"Let me ask you," Han Weicheng grabbed Guo Jialiang by the collar and pulled him closer, "Was the experiment from two months ago completed entirely by you, or did Shulan Zhou do it for you?"
"Answer me honestly, no lies!" Han Weicheng demanded.
Guo Jialiang's heart pounded furiously in his chest, each beat growing faster and louder, making it feel like he could hardly breathe.
"It was... it was..." Guo Jialiang was too scared to tell the truth!
He had already been scolded by Han Weicheng once for the paper not being good enough, only getting published in a campus journal. If Han found out that he hadn't even completed the experiment himself... that would be even worse.
"What is it?" Han Weicheng shoved him away. "You can't even say it, then let me say it for you. That experiment was completely done by Shulan Zhou, from start to finish."
"You didn't even bother to record the experimental data. The data you gave me was entirely copied from her experiment notebook."
"You thought you were clever and made some modifications, thinking I wouldn't notice. I admit, because of your changes, your experiment looked more realistic."
"But do you know, that's only because I didn't see the real, complete experiment records. When the true notebook was right in front of me, your so-called experiment became a joke."
"Ha..." Han Weicheng was so angry he was practically fuming, "Guo Jialiang, do you even know you're the joke here?"
"Because of you, I embarrassed myself in front of over twenty teachers. I couldn't lift my head in front of Mu Yanning. Because of you, Shulan Zhou openly criticized and questioned me."
"Because of you, she became the victim that I had deliberately ignored, suppressed, and stifled. She became the object of sympathy for all the teachers!"
"All of this, it's all because of you—your deceitful trickery and fraud! Guo Jialiang, I really want to kick you out right now. I regret ever having a student like you!"
With each accusation and harsh word, Guo Jialiang's face drained of color.
He had always been the weakest link in the team. If it weren't for his ability to navigate relationships and flatter others, he never would have made it through from undergraduate to graduate school.
Just as he was about to graduate and secure a good job, this happened!
Why? Why did it have to come to this?!
Guo Jialiang, his face full of pain, raised his head, "Did Shulan Zhou say I tricked you? Did she say my experiment records were fake and copied from hers?"
"Teacher, you believed her, didn't you?"
Han Weicheng tugged at his collar.
"She openly showed her experimental records and the paper she had written back then in front of over twenty teachers. I had no choice but to believe her."
"Guo Jialiang, I never thought you'd be worse than Shulan Zhou."
Those words, without a doubt, nailed Guo Jialiang to the shameful pillar.
After all, in the entire team, everyone had already tacitly agreed that Shulan Zhou was the least capable one. And now, he was even worse than her.
Guo Jialiang, feeling like a wilted plant, collapsed onto the ground with a look of despair.
"Teacher, please sit down first," Luo Jialin pulled a chair over and helped Han Weicheng sit down. "Have some water to calm down. I just heard you mention something about experimental records."
"Back when Shulan Zhou was still here, she did indeed help us record some experimental data. You know, our coursework was busier than hers."
"Some experiments would take several days, and sometimes, we had no choice but to let her keep watch. If anyone recorded the data most thoroughly, it was her."
Guo Jialiang seemed to see a glimmer of hope and quickly nodded.
"Yes, yes, teacher, I didn't deceive you. I really did complete every experiment carefully, it's just that with the data..."
"Enough," Han Weicheng waved his hand in disdain. "At this point, there's no need to push all the blame onto Shulan Zhou."
"She was with my team for less than three years. In that time, she did two hundred and seventy-one experiments, writing analysis papers for each one. Just this alone is something you all should learn from."
"If you had just half of her diligence, I wouldn't be losing face like this today. Guo Jialiang, remember this."
"From now on, if I catch you cheating or manipulating experimental data again, don't blame me for being ruthless and kicking you out of the team."
Han Weicheng stood up, paused for a second, then walked over and kicked Guo Jialiang. "If you still consider me your teacher, take this kick as a lesson."
"If you think I'm wrong, I don't mind if you report me for corporal punishment."
"I won't," Guo Jialiang bent over and took the kick. "I know the teacher is doing this for my own good."
"Thank you for giving me another chance. I'll focus on experiments from now on, do my research sincerely, and never let anyone else handle my lab work again!"
Han Weicheng pointed at his face. "Look after yourself."
"…"
"Look after yourself." Those four words made Guo Jialiang want to crawl into a hole and hide.
Shulan Zhou!!
It was her again. She had already left the team. Why was she still doing this to him? She promised she wouldn't show her papers to anyone, wouldn't release her experimental data!
Why didn't she keep her promise?!
In this moment, Guo Jialiang hated Shulan Zhou with every fiber of his being!
He had no idea that the experimental data and related papers Shulan Zhou recorded were just stored in the team's shared research database.
If Han Weicheng hadn't insisted on proving Shulan Zhou's "incompetence" in public, Guo Jialiang wouldn't have lost all his dignity.
Guo Jialiang, who was usually skilled at navigating relationships and maintaining good rapport with everyone, could now clearly feel the disdain in the way others looked at him.
A university is a small society, and Han Weicheng's team was a small society within that.
Here, it didn't matter if your family was poor, but your academic performance had to be excellent. If your academic performance wasn't great, then you'd better make up for it with sponsorships.
People like Fang Ruoshi and Tian Hua were academic elites, while Du Yifan and Luo Jialin were rich second-generation students, the sons of wealthy families.
But what did he, Guo Jialiang, have?
He only had a mouth that could sweet-talk and deceive!
But now, even that mouth had been shut by Shulan Zhou. At this point, he had nothing left. He had become the lowest-ranking member of the team!
And it was all because of Shulan Zhou!!
Guo Jialiang hated her so much!
"Alright, get up, everyone's gone," Luo Jialin pulled him up.
"I'm not saying this to be harsh, but the experimental data is always stored in the team's database. Didn't you look at it before writing your paper?"
Guo Jialiang shook his head, disbelief written all over his face.
"That experiment was my minor. I studied it for years. Shulan Zhou had never touched it. She only looked at two related books just to help me with the experiment."
"Even if she recorded all the data perfectly, I still don't believe her paper would be better than mine!! Unless... someone helped her!"
Luo Jialin's eyes flickered. "You don't mean you suspect Ruoshi or Tian Hua, do you?"
"I don't know," Guo Jialiang shook his head.
"I know I'm the least talented in the team, so I've always worked hard. I didn't want to disappoint the professor, but in the end, I still let him down!"