Though paralyzed, still radiantly charming!

Chapter 235: I missed you so much, and our baby misses you too~

Ryan listened to the conversation around him, feeling completely bewildered. When he heard his name mentioned, he was even more thrown off.

Why was he being dragged into this?

And since when did he become Mia’s brother? And what’s this about Miss Alice tearing them apart?

How could he, of all people, not know about something like this?

It didn’t take much to figure out that Mia must have been spreading some false rumors. She might even be behind this whole commotion.

Mia always had it out for Alice, and Alice had already explained the reasons to Ryan before.

A lot of people wanted Miss Alice to step down from her position as the gang leader, and Mia was one of them. But Mia didn’t really have any deep-seated hatred for Alice—she just wanted the top spot for herself.

When Ryan first found out about this, he was shocked. Mia, who always seemed so sweet and innocent, was hiding such a big ambition.

Who would ever suspect a cute little girl like her? At first, Ryan had his doubts about the whole thing.

Alice had a lot of people around her, and it was possible someone was trying to stir up trouble between her and Mia.

But now, with Mia showing up here, Alice’s story seemed a lot more believable.

“I need to find Mia first.”

The crowd was moving toward the main gate of the construction site. They’d been waiting around for a solution for a while now, and their patience was wearing thin.

Ryan quickened his pace, weaving through the crowd, drawing a few curious glances.

Mia had been riling up the crowd just a moment ago, so she couldn’t have gone far. But with her small frame, she could easily be hiding among the people, making her hard to spot.

Ryan’s situation wasn’t looking great. He clearly didn’t fit in with the rest of the crowd, and if he didn’t find Mia soon, people might start getting suspicious of him.

Sure enough, after just a few steps, a large hand clamped down on Ryan’s shoulder, followed by a questioning voice.

“Hey, buddy, who are you?”

The voice wasn’t threatening, but the grip on Ryan’s shoulder was strong. He wasn’t going anywhere without a good explanation.

Ryan took a deep breath, feeling a bit frustrated. He’d hoped to find Mia without drawing attention, but it looked like that plan was out the window.

Still, sometimes it’s better to avoid confrontation and play along.

If Mia could spin a story and gain these people’s trust, then so could he.

In fact, he might even be able to use Mia’s own words to his advantage.

Ryan made up his mind quickly. He adjusted his expression, and by the time he turned around, his face was full of sorrow and pain.

“Big brother…”

The man standing in front of Ryan was middle-aged, with a rough appearance that marked him as a hard worker.

His eyes were honest and straightforward. He’d only stopped Ryan because something seemed off, but now, seeing Ryan’s sorrowful expression, he loosened his grip a bit.

It’s hard to be tough on someone who’s clearly struggling.

Feeling the pressure on his shoulder ease up, Ryan was secretly pleased. His strategy was working.

After all, the crowd was here to protest. If a stranger suddenly showed up, they might get caught up in the chaos.

Who knows how Mia managed to blend in with the crowd? That little rascal was always good at deceiving people.

“Uh… I think I might’ve gotten lost. I’m looking for my sister.”

“I thought I saw her here just now… Maybe I’m just missing her too much and mistook someone else for her.”

Ryan forced a sad smile, his face pale, like someone who’s been longing for a lost loved one.

Before the man could respond, Ryan started to turn away, but this time, the man stopped him on his own.

“Looking for your sister?”

The man frowned as he looked at Ryan. The crowd was mostly middle-aged people—there weren’t any girls around Ryan’s age.

He was about to tell Ryan to move along and catch up with the others when something clicked in his mind. His expression toward Ryan grew even more peculiar.

“What’s your name?”

Mia had just been telling everyone that she had a brother and that Alice had separated them.

Even though Ryan showing up now seemed a bit too convenient, the man couldn’t help but connect the dots.

“My name’s Ryan. Do you know something?”

Ryan followed the man’s lead, carefully watching his expression.

As soon as the man heard Ryan’s name, a flash of surprise crossed his face, followed by an increasingly strange expression. His eyes no longer looked at Ryan as if he were a good person.

