Conversation with Annie

"Are you there, Annie?"

Ryan knocked on the bedroom door.

Click.

The door opened, and Annie emerged from the bedroom in a black casual outfit. Aside from the slight redness still visible around her eyes, she had completely returned to her usual cool demeanor. No, she seemed even colder than before.

Ryan secretly studied her and muttered to himself.

"Have you found out who did it?"

After picking up the kettle from the table, pouring herself a glass of water, and drinking it, Annie asked.

"They hid themselves well, but I already have a few suspects. After all, there are only a handful of forces capable of doing something like this."

Ryan answered casually, and Annie fell silent.

She had seen the news spreading online today. It all said Ryan had gone mad, that he actually dared to go against the United States Government, and that a large part of the reason was because of her.

"I'm sorry, Ryan." Annie lowered her head, tightening her grip on the glass.

"I should be the one saying that!" Ryan walked over and ruffled her hair. "When it comes down to it, this happened because of me. It has nothing to do with you."

"We don't need to say things like that between us, Ryan." After a moment of silence, Annie broke free from Ryan's large hand and looked straight at him.

"You're right. We don't need to say things like that between us." Ryan spread his hands, walked over to the sofa, and sat down. "Come sit down. Let's have a proper talk. As the company has grown bigger over the past few years, I've had less and less time to spend with you. Now, let's talk about your future.

How about becoming a pianist? I remember you were quite good at playing the piano, and you even composed two pieces yourself. With my influence in the entertainment industry and your talent, you could become a leading figure among the younger generation of pianists!

Or you could become a researcher? You completed enough credits at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology long ago. If you have any projects that need investment in the future, I can cover all of it. I guarantee you'll never have to worry about funding!

Or how about becoming a businesswoman?

This circle is a little chaotic, and some people have no bottom line when they do things, but for my sake, those underhanded schemes definitely won't come after you. If you find the right investment project, you might even become a queen of the business world. I think the internet is quite promising. I can give you plenty of good ideas..."

Ryan kept rambling from the sofa. Only when he saw tears rolling down Annie's face did he sigh. "Looks like you don't like any of those."

"I'm sorry! I know you're doing this for my own good, Ryan, but... but that person, I want to kill her with my own hands!"

Annie's voice was filled with hatred. Whenever she thought of those who had died right before her eyes to protect her, whenever she thought of her best friend, who had betrayed their friendship and sent her and the others to their deaths, the killing intent in her heart surged like flames, utterly impossible to suppress.

"What about me?!" A blaze of fury rose in Ryan's heart, and he could not help roaring, "You'll feel better after getting your revenge! But have you ever thought about what I'm supposed to do if something happens to you?!"

His roar even carried beyond the house.

Annie froze when she heard it.

This was the first time Ryan had gotten angry with her. She lowered her head and reflected on whether she had truly been wrong.

Ryan regretted shouting the moment he did it and hurried over to comfort her.

"I'm sorry, Annie. I shouldn't have yelled at you. You know I was only worried about you. I apologize!"

I had already made up my mind. Why did I have to let things reach this point?!

Seeing Annie looking as though all the life had drained out of her, Ryan could not help viciously cursing himself in his heart.

"No, you're right. I was too selfish. I completely ignored your feelings. I'll give up on taking revenge myself, but Ryan, you'll help me, right?"

After a long while, Annie asked softly. Ryan nodded blankly, then

felt a wave of disbelief.

Calling Annie stubborn would not even be accurate enough. She was stubborn to the extreme. Otherwise, he would not have struggled so much beforehand before finally agreeing to let Annie take the risk.

Did he really agree just for the sake of training her?

Well, that was indeed part of it, but more importantly, he knew that once this girl Annie made up her mind about something, she had never given up. Even if he refused, she would find every possible way to do it herself. Rather than that, it was better to agree first. At least then, it would remain within his control.

And what had he just seen? Annie had actually given up. Given up!!!

Was it because of him?

It had to be. He never expected to hold such weight in Annie's heart. Learning this made him even happier than if Nazarick had truly crossed over!

"I'm a little tired, Ryan."

With a dejected expression, Annie issued an order to leave. She felt that she needed to think things through properly.

Even now, she did not think her desire to take revenge personally was wrong. However, Ryan had a point as well. Her life did not belong to her alone; there were many people who cared about her. Even for their sake, she could not take risks.

"Annie!"

Seeing the girl looking as though she had lost all her spirit, Ryan, who had been excited just moments ago, felt bitterness in his mouth. He would have been better off agreeing from the start. At least that would have been better than seeing her like this. With Sebas protecting her, her life would at least certainly not be in danger!

"How about this, Annie? If you can defeat any member of the security team, I'll agree to let you take action. What do you say?" Ryan finally spoke, unable to bear seeing Annie struggle like this any longer.

"Really?" Annie raised her head, her eyes lighting up instantly.

"Mm, but you must get my approval before taking action. You can't act on your own." Ryan nodded.

"Mm, I'll protect myself, Ryan!" Annie excitedly ran over, hugged him, and kissed him on the cheek.

"Hey, you're a grown woman now. Watch your image!" Ryan's old face reddened as he leaned back to avoid her.

"What does it matter? There's no one else here!" Annie curled her lips, though she still let go of Ryan.

Ryan coughed and glared fiercely at Annie before walking out. "Even if you want revenge, I won't allow you to go alone. Someone will definitely accompany you when the time comes. Once this matter is over, you'd better stay quietly at home from then on. Stop acting like a tomboy, waving swords and spears around and talking about taking people's lives every other word!"

"Alright, alright, I'll agree to everything you said. Hurry up and go. You still have a lot to do, right?"

Annie pushed Ryan out the door. Hearing the heavy slam behind him, the corner of his mouth twitched. He beckoned to Sebas, who had been standing guard outside the door all along, and headed out.

For the next two days, he did not want to deal with company matters anymore. He had already explained to Ashe what to do afterward. It was time to make those bastards who had been harboring bad intentions worry for a while.

Besides, he could not put his mind at ease without personally investigating which force had been behind Annie's kidnapping.