My sister never calls me brother.

Everyone looked at him strangely.

Song Mingyuan quickly stepped in to smooth things over, saying, "Fang, you should go back for now. We'll let you know when we come up with a solution."

"Oh!" Fang Yong snapped out of his daze, got up, and prepared to leave. "Then I'll go back and wait for news."

"I'll contact you again." Song Mingyuan waved his hand.

"Alright! Goodbye, brother!" Fang Yong quickly left.

Silence fell over the club room. Lilith shook her ahoge (cowlick) and remained silent.

"What do you all think?" Song Mingyuan asked.

"I think it's normal to be nervous before a competition and have technical problems," Zhou Han said, shrugging.

“That reason is obviously impossible now. Wei-chan has already asked. Fang Yong already has experience participating in major competitions. It’s unreasonable for him to be so nervous that he can’t even make shots in the upcoming high school league,” Miyazaki Airi said.

"It is somewhat unusual," Zhou Han said after thinking for a moment.

As the head of the basketball club, Fang Yong is the most experienced person in the club. He is nervous because the big competition is approaching. It is not a mistake that an experienced person would make.

“This is just the first point of doubt. There’s a second one…” Lin Nianwei continued, looking at her book without looking up. “As far as I know, free throws are the most basic skill in basketball, and there was no one guarding him. Under these circumstances, he, as the ace of the basketball club, couldn’t even make the shot.”

"Then why is that?" Zhou Han asked, puzzled. He felt that the points Lin Nianwei raised were all reasonable.

"Beneath every abnormal appearance lies a deeper reason." Lin Nianwei paused, then said calmly, "There is only one reason why Fang Yong has become like this: he has psychological problems."

"Psychological problems!?" Miyazaki Airi didn't understand.

“I’m being too general in this way, so to put it simply…” Lin Nianwei tilted her head and said, “Fang Yong went through some things that put pressure on him, which he cares about a lot and can’t ignore, which is why he couldn’t even make free throws.”

"Oh, that makes a lot more sense now." Miyazaki Airi suddenly realized.

"What could be the reason that would interfere with him so much?" Zhou Han thought for a long time but couldn't figure it out.

"There are many reasons for this, but they can basically be narrowed down to two aspects..." Lin Nianwei continued her analysis, saying, "Firstly, Fang Yong said that this problem only appeared close to the competition, so it is very likely that this matter is related to previous competitions; secondly, other problems have recently appeared around Fang Yong, such as family, friends, etc."

"After saying all this, how exactly do we solve this?" Song Mingyuan asked helplessly.

"I already told you! Just give him a little dirty book to relieve his stress~ hehehe!" Lilith said in a silly way, shaking the ahoge on her head.

"You shut up..." Miyazaki Airi's face darkened, and she forcefully grabbed Lilith's ahoge (cowlick).

"Ugh...ugh..." Lilith cried, on the verge of tears, "What did my ahoge (cowlick) do wrong? Why are you doing this to it?"

Zhou Han, watching from the side, was completely speechless and didn't know what to say.

Lin Nianwei sighed and said, "This matter is very troublesome to resolve. Just the first aspect alone requires us to investigate a lot of things and interview Fang Yong's former teammates. As for the second aspect, there are even more things to investigate..."

Zhou Han was stunned for a moment, thinking, "Isn't investigating other people's privacy and past their forte? Looks like I'll need Xiao Yi's help tonight..."

"Sigh..." Song Mingyuan covered his face and said, "Why do clients never like to tell the truth?"

"I think what he's hiding is something he'd find very difficult to talk about, something he doesn't want anyone to know, including us," Lin Nianwei said casually.

"Then why did he still come to us for help?" Song Mingyuan couldn't understand.

"He came seeking a solution, but not about stress relief. He wanted to find a way to forget something, or more precisely, he wanted to ask... how to resolve his inner conflict," Lin Nianwei explained.

Zhou Han hesitated. If what Lin Nianwei said was true, then even if she investigated Fang Yong's affairs, she couldn't tell everyone.

"What a troublesome request..." Song Mingyuan adjusted his glasses with a sigh, checked the time, and said—

"It's getting late. Everyone, go back and think about whether there are any good solutions. We'll continue discussing this issue tomorrow."

The members of Seigaku's office had no efficient solutions for the time being, and could only end today's club activity with these problems unresolved.

night.

Zhou Han and Miyazaki Airi were having dinner.

Miyazaki Airi seemed a little absent-minded, looking at Zhou Han who was wolfing down his food, and hesitated to speak.

Zhou Han put down her chopsticks and said, "What is it now? Why are you staring at me like this? Do you like me?"

“Nonsense…nonsense!” Miyazaki Airi retorted, her face slightly flushed.

"Then why are you staring at me like that?" Zhou Han asked, frowning.

"I...I want to ask..." Miyazaki Airi pouted, and the young man said, "Did you make any progress in your interpersonal relationships today?"

Zhou Han's expression darkened, and she said perfunctorily, "A little...maybe..."

“Is that so…” Miyazaki Airi avoided eye contact and said, “It’s good that we haven’t stood still…”

"Huh!?" Zhou Han looked at Miyazaki Airi suspiciously and said, "Why have you been so concerned about me lately? What are you up to?"

"Who...who was worried about you!? Don't be shameless! Humph!" Miyazaki Airi turned her head and snorted coldly.

Zhou Han didn't say anything and continued eating.

Miyazaki Airi looked at Zhou Han, hesitated for a moment, and said softly, "I thought you were going to throw a tantrum in class several times today..."

