Rejected Confession

Shu Lanzhou's gaze settled on Dong Anlan's face.

Her thoughts drifted back to the day she first moved into this dorm. She'd been a rural student who'd fought her way into university. The money borrowed from her village barely covered tuition, and even that came with hundreds in monthly interest. Afraid she wouldn't be able to repay it, she dared not borrow more. When the semester started, she had only a few dozen yuan left.

Apart from a stack of old clothes and a threadbare quilt she'd brought from home, she couldn't afford any living essentials.

Just as she was bracing herself to wash up with plain water and get through each day, Dong Anlan quietly provided her with everything she needed — from towels and toothbrushes to shower supplies and even laundry detergent.

To avoid embarrassing her, Dong Anlan simply bought a matching set for everyone in the dorm and called it a welcome gift.

It wasn't until a month later that Shu Lanzhou began to realize Dong Anlan had been helping her all along — carefully, subtly, never hurting her pride. Even those casual invitations to meals in the early days had been out of care.

Later, as Shu Lanzhou began to pull herself out of poverty through part-time jobs and scholarships — eventually repaying the village loan — she, too, started giving gifts and sharing snacks with Dong Anlan. But the warmth Dong Anlan had shown her in those dark days had always been etched deeply in her heart.

She'd always treated the girls in the dorm as sisters — until she joined Luo Jialin's team.

At some point, the attitude of the other three toward her began to shift.

But she'd been too caught up in chasing the attention of the senior boys in the research group to notice. She thought they were just too busy to hang out — not that something deeper had changed.

Now that she thought about it, that change must've started when Dong Anlan fell for Luo Jialin!

Lost in thought, Shu Lanzhou suddenly heard Dong Anlan's voice. The girl had already flipped through half the diary.

"You… You don't like Senior Luo?"

She looked up, surprise written all over her face.

"Who said I liked him?" Shu Lanzhou replied, completely sincere — she no longer had any affection for Luo Jialin.

In her past life, when Guo Jialiang had gotten hold of her diary, years had passed. By then, she'd been tormented by the team and criticized in an internship report by Professor Han. She was at the edge of a breakdown.

It was Luo Jialin who had reached out then — comforting her and using his connections to place her in his research institute. That same institute where the others had also gone post-graduation, and where Lin Muyao eventually made a name for herself as a leader in domestic cell biology research.

Back then, Shu Lanzhou had no idea it was all Lin Muyao's scheme. She'd believed Luo Jialin genuinely cared about her — and that was when admiration turned to affection.

At the time, Lin Muyao hadn't even publicly confirmed a relationship with Luo Jialin, let alone been engaged to him.

"N-No one said anything…" Dong Anlan looked flustered. "I was just guessing!"

She didn't want to believe Luo Jialin had lied, but the diary didn't lie — the dates were there, clear and detailed, recording Shu Lanzhou's thoughts from beginning to end.

"You really don't like him?" Dong Anlan needed to be sure.

Shu Lanzhou nodded.

"No. As I wrote in the diary, I only felt gratitude and admiration toward him. He helped me when I first entered college and brought me into Professor Han's team."

But that was all in the past. Now, all she felt for Luo Jialin was disgust and resentment.

Dong Anlan visibly relaxed. Thinking of all the coldness she'd shown Shu Lanzhou because of her own assumptions, she was filled with guilt.

"I'm sorry. I thought you liked him… that's why I—"

"Wait!" Shu Lanzhou suddenly cut in, as something clicked in her mind.

"You said you confessed to Senior Luo. So, your attitude shift back then… was it because he rejected you? Or… did he say something about me?"

With Dong Anlan's personality, she wouldn't hold a grudge just over a rejection. He must have said something to poison her mind!

"…Maybe he misunderstood you," Dong Anlan said awkwardly, trying to downplay it. "It's all in the past. Doesn't matter now. Let's not talk about it."

But Shu Lanzhou wasn't going to let it go. She had to help Dong Anlan see Luo Jialin's true nature — before Lin Muyao got the chance to hurt her.

After all, Dong Anlan had once helped her so much. She was beautiful, kind, and promising — it would be a tragedy if she were destroyed like in their previous life.

Now that she knew, Shu Lanzhou couldn't just stand by.

She grabbed Dong Anlan's hand.

"Even if it was a misunderstanding, I still want you to tell me. Some things might not be what they seemed."

"Yeah, I agree!" Ding Yuejiao chimed in. "Let's clear the air now so no more misunderstandings ruin our friendship. Remember how close we used to be? Everything changed after Lanzhou joined Professor Han's team!"

She'd never dared say this before — afraid Shu Lanzhou would think they were jealous. But now Shu Lanzhou had left the team and clearly didn't want to talk about the reasons. Dong Anlan bringing up the confession made it the perfect time to get the truth out.

Shu Lanzhou was the type who didn't warm up to people easily. If they didn't speak up, she might forever believe they'd distanced themselves because they were jealous of her team placement.

After all, even people from other dorms had spread that exact rumor!

"I think it's better to talk it out too," Zhang He added.

"Back then, we were genuinely happy for you. It's not easy to get into Professor Han's team! But after Anlan confessed and got rejected, things changed."

"You have no idea how many people whispered behind our backs, saying we were jealous of you. It was so unfair!"

Shu Lanzhou blinked, confused. "So what exactly happened the day Anlan confessed?"

The three girls exchanged glances. Finally, Dong Anlan took a deep breath and began.

"That night, after the school dance, I told Senior Luo how I felt. I'd had a crush on him for a whole semester."

"I wasn't planning to confess — I didn't have the courage. But you always told me he was gentle and kind, that he never lost his temper. I figured… even if he didn't like me, at least he'd let me down easy."

"But that night…"

Dong Anlan's cheeks burned at the memory. She'd never felt so humiliated. But looking at her roommates now — open, sincere — she bit the bullet and forced the words out.

"He said to me — and these were his exact words: 'I know who you are. You're that arrogant, self-important roommate of Shu Lanzhou, aren't you? Where did you get the nerve to say this to me?'"

"'If you were even half as decent as Shu Lanzhou, I wouldn't have to be so harsh with you. Stop thinking you can bully her just because you're pretty and come from money.'"

"'We'll be looking out for Shu Lanzhou from now on. People like you better stay away from her. You could learn from her, though. She'd never say something so ridiculous to me.'"