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

Lu Xingzhou straightened up, the smile on his lips not disappearing, but rather deepening.

He didn't dodge; instead, he continued to provoke Li Ruo:

"Yes, what's wrong?"

Zhou Si closed his eyes and rested the back of his head against the wall.

The cigarette burned between his fingers, and the ash fell to the ground, crumbling into a grayish-white powder.

He heard Li Ruo's voice, very soft, as soft as a sigh.

It wasn't fear, it wasn't pain, but a sound he had never heard from her before.

Soft and moist, like snow that has been covered for a long time finally melting.

His fingers gripped the cigarette butt tightly, his nails digging into the filter, leaving several deep marks.

[Zhou Si...is he guarding outside the door?!]

He knew what was happening inside, but there was nothing he could do; he could only stand guard at the door.

His appearance was more heartbreaking than kicking down a door or any angry shout...

Five years! He searched for her for five years, hid her for three days, and then someone caught her in front of him...

[Lu Xingzhou is truly ruthless. He did it on purpose. He wanted Zhou Si to know that even on Zhou Si's territory, Li Ruo was his!]

The water was still running from the tap in the bathroom.

Li Ruo leaned against the wall, panting heavily.

She buried her face in Lu Xingzhou's neck, not daring to look up.

It wasn't because she was shy, but because she could hear Zhou Si's voice outside the door, less than a meter away.

She heard his suppressed, simmering roars.

She heard the sound of a lighter, the sound of a cigarette burning, and the sound of him sliding down the wall.

She suddenly realized... why didn't she use the toilet when she went into the bathroom earlier?

Instead, Lu Xingzhou ended up sleeping with her...

"Lu Xingzhou,"

Her voice, muffled in the crook of Lu Xingzhou's neck, sounded hoarse and unlike her own:

"You're dead this time, he knows you're in there."

"Um."

"He knows..." she didn't finish her sentence.

Lu Xingzhou lowered his head, his lips brushing against the top of her head: "So what if he knows?"

Li Ruo's fingers clenched his shirt tightly.

Why doesn't he come in?

She didn't understand. There was only one door separating them, and Zhou Si could have easily kicked it open to get in. Why didn't he?

Lu Xingzhou remained silent for a while.

"Because he loves you," Lu Xingzhou said softly, "more than you think."

Li Ruo's body stiffened.

"He was afraid that what he would see upon entering would lead him to do something irreversible."

Lu Xingzhou's lips pressed against the top of her head, his voice low and deep:

"He's afraid of hurting you. He's even more afraid that if he hurts you, you'll hate him for the rest of your life."

"So he'd rather stand at the door and listen to you calling someone else's name in someone else's arms than kick down that door and take you back."

Li Ruo: "..."

I'm so sorry.

...Five billion.

[Are Li Ruo's eyes red...? Is she feeling sorry for Zhou Si?]

[Lu Xingzhou, you knew everything, yet you still did it! You heartless bastard!!]

Of course he knew; he dared to do whatever he wanted inside precisely because he was certain Zhou Si wouldn't come in!

This fox is terrifying; he's included everyone in his calculations!

Lu Xingzhou wiped away her tears with his thumb and licked it.

"Don't cry."

His voice was gentle, "When you cry, I want to kiss you."

Li Ru glared at him, tears still clinging to her eyelashes, her gaze utterly harmless.

Lu Xingzhou smiled.

He lowered his head, pressed his lips to her eyes, and held her tears in his mouth.

"Salty," he said. "Just like five years ago."

His lips moved from her eyes to the tip of her nose, from the tip of her nose to the corner of her mouth, and finally stopped on her lips.

He didn't kiss her; he just stood there, feeling her breath and the slight trembling of her lips.

"Ruoruo".

His voice was very soft, as if he were telling a secret:

"Do you know how beautiful you are when you cry?"

Li Ruo angrily shoved him: "You're sick."

Lu Xingzhou was pushed backward, but he did not loosen his grip on her waist, so he only swayed for a moment before regaining his balance.

