Shu Lanzhou knew exactly what she needed to do!
If Wu Cheng was the technical support she brought in, then the Mu family was the only force capable of countering the resources and funding backing Luo Jialin.
Not to mention, there was also Du Yifan — and the Du family was anything but short on money.
In her previous life, Lin Muyao's research success owed a great deal to the Du family's financial support!
Therefore, no matter what, she couldn't allow Mu Side to give up on the Mu family!
Scheming wasn't Shu Lanzhou's strong suit, so she could only work harder, diligently studying Mu family medicine and often seeking out Mu Yaning for extra tutoring.
She was determined to keep her word — to revive and expand the legacy of the Mu family's medicine!
In the blink of an eye, another month passed, and it was finally the day the results of the campus competition were announced.
Over the past month, all the shortlisted projects had been publicly displayed on campus, and students from different departments could vote for their favorites.
Shu Lanzhou's team's project was also on the leaderboard, and their votes were quite impressive!
The reason? The Central Research Institute had just launched a new research initiative — a study combining cell biology and acupuncture therapy!
The project was led by Professor He Jin, with participants including Professor Zhang Chunran from pharmacology, Professor Mu Yaning from acupuncture studies, and interns He Sixin, Wu Cheng, and Mu Side.
Shu Lanzhou's internship application was still pending because she had yet to pass the acupuncture certification exams.
She also hadn't obtained her cell biology certificate yet.
Barring any surprises, she would officially qualify to join the team in her final semester of senior year!
In her previous life, Professor He Jin had never proposed such a project at the institute. Instead, Lin Jiayi had once mentioned a research topic on cellular surgery.
However, Shu Lanzhou remembered that topic was brought up shortly after the campus competition ended.
The reason seemed to be that the team led by Luo Jialin had won the grand prize in the campus competition.
But this time, Luo Jialin's team had changed their innovative project, and the original award-winning idea from the past had already been handed over to Wu Cheng by Shu Lanzhou.
If everything went according to plan, this year's grand prize would likely go to Wu Cheng.
If Wu Cheng won, would Lin Jiayi approach him?
The thought sent a chill down Shu Lanzhou's spine, causing her steps to falter as she headed toward the auditorium.
"What's wrong?" Ding Yuejiao reached out and squeezed Shu Lanzhou's hand. "You're shaking — are you cold? Here, take my hand warmer."
Just as Ding Yuejiao started to pull out the warmer, Shu Lanzhou stopped her. "No, Jiao-jiao, I'm not cold. You go ahead. I need to find Professor Mu first."
Without waiting to enter the hall, Shu Lanzhou turned and ran toward the faculty building.
"What are you doing here?" Mu Yaning looked surprised when she saw her. "Aren't you supposed to be at the awards ceremony? What's wrong? Afraid you won't win and came looking for comfort?"
Still catching her breath, Shu Lanzhou shook her head slightly. "No, I have something I need to discuss with you."
She stepped inside, closed the office door, and lowered her voice.
"Senior Wu once told me he went to intern at the Central Research Institute because he wanted to lead his own research project."
"And this time, their innovation project is very likely to win an award. I'm worried that after the competition, researchers at the institute might approach him to join a new project."
Mu Yaning frowned slightly. "You're worried he'll abandon our project?"
"No." Shu Lanzhou shook her head. "Wu Cheng promised he wouldn't abandon us. But the institute doesn't forbid researchers from participating in multiple projects at once."
"I overheard Luo Jialin mentioning once that there's a lot of internal rivalry at the research center. Professor He is fully dedicated to research, but I'm afraid Senior Wu might get poached by other professors."
"If they lure him away with the promise of leading a new project, even if he stays officially with us, his time and focus will inevitably be divided."
Though her words were tactful, Mu Yaning immediately understood.
"You're worried he'll be used by Professor He's rivals to sabotage our research?" Mu Yaning chuckled.
"So, you're suggesting we approach Wu Cheng first about formalizing the project and keeping his research under our umbrella?"
Shu Lanzhou nodded. "Actually, I thought about it — Senior Wu's specialty is surgical clinical medicine, which aligns well with our current project."
"Their innovation project revolves around the application of nano-surgical robots in surgeries, which involves various diseases."
"Technically, the two projects could be merged, forming one large research team with different disciplinary subgroups, like cell biology, acupuncture, pharmacology, and so on."
"The goal is simple: use nano-robots to treat various surgical diseases — theoretically, any disease."
Mu Yaning was taken aback. "Little girl, you've got some big ambitions. Do you realize each body part and each disease could warrant an entire specialized field?"
"You're proposing a merger that covers... quite a lot."
Shu Lanzhou scratched her head sheepishly. "I just don't want to lose Senior Wu, and I don't want to lose his project either."
"Alright." Mu Yaning waved her hand. "You go to the award ceremony first. I'll think it over and also discuss it with Professor He."
Shu Lanzhou, still worried, kept looking back as she left. "Please really discuss it thoroughly with Professor He. This project is too valuable to lose."
"I got it." Mu Yaning couldn't help but laugh. "At your age, you shouldn't have so many worries. Focus on your studies and leave the scheming to us adults."
Grinning, Shu Lanzhou left.
Back at the auditorium, He Sixin waved at her. "Where were you? Why did you take so long?"
"I went to see a professor." Shu Lanzhou smiled politely at her and Mu Side before sitting down obediently to wait for the ceremony to begin.
Before long, all the shortlisted teams invited to the ceremony arrived.
As always, Luo Jialin's team was the last to show up, immediately drawing everyone's attention the moment they entered.
They smiled confidently, clearly enjoying the spotlight.
Shu Lanzhou squinted slightly, ready to look away, when her gaze accidentally locked with Lin Muyao's.
Lin Muyao smiled sweetly at her — warm, gentle, and disarmingly sincere.
If Shu Lanzhou didn't know better, she too would have thought Lin Muyao was a beautiful girl with a kind heart, instead of the venomous person hiding behind that charming exterior.
Over the past month, Lin Muyao had kept a low profile, never once bothering her, and the rest of their former teammates hadn't approached her either.
The tension between them had temporarily settled into a fragile peace.
As they passed by, Luo Jialin slowed his steps:
"Lanzhou, long time no see. You're looking well."
Compared to a month ago, Shu Lanzhou did look a bit healthier — her cheeks had filled out slightly, and her big, bright eyes still sparkled with liveliness.
Her expression remained calm as she nodded politely. "Long time no see. You, however, don't look so good. Busy with exams and not sleeping enough?"
"Yeah, I've been tied up preparing study materials. Haven't slept much." Luo Jialin smiled. "Didn't expect you to still care about me!"
His words made the surrounding teammates shift uncomfortably.
Especially Lin Muyao — she was gritting her teeth so hard she could practically hear them crack. She hadn't bothered with this little tramp for over a month, and now she dared to flirt? Did she really think Luo Jialin was that easy to steal?
She was about to lash out when Shu Lanzhou's next words left her speechless.
"You misunderstood." Shu Lanzhou's expression turned cold. "I'm just glad I left your team — otherwise, I'd be the one losing sleep now."