Chapter 22: Chapter 21
Before anyone could say anything, the supervising teacher clapped their hands to get everyone’s attention. After going over some reminders and the schedule for the upcoming university tour, they arrived.
The moment the school bus came to a stop, Joanna Kennedy was the first one off, storming ahead with her head down. She walked so fast that Anna Yates was panting trying to catch up. "Hey, what’s with you, Your Highness? Who pissed you off this time?"
She had been sitting at the front, video-chatting with her boyfriend on her headphones, completely oblivious to what had happened in the back.
"Nothing happened." Joanna Kennedy kept her head down and continued walking. "You go have fun. I want to walk around by myself for a bit."
Since Joanna Kennedy said that, Anna Yates didn’t insist on following her.
Aethelburg University’s campus was huge—so big that there were even traffic lights on its roads. It was teeming with handsome men and beautiful women, exuding a vibrant, youthful energy different from that of high school students.
Joanna Kennedy found a grassy area, sat down behind a large rock, opened her backpack, took out a pack of soda crackers, and happily began to crunch away. KRUNCH, KRUNCH.
’Sea salt soda crackers are a gift from the gods. No arguments accepted,’ she thought blissfully.
Although 166 was somewhat familiar with her rapid mood swings, it still couldn’t get used to them. [Aren’t you angry that those people were mocking you like that?]
’What’s there to be angry about?’ Joanna thought, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. ’They were talking about "Joanna Kennedy," not me.’
[Then what about Simon Lockwood ignoring you? You’re not mad about that either?]
Joanna Kennedy looked down and brushed cracker crumbs off her pants. ’He’s the male lead, and I’m the villainess. Isn’t it perfectly standard procedure for him to ignore me?’
Joanna Kennedy found it strange. ’From the way you’re talking, do you actually want Simon Lockwood to pay attention to me?’
immediately shot back, [No, no, no, don’t overthink it.] It added, [I just thought... Never mind. Just pretend I said nothing.]
Joanna Kennedy chuckled and ignored it.
After finishing the crackers, she tore open a pack of spicy strips. She sucked the flavor off her fingers as she ate, furtively glancing around, afraid of being seen. It was a rather sneaky sight.
166: [......]
Seeing Joanna Kennedy’s completely carefree attitude, 166 decided its own upgrade must have been incomplete, which was why it was having such wild thoughts.
For a split second, it had actually thought that Joanna Kennedy had genuinely fallen for Simon Lockwood, and that Simon Lockwood also seemed to...
How could that be possible? Simon Lockwood was the male lead. The male lead can only love the female lead. That was the whole point of being a protagonist and having plot armor.
reconfirmed the world’s principles once more and decided it needed to return to the main system for another upgrade.
After finishing the pack of spicy strips, Joanna Kennedy felt bored. She called out for 166 a few times, but her ears were met with only emptiness. There was no response.
’It disappeared again?’
Joanna Kennedy raised an eyebrow. ’We’re partners, after all. That little digital dummy didn’t even say goodbye before taking off.’
After a few bags of snacks and half a bottle of a drink, she was full. She lay on the yellowing grass, staring blankly into space.
Joanna Kennedy had deliberately found this hidden spot, shielded by a large rock formation. No one would disturb her here. She had gone to bed late last night and woken up early this morning. Lying there, she soon fell asleep.
When she woke up again, it was to the sound of her phone ringing. She groggily opened her phone and saw more than a dozen missed calls. Some were from Anna Yates, and the rest were from... Simon Lockwood!
Joanna Kennedy was instantly wide awake. She shot up, but so abruptly that the world spun before her eyes.
’This body’s constitution...’
She took a moment to recover and also came to her senses from the shock. In disbelief, she checked the number several more times.
It was confirmed. It really was Simon Lockwood.
’Simon Lockwood... would contact me on his own initiative?’
Joanna Kennedy’s mind went blank for a moment. When she came to, her finger paused over Simon Lockwood’s number for a few seconds. Then, she scrolled down and placed a call.
The person on the other end picked up instantly. "Jo, where did you run off to!"
"I—"
"I called you so many times and you didn’t pick up! You scared me to death! I thought you’d been kidnapped or something!"
"No, I—"
"Send me your location. I’m coming to find you right now. Don’t you wander off again." Anna Yates waited a few seconds. "Say something."
’Jeez, lady, did you even give me a chance to speak?’
Joanna Kennedy sighed, her voice listless. "I was just waiting for you to finish."
Anna Yates: "......"
"...I was just worried about you, and now you’re getting upset about it." Anna Yates sounded completely unapologetic.
Joanna Kennedy played along. "Yes, Anna is the best~"
She asked Anna Yates why she called. Anna said it was almost noon and she wanted to get lunch together, but when she couldn’t get through after several calls, she got so worried she was about to go to the teacher.
Joanna Kennedy’s head ached. "Please don’t. Spare me. From now on, I’ll report my location to you wherever I go."
’It’s not like we’re elementary schoolers on a field trip, where you report to the teacher if someone gets lost and they blast their name over a megaphone.’
Joanna Kennedy imagined the scene, and her toes curled in cringe-worthy embarrassment. She wanted to bury her head in the dirt. "You didn’t tell the teacher, did you?"
Anna Yates didn’t say anything. A bad feeling suddenly welled up in Joanna Kennedy’s heart. "You really went to the teacher?"
"No..."
Joanna Kennedy breathed a sigh of relief. But in the next second, she heard Anna Yates say hesitantly, "I went to your genius..."
Joanna Kennedy: "......"
Joanna Kennedy: "!!!"
She remembered the missed calls and finally understood why Simon Lockwood had contacted her.
After hanging up, Joanna Kennedy flopped back onto the grass with a wooden expression.
’It’s over... I’ve embarrassed myself again. Simon Lockwood must think I’m a total idiot.’
She sent her location and waited right where she was. Out of a certain desire to save face, she never called Simon Lockwood back. Instead, she sent him a text message, stating that she wasn’t lost, and she certainly hadn’t been kidnapped.
Simon Lockwood never replied to her text.
Joanna Kennedy sighed. ’Looks like Simon Lockwood was just acting out of basic human decency. He doesn’t actually care if I live or die.’
Meanwhile, Anna Yates looked at her phone after the call ended and guiltily glanced at the expressionless genius standing beside her.
"Uh, sorry about that, genius. It looks like Jo is fine. Sorry for wasting your time..." Anna Yates said awkwardly.
"It’s fine."
Simon Lockwood’s face was cold, and Anna Yates couldn’t tell if he was angry. After all, the whole school knew that Simon Lockwood didn’t like their Jo.
With that in mind, Anna Yates quickly added a few more "Sorry for the trouble"s.
For some reason, she felt the genius’s face grow even colder. There was also an indescribable... blankness to it, just like when he saw that Jo was calling her back.
Of course, Joanna Kennedy had no idea that Simon Lockwood was right there when she called Anna Yates back. She was still agonizing over whether or not to call him.
’If I call, I’m afraid he’ll mock me. But if I don’t, it’s out of character for someone who’s always pestering him.’
While she was still torn, Anna Yates arrived.
"What are you doing lying here? Aren’t you cold?" Anna Yates was rendered speechless by her sprawled-out posture. "Get up. Let’s go eat."
Joanna Kennedy went along with her, letting herself be pulled up like she had no bones. She flopped against Anna, making Anna, who was only a few centimeters taller, stumble. "I swear, Your Highness, you’re unbelievable."
"Don’t be obsessed with me. I’m merely a legend," Joanna Kennedy said with mock solemnity.
Anna Yates rolled her eyes.
