Though paralyzed, still radiantly charming!

Chapter 308: Maybe… she needed to be more direct…

“Guess I couldn’t hide this from you after all.”

The lighting in the fire escape was a bit dim, though Ryan wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination. To him, Mia’s eyes seemed to carry a mysterious glint, something hard to put into words.

Mia and Alice had a lot in common—like their scarily sharp intuition.

But the difference was, when Alice figured something out, she wouldn’t say it right away. She’d keep it to herself, waiting for the right moment to drop the bomb.

Mia, on the other hand, was still a kid in that sense. The second she thought of something, she had to confront you about it—like now, where she immediately came to face Ryan as soon as she had a hunch.

“So, what’s your goal here? Why are you doing this?”

“From your perspective, wouldn’t it be better to get this over with as quickly as possible?”

Mia huffed in annoyance when Ryan admitted it so easily, but she didn’t react much beyond that.

It was a good thing Ryan was being honest this time. If he’d tried to hide anything from Mia at this point, she wouldn’t have hesitated to make his already swollen face look even worse.

“My goal, huh…”

Mia had been sitting close to Ryan the whole time. Now, she turned and leaned into him even more, slipping effortlessly into his arms like she’d done it a thousand times before.

Her small face pressed against his chest, and she took a deep breath, clearly enjoying the familiar scent. It was the kind of smell that made her feel safe.

Like a spoiled cat, she seemed to think that her spot in her owner’s lap should always be reserved for her.

“My goal, huh…”

Ryan used to try to push Mia away when she did this. After all, they were a guy and a girl, and Mia was still young—she might not understand, but he definitely should.

But now, with his face still stinging from earlier, he didn’t have the energy to resist.

Mia not understanding? Yeah, right. If she didn’t get it, then probably no one did.

As long as Mia didn’t push things too far, it was probably better to just let her have her way. Maybe that would make things easier in the long run.

Mia squirmed in his arms, and Ryan had no choice but to wrap his hands around her slim waist, just like he’d done before when she’d fallen asleep on him. That seemed to calm her down a bit.

Ryan’s goal was actually pretty simple. Everything he was doing right now was tied to the main mission: keeping Alice safe and making sure she survived the three Dangerous Events the system had warned him about.

He’d been confused before—why was the second Dangerous Event centered around him? Could it really be that Alice’s high Favorability had caused a glitch in the system?

But after thinking it over, he realized that wasn’t quite right. Favorability could only affect how Alice felt about him, like making her more obsessive or something.

He had a strong suspicion that the bugged-out Favorability was the reason for the hidden microphones and GPS trackers.

The system’s warning had been spot on—this situation was definitely dangerous.

On the surface, the second Dangerous Event seemed to revolve around Ryan, with his gang connections being exposed and everyone turning against him. There was even the risk of him getting arrested and thrown in jail.

But in reality, this was just as dangerous for Alice. The gang had always operated in the shadows, out of sight from the public. If Ryan got caught, it would mean everyone would know that a real gang was operating in the city.

As long as it stayed hidden, things would be fine. But if it got out, the authorities would have no choice but to crack down on the gang, and Alice would be in serious danger.

Once Ryan understood that, it became clear that clearing his name wasn’t the most important thing. Or at least, it wasn’t the top priority.

Alice had already managed to get him a fake driver’s license that looked real enough to fool anyone. And now, with the Langston family’s help, clearing his name would be a piece of cake.

But even if they managed to get through this, the people targeting Alice would just find another way to come after her. They’d always find another opportunity.

After the party last night, Ryan had taken a moment to talk to Alice about this. He told her not to bother clearing his name.

Right now, Ryan was the target in the eyes of Alice’s enemies. If he cleared his name, they’d just come up with another plan, and it would be even harder to track them down next time.

Instead of backing down step by step, it was better to keep the heat on him, draw their attention, and use the clues they left behind to find them first.

