My sister never calls me brother.

“That’s right, Zhou Han and Miyazaki are neighbors, they live in the same neighborhood!” Seeing this rare opportunity, Song Mingyuan quickly offered a helping hand, hoping to dispel Lin Nianwei’s doubts.

Lin Nianwei glanced at Song Mingyuan indifferently and asked, "How did you know that?"

“I…” Song Mingyuan broke out in a cold sweat, then suddenly had a flash of inspiration and said, “I knew about it when they filled out their applications to join the Youth League…”

"Is that so..." Lin Nianwei lowered her head and thought for a moment, then felt it made much more sense, muttering to herself, "How enviable..."

"Huh? What did you say, Vivi-chan?" Miyazaki Airi hadn't heard her clearly.

"N-nothing..." Lin Nianwei's eyes darted away.

"But speaking of which, Vii-chan, you seem to care a lot about Zhou Han..." Miyazaki Airi said casually.

"No," Lin Nianwei denied immediately.

"Am I...am I overthinking things?" Miyazaki Airi said, feeling embarrassed and ashamed.

"I'm sorry for pressing you so much, but I just felt like you were hiding something from me, which made me a little uncomfortable..." Lin Nianwei covered her slightly flushed face with a book and said softly, "Because you and I...aren't we good friends?"

Miyazaki Airi stared blankly at Lin Nianwei's shy appearance, feeling as if her heart had been shot through, completely charmed by her.

"Vii-chan~" Miyazaki Airi hugged Lin Nianwei and shook her happily, "This is the first time you've been so frank. From now on, don't call me Miyazaki-kun, just call me Airi~"

"Too...too close..." Lin Nianwei said, blushing, feeling a little uncomfortable being hugged by Miyazaki Airi.

From childhood to adulthood, Lin Nianwei has rarely been approached by girls with such enthusiasm, because girls are very jealous of each other.

Lin Nianwei was always the one who was envied. Fortunately, she was very popular among the boys and was also the daughter of an official, which allowed her to get through her student life unscathed for so long.

Therefore, Lin Nianwei had no idea how to handle the feelings that were almost like those between best friends. Although she was very happy, she didn't know how to reciprocate these feelings to Miyazaki Airi, and could only say some dry words.

"I want to hang out with my seniors too!" Lilith giggled, showing her little tiger teeth, and hugged Lin Nianwei, snuggling into her arms.

Lin Nianwei closed her eyes and frowned, clearly not feeling well. She said helplessly, "You...you all need to stop this pointless behavior..."

Ah~ Lilies are wonderful, but they can't have children... Song Mingyuan thought awkwardly as he looked at them, then said with a sly grin, "Let me join in too, I also want to hang out with the junior girls, hehehe..."

"Get lost!" Miyazaki Airi cursed without any politeness, giving Song Mingyuan a sidelong glance.

"Senior, may I ask you to die?" Lin Nianwei asked expressionlessly, her eyes turning sharp.

"Master~ that was sexual harassment, pfft pfft pfft!" Lilith covered her mouth and chuckled.

"Haha, the weather's so nice today, not a cloud in the sky!" Song Mingyuan chuckled awkwardly, changing the subject abruptly. He thought to himself, "I was just joking, why such a big reaction..."

"Hmph!" Miyazaki Airi snorted coldly, not giving Song Mingyuan a pleasant look, and turned to feed Lin Nianwei, "Nianwei-chan, now that you know, aren't you going to help that idiot?"

"I have no such intention." Lin Nianwei regained her usual calm.

Airi Miyazaki was stunned, then screamed, "Eh—!!!"

Lin Nianwei glanced at Miyazaki Airi, not understanding why she was so surprised.

"Didn't Vi-chan say she could help him?" Miyazaki Airi asked, her eyes wide with surprise.

“It is possible, but…” Lin Nianwei paused and said, “He needs to ask for help himself.”

"Why?" Miyazaki Airi felt that Zhou Han and Lin Nianwei both had strange tempers.

