A Connection of Minds

Shu Lanzhou was so embarrassed by He Sixin's words that she quickly waved her hands in explanation:

"I already told my teacher before that I completed the postgraduate-level cell biology courses in my senior undergraduate year. Right now, I'm focusing all my time on learning acupuncture. It won't affect anything!"

"Oh my, look how nervous you are. I wasn't blaming you, just worried that your body wouldn't be able to take the strain," He Sixin stepped forward and linked arms with her.

The others chimed in one after another:

"Don't overwork yourself. You need to find a balance between study and rest."

"No one thinks you're slacking off on your studies of the Mu family medicine."

Faced with all their concern and worry, Shu Lanzhou felt a warmth rise in her chest. Was this what it felt like to have a home—and to have family?

Mu Side gently took her hand and led her inside. "Come see Grandma. She's really worried about you."

That afternoon, Mu Yaning returned from the university with news.

"You should be mentally prepared," she said with a dark look on her face. "The school might not expel Han Weicheng."

"But they will give significant publicity to the achievements of the other professors—especially those specializing in cell biology over the past two years—to mitigate the damage and protect next year's enrollment."

Shu Lanzhou wasn't surprised. "What's the condition for not expelling Han Weicheng?"

"It depends on the outcome of this year's advisor selection," Mu Yaning replied, biting her lip. "Professor Chen had previously complained about Han Weicheng selecting students early. The administration agreed to delay advisor selection by a year, and now that year is up."

"If Han Weicheng is chosen by more students than the other professors in his department, the university won't expel him."

"But if even one professor gets more student selections than him, the administration will consider his dismissal."

Shu Lanzhou gave a helpless sigh. "So basically, whether or not he's expelled is still up in the air?"

"Exactly." Mu Yaning looked equally frustrated. "The school has its own considerations. At best, they can only fault him for negligence in supervising students. They can't say his teaching skills are lacking."

Shu Lanzhou nodded. "I understand. He has quite a few students, and some of them hold important positions now. If he's expelled, it reflects badly on them too."

"As long as he still has technical prowess, there'll always be someone willing to speak up for him. That's how the world works. Strong skills can often mask personal flaws."

"There's just no getting around it."

Unless the day comes when her own abilities completely outshine Han Weicheng's—then she would have the power to confront him however she pleased, without anyone daring to interfere.

"Alright, things haven't reached that point yet. Don't let it weigh too heavily on you." Mu Yaning patted her on the shoulder. "Just keep doing your best. One day, Han Weicheng will pay for what he's done."

"I understand, teacher. I'm fine." Shu Lanzhou left the study and went with Mu Side to the Mu family's rear courtyard attic.

This had become part of her weekly routine—entering the attic to read medical texts and study the history of Mu family medicine.

There was still so much for her to learn, and she had dreams she wanted to fulfill. Han Weicheng wouldn't derail the path she had chosen.

But today, she was still a little distracted.

"Still thinking about Han Weicheng?" Mu Side sat down beside her with a book in hand.

The Mu family attic was usually reserved for successors only, but Mu Side had a special status. He had once been personally selected by Elder Mu as the heir—at least before Mu Yaning took on an official disciple.

So now, both of them were permitted access.

Shu Lanzhou shook her head. "No, I was just thinking about how these medical books are all quite old. Even with preservation measures, maintaining them is time-consuming and difficult."

"Do you think we could digitize them?"

Mu Side looked up from his book. "I've thought about that too. But the amount of work is massive. Plus, many of the characters are ancient and not even included in modern digital fonts."

"Some of the illustrations are incredibly detailed. Without decent artistic skill, it'd be impossible to recreate them. And since the Mu medical texts aren't made public, relying solely on successors to do this would be exhausting."

"True." Shu Lanzhou nodded. "But with today's advanced tech, maybe we can find a more sophisticated scanner?"

"I've already asked Ke Beichen to look into it. Once he finds something suitable, I'll let you know. I don't want this attic to become a cage for you," Mu Side smiled up at her.

"If we can turn all this into a digital library, you'll be able to access it anytime, anywhere."

To think he had been thinking the same thing—Shu Lanzhou's heart warmed. They exchanged a smile, and the unspoken understanding between them felt amazing.

The two of them stayed in the attic until it was time for dinner, reluctantly packing up to leave.

Mu family medicine was truly vast and profound. Every time she studied it, Shu Lanzhou felt an insatiable desire to learn more.

At dinner, Mu Yaning brought up another matter:

"The recent lectures on traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture have been going quite well. A few hospitals have reached out and invited us to speak again."

"I have an idea—for the next round of lectures, I won't go. You can represent me."

Shu Lanzhou was stunned. "Me? But I'm still just a student…"

"You may be a student, but what you've learned far exceeds your official title," Mu Yaning said, clearly confident in her. "And your acupuncture skills have come a long way. I'm planning to arrange for you to start interning in the clinic soon so you can work with real patients. The goal is for you to be able to treat them independently."

"…That feels a little fast," Shu Lanzhou admitted, feeling uncertain.

"Auntie believes in you, so you need to believe in yourself too." Mu Side squeezed her hand encouragingly.

Shu Lanzhou gritted her teeth and nodded. "Alright. I'll treat every patient with the utmost care."

After dinner, as she returned to her room, Shu Lanzhou received a call from Zhao Huanhuan.

"Senior! Senior! Quick—praise me! I did something big today!"

"What did you do that's got you so excited? Tell me, and I'll give you a proper round of applause." Shu Lanzhou chuckled.

Zhao Huanhuan's voice lifted with pride:

"Well, it's advisor selection time, right? And I noticed a bunch of people were still picking Han Weicheng. It really pissed me off, so I went ahead and did a bit of 'awareness-raising' about his track record."

"Plus, I've been shadowing Professor Chen lately, so I shared all the study materials and class plans he gave me."

"My original goal was just to show everyone that there are plenty of great professors here—not just Han Weicheng. Some may not be as well-known, but they're just as capable and experienced."

"But guess what happened when I asked about Professor Han's teaching?"

"What?" Shu Lanzhou couldn't quite guess. Surely Han Weicheng still taught his classes properly, even if he was busy?

Zhao Huanhuan huffed:

"His students said he moves through material way too fast, assigns tons of extra coursework, and if you don't finish it, you don't get credit. Plus, he never provides study materials."

"In other words, his entire teaching approach is about forcing students to self-learn. He doesn't actually teach because he spends all his time on other things."

If Shu Lanzhou's situation hadn't come to light, this might not have been seen as a problem. After all, students pushed by credit pressure might turn out more competent.

But if someone like Lin Muyao wanted to cut corners, it could cause serious trouble.

Ultimately, even self-directed learning needs proper guidance from good mentors—not just a system that rewards independence.

And sometimes, those with top grades might not have the same strength in moral character or values.

Han Weicheng wasn't a responsible teacher—not when it came to guiding students in the pursuit of true academic excellence.

"So, that means when the advisor selections are finalized in a few days, Han Weicheng might not end up with the most students?" Shu Lanzhou smiled slightly.

"Thanks, Huanhuan. I'll bring you some good food when I get back to campus—but take it easy, okay? Don't make too many enemies."