Chapter 15 — From Collapse to Brilliance: I Don't Need You

A few days after the fake document incident, Bách Sơn invited Diệu Kỳ to his private office at the end of working hours. When she walked in, he was sitting thoughtfully in front of his desk, the inspection department's preliminary investigation file neatly placed in front of him.

"I saw the technical analysis report from the inspection department," he said, motioning for her to sit down. "They confirmed the fake document was sent from an email address created using an anonymization service, it is difficult to trace the sender's identity through official channels. But I think, you probably have your own clues, right?"

Diệu Kỳ looked at him, a bit surprised by that sharpness. She was silent for a moment, considering how much to reveal. Finally, she decided, it was time for an ally to truly understand the situation, instead of continuing to fend off everything alone in the dark.

"I think I know who's behind this," she said, her voice low. "A person named Trịnh Ý Nhi, is currently studying in my old immunology laboratory, under the guidance of Professor Đoàn Khắc Tuấn."

Bách Sơn frowned. "What does this person have to do with you? And why do you doubt her?"

Diệu Kỳ took a deep breath. She couldn't tell the whole truth about the reincarnation — that would make anyone think she was imagining things or even had psychological problems. But she was able to share a partial truth, enough to explain her suspicions without going into unprovable details.

"Ever since she first moved into the lab, I sensed something was wrong with the way she interacted with people," Diệu Kỳ said, choosing her words carefully. "She has a tendency to spread vague, half-hidden words, causing people to gradually suspect each other without anyone realizing the real source. That's partly why I decided to change majors — I didn't want to continue to be in an environment that I felt was gradually being manipulated, even though I had no concrete evidence at the time," She recounted, in a general but complete way, what she had observed from afar over the past several months — rumors about her "knowing" something, the increasingly cold attitudes of Thảo My and Đình Vũ, and especially Khuong's admission that she had accidentally shared information about the project with a person named Ý Nhi.

Bách Sơn listened attentively, occasionally taking notes on a few important points. When Diệu Kỳ finished, he sat silently for a moment, then sighed. "If what you say is true, this is a type of systematic psychological manipulation, carried out very sophisticatedly. The fact that she was able to create such a convincing fake document also shows that she was carefully prepared, not just a spur-of-the-moment action."

"I think so too," Diệu Kỳ said. "And I'm worried that this won't be the last time she attacks. If I don't find real evidence to expose her, I'm afraid she will continue to find other ways to sabotage, not only targeting me but possibly also affecting the project and others." Bách Sơn nodded, his eyes became determined. "Okay. I will assist you with further investigation. But we need to do this carefully and methodically, avoiding revealing that we are targeting a specific individual before we have enough evidence, so as not to be accused of slander in return."

In the following days, Diệu Kỳ and Bách Sơn began to secretly coordinate the investigation. Bách Sơn, with his position and relationships in the school, cleverly learned more about Trịnh Ý Nhi's background - her previous studies, her reason for transferring schools, and even her social relationships on campus.

He discovered a notable detail: Ý Nhi's transfer application, although presented with the reason of "being bullied and isolated" at her old school, had some vague points that were not clarified. When he discreetly contacted an acquaintance who worked at the training room of the old school that Ý Nhi had studied at, this person revealed that, in fact, there had been a similar incident there - a group of students in the laboratory was seriously divided, leading to one member being forced to leave the school due to unclear accusations, while Ý Nhi, at that time, was the only one unaffected, and was even more highly regarded after the incident.

This information, although not enough to serve as legal evidence, has reinforced the belief of both Diệu Kỳ and Bách Sơn that this is not spontaneous behavior, but a pattern of behavior that has been repeated many times in Ý Nhi's past.

Bách Sơn was even more careful when trying to get a copy of the disciplinary record of that old incident, through the official contact channel between the two schools with the reason of referencing the process of handling academic violations for the internal management of the Dawn Institute. Although the sent minutes hid the names of the parties involved in accordance with student information confidentiality regulations, the remaining details of the incident - a student was accused of editing research data based on "evidence" provided by another member of the group, and was then forced to drop out of school despite always claiming his innocence - are chillingly similar to what Diệu Kỳ experienced in her previous life.

She sat silently as she read through the minutes, her hands clasped tightly on the edge of the table. Without knowing the exact identity of the victim in the old incident, she can still imagine the pain and helplessness that person must have gone through - a pain that she understands better than anyone else in this world. That feeling, instead of making her hesitate, made her even more determined to expose Ý Nhi to the end, not only for herself, but also for all the other anonymous victims who had to suffer the consequences of her cruel tricks.

"It seems like this isn't the first time she's done this," Bách Sơn said, one evening they both sat down to review the information they had gathered. "If that's true, we need to be even more careful. Someone capable of repeating such a subtle behavioral pattern many times must have accumulated experience and skills in covering their tracks very well." Diệu Kỳ nodded, feeling both worried and relieved. Worried because she realized her opponent was more dangerous than she thought, but also relieved because for the first time, she didn't have to face all of this alone. Having Bách Sơn by her side, ready to trust and support her without requiring her to fully explain everything, made her feel a sense of security that she had never felt in her entire previous life.

"Thank you for believing in me," she said, her voice trembling slightly with emotion.

"Don't thank me yet," Bách Sơn said, smiling slightly. "We have a long way to go. But I want you to know, no matter what happens, I will always be on the side of the truth, and on your side, if you are truly innocent — which I'm sure you are."

Those words, simple but firm, made Diệu Kỳ's heart strangely warm. She looked at Bách Sơn and realized that, although the road ahead was still full of thorns, she was no longer alone like in her previous life. She has a true ally, someone willing to stand by her side to face any conspiracy, with both sharp reason and sincere trust.

That night, when returning to her room, Diệu Kỳ opened a secret notebook and wrote down all the newly collected information about Ý Nhi's past. She carefully compared what she remembered from her previous life, realizing that Ý Nhi's behavior pattern was truly terrifyingly consistent - always targeting people with more outstanding abilities than her, always carrying out tricks under the guise of a weak victim, and always skillfully erasing traces so that no one could directly blame her.

She closed the notebook and looked out the dark window, filled with determination. The war between her and Ý Nhi is no longer a one-sided war. With Bách Sơn's support, she believes that, this time, justice will no longer be distorted by the subtle tricks of the envious — and the truth, no matter how carefully hidden, will eventually be exposed.

She put the notebook in the drawer, locked it carefully as usual, then lay down on the bed, looking up at the ceiling in the dark. For the first time since she was reborn, she allowed herself to think further about the future — not just about dealing with Ý Nhi, but also about a fulfilling life after that war, a life with Bách Sơn, with new trustworthy friends, with a career built with her true abilities. Thinking of that, she smiled softly in the darkness, then gradually fell asleep, feeling more relieved than any night since the day she opened her eyes and woke up in the middle of a second life.