The Truth Behind It All

Guo Jialiang glanced at Lin Muyao.

"When I left, Fang Ruoshi hadn't brought it up yet. But don't worry, she'll definitely agree. Given her current situation, the last thing she'd want is to burn bridges with us."

A flicker of displeasure flashed in Lin Muyao's eyes, though her face remained the picture of soft, demure gentleness.

"Our team is already swamped—with the upcoming campus competition and the preparations for Professor Han's new project. If Senior Shu could come back and help, that'd be great. And even if she doesn't, we still need to smooth things over with her."

"Since Jialin-ge asked you to deliver the snacks, it clearly means he doesn't want a complete fallout with her. If this relationship can't be mended, it'll affect morale, and that might impact both the competition and the project."

"And if that happens, Jialin-ge won't let you off easily!"

Though Lin Muyao's tone was sweet and playful, a chill ran down Guo Jialiang's spine.

Unlike others on the team, Guo Jialiang had no edge in terms of skill—unlike Tian Hua or Fang Ruoshi—and certainly no family background to fall back on, like Du Yifan or Luo Jialin.

Aside from Shu Lanzhou, he was the most disposable member of the group.

That's why he'd gone out of his way to curry favor with Luo Jialin. When Luo Jialin cared about Shu Lanzhou, he'd tried to leverage her to win favor. Now that Luo Jialin's interest had shifted to Lin Muyao, he was doing everything he could to please her instead.

He'd thought Lin Muyao despised Shu Lanzhou, wanted nothing more than to sever all ties.

But now he wasn't so sure. Things weren't going the way he expected.

Guo Jialiang had always prided himself on reading people, on sensing their true intentions—but Lin Muyao was beginning to feel like a puzzle.

"Do you really want to patch things up?" Guo Jialiang looked at her. "Or is this just about sweet-talking her into doing stuff for us…"

Before he could finish the sentence, Lin Muyao's face turned cold.

"Senior, what are you saying? She's been with you all for years—does one disagreement erase everything?"

"There's no pretending here. I genuinely hope you can all restore your relationship with her. I don't want her to lose those bonds because of me."

"I'm sure that's how Jialin-ge feels too!"

Guo Jialiang felt a little lost.

Could it be that he was the only one thinking in such a petty way? That Lin Muyao didn't actually intend to exploit Shu Lanzhou? That she truly wanted reconciliation?

Then again, Lin Muyao was so kind and pure—how could she possibly have any vicious intentions?

And Luo Jialin had once cared deeply for Shu Lanzhou. Maybe he really didn't want things to end so badly between them.

Maybe it was just him, jumping to conclusions and misreading everything.

"Alright." Guo Jialiang nodded, deciding he'd play the good guy for once. He'd try to smooth things over with Shu Lanzhou later. "I'll follow your lead. Next time, I'll make sure to talk nicely to her."

"But don't worry too much—based on what I know of her, she'll definitely help Ruoshi out. You'll see when he comes back."

With that, he wandered off to take care of other things, clearly not too worried.

After he left, Lin Muyao exhaled and patted her chest—she had almost slipped up. Thank goodness Guo Jialiang was dense enough not to see through her true intentions.

She had thought that once Shu Lanzhou left the team, she'd be like a stray dog with nowhere to go, let alone find a new internship hospital.

Then, all Lin Muyao would need to do was offer a little pity, sweet-talk the senior boys, and arrange some menial task for Shu Lanzhou within the team.

That way, Shu Lanzhou could still graduate, Han Weicheng would remain her advisor, and the seniors would start finding Shu Lanzhou increasingly useless.

All Lin Muyao had to do was maintain her kind and noble image, and by contrast, Shu Lanzhou would look utterly worthless.

In order to salvage her future, Shu Lanzhou would break her back to serve the team. And Lin Muyao? She'd swoop in and take all the credit.

Shu Lanzhou would remain the one discarded by the team—forever.

But now? Everything was going off-script. Shu Lanzhou hadn't just left; she'd switched to a completely different field, making it clear she was severing all ties.

That would not do. Lin Muyao could not allow her to graduate from another program and start over fresh.

Lin Muyao understood the ugliness of human nature all too well. Without Shu Lanzhou as her foil, how would anyone see her as radiant and pure? How would the seniors continue to dote on her?

She turned to find Fang Ruoshi, determined to ask how his talk with Shu Lanzhou had gone.

Elsewhere, Shu Lanzhou had been so disgusted by Fang Ruoshi and Guo Jialiang that she'd lost her appetite. She grabbed a simple bun and headed back to the dorm.

The moment she walked in, she went straight to the wardrobe and dug out her diary.

Along with it came a box filled with old gifts—cheap and useless trinkets the senior boys had given her over the years.

She ignored the gifts and sat down with the diary in hand, preparing to tear it up over the trash bin.

She couldn't afford to let this be used against her again. In her past life, the rumors Guo Jialiang spread—those disgusting lies—had all stemmed from this very diary.

She was just about to start ripping pages when Ding Yuejiao returned with two other roommates.

"What are you doing?" Ding Yuejiao was stunned. "That's your most prized possession. You used to guard it like treasure—why are you tearing it up all of a sudden?"

Shu Lanzhou held out the diary. "Here. Take a look at what I used to write."

"…Huh?" The three girls froze, not quite sure what she meant.

Shu Lanzhou didn't know if Guo Jialiang would still try to defame her in this life—but just in case, she needed witnesses.

"I know it's my diary, but there's nothing shameful inside—just my thoughts and feelings from my college years."

"Now that I'm switching majors, everything starts anew. I want to make a clean break with the past."

She paused, then looked them in the eyes, her tone serious. "I hope you'll be my witnesses."

"Alright." A tall girl stepped forward and grabbed the diary. "I'll read it first."

Her name was Dong Anlan, a well-known beauty in the medical department.

Not only was she stunning, she also had top grades and was the object of many boys' affections on campus.

Unfortunately for them, Dong Anlan's heart already belonged to someone—Luo Jialin.

In her past life, Shu Lanzhou didn't find this out until after Luo Jialin and Lin Muyao were already engaged.

At their engagement party, Dong Anlan got drunk. Lin Muyao had asked Shu Lanzhou to help take her home. And as they walked her inside, Dong Anlan had slurred out Luo Jialin's name.

Lin Muyao's face had turned stormy in an instant.

Not long after that night, Dong Anlan was abducted on her way home from a late shift. It was said she was assaulted by five men. The trauma drove her to take her own life.

Back then, Shu Lanzhou had simply thought it was tragic misfortune.

But looking back now, she was no longer so sure.

Luo Jialin was the key to Lin Muyao's meteoric rise and firm footing in the medical field. There was no way Lin Muyao would allow anyone to threaten her claim on him.

Dong Anlan—beautiful, brilliant, and beloved—was a threat.

No wonder Lin Muyao might want her gone.

Shu Lanzhou felt a chill run through her. The thought of such a radiant, kind girl meeting such a terrible fate filled her with sorrow.