My sister never calls me brother.

"How did you guess? I thought I hid it very well," Zhou Han asked, puzzled.

"You two are so familiar with each other that you can even argue and fight, plus you were walking together so late at night before, is it that hard to guess?" Song Mingyuan shrugged and added, "But don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

"Thanks, but it would be troublesome if word got out..." Zhou Han said dejectedly.

"You living with a beautiful girl is so enviable, and to make matters worse, you and Lin Nianwei are childhood sweethearts, you're practically the main character..." Song Mingyuan patted Zhou Han on the shoulder.

Zhou Han looked at Song Mingyuan in horror.

“That’s right, I knew about this too, and I found out the day after you joined the club and filled out the forms,” Song Mingyuan said with a smile.

Zhou Han covered her face, thinking to herself, "This guy usually seems to be living a life of debauchery, how come he knows all these secrets?"

"The three of you have the strangest relationship in the club. You all have your own little secrets and hide things from each other. But this kind of relationship will become a problem sooner or later. Although by then I'll probably be enjoying myself in college, it's none of my business," Song Mingyuan said lazily, leaning back on the bench. "I'll keep this secret to myself too. If others find out, you'll be even more isolated..."

Upon hearing the word "isolation," Zhou Han's mood immediately plummeted, and she lowered her head, remaining silent.

Song Mingyuan glanced at him, but didn't disturb him. He lay down on the bench, looking at the future sky and letting his mind wander.

After a long time, Zhou Han finally spoke—

"Senior Song, I want to quit the club..."

Chapter 72 Seeing Further

Song Mingyuan didn't look at Zhou Han, but instead looked up at the sky and said quietly—

"OK……"

Zhou Han was somewhat surprised, thinking that Song Mingyuan would at least try to persuade her to stay, but she didn't expect him to be so resolute.

"Is that so..." Zhou Han sighed and got up to leave.

“You think this is the best outcome…” Song Mingyuan suddenly said, “Then let’s leave.”

Zhou Han stood with his back to Song Mingyuan, frozen in place, hesitant. He didn't want his bad reputation to affect the gang. He knew he was a hot potato, and no gang wanted to take him on. Rather than causing trouble for everyone, he'd rather end it himself...

Although he thought this way and encouraged himself to quit the club, he couldn't take another step when Song Mingyuan asked him.

“You’d better think this through. Once you leave, you’ll never have another chance to join the Seigaku Agency, and you’ll practically be going your separate ways with everyone.” Song Mingyuan said, watching Zhou Han’s retreating figure. “You’d better not go against your true feelings.”

Zhou Han gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. Actually, he didn't want to leave the club. Although his time at the Seigaku Agency was short, he was happy to see everyone arguing and laughing together every day, and the club activities were very fulfilling.

"What's your choice?" Song Mingyuan asked, unusually serious.

Zhou Han suddenly turned around and sat back on the bench, head down.

Song Mingyuan smiled and said, "Your matter has indeed caused quite a stir; I've heard about it."

Zhou Han remained silent.

“Don’t feel pressured. From the day you filled out the application form, you are a member of our club. No matter what problems arise, the club will not exclude you,” Song Mingyuan said.

"Is it really okay for me to stay in the club like this?" Zhou Han asked, somewhat disappointed.

“I know what you’re thinking. Listen to my story…” Song Mingyuan paused and said, “From the beginning of high school, I was known as the ‘class fund thief.’ Back then, people often looked at me strangely and avoided me like the plague, much like the impact you’re having now. I wondered if I had a bad reputation and didn’t deserve to stay in the Seigaku Club anymore, that I was a bad influence on the club. I even asked to leave the club, but my senior asked me, ‘Did you steal the class funds or not?’ I said, ‘No!’ Then my senior said to me, ‘That’s enough, isn’t it? Don’t care what others say, as long as you know you didn’t steal it!’ And so, I stayed in the Seigaku Club.”

