Chapter 346

Chapter 346: Chapter 345

In the end, she had the brown sugar tea with egg. Joanna Kennedy seemed drained, but her cheeks were flushed a deep red. Curled up in Simon Lockwood’s arms, she took small sips.

After about half the bowl, when he brought the spoon to her lips again, Joanna Kennedy turned her head away. “I don’t want any more…”

Uncharacteristically, Simon Lockwood didn’t try to coax her. He finished the rest of the tea in a few quick gulps, then brought over several small side dishes and a bowl of thick yam and goji berry congee.

Joanna Kennedy’s brow furrowed, ready to kick up a fuss, but Simon Lockwood, as if he knew the Mind Reading Technique, easily guessed her thoughts. He said softly, “Just eat a little. Going to sleep on an empty stomach is bad for you.”

“I’m already full,” Joanna Kennedy said uncooperatively.

“A little bit of tea isn’t the same as being truly full.”

“I said I’m full,” Joanna Kennedy snapped, a little irritated.

“Joanna Kennedy.” Simon Lockwood’s voice grew stern. He looked at her as if she were a misbehaving child.

After what they’d just done, Joanna Kennedy was already feeling sensitive. What she needed most was Simon Lockwood’s tenderness and comfort, so his current attitude was like pouring oil on a fire.

A burst of anger flared up inside Joanna Kennedy. The physical discomfort, compounded by his “scolding,” suddenly filled her with a profound sense of being wronged. Glaring at him with her tear-reddened, almond-shaped eyes, she snapped, “I told you, I’m already full!”

Joanna Kennedy’s voice was mortifyingly loud, like a small, cornered animal with its fur on end. She pushed at him as she spoke. “Simon Lockwood, why are you so horrible? You’re yelling at me and giving me that look, when I’m not even the one who’s mad at you…”

The more she spoke, the more wronged she felt, until her voice trailed off into soft sobs. She looked as if she had been terribly bullied.

‘Overwhelming me, coaxing me, trapping me, again and again…’

As her voice faded, the room fell silent, filled only by the TICK TOCK of the clock and the sound of her aggrieved sobs, which sounded strangely intimate.

Simon Lockwood had frozen stiff. The tips of his ears flushed a visible shade of crimson. Rationally, he despised his own behavior, but in reality…

Simon Lockwood cleared his throat twice and adjusted his posture to conceal a certain area.

“Joanna Kennedy, don’t say things like that.” It was rare for Simon Lockwood to be this flustered. While his expression gave nothing away, his flushed neck and ears exposed his true feelings. “We can… we can eat later.”

Joanna Kennedy turned her face away, ignoring him.

Simon Lockwood tried to placate her. “We can have hot pot tomorrow.”

Joanna Kennedy was speechless. ‘What’s that supposed to mean? I’m not some kind of glutton!’

“You’re not allowed to do that anymore,” Joanna Kennedy said, glaring at him. With a pitiful expression, she began to solemnly lay down the law. “You can’t just think about yourself. You can’t just promise to stop and then keep going. You have to listen to me.”

Then, as if she’d thought of something, her tone grew serious. “You have to listen to everything I say!”

At first, Simon Lockwood listened attentively, but by the end, his brow was furrowed.

‘Listen to everything Joanna says?’ Simon Lockwood felt like he’d die from the restraint.

‘To put it nicely, Joanna was clingy. To be blunt, she was a handful. When things felt good, she’d cry and curse him. When they didn’t, she’d cry and hit him while cursing him. Out of the first ten minutes, she’d spend nine of them begging for mercy.’

“I won’t do that anymore,” Simon Lockwood said, avoiding the more difficult points. “I won’t just think of myself.”

“Does your stomach still hurt?” Simon Lockwood gently lifted Joanna Kennedy onto his lap. He placed his palm over her nightgown, rubbing her stomach in slow, clockwise circles. “Like this?” he asked.

The warmth from his palm seeped through her nightgown. Joanna felt so comfortable from the massage that her almond-shaped eyes narrowed in pleasure. Whenever she was this comfortable, her brain turned to mush. Something about Simon Lockwood’s promise felt off, but she couldn’t quite figure out what it was.

After all that, it was past ten o’clock by the time they finally finished their meal. Having spent too much energy during the day, Joanna Kennedy fell asleep almost the instant her head hit the pillow, her cheeks flushed in her sleep.

Simon Lockwood leaned over and planted a kiss on her rosy cheek, his dark eyes softening with affection. After some time, he tucked the covers more snugly around her and rose, leaving the bedroom.

The living room was just as it had been when Old Master Sinclair left. On the table, a stack of cold-looking documents sat in stark contrast to a cartoon figurine next to them.

Without a second glance, Simon Lockwood picked up the documents with a blank expression. RRRIP! With a single, crisp tear, the stock transfer agreement, worth a hundred billion, was destroyed and tossed unceremoniously into the trash.

After recuperating at home for a while, Simon Lockwood’s injuries were mostly healed, including the wounds on his back. In mid-December, Joanna Kennedy received a movie script.

This was the first script she’d received since the trending topic and the on-set explosion controversy. The director was Quentin Simmons, a well-known master of arthouse films. The day before she was to sign the contract, Quentin Simmons informed her gravely, “This film requires shooting in a remote region. Are you sure you can handle that?”

The climate in these remote areas was harsh, the living conditions were poor, and the food was terrible. Practically no A-list actress was willing to go. When you could make a fortune shooting a simple TV drama, who would willingly choose to suffer?

Of course, there were lesser-known actors willing to endure the hardship, but most were just desperate for a shortcut to fame, hoping a single role would make them a star overnight.

“Joanna Kennedy, the budget is limited, so I can’t offer you a high salary,” Quentin Simmons said, not wanting to mislead her. He laid out the situation clearly. “It might not even match what you’d make from a few episodes of a TV show.”

“Director Simmons, I know. It’s all written very clearly in the contract.”

“Once you sign this contract, you can’t just back out. You’ll have to stay obediently in the mountains for nearly two months. Are you positive you’ve thought this through?”

An actor who backed out of a project was like a soldier who deserted the battlefield—unwelcome everywhere. It wasn’t that Quentin Simmons looked down on Joanna Kennedy; on the contrary, he greatly admired this young woman who was almost distractingly beautiful.

She was beautiful, but she also had real acting talent and a solid work ethic. That made her fundamentally different from a mere “pretty face,” which was precisely why he had chosen her.

Despite his intimidation tactics, Joanna Kennedy showed no signs of backing down. Instead, she looked at him seriously and said, “Yes, I’ve thought it through.”

Quentin Simmons’s stern expression softened slightly. As he watched Joanna Kennedy sign her name on the contract, a flicker of satisfaction showed in his eyes.

“Don’t worry. If you are true to this film, the film won’t let you down,” Quentin Simmons said cryptically.

Joanna Kennedy smiled and said frankly, “A film by Director Simmons is always a guarantee of quality.”

With the start of filming just around the corner, Joanna Kennedy used every spare moment to study the script. She even stopped playing video games, wishing she could memorize lines even while she was eating.

At the dinner table, Joanna Kennedy was just picking at her rice, her eyes glued to the script. Simon Lockwood frowned, placed a piece of beef in her bowl with his chopsticks. When he saw that she’d eaten it, he added more vegetables and meat.

“You can read that after we eat,” Simon Lockwood said.

Joanna Kennedy didn’t look up. “No, I can’t. This film is my chance to transition as an actor. It’s very important.”

‘Is it really more important than your health?’ Simon Lockwood sighed to himself, feeling a bit helpless.