Chapter 168 - 167: Cannot Provoke
Simon Lockwood closed his book and placed it on the bedside table with a soft thud.
"Should I say it for you, then?" His voice was unreadable, but Joanna Kennedy’s heart skipped a beat, a flustered look crossing her face.
Looking at her, Simon Lockwood let out an almost imperceptible sigh. "Come here."
Joanna Kennedy hesitated for two seconds before slowly sitting on the edge of the bed, her gaze lowered.
A finger gently pressed the corner of her eye, and Joanna Kennedy looked up to meet the man’s unreadable dark eyes. After a moment of sullen silence, she said, "He started it..."
"I’m usually very gentle," Joanna Kennedy added quietly after a moment’s thought.
An image of the girl from the security footage flashed through Simon Lockwood’s mind—delivering several swift, precise, and ruthless kicks without a moment’s hesitation. He couldn’t bring himself to be angry. Instead, he felt a strange sense of pride mixed with exasperation. "Yes, you’re the gentlest person I know..."
Joanna Kennedy was speechless.
’Was that sarcasm? Or am I just imagining it?’
"Next time you run into someone like that, do the same thing," Simon Lockwood said approvingly.
But before Joanna Kennedy could feel pleased, Simon Lockwood’s tone shifted. "However, if you ever feel like someone is off, whether they’ve done anything to you or not, I want you to tell me. We need to avoid any potential risks, understand?"
"Wouldn’t that make me seem incredibly self-absorbed? What if they’re not a bad person...?" Joanna Kennedy muttered. "Besides, I handled it perfectly."
She had protected herself and beaten up a creep. A modern-day heroine, the perfect embodiment of female empowerment.
"Joanie..." Simon Lockwood said, a hint of exasperation in his voice. "Not everyone is as useless as he was."
A spoiled playboy like Ron Warren had long been hollowed out by women and wine, possessing no real strength.
Joanna Kennedy was brave and had some ability to protect herself, but in many situations, her strength was negligible.
The difference in physical strength between a man and a woman was far greater than Joanna Kennedy imagined.
She had gotten lucky this time, but who was to say what would happen next? Simon Lockwood gazed at her lovely, radiant, fair face, knowing this would absolutely not be the last time something like this happened.
From their school days to the present, countless men had been infatuated with Joanna Kennedy.
Of course, Simon Lockwood knew what was on their minds, because his own thoughts were hardly pure.
Joanna Kennedy was too pure and beautiful, a proud, dazzling little peacock. She could effortlessly stir the filthiest desires in a man’s heart, making him want to possess her, to make her cry...
He had thought about it many times—just lock Joanna Kennedy up by his side. It would solve everything once and for all.
But he knew she would be unhappy. She had her own career, her own friends. She was free.
Her cheek was pinched, not too hard and not too soft. Joanna Kennedy nodded and said sullenly, "From now on, if I meet anyone who seems off, I’ll tell you immediately..."
Such an obedient Joanie.
Simon Lockwood leaned in, planting a rewarding kiss on the corner of her lips. He let out a soft sigh. "Such a good girl..."
*
Early the next morning, everyone started coming downstairs for breakfast.
The dining room on the villa’s first floor was spacious and bright. A round glass table sat before the window. Besides Simon Lockwood, Sean Grant, and Liam Valentine, a few scions from prominent political families were also present.
Joanna Kennedy sat beside Simon Lockwood. Across from them was a young heiress who kept sneaking glances in Simon’s direction. Her delicate, understated makeup couldn’t conceal the faint blush on her cheeks.
Alas, her amorous glances were wasted on a blind man. With his eyes lowered, the man finished peeling an egg and placed it in the bowl of the girl beside him.
The gesture was so natural it looked as if he had done it a thousand times, causing everyone to stare, wide-eyed. They looked again, unable to believe what they were seeing. Was this really the ruthless, decisive, and unapproachable President of Southland??
Others, however, were inwardly scornful. ’He puts on such a cold and aloof act, playing the part of a brilliant young talent. But now that he’s rich, isn’t he just keeping a young starlet like all the others?’
’Blinded by a pretty face. No matter how beautiful she is, she’s just a little starlet. Is there any need to spoil her like that? Real men prioritize their careers. Women are just playthings for a bit of fun in their spare time.’
Everyone had their own thoughts, but no matter what they were thinking, on the surface, they all presented a picture of perfect harmony. Acquaintances and strangers alike acted as if they were old friends who had known each other for years.
Amidst all this, perhaps only one person was thoroughly enjoying himself. Flashing a big, toothy grin, Sean Grant excitedly placed his special chilled jellyfish salad on the table.
When he saw that no one was saying anything, he gestured with great enthusiasm and confidence. "Dig in!"
He was as excited as a 200-pound oaf. "This is a chilled jellyfish salad that I made myself! It’s one of a kind! There’s no better dish in the world!"
"..."
Gazing at the chilled jellyfish salad on the white jade plate—which was completely buried under a layer of fiery red chilies—the table fell into a strange silence. The young heiress even stopped sneaking glances at Simon Lockwood, her perfectly crafted smile stiffening slightly.
’Well, it certainly is one of a kind,’ they thought. ’Who could possibly argue with that?’
"Er, hahaha, Young Master Grant, I’m not a big fan of cold dishes," one person ventured, being the first to decline.
This was immediately followed by a flood of other excuses.
"Young Master Grant, my mom doesn’t let me eat cold food..."
"Wow, what a coincidence! My mom doesn’t let me eat it either!"
"Your moms won’t let you eat it? Well, then my mom won’t let me eat it either!"
...
Sean Grant was speechless.
’Do you all have to be so obvious?!’ The Eldest Young Master Grant, who had woken up early just to cook, was getting angry. His gaze fell upon a certain someone off to the side, minding his own business and happily munching on a shrimp dumpling. Sean Grant’s face darkened instantly. Through gritted teeth, he said, "JJ, you’re eating this."
Jack Warren, who was in the middle of stuffing a dumpling into his mouth, was speechless.
With surprising elegance, he spat the dumpling back out. Meeting the crowd’s admiring gazes, he swiftly and precisely snagged a slippery piece of the jellyfish with his chopsticks and, under everyone’s horrified watch, popped it into his mouth.
’He ate it! He ate it! He ate Sean Grant’s cooking and he’s still alive...’
’As expected of Simon Lockwood’s special assistant,’ the crowd marveled. ’Truly a man beyond the reach of ordinary mortals.’
The atmosphere at the table was quiet. Perhaps feeling the awkwardness, someone jokingly brought up the incident at Seacrest Island the previous night.
"After that punk Ron Warren woke up, he absolutely refused to say what happened. Just insisted he’d accidentally run into something. Hahaha, who runs into something and ends up looking like that?"
Someone else chimed in, "I even went to see him. He must have been knocked silly. He was completely out of it. I’ve never seen him so scared and pathetic."
Gossip is human nature. Once the topic was raised, everyone immediately jumped in, sharing what they had seen and speculating about what could have possibly happened to Ron Warren.
Only Jack Warren silently glanced at a certain cold and indifferent someone.
’God only knew what a psycho move it was to be woken from a deep sleep by his boss in the middle of the night, only to be ordered to go to the hospital and threaten someone.’
Remembering Ron Warren in the hospital, his head wrapped in bandages, his face deathly pale as he desperately begged for mercy, Jack Warren made a silent vow: he must never, ever provoke Simon Lockwood.
Oh, wait, no. Joanna Kennedy also had to be added to his "blacklist."