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

Zhou Si stood by the window, gazing at the boundless azure sea. He took a deep breath, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly, and sighed softly:

"Lu Xingzhou, do you know that your biggest problem is that you're too good at talking?"

Lu Xingzhou said simply, "Thank you."

"I'm not complimenting you."

"I know," Lu Xingzhou smiled, "but I took it as a compliment."

Looking at the nonchalant smile on his face, Zhou Si suddenly felt like punching him.

It wasn't because he said those things, but because everything he said was true.

He was indeed imprisoning Li Ruo.

He was indeed afraid.

He was indeed locking her up in his own way, in a place only he could reach.

He thought it was protection.

But Lu Xingzhou said it was imprisonment.

His fingers reached into his pocket, pulled out the cigarette that was crumpled into a mess, glanced at it, and then put it back.

No order.

I lit it and then it went out, then I lit it again, and now there are three sticks.

Li Ruo is right. What kind of person doesn't smoke or quit?

He stood there, lost in thought, as the sea breeze blew in, salty and damp, the smell seemingly carrying the diesel fumes of the distant research vessel.

"When will Pei Qingrang come up?" he asked with his back to Lu Xingzhou.

Lu Xingzhou watched his retreating figure, a slight smile playing on his lips.

He knew Zhou Si was changing the subject, but he didn't call him out on it.

"I don't know. He's been waiting."

"What are you waiting for?"

"Please invite him up."

Zhou Si turned around and leaned against the windowsill: "Why should I invite him up?"

"Even if you don't invite him, he'll still come up."

Lu Xingzhou said:

"The only difference is that if you invite him, he's a guest. If you don't invite him, he's an intruder. Which do you think is more controllable?"

Zhou Si remained silent.

He certainly knew which was more controllable.

It's better to bring him up and keep an eye on him than to let him lurk in the shadows and make his move.

But please come up...

"Please come up" means that there is now one more person on the island.

Another person is now competing with him for the same thing.

Where is Guo Yiling?

Lu Xingzhou: "He... is simpler."

"He was a coast guard officer who spent a day and a night patrolling the high seas."

"If you don't invite him up, he can apply for a search warrant tomorrow on the grounds that there are suspected hostages being held on the island."

Zhou Si sneered: "He wouldn't dare."

Whether he dares or not is not important.

Lu Xingzhou walked to the window and stood next to him:

"The important question is, can you hold on to it?"

The sea is outside the window.

Blue, and boundless.

On the sea, Pei Qingrang's research vessel gleamed white in the sunlight, while Guo Yiling's coast guard vessel stood further away, like a nail driven into the sea.

Zhou Si looked at the ships and remained silent for a long time.

"We can't hold on." His voice was much softer, as if he were talking to himself.

Lu Xingzhou turned his head to look at him.

Zhou Si's profile looked very sharp in the sunlight, with a taut jawline, giving him a fierce and assertive appearance.

But at that moment his eyes were soft, as soft as a crumpled piece of paper.

"But I have to defend it. If I don't defend it, who will?" Zhou Si said.

Lu Xingzhou did not answer.

He just stared at Zhou Si's profile for a long time.

Then he reached into Zhou Si's pocket, took out the pack of cigarettes, pulled one out, and put it in his mouth.

"Could I borrow a light?"

Zhou Si glanced at him, took out a lighter from another pocket, and tossed it to him.

Lu Xingzhou caught it, lit it, and took a deep breath.

Smoke billowed from his nostrils and was dispersed by the sea breeze.

"Zhou Si," he said emotionlessly, "do you know that this pack of cigarettes you have is fake?"

Zhou Si: "???"

Lu Xingzhou turned the cigarette pack over and pointed to the barcode at the bottom:

"This batch of cigarettes was discontinued three years ago. You've been smoking counterfeit cigarettes for three years without noticing?"

Zhou Si took the cigarette box and examined it several times.

The barcode is definitely wrong, the texture of the packaging paper is wrong, and even the tobacco shreds are cut incorrectly.

He didn't notice.

For three years, he smoked them one by one, never realizing they were fake cigarettes.

"Who sold it to you?" Lu Xingzhou asked.

Zhou Si did not answer.

He gripped the cigarette pack tightly in his hand until his knuckles turned white.

"It doesn't matter anymore," he said.

He threw the cigarette pack into the trash can, turned around, and walked back to the sofa to sit down.

His expression was calm, but Lu Xingzhou noticed that his fingers were clenching slightly.

Lu Xingzhou did not continue the topic.

He walked back, sat down opposite Zhou Si, placed the lighter on the coffee table, and pushed it over.

"Zhou Si".

Zhou Si looked up, a hint of impatience in his eyes: "What?"

"Let me take a look at your knife."

Zhou Si looked up at him warily.

Lu Xingzhou's expression was serious; he didn't seem to be joking.

Why?

"For no reason. I just wanted to see."

Zhou Si hesitated for a moment, then picked up the folding knife and handed it over.

Lu Xingzhou took it, turned the blade over, and looked at it against the light.

The blade is very bright and sharp, like new.

"You ground it yourself?"

"Um."

"How long did it take?"

