In Wilson’s office, all the members of the research team were present.
When Luna entered, everyone’s expression turned sour. Only Mia stood up with a smile and stepped forward to greet her, saying, “Lama, you’re here!”
“I’m here to apologize to you.”
Luma calmly dogged Mia’s outstretched hand. She wasn’t as scheming as Mia and couldn’t bring herself to be warm and friendly to someone she disliked.
Mia awkwardly stepped back as if she was frightened. “Are you still doubting me?” She looked pitiful and on the verge of tears. “But I swear I didn’t plagiarize your thesis. If you don’t trust me, you can report it to the school and get them to investigate.”
But Luna lowered her head, looking even more aggrieved than Mia did. “I said I’m here to apologize. Though I’m confused by the similarity between our theses, I never planned to report you or bring it up to anyone.”
The others, whose expressions had darkened after Mia’s comment, suddenly realized something the Luna they knew wasn’t the talkative type. She barely had any friends at school, and most of the time, she buried herself in the lab or hung around them. She’d only ever mentioned this incident to them.
Wyatt’s expression softened a little as his gaze landed on Luna. “I believe you didn’t do it on purpose, but you did hurt Mia. If you hadn’t insisted on investigating, no one would have spread rumors of plagiarism.
Having you apologize to her isn’t too much to ask.”
Wyatt was the most academically accomplished in the team. He was the top student and the most handsome guy in the school too.
Back then, aside from their major being the mainstream in the medical school, Wyatt was part of the reason she’d chosen it.
He’d used to be her idol, but not anymore.
“It really isn’t much,” another senior, Ethan Stevens, chimed in. “Like Wyatt said, I believe you didn’t mean it, Luna. Mia is soft. Just talk nicely to her, and we can all still be classmates.”
Luna found it ironic. Mia was never soft, but she couldn’t say that out loud. So, she went on with their words and said, “You’re right, Ethan. Ill talk to her nicely.”
“I’m sorry, Mia. It was wrong for me to hurt you, and I sincerely apologize. Can you forgive ine?” Luna said.
Mia hadn’t expected things to go this way. Luna was always stubborn and uncompromising. She’d dig deep once she suspected something. So why was she letting it go this time?
Chapkiz.
As for the seniors, she had emotionally manipulated their feelings and carefully chosen words to imply to them that Luna had suspected her. Why were they still siding with Luna?
But then again, Mia had heard that before she transferred, Luna had worked with them in the same research team for years.
Humans developed bonds over time. Naturally, driving a wedge between them wasn’t going to
be easy.
Mia smiled at Luna. “I never blamed you, so there’s nothing to forgive. Look, Professor Hanley, Luna couldn’t have meant to hurt me. Don’t be too hard on her.” She sat down beside Wilson. Her voice was soft and sweet, as if she were acting coy.
“Even if she didn’t mean it, she still did you wrong and should be punished for that.
“Luna, what do you think your punishment should be?” Wilson asked, casting Luna a displeased glance.
He used to think that she was an obedient, diligent, and promising student. But now, he felt like he’d misjudged her.
No matter how excellent Luna’s academic record was, it was unacceptable that her character was flawed. She had to be punished to learn a lesson so she wouldn’t slander others again.
Luna had always wondered why everyone trusted Mia so easily. But after being reborn, she figured it might be because Mia was pretty and adorable.
She had to admit defeat in that aspect, so she complied and said, “I’ll accept whatever punishment you decide on, Professor Hanley.”
“Our research is about to begin. Your punishment is to categorize and organize all the materials so they’ll be easier to access during the study.”
Wilson then waved and signaled them to leave.
With that, everyone got up and walked out, with Luna walking in the middle.
The punishment Wilson mentioned reminded Luna of her previous life. Back then, she’d received a disciplinary record and was kicked out of the team. To make up for everything, she voluntarily applied to help organize the research materials.
It had taken her a whole month. She also often ate only one meal a day and spent late nights in the resource center. As a result, she developed stomach issues and fell behind in many courses.
In the end, no one acknowledged her effort. They even blamed her for not organizing the data thoroughly enough, saying that she made it inconvenient for reference.
What a bunch of ungrateful ingrates! Even now when she was reborn, she was assigned the same pointless task again!
Chao
“Luna, let me help you. The professor won’t know as long as I don’t say anything.” Mia whispered as she caught up and clung to Luna’s arm.
“That’s her punishment. Why are you helping her?” Kevin stepped in and dragged Mia away.
Russell looked at Mia and turned to tell Luna, “Don’t worry. Compared to getting a
disciplinary record, organizing some files is light punishment.”
“I understand. Thank you, Russell.” Luma smiled and quickly caught up to Mia.
“Mia, I got so caught up in apologizing that I forgot I prepared a gift for you,” Luna said as she took out a delicate box from her bag.
Everyone paused and gathered around when they saw it.
“That’s the medal Wyatt gave you?” Trevor Thorpe exclaimed.
Russell added, “I remember that this was from Wyatt’s first medical competition. He won the grand prize and treasured this medal a lot. He gave it to you just to help you feel better.”
“Yeah. I’d just joined the team back then and got scolded by Professor Hanley after failing an experiment. Wyatt gave me this medal to cheer me up.
“He said this medal would bring me luck, and it did. From that day onward, everything started going well for me, and I never failed another experiment.
“Mia, I heard this incident made you really upset and made you feel depressed. I believe that if you take this medal, you won’t feel down again. This is Wyatt’s certified lucky charm, after all.
Mia did want the medal, but not just because of its value. Rather, it was because it was Wyatt’s, and it was also his first medal from a competition
Firsts were always the most precious. Luna shouldn’t own something so meaningful, and she didn’t deserve to have anything from Wyatt either.
But since Wyatt had given it to Luna, Mia couldn’t accept it in front of him!
“This was a gift from Wyatt. I can’t take it,” she said as she pushed Luna’s hand away.
