My sister never calls me brother.

Zhou Han wiped her nose, not minding the dirt on the ground, and slowly sat down on the ground, leaning her body against the wall and tilting her head back slightly.

Looking at the distant blue horizon, it seemed to stretch to the horizon.

The gentle afternoon breeze lightly lifted his slightly long, tousled hair.

Zhou Han suddenly felt an itch on her hand.

Looking down, he saw a dandelion seed, still scattering its seeds, teasing him from beside his hand.

Zhou Han stared blankly for a moment, then picked up the dandelion, held it up to the sky, and blew hard to disperse its seeds...

The tiny, snow-white dandelion seeds floated up lightly, dancing gracefully in the air, soaring upwards with the wind.

Like scattering countless stars with a hand, heading towards an unknown world line, their destination unknown.

He vaguely recalled the meaning of dandelion flowers: "Unstoppable love, love that cannot stay, love that never ends."

Zhou Han sighed, smiled, and muttered to herself with a hint of disappointment—

"Like me..."

Zhou Han just wanted to be like an ordinary person, with people talking to her every day about anything and everything, like pretty girls, games, and interesting things at school.

Zhou Han couldn't learn to imitate others, and he envied people like Gu Bai who were surrounded by many people.

He once stood alone in his empty house, looking in the mirror, and like a fool, secretly tried to imitate Gu Bai's tone and laughter, but all his attempts ended in failure.

Just like old tree roots, which have become cooking mats, and may even become root carving artworks.

Therefore, he cannot become anyone else; he can only be himself, named Zhou Han, a young man who stumbles and falls along the way.

He's jealous, he's domineering, he's foolish, he's stupid, he's arrogant...

But all of this belongs to Zhou Han himself; although it's not a great quality, it feels very familiar.

Zhou Han is starting to doubt himself. He doesn't know if it's right to approach others in such a humble way.

He initially thought that if he compromised a little with others, he would gain their understanding and at least be able to have a normal conversation with them.

But he was wrong. The more subservient you are, the less others will value you, and the less they will treat you as a friend, because you haven't achieved an equal relationship.

Because of his own misjudgment, he found himself in a passive situation.

All he wants to do now is escape, even if it's like being a coward.

Zhou Han looked up at her own little patch of sky in her own little territory.

far away--

A young girl holding a bento box stands there, and she too has her own troubles.

The early autumn wind lifted the hem of her red plaid skirt and slightly ruffled her hair.

She frantically reached down and pressed down on her skirt, then tidied her slightly disheveled hair.

The girl looked at the boy leaning in the shadows with a surprised expression.

This situation is very similar to when the two first met a month ago, except that the situation has changed now.

The girl realized something.

Everyone has a vulnerable side, they just don't show it.

Yao Xiaorui slowly walked towards Zhou Han, who was sitting on the ground. She thought to herself, Lin Nianwei really understands him...

She recalled the scene of her conversation with Lin Nianwei on the rooftop.

I also witnessed another side of that rational girl that no one else knew about—

On the rooftop.

School rules prohibit students from coming here.

Because the building is very high, it's dangerous.

However, Lin Nianwei and Yao Xiaorui completely disregarded the school rules and barged in.

Lin Nianwei had her back to Yao Xiaorui, so she couldn't see her expression.

The wind was strong on the rooftop, making Yao Xiaorui feel uncomfortable, so she covered her face with her hand.

Yao Xiaorui squinted slightly as the wind blew her way, looking at Lin Nianwei in front of her. Lin Nianwei's figure appeared somewhat slender, and her long, straight black hair danced in the air.

Lin Nianwei slowly turned around, looking at Yao Xiaorui with calm eyes, her hair falling to the side and covering half of her face.

Yao Xiaorui paused, then perked up and asked hesitantly, "Wh...what is it?"

“Recently, his interpersonal relationships have reached a stalemate, and I have some things I'd like to ask you for help with.” Lin Nianwei summarized Zhou Han’s recent events in one sentence.

"Help!?" Yao Xiaorui asked in surprise, "Me?"

She never expected Lin Nianwei to ask her for help, which surprised her, especially since it was about helping Zhou Han.

“That’s right. If it succeeds, it will help him solve a lot of trouble.” Lin Nianwei nodded and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"I'll do anything to help him!" Yao Xiaorui quickly answered, clutching her chest, her tone unwavering.

"Is that so..." Lin Nianwei glanced at Yao Xiaorui, then looked away. Although she couldn't tell if there was any emotional fluctuation, it was obvious that she wasn't very happy.

"Please...please tell me, what exactly is it?" Yao Xiaorui asked impatiently, instinctively using polite language.

"I estimate that you will see him on the playground around this afternoon, probably near the wall of the teaching building. You need to persuade him to seek help from the club to solve his current predicament, and then the task will be completed," Lin Nianwei explained.

"Huh!?" Yao Xiaorui asked, somewhat surprised and puzzled, "Why are you saying it with certainty? How do you know when and where he'll be?"

“He is currently on the verge of collapse. He only needs the slightest external force to break down.” Lin Nianwei said calmly with deep eyes, “Besides, I am probably the person who understands him best, apart from his own sister.”

Although Lin Nianwei's tone was calm and composed, Yao Xiaorui detected a hint of boastfulness in it, as if she were saying—

See? I know him better than you do. When it comes to lovers, I'm definitely the better fit.

"I..." Yao Xiaorui blushed, puffed out her cheeks, and said without showing any weakness, "I know him very well, he's... he's no less capable than you..."

Lin Nianwei remained silent, showing no expression and saying nothing, as if she hadn't heard anything.

