preparing for his postgraduate entrance, Shulan Zhou had spent sleepless nights helping him with research and gathering reference books. In all her years with these seniors, she had never owed them anything!

Du Yifan looked at Shulan Zhou with disappointment in his eyes:

"I always thought of you as a kind-hearted girl. Who would have imagined that you, for the sake of this assessment, would stoop so low? It's a pity that Mu Yao, with her kind heart, didn't hold a grudge."

"You haven't seen what you've done to her. She's lost weight and grown haggard—her once sparkling, large, watery eyes now devoid of any light."

"Even so, she still cared about your reputation enough to privately beg the professor to spare you from a public apology. But you, you must have some conscience."

"When you see her later, you'd better give her a proper apology, got it?"

Lowering her lashes, Shulan Zhou softly replied, "I understand, senior. I will apologize sincerely."

"Had I known this would turn out like this, why did you even get involved in the first place?" Du Yifan began to chide her further, but upon seeing the young girl with her head bowed in remorse, he felt a twinge of pity.

Over the years, Shulan Zhou had always been seen as an obedient and earnest girl. The seniors admired her dedication to academics and her earnest efforts.

But how could she stoop to such unscrupulous acts just for a spot on the team? Du Yifan couldn't help but feel deeply disappointed.

Accompanied by Du Yifan, Shulan Zhou walked into Professor Han's office.