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

After lunch, Li Ruo had already started packing her luggage.

Zhou Si silently entered her room, took the folding knife from his pocket, placed it on the dressing table, and pushed it in front of her:

"Take it with you."

Li Ruo looked down at the knife.

The handle was made of black metal, polished to a shine, and was still warm from his fingers, having just been taken out of his pocket.

The blade was closed, so you couldn't tell how sharp it was.

But she knew that he had sharpened this knife for five years, once a day, until it was sharp enough to shave flesh off the bone.

"For me?" she asked.

"I'll lend it to you."

Zhou Si's tone was harsh, as harsh as the blade of the knife in his hand:

"Give it back to me after graduation."

Li Ruo: "What if I don't pay it back?"

Zhou Si was silent for a moment, then his lips twitched into a bitter smile:

"Then don't pay it back."

Lu Ran stood up from his chair and limped over to Li Ruo.

The gauze on his foot was bleeding again, the red blood seeping through the white gauze like a flower blooming in the snow.

He took something out of his pocket and placed it on the table.

It was a gold racing medal with his name and the date engraved on it.

Lu Ran, World Championship winner...

"Here, take this as a bookmark."

Li Ruo picked up the medal and turned it over to take a look.

The back of the medal is engraved with a line of small print:

To Li Ruo, You are my finish line.

To Li Ruo, you are my finish line.

She looked at it for a long time, then gently held the medal in her hand:

"Lu Ran, you really don't know how to give gifts."

Lu Ran's ears turned red: "Then give it back to me."

"I won't pay it back."

Lu Ran's lips curled up, very high, like a child who had received the most precious candy in the world.

"Alright, I'll accept your gifts."

Li Ruo zipped up her suitcase and stood up:

"It's getting late, I should go."

All six men turned to look at her.

"I'll take you," the six people said in unison.

Li Ruo looked at them, then smiled faintly and said:

"Why would I send you anything? It's not like we're never seeing each other again."

This parting probably means we'll never see each other again.

She turned and walked toward the door, but stopped after a couple of steps, turned back, and scanned everyone's faces.

"You too."

"...Go do what you're supposed to do."

"Zhou Si, don't let your island go to waste."

"Lu Xingzhou, don't let your company collapse."

"Lu Ran, don't lose your match."

"Pei Qingrang, don't stop your research."

"Guo Yiling, I hope your school doesn't go out of business."

"And there's Xiao Jiangwu..."

She looked at Jiang Wu, and Jiang Wu looked at her too. There were tears in her amber eyes, but they didn't fall.

"Keep drawing. Show me when you're done."

Jiang Wu's tears finally fell, silently streaming down her pale cheeks.

He didn't wipe it away; he just stood there, letting the tears flow.

"elder sister……"

His voice was broken and incoherent: "I will draw many, many more, until you come back..."

Li Ruo turned around, pushed open the door, and walked out.

The door slowly closed behind her, shutting out the gazes of the six men inside.

On the beach, the sea breeze was strong, making her hair and skirt fly wildly.

She walked along the beach toward the pier, hearing footsteps behind her.

more than one.

There were many, messy, hurried, some light and some heavy.

She didn't turn around.

She knew they were standing at the villa entrance, watching her walk away.

Zhou Si leaned against the door frame, lit another cigarette in his hand, and the smoke rose from between his fingers and was blown away by the sea breeze.

Lu Xingzhou stood on the steps, his hands in his pockets, his gaze following her back.

Lu Ran limped to the gate of the courtyard, leaning against the iron gate, the gauze on his foot already soaked with blood.

Pei Qingrang stood behind Lu Ran, holding the pair of gold-rimmed glasses in his hand. He wasn't wearing them; he was just holding them, and a tear fell onto the lens.

Guo Yiling stood the straightest, his back ramrod straight, as if he were on guard duty, but his fingers were rubbing together gently, one stroke at a time, showing his unease.

Jiang Wu squatted on the stone steps at the entrance of the courtyard, resting his chin on his knees, watching her back.

He neither chased after them nor shouted.

He just squatted there, like a little dog left behind.

Li Ruo walked to the dock, where the speedboat was already waiting.

She glanced back.

At the entrance of the villa, six figures were stretched long in the sunlight, like six trees planted by the sea.

It has been planted for five years and its roots have already taken hold in the soil.

She waved to them, then turned and boarded the speedboat.

The speedboat roared, leaving a white trail of spray on the sea as it sped toward the distant coastline.

She sat at the stern, watching the island grow smaller and smaller until it became a dot and disappeared where the sea met the sky.

She looked down at the folding knife, racing medal, neatly folded tissues, empty strawberry box, and college admission notice in her hands.

She put them one by one into her bag, zipped it up, and hugged it to her arms.

The sea breeze, carrying a salty, damp scent, made her eyes sting.

She slowly closed her eyes and then took a deep breath of the long-awaited air of freedom.

But somehow, I couldn't feel happy, even though it was clearly a happy occasion.

The bag smelled of Zhou Si's cigarettes, Lu Ran's blood, Pei Qingrang's disinfectant, Guo Yiling's laundry detergent, Lu Xingzhou's pine perfume, and Jiang Wu's salty, astringent... indescribable smell.

She buried her face in the bag, inhaling all the smells into her lungs, then slowly exhaled, letting out a sigh:

"A bunch of idiots..."

The speedboat sailed into international waters, with the coastline appearing and disappearing in the distance.

On the balcony of the second floor of the villa, Zhou Si stood there, holding binoculars in his hand.

