Though paralyzed, still radiantly charming!

Chapter 254: The skill slot had lit up

After breakfast, Alice’s gaze lingered on Ryan and Mia for a long time. Finally, as if making up her mind, she turned her back to them.

Mia was such an eyesore to her, especially when she stood next to Ryan. It made Alice burn with jealousy.

If she hesitated for even a few more seconds, she would definitely regret it. Letting Mia have Ryan for a day was something she had no choice but to accept. If there had been a better way to handle it, she would never have let Mia through the door this morning.

Mia wouldn’t have dared to show up in front of her unless she had something to rely on. Mia knew her too well—anything involving Ryan, Alice simply couldn’t ignore.

To be honest, this feeling was awful. She couldn’t help Ryan much herself, while Mia seemed so confident, making Alice feel utterly useless.

“No, this can’t go on. Where’s the old Alice? I need to bring her back. I have to be stronger.” Alice left, her mind heavy with thoughts. Before she went, she made sure to remind Ryan to wear the clothes the maid had prepared for him.

Even though she trusted Ryan, she didn’t trust Mia at all. Some necessary surveillance still had to be in place.

Ryan was already used to Alice’s overbearing concern. Her sense of style was leagues ahead of his, and the clothes she picked out always suited him perfectly.

Ryan wasn’t a fan of the suits Alice often wore, so she usually prepared casual clothes for him.

But today was a bit different. Along with the usual outfit, there was also a pair of sunglasses and a mask. Given Ryan’s current situation, it wasn’t exactly safe for him to be seen in public.

In the end, he looked like a celebrity trying to avoid the paparazzi. Ryan and Mia carefully slipped out the door.

“Ryan, have you been staying in the basement these past few days?” Mia asked casually, clearly intrigued by everything around her.

“Where else would I stay? You think I’d sleep in Miss Alice’s bed?” Ryan joked, shrugging. “She’d kick me out in a second.”

He didn’t seem to care much. Honestly, living alone in the basement wasn’t too bad. It wasn’t all that different from when he used to live in an apartment during school.

After that, Ryan didn’t dwell on the conversation, but Mia, sitting next to him, had a thoughtful look in her eyes. Her gaze flickered, and she clenched her small fists.

Ryan was practically trapped by Alice. Mia had thought Alice had already won him over, but now that she’d discovered Ryan’s secret, she was starting to reconsider.

Ryan planned to visit the construction site today. He believed that to get to the bottom of everything, he had to start at the source. In his mind, the key to the whole situation lay in the very first incident.

An undocumented worker had entered the site, violated safety protocols, and got injured. The way Alice’s team handled it afterward was poorly thought out, which only made things worse.

Now that they knew the people who caused trouble yesterday had done it on purpose, it made sense to investigate the earlier events. Ryan was becoming more convinced that Alice had been set up, just like she’d said.

Alice cared deeply about this project. There was no way there were undocumented workers on her site. The injury of that first worker was probably part of a bigger plan.

It had been several days since the incident, and Alice had already sent people to track down the original worker, but there hadn’t been any leads. It was like the guy had vanished into thin air.

Ryan didn’t think he was more skilled at investigating than Alice’s team. And now that so much time had passed, any clues were probably long gone, buried under the daily grind of the construction site.

“This whole thing is just so complicated,” Ryan muttered.

“If you want to find someone, you should let Alice handle it. I get why you’re anxious, though,” Mia said, her tone casual as she stared out the window at the passing scenery. But her eyes kept darting back to Ryan, watching his expression closely.

She could guess what Ryan was trying to do, and that’s exactly why she thought it was pointless. It was a waste of time, really.

If he just asked her for help, she could easily make his situation a lot better with barely any effort.

Everyone knew how much Alice hated her, but she still let Mia into the villa this morning and even allowed her to tag along with Ryan. That wasn’t Alice being kind—it was because she had no other choice.

Mia did know a lot, and she did have something in her hands that could change the course of this whole situation. But if she told Ryan now, he probably wouldn’t believe her anyway.

“Look, the most important thing right now is clearing your name, right?” Mia said, pouting as if she was genuinely concerned for Ryan. “Otherwise, you won’t be able to go back to school, and the people who know you will probably start to misunderstand you. That’d be pretty awful.”

She remembered the sad look on Ryan’s face when he saw the news earlier, and her heart couldn’t help but ache a little.

