Chapter 145 - 144
On stage, every minute expression is magnified. Joanna Kennedy could only maintain a smile for the cameras and the audience below, pretending not to see the glances Owen Jennings was throwing her way.
The music was gentle, and backup dancers waved their long sleeves beside them. Three large screens were joined together. As the song reached its climax, sky lanterns rose one after another from behind them, filling the screens.
Onstage, the girl wore a pale, wide-sleeved dress. Her black hair was simply tied up in a bun with a white jade hairpin.
The man beside her was half a head taller. His platinum-colored, traditional Chinese-style robes lent a touch of maturity to the man in his early twenties.
Backstage, the viewership numbers were still soaring. In just half a minute, they had already surpassed the other TV stations’ Mid-Autumn Festival galas airing at the same time.
"Cut to a close-up!" the director shouted excitedly into his walkie-talkie at the cameraman. "Hurry, a super close-up on their faces!"
’This is a goddamn jackpot...’
The director was immensely grateful he had agreed to Owen Jennings’s request.
The production team had originally recommended a popular starlet as Owen Jennings’s partner, but Owen himself had requested to perform a duet with Joanna Kennedy.
Although Joanna Kennedy was somewhat popular, her current status wasn’t that high—she hadn’t even starred in a TV series yet. The director had been very reluctant, but he couldn’t bear to lose Owen Jennings’s massive following, so he had no choice but to agree.
He never expected such a wonderful surprise!
"Get them in the same frame! Get them in the same frame!" the director commanded into his walkie-talkie, watching the monitor.
As the song drew to a close, the two on stage stood facing each other. The final note faded, and they smiled into each other’s eyes. The camera lingered on this moment.
A golden couple, through and through.
At that moment, the backstage broadcast data showed viewership had peaked, almost fifty percent higher than any other program.
In the Jennings family’s old residence in the city center, the Mid-Autumn Festival Gala was playing on an LCD screen.
"Oh my, I was wondering why I hadn’t seen Owen. Turns out he went off to perform at the gala," a lavishly dressed, middle-aged woman with exquisite makeup said in an exaggerated tone. "He’s just so busy. Can’t even come for the family reunion during the holiday..."
The woman opposite her, Owen Jennings’s mother, let her expression falter for a moment before forcing a smile. "Don’t say that, Second Sister-in-law. It’s his job; he can’t help it. He’ll be here soon, he won’t miss the reunion dinner."
Owen Jennings’s father had married into the Jennings family, so his status was low to begin with. He later made a name for himself and thrived in the Education Bureau, which made his relatives finally look at him with some respect. But then they started openly mocking and secretly ridiculing him again because Owen didn’t follow him into politics.
Fortunately, Owen Jennings proved his worth by making a name for himself in the entertainment industry, which finally shut his relatives up.
Only this Second Madam Jennings, whose own origins weren’t very respectable, had a loose tongue and loved to gossip.
"Sigh. If you ask me, what’s so great about being an actor? They make money, sure, but in the end, people still look down on them," Second Madam Jennings said, drawing out her words.
Owen Jennings’s mother was furious. Her husband had to hold her back and calm her down to keep her from cursing the woman out right then and there.
Just then, First Madam Jennings came in, frowning. "It’s a holiday. We’re all here for a reunion dinner. Anyone who causes trouble can get out!"
The eldest branch of the Jennings family held the most shares in the Jennings Company and also controlled it, giving them the highest status.
Second Madam Jennings didn’t dare talk back to the First Madam, so she muttered sarcastically under her breath, "What’s so great about this dinner, anyway? Big Brother just had to bring that illegitimate son back into the family. And what happened? He nearly bankrupted the company and had to dip into the assets the Old Master left behind."
"He grew up in the middle of nowhere. What skills could he possibly have? First Sister-in-law, you should do something. If this goes on, we’ll all end up with nothing to eat!" Second Madam Jennings complained.
