"Why aren't you answering?" Mu Side came out with the hairdryer, noticing Shu Lanzhou staring at her phone.
She handed it to him. "You answer it for me."
The number looked familiar, but she couldn't quite recall if it was who she thought it might be.
She didn't really want to talk to that person, but was also worried she might be wrong and miss an important call. After all, ever since they began promoting acupuncture, quite a few hospitals had reached out to invite her for lectures.
Mu Side looked skeptical but answered the call nonetheless…
Just a few dozen seconds later—
Shu Lanzhou blinked at him. "So?"
"It was Fang Ruoshi," Mu Side said, picking the hairdryer back up. "He didn't say what he wanted—just asked if you could call him back when you had time. So, will you?"
Shu Lanzhou's eyes lowered. "No. Whatever it is, it can't be anything good."
"Fang Ruoshi and Tian Hua are both still working at the institute," Mu Side said while lifting her hair gently, "but ever since Shi Yong and Zhou Yan were disciplined by the director, their days haven't been easy either."
"And since they were Han Weicheng's students, they're facing quite a bit of ostracism inside the institute. He's probably reaching out for help."
Shu Lanzhou chuckled softly. Looks like her guess had been right—both Fang Ruoshi and Tian Hua were having a rough time.
She just didn't expect them to cave this quickly. She'd thought they'd at least hold out a little longer.
But now that they were suffering, they remembered her? What were they doing back when things were going smoothly?
"Then I definitely won't call back. I couldn't care less what happens to them." Her tone was languid, with a trace of indifference.
Mu Side turned on the dryer and gently began blowing her hair. "Good. Don't. I haven't even settled the score with them for how they used to bully you."
—
The next day was the weekend. Shu Lanzhou had arranged to meet Dong Anlan and the others for shopping and lunch.
Ding Yuejiao, like her, was about to graduate from her postgraduate program. She had already received an internship offer from the research institute.
Barring any surprises, she would officially join He Xin's research team after graduation. Her relationship with Wu Cheng was also going well—seems they'd made it through without breaking up over career paths.
Zhang He had stayed on at the Mu Corporation. Ever since changing departments, she rarely mentioned the Mu family's second uncle anymore, as if she were trying to pull herself out of that whirlpool of unrequited affection. Whether she was succeeding or not, no one could say.
The happiest of them all was definitely Dong Anlan. Shortly after graduating from university, she got engaged to Ke Beichen. Over the past two years, his company had grown rapidly.
They had already carved out a space for themselves in the smart robotics industry. Tech companies often moved at breakneck speed, what with software updates and new manufacturing innovations.
Shu Lanzhou didn't understand much of it, but she knew that the first batch of smart acupuncture surgical robots Ke Beichen's company had developed would launch alongside their new drug.
It had been nearly five years in the making—this was to be their very first commercial product. She hoped it would help push the boundaries of modern medicine.
Dressed in casual attire, Shu Lanzhou arrived at the mall they had agreed on.
She thought she was early, but to her surprise, Zhang He was already waiting. When she saw Shu Lanzhou, she visibly relaxed.
"I guessed you'd be the first to arrive. Looks like coming early was the right call." Zhang He pulled her aside.
"Tell me, what's this top-secret news you need to spill before the others get here?" Shu Lanzhou looked curious.
"Check this out." Zhang He pulled a small medicine bottle from her backpack. The bottle was plain and unmarked—not even a single letter on it.
Shu Lanzhou looked even more puzzled. She opened the bottle and tipped out a pill. "Where did this come from? What is it?"
"That's the thing—I don't know, which is why I brought it to you." Zhang He looked conflicted.
"I found it in the trash can in President Mu's office. The cleaning lady said he'd smashed quite a few things that day. This bottle rolled out from under his overturned desk."
Shu Lanzhou frowned deeply. "He'er, be honest with me—what exactly are your feelings toward Mu?"
"Whoa, stop right there!" Zhang He waved her hands.
"Don't go getting the wrong idea. Even if I still liked him, I wouldn't go digging through his trash. I just happened to be walking by, saw the cleaning lady come out, and asked a few questions."
"This really was just a coincidence." Zhang He pointed to the bottle in Shu Lanzhou's hand.
"Everyone in the company keeps saying that President Mu has stayed single all these years and avoids women—maybe he has some kind of health issue. And after what you told me before, I started paying a little more attention."
"Lanzhou, it's been years. I've long since moved on. When I really think about it, I respect him more than I ever loved him. He's my boss and my elder—I don't harbor any foolish hopes. You can relax."
Shu Lanzhou pulled her into a hug, heart aching for her.
Whether in her past life or this one, Zhang He's romantic path had always been too rocky. She was pure and kind, without any ulterior motives, and always imagined love to be ideal and beautiful.
Which made her all the more vulnerable to getting hurt.
"I just want you to be happy, to meet someone who truly understands and cherishes you." Shu Lanzhou raised the small bottle in her hand.
"Thanks for this. I'll find out exactly what it is. President Mu is lucky to know you."
Zhang He smiled shyly. "Don't say that. I haven't done anything. I just think someone like him… doesn't deserve to be so alone."
"Besides, I've had the good fortune of seeing Miss Long a few times, and I've even witnessed how they interact. I can tell—President Mu really loves her. And Miss Long… the way she looks at him is full of tenderness."
"If it weren't for some overwhelming reason, they would never have missed out on each other. Deep down, I truly hope they find happiness."
Shu Lanzhou's eyes turned misty. She squeezed Zhang He's hand tightly.
"Just for those words, I'll do everything I can to help Second Uncle. It would be such a tragedy if he and Miss Long can't be together."
Before Shu Lanzhou could collect herself, Dong Anlan and Ding Yuejiao arrived.
"What happened?" Dong Anlan looked at her closely. "Are you crying? Did something happen?"
Shu Lanzhou quickly waved her hands. "No, no, I wasn't crying. I just got a little emotional thinking about how Zhang He is the only one of us still single."
"Hah! I thought it was something serious." Dong Anlan wrapped an arm around her and Zhang He. "Don't worry. Zhang He's lifelong happiness is my responsibility. In fact, I was just about to bring that up…"
Turns out, every time the four of them hung out, they'd take tons of pictures.
Dong Anlan always compiled them into digital albums and shared them, but she wasn't great at editing or coloring, so Ke Beichen started helping her out.
Eventually, the task just naturally fell to him. He had so many of their photos saved on his computer that, during a company meeting, some of his software engineers saw them.
And one of them… fell for Zhang He at first sight.
Dong Anlan was trying to set them up.
Just as the girls gathered around, laughing and chattering while checking out the software engineer's photo on Dong Anlan's phone, Shu Lanzhou's phone rang.
Her attention had been on Zhang He and she didn't look at the caller ID—just answered automatically.
"Lanzhou…" A hoarse voice, weathered and heavy, came through the speaker.
Though it sounded nothing like the voice she remembered from years ago, Shu Lanzhou instantly recognized it—because back in her previous life, when she was on the verge of going to prison, someone had once called out to her in exactly the same way.