Though paralyzed, still radiantly charming!

Chapter 221: Strange, this is too strange

Although the call with Alice was a bit nonsensical, it did give Ryan some food for thought.

Why hadn’t he thought of going home earlier? It clearly seemed like the best option right now.

He really didn’t know how to find Anna. He had planned to swing by the school that afternoon and maybe pick up some clues from the teachers.

But on second thought, going back to school right now didn’t seem wise.

To outsiders, he had been gone too long. Returning to the orphanage was one thing, since everyone there was trustworthy, but showing up at school would likely cause a huge stir.

He wondered how the school had handled his absence. Had they simply suspended him, or had they reported him missing to the police?

If it was the latter, going back now might just bring trouble to Alice.

Plus, a trip to the school today meant Ryan would be off the grid for at least another week, which would only make people more suspicious.

It was bizarre for a hostage to be so considerate of his captor’s situation, and even Ryan found it strange. But what choice did he have? He couldn’t just abandon his mission.

“Is it me who’s weird? Anna did nothing wrong.”

Rubbing his chin, Ryan slowly entertained the thought, unable to find a reason to argue against it, which only intensified his guilt.

Anna had been so determined to save him, and he had casually sent her away. He must have broken her heart.

He resolved to make it up to her with a nice cup of coffee once he found her.

Ryan’s purpose in going home was to retrieve something—a notebook with Anna’s phone number in it.

Their first meeting had been in the library, where Anna had subtly passed him her number.

At the time, Ryan hadn’t paid much attention and had jotted it down on the cover of a book.

Finding that book at home would surely be an easier way to get in touch with Anna.

Without hesitation, Ryan called his driver, and within two minutes, a sleek black sedan pulled up smoothly in front of him, seemingly out of nowhere.

Ryan’s rental wasn’t too far off, considering he needed to be near the school often. Living far away wouldn’t have been practical.

He had run around the city with a real estate agent and, after much consideration, had chosen a place near the university town.

“You can’t have your cake and eat it too,” he mused, acknowledging there were aspects of his choice he wasn’t thrilled about, like the slightly overweight, middle-aged landlady.

“I just hope she hasn’t thrown out all my stuff…”

Ryan muttered to himself, vividly recalling the landlady’s fierce demeanor.

He had disappeared without a trace, and it had been a month without paying rent.

It wouldn’t be out of character for her to have cleared out his belongings and dumped them on the street.

The car ride was quick, and soon Ryan was near his rental.

As usual, the driver left as soon as Ryan got out, showing no interest in monitoring his life.

Ryan even followed the driver for a bit and realized he really was just driving away, not lurking around.

It seemed Ryan had been overly suspicious. Miss Alice hadn’t ordered these people to keep tabs on him. That call at noon was probably just a coincidence.

With all she had to manage, it was impressive she had found the time to check on him at all. She couldn’t possibly be watching him all the time.

Besides, there was no need for that,he wasn’t going to run away.

No longer trailing the driver, Ryan walked towards the familiar neighborhood, pausing to read the community bulletin board.

Usually, any news about available rentals would be posted there.

But after scanning the board, Ryan found no mention of his room being up for rent.

He wasn’t too concerned, though. It had been a while since he’d been back, and his room was probably rented out by now.

Hoping the new tenant had spared his belongings, Ryan made his way up to his apartment, familiar with every turn.

Reaching his floor, Ryan looked left and right, but there were no signs of luggage or belongings in the hallway, which was not what he had expected.

Could it be that the landlady, in a rare act of kindness, hadn’t thrown out his stuff?

Ryan glanced at the windows of his room, but the curtains blocked any view inside.

It was only two in the afternoon, so naturally, no lights would be on, and it was impossible to tell if anyone was living there.

Ryan straightened his clothes and cleared his throat before knocking on the door energetically.

Knock-knock—

The door made a soft sound, and Ryan stepped back.

He didn’t know who was living there now, so it was best to keep things polite.

Even if all his stuff had been thrown out, he’d just have to laugh it off. Adult life was full of such resignations.

However, after knocking, there was no response—his knocks seemed to disappear into silence.

It was still daytime,perhaps the new tenant was out at work?

That was a possibility, and Ryan started to worry a bit.

If he had to wait for the tenant to return, the sun would probably be down, and even if he got the notebook, he wouldn’t have time to call because he’d need to head back to the villa soon.

He knocked again, harder this time, eventually pounding on the door.

Still no response. Discouraged, Ryan was about to leave.

But just as he was turning to go, his eyes fell on the door lock, and he couldn’t look away.

Typically, rental property locks are changed with each new tenant, a precaution included in the rental price to prevent former tenants from returning to steal.

The landlady had charged him an extra $50 for this, a detail Ryan remembered clearly.

Yet, the lock looked exactly the same as when he had left, obviously unchanged.

Could the new tenant have dodged the landlady’s usual fee? Ryan doubted it,the landlady hated to miss out on any money, almost as much as she’d hate losing her own life.

So why was the lock unchanged?

Pondering, Ryan felt for the key in his pocket—it was indeed the key to his old room. He could enter if he wanted to.

But that wouldn’t be right, would it? The room was someone else’s private space now, and it wasn’t right to just barge in, even if he was just retrieving his things.

Ryan quickly pocketed the key again, but his gaze grew more puzzled.

He hadn’t noticed before, but now that he saw the familiar lock, other familiar things began to stand out.

Everything was just as he had left it, even the newspaper in the door’s newspaper box contained yesterday’s evening edition.

Ryan had a habit of reading the newspaper, a rare hobby in such a fast-paced era.

But the thing was, his newspaper subscription should have ended after he disappeared.

He hadn’t renewed it, so why were there still papers being delivered?

Could the new tenant also like the newspaper, the same evening edition he did? That seemed too much of a coincidence.

Looking up, Ryan’s confusion deepened.

He reached out to touch the lush Peace Lily on the windowsill, a plant he had bought to purify the air.

Ryan had no talent for plants,under his care, the Peace Lily had always been sickly, far from peaceful or graceful.

But now, the Peace Lily looked like a dense, thriving mini-jungle, clearly benefiting from the new tenant’s care.

“Strange, this is too strange.”

This eerie familiarity made Ryan’s skin crawl. Everything was exactly as he had left it, as if he had never left.

The newspaper, the Peace Lily, the lock—all were the same, or even better.

Was it all just a coincidence? It seemed too convenient.

It felt as if the person here, this home, had been waiting for him to return.

With a strange sense of inevitability, Ryan took a deep breath.

He slowly inserted the key into the lock, unsure why he was doing it, perhaps just to see if the inside was also unchanged.

Would the room look just as he had left it?

The key slid into the lock without resistance, and as Ryan turned his wrist, the lock clicked.

Click—

The door opened without any obstruction.