My sister never calls me brother.

"I...I really have no money!" Sun Qi squatted on the ground, holding her head.

"Didn't I tell you to go home and tell your family you need to pay for the materials? Huh!?" The boy kicked Sun Qi hard.

"I used this excuse last time, don't push me anymore!" Sun Qi leaned against the wall, feeling miserable.

After listening, the boy turned to look at Mu Hanjun and asked for his opinion.

"Continue." Mu Hanjun waved his hand, not even glancing at the somewhat pitiful Sun Qi.

"Why?!" Sun Qi was visibly agitated. "Aren't we friends? Why are you doing this to me! What did I do wrong?!"

"Tsk!" Mu Hanjun clicked his tongue and said dismissively, "What friend? I've always thought of you as an idiot..."

"How could this be..." Sun Qi found it hard to accept. She had been serious, but she hadn't expected to get this result. The human heart is truly an unfathomable thing...

The two boys continued to punch and kick Sun Qi.

Sun Qi clutched his head, desperately backing away, like a wild dog, huddled in the corner of the bathroom, barely clinging to life. Every punch and kick that landed on him made him tremble.

"I said..." Zhou Han suddenly pushed open the toilet door and walked out, "Aren't you guys going too far?"

Mu Hanjun and the two boys were a little surprised, because none of them expected there to be outsiders in the bathroom.

“Zhou…Zhou Han!?” A boy recognized him because Zhou Han had a bad reputation.

“This is none of your business, mind your own business,” another boy said.

Zhou Han glanced at Sun Qi, who was huddled up, frowned, and said, "No, I want to take care of it."

"Tch! Then don't blame us for being impolite!" the boy shouted.

The two rushed at Zhou Han together, and in the blink of an eye, the two boys were knocked to the ground by Zhou Han, groaning in pain and suffering.

Sun Qi stared blankly at the scene, having never seen such a powerful person before.

"Get up, you're too cowardly..." Zhou Han frowned and stretched out her hand.

Sun Qi stared blankly at Zhou Han's hand, then subconsciously grabbed it and stood up.

Zhou Han didn't say anything more and left directly. Just as she reached the door, she brushed past Mu Hanjun.

“You look interesting…” Mu Hanjun suddenly said.

"Is that so..." Zhou Han said indifferently, though to be honest, she wanted to punch him.

Mu Hanjun smiled and said nothing more.

From then on, Sun Qi distanced himself from Mu Hanjun and never spoke to him again.

This incident greatly shocked Sun Qi, and he began to blindly admire Zhou Han, believing that violence could solve many problems, and that the most direct action was the right thing to do, without any hypocritical words.

He began to embrace violence, hoping that one day he could be "revered" like Zhou Han.

Sun Qi started talking to Zhou Han, not out of gratitude, but because she wanted to become like him.

After spending a long time together, Sun Qi thought he knew Zhou Han very well, but he only saw the most superficial aspects.

After graduating from junior high school, Sun Qi completed her final transformation and began her misguided high school career at Zhongqing No. 8 Middle School.

He believes that the games he once longed for with his friends were extremely hypocritical, and that people should show their true nature, their most genuine "evil!"

Chapter Seventy-Four: Saying Goodbye to the Past!

Sun Qi lay on the hospital bed with a frown on his face. He was starting to doubt whether the path he had been on all along was the right one.

But subconsciously, he didn't want to admit Zhou Han's approach, because he had tried it before and it didn't work at all; many games of friendship are fake.

In his eyes, the Zhou Han of the past was the most authentic.

Now, Zhou Han is just like she was back then, eagerly pursuing a different kind of youth, but sooner or later she will be crushed by reality.

Like moths drawn to a flame, they know they will die, but they still want to experience that moment of warmth.

"Drip drip!"

Sun Qi's phone rang; it was a text message notification tone.

He picked it up impatiently and glanced at it—

"This is……"

Zhongqing Bridge.

Construction of this bridge began 20 years ago. It spans the Qianlan River and serves as a vital link connecting the north and south of Zhongqing City. It is one of the city's landmark buildings.

It wasn't yet time for office workers to get off work, so there weren't many pedestrians on the bridge.

Zhou Han was holding onto the railing, looking at the scenery in the distance.

As the season slowly transitions into autumn, the sun sets much earlier.

The setting sun was blood red, hanging between several tall buildings, its long shadows stretching across both banks, its dazzling golden-red light causing a sensation of light.

The waters of the Qianlan River flow swiftly and ceaselessly beneath the bridge, reflecting the setting sun's image on the surface, creating a shimmering effect like countless stars.

As soon as Sun Qi got out of the taxi, he saw Zhou Han leaning against the guardrail, lost in thought.

Today, Sun Qi didn't wear any random things or put on smoky makeup, making her look much more serious.

He straightened his baseball cap and walked over.

"You were looking for me?" Sun Qi asked.

"You're here." Zhou Han snapped out of her daze and looked at Sun Qi.

"How did you get my contact information?" Sun Qi asked.