The man slowly withdrew his hand, almost as if he were afraid of Ryan, and cautiously asked:

“Are you really Ryan?”

“Yeah, that’s me.”

“You’re Mia’s brother?”

“Uh, yeah, that’s me.”

“But you and Mia aren’t blood-related siblings?”

“Uh, yeah, that’s right.”

Seeing the man becoming more cooperative, Ryan breathed a sigh of relief. He figured the man would probably take him to see Mia soon.

And once he found that troublemaker Mia, he was definitely going to give her a good talking-to. A gang is no place for fun and games. If Mia ever became the gang leader, the pressure on her would be no less than what Alice was dealing with.

In Ryan’s plan, if Miss Alice wanted to step down peacefully, she would definitely need Mia’s help. The real challenge was figuring out how to get these two to work together against a common enemy.

That was the headache Ryan was dealing with.

“So… you’re also Mia’s childhood sweetheart?”

“Uh, yeah, that’s me.”

Ryan was so focused on finding Mia that he didn’t even pay attention to what the man was asking.

But as soon as he answered, he nearly bit his tongue.

Wait, what? What kind of weird question was that? What on earth had Mia been telling people?

The man’s expression turned sympathetic, but it wasn’t sympathy for Ryan—it was for Mia.

The man’s fists clenched, and it was a miracle he didn’t start swinging at Ryan right then and there.

“And you have the nerve to look for Mia? Do you even know what she’s done for you?”

“Typical. You men are all the same—no good at all.”

Without warning, the man flew into a rage, looking at Ryan like he was the lowest of the low. The people around them, hearing the conversation, began to chime in.

Wait, what did she do for me?

And hold on, dude, aren’t you a man too? Do you really need to be this harsh?

Ryan was completely dumbfounded. He had thought that revealing his identity would lead them to take him to Mia, but instead, it had led to this.

The older women in the crowd were pointing at Ryan, their eyes filled with disappointment, as if they couldn’t believe how he had turned out. Ryan could also hear murmurs of sympathy for Mia.

This can’t be right—where did things go wrong?

Suddenly, hostility came at Ryan from all sides. Even though he hadn’t revealed his connection to Alice, he was still being surrounded and attacked, apparently because of something Mia had said.

Dave, who was watching from the sidelines, swallowed nervously. The bodyguards had gone to report back to Miss Alice and hadn’t returned yet. If he rushed in now, he’d probably get beaten to a pulp.

After thinking it over, Dave chickened out and closed his eyes, bowing his head to pray for Ryan.

Ryan was surrounded by the crowd, completely at a loss. He had no idea what was going on, let alone how to handle it.

Just then, the crowd in front of him began to part, creating a narrow path. A figure emerged from the back of the crowd and rushed straight into Ryan’s arms.

Despite the angry shouts around her, she didn’t seem to care. She was determined to believe that the person she trusted wasn’t in the wrong.

What a touching display of love—assuming it was real, of course.

“Brother!”

The girl’s voice was soft, filled with immense sorrow, and even had a hint of tears.

Ryan felt a warm sensation against his chest, accompanied by the scent of oranges. Just from that, he knew exactly who it was.

Ryan stood there, arms awkwardly outstretched, staring at the girl who had thrown herself into his embrace. It was none other than Mia, the person he had been looking for.

“Brother, you finally came to find me. I… I missed you so much.”

Mia’s tears turned into a smile as soon as she saw Ryan. She stood on her tiptoes and gave him a light kiss on the cheek before burying her head in his chest.

Her small shoulders trembled, as if she were bearing an enormous burden.

But the joy she felt was real, making their reunion seem all the more genuine.

If Ryan weren’t the one involved, he might have been moved by the scene. But with Mia clinging to him so tightly, his expression was nothing short of bewildered.

What on earth is going on here?

“Brother, I knew you’d come for me. I knew you still loved me.”

“I missed you so much, and our baby misses you too~”