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

Watching the group of people undermining each other, Li Ruo suddenly felt that the bet she made with Fu Chenzhou was worthwhile.

She picked up her water glass, took a sip, and her gaze swept across everyone's face:

"Um... you'll have to figure out your own troubles."

"I want to go to school."

Everyone was silent.

Li Ruo glanced around again and continued:

"I know what you're thinking."

"You think the capital is dangerous, you think I should stay on this island, you think outsiders will hurt me, and you think only you can protect me."

She paused, her gaze sweeping across everyone's faces.

"But have you ever wondered why I spent five hours in that manor?"

Six people: "??"

"Because I agreed to a condition from Fu Chenzhou."

Li Ruo continued:

"He told me that if I didn't agree, the world would collapse and you would die."

Zhou Si's fingers stopped.

The blade of the folding knife got stuck between his fingers and wouldn't move.

Lu Xingzhou leaned forward slightly as he leaned back in his chair.

Pei Qingrang's hand, which was wiping his glasses, hung suspended in mid-air.

Lu Ran's lips moved, but no sound came out.

Guo Yiling straightened her back even more, as straight as a taut string.

Jiang Wu lifted his chin off the table, his amber eyes reflecting Li Ruo's face.

He said, "You six are too obsessed, so much so that the world can't bear it."

Li Ruo's voice was very calm:

"If I don't resolve these obsessions, the world will collapse and everyone will disappear."

"So I went. I stayed at that estate for five hours, and when I came out, five years had passed."

She looked down at the piece of grilled fish on her plate.

The fish had gone cold.

The fish skin was no longer crispy and lay limply on the plate.

"I thought you would hate me. Hate me for disappearing for five years, hate me for not leaving a single word, hate me for making you wait so long."

She looked up at them: "But you didn't."

"You've done so much for me, I have to do something in return."

She reached out, picked up the admission notice on the table, opened it, and looked at the words on it.

"So I'm going to St. Leah."

"It's not because of Guo Yiling's invitation, not because Saint Lia is so good, and not because of whether the capital is safe or not."

She looked up at Guo Yiling.

"It's because if I don't even dare to leave the house, you'll always think I need to be protected."

"You will never let go."

Guo Yiling's eyelashes trembled slightly.

"You won't let go,"

Li Ruo said softly, "This world will never be stable. Fu Chenzhou will never have peace of mind."

The reception room fell silent.

After a long silence, Lu Xingzhou spoke first.

"you're right."

His voice was very soft, as soft as a petal falling on the water. He leaned back in his chair, his fingers interlaced on his lower abdomen, his expression unchanged. But his eyes were red, a very light red, like a smear of rouge spreading on white porcelain, so faint as to be almost invisible.

"We've always loved you in our own way, but we've never asked you what kind of love you needed."

He looked at Li Ruo, and a slow smile curved his lips. That smile contained bitterness, relief, five years of pent-up longing, and the resolute determination to finally let go.

"Go ahead."

Zhou Si picked up the folding knife from the table, closed it, and put it in his pocket. He stood up, walked to the window, and opened it. The sea breeze rushed in, causing the curtains to flutter high.

He had his back to everyone, and his voice drifted in through the window, muffled, as if through some kind of barrier.

"I'll take you there."

"No need," Li Ruo said, "Guo Yiling has a boat."

Zhou Si's back stiffened for a moment.

"...I'll take you there by boat."

"Is your boat faster than a coast guard vessel?"

Zhou Si remained silent. His back was turned to the window for a long time, so long that Li Ruo thought he wouldn't answer. Then he turned around, leaned against the window frame, and looked at her.

"Then I'll wait for you at the dock. I'll leave after you board the ship."

Li Ruo looked at him. She looked at his bloodshot eyes, at the bluish-gray stubble on his chin, and at the dark patch of sweat soaking through the collar of his T-shirt.

This man guarded her for three days and nights, hiding her in the safest room and arranging for three hundred bodyguards to patrol 24 hours a day. He did everything he could, but now, he was going to personally send her away.

"Okay," Li Ruo said, "wait for me at the dock."

Zhou Si's lips twitched. It wasn't a smile, just a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth, like something suppressed leaking out for a fleeting moment. He quickly turned his face away, looking at the sea outside the window.

Lu Ran picked up the chopsticks from the ground and placed them on the table. His movements were slow, as if he were stalling for time. After setting the chopsticks down, he looked up at Li Ruo.

"Could you send me a message once you arrive at school?"

"What?"

"It's been sent...and arrived."

Li Ruo looked at the blood-soaked gauze on his foot. The gauze had dried, and the blood had turned dark red, mixed with the yellow of the iodine, making it look filthy.

"Take care of your foot injury first."

Lu Ran glanced down at his feet, then looked up and smiled. It was a radiant smile, as radiant as when he stood on the podium after winning the championship. But his eyes were red, as red as his fiery red hair.

