Chapter 321 - 320: Willing to Take Your Place

"I’m hardly a beauty." Susan Lee casually walked up behind Joanna Kennedy, leaned down to get close to her face, and said with a grin, "Jojo is the real beauty here."

She didn’t care if anyone was paying attention and continued on her own, "Jojo, you shouldn’t be mad at Miles, okay?"

’She’s a pretty girl, but her tone is so damn passive-aggressive.’

A cold glint appeared in Joanna Kennedy’s eyes. She knew Susan Lee was trouble, but she hadn’t expected her to start something right off the bat.

’Answering that she was mad would make her seem petty. Answering that she wasn’t would be playing right into Susan Lee’s hands.’ Joanna Kennedy raised an eyebrow and suddenly asked, "Are you cold?"

"What?"

Susan Lee didn’t immediately grasp why the topic had changed. The smile on her lips froze for a moment, but she still answered, "I’m okay, why?"

Joanna Kennedy replied, "The AC doesn’t reach me over here. If you’re cold, you can go sit in the front."

The meaning was clear: stop hanging around me.

She used words of concern, but the subtext was for her to leave. You couldn’t find any fault with it; in fact, it made it seem like Joanna Kennedy was being considerate of Susan Lee.

Susan Lee understood. Her expression turned ugly for a second, but only for a few moments before she immediately reverted to her beaming smile. "Okay."

The moment she turned away, in a spot the cameras couldn’t see, Susan Lee rolled her eyes in disdain.

’So high and mighty. She can be as sharp-tongued as she wants now, but she’ll just get blacklisted later.’

’She offended the Sinclair Family, yet she still dares to put on airs like a top star in front of me. I can’t wait to see Joanna Kennedy regret this. When that happens, all of her resources will be mine.’

’As long as Joanna Kennedy falls, with the Sinclair Family’s help, I’ll be the undisputed number one among all the actresses.’ Thinking of this, Susan Lee felt a sense of relief.

Once all the guests had arrived, they did a brief interview and had everyone fill out a questionnaire. The director said, "Before we officially start recording, let’s split into teams."

"This team-up doesn’t mean it’s a competition or anything," the director explained. "It’s just so that if there are individual tasks later, you can complete them in pairs."

Henry Hughes raised his hand like an eager schoolboy. "Do we get to choose our own teammates?"

’As if they’d let us choose. Four commoners, four celebrities—obviously they’re going to mix and match. That’s what makes for better television.’

Sure enough, the director shook his head, giving Henry Hughes an answer that disappointed him. "No."

’If we can’t choose for ourselves, it must be a blind pick. Are we drawing lots?’

Amidst everyone’s confused gazes, the director took out the four questionnaires that had just been filled out, placed them in the center of the table, and said, "We’re going to let our non-celebrity friends decide. Choose the one questionnaire that interests you the most out of these four, and you’ll be partnered with the person who wrote it."

’Letting the commoners choose...’ Joanna Kennedy subconsciously looked at the man sitting across from her, her gaze meeting a pair of calm, dark eyes.

"..."

’The hell are you looking at?’

Joanna Kennedy looked away, a sour expression on her face. Even though she acted like she didn’t care, when it was the man’s turn to pick a questionnaire, she couldn’t help but watch.

The four questionnaires looked identical. There were no names on them, only the content inside was different.

In her line of sight, the man calmly picked one up. The way he did it, it was as if he hadn’t even looked—a pure blind pick.

Joanna Kennedy was both angry and anxious, an indescribable frustration bubbling inside her. ’Couldn’t you have looked a little longer? You just picked so casually! There’s a three-in-four chance it’s not me!’

Even though she was fuming inside, Joanna Kennedy didn’t let it show and just sulked by herself. The selection process ended, and everyone waited with bated breath for the team announcements. The director, who had a keen sense for reality show drama, announced with a grin, "We’ll announce the results tomorrow."

Everyone: "..."

"For now, everyone can head back to the hotel and rest," the director said in a great mood. "We’ll start recording officially tomorrow. Good luck to you all."

’Good luck? That sounds kind of creepy.’

After leaving the guest room, the group split into two cars to head back to the hotel—one for the women, one for the men.

As soon as she got in the car, Joanna Kennedy immediately took out her phone, opened WeChat, and typed a few words into the chat box—TAP TAP TAP. Just as she was about to hit send, she stopped and deleted it all.

’Simon Lockwood lied to her. Why should she be the one to text him and ask? If he wants to talk, fine. If not, fine. She didn’t want to hear his excuses anyway.’

Joanna Kennedy was so lost in her anger that she didn’t even hear someone call her name. When an arm wrapped around her shoulders, she instinctively tried to pull away, but a loud, carefree female voice spoke up, "Joanna Kennedy, what are you thinking about? Are you worried about tomorrow’s recording?"

Cheryl Chaney patted Joanna Kennedy’s shoulder a couple of times as she spoke. "It’s fine, don’t worry. The production team definitely won’t make the challenges too hard. They’ll make sure we can solve them. Right, Sue?"

"Mhm, I think so too." Susan Lee smiled sweetly. She knew just what to say. "Anyway, with you guys looking out for me, I’m not scared."

No one dislikes being trusted like that. Cheryl Chaney immediately let go of Joanna Kennedy, sat down next to Susan Lee, and vowed, "Don’t you worry. If we end up on the same team, I’ll definitely protect you."

"Okay."

Susan Lee smiled and agreed, but she subtly avoided Cheryl Chaney, a flash of disgust in her eyes. ’A commoner dares to try and get friendly with me? The nerve. I don’t know why the production team chose someone like her. She doesn’t look too bright.’

’If she had to say who she wanted to be teamed up with...’ The image of the handsome, aloof man’s face flashed through Susan Lee’s mind, and her heart couldn’t help but beat faster.

’His name was... Julius. A really nice name. His aura is so refined, too. You can tell at a glance he’s no ordinary person. He’s even more eye-catching than many of the male celebrities she’d worked with.’

’If they were on the same team, they could be promoted as a "ship." Her popularity would definitely surpass Joanna Kennedy’s then. She just wondered if Joanna Kennedy had the same idea.’

Susan Lee’s eyes shifted as she pretended to say casually, "That guy, Julius, seems pretty impressive. I wonder who he chose."

"Right? I think he looks impressive too," Cheryl Chaney agreed, then turned her head. "Sophia, what do you think?"

"Huh?" Sophia was a little caught off guard. She said shyly, "I don’t know either."

"Hahaha, well, it’s definitely not you or me," Cheryl Chaney said jokingly, then sighed. "He just seems too cold. Probably not an easy person to get close to."

This was exactly what Susan Lee wanted to hear. She took the opportunity to nod in agreement, then changed the subject, turning to Joanna Kennedy. "Jojo probably doesn’t like interacting with that kind of guy, right?"

That question made Joanna Kennedy chuckle. "I never said that."

"Sigh, I’m just thinking of you, Jojo. Julius is so cold. It’d be miserable if you really ended up on a team with him."

Susan Lee sighed, her concern half-feigned. But Joanna Kennedy didn’t take the bait, letting her continue her performance. ’Let’s see what Susan Lee is really up to.’

Since Joanna Kennedy wasn’t responding, Susan Lee had to make her move. With a sincere expression, she said, "If he really did choose you, Jojo, I’m willing to take your place and be on his team."