"It's quite easy for me to find out whose contact information I need." Zhou Han had actually asked Elizabeth to help her look it up.

"What do you want? To fight?" Sun Qi scoffed.

“No…” Zhou Han turned around, leaned against the railing, and said, “I wanted to apologize to you. I said some harsh words that day. I’m sorry…”

"Pah!" Sun Qi spat. "Don't give me that!"

Zhou Han frowned and said, "Did I do something to offend you?"

"Tch!" Sun Qi gritted his teeth. "I just can't stand the way you're so engrossed in your game with your friends, and you're actually enjoying it! Get it?!"

“Your mouth is really dirty…” Zhou Han raised an eyebrow and said, “This is my own choice, it has nothing to do with you, the people in the club are all very nice.”

"What did you say?!" Sun Qi grabbed Zhou Han by the collar and said, "You've been fooled! They're all two-faced, they just haven't shown their fangs yet. I used to be just like you now, but reality slapped me in the face very quickly. Can't you see anything from me?"

"I know about what happened in junior high. It was just bad luck, wasn't it?" Zhou Han, with her collar being grabbed, didn't resist and said calmly, "I've always wanted to say this, can you please stop imposing your own thoughts on others? It's really annoying..."

"Bullshit!" Sun Qi added a bit more force.

"Can we calm down and talk this out? I already told you I called you here, not to fight." Zhou Han was getting impatient.

"Tch!" Sun Qi pushed Zhou Han away.

Zhou Han straightened her collar and said, "Don't assume that everyone is like Mu Hanjun just because of one failure in junior high school. That's too much of a generalization."

“You haven’t seen the evil side of others like I have. Once you have, you will see reality as clearly as I have,” Sun Qi said in a low voice.

“That kind of thing…” Zhou Han paused, then said, “I’ve seen it before, and I see it every day.”

"Then why do you continue this foolish, indifferent partnership game?" Sun Qi couldn't understand Zhou Han.

"I don't know about anything else, but I do know that this kind of life is quite enjoyable," Zhou Han said earnestly.

"Haha, that's ridiculous..." Sun Qi chuckled twice and said, "You weren't like this before."

"What was I like before?" Zhou Han suddenly asked.

“You used to be incredibly strong, both outwardly and inwardly. It seemed like no one could defeat you. You punished evil and promoted good, and you never hesitated to teach bad people a lesson. Even though no one understood you, I do, because…” Sun Qi gritted her teeth and shouted, “I admire you the most!!!”

“Really…” Zhou Han paused, then turned and leaned against the railing, saying, “So this is what I used to be like…”

Sun Qi finally spoke her mind, "I don't want you to become like this. I've always been imitating you, and now if you say I'm different from you, I really find it hard to accept."

“It’s the same, you and I are the same, but that was the me before, and…” Zhou Han paused.

The late summer breeze gently drifts in from the Qianlan River, carrying the scent of flowers and grasses from the opposite bank.

"The person I used to be was not worthy of your worship."

A gust of wind swept by, gently ruffling the collar of Zhou Han's coat.

"Are you serious?" Sun Qi was taken aback.

"Yes, I'm serious." Zhou Han looked at the shimmering river in the distance.

"You..." Sun Qi's face was grim as she shouted, "You bastard! Are you trying to say I was wrong from the very beginning?! What a joke!!!"

“You’re not wrong…” Zhou Han sighed and said, “I’m the one who’s wrong…”

"What do you mean?!" Sun Qi was incredulous.

"I shouldn't have used violence to save you. There were better ways, but I didn't think of them. I was too stupid; all I could think of was fighting. So, it's my fault," Zhou Han said calmly.

“That’s not how it is…” Sun Qi was about to retort when Zhou Han interrupted her.

“My senior said that violence can’t solve problems, it can only create them. He’s right. You are the problem that arose because I used violence back then. If I had used other methods, maybe I wouldn’t have caused so much trouble, and you wouldn’t blindly worship me.” Zhou Han paused and continued, “Someone like me is not worthy of your worship, because violence is not something to be proud of.”

Sun Qi opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end she stubbornly turned her head to the side.

"Besides apologizing, there's something else I wanted to ask you to come here today," Zhou Han said, glancing at Sun Qi.

Sun Qi remained silent, his emotions in turmoil.

"I'm saying goodbye to my past self, so don't reminisce about or even idolize him," Zhou Han said with a smile.

"Are you serious!?" Sun Qi was somewhat shocked. The thing she had always admired seemed to be about to become a mirage, something she longed for but could never reach.

“Really…” Zhou Han said with a sigh of relief.

Zhou Han pulled out the weapon he had always used—a baton—from behind his back.

He took a few steps back, then stopped, looked at the blood-red sunset, and smiled.

Zhou Han suddenly sprinted forward, swung his arm, and threw the baton with all his might.

"Farewell to my past self!!!!"

A sudden whooshing sound rang out as the baton flew towards the Qianlan River.

Sun Qi stared blankly at the baton flying in mid-air. For a moment, the golden light of the setting sun was dazzling, making it impossible for him to look directly at it.