He Sixin turned around and sprinted after Shu Lanzhou, impatiently waving at Mu Side as she ran. "Got it, take care of yourself first!"
Who was it that scared Shu Lanzhou off in the first place anyway?!
That little brat! Who knows when he started fancying Shu Lanzhou — it was one thing to sweet-talk her like it cost nothing, but now he dared to get handsy too!
Clearly, Shu Lanzhou was a beat slow to react and probably hadn't realized Mu Side's intentions yet. If things kept going this way, it was only a matter of time before that boy took full advantage of her.
He Sixin was genuinely worried!
Though she didn't want Shu Lanzhou to be snatched away by some random guy, watching Mu Side gradually draw her in step by step made her feel guilty too.
It just felt like they were bullying the poor girl.
After all, Shu Lanzhou still seemed clueless about these things!
But if she were to step in and warn Shu Lanzhou directly, it would feel like betraying her own brother.
That stinky Mu Side had always been difficult — cold-faced to everyone and quick-tempered to boot. She had never seen him show patience toward anyone for more than five minutes!
Now that he finally liked someone, she didn't have the heart to stand in his way.
But when she finally caught up and stopped Shu Lanzhou, He Sixin still hadn't figured out what to say.
"Jie, do you think I'm being ungrateful? Senior is always so kind and helpful to me, and I wouldn't even let him pinch my face just now..." Shu Lanzhou looked remorseful, feeling that maybe she had overreacted. After all, Mu Side only wanted to check if she'd gained weight!
"Ah!" He Sixin was exasperated. "There's a difference between men and women — you're absolutely right not to let him touch you. That brat just doesn't know his boundaries!"
Shu Lanzhou shook her head. "Maybe Senior didn't think too much about it. He's genuinely concerned about me. After all, I probably just look like a kid to him."
Who would see her as a woman? She was short, skinny, and small; her body flat from front to back. If she wore oversized clothes, it was even hard to tell what gender she was. Who would ever like a girl like that?
In her past life, her first crush was secretly harboring feelings for Luo Jialin. She couldn't hold it in and ended up writing it down in her diary. Somehow, that diary got lost.
That's how the rest of the team found out.
She still remembered the expressions on their faces when they learned she liked Luo Jialin — contempt, disdain, ridicule, and indifference.
Tian Hua had sneered at her, "Shu Lanzhou, do you really think you're a girl?"
Guo Jialiang had said, "Go find a mirror. Where did you get the courage to like Luo Jialin?"
Du Yifan had laughed outright: "You're hilarious. Just because I chased after you once, you think you're a woman now? And you dare like Luo Jialin? Aren't you afraid you'll disgust him?"
Even Fang Ruoshi had said:
"The way you are now doesn't resemble a girl at all. After all these years, none of us ever saw you that way. And now you're saying you like Senior Luo? So weird."
Shu Lanzhou had known she wasn't feminine or delicate like other girls. For research, she'd chopped off her long hair, never worn makeup, never done any skincare.
Thick black-rimmed glasses, permanent dark circles under her eyes, a frail body from years of sleepless nights and irregular meals — she couldn't even maintain a normal menstrual cycle.
But still, she was a girl.
Why couldn't she like Luo Jialin?
After years of loyalty, hard work in experiments and research, how could they speak such vicious words so lightly?
It was then Shu Lanzhou realized — Du Yifan's so-called pursuit of her wasn't because he liked her at all. It was just so he could boss her around openly, treating her like a personal little maid!
Her life in those years had been nothing short of a tragedy.
Even after living a second life, Shu Lanzhou never thought anyone would like her.
After all, guys' standards were pretty much the same — she wasn't pretty, didn't have a good figure, and wasn't dazzling enough for people to love at first sight.
A girl like her — no one would like.
Besides, she had lost the right to feel love and be loved a long time ago. In this life, all she wanted was revenge — to kick those parasites out of the medical world.
To do proper research and achieve what she couldn't in her past life!
As for Mu Side — she would fully accept his kindness and treat him just as well. After all, he was a good person. But anything beyond that? She wouldn't even think about it, because it was impossible.
"Hah…" He Sixin didn't know whether to laugh or cry. So it wasn't that Shu Lanzhou was oblivious — she genuinely didn't think Mu Side could possibly like her.
Was it a lack of self-confidence, or was she overestimating Mu Side?
"Maybe you should take a good look in the mirror and see just how adorable you actually are," He Sixin said, reaching out to give her cheeks a playful pinch.
"Remember, it's absolutely right to keep a clear boundary between men and women. Don't assume that they have no thoughts about you. Honestly, if I were a guy, I'd have thoughts about you too."
"You're not only beautiful and cute — you're gentle, knowledgeable, hardworking, studious, kind, and considerate. Unless someone's blind, it's very hard not to like you."
"Trust me — be more confident in yourself. And remember to protect yourself. Don't let some brat take advantage of you. Of course, if you actually like the guy too, that's a different story."
Shu Lanzhou smiled softly to show she understood.
But in her heart, she just took it as He Sixin trying to comfort her. She didn't really believe she was beautiful, adorable, or the type that everyone would fall for, as He Sixin claimed.
After all, she had looked in the mirror. She wasn't blind!
As Shu Lanzhou and He Sixin headed toward the teaching building, Lin Jiayi ran into Lin Muyao at the entrance of the faculty building.
"What are you sneaking around for?" Lin Jiayi looked up at the building but didn't see anything unusual.
Lin Muyao hadn't expected to run into Lin Jiayi here. Flustered, she hurried over to cling to her arm. "Mom, why are you here? Why didn't you call first?"
"What, so you'd have time to prepare and not embarrass yourself?" Lin Jiayi said coldly, thinking about Lin Muyao's humiliating performance on stage. She could barely resist giving her daughter a slap or two.
"I honestly don't know how I gave birth to something as useless as you. Not winning the grand prize is bad enough — but even going up to accept an award, you still managed to disgrace me."
"All those etiquette lessons you took — where did they go? You couldn't even manage basic stage presence! You're not even a match for a country bumpkin. What the hell were you doing?!"
Lin Muyao was about to cry. Seeing students passing by and sneaking glances their way, she quickly pulled Lin Jiayi to a quieter corner.
"Mom, I didn't do it on purpose. The team only got third place out of nowhere, and I couldn't accept it. I just felt so ashamed, I had no heart to go up there."
If it hadn't been for Luo Jialin insisting she accept the award, she would have slipped out the back door!
Being crushed by Shu Lanzhou — that was a humiliation she could hardly bear!!
"I thought Professor Han's team was full of elites. So even elites can screw up? And right after Shu Lanzhou left the team too — are you sure that's just a coincidence?"
Lin Muyao jumped in fright. "No, Mom, don't overthink it! If Shu Lanzhou were actually that capable, she wouldn't have been kicked out of the team. It really was just a mistake this time."
"Senior Luo and the others are truly outstanding. Believe me — if you can recruit them into your research team, the whole Central Research Institute will rise even higher. And when that happens, you'll…"
She didn't finish the sentence, but Lin Jiayi understood her meaning perfectly.
Seeing her mother's expression soften a little, Lin Muyao quickly brought up another matter:
"By the way, Senior Tian Hua is currently looking for an internship. You must take him in, Mom!"