Though paralyzed, still radiantly charming!

Chapter 262: What gives you the right to judge Ryan?

They were in a shopping mall, and just a right turn out of the store would lead them to a Starbucks.

Anna wasn’t really into coffee, but she casually followed Colin into the café.

Colin first made sure Anna was seated comfortably, then, with a smile on his face, he headed to the counter to order.

Anna smiled back. She was smart and knew exactly how to make Colin give up on her.

Give him a little hope, then crush it right in front of him—that should do the trick.

He was so easy to read. Just a little bit of kindness, and he was already falling for it.

Seeing Anna’s softened attitude, Colin’s heart soared, and he practically skipped to the counter.

To him, women were like clothes. If the new outfit looked better, why bother keeping the old one?

If he could get Anna, the first thing he’d do was call his current girlfriend and tell her to get lost.

While ordering, he kept glancing back at Anna. She sat there with her long, delicate fingers resting neatly on her lap, her beautiful eyes gazing out the window with a hint of sadness, her eyelashes fluttering slightly. She looked like she’d stepped right out of a comic book.

“Anna, I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I got you a latte. If you don’t like it, I can get something else.”

A moment later, Colin returned with two cups of coffee, gently sliding one toward Anna before adjusting his collar and sitting down.

Anna frowned slightly, looking at the two cups on the table. She pointed to the one in front of Colin.

“Can I have that one?”

“Huh? Oh, sure, sure.”

Her request caught Colin off guard. He hadn’t expected Anna to ask for his cup. Even though neither of them had touched their drinks yet, the gesture felt like some kind of subtle signal, and it excited him.

Anna nodded slightly in thanks and took the cup Colin handed her, but she didn’t drink it. She just let it sit in front of her.

She’d asked for his cup just to make sure he hadn’t slipped anything into her drink. But judging by his reaction, she realized she might’ve been overthinking it.

He wasn’t clever enough to pull something like that. His game was way too weak.

She had thought he was both dumb and sleazy, but now it seemed he was just dumb.

“So, you haven’t been around here for a few years, right?”

Anna stirred her coffee absentmindedly, resting her chin on one hand as she gazed at Colin, though her mind was elsewhere, figuring out how to handle him.

At first, she’d been cold and distant, but now she was asking about his life, which made Colin even more excited.

He hadn’t expected much when he approached her as an old friend. If he really cared about friendship, he wouldn’t have left the country without saying a word back then.

But now it seemed Anna was the sentimental type, and that realization boosted Colin’s confidence.

In the years he’d been abroad, he’d been with at least eight or ten women. Anna might seem harder to get at first, but in the end, she’d be no different from the others. He’d win her over, too.

“Yeah, my family sent me to study in France. I haven’t been back in years.”

He ran a hand through his hair, making sure Anna’s attention was on him before continuing.

“This year, Capitol City University has an exchange program with Sorbonne, so I got the chance to come back as the team leader.”

“I never thought I’d run into you here. Guess it’s fate, huh?”

Colin was feeling pretty pleased with himself, but Anna just rolled her eyes slightly, stirring her coffee with a small spoon.

Fate? Yeah, right.

“Oh, sorry…”

Anna seemed distracted by his talking and accidentally knocked over her coffee cup. The brown liquid spilled out, soaking Colin’s carefully pressed suit.

“What the—!”

Colin yelped in frustration. His suit wasn’t cheap—it had cost him two months’ salary. Now it was ruined, and his face darkened.

He had to give a speech at school tomorrow as the student representative. There was no way he could go up there in a stained suit.

But the next second, Anna quickly tore off some napkins and handed them to him. Seeing her pale fingers and the apologetic look on her face, Colin felt a surge of satisfaction. Even if the suit was ruined, it was worth it.

“It’s fine, really. No big deal.”

Colin took the napkins, still trying to maintain his composure as he dabbed at the coffee stains on his suit.

Anna watched him fuss over it and couldn’t help but find it amusing. If he’d wiped it up quickly, the coffee wouldn’t have soaked in so much.

The little mishap had interrupted Colin’s conversation, but Anna had already heard enough of what he was trying to say.

She didn’t bother starting a new topic. This whole thing was even more boring than she’d expected. Even messing with Colin wouldn’t bring her any satisfaction.

She stayed quiet, waiting for him to slip up again so she could shut him down for good.

With Anna not saying anything, Colin struggled to find something to talk about. The atmosphere at the table grew awkward, but just then, the TV in the café switched to the evening news.

“Anna, do you read the paper much?”

“No, I’m not really into that.”

“When I was in business school, our professors made us read the financial news every day. You know, financial literacy is something you build up over time.”

Colin spoke with a smug tone. To be fair, having a business school background was still pretty impressive in today’s fast-paced world.

If a family didn’t know how to properly raise their kid, sending them to business school was often seen as the safest bet.

After making his point, Colin turned his attention to the TV, still trying to keep up his polished image.

Anna wasn’t interested. She lowered her gaze, thinking about what she should do next. But then, she heard a familiar name on the news.

“According to sources, the assailant has been identified as Ryan, a graduate student from Capitol City University’s Department of English.”

Ryan?

For a moment, Anna thought she’d misheard. She quickly turned to look at the TV in the distance, but the photo on the screen—there was no mistaking it. It was Ryan.

Why was it Ryan? How could he have assaulted someone?

The moment she heard his name, Anna’s attitude did a complete 180. She had been indifferent to the news before, but now she was fully focused, her eyes glued to the screen.

Her face was filled with shock. There was no doubt the news had shaken her deeply.

Colin had no idea why Anna’s mood had suddenly changed, but he knew this was his chance.

“That guy’s from your school, right? Stuff like this happens all the time.”

“Not every college student is as innocent as you. There are plenty of people who work for gangs or bully others.”

“Take this Ryan guy, for example. He doesn’t exactly look like a good person…”

Colin was feeling pretty pleased with himself, giving Anna his take on the situation like he was some kind of expert. In his mind, Anna should be impressed by his insight—after all, that’s how it usually went.

“Gangs have deep roots. Sometimes the line between right and wrong isn’t so clear.”

“Looks like you know this guy. Don’t worry, though. Now that he’s been exposed, he’s probably done for. Nothing to worry about.”

But as soon as he finished speaking, he noticed the temperature around him seemed to drop. He looked up to see Anna standing up, smoothing out her skirt.

“Anna, are you leaving? Want me to walk you out?”

Sensing something was off, Colin quickly stood up, still trying to play the gentleman. In his mind, things had gone pretty well with Anna today. The next step was to get her contact info and take it slow from there.

But what happened next shocked the entire café. A mother in the distance hurried to cover her child’s mouth, and countless eyes turned toward the seemingly gentle and composed girl.

Because, in the next moment, the man in front of her was hit square in the face. The coffee cup from the table had been smashed into Colin’s head, and suddenly, his vision was filled with red.

Blood splattered onto Anna’s skirt, a vivid crimson that clashed with her calm, delicate appearance. And yet, somehow, it didn’t feel out of place at all.

It was as if this blood-soaked, oppressive scene was where she truly belonged. This was the real her.

Anna stood there, breathing heavily, tossing aside the broken pieces of the cup. Her words came out like they were forced through clenched teeth.

“Who the hell do you think you are? What gives you the right to judge Ryan?”

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