Free Web NovelChapter 30: Chapter 29
She was furious. Her delicate features were flushed red with anger, making her look incredibly vivid and alive.
Simon Lockwood was speechless. He had no way to refute her, so he said nothing. His silence only made Joanna Kennedy angrier.
She yanked her hand away from Simon’s and stormed forward. It was as if Simon had just woken from a dream. He quickened his pace and took her hand again. "Joanna, I..."
Joanna tried to pull away again. "Let go!"
’I have to teach Simon a lesson. Fights are fights, and arguments are arguments, but you can’t joke about someone’s life.’
’I managed to get there in time today, but in the future...’
Joanna pressed her lips together, a sudden sense of helplessness washing over her.
’What future is there? The plot will correct itself. The male lead will naturally end up with the female lead to look after him. What does a villainess like me even count for?’
"Forget it..." Joanna stopped struggling. "You only did this for my sake. I should be thanking you."
The disappointment that flashed in her eyes made his heart clench. A sense of panic, of being on the verge of losing something, enveloped Simon.
Simon unconsciously tightened his grip on her hand, pulling Joanna closer until their bodies were pressed together.
"...I’m sorry," Simon’s low, helpless voice came from above.
Joanna looked up at him. "Why are you apologizing? What did you do wrong?"
’What did he do wrong?’ A flicker of confusion crossed Simon’s eyes. He had only taught a lesson to the people who bullied Joanna.
’Even though he didn’t know what he had done wrong, he had made Joanna unhappy, and that proved he was in the wrong.’
’So he apologized, praying that Joanna would stop being angry with him.’
’He doesn’t get it at all,’ Joanna thought.
"Simon, you really are..."
[Don’t say any more.] 166 interrupted her coldly. [If you keep talking, you’re going to break character.]
[......]
Everything tonight had spiraled a bit out of control, and it was making her emotional. This was not a good sign.
Joanna closed her eyes, suppressing all the thoughts she shouldn’t be having.
After apologizing, Simon held his breath, awaiting the "verdict" from the petite girl before him. A rare tension appeared on his usually cold and indifferent face.
Joanna put on a spoiled air and squeezed out a couple of tears. "I’m the one they bullied. How could you go teach them a lesson without me?"
She complained, "Beating people up is so satisfying, yet you went and did it secretly by yourself. Hmph. Now look, you beat them up so badly there’s nothing left for me to do."
’So... that was why.’
A faint trace of disappointment flickered in Simon’s heart, though he himself couldn’t figure out where this baffling sense of loss was coming from.
He tucked a stray strand of her messy hair behind her ear. Joanna could smell the faint scent of blood on his fingers. His voice was very soft. "My mistake."
Joanna turned her face away. Simon couldn’t see her expression, and his fingers froze in mid-air.
He only breathed a sigh of relief when he heard her whining voice.
Joanna scrunched up her face, looking pitiful. "Simon, my feet hurt. Can you give me a piggyback ride?"
A pampered heiress who knew nothing of worldly suffering, who did as she pleased, acting wantonly and spending her days thinking of ways to torment people—she was the type of person he despised the most.
But now, he was bending down for her at a single word, completely willing.
At the end of December, a heavy snow fell, blanketing all of Aethelburg in a vast expanse of white.
Joanna Kennedy, who just the night before had been comfortably enjoying life in her grand villa, was now being evicted by bank personnel who had shown up unannounced.
The Kennedy Group had gone bankrupt. Mr. Kennedy had absconded with the funds and fled the country, while Mrs. Kennedy had jumped to her death. The villa and the company were seized, and even the bank cards in Joanna’s possession were frozen.
The pampered, jewel-adorned heiress had fallen from grace overnight. Countless people were waiting to gloat over her misfortune, and many she had offended were eager to take the opportunity to cause her trouble.
A few friends also contacted her, worried.
Despite searches from various parties, no trace of Joanna could be found.
Overnight, she vanished as if she had never existed.
In a remote guesthouse far from the city center, Joanna woke up late as usual, long after the sun was high in the sky. After washing up, she slowly made her way to the guesthouse’s small dining area to eat.
The guesthouse was run by an old couple. Lunch was a simple meal of four dishes and a soup, along with a few sliced salted duck eggs. It was fresh and delicious.
Besides Joanna, there were four other people staying at the guesthouse: two male art students who were there to sketch, and two female tourists.
The group ate together, but Joanna returned to her room as soon as she finished, keeping to herself and giving the other four no chance to speak with her.
The curtains were drawn, leaving the room dim. Her phone had been turned off ever since she arrived at the guesthouse. Joanna flopped onto the bed and turned on the TV, not watching it, just listening to the sound.
[166, how much money do I have left in my account?] Joanna asked mournfully.
reported a four-digit number that started with a 1.
Joanna: [......]
’Am I really this poor already?’
Joanna complained, [It’s all your fault! I said I wanted to save some money, but you wouldn’t let me, saying it didn’t fit the plot. The truth is, you just don’t want to see me do well, right?!]
was in disbelief, but it couldn’t refute her, because it had indeed said that.
Joanna took its silence as an admission. [Fine, fine, fine. Our friendship is dead. It’s over. You’ve lost me.]
166: [.........]
166: [You should be thinking about how you’re going to survive the next six years.]
There was still one final plot point left before her mission was complete, and that final plot point was Simon Lockwood and Serena Sutton’s wedding on a cruise ship, six years from now.
And Joanna, with only a little over a thousand to her name, had to stay in this world for another six years.
Joanna: [.........] freēwēbnovel.com
’So, like, can we fast-forward time? You’re not actually going to make me sell my body at a bar, are you?’
After a moment of silence, she asked, [Simon can’t find me here, right?]
[Why would he be looking for you?] 166 asked, perplexed.
Joanna gave a roguish, narcissistic smile. [Because he likes me, of course.]
[Hmph. It’s just a momentary infatuation. He’s the male lead. No matter what happens along the way, in the end, he will only ever love the female lead.]
was forcing her to face reality.
Joanna didn’t look hurt by its words. Instead, she turned on her phone. As soon as it booted up, it was flooded with a deluge of messages and missed calls, the vast majority of which were from the same person: Simon Lockwood.
Joanna raised an eyebrow and gestured for 166 to look, her meaning obvious. ’This is what you call a momentary infatuation?’
was left speechless. It didn’t know why this was happening either, but as a system, it firmly believed that the plot’s ending could not be changed.
A book’s ending is written long before it’s read. Even if there are minor deviations along the way, they won’t affect the final outcome.
[Six years can change a lot,] 166 could only say, as much a warning to Joanna as it was a reassurance to itself. [The male lead is still too young and can’t distinguish his own feelings. Given time, he’ll discover that the female lead is his one true love.]
