Though paralyzed, still radiantly charming!

Chapter 328: Just… be quicker next time

“Think of something? The call’s already coming through, what am I supposed to do now?”

He couldn’t just hang up. If he did, there might be two bodies floating in the river by tonight—one big, one small.

Ryan looked at Mia’s panicked little face and felt a bit speechless.

Mia had insisted on going out, dragging him straight from the hospital to this place. She even had someone monitoring the tracker on her, acting like everything was under control. Ryan had actually believed she had thought of everything.

But now, it seemed like she’d only scratched the surface. Her fear of Alice was practically ingrained in her bones.

Ryan took the phone and glanced at the caller ID: “Alice.” This was going to be tricky.

He couldn’t hang up, but he also couldn’t tell Alice he was out here with Mia. That left only one option: lying.

Lying came with risks, especially when it came to Alice.

Alice had once laid down three rules for Ryan. Though those rules were now more or less obsolete, it was clear that Alice still cared deeply about him following them.

Now, he was lying to Alice, sneaking out of the hospital to hang out with another girl. Ryan wasn’t sure if he’d live to see tomorrow if Alice found out.

“Answer it already! Alice is going to get suspicious!”

Mia, seeing Ryan hesitate, was so anxious that her palms were sweating. But when Ryan glanced over at her, she puffed out her chest, trying to act like she wasn’t scared at all.

It didn’t really matter what Mia thought anymore. What she said, though, made perfect sense to Ryan.

If he didn’t answer soon, the call would end on its own, and there’d be no way to explain it later.

The amusement park was filled with the sounds of people laughing and having fun. Even in this corner, it was impossible to escape the noise. Ryan pressed the phone tightly to his ear, trying to muffle the background sounds, and finally hit the answer button.

“Miss…”

Ryan answered the call, adjusting his tone, trying to sound as natural as possible. But before he could even finish his greeting, he was cut off.

“Ryan, what are you doing? Why did it take you so long to answer?”

On the other end, Alice was standing in a hallway, her luxurious black suit jacket now dusted with white from the construction site, though she didn’t seem to notice. Her voice was cold, and it was clear from her tone that she was in a bad mood.

The press conference outside wasn’t over yet. Alice had just finished her speech, and now it was Nella’s turn on stage. She had finally found a moment to herself amidst the chaos.

When she picked up her phone, the first thing she saw was a message from Ryan. The intel was detailed, and the concern at the end of the message had warmed her heart a little.

She had planned to call Ryan to show her appreciation for his work. After all, a good boss should care about their subordinates.

But now, after calling him, her face was practically turning black with anger.

Twenty-three rings. The phone had rung twenty-three times. In that time, Alice had already imagined fifty different worst-case scenarios before Ryan finally picked up.

“Miss Alice… no, I didn’t mean to ignore your call…”

Ryan responded bitterly, pulling the phone slightly away from his ear. Alice’s anger felt like it was about to burst through the phone and drill straight into his brain.

Just a moment ago, the summer heat had felt unbearable. Now, he felt a chill down to his bones, even sneezing from the sudden cold.

“Didn’t mean to? Then what was it?”

Alice questioned him sharply, opening an app on her phone as she spoke, her tone showing no signs of softening.

Before leaving the house that morning, she had activated the GPS tracker on Ryan to prevent him from going off the rails. Now, she was about to check exactly where he was.

“You and Mia are still at the hospital, right?”

It was both a question and a statement. Alice’s tone grew even colder when she mentioned Mia.

Alice was generally pretty confident in Ryan. After all, they had been through so much together, and Ryan had been by her side for so long. If he had wanted to leave, he would have done so a long time ago.

The one she didn’t trust was Mia. Their relationship had always been awkward. Mia’s gang sometimes sided with Alice, but everyone knew Mia had her eyes on Alice’s position as the leader of the organization.

Mia was a tough one to deal with. Alice wouldn’t make a move against her unless absolutely necessary. But that balance had one condition: Mia had to keep her hands off Ryan.

Ryan glanced over at Mia. He had the phone on speaker, so everyone could hear Alice’s words loud and clear.

Alice already knew he was with Mia, so there was no point in hiding it. Ryan rubbed his nose and gave a slight nod.

“Yeah…”

The familiar little red dot appeared in the center of Alice’s screen. She silently checked the exact location. It was a bit different from where it had been earlier, but still within the hospital area.

After refreshing the location a few times and confirming nothing seemed off, Alice’s anger began to subside.

Thankfully, her Ryan hadn’t done anything to break her heart.

Alice didn’t say anything, and Ryan wasn’t sure what to say either. After a long pause, he finally heard Alice let out a sigh on the other end, and he cautiously began his explanation.

“Uh… Miss Alice, it’s just that there were a lot of people around, and I didn’t hear the phone…”

Ryan didn’t want to lie to Alice, but compared to the potentially disastrous consequences of her finding out the truth, a little explanation seemed much easier to handle.

Alice hadn’t called to scold Ryan in the first place. Nothing bad had actually happened, and when she heard Ryan offering an explanation, the last bit of her anger faded away.

“I understand. Just… be quicker next time.”

“After all, it’s a sensitive time right now. It’s dangerous for you to be out.”

It might seem unreasonable to make such a big deal about how fast he answered the phone, but Alice genuinely cared about it. Her tone softened as she gave this not-so-strict order.

Mia, standing nearby, rolled her eyes repeatedly as she listened to their conversation. Ryan might not be able to see through Alice, but Mia could see right through her.

Wasn’t this just about Ryan slipping out of her control for a moment? And yet, it all ended with Alice showing concern for him.

Mia had to resist the urge to grab the phone and expose Alice’s hypocrisy. She glanced over at Anna, feeling even more frustrated.

Alice was good at pretending, and so was Anna. Mia couldn’t understand why Ryan couldn’t see their true colors.

Compared to them, Mia felt like the very definition of honesty. She wore her feelings on her sleeve, but no one ever took her seriously. The more she thought about it, the more annoyed she became.

Alice and Ryan’s conversation was pretty routine. They briefly discussed the morning’s events and shared some intel. Alice mentioned she’d be keeping a close eye on StoneRiver Materials’ movements.

Ryan, who had been tense the whole time, finally started to relax. He had thought Alice was calling because something serious had happened.

But, to be fair, Alice had been acting a bit clingy lately. Had she always been like this? Or had he just never noticed before?

The conversation soon shifted from intel to more everyday matters. Ryan was still keeping tabs on Bella from a distance, and after confirming there was nothing unusual, he finally let out a sigh of relief.

Mia, meanwhile, was getting bored listening to their chat. Seeing that Alice wasn’t suspicious anymore, she stopped paying attention and looked toward the Ferris wheel. She covered her mouth with her small hand as she yawned.

But in the next second, she felt a nudge on her shoulder. Ryan, looking a bit bitter, handed her the phone.

“Mia, Miss Alice wants to talk to you. She says she has something to say.”