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

Guo Yiling stood by the window, her back to Lu Xingzhou, her gaze fixed on the garden.

"Would you... like to make a bet with me?"

Lu Xingzhou crossed his legs and tapped his fingers lightly on his knees:

"What are we betting on?"

"I'm betting that Li Ruo will eventually come with me after all this trip."

Lu Xingzhou didn't speak, but a slight smile appeared on his lips.

There was no mockery or disdain in that curve of his face, only a subtle expression of seriousness.

Guo Yiling turned around and looked into his eyes.

His face, roughened by the sea breeze, was expressionless, but his eyes were serious, as serious as if he were signing a waiver of life and death.

"If she agrees to come with me, you must obey unconditionally and not have any more ulterior motives."

Guo Yiling's voice was very calm:

"If she doesn't agree, I'll back out. I'm willing to back out."

Lu Xingzhou lowered his leg, leaned forward, and placed his hands on his knees.

He stared at Guo Yiling's calm face for several seconds.

Do you know what you're saying?

"Know."

"You waited for her for five years."

"Know."

"You've been learning to make noodles for five years."

"Know."

"You climbed over the wall and stood in the kitchen for almost an hour, just to catch a few more glimpses of her."

"We all know."

Guo Yiling's voice was flat, but his fingers gently rubbed the seam of his trousers, one beat at a time, as if he were counting his own heartbeats.

Lu Xingzhou leaned back on the sofa and closed his eyes.

His eyelashes trembled slightly.

After a long time, he opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling.

"I'll take the bet."

He spoke casually, as if he were talking about something insignificant.

But his fingers clenched his knees so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

Guo Yiling looked towards the stairwell.

Zhou Si stood on the stairs, still holding the folding knife in his hand.

His position was higher than that of the reception room, looking down at Guo Yiling and Lu Xingzhou like someone standing on a city wall overlooking a battlefield.

"Did you hear that?" Lu Xingzhou asked.

"I heard you."

Zhou Si's voice came down from the stairs, muffled, as if there was something blocking it.

He slowly walked down the stairs, each step deliberate, as if he were stalling for time, or perhaps preparing himself mentally.

When he reached the last step, he stopped, closed the folding knife, and put it in his pocket.

"I agree."

Lu Xingzhou turned his head to look at him, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

Zhou Si walked to the sofa, but instead of sitting down, he leaned against the armrest, put his hands in his pockets, and looked up at the ceiling.

"Anyway, it can't be locked up."

He frowned and said, "Rather than letting her run away on her own, I'd rather let her go. At least... it's me who will let her go."

Lu Ran limped down the stairs.

The bandages on his feet had been replaced and were wrapped tightly, but his gait was still uneven, like a rabbit with a broken leg.

"I agree!"

He plopped down on the sofa, propped his injured leg up on the coffee table:

"But I'm not quitting."

Guo Yiling looked at him: "You're not going to back out even if you lose the bet?"

Lu Ran tilted his head and thought for a moment: "Yes."

"Then what are you betting on?"

"I bet she'll be happy."

Lu Ran said, "She... can go with whomever she wants, as long as she's happy."

"I'm not quitting because I want to keep an eye on things. I can only feel at ease when I see her happy."

The reception room fell silent for a moment.

Lu Xingzhou stood up, walked to the window, and opened it.

The sea breeze blew in, causing the curtains to flutter high.

He leaned against the window frame, took out his phone from his pocket, opened Pei Qingrang's chat window, and typed a few words:

"Guo Yiling wants to make a bet that Li Ruo will go with him, the wager is that the loser withdraws. Are you in?"

send.

In the garden, Pei Qingrang's phone vibrated.

He took it out and glanced at it, remained silent for a moment, and then looked up in the direction of the villa.

Through the second-floor window, he could vaguely see Lu Xingzhou's silhouette leaning against the window frame.

He lowered his head and replied:

"bet."

One word.

No punctuation, no facial expressions, clean and tidy.

Lu Xingzhou looked at the word, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

He put his phone back in his pocket and turned to look at the three people in the living room.

Pei Qingrang agreed.

Zhou Si stood up from the sofa armrest, walked to the coffee table, picked up the pot of tea that had gone cold, poured himself a cup, and downed it in one gulp.

The tea was bitter, so bitter that he frowned.

"Then it's settled."

He placed the cup on the coffee table, his voice deep and resonant:

"Whoever she goes with, the others have to step aside. No backing out, no clinging, no..."

He paused, as if searching for the right word.

"Don't cause trouble."

Lu Ran put his legs off the coffee table, sat up straight, and looked at Zhou Si:

"Ah Si, are you willing to part with him?"

Zhou Si: "..."

He walked to the window and stood next to Lu Xingzhou, looking out at the sea.

Whether you're willing to part with it or not, you have to let go.

His voice was very soft, as soft as if it had been carried away by the sea breeze:

"She's not mine. I locked her up for three days, that's enough."

Lu Ran lowered his head and looked at the neatly wrapped bandage on his foot.

It was Li Ruo who wrapped it for him. She wrapped it very carefully, with each loop overlapping the edge of the previous one, making it neat and tidy, like a work of art.

His fingers gently touched the edge of the gauze, feeling its rough texture.

"Do you think," he said in a muffled voice, "would she be angry if she knew we were betting on her?"

Lu Xingzhou thought for a moment: "Yes."

Zhou Si: "Definitely."

Guo Yiling paused for a moment: "She won't be angry. She'll just think we're childish."

Four people: "..."

They remained silent because Guo Yiling was indeed right.

She would only think they were childish.

Then roll your eyes, say something like "Are you guys crazy?", and then... go about your business.

She was never swayed by their emotions, and she never changed her mind because of what they did.

She is like a copper pea, impossible to steam, boil, flatten, or explode.

They were gambling fiercely here, while she squinted her eyes as she ate strawberries in the garden.

[Guo Yiling, you're supposed to be one of the strictest school rules at St. Lily, leading the gambling? Where's your discipline?!]

[Lu Ran, you won! You won my heart! Li Ruo deserves you, the third wheel!]

When Zhou Si said he couldn't hold it in any longer, his expression was calm. But his hands were trembling; the folding knife in his pocket was shaking so much that it jingled loudly...

The six lunatics have finally reunited. But they didn't get together through fighting or kidnapping; they made a bet… They've finally learned to solve problems like adults, even if it's a rather childish one.

Their admission doesn't mean they don't love each other. Admitting it means they love each other even more deeply!

[Li Ruo: You guys are betting on me? Are you crazy?]

upstairs.

At the end of the corridor, behind that tightly closed door, Jiang Wu huddled in the darkness.

He heard it.

He heard it through a floor slab, through reinforced concrete, through all the obstacles.

It's the kind of resonance that can only be felt in the deepest stillness, emanating from a very, very far place.

They used the older sister as a gamble.

His fingers gripped the painting in his arms so tightly that the edges of the paper curled up, making a soft creaking sound.

But he didn't move, didn't stand up from the darkness, and didn't crawl out to question them about their right.

He simply curled up a little tighter in the darkness, pressed the painting to his chest, and closed his eyes.

My sister won't go with them.

he knows.

Because there are still marks he left on my sister's neck.