“Although the club is now called Seigaku Office, it evolved from Seigaku Society, so…” Song Mingyuan looked directly into Zhou Han’s eyes and said, “I also want to ask you, do you think you did something wrong in this matter?”

Zhou Han lowered her head, thought for a moment, and said, "No..."

“That’s enough…” Song Mingyuan smiled, looked up at the sky, and said, “Don’t casually say things like quitting the club, which is like giving up halfway. Many people have expectations of you, and I’m one of them…”

"What do I have to look forward to? You should look forward to Miyazaki and Lin Nianwei. Lilith is good too. I have nothing that can compare to them." Zhou Han looked at the cola in his hand and said seriously.

“You don’t have Lin Nianwei’s strategic planning, Miyazaki’s meticulousness, or even Lilith’s ability to draw inferences from one instance. But I admire your tendency to act first and think later. You are straightforward and much braver than them. You can face all kinds of difficulties head-on. Have you ever thought that with your personality, you should have many friends, but you have almost none?” Song Mingyuan asked.

"Perhaps... it's because of my strange personality?" Zhou Han answered tentatively.

“That’s not how it is…” Song Mingyuan shook his head and said, “The reason it’s like this is because your vision is too narrow. To put it simply, you can only see what’s in front of you, but you can’t see what’s in the future. This leads to you having only one choice and not many better paths to take.”

"Is that so?" Zhou Han was stunned.

"I'm asking you..." Song Mingyuan asked seriously, "When you hit someone, did you think about the series of problems that would follow?"

"No..." Zhou Han answered honestly.

“That’s because you didn’t see far enough.” Song Mingyuan used this incident as an example. “You beat up Du Jun to avenge your client. On the surface, you have completely fulfilled your mission, but it will trigger a series of chain problems. Problem one: Du Jun will find accomplices to retaliate. Problem two: the accomplices will beat up your classmates. Problem three: your classmates will start to hate you.”

Zhou Han frowned, as if she understood something.

“Your one mistake has instantly multiplied the problem into three. What was originally a simple chocolate delivery request has been turned into a complete mess. This is why I strictly require the club to remain neutral; there's no need to create more trouble. And then there's your habit of using violence to solve problems…” Song Mingyuan paused, then said seriously, “Violence doesn't solve problems; it only creates more, just like this incident. I hope you change your violent habits. If you don't, it will be difficult for you to grow…”

“I know about this too…” Zhou Han said, frowning.

"You'd better say goodbye to your past self as soon as possible..." Song Mingyuan leaned back in his chair and looked up at the sky.

The two remained silent for a long time.

Zhou Han opened the cola and took a big gulp.

"Ugh!" Zhou Han's expression turned conflicted as she said, "I love the feeling of carbon dioxide irritating my throat, it's the best..."

Song Mingyuan smiled, looking at the azure sky, as beautiful as the ocean, and thought to himself—

This idiot finally cheered up...

Airi Miyazaki returned home, put down her schoolbag, and saw that the breakfast she had made that morning had already been eaten.

She walked over, picked up the plate, and looked somewhat surprised.

Just then, Zhou Han also came out wearing a coat, and his eyes met those of Miyazaki Airi.

"You...you're back?" Zhou Han stammered.

"Mmm," Miyazaki Airi hummed in response.

The atmosphere between the two was somewhat awkward. Because of a series of events, their conversation was a bit stiff, and they didn't know what to say.

It was Miyazaki Airi who spoke first, asking, "Are you feeling much better?"

"Hmm..." Zhou Han scratched his head and said hesitantly, "Um... thank you for cooking for me lately."

“What…” Miyazaki Airi froze for a moment, then blushed slightly, turned her head away, and said haughtily, “Don’t misunderstand! I’ve just been doing it too much lately, feeding the dog or feeding you is the same! Humph—!”

Airi Miyazaki resumed her usual harsh words.

Zhou Han was speechless; he had kindly thanked her, but instead received a barrage of harsh words.

"What are you doing?" Miyazaki Airi glanced at Zhou Han's coat and asked, "Going out?"

