"Did you have someone put up those posts online? What exactly are you trying to do? I told you this matter was already in the past. Leaving the team was your own decision—no one forced you..."
Before Han Weicheng could say anything worse, Shu Lanzhou put the phone on speaker and tossed it onto the bed.
His furious voice filled the entire dorm room.
"I don't care what you're trying to pull, just make sure those posts get taken down immediately! I don't want to see this blow up any further. As far as I'm concerned, I never had a student like you. And don't you dare call me 'Professor' ever again."
"And from now on, don't you dare go after Lin Muyao again!"
Everyone in the room was stunned.
"Lanzhou?" Zhang He walked over to her side.
Shu Lanzhou just smiled and shook her head. "I'm fine."
Then she spoke again, her tone calm. "Professor Han, I'm very grateful for the guidance you gave me over the past few years. Without you, I wouldn't be who I am today."
"But since you've said you never had a student like me, I won't claim you as my teacher anymore. Our teacher-student relationship ends here—no more ties between us from this moment on."
"As for the posts you mentioned, I have no authority to make anyone delete them. After all, everyone has the right to freedom of speech. Even if I wanted them gone, it's not up to me—it's up to the people who posted them."
Han Weicheng took a deep breath. "So you're saying all this has nothing to do with you?"
"I wish it did," Shu Lanzhou said, her expression turning cold. "But unfortunately, I didn't even get the chance to act."
Even though this had been their original plan, they hadn't had time to make a move. Now all the posts exposing the paid commenters and the analysis ones had nothing to do with them.
As for the comments that followed...
They had no control over those either.
All she could say was: the truth speaks for itself. Everyone can see what's going on.
"Shu Lanzhou, do you even hear yourself? What did Lin Muyao ever do to you for you to come at her like this?"
"Now the whole campus is calling her out for hurting you—when none of this was even her fault! You quit the team of your own accord. Why are you blaming her?"
"She was already diagnosed with depression from what people said about her last time. If this keeps going, are you trying to push her to suicide? That's a life we're talking about! Do you really want to be that vicious?"
"…"
The others in the dorm were completely dumbfounded.
Zhang He, never one to stay quiet, snapped: "Professor Han, let's be real here. What exactly did Lanzhou do that's going to 'push Lin Muyao to death'?"
"The people online criticizing Lin Muyao aren't paid by Lanzhou! And are you really sure Lin Muyao never did anything to hurt her?"
"If Lanzhou made any mistake, it was not pushing harder for the school to properly investigate the plagiarism when it first came to light."
"Exactly," Ding Yuejiao chimed in, "If they'd investigated properly and cleared Lin Muyao of plagiarism, there wouldn't have been any rumors online. No rumors, no depression."
"And without depression, how can you say Lanzhou is driving her to the edge?"
"Bottom line: no matter how you twist it, this has nothing to do with Lanzhou!"
Dong Anlan added, "Even if Lanzhou didn't get into your team, at least she failed fair and square—not because of some shady mess."
"You—" Han Weicheng clearly hadn't expected Shu Lanzhou to put him on speaker. He was momentarily speechless with anger.
"You students don't understand anything. I'm a senior professor at this university. I've mentored hundreds of students. The ones I choose are always the best—top of the class, both morally and academically. It's natural for their papers to have similarities."
"But that doesn't mean plagiarism. Now that this has gone public, our team's reputation has been tarnished. I criticized her to help her grow, to open her mind—not to drive her out."
"She chose to leave. That was her decision. Since she made that choice, she should stop dragging this out."
"The bigger this gets, the more it hurts—not just Muyao or my team, but herself. Acting so impulsively will only close more doors for her."
"If she won't listen to reason, I don't mind going to Professor Mu or even the school administration. The internet isn't a lawless place. She'll have to face consequences for her actions."
With that, Han Weicheng hung up.
It was clear he didn't believe for a second that Shu Lanzhou had nothing to do with the posts online.
As the call ended, everyone in the dorm exchanged looks—and then burst into laughter.
But their laughter was short-lived, soon replaced by concern.
"He's not really going to go to Professor Mu, is he?" Zhang He nervously scrolled through her phone. "If this keeps snowballing, won't it backfire on Lanzhou? The school forum is swarming with people attacking Lin Muyao now. If this keeps up, she'll definitely be cyberbullied. If I were her, I wouldn't be able to stay on campus."
"And if the plagiarism is confirmed, she might even get expelled, right?"
Shu Lanzhou shook her head. "From Professor Han's attitude, he's clearly planning to protect her. Getting her expelled won't be easy. What I'm worried about is something else."
"What is it?" Dong Anlan saw the tight furrow in Lanzhou's brow and began to worry too. "You mean the online stuff?"
Shu Lanzhou shook her head again.
"I'm worried Lin Muyao will use her depression to shift the narrative. If she does something extreme, the school will prioritize its reputation and student safety. They'll downplay the whole situation."
"And with Professor Han backing her, there's no guarantee the plagiarism will even be investigated."
"No way," the others said in disbelief. "It's gotten this big—surely the school can't just pretend it never happened. If they don't give the students an explanation, they'll lose everyone's trust."
Shu Lanzhou wasn't so sure. After all, Lin Muyao's background wasn't simple. If her parents got involved, plus the depression card...
In the end, the school might only punish the people who posted about her plagiarism and accused her.
"It's hard to say." Shu Lanzhou admitted she couldn't be certain. "Anlan, help me track down the two who exposed the paid commenters and posted the analysis."
"Got it." Dong Anlan immediately started digging.
…
Meanwhile, Han Weicheng slammed down his phone in anger. When he turned around, he saw Lin Muyao standing there with tears in her eyes, looking heartbroken.
"Professor, is she refusing to take the posts down? I knew it… she must really hate me. It's all my fault—I took her place on the team. I never should've done that..."
As she spoke, Lin Muyao burst into tears.
"I'll go apologize to her. I'll beg her. As long as she's willing to delete the posts and doesn't drag your name into this, I'll do whatever she wants!"
She turned to leave, but Luo Jialin grabbed her arm. "The professor hasn't even said anything yet. Why are you so worked up?"
"Professor?" Lin Muyao looked up, her face streaked with tears—utterly pitiful.
Han Weicheng, already seething from Shu Lanzhou's attitude, looked at her and felt his anger soften. That girl—she hadn't spared a thought for his reputation. She'd already joined Mu Yaning's team. She had nothing to do with them anymore.
But she just had to drag him and his team into this mess, like she couldn't let go. Like she was hoping they'd come crawling back, begging her to return.
Well, she could keep dreaming.
There was no way he'd ever want a student who didn't care about his reputation. If she thought they'd plead with her to come back, she was delusional.
Now, looking at Lin Muyao—who thought only of preserving his reputation and was even willing to beg for his sake—his fury eased.
He had made the right choice after all. Lin Muyao was far more considerate than Shu Lanzhou. People from small towns just didn't have the same sense of decorum or dignity.
No wonder she wouldn't be graduating. She brought it on herself.