Playing the Villainess, He Fell for Me

The sudden change left the two of them stunned for a moment. Jack Warren and Sean Grant exchanged a glance, both seeing the surprise in each other’s eyes.

’The cold robot is actually starting to care about his own body? How strange. Truly, how bizarre,’

After rounding a bend, they could see the sign for the ”Medical Clinic.” The storefront was a modest size and looked like it had been there for years.

A middle-aged male doctor asked a few simple questions, took his temperature, and confirmed it was a cold.

”You’re from out of town, aren’t you?” the doctor asked as he disinfected the thermometer and put it away. He glanced at Simon Lockwood with a disapproving tone. ”No matter how much youthful energy you have, you can’t get away with wearing so little.”

”The weather here isn’t like in the city. It gets cold in an instant,” the doctor said earnestly.

Simon Lockwood thanked him, his voice a little hoarse from the cold.

”Alright, have a seat here for a bit. I’ll go prepare your medicine.” With that, the doctor walked toward the dispensary in the back, muttering about how young people sure could withstand the cold.

Jack Warren subconsciously glanced at Simon Lockwood. The man sat with a straight, upright posture, wearing a black shell jacket over a black sweater, with a dark gray scarf wrapped around his neck.

He remembered that Simon Lockwood had brought a down jacket and had even worn it a couple of days ago. A thought occurred to him, and Jack Warren swallowed the question that was on the tip of his tongue.

Sean Grant, ever the carefree one, chuckled. ”Simon, choosing style over warmth, are we?”

His tone was infuriatingly smug. Jack Warren’s mouth twitched. ”Shut up.”

Ten minutes later, the medicine was ready. The pills were wrapped in brown paper packets, not the typical boxes you’d find in a modern pharmacy.

”One packet at a time, twice a day. This is a three-day supply,” the doctor explained. ”It’s a prepared Chinese medicine. It might not work as fast as Western medicine, but it has one advantage: it’s gentler on your system.”

Sean Grant stared at the small, bulging brown packets, about to ask if they had an official seal of approval from a drug administration, but Simon Lockwood had already paid, taken the medicine, and said politely, ”Thank you.”

Back in the car, Sean Grant was still running his mouth. ”Can you even take this stuff? It looks like some kind of shady, uncertified product...”

Wrapped in small squares of brown paper, and when you open them, there are all these colorful little pills inside. Sean Grant looked disgusted. ”Why don’t we just go to a big hospital? It’s only a half-hour drive.”

He kept rambling, telling Jack Warren to change lanes.

Simon Lockwood’s head was already aching, and Sean Grant’s incessant babbling made him knit his brows tightly. ”No need for the hospital. Back to the hotel.”

”How can that be okay? What if it kills you—”

”Shut up!”

”Shut up.”

Simon Lockwood and Jack Warren spoke at the same time.

Sean Grant: ”...” ’Fine, fine, I’ll shut up. I’ll shut up.’

Back at the hotel, he swiped the key card and pushed the door open. The room was quiet. Joanna Kennedy hadn’t returned yet.

Outside, the sky was growing dark. Simon Lockwood pressed his aching temples and took out his phone to make a call.

The phone rang for a while before it was answered. It was noisy on the other end. Joanna Kennedy said, ”Hang on a second,” and then the line went quiet.

Simon Lockwood furrowed his brow. A few seconds later, he heard Joanna Kennedy speak again. The background was much quieter now, and her voice was clear. ”Simon, Anna and I are out having dinner.”

”It’s a bit noisy here,” Joanna Kennedy complained.

Simon Lockwood’s tight brow relaxed slightly. He softened his voice. ”When will you be back?”

”We might be back a little late...” A thought occurred to her, and Joanna said, ”Don’t wait for me for dinner, okay?”

”Mm, okay,” Simon Lockwood said. ”Don’t stay out too long. Call me if anything happens.”

