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

Zhou Si stood at the door.

The corridor lights shone from behind him, casting large shadows on his face.

His silhouette was cut into two distinct halves by the light, one of light and the other of shadow.

Half of it was in the light, taut and stretched.

Half of him was in the dark, so his expression was not visible.

He looked down at her.

From her eyes you can see her lips, and from her lips you can see her neck.

Then his gaze lingered there.

It stopped for a long time.

Li Ruo subconsciously raised her hand to cover the marks on her neck, but he grabbed her hand as soon as she raised it.

His fingers gripped her wrist, his knuckles white, with such force that it felt like he was going to crush her bones.

"What is this?" he asked in a hoarse voice.

Li Ru blinked: "Didn't you already ask this this morning?"

He raised his other hand and pressed his fingertips against the deepest red mark above her collarbone.

His fingers were cold, and when he pressed them against the skin that had been repeatedly sucked, they made her tremble slightly.

"I'm asking you," his voice was still so soft, "What is this?"

"It was from mosquito bites," Li Ruo said.

Zhou Si stared at her for a long time.

Then he smiled, a smile that didn't reach his eyes, as cold as the light on a blade.

"mosquito."

He repeated it.

His fingertips moved away from her collarbone, slowly moving upwards, across her neck, along her jawline, and finally stopping at the corner of her mouth.

"That damn male mosquito... it really knows how to pick its spot."

Li Ruo: "..."

His thumb pressed against her lower lip, where there were still bite marks, and it was slightly swollen and fuller than usual.

"Zhou Si, listen to me..." Li Ruo's voice was stuck in her throat.

His thumb moved from her lips to her cheek, wiping away the tear stains that hadn't dried from the corner of her eye.

His fingertips were slightly damp. He pulled his hand back and looked at it in front of his eyes.

"You cried."

His voice grew deeper and hoarser: "Did he make you cry?"

Li Ruo's big, blinking eyes froze for a moment.

Before she could answer, Zhou Si's gaze had already shifted from her, past her shoulder, and looked towards the restroom behind her.

His pupils slowly contracted.

He smelled it.

There was a faint smell in the air, so faint that it was almost undetectable.

But he could smell it.

The subtle, luxurious scent of Lu Xingzhou's perfume mingled with the salty tang of sweat, carrying an air of something more intimate.

It was another man's scent, so strong it was like a sign of dominance, permeating the entire restroom, omnipresent.

His gaze swept over the sink.

There was a water stain on the marble countertop. The faucet wasn't turned off completely, and water droplets fell onto the white porcelain surface, making a soft, pattering sound.

On the edge of the table, next to her pink hair tie, sat a watch that didn't belong there.

Lu Xingzhou's watch.

The silver-gray dial and alligator leather strap are priceless.

Zhou Si stared intently at the conspicuous watch, struggling to suppress the emotions surging within him.

Then he slowly turned his head and looked at the corner behind the door that was blocked from view.

He didn't go over; he just stood there, looking at the shadow.

"come out."

There was no movement in the corner.

Zhou Si's fingers slowly clenched, his knuckles making a cracking sound.

He pulled Li Ruo behind him, shielding her from his shadow. His movements weren't gentle, but they carried an irresistible protectiveness.

"I said, come out."

Lu Xingzhou walked out from behind the door.

Her shirt was still open, her hair was still messy, and there was still lipstick on her lips.

He made no attempt to explain, or even to organize his thoughts.

He stood there under the bathroom light, leaning against the door frame, his hands in his pockets, looking at Zhou Si.

The two men looked at each other.

One eye held a fire that had burned for five years, the other an eye held a knife that had been hidden for five years.

The air seemed to have been sucked out, leaving only the heavy breathing of the two people.

"You are on my island."

Zhou Si's voice was so low it sounded like it was rolling out of his chest: "He went into one of my people's rooms."

Lu Xingzhou's gaze passed over Zhou Si's shoulder and landed on Li Ruo, who was being shielded behind him.

Her hair was still wet, her dress was still wrinkled, and her eyes were still red.

She stood behind Zhou Si, and for a fleeting second he had the illusion that she was very well-behaved.

She was clearly so restless in his arms just now.

Now that he's behind Zhou Si, he's as docile as a kitten?

Lu Xingzhou's gaze darkened.