"Every day," Zhou Si said. "For five years. Grind it once a day."

Lu Xingzhou's fingers traced the blade, his fingertips pausing briefly on the edge.

He didn't use force, but simply pressed it lightly against the surface, feeling its temperature and sharpness.

"Are you sharpening a knife?" he asked pointedly, "or are you sharpening yourself?"

Zhou Si: "..."

Lu Xingzhou closed the knife, placed it on the coffee table, and pushed it back.

"Zhou Si," Lu Xingzhou said again, "your biggest problem isn't that you're too honest."

Zhou Si waited for him to continue.

"Your biggest problem is that you treat everyone as an enemy. Including yourself."

Zhou Si's fingers stopped on his knee.

Lu Xingzhou stood up, straightened his shirt collar, and moved with elegance and composure.

"I'll go check on Lu Ran. He's been in the bath for too long; I hope he doesn't faint."

He turned around and prepared to walk towards the bathroom on the first floor.

"He's already upstairs," Zhou Si's voice came from behind.

Go upstairs?

Lu Xingzhou's leg froze as he took a step, and he stopped without turning around.

There was only Li Ruo upstairs.

That kid wouldn't...

"That queuing system you mentioned," Zhou Si said in a low voice, "I'm not queuing."

Lu Xingzhou's lips curled up slightly.

"I know," he said. "You're the champion."

He walked up the stairs, his footsteps quickly disappearing around the corner on the second floor.

Zhou Si sat alone in the reception room, with two unfinished glasses of wine, a closed folding knife, an empty cigarette case, and a used lighter in front of him.

He looked down at those things for a long time.

Then he reached out, picked up Lu Xingzhou's glass of wine, and downed it in one gulp.

The strong liquor burned his way down his throat to his stomach, making his eyes sting.

"Champion." He repeated the word, a bitter smile curving his lips.

He stood up and walked towards the door.

As he passed the trash can, he glanced down at it.

The pack of counterfeit cigarettes lay inside, the cigarette box crumpled and deformed from his grip, like a discarded, useless thing.

It perfectly mirrors his five years of infatuation.

He didn't pick it up.

He walked out of the reception room, stood in the courtyard, and looked up at the second floor.

The window was still open, and the white curtains were billowing high in the sea breeze.

Behind the curtains was Li Ruo's room. She was treating Lu Ran's wounds, saying "You're sick" while her hands moved very gently.

He watched for a while, then looked away and gazed at the distant sea.

Pei Qingrang's research vessel is still there.

He took a deep breath, took out his phone, and sent a message:

"Come on up."

Just as Lu Xingzhou said, it couldn't be stopped.

Even if he can block people, he can't block his heart.

If they want to see her, let them see her.

After meeting, those who should leave should leave, and those who should stay should stay.

This wasn't him admitting defeat; rather, he had come to a clear understanding of something.

Li Ruo is not his.

She belongs to no one.

On the research vessel three nautical miles away, Pei Qingrang's phone vibrated.

He picked it up, glanced at it, then put it down, stood up, and walked to the ship's side.

"Prepare the speedboat," he told the crew.

Zhou Si...he's figured it out!!

"She's not mine, she belongs to no one—this statement is more profound than any declaration of possession!"

He finally understood. It wasn't about giving up, but about letting her be free – that was the best declaration of love!

[But the way he let go was so handsome!!! And it also broke my heart!]

[How much determination did Zhou Si have to make to finally let go and speak out like this!]

[Of the six lunatics, four have already landed on the island (Zhou Si, Lu Xingzhou, and Pei Qingrang are the fifth, Guo Yiling is the sixth... This island is going to explode!)]

[Wait, Jiang Wu is still hiding underground! Zhou Si's whereabouts are unknown! Lu Xingzhou doesn't know either! Nobody knows!]

[Puppy: You guys can fight up there, I'll be with my sister wherever she is.]

[No, can he really stay down there for that long? What's down there? Food? Drink? How does he survive?]

The best skill he acquired from childhood to university was how to survive in the dark. He didn't need to eat or drink; just thinking of his sister was enough to keep him alive for a very long time.

This line is so heartbreaking...

After sending the message, Zhou Si put his phone in his pocket.

He stood in the courtyard and lit a cigarette.

This time it's a real cigarette, not a fake one.

It was the bag that Lu Xingzhou had left on his coffee table, which he had just grabbed.

He took a deep breath, and smoke billowed from his nostrils, swirling slowly in the sunlight.

The taste is different.

The real and the fake ones really do taste different.

He smoked fake cigarettes for three years, and only today did he realize what real cigarettes are like.

He looked down at the cigarette in his hand, then smiled wryly.

That smile was bitter, as bitter as the glass of strong liquor he had just drunk.

For three years, he didn't even know the cigarettes were fake.

There are some things that we should have a clearer understanding of now.

He looked up at the second-floor window.

The curtains are still fluttering, the sunlight is still shining, and the sea breeze is still blowing.

Everything was quiet, as quiet as if nothing had happened.

But the fact that he was missing a pack of counterfeit cigarettes from his pocket also brought him a sense of relief from his obsession.