Chapter 5 — From Collapse to Brilliance: I Don't Need You

News about Diệu Kỳ changing majors spread throughout the Faculty of Medicine within just one day. The other students were chatting, no one could understand why someone who was achieving excellent results and was participating in the lab's most important research project would suddenly give up everything to start over in another field of study.

That evening, when Diệu Kỳ was packing up some remaining personal documents in the lab cabinet, Thảo My walked in, closed the door, her serious face completely different from her usual cheerful look.

"Diệu Kỳ, I need to have a serious talk with you." Thảo My sat down in the chair opposite, her hands clasped together on the table. "You have to tell me what's going on. We've been close friends for so many years, you can't just say a few idle words and leave like that."

Diệu Kỳ stopped and looked at her friend. In Thảo My's eyes, there was sincere concern, without any fakeness - this was still the kind, sincere friend she once loved with all her heart. Diệu Kỳ felt a sharp pain in her chest when she thought that, in just a few months, the friend sitting in front of her would be the one to turn his back and believe in lies instead of believing in her.

"I'm not hiding anything from you," Diệu Kỳ said, trying to keep her voice calm. "I simply feel that I am no longer suitable for the clinical medical path. I want to try in a different direction."

"But why so suddenly?" Thảo My asked, her voice a bit choked. "Just last week you were excitedly talking about the upcoming clinical trial project and planning to assign work to the whole team. But now you say you want to change majors. Did something happen that you don't want to tell me?"

Diệu Kỳ was silent for a moment, considering each word. She knew she couldn't tell the truth, but she also didn't want to blatantly lie to her friend who really cared about her. "Thảo My, there are decisions in life that are sometimes difficult for me to explain clearly in words. I just know that the more I think about the future, the more I feel that this path is not for me. I hope you understand and respect my decision." Thảo My looked at her for a long time, then sighed, her eyes filled with tears. "I don't understand, but if that's really what you want, I won't stop you. It's just… I'll miss you so much. Who will stay up late with me analyzing data now?"

Diệu Kỳ smiled and reached out to hold your hand. "We can still see each other. It's not like changing majors means we're no longer friends. It's just that I'll be studying in a different building."

Although that statement was comforting, in her heart Diệu Kỳ clearly knew a bitter truth - that physical distance would soon become a psychological distance, that Ý Nhi's whispers would gradually erode this friendship, until Thảo My could no longer remember why she trusted Diệu Kỳ so much.

The next day, it was Đình Vũ's turn to meet her, although his approach was completely different - straightforward, somewhat rigid as usual. "Diệu Kỳ, I don't understand your decision. You are in charge of the most important part of the clinical trial project. If you leave in the middle like that, who will take over that job? Have you thought about your responsibility to the whole team?"

Đình Vũ's reproach made Diệu Kỳ pause a bit. She understood that this was not malice, but the genuine concern of a person who values responsibility and systematicity in work. "I have handed over all documents and procedures to Mr. Tuan," she replied. "The teacher will reassign the person in charge. I will not irresponsibly leave halfway, Đình Vũ."

"But you're still leaving everything behind." Đình Vũ frowned, his voice was somewhat harsher. "You are the only one who understands all the data from the beginning until now. Handing over in the middle like that will cause a lot of risks to the project."

Diệu Kỳ paused. She realized that in Đình Vũ's words there was something beyond ordinary worry - a slightly excessive emphasis on the "risk" that her leaving might cause. She wondered, was this a completely natural thought of Đình Vũ, or had someone cleverly planted a concern about "data risk" in his mind beforehand?

She had no concrete evidence to confirm it, but her vigilant instincts honed from the painful memories of her past life made her memorize this detail in her secret notebook that night.

Only Nhật Lam reacted the most differently. She found Diệu Kỳ on a quiet afternoon, when the lab was deserted, leaving only the late afternoon sunlight shining through the window.

"Diệu Kỳ, I didn't ask you the real reason you changed majors," Nhật Lam said, his voice gentle but full of meaning. "I just want to say that, whatever the reason, I believe you have your own legitimate reasons. You're not someone who acts impulsively."

Diệu Kỳ looked at her friend, touched by that unconditional trust. "Thank you, Nhật Lam."

"But there's one thing I want to ask you," Nhật Lam continued, his voice lowered, his eyes quickly glancing toward the door as if afraid someone would hear. "Since you decided to leave, I feel like the atmosphere in the lab has changed. I don't know how to describe it, but... have you noticed anything unusual about Ý Nhi?"

Diệu Kỳ's heart stopped slightly. This is Nhật Lam in her previous life - the only person who warned her about the abnormality in Ý Nhi, but she dismissed her because she believed too much in the good nature of people. This time, she won't repeat that mistake.

"Do you feel anything unusual?" Diệu Kỳ asked, trying to keep her voice natural, not revealing excessive concern.

Nhật Lam frowned, seemingly trying to organize his thoughts. "I'm not sure anymore. It's just... Ý Nhi is always there at the right time whenever something bad happens between everyone. And the way she talks to each person, there's always something that makes me feel uncomfortable, even though I can't pinpoint exactly what. Maybe I'm thinking too much."

"No," Diệu Kỳ said, her voice a little more determined than she had originally intended. "You just trust your intuition, Nhật Lam. Sometimes vague feelings like that are more accurate than we think." Nhật Lam looked at her, a bit surprised by that reaction, but then nodded, as if finding the sympathy she needed. "Thank you for listening, Diệu Kỳ. Maybe I just need to be a little more careful."

Diệu Kỳ smiled, but her heart was heavy with worry. She knows that no matter how conscious Nhật Lam is, she is still just a lone individual in front of a sophisticated manipulator who can control an entire group. If there is no one to support, sooner or later Nhật Lam will be isolated like what happened in his previous life.

But Diệu Kỳ also understands that she cannot stay to protect Nhật Lam directly — doing so will only cause her to fall into the very trap she is trying to avoid. What she can do is silently watch from afar, collect evidence, and wait for the right moment to act decisively and effectively.

That night, when returning to her dorm room, Diệu Kỳ opened her secret notebook and recorded her conversation with Nhật Lam in detail. She also took further notes on Đình Vũ's reaction, about his sincere but somewhat exaggerated concern about "data risks". Each small piece of the puzzle, although still fragmentary, is gradually being rearranged by her into an overall picture - a picture that she, more than anyone else, has seen the final consequences of.

She closed the notebook and looked out the window, where the yellow streetlights cast shadows from the trees onto the empty road. Tomorrow, she will officially leave the lab to begin her career change interview. A new chapter in her life was about to open, but she knew she would never truly be able to completely separate herself from what was happening behind that lab door — not while she was still responsible for the friends who were, and still are, an important part of her life.

Before turning off the light to go to bed, Diệu Kỳ took out a white sheet of paper, drew it into three small columns, and wrote the names Thảo My, Đình Vũ, and Nhật Lam at the top of each column. She began listing, as systematically as possible, each person's personality traits that she remembered from their past lives—strengths, weaknesses, deep insecurities that a sophisticated manipulator like Ý Nhi could exploit. Thảo My is easily shaken by the feeling of being abandoned. Đình Vũ is sensitive to things related to work responsibilities and risks. Although Nhật Lam is the most alert, she is easily isolated if no one accompanies her doubts.

She looked at the paper for a long time, then carefully folded it and put it with the notebook in a locked drawer. This wasn't a betrayal of their friendship, she told herself, but a way she could better protect them when the time was right—by understanding the vulnerabilities that Ý Nhi might exploit, before she could act.