“I think I get it now. So, you’re doing all this for Alice, huh…”

Mia listened to Ryan’s explanation, nodding thoughtfully as she tugged harder on his shirt.

From Ryan’s perspective, this was the smartest move. By making himself the target, he could keep the people after Alice occupied and increase their chances of success.

If Mia were in Ryan’s shoes, she’d probably make the same choice.

But even though she understood, her tone was still a little sour. Sure, she could see the logic in it, but there was no denying that Alice was a big part of the reason behind his decision.

Mia couldn’t wrap her head around what was going on in Ryan’s mind. Just yesterday, he’d found out that Alice had planted a tracker on him, and now here he was, wagging his tail for her again.

What had Alice given him to make him so loyal, so willing to follow her without question?

Mia pondered this question, though she already knew the answer. To her, Ryan and Alice’s relationship was deeply twisted, built on the foundation of Alice kidnapping Ryan in the first place.

But why had Ryan ended up becoming Alice’s close friend? Why was he so recklessly devoted to her?

It didn’t make sense. No matter how much Mia thought about it, she just couldn’t understand.

Even though she was curled up in Ryan’s arms, her back to him, her expression had turned dark. She bit her nails, and it wasn’t until she felt a sharp pain that she realized she’d bitten hard enough to leave marks on her fingers.

“Did you tell Alice about the tracker?” Mia asked suddenly, her voice sharp. She no longer called Alice “sister”—just “Alice.” It was like she was desperately trying to grasp something, her eyes locked onto Ryan as she asked the question.

“That… can wait a bit,” Ryan replied, rubbing his nose, clearly feeling guilty. “Miss Alice has been under a lot of stress lately.”

Mia’s mood visibly darkened at his words. Was she disappointed in him?

“Under a lot of stress…” Mia repeated, her voice filled with disbelief.

She had thought Ryan had his own sense of independence, that he longed for freedom. But after everything Alice had done to him, he still forgave her?

Why? Why was Alice so special? Why did Ryan treat her like this, without even considering himself?

Did Ryan like being treated that way? Or… or…

What about her? If she pushed the boundaries a little more, would that work too?

Had she been too careful with Ryan’s feelings all this time? Was that why her attempts to get closer to him had always seemed so… harmless? Was that why Ryan never saw her as anything more than just a friend?

Maybe… she needed to be more direct…

A small, twisted smile crept onto Mia’s lips, her eyes wide open. Even though Ryan was holding her, she felt no warmth at all.

Out of Ryan’s sight, her beautiful eyes slowly clouded over with a gray mist, a cold, calculating malice that seemed far too mature for her age.

After hearing Ryan’s plan, Mia fell silent. Ryan had hoped she’d offer some advice, but after waiting for what felt like forever, she still hadn’t said a word.

The fire escape was already cold and damp from being closed off for so long, but now, as Ryan waited for Mia’s response, the chill seemed to seep into his bones.

The fire escape wasn’t ventilated, so Ryan had no idea where this cold was coming from. His body shivered involuntarily, and he instinctively tightened his hold on the girl in his arms.

“Mia? Mia?”

“We don’t have much time… we need to move faster…”

“Mia? What are you talking about?”

Ryan shook her shoulders, snapping her out of whatever trance she’d fallen into. She blinked, as if waking from a dream, and slowly pulled her fingers away from her mouth. Her delicate fingertips were now bruised and bleeding from where she’d bitten them.

“Nothing… I didn’t say anything…”

“Mia, it’s getting cold in here. Let’s head out. We’ve still got a lot to do.”

After Ryan snapped her out of it, the cold seemed to ease a little, but it still left him uneasy. He gently took Mia’s small hand and helped her to her feet. Just like he said, there was still a lot to take care of at the hospital.

Throughout the whole process, Mia obediently followed Ryan’s lead, not saying a word.

She glanced down at her bruised, bitten fingers from time to time. She knew very well—this was the first time she had… lost control.

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