Playing the Villainess, He Fell for Me

Joanna Kennedy lowered her gaze and said softly, ”I understand. Thank you.”

Simon Lockwood said, ”For the next few days, you’ll stay at my place.”

Joanna Kennedy froze. ”...Why?”

Simon Lockwood replied in a matter-of-fact tone, ”A mentally ill person can’t be sentenced. It takes time to process the paperwork to have them committed to a psychiatric hospital. If she comes after you again in the next few days, what will you do?”

Joanna was about to say that she would be more careful, but Simon continued, ”Also, we need to investigate how your schedule was leaked. Otherwise, there will only be more and more incidents like this in the future.”

”...”

Simon Lockwood had considered every angle, leaving Joanna no grounds to refuse. She wanted to say that she could just stay in the company dorm and not go out,

when 166’s voice suddenly echoed in her mind: ’Agree to it.’

...

Joanna briefly told her assistant and manager about the night’s incident. Walter Young was surprisingly agreeable, telling her to rest well for a few days and that he would handle negotiations with the film crew.

Thinking it over, Joanna put the pieces together. Walter Young was with Fullstar, Sean Grant was the head of Fullstar, and Sean Grant, in turn, seemed to be good friends with Simon Lockwood.

Simon Lockwood must have had a word with them.

After some time, Joanna found herself at Simon Lockwood’s home once again. She waited for Simon to enter first before slowly trailing behind him.

The housekeeper had dinner ready and was bringing the dishes out. Joanna stood to the side, head bowed, when her stomach betrayed her with a growl.

Seeing her reserved and distant demeanor, Simon’s face tightened. He felt an inexplicable surge of anger and said in a taut voice, ”Sit down. Eat.”

”I’m not—...Oh.” Meeting his heavy gaze, Joanna instantly lost her nerve. The refusal died on her lips, and she obediently sat down.

Dinner was light, and Joanna ate slowly. Only after she finished did Simon speak up. ”The room from last time has been cleaned. You’ll be staying there for the next few days.”

The villa was huge, with plenty of rooms. Simon went to his study to work, and Joanna slowly made her way upstairs. Lying on the bed, she stared at the ceiling.

’Why did you want me to move into Simon’s house?’ She finally had a chance to ask 166 what it was thinking.

A full minute passed before 166’s voice came, posing a seemingly random question: ’Have you been feeling particularly unlucky lately?’

Unlucky? Joanna thought about it and realized it was true.

She’d been cornered by Ryan Lawson at the banquet, deceived by Charlotte Underwood, and was constantly a target of online hate. Then there was Mia Underwood, and tonight, she had been chased by someone with a knife.

A faint, dreadful premonition welled up inside her. After a long moment, she asked, ’These weren’t accidents, were they?’

’Do you remember what I told you before?’

166, that moronic, unreliable little system, had said plenty of things. Joanna didn’t trust it at all anymore.

seemed to realize this and cut to the chase. ’I told you before that there were other mission-takers who, like you, fell in love with the male lead. They all met tragic ends.’

Joanna wasn’t a fool. She had a vague idea of where this was going, but she was still stunned by what 166 said next.

’If the main characters can’t reach their perfect ending, the Main System will find ways to erase anyone obstructing the plot. This includes, but is not limited to, car accidents, other mishaps, public disgrace... ’

’So, all these incidents I thought were accidents... were actually attempts to erase me?’

Then, another thought struck her. ’The main character can’t be controlled or manipulated. As long as I stay by Simon’s side, your Main System can’t do anything to me, right?’

No wonder she managed to get out of danger every time Simon appeared.

She had thought it was some kind of romantic, fateful encounter. It turned out to be simple cause and effect.

didn’t refute her. Instead, in a complete break from character, it said, ’If you want to live, you either get the plot back on track, or... you stay by the male lead’s side. Always.’

At this point, getting the plot back on track was impossible.

Joanna was stunned for a moment. ’Isn’t there any other way?’ she asked.

This was like having a sword hanging over her head, and only Simon could keep it from falling.

For some reason, 166 hesitated. It didn’t answer directly. ’Joanna, if you still like him, make up with him as soon as you can. Don’t let him throw you out.’

Joanna was still in shock and didn’t notice the strangeness in its tone.

In the void, a blue line on a small, cat-like electronic device—its life meter—was visibly depleting, dropping all the way down to twenty percent.

This was a warning to the system.

「The next morning」

Joanna woke up to find it was already past nine. Remembering where she was, she shot upright.

She dressed with a sense of unease and went downstairs. As expected, Simon had already left for the office. The same housekeeper was there, but she didn’t ask any questions about Joanna’s return, nor did she deliver the classic line: ”You’re the first girl Mr. Lockwood has ever brought home. You must be special to him.”

After breakfast, with no need to go to the film set, she enjoyed a rare, quiet moment watching TV. The vast living room was empty except for her, and she suddenly felt bored and wanted to go out for some fresh air.

She had just stepped outside and hadn’t even reached the main iron gate when two men who looked like bodyguards stopped her.

’When did they install this iron gate?’

Before Joanna could even try to remember whether the gate had been there on her last visit,

The bodyguard said, ”Miss Kennedy, you can’t leave without Mr. Lockwood’s permission.”

’What does he mean? Simon has people watching me? Is this house arrest?’

Joanna found it strange, yet she thought it was impossible. Simon was such a distinguished, principled man; how could he be so controlling?

Then it hit her. Oh, right. The mentally ill woman hadn’t been committed yet. Simon was probably afraid something would happen to her, so he’d assigned people to protect her.

She was already troubling him enough by staying here; Joanna didn’t want to bother Simon over such a small matter, so she quietly turned around and went back inside.

She sat on the sofa, bored, and went back to watching TV. After taking a phone call, the housekeeper came over to her. ”Miss Kennedy,” she said, ”the back garden has many flowers and fruit trees, and small animals often wander in. If you’re feeling bored, you could go take a look.”

Joanna’s interest was piqued. ”What kind of small animals?”

”Rabbits, cats, dogs...” the housekeeper said with a smile.

”...Does Simon keep them as pets?”

”No,” the housekeeper said. ”They wander in from outside. They often make a mess of the flowers. I was going to catch them, but Mr. Lockwood said to just let them be.”

That did sound like Simon.

He was always indifferent toward things he didn’t care about, never sparing them a second glance.

In the end, Joanna went. The back garden was much larger than she’d imagined, almost like a small patch of forest. No wonder wild rabbits found their way in.

Stray cats and dogs were common enough in the city, but wild rabbits were a rare sight.

The air was fresh and carried the faint scent of flowers. Joanna took a deep breath, but just as she was about to continue walking, she heard a faint cry. ”Mew... mew...”

A stray cat. She’d actually found one.

Joanna followed the sound and parted a clump of bushes, revealing a palm-sized kitten with a speck of red blood on its leg.

The housekeeper was mopping the floor when Joanna came back inside. She smiled and asked, ”Well, did you have a nice—oh, dear.”

Seeing the kitten in her arms, the housekeeper’s expression grew troubled. ”Miss Kennedy, why did you bring it back inside?”

”It’s injured, and it’s so tiny...” Joanna bit her lip.

Seeing her look both worried and completely smitten, the housekeeper sighed. ”Mr. Lockwood won’t let you keep it.”