The pretty little follower gets targeted by the crazy guys at the elite academy

"Ugh—!"

Li Ruo's back bumped into a thick cherry blossom tree, and petals fell in a flurry, swirling in the air like a sudden rain of petals.

Moonlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting dappled patterns on the person.

It's Zhou Si.

He was wearing a black motorcycle jacket, which made his broad shoulders and back and lean waist appear even more prominent.

The wisps of hair on her forehead were ruffled by the night wind, revealing the hideous scar on her brow bone.

At this moment, his eyes were bloodshot as he stared intently at her, like a trapped beast that had finally caught its prey.

His chest heaved violently, and his breathing was as heavy as if he had just finished a marathon.

No, it's not a marathon.

It has been five years.

It was a full five years of running.

He braced his other hand on the tree trunk above her head, enveloping her entirely in his shadow.

The distance between the two was less than ten centimeters.

She was so close she could smell the faint scent of tobacco on him, and a faint, almost imperceptible odor of blood.

She was so close that she could see the fine blood vessels in his eyes and the turbulent waves churning in his pupils.

"you……"

His voice was so hoarse it was almost unrecognizable; his Adam's apple bobbed several times before he managed to squeeze out those few words:

"Who are you?"

Li Ru blinked, looking completely innocent: "Senior, you've mistaken me for someone else."

Zhou Si's eyes sharpened.

"Mistook me for someone else?"

He gave a cold laugh, a laugh that was more unpleasant than crying:

"I would never mistake you for anyone else."

His fingers tightened, gripping her wrist painfully.

Five years ago, you fucking disappeared without a trace.

"Your phone is off, you don't reply to messages, and you've moved out. I've searched the entire capital three times, and I couldn't find a single hair on your head."

His voice grew lower and more dangerous, as if squeezed from the depths of his chest:

"Five years. A full five years, I dream about you every single night."

"I dreamt that you were in this cherry blossom grove, and the first time you saw me, you used school rules to argue with me."

"I dreamt that you were in the office, being lectured by that pervert Guo Yiling, and when you came out you stuck your tongue out at me."

"I dreamt that you were in your apartment, wearing that tattered dress..."

He couldn't continue; his eyes were so red they looked like they were about to bleed.

"You fucking tell me I mistook you for someone else?"

Li Ruo looked at him, at his disheveled and frantic appearance.

Under the moonlight, his eyes were glistening with tears, but he stubbornly refused to let them fall.

He has lost weight.

She's lost so much weight since five years ago, and the lines on her face are so sharp they look like they were cut with a knife.

The scar on my brow bone is still there, but it looks more menacing than it did five years ago.

He was like a sharpened knife, every inch of him exuding danger.

But his eyes remained those unwavering and resolute eyes, clear and fierce, black and white.

At this moment, it was filled with overflowing longing, and a hint of vulnerability that he himself was unaware of.

That's the vulnerability of fearing to lose it again.

Li Ruo's heart trembled slightly.

But she still wore that innocent expression, tilting her head and blinking her eyes:

"Senior, I really don't know what you're talking about. I'm just here for the school anniversary performance..."

"fart!"

Zhou Si interrupted her, his voice both angry and anxious:

"You fucking are Li Ruo! I'd recognize you even if you were ashes!"

He used his other hand to brace himself, trapping her between the tree trunk and his chest.

They were even closer, so close that his breath hit her face, burning like a ball of fire.

"Do you even know how I've survived these past five years?"

His voice was so hoarse it was almost unrecognizable; every word seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth.

"I can't sleep every night, you're the first thing I see when I close my eyes."

"I've chased after countless women wearing white dresses, only to be disappointed every time."

"I spent three months at the place where you used to work, until the boss called the police."

"I've kept your picture on my bedside table and look at it every day until the paper turns yellow."

"I..." He couldn't finish his sentence again.

His Adam's apple bobbed violently, and his eyes reddened even more.

Li Ruo looked at him, at this once arrogant and fearless school bully, who now looked like an abandoned puppy, using all his strength to hold her, as if afraid that she would run away again.

She suddenly felt a pang of heartache.

"Senior."

She spoke softly, her tone softening slightly: "Let me go first..."

"I won't let go!"

Zhou Si stuck out his neck, acting like a child throwing a tantrum:

"You ran away the moment I let go! You ran away the same way five years ago!"

