Shen Xichuan hadn’t had time to send Xu Jialan a message.
He was called away by a phone call from his team.
Over the weekend, Xu Jialan had clicked on Shen Xichuan’s profile picture and moments many times.
His profile picture showed him standing on a basketball court, backlit, facing away from the camera—only his silhouette was visible.
But Xu Jialan recognized him at first glance.
He had matured from the youthful boy she remembered, now carrying a more grown-up masculine charm.
Her fingertip gently tapped his silhouette on the screen, a faint smile curling her lips that she hadn’t even noticed.
Shen Xichuan’s moments were sparse, almost empty.
His last post seemed to be from several months ago—just a photo of the moon.
Without any caption.
Very clean.
Xu Jialan browsed through them repeatedly.
Not daring to like anything, she slipped in and out quietly.
After they became friends yesterday, he had messaged to ask if she had gotten home safely.
She said yes.
After that, he hadn’t replied.
Staring at their chat window, a flicker of disappointment crossed Xu Jialan’s eyes.
She exited the app and turned off her phone.
…
The next day was Monday.
Xu Jialan was originally supposed to return to the laboratory.
But she received a last-minute phone call.
She turned around and headed to Nan Cheng Medical University.
The call was from the dean of the School of Pharmacy, informing her that the police had concluded their investigation into the laboratory explosion and needed her to come over.
Arriving outside the dean’s office, Xu Jialan knocked lightly.
The door opened from the inside.
It was the dean’s assistant.
Seeing her, the assistant nodded. “Professor Xu, please come in.”
Xu Jialan acknowledged with a slight bow and stepped inside.
The office was already filled with quite a few people.
There were professors from the School of Pharmacy, some from the School of Clinical Medicine, police officers, and a student standing to the side.
Xu Jialan glanced over—the student looked familiar, probably someone who had attended her public lectures.
“Professor Xu, you’re here.”
The dean of the School of Pharmacy stood up and greeted her.
Xu Jialan approached. “Dean, you mentioned on the phone that the explosion investigation has concluded?”
The dean nodded and gestured toward Officer Chen nearby.
Officer Chen, already familiar with Xu Jialan, proceeded to explain the investigation process and findings directly.
He handed over the relevant data. “Based on evidence left at the explosion site, cross-referencing the list of people who had accessed the laboratory and surveillance footage, and after further investigation, we discovered that this student from the School of Clinical Medicine not only attended your public lectures but also applied for laboratory access after each class. Coincidentally, the laboratory involved was one he frequently requested.”
Xu Jialan flipped through the data. “With just this evidence, it’s not enough to confirm that this student is the person involved.”
As she spoke, the student standing against the wall with his head lowered stiffened slightly, his eyes holding an unfathomable depth.
“Correct. So we continued investigating and found that his mother has been hospitalized at Nan Cheng Medical University’s affiliated hospital for nearly two years.”
Officer Chen handed Xu Jialan another set of documents.
Inside were all the medical records of the student’s mother, including doctor’s diagnoses and all chemotherapy medications used over the past two years.
Xu Jialan turned the pages one by one.
After reading everything, she fell silent.
The component that caused the laboratory explosion was precisely the one that could be used to develop medication for treating this patient’s cancer.
Xu Jialan lifted her gaze to the student who had remained silent all along.
She paused briefly, “Wang Shi’an?”
Hearing this, Wang Shi’an slowly raised his head to look at her.
“Professor Xu.”
His voice carried a hint of hoarseness.
His tone remained respectful.
Xu Jialan closed all the data files, her gaze as cool and detached as ever.
“I remember you attended my classes. What left a deep impression was your remarkable talent in pharmacology. Every experiment you completed was executed exceptionally well – even students majoring in the field would find it difficult to achieve your level.”
Upon hearing Xu Jialan praise Wang Shi’an, both the dean of the Clinical Medicine School and the dean of the Pharmaceutical School sighed with regret.
Even Officer Chen shook his head regretfully.
Wang Shi’an slightly lowered his eyes without speaking.
Xu Jialan looked at him, “I don’t think I’ve ever asked you – why did you choose to study medicine in the first place?”
Hearing this, Wang Shi’an remained silent for a few seconds before responding, “I wanted to save people.”
Xu Jialan nodded, “You wanted to save your mother.”
Wang Shi’an clenched his fists, his jaw tightening.
Officer Chen narrowed his eyes slightly.
After a long pause, Wang Shi’an suddenly raised his head, fists clenched, his eyes filled with stubborn determination.
“No, not just her.”
Xu Jialan’s eyebrows lifted slightly, “Oh?”
Wang Shi’an’s chest heaved violently, but when he met Xu Jialan’s deep yet clear eyes, he gradually calmed down.
After several seconds, he spoke word by word:
“I want to save more patients who can’t receive treatment for cancer and can only wait helplessly for death.”
The dean of the Pharmaceutical School nearby scolded with anger, “But you privately manufactured drugs, causing the laboratory explosion that nearly cost those students and Professor Xu their lives in the fire. This isn’t saving people – it’s harming them.”
“I didn’t mean to, I just…”
Just wanted too desperately to save people.
So he overlooked the dangers of privately manufacturing drugs.
Wang Shi’an’s eyes were filled with guilt and remorse.
Xu Jialan watched Wang Shi’an, her gaze profound, lost in unknown thoughts.
A professor from the Pharmaceutical School spoke up, “Currently, many media outlets are focusing on our pharmaceutical school’s laboratory explosion case. If we don’t handle this seriously, it will be difficult to explain to students and their parents, and it might even damage our medical university’s reputation.”
The Pharmaceutical School dean remained silent.
The Clinical Medicine School professor glanced at Wang Shi’an before saying, “Regardless, the laboratory explosion has already caused significant losses. Fortunately, no students or teachers were injured. Student Wang’s private drug manufacturing indeed warrants severe punishment from the school.”
The professor paused before continuing, “Dean, has the college’s disciplinary decision regarding this incident been made?”
Given Wang Shi’an’s talent, with time, he truly had the ability and potential to become an outstanding doctor.
However…
The Pharmaceutical School dean nodded.
“The school’s disciplinary decision has been made.”
The office fell silent.
He looked around at everyone, “Clinical Medicine School student Wang Shi’an, for improper drug storage leading to laboratory explosion, is hereby expelled.”
Hearing this, the Clinical Medicine School dean and professor breathed slight sighs of relief.
Developing cancer treatment drugs wasn’t something easily accomplished.
What caused the explosion was merely one component that could potentially treat cancer.
It truly couldn’t be considered private drug manufacturing.
Otherwise, it would truly be more than just expulsion.
But with the laboratory explosion, Wang Shi’an could not escape responsibility either.