One sentence was all it took to silence everyone.
None of them had lost their memories; they remembered very clearly what had happened just over a month ago — and just as clearly how Shu Lanzhou had looked when she left the team!
Only He Sixin laughed out loud.
"Exactly. It's a good thing you left! After more than two months of recovery, you finally put on a little weight. Don't you dare mess things up again!"
Shu Lanzhou turned her head and gave her a smile, her earlier coldness gone.
"I won't, senior."
"Jialin?" Lin Muyao tugged anxiously at Luo Jialin's sleeve.
But Luo Jialin's thoughts were drifting far away.
He was thinking back to the days when Shu Lanzhou had still been on their team.
It seemed… he really hadn't been this exhausted back then.
The materials he needed were always prepared in advance; he could access them whenever he wanted.
The lab was always clean and bright — never a mess of stacked-up papers.
And now…
Lin Muyao's voice snapped him back to reality. His gaze fell onto her face.
And with that look, he remembered — over the past month, he'd been dragged by Lin Muyao into learning all sorts of things nonstop.
At first, he had thought Lin Muyao was diligent, maybe even stronger than Shu Lanzhou.
But now — it didn't seem that way at all.
Shu Lanzhou had never needed excessive guidance.
Most of the time, a simple nudge was enough for her to fully grasp a topic. Sometimes, just handing her a book was enough — she would study it inside out on her own.
Unlike Lin Muyao, who needed to ask the same question several times, with endless queries that cost him countless hours of review!
"Let's go."
Luo Jialin's face darkened as he pulled his sleeve free from Lin Muyao's hand.
Lin Muyao turned back to glare fiercely at Shu Lanzhou.
She had spent over a month trying to get closer to Luo Jialin, only for Shu Lanzhou to ruin everything with just a few words!
Shu Lanzhou really was something else!!
The others looked at Shu Lanzhou as well, each with a complicated mix of emotions.
At the very end, Tian Hua hesitated, then stepped closer.
"Lanzhou, don't be so distant with Senior Tian. If you ever need anything, feel free to come find me."
He lowered his head, apologetic.
"It was my fault before. I ignored your feelings. I'm sorry. Please, don't stay angry, okay?"
"No." Shu Lanzhou spat out the word bluntly.
"I'm not angry. I just don't need your help anymore. You can leave now — the awards ceremony is about to start!"
Tian Hua stood there awkwardly, rubbing his nose before quickly hurrying after the others.
Just as they reached their seats, they heard Luo Jialin speak sharply to Guo Jialiang:
"Sit next to me."
Lin Muyao, who had been about to sit there, froze for a moment, then reluctantly stepped aside.
Guo Jialiang sat down, anxious and uneasy.
"All those materials and documents I used to ask for... it was Shu Lanzhou who prepared them, wasn't it?"
Cold sweat broke out on Guo Jialiang's back.
But he dared not lie anymore.
"...Yes. She prepared all of them."
"No wonder," Luo Jialin sneered, "the past two times I asked you to gather materials, something always felt off. Turns out, you were never the one handling it. You really hid it well."
His voice grew colder:
"Guo Jialiang, tell me the truth. How many other times have you lied? How many things did Shu Lanzhou finish for you?"
"What exactly have you contributed to this team?"
"Jialin…" Guo Jialiang's face darkened. "You can't just deny everything I've done with one sentence.
I admit, I did ask Shu Lanzhou to handle a lot.
But think about it — she was levels below us.
Even if she was a genius, she couldn't manage everything perfectly on her own.
Without my guidance, would she have achieved results that satisfied you?"
Lin Muyao quickly jumped in, voice soft and sweet:
"Jialin, don't be mad. Maybe this is exactly the situation Shu Lanzhou wanted to see."
"We're a team.
Today's such an important day — we can't let others see a joke."
The others quickly joined in, lowering their voices to try to calm him down:
"Yeah, Jialin, Shu Lanzhou's not even in our team anymore. Why dwell on it?"
"Exactly. Let's move on. The past is past. Our team's future will only get better!"
"..."
The teachers for the awards ceremony still hadn't come up on stage.
The venue buzzed with chatter, soon drowning out the group's argument.
Someone said:
"Who do you think will get the grand prize this time?"
"Isn't it obvious? It'll still be Luo Jialin's team. They always win the top prize in the campus competition."
"I think so too. How could Professor Han's team lose to anyone else?"
"..."
Lin Muyao switched seats with Guo Jialiang.
"Jialin, listen! Everyone's saying we'll win the prize. Stop being angry, okay?"
She tried to cling to his arm like she used to.
"Sit properly," Luo Jialin said coldly.
"We're in public. Be mindful of appearances."
"And what's there to be happy about? Winning is expected."
"And for the record — I'm not mad at Guo Jialiang. I just regret it — regret not realizing earlier, back when Shu Lanzhou was still with us, that he'd been lying all along."
Guo Jialiang's face went pale, then flushed red.
He wished he could dig a hole and disappear.
Fortunately, the teacher finally came on stage.
The venue quieted down, saving him from further humiliation.
As the teacher finished the opening remarks and began announcing the winners, Shu Lanzhou sat with her hands tightly clasped together, unable to relax.
"Why are you so nervous?"
He Sixin pried open her clenched fingers.
"Even if we don't win, it's fine. This is our team's first time entering the competition — and we're a small group too. It's normal not to win."
Mu Side turned to look at her too:
"She's right. Don't put so much pressure on yourself. Relax."
"I'm fine, I'm not nervous."
Shu Lanzhou didn't know how to explain — it wasn't their result she was nervous about.
She was terrified that Luo Jialin's team might once again suppress Wu Cheng's group!
Even with her memories from her past life, nothing was absolute.
Until the final result was announced, she didn't dare let her guard down.
Especially with the people behind them whispering:
"I heard Luo Jialin's team is still getting the grand prize. There was even some argument among the teachers during the judging process — some thought another team's project deserved it more."
"But what's the point? The other team's mentor isn't Han Weicheng. How could they compete?"
"Exactly. Luo Jialin's team has priority — because of Han Weicheng. Even if their work isn't good enough, others can't surpass them!"
"Shh, quiet! Don't let them hear you — or they'll retaliate…"
Mu Side suddenly reached out and grabbed Shu Lanzhou's hand.
"Don't listen to them," he said quietly.
"Not a word.
The school would never joke about something like this.
The judging will be fair and just."
Almost as soon as he finished speaking, they heard the teacher announce:
"Will the members of Mu Side's team please come up to receive their award — congratulations to all three students for winning First Prize in this year's campus competition!"
"..."
First Prize?
Shu Lanzhou was stunned!
"What are you still sitting for?"
Mu Side pulled her up by the hand.
"Let's go get our award!"
"Yeah! Let's go!"
He Sixin spun around and grabbed Shu Lanzhou's other hand.
And just like that —
The three of them went up on stage, hand in hand!