Playing the Villainess, He Fell for Me

166?

Valentine made an exaggerated motion of covering her mouth, then uncovered it. "I do."

She immediately covered her mouth again, deciding she wouldn’t ask any more careless questions.

A message came through on her phone. It was from her "NPC friend." Valentine was delighted. "Brother, I’m going to go play."

Liam Valentine nodded. Before he could even say "okay," Valentine had already vanished.

Outside a resort villa, Sharon Lawson, clad in ten-centimeter heels, paced back and forth with her phone in hand, a dazed look on her face. When she saw the girl skipping toward her, her eyes suddenly lit up.

"Miss Valentine, where did you go? I’ve been looking all over for you."

There was a hint of complaint in Sharon Lawson’s voice. In the past, she wouldn’t have dared to speak this way to someone of a higher social standing.

But this Miss Valentine was different. Sharon was her only friend. At that thought, the resentment on Sharon Lawson’s face grew even more obvious.

Valentine, however, seemed not to notice. "Did you find me because you have something new and exciting to share?"

’Share my ass,’ Sharon thought, growing impatient. ’She’s the daughter of a prestigious family, yet all she thinks about is playing. She has none of the grace of a proper lady. What a waste of her background.’

Remembering she still needed a favor, she lowered her tone. "Miss Valentine, about what I told you yesterday concerning Joanna Kennedy... have you not taken care of it for me yet?"

"What was it?" Valentine blinked. Seeing the frozen smile on Sharon Lawson’s face, she had a sudden realization. "Oh, you wanted me to kick Joanna Kennedy out?"

Sharon Lawson’s expression softened. "Yes. You have no idea, she’s just a bottom-tier starlet, but she’s incredibly vain and materialistic. Her presence is a stain on this resort. I—"

"But I’m a starlet too," Valentine interrupted innocently, then added with a touch of displeasure, "Besides, Joanna Kennedy is my friend. Haven’t you seen the movie we were in together?"

Sharon Lawson was stunned. "No..."

’Who would be interested in watching a cheap, boring movie?’ She seemed to recall Miss Valentine mentioning it once. At the time, to suck up to her, she had even said she would book a whole theater and invite all her friends to watch.

But that was just something she’d said offhandedly. She didn’t even know what day the movie was released, let alone that Joanna Kennedy had starred in it with Miss Valentine.

"Joanna Kennedy approached you on purpose, Miss Valentine! You can’t let her fool you!" Sharon Lawson said, growing desperate. "We’re the ones who are friends! Joanna Kennedy humiliated me in public. Shouldn’t you get revenge for me?"

Her desperation lent a hard, accusatory edge to her voice. Valentine stopped smiling. "I never agreed to that."

"Besides, this resort doesn’t belong to me. It belongs to Mr. Lockwood of Southland Group, and Joanna Kennedy is his girlfriend. I don’t have that kind of power." Valentine pouted with a hint of disdain. "Get revenge? You’re not a child. You’re even older than me."

Sharon Lawson: "..."

This was the first time Valentine had ever talked back to her since she’d gotten close to her. Sharon Lawson’s expression instantly soured. But hearing Valentine’s words, her eyes widened in disbelief. "Joanna Kennedy is Mr. Lockwood’s girlfriend?!"

Her voice rose in shock, becoming shrill. Valentine frowned and took two steps back, not understanding why she was losing her composure like this. Still, she answered honestly, "Why would I lie to you?"

Valentine left, but Sharon Lawson remained frozen in place, shaking her head repeatedly. ’Impossible. Absolutely impossible. How could Joanna Kennedy be the girlfriend of Southland Group’s Mr. Lockwood!’

That was Southland Group! An entity so powerful she didn’t even dare to dream about it!

Overcome with jealousy, Sharon Lawson couldn’t help but wonder, on what grounds? After leaving Paul Pemberton, how had Joanna Kennedy managed to climb even higher to the President of Southland?

’In terms of looks or family background, how am I any worse than Joanna Kennedy?!’

Thinking of Paul Pemberton, Sharon Lawson recalled something he had once ranted about: Joanna Kennedy used to be in love with some deaf pauper. After her family went bankrupt, she even moved in with him.

Joanna Kennedy wasn’t even an adult back then, was she? At this thought, a triumphant smile suddenly appeared on Sharon Lawson’s face.

If she told Mr. Lockwood about this, he would definitely think Joanna Kennedy was indecent. A minor shamelessly moving into a man’s house, living off him, and then dumping him in the end.

How vicious and vain!

No man would ever want such a black-hearted woman! Who cares how beautiful she is? With a heart as venomous as a scorpion, all she knows is how to seduce people!

As Sharon Lawson stewed in these thoughts, she felt increasingly gleeful. She could almost picture the pathetic sight of Joanna Kennedy being thrown out onto the street.

Joanna Kennedy had no idea that she had been gratuitously branded a "femme fatale," because she was currently facing a huge problem of her own.

The library was closed on Mondays!

And she had wanted to take Simon Lockwood to see the place where she used to work!

Although it was "closed," it was really just a day off for the regular staff. The library wasn’t locked; there was just a security guard watching the entrance to prevent anyone from going in.

"I have a great idea. Want to hear it?" Joanna Kennedy asked tentatively.

Simon Lockwood: "..." ’Even without hearing it, I have a gut feeling this isn’t a good idea.’

"How about we sneak in?"

Gazing at the library, which had only one entrance with a security guard sitting right in front of it, a vein throbbed in Simon Lockwood’s temple. "It’s not like we absolutely have to go in..."

"You don’t want to see where I used to work?" Joanna Kennedy said, displeased.

The vein in Simon Lockwood’s temple throbbed again. "How do we sneak in?"

Joanna Kennedy immediately piped up. "Look, see? There’s a small door over there..."

The girl’s eyes sparkled. Avoiding the guard’s line of sight, she furtively pulled him over to the so-called "small door." Then, complaining that he was too tall and conspicuous, she gave him a firm pat. "Crouch down a little."

Simon Lockwood: "..."

Simon Lockwood bent down, his face expressionless. He looked at the "small door" in front of them, which was barely over a meter high, and his expression became even more stoic.

Then he watched as the girl pulled a key from her coat and unlocked the door with a practiced ease, as if she had done it a thousand times before.

Simon Lockwood: "..."

Simon Lockwood was past the point of wanting to say anything. He simply couldn’t understand why Joanna Kennedy would still be carrying a key to this place!

There was a security camera on the adjacent wall, but Joanna Kennedy acted as if she didn’t see it. She ducked inside, then turned her head and gestured to him. "Come on in. What are you doing just standing there like an idiot?"

Simon Lockwood: "..."

Simon Lockwood took a deep breath, trying his best to keep his voice gentle. "There’s a security camera here."

"You’re not afraid of committing economic crimes, but you’re afraid of this?" Joanna Kennedy blurted out.

Simon Lockwood: "...There were no economic crimes."

He looked as if he might pass out from sheer exasperation at any moment. Joanna Kennedy softened her voice and comforted him, "Relax. No one watches this camera feed. They won’t catch the esteemed Mr. Lockwood doing something like this."

Simon Lockwood: "..."

Simon Lockwood had seen and weathered all sorts of storms, but he had truly never done anything so nonsensical and furtive. His mind was in turmoil.