Public opinion was nothing new; the sun rose as usual.

A new batch of hot posts and popular comments reached Cheng Shuo's eyes. He sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing his eyes.

In the five-person group chat, the student with an excellent schedule, Chen Ziheng, had already sent a brief review of the current public opinion.

To sum it up in one sentence: the tide was turning for the better, the popularity was increasing, all as expected.

There were, of course, nasty comments: slut-shaming ones, ones shaming mental illness, ones saying people with depression should just stay home and get treated instead of studying and causing trouble for others, ones saying 'flies don't bite a seamless egg'.

But in the end, the wave of support was louder.

Around noon, Zheng Yi was questioned. After she came out, she called them and said it was nothing, they didn't tell her not to attend class, didn't threaten her, just pretended to understand the situation. "You all don't worry."

Like in his past life, Cheng Shuo and Chen Ziheng laid the groundwork for public opinion. Unlike his past life, both victims were by their side, and more whistleblowers spoke word for word what they wanted to say through their two phones.

Someone on the other end was sobbing uncontrollably. Someone said, "Senior Sister, it'll be okay, right? Will it be okay?" Someone asked Cen Zeng, "What if... there are still no results, what do we do?"

Li Aimin didn't act out of desperation. He posted on Weibo, saying sanctimoniously that he had seen the students' recent statements and would accept the school's investigation.

But the path of medicine is not easy. For every student to grow into a qualified doctor, they must endure considerable pressure and be prepared to suffer many hardships.

I hope everyone who aspires to study medicine will think carefully before making a decision. Let us encourage each other.

Words of condemnation flooded him, and he remained silent from then on.

A few days passed just like that. The popularity slowly declined according to Chen Ziheng's most optimistic prediction. In the end, the response from the school and the hospital was to suspend Li Aimin, remove him from his position as a supervisor, and the hospital would also suspend his clinical duties for a thorough investigation.

The students in Li Aimin's lab would be reassigned to new supervisors to ensure their graduation.

Chen Ziheng, who had been quietly following the situation, called them in the five-person group chat after the school's announcement came out. He told them that Li Aimin would probably disappear for a year or two and then be brought back.

There was a rare exhaustion in his voice. He said, "This is hard to hear, but I have to say it: it's a good thing it wasn't one of the other doctors at the Affiliated Hospital with stronger connections."

Otherwise, I'm afraid there wouldn't even be a symbolic transfer for two years. An order to suspend duties for half a year for self-reflection would have been about it.

When he said this, the four people listening were all silent. Someone coughed, but in the end, no one said anything.

Cheng Shuo knew Chen Ziheng was speaking the truth. In fact, this person had always only focused on facts. To still be willing to help under the current circumstances was already his greatest kindness, his most sincere heart. It was just that this fact was too embarrassing, so embarrassing that he almost didn't want to admit it existed.

Chen Ziheng, aware that he had killed the mood, finally sighed and said, "Alright, I won't be a killjoy. In any case, it's a victory for now. Do you guys want to get a meal together?"

As he spoke, Zheng Yi chimed in, "Can you drop the official tone, Mr. President?"

"Otherwise, I would've thought we were having another Student Council regular meeting."

"Get lost, you poser." Cheng Shuo added, "Let me treat everyone to a meal. You've all worked hard."

The four of them laughed. Only Chen Ziheng remained calm and retorted, "Get lost, you psycho."

Yo, if this wasn't a group call, Cheng Shuo would have really said that Cen Zeng was the real psycho.

However, the real psycho was sitting next to him at this moment. Meeting his gaze, he smiled.

And for no reason at all, he wanted to hold his fingertips.

This time, Cheng Shuo finally treated everyone to an expensive meal, just as he had wanted to in his past life. Before they got to the place, Zheng Yi sent them a message in the four-person group chat, saying that Senior Sister's parents arrived yesterday to see her. She had an emotional breakdown and was sobbing uncontrollably. Today, they shouldn't talk about too many unpleasant topics.

He looked at the message, put down his phone, and as he drove the car out, he asked Cen Zeng, "Are you okay?"

Cen Zeng replied, "I'm fine. This outcome is pretty good."

He paused for a moment and said, "Better than I imagined."

He thought again and said, "Senior Sister might have a lot more trouble. There probably aren't many supervisors in the same field as Li Aimin. If she transfers to another lab, I'm afraid it will be difficult to continue the project she's been working on."

"What about you?" he finally asked aloud. "Are you content with this?"

Cen Zeng turned his head to look at him.

This person always had a face that could stun someone for a few seconds, and this time was no exception. New grass was sprouting green shoots, the earth was returning to spring. He smiled amidst the vibrant life, like a pear blossom about to bloom, and said he was very satisfied.

Cheng Shuo wanted to ask, 'Really? But I still feel wronged for you for no reason.' He then thought, for some strange reason, that many days ago, on that spring evening, he had also used this tone to say 'I'm used to it'.

But the person before him was right by his side, smiling brightly this time. He opened his mouth, but still didn't ask anything.

The meal had a rare, joyous atmosphere. Chen Ziheng speechlessly picked out the cilantro, and Cheng Shuo said with a grin, "Oh dear, look what a mess. I deliberately told them not to leave it out."

You couldn't see too much worry on Senior Sister's face. No one talked about Li Aimin anymore, only chatting relaxedly about upcoming movies, a new restaurant that opened not far from campus, and the approaching spring.

Senior Sister said she planned to rest for a week, buy some pretty spring clothes, and then take her parents out. Zheng Yi replied, "What a coincidence, I was just thinking of going to the City Center to check out the new arrivals at the big stores. Let's go together, and we can catch a movie too."

So she nodded and said, "Okay, now it's my turn to accommodate my junior sister."

"What about you, Cen Zeng?" she looked at her junior brother.

"Preparing for midterms..." He smiled. "I skipped too many classes recently, I'm afraid I won't be able to keep my scholarship."

"Let's study together then..." Zheng Yi said with a grin. "Following our god Cen, let's see what study secrets you have."

Cen Zeng replied, "I can send you my notes."

"Can I share them privately? Let me see how much money I can extort from everyone."

"That's enough out of you," Cheng Shuo replied. "Otherwise, Cen Zeng, you should consider packing up and coming to our department. I'll pay for private tutoring."

They joked around a lot. Everything was so normal.

When they said their goodbyes, after Senior Sister finished her words of thanks, Cen Zeng also added a sentence, incredibly formal, yet incredibly sincere: "Thank you, everyone. You've all worked hard. I'm very happy today. In the future, we will all get better and better."

Zheng Yi clapped for them in a mock-comedic way. Sunlight streamed in, spilling onto the five smiling young people's faces.

But just as they were heading home, Cheng Shuo finally grabbed the other person's hand. "Do you want to rest for a while? Didn't you go get a diagnosis? Are you going to start taking medication this time?"

He hadn't seen Cen Zeng bring back a medicine bottle. He had held it in for a few days, but finally asked.

Cen Zeng looked at their intertwined knuckles and said, "It's fine, I know what I'm doing."

Then gently, almost tenderly, he let go of his hand.

It was still early spring, so it carried a bit of a chill. Perhaps that was also acceptable.

Cheng Shuo subconsciously glanced at the calendar. It was already March 14th, a clear day.