Medical University, campus forum.
After fermenting for an entire day, Tang Shu's high school exam score surpassing 700 points successfully topped the like-ranking chart.
[Tsk tsk, who was it that said our little junior's grades were poor and got in through the back door? Come out, let's have a good chat.]
[I have to say, this score is peerless, even among this year's crowd of academic prodigies, she's outstanding.]
[Holy moly! With these scores, sister's chased by all the schools in the country, and you're saying she needed to use the back door? Is your family's back door that hard to get through?!]
[I bet the original poster's back door is made of iron, hhhhh~~~]
When the transcript was first posted, almost everyone immediately focused on the high score.
However, as time passed, people gradually started to smell something fishy.
[Brothers and sisters, why do I smell something called a conspiracy?]
[Big brother, your nose isn't working well, it's clearly the sour stench of heavy jealousy!]
[Case solved! The original poster's trending post was definitely malicious slander, misleading public opinion with half-truths, this guy's good at writing for public accounts——]
[The original poster must be a full-score achiever in reading comprehension, absolutely!]
[Original poster, come out and look, does such a score need hype? Still stepping on Meng Yunyun for publicity? Are you posting because your goddess was overshadowed and you're holding a grudge?]
If someone knew the origin of the post, they would undoubtedly give this fellow student a thumbs up.
So clever!
The forum thread originally marked with "hot" remained blazing, and the number of clicks was about to break ten thousand, with even the graduated seniors unable to resist chiming in.
However, the popularity this time was entirely different from the previous day. As many people agreed with the original poster then, now as many condemned her for her malintent.
At this moment, Lin Yue, the person behind it all, sat in the classroom, holding her phone and trembling.
On one hand, she was indignant about the accusations and insults directed at her on the forum, and on the other hand, she was worried someone would discover she was the one who posted.
"Alright, students, that's it for this class, you're dismissed."
Following the conclusion from the third-year specialty course professor, the students in the lecture theater rose and left in groups of two or three.
Meng Yunyun got up and was the first to head toward the podium, completely unaware of her roommate's distracted state.
"Professor Chen, I don't quite understand this part..."
The professor at the podium was not even thirty years old, a Medical University master's graduate who chose to stay at his alma mater, and was very patient with his students.
Especially since Meng Yunyun herself was an eager student favored by the teachers, her confusion was clarified in a few words.
After five minutes, the mobile phone on the podium rang.
"Hello, Professor Yu, you were looking for me?"
Upon hearing the address, Meng Yunyun silently stood aside and stopped talking.
"Okay, I understand, you're asking for Tang Shu, right? Okay... Then you go ahead with your work."
Professor Chen hung up the phone with a slight frown, and Meng Yunyun, hearing the name again, furrowed her brow too.
She knew that the person in front of her was not only a specialty course teacher but also the advisor for the freshmen of the Traditional Chinese Medicine department.
"Professor Chen, what's wrong?"
"Professor Yu called to ask for a student's leave for an entire week... Since when does Professor Yu handle such things?"
Even Professor Chen herself couldn't figure out what was going on, speculating in her mind, could that Tang Shu student possibly be a relative of Professor Yu?
No matter who it was, asking for leave through someone else was a sheer lack of respect for her.
Besides, Professor Yu made it clear over the phone that the student was going off to record some variety show.
"Students these days are becoming more audacious, not taking academics seriously and instead chasing fame through all sorts of nonsense, it's utterly absurd."
Professor Chen was somewhat displeased but didn't forget the matter at hand, "Right, did you understand the earlier question?"
"I got it, thank you, Professor."
Meng Yunyun lowered her eyes, understanding the ins and outs of the situation.
So it was her, the junior who was dubbed the new "campus belle" on the school forum.
"It's fine, if you have any problems you can email me, and I'll answer them when I see it."
"Okay, take care."
Watching the lecturer leave, Meng Yunyun turned to see her roommate's face somewhat pale.
"Lin Yue, are you feeling unwell? Why are you so pale?"
"Yunyun, about that Tang Shu..."
"What about her again? Why bother with someone inconsequential? You'd be better off spending more time in the lab. Everyone has their own path to follow, and we're not walking the same road as her."
Perhaps her name was being mentioned too frequently, but Meng Yunyun intuitively didn't want to hear any more. "You go back and rest first. I'll go to the canteen and get you some food."
A freshman who needed to take leave to attend a program recording as soon as school started was bound to be on a path increasingly divergent from hers, and there was absolutely no need to discuss it.
"Oh—okay."
In the end, Lin Yue swallowed back the matter of her high school exam results certificate.
Forget it, Yunyun was right. What did it matter if it was a high score?
In school, top students were a dime a dozen, but not all students could catch the eye of a mentor like Professor Lin. The position Yunyun had reached was entirely due to her own efforts.
It wasn't as if just anyone with high scores could earn Professor Lin's favor.
***
At that time, Tang Shu was utterly unaware of the buzz on the campus forum, having taken her boarding pass and met up with Sister Luo.
"Tang Shu, did you get your leave approved at school? Are you sure I shouldn't call your teachers for you?"
On the plane, Sister Luo was very concerned and double-checked.
In her eyes, a key university like Imperial Capital Medical University had very strict management, and since her artist had just started as a freshman, taking a one-week leave of absence was definitely a difficult task.
Since their last phone call, she had been waiting for the other party to ask for help, as at least with the company's name she could speak to the teachers and the chances of getting leave approved would be better.
But she waited and waited, all the way until now.
Tang Shu looked at her boarding pass for her assigned seat, edged past Sister Luo to the window seat, and nodded almost imperceptibly.
"Don't worry, it's taken care of."
"Then... how did you explain it to the counselor?"
That question was purely out of curiosity!
After all, Tang Shu's popularity hadn't risen yet, and the little fame she had was more of the notorious sort; she couldn't even muster a recognizable face.
"I had someone ask for leave on my behalf."
Five simple words from the main character herself, mundane, yet they managed to completely stun Sister Luo.
"...You managed to get someone to ask for a week's leave on your behalf? May I ask, was it the student council president?"
At these words, a hint of confusion appeared in Tang Shu's eyes.
The student council president, is that a big deal?
"It was an elder who does research with me; he said he knew the counselor. He asked for leave for me, and in exchange, I'll bring him some medicinal herbs from Yun Province."
Now Sister Luo believed it, so it was a fair trade?
What Tang Shu didn't say was that a few days earlier, when she left the lab, she had intended to inform Professor Yu that she wouldn't be able to come the following week and that she was going to ask the counselor for leave herself.
But as soon as Professor Yu learned of the situation, he took it upon himself to do it.
In thanks, Tang Shu had asked for the location of the Snow Soul Grass that had been transplanted in Yun Province, intending to bring a few back with her.
As the plane was about to take off, she opened the Weibo app and shared the latest post from the host, Pan Yang, then turned off her phone and began her first flying experience.