"it is good."

Pei Qingrang put on his cleaned glasses, took the silver cooler out of his pocket, placed it on the table, and pushed it over.

"Take the strawberries home to eat."

Li Ruo looked at the cooler. The box was small, its silver exterior gleaming in the sunlight. She opened it; inside was half a box of strawberries, bright red, like a plate of shattered rubies.

"You've been growing strawberries for three years, and this is all you got?"

"That's enough," Pei Qingrang said. "The rest are in the field. There will be more next time you come."

Li Ruo looked at his thin, pale face and his slightly reddened eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses.

"Okay," she said, "I'll eat here again next time I come."

Pei Qingrang's lips curled up slightly. The smile was very faint, but there was a light in his eyes.

Jiang Wu remained silent.

He sat there in the chair, his chin resting on the table, his amber eyes peeking out from above the rim of the bowl, looking at Li Ruo. His expression was calm, as calm as a stagnant pool. But his fingers were gripping the painting under the table, his knuckles turning white, the edges of the paper curling up with a soft creaking sound.

Li Ruo stood up, walked around the table, and stood in front of him.

She lowered her head and looked at him. He looked up at her. They stared at each other for a long time, so long that everyone else unconsciously turned their faces away.

"River Mist".

"Um."

"You painted a thousand paintings?"

"Um."

Where are they all?

"In the art studio."

"Where is the art studio?"

"In the capital city."

Li Ruo reached out and flicked his forehead.

"Then why aren't you going back? You've painted a thousand pictures; if you don't frame them and hang them up, are you just going to let them mold?"

Jiang Wu covered his forehead and looked at her. His eyes were red, his nose was red, and his lips were trembling.

"elder sister……"

"Um."

"Will... will you come back?"

Li Ruo looked at him. She looked at his pale, thin face, at his amber eyes, and at the thin layer of mist in them.

"You've painted so many portraits of me; if I don't go back and see them, how can I face those paintings?"

Jiang Wu's tears fell.

Silently, drop by drop, tears welled up in his amber eyes and streamed down his pale cheeks. He didn't wipe them away; he just looked up at Li Ruo, letting the tears flow, letting his nose turn red, and letting his lips tremble.

Then, as tears streamed down his face, he laughed. It was an ugly laugh, a mix of tears and laughter, his whole face a mess.

"Then I'll go back and frame the painting. I'll wait for my sister to come and see it."

"it is good."

Li Ruo straightened up and looked around. Six people, six pairs of eyes, six different shades of red—some red in the eye sockets, some red on the tips of the ears, some red on the tip of the nose, and some red in the center of the eyes.

She took a deep breath and then smiled. The smile was very light and faint, but her eyes shone like two brightened stars.

"Alright, we haven't finished eating yet. The food's getting cold."

She walked back to her seat, sat down, and picked up her chopsticks.

"Have a meal."

The six people watched her chopsticks move up and down, watched her pick up a piece of cold grilled fish, put it in her mouth, chewed it, swallowed it, and then frowned.

"It smells so fishy."

Lu Xingzhou picked up the plate of grilled fish, turned around, and went into the kitchen. After a while, he came out with a plate of reheated grilled fish and placed it on the table.

The fish skin was a little burnt, and the fish meat was a little mushy, but it was steaming hot, and white steam rose from the plate, blurring everyone's faces.

Li Ruo picked up a piece and put it in her mouth.

"tasty."

Lu Xingzhou sat down next to her and picked up his chopsticks.

"Um."

The group picked up their chopsticks again. No one spoke again, no one mentioned the admission notice, no one mentioned the capital city, and no one mentioned leaving.

They ate their meal quietly.

Six powerful men from the capital city surrounded a young girl, like a family, like a family they had known for many years, like a family they would live together for many more years to come.

But they all knew that this was their last meal.

The sea breeze outside squeezed in through the cracks in the window, causing the tablecloth on the dining table to flutter gently.

Sunlight streamed in through the windows, falling on everyone's faces, on everyone's smiles, and on everyone's reddened eyes.

The food was not good.

The fish wasn't salted, the meat was too salty, the vegetables were overcooked and yellowed, the soup was too salty, and the scrambled eggs with tomatoes were too sweet.

But no one left any food.

Every plate was eaten clean, as if it had been washed.

I cried when Guo Yiling showed me her college admission notice.

Guo Yiling wasn't negotiating with her; he was giving her a way out. A respectable, legitimate way out that wouldn't be questioned by anyone.

Six crazy people finally had a family reunion dinner.

The food was terrible, but everyone ate it all up. That's because she either cooked it, helped cook it, or watched it being cooked.

Anything related to her is fine.

The meal was over, but the bet was still going. But it seemed no one cared about winning or losing anymore. Because she was there. Her presence was enough.