“Because self-esteem is something that not only he has…” Lin Nianwei said in a very serious tone, “I have it too.”

Miyazaki Airi couldn't understand it. Sometimes she felt that Lin Nianwei cared about Zhou Han quite a bit, but other times she seemed too indifferent.

Is this what they call a repressed pervert? No, wait! Is it more like a cold exterior but a warm interior? Miyazaki Airi thought to herself.

Zhongqing City Basketball Gymnasium —

Zhou Han and Fang Yong arrived here by bus.

The sun had already set, and the afterglow of the sunset was almost completely obscured by the basketball stadium.

The basketball stadium was already closed at this time, and although there were security guards on duty, there were hardly any people inside.

Fang Yong got out of the car and looked at the place where he and his teammates had fought. He couldn't help but feel a little emotional. He stood there silently.

"Let's go," Zhou Han urged, turning back from ahead.

"Oh! Here we come!" Fang Yong ran a few steps to catch up with Zhou Han and asked, "How do we get in? The doors to the gymnasium are all electronic locks."

"Don't worry about it..." Zhou Han said impatiently.

Fang Yong noticed that Zhou Han seemed annoyed, so he shut his mouth and stopped talking. He hadn't expected Zhou Han to be such a cold and aloof man, so quiet.

In fact, Fang Yong misunderstood Zhou Han; he simply didn't want to waste time talking.

Zhou Han was thinking about what to do if Fang Yong still couldn't get over his mental hurdle in the "deceptive projection".

To prevent this from happening, Zhou Han stayed up all night preparing three follow-up plans, each addressing one of three possible scenarios—

First, Fang Yong may have been under too much pressure before the match, fearing that he would lose the game again as before and tarnish his career once more.

Second, Fang Yong felt guilty towards his former teammates, and as the competition approached, his feelings of guilt grew stronger.

Third, Fang Yong did it on purpose, so that he would be replaced by others due to poor condition as the competition approached, thus avoiding the competition and avoiding facing his former teammates on the field.

Another point is that Fang Yong did this intentionally in order to protect his good reputation and not want to lose in the official competition, thus blaming himself as the ace of the basketball club.

However, Zhou Han rejected this idea outright, because judging from Fang Yong's past honors, he was a very ambitious person who would not be satisfied with the status quo.

Zhou Han is no longer that naive young man. After her conversation with Song Mingyuan, she has come to understand her weaknesses.

Therefore, Zhou Han is no longer like before, blindly rushing forward. He has learned to see the overall situation clearly and is running forward bravely.

Perhaps he doesn't have Lin Nianwei's strong reasoning and analytical abilities, which allow her to understand the truth very accurately with only a little information.

They also lack the meticulous observation skills of Airi Miyazaki, making it easy for her to spot inconsistencies.

They also lack Lilith's leaps of thought and quick reflexes.

However, Zhou Han also has his own advantages, namely, having Elizabeth by his side, which also gives him a strong ability to gather information.

This will allow him to see more than others, and with this ability, even if Zhou Han is not very bright, he can solve a problem in many ways.

The only drawback is that it's difficult to understand people's hearts, and many plans are needed to carefully try to figure things out.

Not long ago, Zhou Han might have been a brainless, reckless warrior, but now he has transformed himself, lightly armed, into a magnificent swordsman who has mastered a variety of sword techniques.

Using different sword techniques, one can kill an enemy with a single blow.

Zhou Han is slowly completing this transformation.

The two were about to reach the entrance of the basketball stadium.

"Xiao Yi, help me open the basketball court door," Zhou Han said in his mind.

"Yes, ma'am!" Elizabeth replied in a very playful voice.

Fang Yong looked at the tightly closed door and was about to make a sarcastic remark to Zhou Han when, a second later, he saw the door slowly open, as if welcoming a triumphant warrior.

Electronic devices like these are all under Elizabeth's control. She's a monster who can even control nuclear systems, so a mere electronic door is just a small test for her.

