Chapter 236: Chapter 236: Drugged him?

“Ch-Child?”

Mia’s small, soft body was pressed tightly against Ryan, forming a graceful curve.

Dressed in a white dress, her arms smooth as jade rested on Ryan, and her scent seemed to automatically find its way to his nose. Any man in this situation would find it hard to resist—testosterone levels would skyrocket.

But Ryan just stood there, stiff as a board, the shock in his eyes growing by the second, about to reach its peak.

“No… wait, what do you mean, a child?”

Ryan’s brain was working overtime, trying to process the flood of information that had just hit him. He hadn’t even had a chance to get close to a girl, and now he was suddenly a dad?

Finally snapping out of it, he quickly grabbed Mia’s shoulders and pushed her back a little.

“Whimper… Brother, are you saying you don’t want to acknowledge it now?”

“I wasn’t even planning to tell you. I can raise the child on my own. Just… please don’t leave me again.”

Mia, suddenly pushed away by Ryan, had a mischievous smile on her face for a brief moment, but it quickly shifted to a fragile, pitiful expression.

The crowd didn’t notice, but Ryan saw it all clearly. In that instant, he realized he had fallen into Mia’s trap again.

The girl clung to Ryan, refusing to let go, sniffling and pleading with him. She was making herself look so vulnerable that even if she had nothing to do with you, you’d feel like you were cheating just by seeing her like that.

Sure enough, the people around them were watching Ryan’s every move, and after Mia’s words, the crowd erupted.

“Mia! Don’t defend him, he’s not worth it!”

“Mia, our son might be a bit slow, but he’s a good guy. Let me introduce you to him later.”

“Don’t put all your eggs in one basket!”

The “kind” advice from the crowd made Ryan want to crawl into a hole and die, but he couldn’t bring himself to be harsh with Mia.

Damn it, why do I have to be such a pushover?

Ryan looked at the crowd in front of him, feeling utterly terrified.

Weren’t you all here to cause trouble? If you’re going to cause trouble, then do it properly. What’s with this sudden burst of righteousness?

And Mia, seriously? You’re really going to frame me like this? Do you just want to see me get beaten up?

The voices condemning Ryan as a scumbag grew louder, and the man leading the mob pushed through the crowd and walked over. His face was dark as he watched the drama unfold, clearly annoyed.

It had already been a hassle to bring these people here to cause trouble, and if Alice caught wind of it, things could get really dangerous.

But just when they were about to storm the construction site, he turned around and found that the crowd hadn’t moved at all—they were all here, standing up for Mia.

“What the hell is going on?”

The man stormed in, his face like thunder, and immediately demanded an explanation from Ryan, who was at the center of the chaos.

Mia glanced over when she heard him, her eyes lighting up. She had been fishing for a while, and now it seemed the big fish had finally taken the bait.

The man taking the bait was exactly what she wanted, and getting closer to Ryan was also part of her plan.

But now that these two things were clashing, she wasn’t sure how to handle it.

The man was clearly here with bad intentions, and Ryan was already fuming. Out of nowhere, he had become a father, and now he was being labeled a scumbag. Naturally, he wasn’t going to take it lying down.

“This is a private matter. What does it have to do with you? And who the hell are you, anyway?”

As soon as Ryan said this, he felt a sharp pain in his hand. Mia had somehow managed to grab his hand and was now lightly digging her nails into his palm.

This little brat, does she really think I’m just going to let her walk all over me?

Ryan shot Mia a glare, silently vowing to deal with her bad habits later. Lying all the time and teaming up with others to mess with him—she was lucky he was so patient. Anyone else would have given her a good talking-to by now.

Mia shrank back slightly under Ryan’s glare, a hint of apology in her eyes, but she kept pressing her nails into his hand, signaling him to pay attention to the man who had just walked in.

Ryan tilted his head in confusion, glancing at the man beside him. This guy seemed to be the one leading the trouble earlier, and sure enough, up close, he didn’t look like a good person.

Still unsure of what Mia was up to, Ryan felt her tiptoe up to whisper in his ear.

“Ryan, he’s bad news. I’m helping you.”

As she said this, Mia wrapped her arms around Ryan again, but this time with a look of deep affection, like a lovesick girl.