Please don't do this, give me a response, okay? Yao Xiaorui thought to herself. Lin Nianwei's silence made her feel a little embarrassed. The hostile attitude she had finally managed to put on deflated like a punctured balloon.

"Why...why would you ask me to persuade him?" Yao Xiaorui hesitated, but still mustered her courage and continued, "Don't you like him too? We...we're rivals in love..."

Yao Xiaorui didn't quite understand why Lin Nianwei asked her to persuade Zhou Han, but she herself didn't go. This was practically creating an opportunity for her, or rather, was Lin Nianwei belittling her?

Lin Nianwei was silent for a while, then closed her eyes and said, "Considering everything, you are more suitable. This is the conclusion that reason tells me."

"Why?" Yao Xiaorui was stunned.

Lin Nianwei opened her eyes, looked at Yao Xiaorui, opened her mouth, hesitated for a moment, and said—

"Because he doesn't easily bow down to others, especially me."

Chapter 108 Dandelions and Sunflowers

“Um…” Yao Xiaorui paused, thought for a moment, and tentatively said, “You’re not…begging me, are you?”

"I'm not asking for anything, I'm just asking you to repay the favor our organization did for you. It's a transaction of favors, we owe each other nothing, and our positions are absolutely equal," Lin Nianwei said calmly.

“What if…” Yao Xiaorui swallowed, a little nervously saying, “What if I insist on not repaying this favor?”

Lin Nianwei looked surprisingly bewildered. She quietly looked at Yao Xiaorui, her eyes sometimes sharp as a knife, sometimes calm as water, and occasionally a hint of tenderness flashed across them. Complex emotions alternated back and forth, as if she were struggling.

She hadn't considered the possibility that Yao Xiaorui might refuse, because this request was absolutely advantageous to Yao Xiaorui.

However, Lin Nianwei overlooked one point: the incompatibility of her and Yao Xiaorui's positions, and the fact that their relationship was on opposite sides.

It seems that when she lets go of certain things, she also falls into a fierce internal struggle, hesitating and indecisive. Like Zhou Han, Lin Nianwei also has her own stubbornness in some aspects.

The atmosphere between Lin Nianwei and Yao Xiaorui became extremely awkward and unusual. One of them was engaged in a fierce internal struggle, while the other was already regretting asking the question.

Yao Xiaorui realized that she had gotten a little carried away just now, which was why she suddenly asked that question.

Because Lin Nianwei asked her for something, Yao Xiaorui felt a sense of victory for a moment, which gave her a certain sense of satisfaction.

After thinking about it carefully, Yao Xiaorui realized that regardless of whether Lin Nianwei asked her for help or not, she would try her best to help Zhou Han.

Seeing Lin Nianwei struggling internally, Yao Xiaorui felt a little guilty. After all, the two of them had just fallen for the same boy, and there was no need for them to be on opposite sides.

Even if the two were to determine a winner, Zhou Han's true thoughts would remain uncertain.

Yao Xiaorui kept her head down silently, feeling a little nervous in this situation. She opened her mouth, wanting to say sorry, but when she raised her head, she couldn't say anything.

Because she saw that Lin Nianwei was already bowing slightly to her, her head down, adopting a pleading posture.

Lin Nianwei is very bad at asking others for favors, not only because she has no experience in asking for favors, but also because her aloof personality makes it difficult for her to adopt a humble attitude.

But this time, Lin Nianwei seemed to have lost something. After struggling, she adopted the pleading posture that she was least skilled at and least used to.

Although Lin Nianwei tried her best to hide her emotions, her furrowed brows betrayed that she was not at peace.

"Please...please..." Lin Nianwei felt like she had bitten her tongue. Her face flushed slightly, and her tone lost its usual calmness, becoming easily audible as she continued, "Please...help me."

Yao Xiaorui felt quite shocked because the contrast in appearance was so huge that she was somewhat at a loss.

“If…” Lin Nianwei lowered her head, closed her eyes tightly, bit her lip, paused, and said, “If you are still not satisfied, I can kneel down… that’s fine too.”

Lin Nianwei chose to abandon her dignity in order to seek help.

“Eh…” Yao Xiaorui was stunned. She was shocked by Lin Nianwei’s words and actions.

My first impression of Lin Nianwei was that she was taciturn, extremely calm, and full of wisdom and rationality.

But now, because of Zhou Han, he has become calm and irrational, speaking in a language he is not good at, and showing some of the characteristics of a teenage girl.

Yao Xiaorui didn't know which one was the real Lin Nianwei, but the only thing she knew was—

Zhou Han held a very important place in Lin Nianwei's eyes, so important that it made her abandon her long-held rationality and even make her put aside her pride and lower her head.

Although Yao Xiaorui was unaware of their past entanglements, it was only at this moment that she truly understood how much Lin Nianwei loved Zhou Han.

"I'm sorry..." Yao Xiaorui looked somewhat relieved, and said earnestly with apology, "Although I don't know if I can succeed, I will try my best!"

Lin Nianwei opened her eyes, raised her head, looked at Yao Xiaorui, and regained her usual calm demeanor.

She was expressionless, and wanted to say thank you, but in the end she didn't say anything and left in silence.

Yao Xiaorui didn't care; she was used to it. She could tell that Lin Nianwei was a girl who was cold on the outside but warm on the inside, and even if something was wrong, she wouldn't easily reveal it.

As Lin Nianwei brushed past Yao Xiaorui, she stopped, turned her back to Yao Xiaorui, and said earnestly—

"I will not give my happiness to anyone else."