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

"Boss."

The bodyguard's voice came from the stairwell, tinged with tension:

"The submersible in the eastern sea has disappeared. Our sound... we can't find it."

Zhou Si's expression changed.

The change was subtle.

From hollow to sharp, like a knife being slowly drawn from its sheath.

He could stand guard at the door and act like a complete idiot, but he couldn't forget that there were a few other madmen on the island eyeing him covetously.

He looked at Li Ruo with deep affection and said, "I understand, I'll be right there."

"Ruo Ruo, I'm going out for a bit... and so are you, Lu Xingzhou."

His voice was low and hoarse. He glanced at Li Ruo, then at Lu Xingzhou, his eyes carrying a hint of warning.

"If you dare to cross my line again, I'll kill you."

"Bottom line?"

Lu Xingzhou's lips curled slightly: "Who doesn't have a bottom line?"

He took a step closer to Zhou Si: "Do you think Li Ruo is just your bottom line?"

Zhou Si clenched his fists so tightly they cracked: "Land, Xing, Zhou."

"Alright." Lu Xingzhou reached out and straightened his collar.

"This island cannot afford to have one more person cross our bottom line."

Zhou Si glared coldly at Lu Xingzhou, then pushed him away, moved even closer to Li Ruo, and reached out to stroke her cheek:

"Ruoruo,"

Li Ruo raised her head, her eyes red, her nose also red, like a little rabbit that had been bullied badly, her voice slightly nasal:

"Um?"

"You must be a good girl and protect yourself. Don't let anyone touch you again... okay?"

Zhou Si's eyes were full of expectation and doting, but also mixed with a hint of heartache.

Li Ruo: "...Oh."

Zhou Si stared at her with deep eyes, his lips twitching as if he wanted to laugh or cry.

That expression lingered on his face for less than a second before he withdrew it.

He turned and walked towards the door.

The footsteps grew fainter and fainter until they disappeared at the end of the corridor.

In the restroom, Li Ruo leaned against the wall, listening to the sound of footsteps fading away.

Her eyes were still red, red from being bullied by Lu Xingzhou, and she couldn't recover for a long time.

Lu Xingzhou walked over, hooked her chin with his finger, turned her face, and forced her to look at him.

"Feeling sorry for him?" he asked.

Li Ruo did not speak.

Lu Xingzhou pressed his thumb against her lower lip and gently rubbed it.

"Don't feel sorry for him."

His voice was very soft:

He doesn't need your pity. What he needs is... for you to live well, to live well where he can see you.

Li Ruo looked at him.

There was something in his eyes that she had never seen before.

It's not something superficial like possessiveness or jealousy, but a deeper and more profound emotion.

It's like understanding, and also like... empathy?

"Didn't you also wait for five years?" Li Ruo asked, tilting her head.

Lu Xingzhou was stunned for a moment.

"Aren't you just like him?"

Li Ruo's fingers touched his cheek:

"You'll be standing guard at the door too, won't you?"

"What if the person inside wasn't me? Would you...?"

Lu Xingzhou remained silent for a long time.

"No," he said. "I won't stand guard at the door."

A slight smile played on his lips, but there was no mirth in his eyes: "I'll just kick the door down."

Li Ruo: "…………"

[Hahahaha, this is hilarious!! Lu Xingzhou, you really know how to ruin the mood, haha...]

[Lu Xingzhou: I'm crazy, but not stupid. What kind of madman can't even kick down a door?! Hahaha...]

[Zhou Si: ??? Are you being polite?]

[Li Ruo's expression: My heart aches for nothing...]

This is the difference between a business tyrant and a mafia godfather—one kicks down the door, the other guards it!

Lu Xingzhou couldn't help but laugh when he saw her speechless expression.

He lowered his head, his forehead touching hers, their noses almost touching.

"Ruoruo," he said softly, "I was just kidding."

Li Ruo glared at him angrily: "It's not funny."

"Then I'll tell you something funny."

His lips pressed against the corner of her mouth:

"When you wanted me to love you just now, you were like a little puppy that wanted a lollipop but could never get it."

Li Ruo's face instantly turned bright red.

"Shut up!"

"Okay." Lu Xingzhou's voice was gentle and indulgent: "I'll shut up."

Then he kissed her.

Outside the door, the corridor was empty.

There was a small charred mark left on the wall after a cigarette butt was stubbed out, and a few pieces of grayish-white cigarette ash on the ground, which were blown away by the draft and disappeared into the corner.

On the sea outside the window, Pei Qingrang's research vessel had changed positions and was now closer to the island.

Lu Ran's fishing boat has disappeared without a trace.

Guo Yiling's coast guard vessel patrolled back and forth on the high seas boundary, as if waiting for some signal.

Beneath this villa, in a secluded corner where no one could find her, Jiang Wu huddled in the darkness, clutching the painting in her arms, listening to the footsteps and voices above her.

His lips pursed slightly, revealing a simple yet pitiful, crying puppy expression.

My sister was in the bathroom with Lu Xingzhou...

He heard their voices, even through several floors, through reinforced concrete, through all the obstacles.

She was crying.

But I'm not sad.

She is loved.

It wasn't his love; it was someone else's love.

But it's okay...

As long as my sister is loved and happy, it doesn't matter whose love it is.

Jiang Wu took the painting out of his pocket and, using the sliver of light coming through the ventilation duct, looked at Li Ruo's face in the painting.

"elder sister……"

His voice was very soft, as if he were telling a secret: "I'll wait for you."

"I'll come out after you've finished crying, after you've finished laughing, after you've been loved by everyone...

He pressed the painting to his chest and closed his eyes.

[Aaaaaaah, the puppy!!! He's listening to everything from the shadows!!!]

"I'll come out after everyone has loved you—this line is so heartbreaking, sob sob..."

It's not that he doesn't want to compete; he just feels that his sister's happiness is the most important thing.

Five years can really change a person a lot... The puppy used to whine and say "Sister, hug me," but now the puppy just hides in the shadows and says "I'll wait for you."

[Don't wait for the puppy! Your sister needs you too! Come out now!]

Wait, where is he hiding? Zhou Si's men have been searching all morning and haven't found him!

[Underground! This island has underground passages! The kind that even Zhou Si didn't know about!]

Goodness, the puppy is the best at hiding! Everyone thought he was on the island, but nobody knew he was underneath!