Though paralyzed, still radiantly charming!

Chapter 253: What he wanted… was her

Ryan accepted the situation much faster than Mia and Alice had expected. Especially Mia, who thought that if something like this happened to her, she’d be devastated for a long time.

“Honestly, I think something feels off.”

Ryan rubbed his chin as he found a separate report of the news clip online.

On TikTok, the news had already hit over a million views in just half an hour.

Ryan was famous now—infamous, actually.

He was being painted as a villain who bullied innocent people, and the comment section was flooded with insults, with people demanding the authorities arrest him immediately.

Thanks to Miss Alice’s connections, Ryan’s safety could be temporarily ensured, but physical harm and emotional damage were two very different things.

For example, right now, Alice was scrolling through the comments, her face darkening with every word. If she ever found out who was stirring things up in the comments, she’d probably want to grind them into fertilizer.

She scrolled through the comments again, her teeth clenched, and suddenly snatched Ryan’s phone, ready to fire back using his account.

“Ryan’s not like that at all! You bunch of idiots!”

It was bold, but definitely not something she could actually post.

Ryan’s eye twitched. He quickly grabbed the phone back before Alice could finish typing.

If she really started arguing with people using his account, it wouldn’t take long before his inbox was flooded with hate messages.

He still remembered the time he posted a comment on Facebook about a basketball player. Within three minutes, his entire family had been “greeted” by the player’s fans.

Public opinion is terrifying, especially when it snowballs into a mob.

“What did you just say, Ryan?”

“I said, I think something about this whole thing feels off.”

Ryan sighed softly. It was clear Alice wasn’t in the right headspace.

He glanced over at Mia, who was casually eating a huge tub of Häagen-Dazs like none of this concerned her. He reached over and knocked her lightly on the head.

Now that he had both of their attention, Ryan figured it was simple: they were both smart, and if they put their heads together, they’d definitely figure out more than he could on his own.

Ryan replayed the video. What really caught his attention were the last few words from the news anchor.

“There seems to be a connection with the local underground gangs. Extremely dangerous.”

At first, Ryan thought this whole thing was Marco’s doing, but that one sentence made him second-guess himself.

Marco and Alice could have their own power struggles—that was something the gang allowed. But what the gang absolutely wouldn’t tolerate was exposing the underground world to the public.

“Marco’s not an idiot. Even if he’s furious, he wouldn’t be dumb enough to talk about the organization to regular people.”

Alice thoughtfully rubbed her chin, giving Ryan a look of approval. He had grown a lot from the naive college kid he used to be.

Ryan was thinking about who else might have a grudge against Alice when something clicked. He turned to Mia.

“Mia, did you tell Miss Alice about what happened yesterday?”

“What? You mean when we kissed?”

Mia huffed, setting her ice cream aside. Ryan had been all about Alice just now, only calling her over when he needed something.

Typical. Men are all the same.

Ryan was speechless. Seriously? This was what Mia was focused on right now?

Why had Alice even brought Mia here this morning? Wasn’t she just here to cause trouble?

Mia seemed to know what Ryan was thinking. She balled her tiny fist and gave him a solid thump on the head. She didn’t hold back at all.

“I’m just giving you a chance to shine. So far, you’re doing alright.”

Mia puffed out her chest proudly, clearly referring to the fact that Ryan had picked up on something suspicious.

Ryan rubbed his head, feeling exasperated. Mia had been eating ice cream the whole time, acting like she owned the place ever since she walked into the villa.

“This whole thing definitely involves Marco, but it’s not just him,” Mia said, trying to sound mysterious. Under Alice’s skeptical gaze, she recounted everything she and Ryan had discovered the day before—though, of course, she left out the parts about her and Ryan’s more personal interactions.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to annoy Alice,she just felt that those moments were her and Ryan’s little secret. Alice didn’t have the right to know.

“GUCCI socks?”

That part was news to Alice. Every time Mia said something, Alice glanced at Ryan, as if seeking confirmation of Mia’s story.

Ryan nodded along, backing Mia up. Only then did Alice reluctantly believe what Mia was saying.

“So, Alice, think about it—do you have any enemies in the legitimate business world?” Ryan asked.

“The legitimate world?” Alice’s eyes lit up. Ryan’s question had sparked a realization. No one in the gang would ever expose the organization’s existence. Whoever did this had to be someone from the legitimate world who had a grudge against her.

This project wasn’t just lacking support within the gang,it was just as dangerous in the legitimate world, where the competition was just as fierce.

The massive commercial center next to the subway line, once completed, wouldn’t just serve the local residents. It would attract people from all over the city, representing a huge financial opportunity.

Alice had put in a lot of effort to secure this project, using both legal and less-than-legal means. Naturally, she’d made plenty of enemies along the way.

“That guy who caused the scene yesterday is clearly from the legitimate side. His goal is to make sure your project never gets off the ground.”

Winning the bid for a commercial project didn’t mean it was smooth sailing from there. If Alice couldn’t get the project up and running by the agreed deadline, the government would hand it over to the next bidder, and Alice would be completely cut out.

The simplest way to think about it was: if Alice failed, who stood to gain the most?

Ryan was throwing out ideas, and Mia was listening intently. The more she learned about Alice, the better. Who knew? Maybe one day she’d use this information against her.

“I’ve got an idea. I’ll go test the waters today,” Alice said, glancing at Mia, who was acting all sneaky. She didn’t share her full thoughts, and Mia, noticing this, huffed and turned her back on them.

“Ryan, I’m going to confront that guy today. If it really was him, he’s going to pay for it.”

“But right now, that’s not the biggest issue. The real problem is how to clear your name,” Alice said, her brow furrowed. She wanted to keep Ryan close, but the other side had already made it clear they were targeting him. If Ryan appeared with her again, who knew if he’d end up in tomorrow’s headlines?

“I know…” Ryan nodded, noticing Alice’s hesitation.

Finding out who was targeting Alice from the legitimate world would help her, but it wouldn’t do much for Ryan. To clear his name, he needed something specific.

The video had been edited. If he could find the original, uncut version, Alice’s influence might be enough to resolve the issue.

Alice didn’t want him by her side, and Ryan understood that. But staying cooped up in the villa wasn’t going to change anything either.

He was planning to head out and see if he could dig up any leads.

After discussing the situation for a while, Alice reluctantly agreed to let Ryan go out, even though they had an agreement that he could only leave the villa once a week. Given the circumstances, she had no choice but to bend the rules.

If it weren’t for what had happened yesterday, she wouldn’t have let him go. But now, even though she wouldn’t admit it out loud, she was starting to trust Ryan.

Ryan wasn’t sticking around for money or power. She should’ve realized sooner what Ryan really wanted.

What he wanted… was her.

——-

PS:

Looks like Ryan’s got himself in another mess—fame isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be, right? Between the viral hate and Alice’s fierce protectiveness, he’s walking a tightrope here. And honestly, with Mia stirring the pot and Alice’s mood swings, I’m amazed Ryan hasn’t just thrown in the towel!

But hey, things are never dull with these three, and it’s safe to say the stakes are getting higher. So buckle up, because this ride’s far from over.