Chapter 916: message received

"Put me down!"

"Ray!"

"Enough with—hey! Watch where you’re touching!"

Nina let out a shallow sigh as she watched Dean get dragged away by Ray and some officers from the fan club.

"Trying to leave now as well?" Suddenly, amid Dean’s echoing protests, she heard Jonathan’s voice from behind her. When she turned to look at him, all she saw was Jonathan approaching her.

"Are you leaving now too?" she asked, seeing that he was still there, and no one had shown up to drag him back. "I guess they’re letting you."

Jonathan chuckled as he stopped in front of her. "I don’t think so. See them over there?"

"Hmm?" Nina followed where Jonathan was casually pointing, only to see a small group of officers hounding another attendee to drag him back. "Goodness. I feel like we’re going to be trapped here. Are they here to watch you?"

"I told them I’d just go out for a smoke," he explained, making Nina look back at him. "My keys are with them... and some of my stuff too. They took them as a hostage. So even if I want to leave, I can’t."

Nina smiled wryly. "I’m sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?"

"I mean, I just feel... very sorry?" She shrugged. "But... yeah, this fan club can be intense."

"It is. My girlfriend told me about it, but I never imagined it to be like this."

Nina pursed her lips and huffed. "Congrats on winning the game," she smiled. "It was fun... even though I was just watching."

"I didn’t do much." He laughed. "All the credit should go to Dean and the rest of the team."

"I don’t think so! I thought you were very helpful..." she trailed off, concealing what she almost blurted out with a smile. ’... and quite scary.’

"Thank you."

"I’m just telling the truth."

Jonathan chuckled with his lips closed. "Even so, thank you."

"Well, shall we go in?" she proposed with a clap. "I don’t think everyone is allowed to leave yet. Though I’m not sure what’s going on inside... and to be honest, I don’t want to know."

But Nina was certain that what was happening inside was crazy.

Going back inside the gymnasium with Jonathan already gave her a sense of déjà vu. She had been out earlier with him, but when they returned, things were already escalating. Therefore, she was a bit scared to expect what might happen now that she was going back inside.

"I don’t think it’s that bad," he said, tilting his head a little. "You should go in for now. I went out for a smoke, but I’ll be there."

"Oh, right...?" She cleared her throat, giving him a strange look that made him raise his brows.

Jonathan narrowed his eyes a bit as he laughed. "Didn’t you expect that I have such a habit?"

"Huh? I mean, no," she chuckled awkwardly. "It’s not that bad — I mean, it’s not illegal. It’s just that I didn’t think you looked like someone who smokes."

"Many people told me that, and I already quit a long time ago."

"Then why are you..." Again, Nina trailed off and smiled. "I’m sorry for asking so many questions. I know it’s not my business. Anyway, I’ll go inside now. See you around."

"Mhm."

Having said that, Nina walked away to give Jonathan some privacy and alone time. As she did so, she furrowed her brows upon catching sight of Penny standing by the exit where she had come from.

"Penny?" she called, stopping in front of Penny, who was leaning against the wall. "What are you doing here?"

Penny flashed her a short smile. "Just checking on you. You looked a little... panicky earlier, so I came to check. Is your ankle okay? You’re limping a bit."

"Oh. I’m okay, I almost tripped earlier while following Dean Pierson." Nina chuckled. "I just wanted to say thank you to Dean Pierson for standing up for me. I mean, it’s not that important, but I’m still grateful. It’s just that I realized I might not have needed that because Ray and the officers dragged him back inside."

Her face twisted a bit, reminded of how the calm and collected Dean Pierson had been carried like a spread blanket, with two men holding his arms and another two holding his feet. It was very unsightly.

"I see." Penny nodded. "Then, let’s get back in."

"Mhm."

Penny motioned for Nina to go first, and the latter nodded, resuming her steps. As Nina walked past Penny, the latter slowly snapped her eyes to where Jonathan was standing. Jonathan was still in the same spot, his eyes on Penny.

The corner of Penny’s mouth hooked up, raising an eyebrow briefly before peeling herself off the wall to follow Nina. Jonathan, on the other hand, kept his eyes fixed on Penny’s back.

’This woman... surely is an interesting one,’he thought, his eyelids drooping, giving him a dangerous look. As he watched Penny, his eyes veered to the wall where Penny had been leaning earlier.

"What is that?" he wondered to himself.

Curious, Jonathan walked back and stopped in front of the wall where a sticky note was pasted. He peeled it away and held the note with his fingers, reading:

[Thank you for saving my company. A chance missed, I suppose?]

There was a cute smiley face at the end of the message, making him laugh out loud. It was funny how she tried to thank him for saving her company when Prime Group’s fall had been one of his goals, as it had been too much in the way. His laughter soon sounded evil as he crumpled the paper, grinning his teeth.

’So, this is her gift in return for the one I sent her?’he wondered to himself, laughing in ridicule even more. ’I should’ve gotten to know her better in the past... if only I’d known I’d have to deal with her in this lifetime.’

Saving the company wasn’t the slap Penny gave him, but the real slap was this: this was who Jonathan had to deal with on top of all those he thought he should prioritize. Just like how she played with everyone’s hearts and emotions today, even playing with countless lives with a simple bet, she could play with him as well.

"Message... received," he whispered, gazing at the sticky note in his hand. "I wonder if she married him because of me?"

At the end of the day, Jonathan manipulated everything just to be Zoren’s "half" brother. It wouldn’t be surprising if Penny did the same for the same reason he had — to deal with the biggest obstacle that ruined his plans in the past — or to counter his plans.

How interesting to be both of them in Zoren’s life.

A glint flickered across Jonathan’s face as he realized that Penny wasn’t just someone he could deal with so easily. Even so, the corner of his mouth hooked up as a thought crossed his mind.

Unbeknownst to him, Cassandra was seated in a car, parked not far from where Jonathan was standing, and had been staring at him for quite some time now.