Though paralyzed, still radiantly charming!

Chapter 184: The crimes of Alice!

Fifteen minutes flew by, and Mia was already pulling Ryan’s hand as they left the rooftop.

Ryan was still dazed as they descended. The last fifteen minutes had bombarded him with too much information, and his brain was still trying to process it all.

Having been kissed on the face already, holding hands now seemed trivial by comparison.

Mia’s words had completely scrambled his thoughts. He had thought Alice was no different from those gangsters and had prepared himself to treat her merely as a target for his mission.

But before he could harden his heart, he was told they were nothing alike.

If Miss Alice had only gotten involved with gang activities this year, there was still a chance she hadn’t been too corrupted.

Miss Alice hadn’t buried anyone? Ryan’s thoughts involuntarily drifted back to the villa’s backyard landscaping. Could it be that there were no bodies buried there?

Miss Alice had been living a normal life up until now, and logically, she would want to return to a normal civilian life. Nobody naturally takes pleasure in bloody affairs.

Miss Alice wanted to return to her normal life, but the gang surely wouldn’t agree. As the heir, she couldn’t just walk away.

So, was that why Mr. Carlson had said Alice would face a lot of resistance?

But that wouldn’t justify the gang sending assassins after her, would it? The idea of “if I can’t have it, no one can” was just twisted.

Ryan felt a headache coming on. Mia was like a little siren, every move laced with temptation.

She had laid out the situation, yet deliberately left things vague, forcing Ryan to guess.

Ryan could try to find out more, but that would mean falling right into Mia’s trap.

Though he hadn’t fully figured it out, his resistance to Alice had softened a bit. Miss Alice might truly be special, and it wouldn’t hurt to see how things unfolded.

As the gang members slowly took their seats, Ryan and Mia returned to the conference room.

Ryan despised these people and didn’t dare interact with them too much. His performance had been too conspicuous earlier, and now many had their eyes on him.

But with Mia by his side, Ryan felt somewhat safe, though it was somewhat absurd that he was being protected by a teenage girl.

Just as he stepped into the conference room, Ryan felt a piercing gaze on him.

Apart from Alice, there were few who could glare with such intensity.

Alice’s gaze swept over Ryan, and upon seeing him unharmed, she relaxed slightly. If Ryan hadn’t returned soon, she would have gone looking for him herself.

Then her eyes landed on Mia next to him, and her expression hardened again.

Feeling that intense stare, Ryan felt a sting in his hand, almost ready to drop Mia’s hand.

But Mia, smiling brightly, tightened her grip on his hand and fearlessly met Alice’s gaze, even waving at her.

…

Alice’s look could kill, and Ryan felt the temperature in the room drop. It seemed Alice’s gaze shifted from Mia to him, demanding an explanation.

Alice had been somewhat sad, but now a nameless rage seemed to ignite just from seeing Ryan and Mia’s clasped hands, like a ticking time bomb.

Ryan smiled helplessly, trying to pull his hand away, but Mia held on tight.

Feeling his struggle, Mia got angry and simply hugged Ryan’s right arm, pressing herself against him.

…

[Alice Darkening level+2, currently 7/100]

No need for explanations now,Miss Alice seemed to have formed her own opinions.

The meeting was about to start, and Mia and Alice’s battle was put on hold, leaving Ryan uncomfortably caught in the middle.

Mia reluctantly said goodbye to Ryan, who didn’t dare respond. He felt that if he said one more word, Alice’s reaction would be more than just adding 2 points to her Darkening level.

Head down, Ryan returned to Alice’s side, her gaze cutting into him all the way.

If looks could kill, Ryan’s suicidal mission would have been accomplished by now.

“Miss Alice…”

Back in his familiar spot behind Alice, Ryan timidly called out to her.

If it had been before, Alice might have responded, even with just a grunt, but now she just snorted coldly.

Not even bothering to speak, are we back to square one?

