Playing the Villainess, He Fell for Me

From the moment she saw Jasper Sinclair, Joanna Kennedy knew the show wouldn’t go smoothly. She just hadn’t expected the drama to start right from the get-go.

She’d been holding onto a sliver of hope. Simon Lockwood was participating under the name ”Julius,” so maybe the Sinclair Family hadn’t found out. But now, it seemed the secret was out.

”Stay with me,” Joanna Kennedy whispered. ”Don’t let it show on your face.”

Simon Lockwood didn’t say anything, just squeezed her hand tighter before letting go the instant the lights came on.

Henry Hughes seemed to sense something. He turned his head, about to ask, ”Who’s talking?” but the sudden flood of light blanked his mind. When they saw their surroundings, everyone gasped.

It was a vast, empty room. A single black chair stood starkly in the center. The four white walls were covered with oil paintings, but what silenced the group was the wall opposite the window.

A huge painting covered nearly the entire wall. Fiery red paint flooded the canvas, dotted with specks of black like embers after a fire. It possessed a strange, breathtaking beauty that made one’s heart tremble.

Above the painting was a line of small text—Hellfire Ridge.

”...”

”OMG...” Dunley exclaimed. In contrast to everyone else’s silence, his eyes sparkled with admiration. ”This painting is so cool. Can I buy it and take it home after the show?”

A painting with such a strong visual impact, displayed in the most prominent spot at home... just thinking about it was cool. Dunley was already itching to take it home.

Lost in his admiration for the painting, he didn’t notice the complicated looks from the people around him.

Henry Hughes patted Dunley’s shoulder and said gravely, ”Ahem, bringing just anything home will only get you into trouble.”

The joke eased the tense atmosphere. A variety show needed to have variety show effects, after all. Miles Sutton chimed in, ”Hahaha, the production team really went all out to be scary. This painting must have taken a lot of effort.”

”This chair is weird, too. Why is there only one?”

”It looks pretty creepy.”

The speaker was Susan Lee. As she spoke, she tried to hide behind someone in fear, but her fingers grasped at empty air. Susan Lee bit her lip, looking at the man’s tall, straight back with a hint of resentment.

’She suspected ”Julius” did it on purpose, but she had no proof.’

”You have used 10 minutes. Please hurry to find the key to the puzzle and Escape.”

A loudspeaker boomed, and everyone looked at each other. ’There’s a timer, too?’

It would have been fine without a time limit, but this real-time countdown added an undue sense of pressure.

Sophia was the first to react, moving closer to examine the painting. Dunley also dropped his goofy expression and went to study the black chair.

The high-IQ non-celebrities were studying the escape room, while the celebrities’ role was to create an entertaining atmosphere. Otherwise, just watching people solve puzzles wouldn’t be very interesting.

Henry Hughes went around teasing one person and then another, every word a punchline. He liked to mess with Joanna Kennedy. Although she was annoyed, she couldn’t show it on camera and had to respond jokingly, ”If you keep bothering us, we’ll lock you in this room by yourself.”

Henry Hughes clutched his chest dramatically. ”Jojo, how could you do this to me?” He feigned anger. ”You’ll lose me if you keep this up.”

”Oh,” Joanna Kennedy replied lazily, brushing it off.

Henry Hughes: ”...”

The two of them had the vibe of a bickering couple. Susan Lee’s eyes darted around before she sighed and said, ”Henry and Jojo seem to be really close.”

The beautiful woman looked wronged and pitiable, but no one responded. It was Miles Sutton who finally offered a few comforting words to save Susan Lee from the awkwardness.

People were already gathered around the painting and the black chair. Joanna Kennedy’s gaze swept across the room, landing on a diamond-shaped mirror on the windowsill.

The mirror was ordinary, looking as if it had been left behind by accident. Its surface was covered in dust.

Just as Joanna Kennedy was about to reach out and touch it, a large, well-defined hand beat her to it, the fingertips sliding lightly across the mirror’s surface.

”It’s pencil dust,” a man’s cool, pleasant voice sounded from behind her.

Joanna Kennedy frowned, looking at the smudge of gray on the man’s fingertip.

’Who would be bored enough to sprinkle pencil dust on a mirror unless they were trying to hide something? To find out what’s hidden, we have to wipe it clean.’

”Do you have a tissue?” Joanna Kennedy asked. Realizing her tone was too familiar, she quickly added, ”Julius.”

Simon Lockwood paused for a moment, then pulled a tissue from his black windbreaker. Just as Joanna Kennedy was about to take it, someone intercepted it.

”Need to wipe something?” Susan Lee had appeared out of nowhere, a sweet smile on her face. ”Let me.”

She acted considerate and gentle, completely unaware of how annoying her behavior was. Seeing that neither of them spoke, Susan Lee blinked, her tone innocent. ”What’s wrong?”

”I do chores at home all the time. It’s just wiping something, it’s not that hard,” Susan Lee said.

She didn’t actually want to do the grunt work; she was just creating an opportunity to talk to the man. After all, if she wanted to start a ”ship,” they needed to interact.

Someone had once told her she had beautiful eyes, and that no man could resist her when she looked weak and helpless. Susan Lee waited confidently for ”Julius” to offer his help.

One second, two seconds... Susan Lee’s smile was starting to stiffen. The man simply took two steps to the side and said flatly, ”I’ll leave it to you, then.”

”...?” It took Susan Lee several seconds to process what he’d said. She nearly ground her teeth to dust. ”Hahaha... It’s nothing.”

’She was sure of it now. This ”Julius” was doing it on purpose.’

Susan Lee took the tissue and scrubbed the mirror. She used so much force that the tissue disintegrated, but she finally managed to wipe the mirror clean.

The mirror’s surface was clean enough to reflect light, but there was nothing unusual about it.

Susan Lee scoffed inwardly and looked at Joanna Kennedy. ”Jojo, I’ve wiped it clean. Have you found any clues?”

She said it as if Joanna Kennedy had ordered her to do it. But Joanna Kennedy didn’t answer, her attention completely focused on the mirror.

’If the mirror is here, it must be useful.’ But for the moment, Joanna Kennedy couldn’t figure out what its purpose was. The others gathered around, but no one saw anything special, either.

Susan Lee’s expression turned ugly at being ignored. Seeing her chance, she said directly, ”Jojo, could it be that you were wrong about this?”

Just then, the loudspeaker announced that half an hour had passed. A hint of disdain crept into Susan Lee’s voice. ”Let’s go study the other areas. There’s no need to waste time here.”

”Yeah, let’s go look at the painting. This is just a mirror; it looks pretty ordinary.”

Susan Lee and Miles Sutton were in perfect sync, their words implicitly blaming Joanna Kennedy for wasting time. The others began to waver, and even Joanna Kennedy frowned deeply.

A gentle breeze blew in through a crack in the window, rustling the curtain. A sliver of sunlight snuck in and reflected off the mirror. Simon Lockwood’s eyes sharpened. ”Joanna Kennedy, open the curtains.”