Chapter 174 - 173: 11:59
Unsuspecting, Joanna Kennedy confidently took two steps forward, revealing the low bookshelf she had been blocking.
The man, tall with long arms, crouched down and, with a clear target, pulled out a book hidden deep inside.
Joanna Kennedy’s mind went blank. When she came to her senses, she lunged for the book. "Simon Lockwood!"
Her voice was laced with obvious tension and anger. She stood on her tiptoes, ready to pounce and snatch the book away. From the way she was acting, you would think he was holding something illicit, not a book.
Simon Lockwood stood up, easily catching both her wrists in one hand. His gaze flickered to her face, his voice betraying no emotion. "What’s the rush?"
"Give it back!" Joanna Kennedy was too frantic to argue, her voice urgent.
Simon Lockwood ignored her, staring silently at the book.
*The Little Prince*. Its cover was slightly worn, a silent testament to how many times it had been read.
Something was tucked inside. As she fumed, he flipped a page. The next second, a thin, pink sticky note fluttered out and landed on the wooden floor.
Simon Lockwood had excellent eyesight and could clearly see what was on the note. Drawn with a black gel pen was a round clock, like a watch face a child had meticulously drawn for themself.
The hands were infinitesimally close to 12:00, but stopped permanently at 11:59.
The book was still open to the page where the note had been. A passage was lightly boxed in with a gray pencil.
[If, for example, you come at four o’clock in the afternoon, then at three o’clock I shall begin to be happy.]
If you say you’re leaving at 12:00 AM, then I hope every day from now on freezes at 11:59.
...
The air seemed to stand still. They could almost hear each other’s erratic, unbalanced heartbeats.
"...Why did you draw this?" After what felt like an eternity, Simon Lockwood finally spoke, his voice hoarse.
’So for all those days and nights, he hadn’t been the only one suffering when the clock struck twelve.’
The man’s lips were pressed into a thin, tight line, his face pale. Hope and panic warred in his eyes, making for a heartbreaking sight.
Joanna Kennedy turned her head to look out the window, blinking back tears. She put on a nonchalant air. "I was just bored, so I drew it. It doesn’t mean anything."
’Doesn’t mean anything...’
’He hadn’t even asked, and she was already so desperate to explain...’
"Joanna Kennedy, were you—"
"Hey! What do you two think you’re doing!"
The rest of Simon Lockwood’s question was drowned out by a security guard’s rough, booming voice.
「At the checkout counter in the first-floor lobby.」
"A twenty-yuan fine for each of you. And don’t let it happen again." The security guard looked at the strikingly attractive, well-dressed pair and muttered under his breath, "They don’t look broke. Why would they sneak into a library for a date...?"
Simon Lockwood: "..."
Joanna Kennedy: "..."
The two paid the fine in silence. Before they left, Simon Lockwood bought the copy of *The Little Prince*. The security guard’s attitude softened, and he even offered to get him a new copy.
Simon Lockwood politely refused. "No, thank you. I want this one."
The security guard: "..."
’Passing up a brand-new copy to buy a dusty old one. The way young people think is truly baffling.’
Joanna Kennedy didn’t feel like talking anymore. Head bowed, she followed dejectedly behind Simon Lockwood, letting him lead her by the hand.
Once they were out the library doors, Joanna Kennedy couldn’t help but feel the sting of losing forty yuan for nothing. She said angrily, "This is all your fault."
’If you hadn’t been so fixated on that stupid book, the security guard never would have come over!’
Simon Lockwood lowered his gaze. "Alright. It’s my fault."
His attitude was so compliant that Joanna Kennedy couldn’t bring herself to say anything more accusatory.
The clock drawing had been tucked inside that book for a long, long time—so long that she’d almost forgotten it existed. Joanna Kennedy herself was surprised that it was still there, completely undisturbed.
Joanna Kennedy couldn’t remember the exact feeling that had compelled her to draw the clock. She only remembered that the moon was full, a sea breeze was drifting through the window, and Simon Lockwood was on a plane, flying abroad...
"Simon Lockwood, can you just... not ask? Please?" Joanna Kennedy said suddenly, out of the blue.
But Simon Lockwood knew exactly what she meant. He was silent for two seconds. "Alright."
People always have a tendency to dwell on the past. Especially when they learn things weren’t as they seemed, a mix of heartache and guilt wells up, and they can’t help but question everything. But in reality, what’s past is past.
And Joanna Kennedy... didn’t want to bring it up again.
The two of them walked down a sycamore-lined road. The leaves on the tall trees had turned yellow, and with every gust of wind, they fluttered gently to the ground.
They made a soft crunch when stepped on. A group of students walking home from school passed by, seeming to glance in their direction. In response, Simon Lockwood silently reached out and pulled the hood of her sweatshirt up over her head.
Joanna Kennedy tugged at the large, loose hood, lowering her head slightly so that it covered most of her face, leaving only her small, fair chin visible.
"Is there anywhere else you want to go?" Simon Lockwood asked.
Joanna Kennedy’s voice was muffled by the hoodie. "Nowhere else..."
"Mm."
That "Mm" meant it was time to head back to Aethelburg. Joanna Kennedy didn’t react, but her eyes kept darting to the book in his hands.
Simon Lockwood seemed to have a love-hate relationship with the book. Every few steps, he would lift it for a glance, then press his lips into a thin line.
After he did this several times, Joanna Kennedy couldn’t stand it anymore. "That’s my book. If you don’t like it, then give it to me."
’Why does he keep frowning at *The Little Prince*? It’s so disrespectful to the book.’
One of her words must have struck a nerve. Simon Lockwood’s grip on the book tightened, and he pulled it back behind him, his voice tense. "I bought it. I paid for it."
Joanna Kennedy: "..."
’So childish.’
As they walked on, Joanna Kennedy caught a delicious scent wafting from a woman’s food stall up ahead. She suddenly craved a starch sausage. Switching tacks with impressive flexibility, she looked up at him with pleading eyes. "Simon Lockwood, go buy one for me."
Simon Lockwood glanced at the starch sausage stall, then looked away with a frown. "The resort restaurant can make them. We can eat when we get back."
’With an open-air stall like this, you couldn’t even be sure the ingredients were clean, not to mention all the dust. It was just unhealthy junk food.’
But alas, Joanna Kennedy loved junk food. She frowned, displeased. "But they don’t taste the same when the restaurant makes them..."
"The taste of artificial flavoring, you mean?" Simon Lockwood said coolly.
Joanna Kennedy: "..."
’Wow, just wow. Not even a master of face-changing could switch moods as fast as you.’
’One minute ago, he was so docile, agreeing to everything I said. Now he’s giving me the cold shoulder and mocking me?!’
Joanna Kennedy was so impressed by his performance she almost applauded. "Mr. Lockwood, are you telling me you won’t even spend two yuan on me?"
She’d called him "Mr. Lockwood." She was truly furious. Still, Simon Lockwood tried to salvage the situation. "We can eat at the restaurant. You can have two of them."