First Madam Jennings’s expression turned ugly. She only hated that she was infertile; otherwise, she would never have let her husband acknowledge his illegitimate son from outside the family.
But things had already come to this. Compared to the second branch of the Jennings family, who were watching like hungry tigers, she was more willing to side with the illegitimate son, Charles Jennings. Just as she was about to say something...
...a man’s clear, pleasant voice sounded from nearby. "Second Aunt is here. What are you all talking about? Can you let me in on it?"
............
The living room fell into a bizarre silence.
Everyone was well aware of Charles Jennings’s status as an illegitimate son, but no one dared to offend him openly. After all, the Jennings Company was now entirely in his hands.
A smile played on Charles Jennings’s lips. His face, gentle and harmless as jade, looked innocuous. "Were you talking about me?"
"Ah, no, no! We were talking about Owen," Second Madam Jennings said, laughing awkwardly and pointing at the LCD screen. The song was ending, and the two on stage were bowing to the audience.
Charles Jennings looked over, and through the screen, his gaze met the smiling eyes of the girl.
He suddenly remembered that it seemed he hadn’t seen Joanna Kennedy in a long time.
These days, he had been constantly busy with the betrayals and trickery of the business world, the internal power struggles of the Jennings family, and also appeasing and taking care of Serena Sutton.
Beyond that... he was also perfecting his plan, step by step.
’My body is slowly deteriorating, and I don’t have much time left. Rather than waste energy trying to reverse the plot, it’s better... to become the male lead myself.’
Charles Jennings couldn’t remember when this idea had first occurred to him. Maybe it was six years ago, or perhaps even longer.
’I have the help of a system; I’m clearly the one who’s supposed to be the Son of Destiny.’
’Joanna Kennedy...’
Charles Jennings repeated her name in his mind, syllable by syllable. ’When the time comes,’ he thought, ’I won’t abandon Joanna Kennedy. I’ll protect this proud little rose, just like Simon Lockwood would.’
「*」
After the song ended, Joanna Kennedy’s face was stiff from smiling.
’As expected, I really hate attending galas. I feel much more at ease acting on set.’
She could leave after the post-performance interview. At that thought, Joanna Kennedy’s mood improved considerably. She went back to the dressing room and, with Julie’s help, changed out of her gown and into her regular clothes.
The moment she opened the door, she saw Owen Jennings standing outside.
’Why did he follow me again?’ she thought, recalling his bizarre behavior on stage.
Joanna Kennedy’s lip twitched. "Can I help you?"
"Nope! I was waiting for you so we could go to the interview together," Owen Jennings said with a bright, sunny smile, seemingly oblivious to her unfriendliness.
"We have to do the interview together too?" Joanna Kennedy asked, confused.
Owen Jennings looked at her as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Of course. We’re partners. We have to do everything together."
Joanna Kennedy: "..."
Joanna Kennedy wasn’t narcissistic enough to think Owen Jennings liked her, but the things he said were always so strange, which she found baffling.
’Is he trying to create a ship with me? That’s not necessary. There are plenty of starlets more famous than me, and all of them would be more than happy to be shipped with him. There’s no reason for him to cling to me like this.’
’Then why?’
Joanna Kennedy couldn’t figure it out. It seemed that from the very beginning, Owen Jennings had shown a great deal of interest in her.
’Whatever. Who cares? As long as he doesn’t mean any harm, it’s fine.’
The two of them walked backstage together. The host for the post-performance interview was a young woman who was incredibly excited to see Owen Jennings. He joked that she should wipe her drool.
The young woman’s face immediately turned red with embarrassment. When she recovered, she finally turned to greet Joanna Kennedy, her tone somewhat perfunctory. "Ms. Kennedy, you sang so well. You didn’t even go off-key. You must have practiced a lot in private, huh?"
Joanna Kennedy’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
’What was that about? What does she mean, I "even" didn’t go off-key? It’s as if she’s saying I usually do.’