"Mmm, this is amazing—absolute heaven!"
While the newlyweds were sharing their vows onstage, Chloe Johnson was too busy devouring her food in the corner to pay attention.
Her actions didn't go unnoticed by Ryan Carter. The way she ate like a little piglet completely captivated him.
In the so-called high society he moved in, her table manners would've been deemed crude. But he admired her unpretentiousness.
How freeing it must be to live so unapologetically.
Chloe suddenly felt someone's gaze on her and looked up from her plate—
Holy smokes. Was this man straight out of a Japanese manga? A total knockout! She gaped at him, utterly starstruck.
Her wide-eyed stare held nothing but pure, unguarded awe—as clear and refreshing as a mountain stream. It was impossible not to relax under such an innocent gaze.
Only when she caught the amused glint in his eyes did Chloe realize she'd been ogling him like a lovestruck fool.
Not that she was some shameless pervert! But with a guy this unfairly good-looking right in front of her, how could she not stare?
"Hey," she greeted him sheepishly.
Ryan Carter smiled and nodded. Her lack of pretense only drew him in more.
"Damn, he's hot!" Chloe murmured under her breath, finally tearing her gaze away.
Turns out, the phrase "a smile that could topple cities" worked just as well for men.
"What was that?" Ryan Carter had already closed the distance between them. For some reason, he just wanted to be near her.
"Gah!" His sudden approach made Chloe jump, her hand flying to her chest as if to steady her racing heart.
"Was my voice that grating? Didn't mean to scare you," Ryan said, amused by her exaggerated reaction.
"No! Your voice is smoother than Jacky Cheung's!" Chloe blurted out, then immediately wanted to facepalm. Way to sound like a fangirl.
"I'm Ryan Carter," he introduced himself.
"Even your name is ridiculously handsome," Chloe muttered around another bite of cake.
"How do you eat so much without gaining weight?" Ryan eyed her plate, genuinely puzzled. Most women he knew were obsessed with dieting, yet this girl devoured desserts like a champ and stayed rail-thin.
"My dad says the same thing," Chloe replied casually.
Ryan choked on air. Did she just compare me to her father?
Sympathetic, Chloe handed him a glass of water.
"Thanks," Ryan reached for it—
"Oh my God! Are you an artist? A pianist? Your hands are unreal!" Chloe seized his wrist, inspecting his fingers with theatrical awe. "Tsk tsk, life's so unfair. Some people get stuck with faces that should come with a public apology, and then there's you—even your fingertips are sculpted by angels!"
"Afraid I don't play piano," Ryan said, mildly amused. Did this girl not know personal space? They'd just met, and here she was clutching his hand like it was public property.
Only after her thorough inspection did Chloe finally release his hand and pass him the water glass.
She watched as his long, elegant fingers curled around the crystal-clear glass—damn, even that looked like art.
This man was flawless.
His tousled jet-black hair, that strong forehead, the bold sweep of his eyebrows, those deep-set eyes, the sharp line of his nose, those unfairly kissable lips—and let's not even start on his tall, lean frame. Tsk tsk…
"Has anyone ever told you you're ridiculously handsome?" Chloe asked, gazing at Ryan with starry-eyed admiration.
Ryan gave a slight shake of his head. He knew he was decent-looking, but he'd never considered it something to boast about—after all, genetics were just luck of the draw.
"How is that possible? You look just like Yoshiteru from The Detective Couple—except even hotter. I swear, if you became an actor, you'd be a superstar." A man this gorgeous belonged on screen for the world to appreciate.
"Yoshiteru?" Ryan blinked. Was this Detective Couple a movie or...?
"Yeah! Yoshiteru can be super charming, but sometimes he's just hilariously dorky," Chloe giggled, remembering the character's antics.
"Who exactly is Yoshiteru?" After her enthusiastic ramble, Ryan had to admit he was lost.
"The male lead from the manga The Detective Couple! Oh right—you probably don't read stuff like that."
Of course not. A mature, sophisticated guy like him wouldn't waste time on silly comics—just like everyone in her life loved to remind her. Every time she tried defending manga, she never had a good counterargument.
"Do I seem that old to you?" Ryan couldn't help asking. Was there really that much of a generation gap between them?
"Ack—no! I just meant someone as refined as you wouldn't bother with shallow, childish things." Wait, since when did men get self-conscious about age?
"If it's so shallow and childish, why do you love it?" Her choice of words amused him.
"What can I say? I'm addicted," Chloe admitted sheepishly, sticking out her tongue.
Ryan's gaze zeroed in on that quick pink flash. How would it taste, I wonder...?
The thought startled Ryan. No way—was he actually crushing on this kid?
Plenty of sophisticated, gorgeous women had thrown themselves at him without success. His friends had even joked about his "performance issues," occasionally slipping him doctors' business cards. Yet now, one silly little gesture from this girl had his heart—untouched for twenty-eight years—suddenly doing somersaults?
"Hey! Earth to Ryan!" Chloe waved her hand in front of his face, fingers splayed.
"Mind lending me that manga?" He caught her fluttering wrist mid-air.
"Wait—you actually want to read comics? Pfft—HA!" Chloe burst out laughing.
"That funny?" Her giggles were contagious—Ryan felt his lips quirking despite himself.
And honestly, it was absurd. If his friends found out he'd borrowed comics from some college kid, they'd never let him live it down.
"No no, don't get me wrong!" She wiped imaginary tears. "I'm just thrilled to finally have a manga buddy!"
Finally—someone who got it! Her classmates always mocked her comic book binges, and she never had anyone to geek out with afterward. But if a guy like him—mature, ridiculously handsome—joined the fandom, maybe people would finally accept that manga wasn't just "shallow kiddie stuff," but stories anyone could love?
"Is this really that exciting?" Ryan asked, bemused by the stars in her eyes.
"You wouldn't understand. Kindred spirits are hard to come by." Chloe had already mentally filed Ryan under Best Manga Buddy.
"I don't even know your name yet. How am I supposed to borrow these books?" She was ridiculously easy to please. Since when had Ryan Carter resorted to such smooth-talking tactics just to get a girl's number?
"Chloe Johnson. Wait—got a pen?"
Ryan pulled a sleek fountain pen from his breast pocket and handed it over.
"Paper?"
He spread his palms in a what do you expect? shrug.
"This'll work." Chloe snatched a white linen napkin from the table, scribbled her number, and thrust it at him.
"Your home phone?" Ryan glanced at the digits before tucking the napkin into his pocket.
"Yep, but I'm only free on weekends." She returned the pen with a grin.
"Still in school?"
"Mhm. College entrance exams this year."
"This year?" The disbelief in his voice made Chloe roll her eyes skyward.
"I'm eighteen. Why does no one believe me?" Was "soon-to-be college student" tattooed on her forehead in invisible ink?
"I'll call you Saturday, then." So she wasn't jailbait after all.
"Cool." With that, Chloe immediately resumed her assault on the chocolate cake.
Ryan nearly laughed aloud. The dessert was clearly more captivating than he was.
Most women—dazzled by his looks—would've clung to his every word, indifferent to whether he was a saint or a serial killer. And once they learned his last name? Suddenly, Mrs. Ryan Carter became their life's mission.
Yet here was this girl, who'd showered him with compliments moments ago, now wholly absorbed in frosting while leaving him as an afterthought.