Helping me? Ryan looked at her, half-believing, half-doubting.

If it weren’t for this whole scene, the troublemakers wouldn’t have stopped, so in a way, she was helping him.

But pinning the label of a scumbag on him and spreading rumors that Miss Alice was the one who separated them? That was definitely her own idea.

“If you really want to help me, then get rid of this mess.”

Ryan knew the man wasn’t a good guy, but with Mia holding him back, he couldn’t do much else. He just took a longer look at the man, committing his face to memory.

The man, seeing that no one was reacting to his presence, grew even angrier.

But his job was just to cause trouble, and he didn’t want to complicate things further. He just stared at the two in the center of the crowd, hoping they’d hurry up and finish whatever they were doing and get lost.

Mia tiptoed again and lightly pecked Ryan on the cheek, which made him pinch her waist, causing her to gasp.

Seriously? Now’s not the time for this! Ryan shot Mia an annoyed look, but outwardly, he still held her like a repentant lover.

He didn’t want to give in, but what choice did he have?

Just look at the way everyone around them was staring. If Mia weren’t here, one of the hot-headed guys nearby would probably be charging at him with a brick by now.

If he didn’t play along with Mia a little, he’d definitely be in for a beating.

Mia felt a tingling sensation in her waist but smirked slightly, satisfied with her little victory. She enjoyed the warmth of Ryan’s embrace, even if it was just for show.

She hadn’t come here to target Alice specifically,in fact, she was planning to do Alice a favor by helping her out of this situation.

Of course, helping Alice didn’t conflict with her goal of pulling Ryan away from her.

Ryan’s appearance had been unexpected. She had only come to check out the scene and maybe spread a few rumors from the sidelines.

But now, things seemed to be turning in her favor.

“Of course, I can help, brother. But you have to finish this act, right?”

“I can tell you that guy is the mastermind behind all this. I also know some other things. Be good, and I’ll tell you.”

Mia took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of Ryan, which reminded her of sun-warmed blankets. It was intoxicating.

Ryan hadn’t fully understood what Mia was saying when he noticed her slightly lifting her head, her big eyes filled with tears as she looked up at him.

“Brother, it’s all my fault.”

“I shouldn’t have drugged you back then, but I did it because I loved you. I was even planning to have the baby on my own because I loved you.”

“Now that you’ve come back to me and forgiven me, I really…”

It was clear she was fully into her role again.

As she spoke, she started to sob, and this time, it wasn’t just Ryan who was wide-eyed—everyone around them, including the troublemaker, was just as shocked.

Drugged him?

So Ryan was the victim, and Mia was the one who initiated everything?

Hearing something like that from a petite, adorable girl was nothing short of shocking.

Ryan’s eye twitched. Was this Mia’s way of helping him out of trouble? Sure, it made him look less like a scumbag since he was apparently in the dark about everything.

But wasn’t this even more scandalous?

The older man who had been holding Ryan’s shoulder earlier now had a complicated expression. They couldn’t keep up with Mia’s twisted logic and just felt like they were too old for this.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, but I really do love you.”

“I’m admitting my mistakes now, brother. Please, just give me another chance.”

Mia wiped away her tears, looking genuinely remorseful. Ryan swallowed hard and glanced at the crowd.

Why do you all look like you’re ready to forgive her? Do you really have no sense of right and wrong?

It was hard to tell if the people around them were just too righteous or if Mia’s acting was just that good. Now it seemed like if Ryan didn’t give Mia another chance, he’d be the bad guy.

And honestly, while Mia had a lot of bad habits, Ryan still trusted the information she gave him.

Throughout the whole ordeal, Ryan kept an eye on the man with the dark expression, curious about what Mia was going to tell him.

“Alright, alright, I forgive you.”

Ryan replied without any real emotion, grabbing Mia’s hand and trying to lead her away. He was exhausted and just wanted to end this farce.

But Mia clearly wasn’t done yet. She tugged on Ryan’s shirt and then, in front of everyone, tilted her head up and slowly closed her eyes.

Her lips were thin, a soft pink like ripe cherries. Ryan’s eye twitched again, a bad feeling creeping up on him.

“Brother, if you’re really not mad anymore, then kiss me.”