The very same day the news broke that Luo Jialin's cosmeceutical factory had been shut down, it topped the trending searches. When he was brought into the police station, Shu Lanzhou arrived as well—accompanying Chen Yue.
They ran into each other right outside the police station.
Luo Jialin hesitated for a moment when he saw her. "Shu Lanzhou? What are you doing here?"
"I'm here with my patient to submit some supplementary evidence," Shu Lanzhou said, gesturing toward Chen Yue.
Luo Jialin glanced at the young woman—tall, fair-skinned, and with features like a celebrity. "A patient?"
"Dr. Shu treated my face a while ago," Chen Yue replied, clearly recognizing him. "You're the young master of the Luo family—who wouldn't know you?"
She added with a sharp edge, "My face was ruined by your company's products. The skin damage was so bad I lost my job and couldn't even go outside. Dr. Shu was the one who pulled me out of that hole and healed my skin."
A flicker of embarrassment passed over Luo Jialin's face. He avoided looking at Chen Yue and turned to Shu Lanzhou instead.
"I can explain everything. I was set up! Someone tampered with our production formula—I didn't know the products that hit the market were defective. You have to believe me, I…"
"You don't need to explain anything to me," Shu Lanzhou cut him off, her expression cool and aloof. "Save it for the police. Come on, Chen Yue."
In her hands, Shu Lanzhou held medical records, treatment history, and photographic evidence of the skin damage—everything needed to support Chen Yue's claims.
She didn't look back as she walked past him and into the police station. For Luo Jialin, it felt like someone had grabbed his heart and twisted it hard. That sharp ache wasn't from legal trouble—it was because Shu Lanzhou had witnessed it all, and had turned away from him without a shred of sympathy.
His face turned pale, and his legs almost gave out. He had a gut feeling: once he walked into that police station, getting out again wouldn't be so easy.
"Mr. Luo, this way please," one of the officers escorting him urged when he didn't move.
Luo Jialin stepped into the station, hollow-eyed and hopeless.
Because he hadn't had time to coordinate a story with his team, Luo Jialin caved under questioning and confessed the truth.
Later, when Shu Lanzhou and Chen Yue finished submitting the evidence and were about to leave, they saw Xiao Anning being led into the station as well.
Compared to Luo Jialin's visible shame, Xiao Anning's expression was cold and venomous the moment he saw her.
He hated Shu Lanzhou. Hated the Mu family. Hated He Xin. He hated everyone responsible for the failure of Han Weicheng's research and for driving him out of the National Hospital.
Chen Yue shivered. "That man's eyes are terrifying… do you think he's a murderer?"
"Hah... not quite," Shu Lanzhou said, pulling her along. "The case is in the police's hands now. We've submitted the evidence. Next comes the lawsuit—it's time for the legal process to begin."
"It'll be a long road. The Luo family has deep pockets—they'll throw money at this case and hire the best lawyers to shield Luo Jialin. When the time comes, don't back down."
Chen Yue nodded firmly. "President Mu already said his legal team will handle the whole thing. I don't need to pay, I don't need to do anything—just show up in court."
"If I back down even after all that, I'd be a coward. Don't worry, Dr. Shu—I won't give up."
Still, they couldn't rule out the possibility of the Luo family trying to settle privately—offering Chen Yue a large sum to drop the case.
To be safe, Mu Side had contacted more victims and drafted a joint lawsuit.
With hundreds of plaintiffs, even if the Luo family wanted to pay them off, the cost would be astronomical. The real question was—was Luo Jialin worth that kind of money to them?
Not long after the case entered legal proceedings, someone exposed the connection between Luo Jialin's company and the research center. It was revealed that the center's investor was none other than Zhang Chengyou—who also happened to fund the company responsible for producing fake Mu Corporation products.
The information came from a major social media influencer, and once the post went viral, it stirred up a massive storm online without any additional push.
"Holy crap, is this basically a battle of capital? Luo Corp and Mu Corp both launched cosmeceuticals—were they always rivals? And now both companies are in trouble?"
"You've got it wrong—only Luo Corp's cosmeceuticals are in hot water. Mu Corp's issue was counterfeit products—fakes, not their real stuff."
"What's scary is that the counterfeiters are tied to Luo Corp's partners. Does this mean Luo Corp is the real villain here, deliberately sabotaging Mu Corp?"
"You can't jump to conclusions. There's no solid evidence that links the research center investor to Luo Corp. Maybe he was just trying to make money for himself."
"That's hilarious. If he wanted to profit, why not fake some top-selling brands? Why specifically fake Mu Corp's product line?"
"Exactly! I'd never even heard of Mu Corp's products until this whole mess. I checked their sales—pretty average before this. No heavy promotion either. Why would anyone fake them unless they had a deeper agenda?"
"This whole thing is wild. You're telling me they went through all this effort just to ruin Mu Corp's reputation?"
"Here's a thought: what if Mu Corp couldn't pass an investigation? What if they were hiding something? This would've sunk them."
"LOL. That's the point! Mu Corp welcomed the investigation—they faced it head-on and came out clean. That takes guts."
"I'm a Mu Corp fan from now on. I feel safe buying from them. What other company dares to be this transparent?"
"Actually, Mu Corp is a pretty new cosmeceutical brand. I looked them up—the legal representative is Mu Side, a super young guy. You can even find his pictures online."
"Wait! Isn't he the same guy who rushed to help Dr. Shu in that hospital incident video? The one who stayed by her side the entire time?"
"Hold on—Dr. Shu? You mean the one who used to livestream academic papers a few years ago? I've been a fan of hers since then! But she stopped posting anything except TCM knowledge. I thought I'd never see her again."
"Same here! I got into wellness routines because of her—haven't gotten sick in years. I always hoped I'd run into her one day. Didn't know she works at the TCM hospital now!"
"Hey, so... what's the relationship between President Mu and Dr. Shu?"
"If I remember correctly, the TCM hospital is owned by the Mu family. The founder's surname is Mu."
"Are they… a couple?"
"Curious +1"
"Curious +1"
"Curious +1"
"…"
With Shu Lanzhou's identity exposed online, the story veered wildly off-course. Gossip, it seemed, was part of human nature.
Still, even though the narrative had shifted, the outcome remained the same—Luo Corporation's products were being boycotted by netizens.
One, because Mu Corp had passed scrutiny with flying colors. And two, because Luo Corp's underhanded methods to sabotage a competitor were utterly disgraceful.
Luo Corporation's reputation plummeted overnight. An emergency shareholder meeting was called to address the unfolding disaster around Luo Jialin's new company…