A Sincere Apology

In Professor Han's office, the entire team was present.

When they saw Shulan Zhou walk in, everyone's expression was less than favorable.

Only Lin Muyao stood up, smiling as she approached. "Senior, you're here!"

"I've come to apologize to you," Shulan Zhou said calmly, avoiding Lin Muyao's attempt to hook her arm.

She didn't have Lin Muyao's scheming nature, and wasn't capable of being warmly friendly to someone she didn't like.

Lin Muyao awkwardly took a step back, looking as though she were frightened. "Senior, are you still doubting me?"

She wore a face of grievance, looking on the verge of tears.

"But I really didn't plagiarize your paper. If you don't believe me, you can report me to the school, and let the school investigate."

Shulan Zhou lowered her head, her expression even more aggrieved than Lin Muyao's.

"I told you, I'm here to apologize. Although the similarity between our papers has confused me, I've never thought about reporting you or even mentioning it to anyone."

The others, who had been growing more displeased because of Lin Muyao's words, suddenly realized something.

The Shulan Zhou they knew wasn't someone who spoke much. She had very few friends at school, and apart from immersing herself in the lab, most of her time was spent with them.

And she had only mentioned the issue of the paper to them.

Luo Jialin's expression softened as he turned his gaze to Shulan Zhou.

"I believe this wasn't intentional on your part, but Muyao has indeed been hurt because of you. If you hadn't insisted on looking into this, the rumors of her plagiarism wouldn't have spread."

"Apologizing to her isn't asking too much."

Luo Jialin was the team's highest-ranking senior, not only an academic prodigy but also the campus heartthrob. One of the reasons Shulan Zhou had chosen this major, apart from it being the most popular at the Medical University, was because of Luo Jialin.

He had once been her idol, but not anymore.

"Indeed, it's not too much," added Senior Guo Jialiang, taking over the conversation.

"Junior Shulan Zhou, like Senior Luo, I believe you didn't do this on purpose. Muyao has a gentle personality. If you console her properly, we can still be good classmates in the future!"

Shulan Zhou found it amusing in her heart. Lin Muyao's personality was far from gentle, but she couldn't say anything.

"What Senior Guo said is right. I will console her properly!"

"Junior Muyao, I'm sorry. It was wrong of me to let you suffer because of this. I sincerely apologize. Can you forgive me?"

Lin Muyao hadn't expected things to turn out like this. Shulan Zhou, who had always been stubborn and determined, would always pursue matters to the end. Why would she let this go so easily?

And Luo Jialin and the others? She had used her act of self-pity on them, even mentioning that Shulan Zhou doubted her. Why would they still believe Shulan Zhou?

But then again, before Shulan Zhou arrived, she had been part of their group for several years.

Everyone would develop feelings, and it wasn't so easy to break those ties.

Lin Muyao smiled at Shulan Zhou. "I've never blamed you, so there's no need for forgiveness. Professor, I said it, Senior would never intentionally harm me. Don't blame her."

She turned and sat down beside Professor Han Weicheng, smiling and speaking in a soft, almost coquettish voice.

"Even if she didn't do it on purpose, she was still wrong. If she made a mistake, she should be punished. Shulan Zhou, you tell me, how should I punish you?"

Professor Han Weicheng's face darkened, and he cast a displeased glance at Shulan Zhou.

Previously, he had thought this student was obedient, sensible, and hardworking. But now, he realized he might have misjudged her.

No matter how good her academic performance was, if her morals were in question, it was unacceptable. He needed to punish her severely, to teach her a lesson so that she would never slander her classmates again.

Shulan Zhou could never understand why everyone believed Lin Muyao's words so easily. After her rebirth, she thought it over and realized it was probably because Lin Muyao was beautiful and knew how to act cute.

In this regard, she had indeed lost, so she had to admit it. "I'll listen to the professor."

"Our research is about to begin. Your punishment is to organize all the materials into categories so that we can access them easily during the research."

Professor Han waved his hand, signaling that they could leave.

Everyone stood up and walked out. Shulan Zhou walked in the middle. The punishment Professor Han mentioned reminded her of her previous life.

In her past life, she had been reprimanded and kicked out of the team. To make amends, she had voluntarily applied to the library to help the team categorize all the materials.

It took her an entire month. During that time, she often ate only one meal a day and spent most of the night in the library. She developed stomach problems from hunger and fell behind on her professional courses.

But in the end, no one said a word of praise. They even blamed her for not organizing the materials thoroughly enough, making it inconvenient for them to search!

Hmph!

It was truly a case of "eating with one hand and cursing with the other!"

Now that she was living her life again, this thankless task had fallen to her once more!

"Senior, let me help you!" Lin Muyao caught up with her, linking her arm with hers in a soft voice. "As long as I don't say anything, the professor won't know!"

"This is her punishment. Why are you helping her?" Du Yifan stepped forward and pulled Lin Muyao away.

Fang Ruoshi glanced at Lin Muyao. "Don't blame the professor. Compared to the punishment of a demerit, organizing the materials is already a light punishment."

"I understand. Thank you, Senior," Shulan Zhou smiled and quickly caught up with Lin Muyao.

"Junior Muyao, I was so focused on apologizing to you that I forgot to give you the gift I prepared." Shulan Zhou took out a delicate box from her bag.

When the others saw the box, they all stopped in their tracks and gathered around.

"That's the medal that Senior Luo gave you?" Tian Hua exclaimed.

Fang Ruoshi also said, "I remember this was the first time Senior Luo participated in a medical competition and won the grand prize. He cherished this medal, even giving it to you once to cheer you up."

"Hmm!" Shulan Zhou looked at the group. "That time, I had just joined the team, and my experiment failed. Professor scolded me, and Senior Luo gave me this medal to make me happy."

"He said this medal would bring me good luck, and indeed, ever since then, I haven't encountered any setbacks. Even my experiments never failed again."

"Junior Muyao, I heard this incident made you very upset, and you even got depressed. I believe that as long as you accept this medal, you will never feel sad again."

"After all, this is a lucky medal certified by Senior Luo."

Lin Muyao really wanted that medal, not only because of its inherent value but also because it was Luo Jialin's, his first-ever award.

No matter what, the first of anything was often the most precious. Why should such a precious item be in Shulan Zhou's hands? She didn't deserve anything from Senior Luo.

But this medal had been given to Shulan Zhou by Luo Jialin. How could she accept it in front of him?

"This is a gift from Senior Luo to you. How can I accept it?" Lin Muyao pushed Shulan Zhou's hand back.