He looked down at her, his face flushed, his eyes red, his lips red, and he looked like a cat with its fur standing on end after its lollipop was taken away.

He couldn't help but laugh again.

"Yes," he said, "he's quite ill."

In the corridor outside the door, Zhou Si's cigarette burned to its end.

The cigarette butt burned to a small ash between his fingers, scalding his fingertips.

He didn't flinch, letting the burning sensation stay on his skin, as if using the pain to confirm that he was still alive.

He heard a sound coming from inside the door.

Lu Xingzhou's laughter, Li Ruo's angry "You're sick," and those indistinct, inaudible murmurs.

He stubbed out his cigarette on the ground and stood up.

My legs feel a little numb.

He had been squatting at the door for so long that his blood had stopped flowing.

But he didn't rub it; he just stood there, waiting for the numbing sensation to spread from the soles of his feet all the way to the top of his head.

He searched for her for five years.

Over the years, he has struggled and done countless dangerous things, transforming himself from a sunny young man into a fearsome underworld tyrant.

He thought that as long as he found her and hid her, she would be his.

But she wasn't.

She never was.

She has other people's kiss marks on her neck, her eyes are red from other people's love, and her lips are swollen from other people's love.

She stood in front of him and said, "Of course, I'm alone," while that person stood behind the door panel behind her.

But he didn't notice.

He didn't even have the courage to go into the bathroom and take a look.

If he went in, if he pulled the shower curtain down even harder, if...

No.

What can he do even if he finds out?

Rush in and throw Lu Xingzhou out the window?

Lock Li Ruo in a room and watch her 24 hours a day?

She is no longer his.

She never was.

Zhou Si opened his eyes and looked at the chandelier on the corridor ceiling.

The lights were glaring, and his eyes started to sting.

He recalled five years ago.

He remembered her standing in the sunlight wearing a pink dress, the happy smiles she gave him, and the slightly rising tone in her voice when she called him Zhou Si.

He was so foolish back then.

I thought there was plenty of time, and that she would always be there for me.

Then she disappeared.

He thought he had gotten used to losing her, used to waiting, used to staring blankly at the ceiling every night he couldn't find her.

But now he has brought her back.

It's right behind this door.

But he still felt that she was drifting further and further away from him.

Zhou Si lowered his head, his melancholy eyes becoming even more profound.

A gust of wind blew in through the window at the end of the corridor, chilly and making his back feel cold.

He wanted another cigarette to relieve his boredom.

He took a cigarette pack out of his pocket, shook out one, and put it in his mouth.

It took him three tries to light the lighter. The flame flickered in the wind, and he cupped it with his hand to finally light the cigarette.

He took a deep breath, and the smoke billowed out of his nostrils, but he choked on it.

Oh shit!

When did this messed-up life become so sentimental?

He is none other than Zhou Si, the infamous godfather of the underworld!

A dull thud came from outside the door as Zhou Si slammed his fist against it.

"Land Boat!"

His voice finally broke through the facade of calm, a low growl squeezed from his throat:

"You fucking get out here!!!"

Lu Xingzhou released Li Ruo and turned to face the door.

His shirt wasn't buttoned up properly; the collar was open, revealing his lean chest and a faint red mark on his collarbone.

His hair was a little messy from Li Ruo's grabbing, but he had a smile on his lips.

Li Ruo took a deep breath and turned to open the door.

As he passed by Lu Xingzhou, he hooked his fingers around her wrist and pulled her back.

She turned to look at him, but he didn't say anything, remaining arrogant and bold.

Li Ruo glared at her fiercely again.

Then, like a well-behaved puppy, he released her wrist, took two steps back, and retreated to the corner behind the door.

That location is a blind spot when the door is open.

Li Ruo glanced at him.

He leaned against the wall, hands in his pockets, looking as relaxed as if he were admiring the view from his own balcony.

His shirt was still open, with no intention of buttoning it up.

That madman.

She gripped the doorknob, took a deep breath, and opened the door.