Why wasn’t I the first one to meet Ryan? Mia thought bitterly. If I had been, everything he’s done since would’ve been for me. His every move, his every decision, would’ve revolved around me.

What exactly had Alice done to Ryan to make him so loyal? It was infuriating.

“This is something only I can help you with, not your precious Miss Alice. Got it?” Mia said, resting her chin in her hands, her voice dripping with jealousy. But the next second, she glanced at Ryan’s face and clenched her teeth, practically spitting out his name.

“Ryan—”

“Huh? What’s up?” Ryan snapped out of his thoughts, sneezing as the air in the car seemed to drop a few degrees. Only then did he notice Mia’s expression had completely darkened.

He’d been zoning out and hadn’t heard a single word she’d said. Feeling a bit awkward, he gave her a sheepish smile, but that only made Mia’s frustration worse.

Would he zone out in front of Alice? she thought angrily. Of course not. So why does he do it with me?

Her worries had been pointless. She shouldn’t have bothered caring about Ryan. Let this heartless jerk fend for himself.

Mia crossed her arms, her small chest rising and falling with anger, and turned her back on Ryan, refusing to look at him anymore.

To Ryan, her behavior seemed a bit odd. He had no idea why she was suddenly upset again.

It wasn’t like he was intentionally ignoring her. He knew how difficult this situation was before he even made the decision to come here, but he wasn’t completely without hope.

For most people, the construction site might seem like a dead end by now, but Ryan had the help of his system, which gave him a bit more confidence.

Speaking of which, last night, faced with a new threat, Ryan had used up the two Skill Points he’d been saving for a while.

He hadn’t expected much. At this point, it didn’t really matter what skills the system gave him.

The rewards in the Skill Point shop seemed to refresh as events progressed. The skill he’d really wanted before, [Professional Combat Techniques], had disappeared, replaced by some bizarre options.

[Spring Fever, S-Class Skill: (Spring is in the air, and you’re a walking hormone magnet.)]

[The Marathon Man, S-Class Skill: (Outlast them all—whether it’s a race or… something more intimate.)]

The top-tier skills were all so weird now, and the lower-tier ones weren’t much better. Ryan felt like things were slowly spiraling into some uncontrollable, bizarre territory.

He wondered if [Professional Combat Techniques] would ever come back. Looking at these strange new skills, Ryan couldn’t help but think that maybe a simple, peaceful life wasn’t so bad after all.

Despite the odd choices, the skills he’d unlocked this time were actually pretty useful. When Mia had been talking to herself earlier, Ryan had been staring at his skill menu, lost in thought.

[New Skill! Bloodhound Instinct!]

[Bloodhound Instinct, A-Class Recon Skill: (When you can smell their fear, who needs a headset to hear footsteps?)]

And then there was this:

[New Skill! Drama Magnet!]

[Drama Magnet, B-Class Trait: (You laugh at the soap opera guy for getting what he deserves, but he’s laughing because you’re next in line.)]

The second skill made no sense to Ryan. He had no connection to soap opera tropes. Drama magnet? Why would he attract drama?

And who was this “soap opera guy” anyway? Some TV character?

Since Ryan couldn’t make heads or tails of the second skill, he naturally ignored it, focusing instead on the first one.

The atmosphere in the car was awkward. After Mia got upset, no one spoke. The driver occasionally glanced at the two of them in the rearview mirror but quickly looked away.

Ryan, deep in thought, didn’t have the energy to comfort Mia. He kept staring at the dimmed skills in his menu, silently hoping for something to change.

Finally, the car came to a stop in front of the construction site, the same place where yesterday’s conflict had erupted.

The front entrance was swarmed with reporters, blocking the way completely. The driver had no choice but to drop them off at the back entrance before quietly driving away.

Mia wrinkled her nose in disgust, brushing the dust off her clothes. She hated places like this, where everything was covered in grime.

“Alright, show me what you’ve got,” she said, her tone dripping with sarcasm. “Go ahead and try, then give up. All you have to do is ask me for help, and I’ll fix everything for you.”

She tugged at Ryan’s sleeve, pouting. They hadn’t spoken the entire ride, and Mia was still holding onto her grudge.

But she’d already decided that Ryan was hers. If he apologized, she might just help him out.

However, Ryan didn’t take her words to heart. In fact, he found her self-centered attitude a bit ridiculous. Does Mia really think that little of me?

He didn’t need her to tell him what to do. He knew it was time to get to work. His eyes brightened as he looked at the skill menu.

The skill slot had lit up.