Even so, his favorability didn’t seem to be dropping. It seemed impossible for Alice to truly dislike him.

Ryan thought Alice was angry with him, so he kept his head down and stayed quiet, not wanting to fuel her anger further.

Indeed, Alice was furious, but her anger was directed more towards Mia.

Mia had always been a special presence, the child of Alice’s father with another woman.

Unlike Alice, who had only recently gotten involved with the gang’s activities, Mia hadn’t been well-protected and had grown up within the gang.

Thus, she knew even more about the gang’s inner workings than Alice did and held some sway within it.

Had Mia sensed the tension and decisively acted to pull Ryan away?

No, that couldn’t happen.

Alice knew what Mia wanted. She could have the gang leader position if she liked,Alice was willing to give it to her.

But if Mia tried to take Ryan away, that would truly cross Alice’s line.

A nameless jealousy burned within her. Why couldn’t Ryan see that Mia was no good, especially when they were holding hands so intimately?

The more Alice thought about it, the angrier she got. Suddenly, she turned and glared at Ryan, startling him.

“You, stay away from her, got it?”

Alice spoke with fury, and it was the first time Ryan had seen her truly angry.

He nodded obediently. He hadn’t planned on going over to Mia anyway. Mia couldn’t help him with his mission, and siding with her held no value for him.

But if getting killed over this could be an option, Ryan thought he might just try it.

Seeing Ryan’s compliant attitude, Alice’s anger slowly subsided, and she remembered the unpleasantness between them earlier, feeling a bit awkward.

She had planned to have a proper talk with Ryan when he returned, but now she had inexplicably lashed out at him. She felt terrible about it.

But Ryan seemed not to care about these fluctuations. He sighed softly, watching Alice’s mood swing.

Continuing the meeting like this would definitely leave them vulnerable to others’ manipulation. Being a gang leader really wasn’t easy.

Glancing at Alice’s attributes, her mood level had somewhat improved after calming down.

It was said to be better, but it was still hovering dangerously around twenty points.

Ryan looked around the room. People were still settling into their seats, discussing in pairs or small groups, with no one paying attention to them for the moment.

“Miss Alice, it’s okay, just focus on the meeting.”

“Let’s talk about everything else after it’s over. I’ll be standing right behind you, I won’t go anywhere.”

Alice had her own difficulties, wasn’t she deserving of sympathy sitting here?

But for now, Ryan’s feelings towards her were just that—sympathy. Until Alice made her intentions clear, he would remain cautious.

For now, this was a decent state to be in.

Alice listened to Ryan’s words, hearing the comforting tone in his voice.

Even though he understood nothing, was he still trying to comfort her? Did he really care that much about her feelings?

Alice remembered what Hannah had whispered to her before leaving: to stay proactive and not let Ryan cloud her judgment. It seemed Hannah had seen things more clearly.

“Okay… I’ll talk to you properly after we get back.”

Alice took a deep breath, looking at Ryan, and then, remembering Mia’s actions, she grabbed Ryan’s hand and squeezed it tightly.

But when Ryan pulled his hand away, he found a band-aid mysteriously placed in his palm.

As everyone settled, Dante nodded towards Alice, slightly surprised to still see Ryan standing by her side.

With nods from both Alice and Dante, the meeting resumed.

People continued to speak, and Alice wasn’t particularly attentive,her thoughts lingered on Ryan standing behind her.

Unlike before, Ryan didn’t react with anger to the shocking statements being made, nor did he take it out on Alice.

Just as Alice was about to relax, that annoying voice echoed again in the meeting room.

Ryan also looked up, frowning at the person who stood up—it was Lorenzo, the troublemaker from before.

He didn’t beat around the bush but stood up and directly pointed at Alice.

“There’s not much to say about routine matters,everyone’s time is precious.”

“My purpose here today is clear—to discuss the crimes of Alice!”

At this declaration, the room was shocked.