Chapter 324 - 323

The change of subject was so abrupt, but seeing as the man was trying to explain himself, Joanna reluctantly played along. "Who was it?"

"I’m not telling you," Simon said.

Joanna: "???"

Joanna slowly let out a breath, her voice calm. "Simon Lockwood, get out."

’I don’t want to say another word to him!!!’

Seeing how furious she was, her face flushed red, Simon panicked a little. He feigned composure and said, "The surveys didn’t have names on them."

’So?’

Simon continued, "But I knew which one was yours."

Joanna froze for a moment, her expression softening. Just as she was about to ask how he knew, Simon said, "Your handwriting is very... distinctive."

Joanna: "........."

Simon looked conflicted, his brow deeply furrowed. After much deliberation, he had settled on the word "distinctive." But Joanna understood immediately. ’Is he calling my handwriting ugly?!’

In truth, Joanna’s handwriting wasn’t ugly, just overly flamboyant—like one of those students who insists on connecting all their letters.

After entering the entertainment industry, her use of a stylized autograph only reinforced this bad little habit.

’Leave it to Simon to be so damn sophisticated even when he’s insulting me.’ Joanna’s face flushed, and she glared daggers at his handsome features.

By the looks of it, if Simon dared to utter another word, Joanna was ready to get physical.

This wasn’t how Simon had expected things to go. He frowned, and just as he was about to ask, "What’s wrong?" he saw how genuinely angry she was and bit his tongue. He pressed his lips together, a wronged look on his face.

’Wronged? He actually dares to look wronged?’

Joanna was so angry she had to laugh. She took several deep breaths to keep from passing out. "Ha! And I’m supposed to praise you for that?"

Simon didn’t speak, but the hopeful glint in his eyes showed that was exactly what he was thinking.

’He’s actually proud of it.’ Joanna was speechless. "Simon Lockwood, you’re a complete idiot."

Despite being called an idiot out of the blue, Simon didn’t get angry. He seemed to realize something from her vexed expression, but he feared that any further explanation would only make her angrier, so he wisely kept his mouth shut.

"What are you doing just standing there?" Joanna snapped. "We get it, you’re tall. No need to keep showing it off. You look like a lamppost."

"........." Simon was silent for two seconds. "I’m not."

Joanna just snorted, remaining noncommittal.

"Did anyone see you come to my room?" Joanna asked, her tone haughty. "You’re a civilian, and I’m a celebrity. We have nothing to do with each other. It wouldn’t be good for us to be seen together."

’I’m just saying this on purpose. It’s his fault for pretending to be "Julius." If he wants to keep up the act, I’ll play along to the very end.’

Simon’s brow furrowed, and his voice was a bit tight. "No."

"Good. I want nothing to do with you."

"........."

"Joanna..." Simon lowered his gaze, his voice heavy. "Don’t say that."

Her repeated insistence that they had "nothing to do with each other" made his chest tighten. Even though he knew she was just trying to provoke him, Simon still found her words hard to stomach.

"You can be angry. You can even bite me," Simon said. "But we can’t be nothing to each other."

’I’m her man. How could we be nothing to each other?’

Joanna was taken aback by his sudden assertiveness. For some reason, her face flushed, and her gaze darted away. "We just... don’t have a relationship..." she mumbled.

Her voice was so quiet that Simon couldn’t hear her properly. He instinctively adjusted his hearing aid. "What?"

"Nothing," Joanna said, lifting her chin and raising her voice as if to build up her courage. "Don’t think that just because of last night... last night..."

Her voice trailed off, and she mumbled the rest in embarrassment. "...that you have a hold on me now..."

’This is the modern age. Relationships between men and women are much more open-minded.’

Simon froze for a second. When he realized what she was implying, the tips of his ears turned red. "I wasn’t... thinking that."

As his voice faded, the air grew strangely quiet. Joanna felt her face grow even hotter. "Oh..." she mumbled sullenly.

She was embarrassed for a few seconds before a wire in her brain seemed to trip, and she blurted out, "So you don’t want to be with me?"

Joanna frowned. "Simon Lockwood, are you trying to get a free ride?"

’After everything that happened between us, he actually says he wasn’t thinking that? He’s not possessive of me at all? And to think I was getting jealous over Susan Lee wanting to team up with him!’

As soon as she thought it, she said it. It was only when she saw Simon’s eyes widen slightly that she realized what had just come out of her mouth. She instantly turned beet red.

"I... I’m going to get breakfast." She made a quick, evasive beeline for the door without looking up, only to be pulled into a tight hug from behind.

"Joanna..." The man’s low, muffled voice sounded by her ear, and her heart gave a heavy thump.

"Joanie..."

Simon’s eyes were a little red. A tingling sensation, like ants crawling over his heart, spread through his chest. ’Does Joanna get jealous?’ he wondered. ’Does she care about me that much?’

’Just like I’m possessive of her, she’s possessive of me. So, my Joanie is just as territorial...’

*

The two arrived at the buffet restaurant one after the other, even intentionally using separate entrances to avoid being seen together. Unfortunately, their little scheme didn’t fool everyone.

Henry Hughes looked from one to the other, finally unable to hold it in any longer. "Julius, what happened to your hand?"

The moment Henry’s words left his mouth, two words flashed through Joanna’s mind: "Oh, crap."

Sure enough, following Henry’s gaze, she saw it: a clear, distinct, and somewhat round set of teeth marks on the webbing of Simon’s hand. The surrounding skin was red, and it was clearly a bite mark from a person—and a very forceful one at that.

Joanna: "........." ’Is Simon’s skin that delicate?’

’There was no way she was going to admit she’d bitten him that hard.’

Henry winced just looking at it. "Jojo, did you bite him?"

Joanna instinctively shot back, "Wh-what are you talking about!"

’How could he just assume it was me? It’s not like the bite mark has my name on it! He’s just guessing!’ Humiliated, Joanna flew into a rage. "You bit him! Your whole family bit him!"

Henry: "........." ’Whoa, why’s she getting so defensive?’

’Wait, what does my family have to do with this?! That’s taking it too far! Way too far!’

Henry might not be the brightest, but he wasn’t an idiot. Joanna’s face was flushed, her eyes were darting all over the place—she might as well have had "GUILTY" written across her forehead.

Henry looked exasperated. "Besides the staff, you two are the only other people in here. You’re not going to tell me one of the staff bit him, are you? Or did Julius bite himself?"

Joanna was speechless.

’I can’t believe he actually guessed the right answer from that angle.’ Joanna started frantically signaling Simon with her eyes. ’Quick, admit it! Admit you bit yourself!’

It was unclear if Simon understood her signals or not. He frowned slightly, a flicker of indecision in his eyes, but ultimately decided to "confess." However, before he could open his mouth, Henry let out a long sigh.

"Jojo, I know you can’t stand him, but we’re filming a show right now. You can’t be this obvious about it."