Chapter 320 - 319: Yu Zhou

Although Joanna had deliberately lowered her voice, Mindy Morgan heard every single word. Her eyes flew open. "What did you just say?"

Joanna was speechless.

She rubbed her nose. "Nothing, nothing."

’It’s better if I don’t provoke Mindy Morgan right now.’

The drive from the airport to the recording location took half an hour. The moment Joanna stepped out of the car, she was surrounded 360 degrees by cameramen hoisting their equipment.

As far as the eye could see, there was a small village, but it was practically deserted. The director hurried over and said, "Ms. Joanna, let’s go say hello to the other guests first."

"Alright." Joanna didn’t think anything of it.

She wasn’t particularly early, but she wasn’t late either. Two people had already arrived in the guest room, seated on opposite sides of a long table.

At the sound, both of them turned their heads. Joanna saw their faces—one was Henry Hughes, whom she’d seen just recently. The other was an unfamiliar girl, likely a non-celebrity participant.

Even though she already knew Henry Hughes would be there, seeing him in the flesh still made her world go dark.

’Susan Lee is troublesome enough, and now there’s this mindless, womanizing pretty boy. I just hope what I said to Henry Hughes last time scared him off and he won’t bother me again.’

Unfortunately, it was a classic case of what you fear most is what you get. The moment Henry Hughes saw it was her, his eyes lit up. He patted the seat next to him. "Come on, Jojo, sit over here with me."

His enthusiasm was so intense it would have been hard for anyone to refuse. Unfortunately for him, Joanna wasn’t buying it.

She couldn’t be too obvious with her rejection in front of the cameras, so she said, "I think I’ll go join the girls’ side."

The non-celebrity girl seemed surprised, as if she hadn’t expected Joanna to voluntarily sit next to her. She didn’t know what to do with her hands.

Joanna could see her awkwardness. It’s always hard to relax during your first time on a show. She took the initiative. "Hi, I’m Joanna Kennedy. Let’s take care of each other for the next few days, brainiac."

The show’s criteria for selecting non-celebrities was based on high intelligence, so there was nothing wrong with Joanna’s nickname for her. Still, the girl blushed, a little embarrassed. "Just call me Sophia."

Joanna smiled and called out, "Sophia." The girl blushed and responded, which made Henry Hughes, sitting opposite them, cringe with jealousy. His voice was laced with gloom. "Ahem, beautiful ladies, do you remember me?"

’A handsome guy like me, being completely ignored? How outrageous!’

Henry Hughes’s tone was so plaintive that Sophia thought he was angry. She immediately grew flustered. "W-well, do you want to chat with us then?"

Henry Hughes was speechless. ’This little bookworm.’

The thwarted look on Henry Hughes’s face was so hilarious that Joanna nearly burst out laughing. They chatted idly for a bit, during which two more guests arrived one after another.

One was a popular male singer, and the other was another non-celebrity girl.

The newly arrived non-celebrity girl had a cheerful personality and could strike up a conversation with anyone. For a moment, the atmosphere livened up, which was why Joanna didn’t immediately notice when someone else walked in.

The room suddenly fell silent. Sensing the change, Joanna looked up, and her eyes nearly popped out of her head.

Two men of comparable height walked in together, but Joanna’s eyes were fixed on only one: the man walking slightly behind.

The instant their gazes met, the man nonchalantly looked away.

That’s right, he looked away!

Joanna’s breath caught in her throat; she nearly suffocated on the spot.

’Can someone please tell me what is going on? Why is Simon Lockwood here at the show’s recording? Shouldn’t he be at Sinclair Gardens?!’

Before Joanna could snap out of her dumbfounded state, the two men’s subsequent introductions made her feel like her whole world had gone haywire.

"Hello everyone, my name is Dunley. Heh heh, it’s a pleasure to meet you." Dunley spoke with a very distinct accent, his earlier grumbling and complaints replaced by a bright, friendly smile.

However, everyone’s attention wasn’t on him. All eyes turned in unison to the other man.

Surrounded by everyone’s gazes, Simon Lockwood’s expression remained unchanged, as if he hadn’t noticed the murderous glare from the young woman. In a calm voice, he said, "Julius."

The brief, to-the-point introduction was a perfect match for the man’s cool demeanor.

"Come on, come on, sit here. Join us on the men’s side of the table." Henry Hughes was the first to break the deadlock, cheerfully beckoning the two over.

The others chimed in with their own greetings, but Joanna remained silent, staring daggers at the man. If looks could kill, the handsome man across from her would have died a thousand times over.

’Julius, Julius, Ju...lius my ass!’

’Does he think I wouldn’t recognize him just because he changed his name? Does Simon Lockwood think I’m an idiot or just blind?!’

Joanna was about to go crazy with anger. The thought of how she’d clung to him, unwilling to let him go, just a few hours ago, even offering to make him "brown sugar and egg tea," filled her with shame! She wanted nothing more than to lunge at Simon Lockwood and bite him!

Sophia turned and was startled to see Joanna grinding her teeth in fury. She asked in a low voice, "Joanna, what’s wrong?"

"Are you not feeling well?" Sophia asked with concern.

There were cameras in the room, so Sophia didn’t ask too loudly, but Joanna’s unusual emotional state still drew the attention of the others.

Seeing the man look over with a frown, Joanna immediately averted her gaze, took a deep breath, and replied, "I’m fine."

In her peripheral vision, she saw the man lower his eyes slightly, looking a little disappointed.

’After tricking me like this, he has the nerve to act pitiful? What happened to that cool, nonchalant way he looked away just now?!’

Joanna snorted silently. For the rest of the time, she only spoke to the others, refusing to even glance at the man. It was so obvious that even the oblivious Henry Hughes noticed.

Naturally, Henry Hughes couldn’t pass up this opportunity to curry favor with Joanna, so he began making veiled digs at "Julius."

But for every ten things he said, "Julius" would barely say one in return, which made taunting him feel utterly unrewarding.

Cliques were already forming before the show had even started. ’The rest of this shoot is going to be tough,’ the others all thought.

This feeling reached its peak when the final regular guest arrived.

Despite the late autumn weather, the girl wore a pink maxi dress with no jacket, revealing her fair, slender arms. Her smile was radiant. "Hi everyone, my name is Susan Lee."

"I’m so sorry, I ran into a small problem on the way here. Thank you all for waiting."

The pure and pretty girl’s apologetic tone could easily win anyone over. Someone immediately reassured her, "It’s fine, it’s fine, we haven’t been waiting long."

"The real beauties always make a grand entrance at the end."

The one who spoke was another male celebrity, Miles Sutton. He was just making a casual compliment, but as soon as the words left his mouth, the room fell silent.

Everyone had a phone and access to the internet, so they were all more or less aware of the "history" between Joanna and Susan Lee.

If Miles Sutton was calling Susan Lee the "grand finale" beauty, what did that make Joanna?

Everyone couldn’t help but look at Joanna. Her expression hadn’t changed at all, but Susan Lee covered her mouth and laughed, feigning embarrassment. "Miles, you’re such a kidder."