Zhou Han paused, her hand holding the chopsticks stiffened, and said, "I knew I would definitely lose my temper."

"Then why did you..." Miyazaki Airi was somewhat surprised.

Before Miyazaki Airi could finish speaking, Zhou Han interrupted her, saying, "Because without realizing it, my fists have become heavy, with many things tied to them, and now it's very difficult to lift them."

"Really..." Miyazaki Airi lowered her head, seemingly lost in thought. She asked softly, "Aren't you going to ask Vi-chan for help?"

"No," Zhou Han replied decisively.

"Why?" Miyazaki Airi frowned. She felt that Zhou Han was being too stubborn about this matter.

“Hmm…” Zhou Han hesitated, then said, “There’s no reason why, I just don’t want her to help me.”

“We’re all in the same club, what’s wrong with helping each other?” Miyazaki Airi was very dissatisfied with Zhou Han’s stubbornness and said, “We’re a team, what’s wrong with relying on others occasionally?”

Zhou Han put down her chopsticks, looked down at the table, and said seriously—

"I'm sorry, I'm really not used to relying on others."

Chapter 89 A Woman's Intuition

“Um…” Miyazaki Airi hesitated for a moment, then said, “Do you have a prejudice against Vi-chan?”

"Huh!?" Zhou Han looked up blankly and said, "No..."

"Then why did you look so reluctant when I asked you to beg her?" Miyazaki Airi pressed.

"I... I'm like this with everyone, okay?" Zhou Han's tone wavered, because her words were half true and half false.

Zhou Han has always felt guilty towards Lin Nianwei because he accidentally hurt her in his childhood. Now that he has to ask her for help, his guilt has become even stronger.

“I’m saying…” Miyazaki Airi looked at Zhou Han and said seriously, “Do you and Wei-chan have some kind of relationship?”

"Ah!?" Zhou Han was so startled she almost dropped her chopsticks, her voice trembling slightly, "Why...why did you ask that?"

“It’s probably a woman’s intuition… I feel like there’s a secret between you two that you’re keeping from me…” Miyazaki Airi said, frowning.

"I...I don't have any secrets...you're overthinking it..." Zhou Han tried his best to keep his expression normal, but cold sweat was streaming down his back. He sighed inwardly, wondering how terrifying a woman's intuition could be...

"Is that so?" Miyazaki Airi asked in a questioning tone. She continued, "When I chat with Vi-chan, her attention seems to focus every time you are mentioned."

"That's just your imagination..." Zhou Han said awkwardly.

"You and Vi-chan really don't have any secrets you're hiding from me?" Miyazaki Airi asked suspiciously, looking directly into Zhou Han's eyes.

Zhou Han nervously swallowed, her eyes darting around a few times before she looked directly into Miyazaki Airi's eyes and said, "Really, no!"

He was very nervous, but there was nothing he could do. Miyazaki Airi was too perceptive; if his eyes wavered even slightly, she would catch him red-handed. So he could only put on a show of force, making sure every detail of his appearance was perfect.

Fortunately, Zhou Han's acting skills are decent.

Miyazaki Airi looked at him for a moment, found nothing amiss, then looked away and said, "That's good. I just felt that if you two really had a secret, excluding me would make me feel very uncomfortable."

Zhou Han was taken aback, thinking, "So that's what she was thinking. It should be okay to tell her, right?"

Although he thought so, he immediately rejected his idea.

The fewer people who know about this, the better. If it gets out, Zhou Han will be in big trouble.

Because Lin Nianwei is watched by so many boys every day, she probably doesn't even know it herself. Who does Zhou Han think he is?

He didn't want to become the subject of gossip or be in the eye of the storm of public opinion.

Because when jealousy accumulates, it becomes absolutely terrifying.

Zhou Han felt extremely uncomfortable, caught between Lin Nianwei and Miyazaki Airi, and found it hard to breathe.

Each of them is a highly popular and beautiful girl; if their secrets are exposed, they'll be in for a world of hurt.

Perhaps only by keeping secrets from each other can the three of them maintain this relatively stable relationship.

Zhou Han sighed, reflecting inwardly—

As the ancients said, "Beautiful women are a source of trouble," and they were absolutely right...

late at night.

Elizabeth used the projector to display various information about Fang Yong.

Zhou Han watched little by little and gradually learned about Fang Yong's past experiences.

He was trained as a sports prodigy from a young age. Although his academic performance was terrible, his achievements in various sports were outstanding.

From elementary school to high school, there are so many different kinds of certificates, medals, and trophies that it's dazzling. The photos of people receiving awards could be used as wallpaper.

It's baffling that someone so incredibly talented in sports would suddenly miss free throws.

“You wicked master, you haven’t even solved your own problems, and now you have time to worry about others?” Elizabeth said, sitting on Zhou Han’s shoulders.

"What can we do? This is a club activity, so I'll put my business aside for now..." Zhou Han rubbed his Jingming acupoint to rest for a bit.

“Don’t be a pushover at a time like this…” Elizabeth complained. “Take care of yourself first…”

"I understand..." Zhou Han said nonchalantly.

"Don't just agree verbally, hurry up and think of a solution for yourself..." Elizabeth was worried about Zhou Han.

“I think helping my classmates with their duties today should have some effect.” Zhou Han paused, then added, “Even if just one person remembers my kindness, that would be good.”

Miyazaki Airi rolled her eyes, too lazy to say anything more. She even suspected that Zhou Han had forgotten about the bet with Teacher Dong.

"But speaking of which, I discovered one of my strengths today," Zhou Han suddenly changed the subject.

"What?" Elizabeth asked irritably.