He watched the speedboat recede into the distance, watched her figure grow smaller and smaller, and watched the white waves on the sea slowly dissipate.

He put down his binoculars and looked down at the folding knife in his hand.

The scabbard was empty; the knife was in Li Ruo's bag. He touched the empty scabbard with his fingers, his fingertips tracing the edge of the metal—it was cold.

"Let's go..."

He said in a low voice, "It's good that you're gone. Now that you're gone, I won't be locking you up anymore."

He put the scabbard into his pocket, turned around, and went into the room.

The room was quiet, the bed was neatly made, and the glass of cold water she had drunk from was on the bedside table.

He sat down on the edge of the bed, picked up the glass of water, and took a sip.

It was cold, very cold, so cold that it chilled him from his throat all the way down to his stomach.

He put the cup back, lay down, and buried his face in the pillow.

Her scent still lingers on the pillow, faint like a spring breeze, a summer rain, autumn leaves, and winter snow…

He closed his eyes and inhaled the scent little by little.

"Three days. She stayed with me for three whole days. That's enough."

downstairs,

Lu Ran leaned against the iron gate at the entrance of the courtyard, looking at the sea in the distance.

The speedboat was no longer visible; only a vast expanse of blue remained on the sea.

He stood there blankly for a long, long time, then he looked up at the sky.

The sky was blue, cloudless, and the sun was so strong that he couldn't open his eyes.

He didn't flinch; he just tilted his head back, letting the sun shine, the sea breeze blow, and the pain from his wounds.

"What's the point of winning the game?"

He muttered to himself, his tone so bitter:

"I've already crossed the finish line."

Lu Xingzhou stood by the window in the reception room, holding a cup of coffee that had gone cold.

The coffee had gone cold, so cold it tasted bitter, but he still sipped it slowly and carefully, as if savoring something precious.

He put down his cup, picked up his phone, and opened Li Ruo's chat window.

His finger paused on the screen for a moment before he began typing:

[Goodness, let me know when you arrive.]

send.

He put his phone on the coffee table, leaned back on the sofa, and closed his eyes.

Sunlight streamed in through the window, warming his face like the touch of her hand on his cheek.

The corners of his mouth slowly turned up, revealing a very light and faint smile.

"Five hours for five years, it's worth it."

Pei Qingrang stood in the garden, under the banyan tree.

Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground.

He squatted down and looked at the patch of grass she had trampled on.

The grass was trampled down, leaving a shallow footprint, like a flower blooming in the soil.

He reached out and gently touched the trampled grass with his fingertips, as if recalling the sweet moments he had shared with her that morning, a happy smile appearing on his lips.

After squatting there for an unknown amount of time, he reluctantly stood up, turned around, and walked towards the villa.

He took two steps, then stopped and looked back at the meadow.

The footprints are still there, clearly visible in the sunlight, like a marker, a coordinate, like the words "I am here".

He stared for a long time, then turned around and continued walking.

As he walked, he pulled out a small piece of clothing belonging to Li Ruo from his pocket.

terribly sorry,

He couldn't resist touching her intimate clothing again.

This time, he was no longer a cautious thief like before.

This time, it was something he had carefully peeled off from her body before.

She was very well-behaved back then.

She obediently let him succeed.

Guo Yiling stood on the pier, looking at the sea in the distance.

His coast guard vessel was moored nearby, its coast guard flag fluttering in the sea breeze.

He stood there very straight, his back ramrod straight, like a soldier on duty.

But his eyes were red.

A very light layer of red, like a smear of rouge spreading on white porcelain, so faint as to be almost invisible.

He blinked, and the redness disappeared, leaving only a clear, dark color in his eyes.

He turned and boarded the coast guard vessel.

"Young master, where are we going?"

"Saint Leah".

"Back to school?"

"Um."

He went into the cabin, sat down in a chair, and took out the folded copy of the admission notice from his pocket.

He kept one copy and gave the original to her.

He unfolded the photocopy, laid it on his lap, and looked at her name on it:

Li Ruo.

These two characters were written with a fountain pen, each stroke neat and precise.

He wrote that five years ago, writing it once a year for five years, for a total of five times.

Each stroke was neater than the last, each stroke was written with more force, and by the fifth stroke, the pen nib had pierced the paper.

He folded the copy, put it back in his pocket, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes.

The ship sailed on the sea, rocking and swaying like a moving house.

His body swayed gently with the hull of the boat, but his expression remained calm, as calm as a statue.

"Five years, I've finally waited for this day..."

But it seems... we didn't get to see it again.

She didn't board his ship, coldly refusing to travel with him.

Her indifference at that moment was like a rejection of his five years of devotion and waiting.

Jiang Wu remained squatting on the stone steps at the entrance of the courtyard, resting her chin on her knees, quietly watching the distant sea.

Like a child abandoned here, lost and disoriented.

The speedboat was no longer visible; only a vast expanse of blue remained on the sea.

There was a painting next to him, which he had just drawn in the kitchen. He had drawn it in a hurry, and the lines were a bit messy, but the outline was very clear.

It was the back view of a girl, wearing a milky white dress and with long chestnut brown hair, standing in the sunlight, turning back to smile at him.

His fingers traced her outline, from her hair to her shoulders, from her shoulders to her waist, and from her waist to the hem of her skirt.

I traced it over and over again, until the paper started to fray.

"Sister, I will draw lots and lots, until you come back..."

At this moment, only the sounds of wind and waves remain on the island.