Rong Yu heard the sound of someone sniffing.
She turned her head and saw Ji Mohan with red-rimmed eyes. She quickly walked over and asked softly, "Did the leadership criticize you?"
Ji Mohan shook his head gloomily.
The lab had signal jammers, so Great-Grandma's phone had no signal. She probably didn't know about what happened online yet.
But she would find out sooner or later.
He picked up Rong Yu's bag for her, and they walked out together.
As soon as they stepped outside, just as he was about to bring up the matter, Rong Yu's phone started vibrating.
Many messages flooded in simultaneously.
Yingbao, A-Yuan, A-Yan, A-Chuan, A-Ye...
Her teacher, Yun Xiaoyuan, Academician Min Shenyan...
Many classmates from Class Twenty.
And also Su Tian, Li Ying'er, Tian Tian, and others she met during the talent show.
With a quick glance, she understood what was going on.
She had gained a new nickname: Academic Daji.
Modern netizens were quite interesting, actually able to come up with such a fitting nickname.
Ji Mohan saw that she was actually smiling. "Great-Grandma, aren't you angry?"
Rong Yu patted his shoulder. "Life is short. How can we waste our emotions on such trivial matters? You and I both know the truth of the matter, don't we?"
Meeting her clear and resolute gaze, the frustration in Ji Mohan's heart slowly dissipated.
"A-Mo, go get the car first. I need to return some calls." Rong Yu first dialed her "old son's" number, her voice gentle and smiling. "Yingbao, are you angry again? Haven't I told you before, no matter what happens, you're not allowed to get angry..."
Old Master Ji was very aggrieved. "But those people are saying such terrible things."
"Soon, those people will come to apologize on their own," Rong Yu said with a laugh. "You, as the head of the fan club, need to play your role. Pay attention to guiding the fans, don't let them argue with netizens, stay rational. Tell the fans to please trust me."
Old Master Ji hurriedly took notes in his little notebook.
Just after hanging up on her old son, Rong Yu's phone screen displayed Shen Lin's name.
She thought for a moment and answered.
Shen Lin's voice was full of concern. "Xiao Yu, I was in classes all day. I just got home, picked up my phone, and saw the news online. Is everything okay on your end?"
Rong Yu: "Thank you for your concern, Auntie. I'm fine."
Shen Lin said, "You still haven't registered a Weibo account, so many things aren't clear to your fans. Would you like Yaoyao to help post a Weibo message to reassure them?"
Rong Yu: "No need, I have things to attend to. I'll hang up now."
After hanging up, Rong Ruoyao, sitting next to Shen Lin, frowned. "Mom, didn't you see how badly Rong Yu is being cursed by netizens? My comment section is also a mess because of it. Why would you want me to help Rong Yu reassure her fans? It'll drag me down."
"Yaoyao, why don't you understand? Interpersonal relationships are like a piggy bank. If you don't put coins in regularly, you'll have nothing when you need to use it," Shen Lin said earnestly. "Rong Yu won the National Physics Competition gold medal, she's Professor Lin Rang's assistant, she's only eighteen and has already entered the Fourth Aerospace Research Institute... She definitely has the ability to resolve this crisis... If you proactively help her during her low point, then when she shines brightly in the future, you can justifiably ride on her coattails. Understand?"
Rong Ruoyao bit her lip. "But what if this crisis gets her blacklisted?"
"I don't think it will," Shen Lin said softly. "She... probably isn't that easy to bring down."
Although Rong Yu didn't have Weibo, she had WeChat.
She didn't have the patience to reply to each friend individually, so she simply posted a moment: "Thank you all for your concern. I'm fine."
Arriving home, Ji Yanting rushed up to meet her. "Great-Grandma, I have a professional PR team here. Do you need them to step in and suppress these news headlines and hot searches?"
Rong Yu shook her head.
This project had already concluded. The final experimental report was in her computer.
According to the usual procedure, she would report it immediately for internal disclosure.
But now...
For someone who plagiarized academic work, in her book, there was no forgiveness. They had to be removed.
Rong Yu did not make any public clarification.
A night passed, and the online controversy grew even more intense. Some uninformed bystanders also joined in, causing the heat to continuously rise.
Lu Jiaojiao sat in her chair and smiled.
Ji Mohan wanted to seek justice for Rong Yu, right? Well, this was justice.
Perfect. This Rong Yu was now not only notorious in academic circles, but her public persona in the entertainment industry was also ruined.
And she, Lu Jiaojiao, had become famous beyond her usual circle.
In the future, for academic endorsements in this field, the institute should probably feature her.
Lu Jiaojiao was lost in these thoughts when suddenly her assistant knocked and entered, head bowed. "Sister Lu, Professor Li wants to see you in his office... Professor Li looks extremely angry."
Lu Jiaojiao chuckled lightly.
The institute was being cursed online, and the higher-ups were blaming Professor Li entirely. No wonder he was angry.
She walked into Professor Li's office, about to speak.
Then she saw Professor Li slam a printed thesis onto his desk. "I just got a call from the aerospace institute. They conducted an internal simulation test based on your thesis. Why does the detector coating degradation situation completely contradict the stability description in your paper?"
Lu Jiaojiao was stunned. "That's impossible."
Professor Li's face was icy. "Because the news is blowing up, many professionals have read your thesis. Take a look for yourself!"
A group of big shots offered sharp critiques:
"This thesis looks impressive overall, but the risk section is glossed over."
"Why is there no relevant data for the risk control experimental verification? The Tyndall effect appeared earlier; a control group experiment should have been redone in a simulated environment."
"The experiment is incomplete. Why was this thesis published? What's the rush?"
"Anyone capable of conducting this research experiment couldn't possibly fail to understand the importance of risk verification. What's really going on?"
"New substance, new research, new application—it is indeed an innovative milestone. But it still lacks risk data support. Recommend withdrawing this thesis..."
Lu Jiaojiao's face instantly turned pale.
When she submitted this thesis, Rong Yu and Ji Mohan were precisely conducting the control group experiments.
Based on her experience of thousands of experiments, the data from these control groups wouldn't ultimately change the result.
Why did the simulation test show discrepancies?
Did the control group discover something different?
So that's why Rong Yu and Ji Mohan repeatedly asked her to withdraw the thesis?
Why didn't they just say it directly?
They deliberately let her make such a huge mistake and become a laughingstock.
"You have twenty-four hours to produce the experimental data and supplement it," Professor Li said coldly. "Otherwise, in twenty-four hours, this thesis will be withdrawn. You know what negative impact withdrawal would have."
Lu Jiaojiao lowered her head in humiliation. "Yes."
She walked into the lab, looked at the equipment, and her mind went blank.
She put down the documents, walked to an area with signal, and dialed Ji Mohan's number. "Mohan, I'm sorry. I was willful and reckless, and I've caused a huge disaster. But no matter what, I did save your life. You have to help me..."
