Though paralyzed, still radiantly charming!

Chapter 216: Take back your light

Ryan had already had dinner with Alice, and then Alice went back upstairs to deal with some work stuff.

Hannah was fired, and Ryan was clearly still adjusting to his new role as an assistant,he couldn’t dive right into work just yet.

So now, Alice was in a bit of a bind without an assistant for a while, which was obviously going to be tough on her.

Luckily, Alice’s mood had improved quite a bit, and she seemed in good spirits when she went back to work.

But maybe she was a bit too happy, almost to the point of sadness.

Ryan’s performance today had really pleased Alice,you could almost read it on her face. Naturally, she added two more points to his Favorability.

[Alice’s current Favorability: 67/100 (Trusted Companion)]

“We’re almost hitting seventy points now, what should I do?”

Ryan, propping his chin with his hand, stared at Alice’s interface and sighed worriedly.

He knew something bad happened at seventy points of Favorability, but he had no clue what it was or who it would affect.

Alice already had it tough, and if something bad affected her, Ryan’s guilt would only grow.

And if it was about him? He wasn’t sure he could handle it.

He just hoped that the Wish Point from that crucial mission would really come in handy,otherwise, he feared the mission might not be completed.

“Man, what a mess.”

Ryan sighed repeatedly, and as he thought about his guilt, the image of Anna, who had appeared earlier that day, suddenly popped into his mind.

The girl had tried to take him away without explanation, and from her perspective, it probably did look like he was being kidnapped. She wasn’t wrong in her actions.

But why?

Even if someone were to come looking for him, Ryan’s first thought would be of his close friends, not Anna.

Yet, ironically, it wasn’t his friends who came looking for him—they probably hadn’t even noticed his absence—but Anna who had shown up.

“Anna, Anna…”

Ryan muttered the girl’s name, lost in thought about the day’s events.

At the time, he felt he didn’t need her concern, but he hadn’t considered why she would act this way.

She had come prepared, even carrying a dagger, which meant she was ready for something serious.

But to her, wasn’t he just a slightly familiar stranger?

There was too much to process, and lying in bed staring at the ceiling, Ryan felt his mind was a mess.

“What will happen to Anna now? She probably won’t come back, right?”

Muttering to himself, Ryan felt a spark of curiosity about the girl.

If she kept dwelling on this, it wouldn’t be good. Alice’s situation was already drawing too much attention, which was problematic.

And Anna had left in a distraught state,clearly, she wasn’t going to just sleep it off and forget. This made Ryan feel even more guilty.

It all started because of him, so it was only right for him to end it.

Even for Alice’s sake, Ryan decided to find Anna and clear things up.

“That settles it. Tomorrow, I’ll visit the orphanage to see the kids, then go find Anna.”

Ryan flipped over in bed and pulled out his notebook from underneath, jotting down his recent findings.

Chewing on the cap of his pen, he hesitated for a moment, then flipped a few more pages and wrote a name at the top.

Anna…

“Anna, you… you’re back.”

Across town, as the evening was still young, a woman’s voice trembled with a mix of guilt and surprise in Anna’s home.

The woman stood at the door, reeking of alcohol and disheveled, with a man’s arm around her shoulders.

The Anna in her voice frowned, standing in front of her sister’s picture, looking at the two without a word.

Just tightening her grip on the music box, another night of alcohol and strangers—something she had grown accustomed to.

“Your daughter is quite the charmer, isn’t she?”

“Is this the special service you mentioned? Both of them together?”

The man’s eyes lit up the moment he saw Anna, completely ignoring the woman clinging to him, almost drooling on the floor.

His desire was unmistakable, and although he had been worried about a honeypot scam when this woman picked him up at the bar, seeing Anna changed everything. He was now willing to give up all his money, not just worry about a scam.

“Disgusting.”

Anna felt nauseous looking at them. She couldn’t understand how this person, who was supposed to be her mother, had fallen so low.

Ever since her father and sister were around, the woman had been like this, seemingly only sober in the midst of alcohol and unspeakable pleasures.

Ironically clear-headed in chaos.

Anna didn’t know what to think anymore. She didn’t want to watch, didn’t want to comment, just wanted to escape this place as fast as she could.

Clutching the music box tightly in her pocket, Anna gave the woman a cold look and walked out.

Not wanting to come home was for reasons like this,encountering such scenes was uncomfortable for both parties. Maybe it was better not to come back at all.

“Hey, stop her, I’ll pay you double,” the man said, not wanting Anna to leave so easily, squeezing the woman’s soft chest as he spoke.

His lust had clouded his judgment.

Unexpectedly, the woman didn’t respond but silently stepped aside to let Anna pass.

As the man reached out to grab Anna, the woman wrapped her arm around his to stop him.

Anna’s tense spine finally relaxed a bit, her hand gripping the dagger in her pocket.

“Just a kid, what does she know?”

“I’m here for the fun, I’ll keep you company, and I guarantee you’ll enjoy it.”

Flattering and appeasing, the woman knew exactly how to lower the man’s guard so she could get more money from him later.

Having started by selling her body, she no longer cared about these things.

Anna walked out of the room, her mood growing darker, her chest felt as if it was stuffed with wet cotton, making breathing difficult.

She regretted not taking her sister’s photo with her,her sister had already left, and Anna didn’t want her to be burdened by such things.

It was like a bird tied down by a massive stone, never having tasted the sky in life.

Now, she somewhat wanted to make amends, the only thing she could do was to remove the stone and properly bury her little bird.

“Anna?”

As she stepped out of the room, Anna didn’t know where to go, and just then, a voice called out to her.

She looked around, annoyed. People always called her name, and she hated that name, hated that identity.

Seeing who it was, her frown deepened.

Looking back at the closed door, it was hard not to suspect that this person had witnessed the scene inside. The feeling of having her secret exposed made her face burn.

“What are you doing here?”

“Uh, don’t be nervous, I’m here to make a deal with you.”

“I actually thought you’d be more effective today, but it turned out like this.”

The girl said this with a hint of mockery in her eyes, smacking her lips as she looked at Anna.

“See, I need to use you, and you can use me too.”

“You saw it, Ryan is now enchanted by Sister Alice, don’t you want to take him back?”

“Take back your light.”

Anna’s eyes narrowed slightly. The girl in front of her was dangerous, but her words echoed repeatedly in Anna’s mind.