My sister never calls me brother.

"Um... if, I mean if..." Miyazaki Airi's back was to Zhou Han, so her expression couldn't be seen, "what if you couldn't hold on in this passive situation?"

Zhou Han looked up at the ceiling and thought for a moment before saying, "We're sure we'll end up in a big fight, right? After all, I've also had moments when I'm blinded by anger."

“Is that so…” Miyazaki Airi replied casually.

Silence fell between them once again; neither spoke for a long time.

"It's decided!" Miyazaki Airi suddenly turned around, looked at Zhou Han, and said seriously, "Shall I cast a spell on you?"

"Ha, what the hell? Do you think I'm a three-year-old?" Zhou Han laughed, unconvinced.

"Stop talking nonsense! Close your eyes..." Miyazaki Airi urged.

"Okay, okay..." Zhou Han frowned, pouted, and couldn't resist Miyazaki Airi's insistence. Seeing her eager look, he felt a little helpless and decided to play along.

Zhou Han closed his eyes, waiting for Miyazaki Airi to chant the incantation.

Miyazaki Airi crouched low, leaning on the sofa, and slowly approached Zhou Han like a cat, wary yet alluring, her eyes seemingly filled with complex emotions.

She looked at Zhou Han's profile and blushed.

Airi Miyazaki hesitated for a moment, then closed her eyes and kissed his profile.

Zhou Han suddenly opened her eyes, and her heart stopped for a second.

My mind was completely blank.

A deep blank space.

blank.

……

Chapter 101 Memories from Half a Month Ago

Airi Miyazaki gave Zhou Han a light, fleeting kiss on the cheek.

Although it was very minor, it caused a tsunami-like shock to Zhou Han's heart.

Zhou Han's eyes widened, her heart stopped for a second, and then started pounding wildly like a restless wild horse that she couldn't calm down no matter what she did.

Zhou Han's mind went blank. For a moment, she felt like a puppet on a string, being manipulated by others, without a single thought of her own.

He never expected that Miyazaki Airi would kiss him, and he couldn't understand why.

Although Miyazaki Airi is different from usual today, this behavior is really puzzling.

Zhou Han's first thought upon regaining her senses was—

Good heavens! Has she lost her mind?

Zhou Han covered her cheek, leaning back on the sofa in a panic, the lingering warmth of Miyazaki Airi's kiss still on her face.

He felt his face was very hot, and he knew without even thinking that his face was very red.

Zhou Han looked at Miyazaki Airi with an incredulous gaze, her face slightly flushed.

Miyazaki Airi glanced at Zhou Han out of the corner of her eye, and said with feigned composure, "What kind of look is that?"

"I..." Zhou Han swallowed nervously, covering her face as if she wanted to say something but couldn't.

"Such a strong reaction..." Miyazaki Airi paused, pouted, and said, "You've never been kissed by a girl before, have you?"

"Who...who said that?" Zhou Han blushed, looking extremely embarrassed. "My mom and my sister both kissed me."

"Ah...is that so..." Miyazaki Airi was speechless, giving him a sympathetic look.

"Why did you kiss me? This..." Zhou Han's eyes were a little unnatural as she said, "Is this what you call... magic?"

“Yes…” Miyazaki Airi avoided Zhou Han’s gaze and said softly, “This is the magic of encouragement, don’t get the wrong idea, I don’t mean anything by it…”

Zhou Han paused for a moment, then gradually calmed down, saying with a dark face, "Then don't use this method, it's so embarrassing..."

"Anyway, you won't listen to what I'm saying, so what?" Miyazaki Airi turned to look at Zhou Han, frowning as she asked, "Are you... unhappy with my behavior just now?"

“No…it’s not that I’m dissatisfied…” Zhou Han didn’t know how to answer Miyazaki Airi’s question, but he felt that something was wrong.

Zhou Han is now thinking like an older brother, treating Miyazaki Airi as his younger sister. He doesn't care about kissing when he's young, but as he grows up, he should try to avoid it.

This is similar to how you could bathe with your younger sister when you were little, but not when you grow up.

"Ahhhhhh," Miyazaki Airi yawned, stood up and stretched, and said casually, "It's getting late, I'm going to sleep now, goodnight..."

“Um…” Zhou Han looked at Miyazaki Airi’s departing figure, opened his mouth, and wanted to say something.

But she didn't give Zhou Han a chance and closed her room door.

The living room fell silent, with only the ticking of the clock echoing incessantly.

Zhou Han stared at the floor, subconsciously recalling the way Miyazaki Airi had kissed her and the fleeting warmth she felt just moments before…

"Tsk!" Zhou Han clicked her tongue, slapped her forehead to wake herself up, and thought, what am I thinking?! Wake up! Wake up!

This can't be blamed on Zhou Han, because he's just a teenage boy in his adolescence, and there's nothing special about him.

Although he has an upright character, he is like an ordinary person and occasionally has inappropriate thoughts about girls.

After Miyazaki Airi closed the door, the room was pitch black. She pressed her body against the door, without turning on the light, and kept her head down, seemingly lost in thought.

All she knew was that her heart was fluctuating, sometimes good and sometimes bad.