Li Ruo: "..."

She almost laughed, but she held it in.

"I won't run."

"You're lying! You said you wouldn't run away last time, and what happened? You've been running away for five years!"

Li Ruo: "..."

Why is this person so hard to please?

"Then what will it take for you to believe me?"

Zhou Si stared at her, his scarlet eyes filled with scrutiny, expectation, and a hint of madness suppressed for five years.

He looked her up and down, from head to toe, front to back.

Under the moonlight, her face was still the same face, the face of a nineteen-year-old.

Her eyes were still the same, so clear you could see right through them.

Her lips were still the same lips, full like ripe cherries.

She hasn't changed at all.

That's not right.

Five years have passed. She should be twenty-four years old now, more mature than before, more... but he couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong.

But the person in front of him was clearly nineteen-year-old Li Ruo.

She was Li Ruo from his memory.

It was Li Ruo, who drove him mad for five years.

"you……"

His voice was hoarse, carrying a hint of uncertainty about having regained what he had lost:

"Are you... really Li Ruo?"

Li Ruo tilted her head to look at him, a slight smile playing on her lips, a sly smile like that of a little fox:

"What do you think, senior?"

Zhou Si's heart skipped a beat at her smile.

Oh shit.

That's the smile.

Five years ago, every time she smiled like that, he knew he was about to be tricked again.

But he just loved seeing her smile like that.

I love it so much.

"I don't know."

His voice was muffled, tinged with a hint of grievance:

"If you were her, why didn't you come back sooner? Why did you make me wait five years?"

He was pressed against her, so close that she could feel his hot breath.

"Don't you fucking move!"

His voice was hoarse and trembling, as if he were crying:

"Let me see what you've got!"

Li Ruo stopped moving.

She was pinned against the tree by him, looking at his face so close to hers.

His eyes were as red as a rabbit's, and tears were still flowing, but he tried his best to hold them back.

His breathing was heavy, hitting her face repeatedly.

His hands were trembling, especially the hand pressing on her shoulder.

His voice was hoarse and aggrieved, like that of an abandoned child:

Do you know how much I miss you?

"Do you know I can't sleep every night?"

"Do you know that I've been chasing after anyone who looks like you for five years, countless times, and every single time it's been nothing?!"

Looking at him like this, Li Ruo suddenly didn't want to tease him anymore.

"Zhou Si..."

She called his name softly.

Zhou Si's body trembled violently.

She called his name.

She called him Zhou Si, not "senior."

Only she would call him that, in that soft, slightly mischievous tone.

"you……"

His eyes reddened again.

Li Ruo looked at him; his eyes shone brightly in the moonlight.

She reached out and gently stroked his face.

My fingertips touched his cheek, feeling a slightly cool temperature.

Zhou Si's body stiffened.

He just watched her, watched her touch her face, watched her features so close to his.

five years.

He had dreamt of this scene countless times.

When I wake up, my pillow is always wet.

She was right in front of him now, her hand on his face.

Warm, real, and tactile.

Not a dream.

"Zhou Si," she called him again.

Then she tiptoed and gently placed a kiss on his lips, very lightly and softly.

It was just a light touch.

But Zhou Si was completely dumbfounded.

He stood there frozen, his eyes wide open and his mouth slightly agape, like a statue that had been acupunctured.

Three seconds later, he abruptly took half a step back, staring at her in disbelief:

"Hold!!!!"

"You fucking aren't really Li Ruo?!"

Li Ruo smiled, her eyes crinkling: "Guess?"

Zhou Si: "...I'm not guessing! You fucking are!"

He rushed up again and pinned her against the tree.

This time, instead of carefully encircling her, he actually pressed down on her.

Their bodies were pressed together, and through the thin fabric of their clothes, they could feel each other's body temperature.

His breathing was heavy, like that of a wild beast, and his eyes were churning with the madness that had been suppressed for five years.

"Li Ruo".

He called her name, his voice hoarse and barely audible.

"You have no idea, you have absolutely no idea how I've survived these past five years."

Li Ruo looked at him without saying a word.

"I'm going crazy thinking about you every night."

"When I dream about you, I wish I could tear the dream to shreds and crawl into it."

"I thought you were dead, I almost followed you in death."

"Laozi..."

His voice grew softer and softer, until it was almost inaudible:

I miss you so much.