"Your people?"

He repeated it, a slow smile curving his lips:

"When did she become your woman?"

Zhou Si clenched his fists.

"You signed the agreement."

His voice was as cold as ice:

"You said you were here to join us. You said you would help me protect her."

"I'm protecting her."

Lu Xingzhou said unhurriedly, "They guarded it very carefully, inside and out."

Zhou Si threw a punch.

The fist, carrying the force of five years of anxiety and three days and nights of trepidation, along with all the restraint and forbearance he had displayed while smoking that cigarette in the corridor, slammed into Lu Xingzhou's face.

Lu Xingzhou did not dodge.

The fist slammed into his cheekbone with a dull thud.

His head was knocked to the side, and a gash appeared at the corner of his mouth, from which blood seeped and dripped down his chin.

He stumbled and his back slammed against the door frame with a dull thud.

But he laughed even more maliciously.

He licked the blood from the corner of his mouth, turned to look at Zhou Si, and his smile was particularly glaring under the light.

"Finished?" he asked. "I have something to say."

Zhou Si's chest heaved violently, his fist still hanging in mid-air, his knuckles stained with Lu Xingzhou's blood.

"She's been here with you for three days."

Lu Xingzhou's voice remained calm, as calm as if he were reading a business report:

"You arrange everything for her, from what she eats to what she wears, what time she goes to bed and wakes up. What do you take her for? A collectible? A bird in a cage?"

Zhou Si's expression changed.

"You built this island, hired three hundred bodyguards, installed radar, sonar, and thermal imaging—do you think you're protecting her?"

Lu Xingzhou straightened up, took a step forward, and faced Zhou Si:

"You're just protecting yourself. You're afraid she'll run away, afraid someone else will take her away, afraid she'll disappear, so you're locking her up."

"Shut up." Zhou Si's voice was as low as a beast's growl.

"But she's not yours."

Lu Xingzhou's voice suddenly softened: "She belongs to no one. She is just herself."

Zhou Si stopped breathing.

His fist was still raised, but he couldn't throw that punch.

Because what Lu Xingzhou said was the truth, the truth that he knew but dared not admit.

He searched for her for five years, hid her for three days, and watched over her for three days and nights.

He thought he had won, that by keeping everyone outside the island, she was his.

But she had other people's kiss marks on her neck, her eyes had been red for someone else, and her lips had been bitten by someone else.

He didn't even have the right to be angry.

Because he never asked her: Are you willing?

Li Ruo stood behind Zhou Si, watching his back.

His back was taut and straight, as straight as a string that could snap at any moment.

His fist was still raised, but it was trembling.

Zhou Si was trembling with nervousness, fear, anger, and resentment...

All those emotions he had kept hidden for five years, afraid to let her see them, surged up at this moment, burning his back, which he wanted to protect her, into a scorching, hard wall.

She reached out and placed her hand on his back.

His body stiffened.

"Zhou Si," she called his name softly.

He didn't turn around.

She could feel his back trembling. Through the thin fabric and his skin, she could feel the vibration of his heartbeat, so fast it felt like it was about to explode.

"I don't blame you," she said. "Really."

His shoulders slumped for a moment.

It was only for a moment, and then he straightened up again, like a tree that had been bent by the wind and bounced back.

"I just..." his voice trembled, "I'm just scared."

I'm afraid you'll disappear.

I'm afraid you won't see me.

I'm afraid that if I turn around, you'll be gone.

I fear these past five years have been just a long dream, and when I wake up, you will still be gone.

He didn't say these words aloud, but Li Ruo could hear them.

She could hear what was hidden in fists, on the island, behind three hundred bodyguards and radar sonar thermal imaging.

It's not about control, it's not about possession.

It's fear.

Li Ruo's fingers slid down his back and grasped his hand hanging by his side.

His fingers were cold, and there was Lu Xingzhou's blood on his knuckles.

She pried his fingers apart one by one, put her own hand inside, and clasped them together.

"I'm here," she said. "Don't be afraid..."

Zhou Si looked down at her hand, watching her fingers intertwine with his.

Her fingers were warm, as warm as a fireplace in winter, as warm as a sea breeze in summer, as warm as something he had dreamed of countless times but never dared to hope for.

He held her hand tightly.