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

Zhou Si tightened his grip and pressed his thumb on an acupoint on the back of Lu Ran's neck.

Lu Ran's body stiffened abruptly, and the words he was about to say were cut off in his throat, turning into a suppressed groan.

"It's been five years."

Zhou Si's voice came down from above his head, unhurried and calm, as if stating a fact:

"You still can't beat me."

Lu Ran lay on the ground, his forehead pressed against the scorching hot wooden walkway, panting heavily.

Seawater trickled down his hair, meandering through the cracks in the wooden planks like a few dying snakes.

"Let me go."

His voice was hoarse, but his stubbornness remained, like a bamboo stalk that was bent but refused to break.

Zhou Si loosened his grip.

Lu Ran propped himself up on his knees and stood up, rubbing his wrists which had been pinched red.

He glanced back at Zhou Si, his eyes filled with anger, resentment, and something else he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"Is she... alright?"

His voice suddenly softened, becoming so soft it didn't sound like his own.

Zhou Si looked at him.

"It's fine," he said.

Lu Ran remained silent for a while.

Then his gaze fell on Zhou Si's face, slowly moving down to his neck.

"What's that on your neck?"

Zhou Si subconsciously raised his hand and touched it.

There was nothing there.

"I was just kidding." Lu Ran's lips twitched, "but you're feeling guilty."

Zhou Si: "..."

Lu Ran stared into his eyes and said, word by word, "Someone has been here, hasn't they? Not you. You don't have the guts."

Zhou Si's expression changed.

The change was subtle, from calm to sharp, like a knife sliding out of its sheath.

"What do you mean?"

You know exactly what I mean.

Lu Ran tilted his head, his fiery red hair swaying in the wind, revealing a section of his pale nape:

"You hid her here and guarded her for three days, and what was the result? She has someone else's marks on her neck, doesn't she?"

Other people's...

Zhou Si clenched his fists.

However, Lu Ran was wrong about one thing: Zhou Si had been guarding the place for three days, but he and Li Ruo could do whatever they wanted anytime, anywhere.

And many times.

"Jiang Wu? Or Lu Xingzhou?"

Lu Ran asked:

"Still Pei Qingrang? That bookworm Guo Yiling doesn't have the guts. So who is it?"

Zhou Si remained silent.

Lu Ran watched as he suddenly broke into a huge smile, revealing two rows of white teeth, as radiant as fireworks exploding under the sun.

"You have them all?"

Lu Ran continued to probe, his smile seemingly joyful, but inside he felt like he was dying of pain:

"Hahaha, damn it, Zhou Si, you're such a failure! You managed to hide someone in your bed and still get your place raided. How did you become a mafia godfather?"

Zhou Si's face darkened.

"Lu Ran!"

"Um?"

"Say one more word and I'll throw you back into the sea!"

Lu Ran stopped laughing, but the smile in his eyes remained, dazzlingly bright.

"Okay, I won't say anymore."

He raised his hand and wiped the seawater off his face: "Take me to see her."

"no."

"I told you I won't fight you for it!" Lu Ran said anxiously.

He stepped onto the stairs.

Zhou Si's hand blocked his chest.

"Lu Ran," Zhou Si's voice was low, "Don't force me to take action."

Lu Ran stopped in his tracks.

He looked down at Zhou Si's arm, which was stretched across his chest. The muscles were taut, and the veins were bulging, like a string stretched to its limit.

"No way! Really no way!"

He chuckled, "Think about it, what do I have to force you with? What do I have to take from you?!"

He looked up and met Zhou Si's eyes.

Those once defiant eyes were now as calm as a stagnant pool.

"You have three hundred armed bodyguards, Lu Xingzhou's financial empire, Pei Qingrang's technological prowess, and Guo Yiling's official background. What do I have?"

He smiled and said, "A stolen speedboat, a bottle of liquor, and a life."

Zhou Si did not retract his arm.

"You have a third life," he said.

Lu Ran was stunned for a moment.

Then he let out another self-deprecating laugh, his eyes slightly red:

"Yes, I have one more life. A life that should have been used up five years ago."

[Aaaaaaah! He said he should have used up his life five years ago!]

How did he spend those five years...?

[Zhou Si, let him in! He's just here to deliver the drinks! He'll definitely try to take them from you!]

[Yes, yes, yes! He has nothing, but he'll still fight you for it! What would we be showing him if he didn't fight for it?!]

"Ah Si".

Lu Ran's voice suddenly turned deep, as deep as a stone thrown into deep water:

"I've waited five years and swum four nautical miles. If you dare stop me..."

"How are you?"

Lu Ran looked at him, and the corners of his mouth slowly turned up.

"I'll die right here in front of you."

Zhou Si: "..."

Silence spread between the two.

The sea breeze blew in from the dock, carrying a salty and damp scent, making Lu Ran's hair a mess.

He ignored him and just stood there, looking up at Zhou Si.

Zhou Si, with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, looked at him without saying a word.

The two men faced off in the courtyard.

One of them stood on the steps, looking roguish and cunning, like a lazy beast.

One of them stood at the bottom of the steps, covered in injuries, like a mad dog that had no regard for its life.

The sea breeze blew in from afar, drying some of the water from Lu Ran's hair. The fiery red strands stood up, looking like a burning fire in the sunlight.

"Ah Si,"

Lu Ran's voice suddenly lowered, becoming as low as muffled thunder rolling from his throat:

"I've been looking for her for five years. Five years!"

"Do you know what five years means? More than 1,800 days. I look for her every single day. I look for her while I'm racing, I look for her while I'm training, I even look for her in my dreams."

His voice began to tremble, as if something that had been suppressed for too long was surging forth.

"The Zhou family is gone, and you've become a fucking godfather. Lu Xingzhou, that smiling fox, has expanded his business all over the world. Pei Qingrang published a paper and won an award. Guo Yiling became the principal. Jiang Wu, that madman, painted a thousand paintings. Everyone has their own way of living, and everyone is moving forward."

He paused, his Adam's apple bobbing as if he were swallowing something.

"Only I'm stuck in the same place."

His voice suddenly rose, carrying a fierce intensity bordering on collapse:

"I've been standing still for five years! I haven't gone anywhere! I haven't done anything! I've just been waiting! Waiting for someone who might never come back!"

Zhou Si held a cigarette between his fingers, his knuckles clenched so tightly they turned white.

Lu Ran took a deep breath and then smiled.

That smile was so bright, so dazzling, so heartbreaking.

"so,"

He took another step forward, standing on the steps, and looked Zhou Si in the eye.

"I'm here today."

"Whether you let me see her or not, I'm going to see her."

"Whether you stop me or not, I'm going up there!"

"Whether you kill me or not, I'll take you!"