Chapter 11: Chapter 10: A Forced Relationship
Such a vicious, unreasonable thing to say. Joanna wanted to slap herself.
’The two of you can be lovers on the run,’ she thought maliciously.
One was a young lady from a rich and powerful family. The other was an orphan with no connections or parents. Faced with such a threat,
Simon Lockwood remained silent for so long that Joanna thought he was about to bury her on the spot. Then, the corners of his lips slowly curled into a smile. "...Alright," he said.
Joanna pretended not to see the bone-chilling cold in his eyes. Hearing his answer, she felt both happy and jealous. "Hmph. I didn’t realize you cared about her so much."
Before Simon Lockwood could say anything, she had already rationalized the situation. "But it doesn’t matter. From today on, you’re my boyfriend anyway. You’re not allowed to talk to her or protect her anymore."
The "Joanna" of the novel wanted Simon Lockwood himself. She was convinced that with her looks and family background, any normal man would fall in love with her.
This mindless confidence also sealed the fate of "Joanna" in the book.
The side character is just the side character. The male lead always chooses the female lead. That’s just plot armor.
Joanna sighed. She just wanted to get through the plot quickly, let the main characters have their happy ending, and complete her mission so she could return to her own world.
The news that "Joanna Kennedy and Simon Lockwood were dating" spread like wildfire across campus. All morning, Joanna’s phone was blowing up with messages from her close friends asking about it.
Among them were over a dozen calls from Paul Pemberton. Utterly annoyed, Joanna blocked his number.
Seeing Joanna’s undisguised, smug expression, Anna Yates sighed for the eighth time that day. "You can’t force love, Jo. It’s not too late to turn back~"
Just look at him. Simon Lockwood’s handsome face was frosty and indifferent. He didn’t look like he liked Joanna at all.
But Joanna acted as if nothing was wrong, her enthusiasm completely one-sided. The moment class ended, she eagerly ran to Simon Lockwood’s desk, managing to feign a bit of demureness. "Want to get lunch? A new Chinese restaurant just opened on Kingsriver Road. I hear it’s really good."
Simon kept writing without even looking up. "No."
"Why?" Joanna’s delicate brows furrowed slightly.
She stood there rigidly, stubbornly demanding an answer. Simon finally took pity on her and barely lifted his eyes, saying coolly, "I’m eating at the school cafeteria."
He smiled faintly. "But if you want to eat in the cafeteria, I wouldn’t mind."
The food in the school cafeteria wasn’t exactly terrible, but it certainly wasn’t good. Its only saving grace was that it was cheap and you could eat your fill.
Anyone with a little money ordered takeout or ate off-campus. A rich girl like Joanna probably didn’t even know what the inside of the cafeteria looked like.
Simon was doing it on purpose. He didn’t believe Joanna would ever deign to eat with him in the cafeteria. With that said, he lowered his eyes, gathered his papers, stood up, and walked around her toward the door.
Serena Sutton glanced at Joanna, who was standing there looking conflicted. She’d heard from her mother that a classmate had come looking for her at home, and from the description, she was sure it had been Joanna.
Why would Joanna go to her house? And why would Simon suddenly be with Joanna? Serena Sutton was smart; she couldn’t help but connect the dots and arrive at an answer.
Her stare was so obvious that Joanna couldn’t ignore it. She shot Serena a vicious glare. "What are you looking at?"
Serena Sutton’s face paled, but the conclusion she’d drawn gave her a newfound confidence. "Joanna, Simon Lockwood doesn’t like you at all."
"If he doesn’t like me, does he like you?" In front of others, Joanna put on a fierce act, completely unabashed. "He’s my boyfriend now, you know."
"We both know what’s really going on," Serena Sutton said, biting her lip. The disgust in her eyes as she looked at Joanna was unconcealable. "It’s my fault he got dragged into this. You’re using me to threaten Simon into being with you, aren’t you?"
’Well, well. She even knows about that. Simon really does tell her everything, doesn’t he?’
Joanna raised an eyebrow. Inwardly, she was completely unfazed, but she had to put on a show of being flustered and enraged at being exposed. She pointed at Serena, struggling to find her words.
[Hit her! Hit her! Stick to your character!] 166 egged her on.
Joanna’s expression darkened. Seeing Anna Yates jogging over out of the corner of her eye, she raised her hand as if to strike.
"Joanna! There’s no need, there’s no need..."
Anna Yates grabbed her hand. Joanna breathed a sigh of relief, then made a show of trying to raise her hand again a few times while grumbling, "Don’t hold me back! Today I’m gonna..."
"Alright, alright, I won’t stop you. Let’s go eat first..."
Their voices faded into the distance.
As Joanna was pulled away, Serena Sutton was still in a daze. When it finally dawned on her that she’d almost been hit, her face grew even paler.
*
Once they were far from the classroom, Anna Yates finally dared to let go. She felt like a total mother hen. "My dear young lady, seriously, what did she say to make you so angry?"
"...Hmph." Joanna felt humiliated and turned her head away without a word.
Anna sighed again at the sight. "Fine, fine. If you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to." She glanced at the time. "We can at least go get lunch, right?"
At the mention of food, Joanna hesitated for two seconds. "I want to try the cafeteria today."
The cafeteria.
It was peak lunch hour. A few girls were whispering amongst themselves, occasionally glancing in a certain direction.
A few minutes later, a long-haired girl carried her tray over, smiling shyly. "Excuse me, may I sit here?"
The cafeteria was a public space.
Simon’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. "Feel free," he said, his tone polite but distant.
The table wasn’t large, and the girl sat down very close to him. Simon could smell an unfamiliar perfume.
He began to eat faster.
Joanna took in the entire scene.
Anna was a picky eater and hadn’t come with her, so it took Joanna a while to find Simon.
She grabbed a random plate of food, walked over, and sat down opposite Simon, her tray landing on the table with a loud CLATTER.
The other girl jumped, startled. When she saw who it was, a flicker of panic crossed her face. "Joanna..."
"Still here?" Joanna said with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. "Planning to stick around and be a third wheel?"
The girl awkwardly grabbed her tray and fled.
Her expression brightening, Joanna stared at the greasy fried noodles and complained, "Simon, is this stuff even fit for human consumption? How about next time you just eat out with me..."
Before she could finish, Simon suddenly stood up. He was tall and lean, his expression cold. "I’m done."
Without waiting for a response, he turned to leave.
Forgetting all about her fried noodles, Joanna trotted after him, but in her haste, she slammed her shin right into the leg of the table.
The sudden, sharp pain made her face go pale. She bent over, and the spot just above her ankle began to visibly swell and redden.
Against Joanna’s fair skin, the red mark was especially stark.
Simon’s gaze shifted from her pale, slender ankle up to her tear-filled, almond-shaped eyes.
Sensing his gaze, Joanna sniffled and rubbed the swollen spot on her ankle, which only made the red, swollen area look even worse.
’Idiot.’
Under Joanna’s pleading gaze, Simon turned and walked away.
He left Joanna there with her injured ankle, her almond-shaped eyes downcast, looking strangely pitiful.
