Chapter 108 - 107
Joanna Kennedy was a little surprised. ’I’ve been in the business for two or three years. How can I still be considered a newcomer?’
Her agent’s words were particularly cutting: "Maybe it’s because this is the first year audiences have actually noticed you."
Joanna Kennedy: "..."
He was right. She didn’t even know how to argue.
She was on the list of nominees and didn’t know if she’d actually win, but Joanna Kennedy still had to attend. Otherwise, people would gossip about her being a small-timer with a big ego.
The awards ceremony was the day after tomorrow. Joanna Kennedy asked the director for a day off, and he agreed without hesitation.
As a film, *The Awakening Petals* would require a long time for post-production, but the shooting schedule itself was short. They were already halfway through filming.
Most of the current scenes were between the male lead and the female lead after his rescue. Whenever Joanna Kennedy had downtime, she would hole up in a nearby pavilion, working on math problems.
The film sets constructed by the crew formed a barrier, keeping out the many fans who had tracked them to the location.
Owen Jennings had a huge female fanbase. They waited quietly outside, and the gifts they brought had piled up into a small mountain. Owen Jennings’s assistant was going back and forth, returning expensive items and only accepting things like cards and flowers.
Food and drinks were refused outright.
A cute-looking girl called out, "Miller, can you let us see Owen?"
Miller, the assistant, didn’t let his expression change. He fobbed them off with a few perfunctory words. From where she was sitting, Joanna Kennedy could see the girls’ disappointed faces.
"What are you looking at?" A clear, bright male voice sounded from behind her.
It was Owen Jennings, back for a break after finishing a scene.
He was still in his battle-damage makeup, exuding a raw, wild handsomeness that hit you right in the face.
Joanna Kennedy gave him a brief glance before looking away, her tone flat. "I’m looking at your fans."
"You’ll have them too," Owen Jennings said with a grin, plopping down beside her without an invitation. His features were full of handsome, boyish charm. His tone shifted to surprise. "Are you doing math problems? What are you doing that for?"
Joanna Kennedy didn’t answer his question. Instead, she asked, puzzled, "Aren’t you going to go out and say hello?"
To Joanna Kennedy, both in her original world and this one, fans were very important.
She was grateful to everyone who treated her with sincerity.
Owen Jennings’s smile remained bright and sunny. He tilted his head. "Why should I?"
Joanna Kennedy: "?"
Owen Jennings asked, "If I don’t go out and say hi, are they going to stop liking me?"
’Of course not.’
"But..."
"No buts." Owen Jennings cut her off with a grin. As if giving a kind reminder, he sighed and said, "Jojo, celebrities and their fans need to keep their distance."
"They’re just the audience. I perform, they watch. That’s all there is to it."
’It was a brutally realistic take. She couldn’t find anything wrong with it.’
"But they genuinely like you," Joanna Kennedy said, her brow furrowing.
’They traveled all this way, waited quietly outside for hours, made handmade cards, wrote letters, bought flowers... all just to catch a glimpse of the celebrity they adore.’
"So what?" Owen Jennings was completely unconcerned. "Plenty of people like me. That’s their choice. I can’t possibly respond to all of them, nor am I obligated to."
...
’Joanna Kennedy couldn’t argue with him. Everyone has their own way of dealing with the world. She could only hold herself to her own standards; she had no right to judge others.’
"Are you mad?" Owen Jennings asked, a little cautiously.
Joanna Kennedy shook her head, her gaze falling back to the problems on the page.
"Want a piece of candy?" Owen Jennings produced a mint from somewhere.
Without looking up, Joanna Kennedy shook her head and refused, "No, thank you."
Her tone was polite, yet distant.
An unconscious smile touched the corners of Owen Jennings’s lips. He tore open the wrapper and held the mint to her lips. "It’ll help with your math problems~"
Joanna Kennedy: "..."
The cool scent of mint wafted under her nose. Owen Jennings was insistent. Not wanting to argue with him, Joanna Kennedy pressed her lips together, took the mint, and popped it into her mouth, not forgetting to say, "Thank you."
As she sucked on the mint, one of her pale cheeks puffed out slightly. It looked incredibly soft. Owen Jennings watched for a moment before he couldn’t resist reaching out and poking it with a finger. It was warm, soft, and smooth.
Joanna Kennedy flinched, jumping to her feet and glaring at him. "What is wrong with you?"
Owen Jennings remained seated, propping his head on his hand and smiling up at her. His tone was innocent and full of apology. "Jojo, you’re just too cute. I couldn’t help myself. I’m sorry."
He spoke words of apology, but his eyes were still twinkling with amusement.
Joanna Kennedy felt utterly disgusted. She furiously rubbed the spot his finger had touched and said coldly, "I don’t know you that well. Please keep your hands to yourself."
"Okay," Owen Jennings agreed immediately.
’He was so shameless. He hadn’t done anything that outrageous, and his apology was immediate. If she kept pressing the issue, she’d only be the one to lose out.’
Joanna Kennedy quickly gathered her things, not wanting to spend another second with him. Owen Jennings sidled up and started "helping" her.
Joanna Kennedy: "..."
The official Weibo account for *The Awakening Petals* had originally just wanted to film some casual behind-the-scenes footage to showcase the cast’s friendly dynamic and drum up some early publicity.
But when they captured this scene, an idea struck. They edited out the beginning and end and posted the clip to their official account.
The clip instantly set three fanbases ablaze. The most furious reaction, surprisingly, came from the fans of Louise Quinn, the movie’s actual female lead.
[Seriously, has the official account for *The Awakening Petals* lost its mind? Filming the male lead with the second female lead? What about the actual female lead???]
[Anyone who didn’t know better would think Joanna Kennedy was the female lead. So I guess our Louise is just a stand-in, huh?]
[Excuse me? The Young General and the Righteous Heroine are the official couple, okay?!]
Then there were Owen Jennings’s "girlfriend" fans and Joanna Kennedy’s own fans.
[Hands off our Little General Owen Jennings. Stop trying to ride his coattails.]
[AAAAAH, I want my husband to feed me candy too!]
[Seriously, she’s getting flamed for this? Our Jojo didn’t do anything to anyone.]
[Speaking of which, what’s Jojo writing? She looks so focused. So pretty. The absolute image of a serene, untouchable beauty!]
...
Comments of all kinds piled up, creating a massive thread.
Soon enough, the hashtag #OwenJenningsAndJoannaKennedysSweetOnSetInteraction# shot up the trending topics list.
Amidst the chorus of condemnation, a rather unorthodox group quietly began to emerge.
[Ahem, let’s be real, a handsome guy and a beautiful girl are just so nice to look at. I love to see it!]
[For real, does anyone else think this is super sweet? This isn’t some manufactured fan service! This is genuine sweetness. That whole feeding her candy thing was over the top!]
[Younger, wild ’wolf-dog’ type × down-on-her-luck, gentle ’older sister’ type. I ship it. I ship it SO HARD. This pairing is EVERYTHING!!!]
The emergence of these couple shippers threw the already chaotic comment section into an absolute meltdown.
Soon, more netizens started digging up older behind-the-scenes clips. In that footage, Owen Jennings was always trailing after Joanna Kennedy, leaning in close whenever he spoke to her.
Joanna Kennedy would try to move away, but he would just follow and lean in again. Then she would lower her head and walk away quickly, which made her look shy.
During interviews, he was also constantly calling her "Jojo." Meanwhile, you rarely saw Owen Jennings getting that close to the actual female lead, Louise Quinn.
[Oh my god, are these two actually dating??!]
[I’ll just leave this here: When a younger guy doesn’t call you ’sis,’ you know he has ulterior motives.]