Though paralyzed, still radiantly charming!

Chapter 315: Just a little more… what a shame…

Mia’s situation, while complicated, wasn’t entirely impossible to figure out—after all, she still had people around her who genuinely cared about her.

The problem was, with her stubborn personality, there was no way she’d come clean about her condition on her own. That made things tricky.

Ryan didn’t have a clear idea of how bad things had gotten, so he had no clue how much time he had left to make things right.

If there were still six months, maybe he could slowly chip away at it and eventually get through to her. But what if there was only a week? That would be a lost cause.

“Ryan, what are you thinking about? Let’s eat first.”

Mia’s small hand waved gently, almost like a fan, wafting the aroma of the food toward Ryan, trying to stir up his appetite.

It was a clever move. Ryan had skipped breakfast because he’d woken up late, and now, with Mia’s little gesture, he realized just how empty his stomach was.

This wasn’t something that could be rushed. He’d have to put it on his to-do list and see if there were any new developments later.

Ryan didn’t dare sigh, worried Mia might pick up on something. He nodded and looked at the table full of food. Lunch was a bit over the top—there was way too much.

But…

“Why did you order nothing but oysters?”

No wonder the smell had seemed a bit off earlier. Ryan put down what he was doing and took a closer look, his face instantly darkening.

This was what Mia had ordered?

Grilled oysters, Oysters Rockefeller, raw oysters, fried oysters, an oyster po’ boy, baked oysters, and even a bowl of slimy oyster stew sitting off to the side.

Oyster stew? What kind of weird, dark cuisine was this?

Was this a meal or some kind of punishment? Ryan stared at the table full of oysters and felt a certain part of his body start to ache.

“Huh? Ryan, you don’t like these?”

Mia looked at him curiously, completely oblivious to how strange it was to pile all these dishes together. She was eating with gusto, even making little slurping sounds.

“They taste great, and they’re good for you too, hehe.”

“Good for you? Good for what exactly…”

Ryan wasn’t sure if Mia was genuinely clueless or just playing dumb. Her pink little tongue flicked across her lips, licking away the oil and leaving them glistening.

Her big eyes blinked innocently, but there was a clear hint of mischief in her gaze as she looked Ryan up and down.

“Ryan, do you really not get it? Do you want Mia to teach you?”

Mia put down the grilled oyster in her hand and beckoned Ryan over with her finger, signaling for him to lean in. Of course, Ryan wasn’t about to do that, so Mia pouted and leaned in herself.

Just as Ryan was about to pull back, Mia’s oily little hand pressed against his cheek, forcing him to look at her.

Mia moved closer and closer, and Ryan, staring at her soft, glossy lips, swallowed hard. Was this really happening? And in front of all these people?

Mia knew everyone was watching, but instead of being embarrassed, she gave a sly smile. Her heart seemed to beat even faster, her small chest rising and falling with excitement.

She actually liked this kind of thrill, and Ryan hadn’t resisted at all. Was he… expecting this too?

Well, if that’s the case, why not just go all the way?

With her mind made up, Mia’s face inched even closer. Their breaths mingled, warm and intimate.

Ryan’s heart pounded in his chest. He knew exactly what was about to happen, but how had things escalated to this point?

In the brief moment he hesitated, the distance between their lips shrank to less than half an inch.

Mia’s lips were soft and pink, glistening like dewdrops on a lotus leaf, looking incredibly tempting.

What would it feel like if they touched?

The thought barely crossed Ryan’s mind before he realized his back was drenched in sweat. Alarm bells rang in his head, and he quickly reached out, intending to push Mia away.

Why had he let her get this close in the first place? That didn’t matter now. The joke had gone far enough—it couldn’t go any further.

His large hand landed on Mia’s slender waist, but she was just a bit quicker. Her soft lips pressed against his before he could stop her.

“Mia!”

Ryan couldn’t care less about anything else at this point. No matter how close he was with Mia, this was something that just couldn’t happen.

Things with Alice were already complicated enough, and if Mia got involved too…

Even putting all that aside, Mia was still just a middle schooler. If he allowed her behavior, wasn’t that basically encouraging it?

That would make him… well, a total creep.

Ryan’s shout drew the attention of everyone in the restaurant. People who had been quietly eating now turned their heads, eager to watch the drama unfold. Some even seemed ready to grab popcorn and settle in for the show.

But what happened next wasn’t what Ryan had expected. His ear tingled, as if someone had just whispered into it.

Wait… did they not actually kiss?

Ryan, a bit dazed, touched his lips. They didn’t feel wet at all—actually, they were completely dry.

Then he noticed Mia, standing right in front of him, her body trembling slightly, as if she was holding something back.

Holding back… what?

Just as the question popped into his mind, he got his answer.

“Pfft…”

A soft, airy laugh echoed in his ear. Mia quickly stepped back, clutching her stomach, laughing so hard she could barely stand.

“Ryan, were you thinking something naughty? I bet your face looked just like this.”

Her voice was distorted with laughter, and Ryan couldn’t help but imagine a mischievous little kitten in front of him, pointing a paw at him and laughing its head off.

Why a kitten? Because kittens are cute, sure, but they can also be downright evil…

“But, you know, it’s not time for that yet. If we did something like that now, Ryan, you’d probably end up in jail, right?”

“If you really like Mia that much, just wait a few years. You’ll still have a chance, hehe.”

Mia was laughing so hard her stomach hurt. She let out a little “ow” but couldn’t stop, bending over and rubbing her belly as she giggled uncontrollably.

Ryan just stared at her, dumbfounded. Should he have expected this?

A little devil is still a little devil, after all.

The whole “going to jail” thing? Yeah, let’s not go there. Ryan decided it was best to keep a safe distance from Mia from now on.

He threw his hands up in the air, as if to say, I didn’t do anything! But the people around them were just a bunch of nosy onlookers, treating the whole thing like some kind of playful flirting. They didn’t give Ryan a chance to explain himself.

Lunch finally ended, and Ryan found himself sitting on the edge of a flowerbed outside the hospital, looking thoroughly miserable.

He hadn’t touched a single oyster during the meal. No matter how hungry he was, he just couldn’t bring himself to eat any of it.

He couldn’t figure out what was going on in Mia’s head. Were middle schoolers really this mature these days?

Thinking back to his own middle school days, he’d been busy getting into fights with the other boys. He didn’t know the first thing about relationships, let alone anything deeper.

This wasn’t the first time Mia had acted like this, but it was definitely the first time she’d dragged him into it so completely.

She probably hadn’t expected to laugh so hard she couldn’t stop. In the end, her body was shaking, and she was reaching out to Ryan, tears streaming down her face from laughing so much, begging him to help her.

So, of course, Ryan had no choice but to step in. Even though he hadn’t done anything wrong, he found himself rubbing her belly and trying to comfort her. It felt so weird. Why was he the one apologizing and giving in when he hadn’t done anything?

It was all just too strange. Way too strange…

If Ryan smoked, this would’ve been the perfect moment to light up a cigarette. He was a grown man, after all. How had he ended up being toyed with by a middle school girl?

Mia had gone to the restroom to wash her face, leaving Ryan to sit there and brood. He figured it was time to reflect on his life choices.

Meanwhile, in the restroom, Mia’s expression changed the moment she stepped inside. The sweet, innocent look she’d been wearing shattered instantly, replaced by a cold, calculating gaze that bore an eerie resemblance to Alice’s.

She walked over to the sink, her face set in a grim expression. Staring at the unfamiliar reflection in the mirror, she turned on the faucet and splashed cold water on her face, over and over.

“Just a little more… what a shame…”