Luo Jialin's slightly reproachful words left Mu Side and the others momentarily stunned.
"And who do you think you are to question me?" Shu Lanzhou found it almost laughable.
If Luo Jialin truly cared about her, he wouldn't have said such a thing.
It wasn't just Guo Jialiang who didn't know she'd never gone back home—Luo Jialin didn't know either. Over the past few years, who had she really been surrounded by?
There was no such thing as "most disappointed"—only deeper, sharper despair.
"How can you talk to your senior like that?" Du Yifan's face darkened as he stepped forward.
"He's only concerned for you. You're just a young girl—going out to dinner alone with a bunch of guys? What if something happened? Do you have any sense of safety at all?"
Du Yifan's displeased gaze swept over Mu Side, Yi Ming, and Wu Cheng.
It just so happened that when they arrived earlier, He Sixin had pulled Mu Yaning to a nearby bubble tea shop, leaving Shu Lanzhou to enter with the others.
The result? Among the group, Shu Lanzhou was the only girl.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Yi Ming bristled, stepping forward, but Shu Lanzhou held him back with a hand.
She looked at Du Yifan and smiled faintly. "What could possibly happen?"
"In the past few years, I've been with these guys plenty of times. We've pulled all-nighters in the lab, gone out for midnight snacks… I was the only girl then too. Didn't I turn out just fine?"
"That's different!" Du Yifan grew anxious. "We're your seniors—we'd never hurt you. But them? How can you be sure?"
"If even you wouldn't… then they'd be even less likely to." Shu Lanzhou let out a light laugh, then her expression turned icy cold.
"After all, they've treated me ten times, no—a hundred times—better than you ever did. At least they never abandoned me on the side of the road in the middle of the night, forcing me to hail a cab alone."
Du Yifan's face turned ashen. "We went to a bar! Of course we couldn't bring you along. We were thinking of you! Why are you so ungrateful?"
"Oh? For my sake?" Shu Lanzhou let out a bitter chuckle.
"Yi Ming, would you leave me stranded at night on the street just so you could go drinking?"
Yi Ming scoffed coldly. "Of course not. Even if we went to a bar, we'd take you with us. After all, it's not like we have anything to hide."
"Who's hiding anything?" Du Yifan shot toward Yi Ming. "You're obviously up to no good! Trying to take her to a bar—what's your real motive?"
Before he could reach Yi Ming, Mu Side calmly raised a hand to block him. "You sure you want to start something here?"
"Du Yifan!" Luo Jialin grabbed him back. "We don't mean any harm. We're just worried about Shu Lanzhou. She's our junior sister. Please, we hope you understand."
Luo Jialin looked at Yi Ming. "If you truly like Shu Lanzhou, then treat her well. She's young, simple-hearted, not suited for places like bars."
"Shu Lanzhou, we didn't exclude you from the bar to hurt you—it was for your own good. I didn't expect you'd hold a grudge over it…"
He rubbed his chest, wearing a look of pained disappointment.
"No matter how you see it, our care for you was genuine. You want to dress up, hang out with guys—that's your choice. We just hope you don't regret it."
"Even if you're dating… pick someone reliable. Don't get yourself hurt, okay?"
He wore the kindly face of an elder giving life advice, enough to make anyone nauseous. Even Yi Ming and the others were momentarily dumbfounded.
Mu Side squinted, his eyes gleaming coldly at Luo Jialin.
Is this really about the bar?
No—it was about abandoning a young girl in the dead of night on the roadside. Had they ever considered what might've happened to her?
Bastards, Mu Side seethed inwardly, wanting to rip off their masks.
To reach Luo Jialin's level of hypocrisy… must've taken a lifetime of practice.
"Well said." Before anyone could challenge Luo Jialin, a voice rang out behind them.
Mu Yaning stepped forward, taking Shu Lanzhou's hand.
"Shu Lanzhou is indeed too young for bars, and she's innocent enough that dating might come too soon."
"But none of that's for you to decide. First of all, I'm her professor—I'd never let anyone drag her to a bar, let alone let anyone harm her."
"Secondly, she's an adult, capable of independent thought. She knows who's worth befriending, and who she should stay away from."
"As for you, Luo Jialin—thanks, but no thanks. Don't hold us up from our dinner."
"Exactly." He Sixin linked arms with Shu Lanzhou, leading her toward the private room.
"Just coming out for a meal and we bump into a bunch of lunatics preaching at us—what a joke. Who do they think they are? Even the dean of student affairs isn't this meddlesome. If they cared so much, why didn't they before?"
Shu Lanzhou's smile was bitter, tinged with mockery. "Probably because they can't stand seeing me happy."
That must be it—they kept popping up, reminders of the dark days she'd left behind. A reminder not to forget the resentment she owed them.
Du Yifan clenched his fists, watching Shu Lanzhou walk away without sparing them another glance. His frustration and unwillingness peaked, barely holding himself back from charging after her again.
Only Luo Jialin's firm grip on his arm—and Mu Yaning's presence—kept him in check.
"My apologies," Luo Jialin offered a smile, sweeping his gaze over Mu Side and the others. "We didn't realize Professor Mu was here. We nearly caused a misunderstanding—please accept my apology."
"Shu Lanzhou may have left our team, but she's still our junior sister. No matter what she does, we'll continue to care for her, understand her, protect her."
"I hope you won't make things difficult for her. Please look after her. Thank you."
Even Su Mo, the mildest of them all, felt his breathing grow heavy with suppressed anger. He nearly wanted to punch that insincere face.
Mu Side stepped forward to retort, but Mu Yaning held him back.
"Luo Jialin," Mu Yaning smiled, her tone sharp beneath the sweetness.
"There's no point lying through your teeth. Everyone saw how Shu Lanzhou was treated in your team—not just her. Others had eyes too."
The implication was clear: Shu Lanzhou was better off without them—and she'd only rise higher from here.
With that, Mu Yaning waved them into the private room.
"They're just going to let them go?" Du Yifan fumed. "Shu Lanzhou's really fallen for that guy?"
"What does he have that I don't? Why'd she reject—"
"Du Yifan!" a soft female voice cut him off.
The petite, doll-like girl had been quietly watching from the sidelines the whole time. It was her first time joining their gathering—and she'd witnessed it all firsthand.
Lin Muyao had told her before that Shu Lanzhou had a powerful effect on these guys. She hadn't believed it… until now.
The girl wrapped her arms around Du Yifan's, nuzzling coyly. "I'm your girlfriend. How can you look at other girls? You're making me jealous!"
Her sugary voice instantly melted his temper.
"I wasn't looking," Du Yifan grumbled. "She's just a junior sister—I couldn't stand watching her be so foolish…"
This girl—Huang Tiantian—was someone Du Yifan had met the night he'd been drinking himself sick after being angered by Shu Lanzhou and Yi Ming… at a bar.