Perhaps she kissed Zhou Han as encouragement because she felt strong sympathy for him.

It's also possible that she really has other thoughts...

Girls' thoughts are extremely difficult to fathom. What was Airi Miyazaki thinking at that moment?

Nobody will know.

Late at night, when many people are asleep—

Yao Xiaorui was not asleep.

She tiptoed into the kitchen, gently closed the door, and made sure her family couldn't hear anything.

If discovered, I'll inevitably get another scolding.

She had been sneaking into the kitchen late at night for many days to prepare a lunchbox for Zhou Han the next day.

It seems that Yao Xiaorui won't give up unless Zhou Han accepts it, given her personality.

Although Zhou Han had rejected her twice in a forceful manner, she still believed that Zhou Han would accept it.

Yao Xiaorui felt that Zhou Han's personality had become eccentric, as if he had fallen into some kind of deadlock, and she didn't know what had happened.

But the only thing she remembered was that the big boy, grinning with his teeth showing, was still so radiant in the sunlight.

Yao Xiaorui knew she wasn't the first to discover Zhou Han's strengths; Lin Nianwei was the first.

Although he knew that Lin Nianwei liked Zhou Han, and that she was an extremely outstanding girl, both beautiful and intelligent, he was very likely to end up with a relationship that would not work out.

However, Yao Xiaorui did not want to give up.

Perhaps she really can't compare to Lin Nianwei, but she hopes to be one step ahead of everyone else, as long as she works harder.

Yao Xiaorui believes that happiness is something you have to actively strive for; simply waiting won't bring it to you.

This might be the only area where she is better than Lin Nianwei, and perhaps her only secret weapon for victory.

Yao Xiaorui carefully took the ingredients out of the refrigerator and placed them on the cutting board. She glanced at the cleaver on the cutting board, and her finger, which was bandaged, started to ache again.

Her cooking skills are terrible, and she's not even very skilled at using tools. She's had a lot of trouble with the kitchen knife these past few days.

Yao Xiaorui swallowed hard, constantly encouraging herself in her mind.

In the end, she bravely picked up the kitchen knife and began to prepare the ingredients. After many days of practice, she felt that she had become much more skilled.

A little carried away by her success, she began to increase the speed at which she swung her knife.

Yao Xiaorui underestimated the fundamentals of cooking; she didn't control her rhythm when slicing and cut her finger.

She was about to scream in pain when she quickly put down the cleaver, covered her mouth to stop herself from crying out, and took several deep breaths of cold air.

Yao Xiaorui kept her eyes tightly closed, and only slowly opened them as the pain gradually subsided.

She put her injured finger in her mouth and squatted in a corner, sucking on her wound.

The cold moonlight shone through the window in the dead of night, filling the room with a tranquil and mysterious atmosphere.

Only with the help of the bright moonlight could one see the tears glistening in the corners of Yao Xiaorui's eyes.

Two weeks ago—

With the help of Qingxue Agency and Zhou Han, Yao Xiaorui gradually became more confident and cheerful, and also learned to dress herself better. She also gradually gained more friends and developed her own circle of friends.

"Xiao Rui, what do you think of this dress?" asked the girl with curly hair, holding up a magazine.

"Let me take a look..." Yao Xiaorui looked carefully at the dark blue skirt in the magazine and said, "It's not very suitable. Brighter colors would be better and more vibrant."

"Let me see! Let me see!" A very outgoing short-haired girl next to her snatched the magazine and chimed in, "That's right! The color is too old-fashioned; it should be worn by older women."

"Really..." The curly-haired girl took the magazine, glanced at it again, and nodded. "Xiao Rui certainly has a unique eye; she's right~"

Yao Xiaorui smiled awkwardly. Although she had been changing for quite some time, she still hadn't gotten used to being surrounded and echoed by others.

Not long ago, she was just an invisible person in the class. Nobody cared about her, she didn't have the confidence to express her opinions, and no one would agree with her.

"But speaking of which, Xiaorui, you are really beautiful," the curly-haired girl suddenly said with a smile.

“No way…” Yao Xiaorui’s gaze darted away.

"What are you being shy about..." The short-haired girl laughed heartily.

"Yeah, right!" the curly-haired girl joked, "The boys in the class have been secretly looking at you lately..."

"Ah!?" Yao Xiaorui was startled; she was completely unaware of her surroundings.

"Yeah! Yeah! You're practically the class beauty now, you can rival..." The short-haired girl raised a finger, her eyes darting around, and said, "You can even compare to Lin Nianwei from Class 3! Ah... and that Japanese transfer student too."

"No, no, no! What are you talking about?" Yao Xiaorui waved her hands repeatedly in denial, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"Honestly, can't you be a little more confident? The girls in the class are all counting on you." The short-haired girl said with a grin, resting her chin on her hand.

“That’s right, show some confidence, so the boys in the class won’t always be talking about how the girls in Class 3 are…” The curly-haired girl tossed her hair.

"This..." Yao Xiaorui hesitated, she didn't change her mind to be the class's face, but she felt it was hard to refuse such a kind offer, so she could only say, "I...I'll do my best..."

"Haha, that's right!" the short-haired girl giggled.