When Shu Lanzhou walked in, Director Zhou was already ushering people out. "Everyone except those directly involved, please leave."
Even Mu Si, who had wanted to enter, was pushed out along with the others.
Inside the room, only Mu Yaning, Shu Lanzhou, the gossiping girl, and the two directors remained.
And an elderly man in plain clothes.
Shu Lanzhou nodded respectfully to the old man. "Grandpa, thank you for coming all this way."
The old man waved a hand dismissively. "No need for that. Let's deal with the matter first."
Shu Lanzhou turned to the Director of Political and Moral Education.
"Director, could you please announce the investigation findings about the anonymous report accusing me of inappropriate personal conduct—in front of this student?"
"Certainly." The director didn't beat around the bush and pulled up a surveillance video.
"This footage was retrieved from the Chinese Medicine Hospital. It confirms that the photo in the report—showing you with Professor He—was taken at the hospital's entrance."
"The background of the photo was deliberately blurred to distort the context and smear both you and Professor He. But as the evidence shows, you were not engaged in any improper behavior as the report claimed."
Mu Yaning's lips tightened. "Someone flung a bucket of filth at my husband and one of our students. I demand that the school investigate the source of this false accusation and trace it to its origin."
"The slanderer must face strict consequences. This is not just about clearing names—it's about purifying the school's atmosphere. Students must understand: this is a place for learning, not for fabricating rumors and creating chaos."
"Rest assured, Professor Mu," Director Zhou promised. "The school will get to the bottom of this."
"Now, let's move on to the second issue in the report—how Shu Lanzhou grew up, how she got into our university, and where her tuition money came from."
"To investigate this, the school sent representatives to Shu Lanzhou's village and invited the local village head to come speak."
The old man, who had been sitting quietly, tugged at his coat and stood up.
"Before I say anything, I'd like you all to take a look at these documents." He pulled out a rusty iron box from his backpack, filled to the brim with yellowed receipts and slips of paper.
Some were badly worn, the ink faded with age—clear evidence of the passage of time.
"These are IOUs Shu Lanzhou wrote from childhood until now. Each one lists the name of the lender and the amount owed."
The old man pursed his lips and glanced at Shu Lanzhou with guilt in his eyes.
"She lost her father young, and her mother left not long after. She was barely five or six when she began living off communal meals. The village was poor, and no one really wanted to take her in."
"It was me who insisted every household take her in for a day. Not for free—she had to work to earn her food. She was small and thin, but clever and quick with her hands."
"When she was old enough to attend school, she begged the teachers to let her study while doing chores. One of the volunteer teachers saw her potential and personally came to ask me to fund her schooling."
"At the time, all the able-bodied men had left to work in the cities. The village was short on labor. After some thought, I agreed to use village funds to support her education—on the condition that she worked for the village in return."
"She may have been just a child, but she never once lost a cow or sheep while herding. The animals were even fond of her. Gradually, I believed she had a future and kept supporting her studies."
"Then she got into college. But the tuition was far beyond what our village could afford—not to mention her living expenses."
"When the township heard that our village had produced a college student, they gave us some money. But it wasn't nearly enough to cover tuition. So I took her around the village, borrowing from more than a dozen households, scraping together 30,000 yuan."
"I brought every cent with her to the school. These here are the IOUs from those loans."
"They were originally held by the villagers, but once she paid them all back, I collected the notes. She hasn't been back to the village in years, so I never got the chance to return them."
He pushed the box toward Shu Lanzhou. "You've repaid everything. These are yours now."
The old man's words left everyone in the room teary-eyed.
"Our village may be poor, and we may not be well educated, but we still know what it means to be decent human beings. We might not have had the ability to care for her well, but we couldn't just sit back and let her die in that village."
"I've been the village head my whole life, managing everything large and small. We may not have been the first to shake off poverty, but we've never caused scandal either."
"In the past, our priority was simply to survive. Even now, as times improve, we would never stoop so low as to take advantage of a young girl."
"I'm a dying old man—I have no reason to lie. I swear to the heavens, not one man in our village, myself included, ever harmed Shu Lanzhou."
"We raised an orphan with nothing but decency and a sense of duty. Now she's made something of herself. If even that earns us slander—"
"Then who will dare help a child like her again? Dear teachers and administrators, I swear to you, nothing in that report is true!"
The old village head wiped his eyes with his sleeve—his indignation barely contained.
And rightly so. This wasn't just about Shu Lanzhou's reputation. It affected the honor of the old man and every man in the village.
To accuse Shu Lanzhou of sleeping around for money was vile enough—but she was an orphan! To say that the entire village preyed on her innocence… it was monstrous.
A girl who grew up with hardship, who had to earn every bit of her education by laboring for it—and who still managed to make it out of the mountains. Now that her life was finally improving, someone had to throw dirt at her name!
How could anyone not be furious?
Mu Yaning was practically fuming with rage.
"Which damned scum made up something this evil? Just how rotten must their heart be?! Director Zhou, this cannot be allowed to slide."
"If the school can't handle it, I'll go to the police. I refuse to let this go!"
To Shu Lanzhou, compared to the unchecked rumors that had haunted her in her past life—where she couldn't even defend herself—this already felt like the kindest outcome.
At least now, the accusation stayed within the school. It hadn't exploded across the internet.
But when she saw the tears in Mu Yaning's eyes, her heart still tightened. A sudden wave of grievance rose in her chest.
She stepped forward, helped Mu Yaning sit down, and gently placed a hand over her heart.
"Don't be angry, please. It's not worth it. Teacher, I'm fine. Really. Knowing that you all believe me, that the school investigated thoroughly, and that Grandpa is here to speak on my behalf—I'm already deeply comforted."
"I'm not afraid of slander. Truly. If I didn't do something, then I didn't. When you walk upright, you don't fear a crooked shadow. People will talk—we can't control that."
"All I can do is become stronger, braver, and work harder. One day, when I'm shining with my own light, these shadows won't be able to hurt me anymore."
"Silly girl," Mu Yaning clutched at her chest, choked with emotion.
"A girl's reputation is everything. The person who accused you—such a poisonous heart—deserves nothing less than condemnation. They must pay for this!"
Shu Lanzhou's nose stung as tears welled up. She wrapped her arms around Mu Yaning. "Thank you, Teacher… thank you so much!"
"Oh, my foolish girl," Mu Yaning held her tightly, her voice thick with sobs. "You've suffered so much. But it's over now. From now on, Teacher will protect you. Everything you went through—it was to make you into the incredible person you are today. You'll be blessed, I just know it."
She held Shu Lanzhou in her arms, crying openly from heartbreak.
Everyone else in the room was moved to tears. Shu Lanzhou's life story was too bitter, too painful.
For a long moment, no one spoke. No one dared interrupt the scene between Mu Yaning and Shu Lanzhou.
Then, suddenly, a sob broke the silence:
"Teacher, I'm sorry! I shouldn't have said those things about Shu. I was wrong. I truly regret it—but I didn't come up with it myself! Someone told me to do it!"