Though paralyzed, still radiantly charming!

Chapter 276: Good friends

Ryan had been having meals with Alice for quite some time now. He vaguely remembered how, in the beginning, they used to sit on opposite sides of the table, with a long distance between them.

Back then, Alice was still quite cold, and their conversations were minimal. During meals, Ryan was basically not allowed to speak at all.

At the time, Ryan didn’t really understand why Alice had brought him there in the first place—just to have him sit by her side without doing anything.

It wasn’t until the first incident, the first time he listened to the girl’s tearful confessions, that he began to truly understand what was going on.

After that, their relationship gradually improved. The distance between them at the table shrank, and recently, sitting next to Alice during meals had become a non-negotiable requirement.

Alice’s demands were growing, but so far, Ryan could still meet them, though he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.

A lot of things seemed to go beyond the boundaries of friendship, but it wasn’t clear what they had turned into. They definitely weren’t lovers—at least, not yet.

As for tonight’s dinner, the seating arrangement was no surprise. Ryan was, of course, sitting at the head of the table with Alice, while Mia and Anna sat on either side.

Mia didn’t seem to be in the best mood. It was obvious that Alice was staking her claim, treating Ryan like he was her possession.

But Mia had long since come to terms with Alice’s possessiveness, so she held back from making a scene. Instead, she took out her frustration on the Boston lobster in front of her.

Ryan had seen lobsters before when he worked as a waiter during the holidays, but they were only about the size of his hand.

The one on the table now, though, was as big as Mia’s forearm, and the rich aroma coming from it left Ryan stunned once again by Alice’s extravagant lifestyle.

Anna had also picked up her fork, but unlike Mia, who was devouring her food with reckless abandon, Anna was eating slowly and gracefully, carefully picking at the vegetables in front of her.

Every now and then, her beautiful eyes would glance at Ryan, and whenever their gazes met, she’d flash him a sweet smile.

It was like dipping an apple into thick syrup—the sweetness seeped straight into Ryan’s heart.

Just looking at that gentle smile, it felt like all his worries could melt away.

Honestly, Anna was really something special. If things were normal, he might’ve wanted to have a sweet, simple relationship with her.

Ryan smiled back at Anna, but the smile barely lasted a few seconds before his face twisted in pain, and he sucked in a sharp breath.

“Hiss—”

His fork nearly slipped from his hand, and the smile froze on his face.

“Senior, are you okay?”

Anna had been watching Ryan closely, so his sudden change in expression didn’t escape her notice. She immediately stopped what she was doing and asked with concern.

Mia, hearing Anna’s question, also looked over, licking her fingers with a puzzled expression.

“I’m… I’m fine.”

Ryan replied awkwardly, his brows slowly relaxing as he tried to ease the sharp pain. His eyes flickered briefly toward Alice, who was sitting beside him.

Alice didn’t show any reaction. She just continued eating her meal, her knife and fork moving with the same elegance as always.

She had organized this dinner, but it seemed like she wasn’t really involved in it. Apart from the food in front of her, nothing else seemed to catch her attention.

Of course, that would’ve been more believable if she weren’t currently pressing her foot down on Ryan’s toes under the table.

Ryan had hugged Anna outside earlier, and Alice hadn’t immediately lashed out, which was already pretty lenient of her.

But now, with Ryan daring to exchange smiles with Anna right in front of her, Alice clearly felt the need to teach him a lesson.

Alice was obviously upset, and Ryan, feeling the pressure on his foot, quickly straightened up.

He didn’t dare meet Anna’s gaze anymore and just focused on shoveling food into his mouth.

Alice stayed silent, Mia kept eating, and Anna, though still exchanging glances with Ryan, remained quiet. The atmosphere in the dining room quickly took a strange turn.

Aside from the clinking of knives and forks, which was enough to give anyone goosebumps, there was no other sound. The silence was almost suffocating.

In the end, it was Ryan who broke the silence first. He was afraid that if things stayed quiet for too long, a storm might be brewing. Talking, at least, would give him some peace of mind.

“Miss Alice, did everything go smoothly for you today?”

Ryan swallowed the food in his mouth, then grabbed a napkin to wipe his lips, casually asking Alice a question.

“Smoothly.”

Alice paused for a moment, then put down her knife and fork, responding to Ryan’s question with a serious tone.

Alice’s gaze shifted toward Ryan, waiting for him to continue. Her intense focus made Ryan feel a bit awkward.

Wait, this was just casual dinner conversation, right? Not some serious negotiation. Was it really necessary to be this intense?

Ryan had come to realize that Alice took everything about him way too seriously. Sure, it felt nice to have someone care about him so much, but it also came with a ton of pressure.

“And the message I sent you, did you…?”

“I saw it.”

Another short, but firm response. No ambiguity, no room for doubt.

In a business negotiation, this kind of directness would be great. But right now, it just left Ryan at a loss for words.

Anna and Mia, listening to their exchange, couldn’t help but find it amusing. Even though Alice had practically forced Ryan to stay by her side, anyone could see that their relationship had its issues.

Conversation is an art, and keeping it flowing takes skill.

When Ryan was with Mia or Anna, he acted completely normal. But in front of Alice, he became overly cautious, constantly second-guessing his words.

And Alice? She was even worse. The way she treated Ryan was more like a superior talking to a subordinate—question and answer, with no room for deeper connection.

Ryan scratched his head. He was never great at talking to girls, and Alice’s attitude only made it harder for him to figure out what to say.

Alice continued to wait for Ryan to speak, but after a long silence, she could only poke at the expensive steak on her plate, clearly disappointed.

She didn’t realize that her own habits were the problem, and now she was left to stew in her frustration.

Anna, noticing this, smirked slightly. Earlier, in the car, Alice had been so confident that it had made Anna a little nervous. But now, it was clear that Alice was just tripping over her own feet.

Alice was smart, no doubt about that. But when it came to emotions, she was hopelessly clumsy. People who can’t express their feelings properly are bound to suffer for it.

Not that Anna had any intention of helping Alice out. In fact, she was waiting for Alice to mess up—that would be her chance to shine.

“Senior, do you have any leads on who framed you?”

Anna had finished eating and set down her knife and fork. She rested her chin on her hands, looking at Ryan with genuine concern.

Her voice was soft and sweet, like cotton candy, and Alice’s expression darkened as she heard it. Mia, still eating, nearly choked trying to hold back a laugh.

Everyone knew Anna could be a bit of an actress, but this was just over the top.

Alice shot Ryan a hopeful look, silently pleading for him to see through Anna’s act.

But Ryan didn’t seem to notice anything. He just thought for a moment before responding to Anna’s question.

The two of them started discussing the incident in detail, with Ryan sharing almost all of his thoughts with Anna, and Anna chiming in with supportive comments.

Things like, “That person was so awful,” and “I’ll always believe in you,” which, to Alice, sounded like completely useless fluff.

If they had time for this, wouldn’t it be better to focus on finding the person behind all this and actually solving Ryan’s problem? Wasn’t that the most important thing?

Yet, for some reason, Ryan seemed to eat it all up. Their conversation flowed naturally, without the awkwardness that had been present when he was talking to Alice. They seemed closer, more comfortable with each other.

“Thanks, Anna. I honestly thought no one cared about this.”

“I really appreciate you believing in me.”

“What are you talking about? I told you, we’re good friends~~”

At the mention of “good friends,” Alice’s eyes darkened, and a shadow seemed to gather in her gaze.

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