”Okay~” Joanna Kennedy agreed with a smile. Just as she was about to hang up, she sensed something was off and asked tentatively, ”What’s wrong with your voice?”

”...It’s nothing.”

Surprised by her perceptiveness, Simon Lockwood explained, ”Just a bit of a cold. It’s not serious.”

Joanna Kennedy’s brow furrowed slightly. She wanted to say more, but from a short distance away, she heard Anna Yates’s voice telling her the food was getting cold and to hurry back.

”Go on, eat your dinner,” Simon Lockwood said.

Joanna Kennedy had no choice but to reluctantly hang up.

The signature cumin lamb filled the air with an aroma that made one’s mouth water. Anna Yates asked between bites, ”What’s wrong? Did Scholar Lockwood tell you to hurry back?”

”No,” Joanna Kennedy said, shaking her head.

Looking down at the down jacket she was wearing and thinking of his slightly hoarse voice, she suddenly lost her appetite.

”And you say he didn’t,” Anna Yates said, hitting the nail on the head. ”One phone call and he’s completely stolen your soul away. Tsk, tsk, tsk...”

Joanna Kennedy: ”...”

Joanna Kennedy sighed helplessly. ”Simon Lockwood has a cold. I’m a little worried about him. You don’t know what he’s like when he’s sick—he’s a complete mess.”

”What kind of state?” Anna Yates asked, batting her eyes and making a dirty joke.

Joanna Kennedy: ”...”

Perhaps finding Joanna Kennedy’s speechless expression too amusing, Anna Yates couldn’t help but burst out laughing. Once she’d had her fill, she finally stopped and went back to eating, her lowered lashes hiding the emotion in her eyes.

The cumin lamb was delicious, the stir-fried cabbage was delicious, and the savory eggplant was delicious, too. The two of them ate and chatted, their conversation drifting from entertainment gossip to their old middle school classmates.

Joanna Kennedy kept glancing at the time, her eyes a bit unfocused. Anna Yates noticed her fidgeting, let out a soft laugh, and complained playfully, ”Joanna Kennedy! Why are you so obsessed with Scholar Lockwood?”

”You’re out with me, but all you can think about is him?”

Her tone was half-joking. Joanna Kennedy sighed helplessly, protesting her innocence. But faced with Anna Yates’s clearly disbelieving gaze, she had to confess, ”Okay, fine. I’m actually worried about whether Simon Lockwood took his medicine.”

Anna Yates gave her an ”I knew it” look.

Joanna Kennedy drove on the way back. Anna Yates was lying in the back with her eyes closed, and Joanna wasn’t sure if she was asleep. Joanna quietly turned up the heat a little.

Just as she adjusted the temperature, Anna Yates’s voice suddenly broke the silence in the car. ”Jo, why do you like Simon Lockwood so much?”

Her tone was calm, as if it were a simple question born of confusion.

Joanna Kennedy glanced in the rearview mirror. In the dim backseat, Anna Yates had her back to her, so Joanna couldn’t see her expression.

Joanna Kennedy found the question odd, but she still answered with a smile, ”Because he’s handsome, of course.”

It was the same answer Joanna had given for years. Hearing it again, Anna Yates felt an indescribable emotion. Her tone became insistent. ”So, you don’t actually like him all that much, do you?”

”If someone even more handsome than Simon Lockwood came along, you’d fall for them instead, right?”

The question was slightly aggressive, and the air grew inexplicably tense. It had, in fact, crossed a line.

Joanna Kennedy let out a laugh, blinking playfully to diffuse the tension. ”Then let’s just pray Simon Lockwood stays this handsome forever!”

Joanna Kennedy was joking, but she didn’t notice that in the backseat, her words had caused Anna Yates’s face to turn pale.

’Forever this handsome... forever frozen in this, his most brilliant year...’

’Maybe... that wouldn’t be such a bad thing.’

Anna Yates closed her eyes, suppressing the pity and bitterness welling up inside them.