“Yes, some things are still unresolved…” Zhou Han replied.

"Fighting!?" Miyazaki Airi asked, trying to stop him.

"No..." Zhou Han said seriously, "I won't fight anymore..."

in the hospital.

Sun Qi lay in the hospital bed, his injuries almost healed. His underlings stood at the door of the ward, ready to welcome their boss home.

"Boss! We've gathered over fifty men this time, we're sure we can subdue Zhou Han, what do you think?" one of the underlings asked.

“Disband…” Sun Qi answered softly.

"What did you say?!" The younger brother thought he had misheard.

Sun Qi glared at him and shouted, "I said, everyone disperse and go back!!!"

"Uh...okay...alright..." The younger brother didn't quite understand Sun Qi's order, but he still left the ward.

Sun Qi lay on the bed, covering his glasses with his arm, thinking...

What happened to you, Zhou Han?! Could it be that I've misunderstood? You used to be the person I admired most, and also—

My best friend!

Chapter Seventy-Three: The Most Sincere "Evil"

Let's turn back the clock to Zhou Han's second year of junior high school and see what kind of story he had with Sun Qi—

Sun Qi was completely different in junior high school than she is now. She had a plain buzz cut, never wore smoky makeup, and was very thin.

Because he had no special characteristics, he was just a nobody in the class, insignificant and very ordinary. He lived a mediocre life every day and would occasionally cast envious glances at the small groups of people who gathered together after class.

Although Sun Qi knew he was ordinary, he still thought about how to get into that small circle all the time.

He didn't want to become an oddball in the class, after all, not everyone is Zhou Han, able to endure loneliness.

The biggest difference between Sun Qi and Zhou Han is that Sun Qi takes the initiative.

He wouldn't be like Zhou Han, who would ignore him if he ignored her, and they would go their separate ways.

At that time, there was a transfer student in Sun Qi's class who had returned from abroad, named Mu Hanjun.

Mu Hanjun is handsome, excels in both academics and sports, and is also a returned overseas student. To many junior high school students who have never been abroad, he has a very high social standing. When asked questions by those around him, he always talks eloquently and kindly. As a result, he quickly destroyed the small circle in the class, and many people began to revolve around him.

Sun Qi planned to get close to Mu Hanjun. If she became friends with him, she might become extraordinary. Perhaps many people would take a look at her, this nobody, and remember her. Then her junior high school years wouldn't have been wasted.

Although Sun Qi approached Mu Hanjun with ulterior motives, he was serious about becoming good friends with him.

Sun Qi began to try to get into Mu Hanjun's inner circle, occasionally chiming in with a comment. Over time, he finally managed to infiltrate the core.

Unfortunately, Mu Hanjun is not a good person. He is not as virtuous as he appears on the surface. He is a complete villain at heart and likes to use dirty tricks to manipulate people's hearts.

At first, Mu Hanjun only asked Sun Qi to run errands and buy some things.

But as time went on, Mu Hanjun began to increasingly exploit Sun Qi, making her do chores, carry things, take out the trash...

Eventually, it even came to the point where he had to ask for money. If he didn't get it, he would be beaten. In order to protect this "friendship," Sun Qi would occasionally lie to his family to ask for money to give to Mu Hanjun.

This has long gone beyond the scope of friendship. Mu Hanjun is very clever. He never asks Sun Qi for money himself. Instead, he instigates the people around him to ask for it and then hand it over to him. With just one extra step, he can maintain his glamorous image in front of others while also gaining benefits.

Sun Qi was aware of Mu Hanjun's actions.

Because every time Mu Hanjun received the money, he would look down on Sun Qi with the eyes of someone looking at an idiot.

One day—

Sun Qi was taken to the school's restroom once again.

Mu Hanjun was chewing gum in the distance, leaning against the bathroom door.

Two boys were punching and kicking Sun Qi, making him suffer terribly.

"Tell me! Why didn't you bring any money today?" a boy shouted.

"If you don't have money, you'll be hospitalized today!" another boy threatened.