The two swaggered in from the front, as if they were entering their own home, with all the lights on and off without any hindrance.

"I feel like I've infiltrated a secret base, it's so cool!" Fang Yong looked like a country bumpkin visiting a grand garden.

Zhou Han was speechless, thinking, "What's with the 'cool' stuff, my brother-in-law? It's just opening a door..."

"How...how did you do that? Are the basketball court staff your relatives?" Fang Yong was full of questions and found it hard to believe.

"Well..." Zhou Han hesitated, then thought for a moment and made up an excuse, saying, "I know a little... hacking..."

"Wow~ hypnosis and hacking skills, that's amazing..." Fang Yong exclaimed in admiration. His straightforward nature meant he didn't doubt Zhou Han's words at all.

"It's alright..." Zhou Han scratched his face awkwardly.

"Ugh~ It's clearly my doing!" Elizabeth murmured in Zhou Han's mind.

Zhou Han blushed. He couldn't deny that Elizabeth had done it all.

"But..." Fang Yong suddenly asked curiously, "Brother, how come someone as awesome as you wasn't famous at school?"

"Tsk! I... cough!" Zhou Han coughed lightly, speaking mysteriously—

"Haven't you heard that being low-key is the most awesome way to show off?"

Chapter Ninety-Six: Slander or Truth?

"Huh!?" Fang Yong paused, stunned, and said, "Brother, what you just said really elevated my level of sophistication..."

Zhou Han walked ahead without saying a word, appearing particularly aloof. In fact, he felt his face burning and was quite embarrassed by what he had just said.

Fang Yong wasn't angry that Zhou Han ignored him, and followed behind him.

"Actually, I've heard of you occasionally when I was in school. Although your reputation isn't great, but..." Fang Yong changed the subject, revealing his white teeth as he smiled and said, "I met you in person today, and I think you're a pretty good guy."

“No one in this world is perfect. Who hasn’t made mistakes? Aren’t you the same? You can’t even make a regular free throw.” Zhou Han paused, without turning around.

"Ha...ha..." Fang Yong chuckled awkwardly, thinking to himself, "He really doesn't hold back when he speaks..."

The two arrived at the entrance to the indoor court, which was tightly locked with an iron lock.

"Uh, I forgot that the basketball court isn't just all electronic locks..." Fang Yong suddenly realized, feeling a bit annoyed. Now the two of them were completely unable to get in. He looked at Zhou Han and said, "How about... we just let it go for today?"

"What's the panic? I know how to unlock doors." Zhou Han rummaged in her bag for something and walked towards the door.

"You can even pick locks?!" Fang Yong felt that Zhou Han was becoming more and more mysterious, as if there was nothing she couldn't do.

Zhou Han rummaged in his schoolbag for a while, pulled out a hammer, and raised it.

"Hey hey hey hey!!!" Fang Yong was startled. He thought Zhou Han would use something more sophisticated, but he didn't expect him to be so violent.

Ignoring Fang Yong's attempts to stop her, Zhou Han slammed the hammer down hard.

With a loud clang, sparks flew as the hammer struck the lock, and the chains binding the door fell to the ground.

"Is this your lock-picking skill?! It's too crude!? It doesn't match your cool image at all!" Fang Yong couldn't help but complain, the contrast leaving him somewhat bewildered.

Fang Yong never expected Zhou Han to be so decisive and to act without hesitation, which left a deep impression on him.

"Tsk!" Zhou Han clicked his tongue, frowned, and said, "Keep your voice down, don't attract the attention of the night patrol."

"The sound you were making when you were knocking on the lock wasn't quiet either..." Fang Yong muttered to himself as he stood there.

"Don't just stand there, come in..." Zhou Han beckoned to Fang Yong.

"Isn't what we're doing illegal intrusion? This isn't good," Fang Yong said with some concern.

"Why bring this up now? I'll take full responsibility if anything goes wrong." Zhou Han's voice wasn't loud, but her eyes were exceptionally serious.