Margaret Jennings paused, recalling that her daughter seemed to have taken a liking to Ian Shaw from the very first day.
"Carina, do you like Ian a lot?"
"He's so handsome, I want him to be my little brother!"
Margaret Jennings's heart stirred. She had been thirty-two when she gave birth to Carina, and she never had any intention of having a second child. But Carina had always seemed lonely, often mentioning that she wanted a little brother.
"Mommy, can Carina go play with Ian?"
Margaret Jennings hesitated.
If it were anyone else's child, it would be fine, but it just had to be Naomi Kenway's. Given the rumors, Margaret Jennings didn't want Carina Sanders to get involved with Naomi Kenway for the time being.
"Be a good girl, Carina. Why don't you finish telling Mommy your story first? Where were you? You dreamed that a mermaid swam to shore, and then what happened?"
Carina Sanders's attention was successfully diverted, and she launched back into her fantastical dream story, chattering away excitedly.
Ruby Preston and Renee Jennings arrived soon after. They had come from the same direction, but surprisingly, the two, who seemed to have a good relationship, didn't exchange a single word the entire time. The expression on Renee Jennings's face was a bit odd.
Not expecting Naomi Kenway to have arrived before her, Renee Jennings shot her a surprised glance. Then, as if remembering something, her expression turned ugly.
Chelsea Raines was the last guest to arrive. She and her son, Jared Woods, were, as usual, dressed in stylish and eye-catching outfits.
Once she got close enough to see what Naomi Kenway was doing, Chelsea Raines couldn't help but laugh out loud. "On the way here, I was teaching my son math. You're really something, Naomi. Squatting on the side of the road teaching your son about wildflowers. How ridiculous!"
Naomi Kenway felt a flash of irritation at the sound of her voice and glanced at her casually. "You seem pretty busy lately. It's been a while since I've seen you running over to my mud hut."
Remembering the humiliation she had suffered at Naomi Kenway's mud hut, Chelsea Raines gritted her teeth, her face turning ashen. "Who would want to go to your crappy little place!"
Then, she stormed off in a huff.
In stark contrast to Chelsea Raines, Naomi Kenway was now in a great mood. 'Serves her right for always looking for trouble when there is none.'
[Naomi's mouth is so sharp. She really got Chelsea good. Forget Chelsea, even I feel embarrassed for her. She ran over all aggressively to confront her, only to end up kneeling and apologizing.]
[I mean, Naomi was just minding her own business counting flowers on the roadside. She wasn't bothering Chelsea. Is this the first time I'm noticing that Chelsea is kind of asking for it?]
[Naomi has done so many evil things. Can't our girl Chelsea even say a few words back to her?]
[The person above must be a hardcore Chelsea fan, right? I'm not a fan of either of them, but Chelsea was definitely the one who went looking for trouble.]
...
Not long after all the guests had gathered, the tour guide, Dalton, made his appearance. This time, his hair and makeup weren't as exaggerated and grand as before; he was simply dressed in a shirt and jeans.
"Long time no see, everyone! I wonder how you all slept last night?" he asked, holding a megaphone.
He directed this question specifically to Naomi Kenway. "Naomi, how did you sleep?"
"It was fine. There was mosquito repellent in the room. The production team prepared everything quite well."
The guide couldn't help but laugh. "Is that so? I didn't expect you to be so optimistic." He then looked down and asked Ian Shaw, "Ian, how did you sleep?"
As the microphone was passed to him, Ian Shaw took a small step back, clearly not used to strangers getting so close. "...Very well."
"He seems a little shy." The guide took a few steps back, giving Ian Shaw his space.
He was holding a script. "I'm sure you're all looking forward to this next task, right? But first, we're going to play a little game." He spread his arms, gesturing for everyone to look behind him. "Look over here. We have a wooden box. Each guest will draw a card from it, and the card you draw will affect the difficulty of your task."
"Stop beating around the bush. What's the task?" Chelsea Raines asked bluntly.
The guide just smiled. "Everyone, please draw your cards first. I'll explain the next step after that."
Naomi Kenway followed the other guests and drew a card. She opened it as soon as she got it. On it was written: Knife-Cut Noodles.
"Mommy, what does it say?" Ian Shaw asked curiously.
"Knife-cut noodles."
Ian Shaw's eyes lit up. "Daddy always takes me to a restaurant that has delicious knife-cut noodles. Ian loves knife-cut noodles."
'Ian likes knife-cut noodles,' Naomi Kenway silently noted to herself.
The other guests revealed the words on their cards one by one. Ruby Preston got "Egg Fried Rice," Margaret Jennings got "Buns," Chelsea Raines got "Scrambled Eggs with Tomato," and Renee Jennings got "Steamed Buns."
They were all very common, home-style dishes and staples.
"What do these things we drew represent?" Chelsea Raines asked impatiently.
Margaret Jennings ventured a guess, "Is this the dinner we get to claim? We're getting our dinner for tonight by drawing cards?"
Chelsea Raines frowned. "Scrambled eggs with tomato... Is one dish really enough to be a full meal?"
The guide chuckled. "Oh, it's not that simple. You'll have to prepare tonight's dinner yourselves. During the dinner party tonight, each guest must make the dish written on their card. Later, the little guests will taste them and vote for today's 'Best Culinary God.'"
"The guest who wins 'Best Culinary God' will receive a special gift prepared by the production team. As for what that gift is, we'll keep it a secret for now."
After hearing the guide's explanation, a heavy look fell over Renee Jennings's face. 'I can't believe we have to make the food on the cards.' Her "Steamed Buns" were the plainest of all. 'How am I supposed to win over the other kids' taste buds with that?'
Then, an idea struck her. She remembered that Naomi Kenway had drawn "Knife-Cut Noodles." Knife-cut noodles required exceptional knife skills, making them a great choice for showing off. And as it happened, knife-cut noodles were what Renee Jennings did best.
Staring at the card in Naomi Kenway's hand, Renee Jennings walked right over. "Naomi, you've probably never cooked before, right? Knife-cut noodles are way too difficult for a beginner. My steamed buns are much simpler. Why don't we switch cards?"
One look at Renee Jennings was all it took for Naomi Kenway to know exactly what she was scheming.
'She's only doing this for herself, but she's phrasing it like she's doing me a favor. This female lead has some moves.'
Naomi Kenway rejected her without hesitation. "No, thanks. Ian really wants to eat knife-cut noodles, and I'd like to give it a try."
Renee Jennings couldn't tell if Naomi Kenway was telling the truth or not, but the current situation was indeed difficult to handle. "Naomi, you may not know this, but knife-cut noodles are my specialty. I guarantee Ian will love the ones I make. Why don't we just switch cards? What do you think?"
"I only want to eat what Mommy makes," Ian Shaw piped up.
Renee Jennings froze. She hadn't expected this mother and son duo to be so difficult.
Chelsea Raines overheard and rushed over. She had always been Renee Jennings's loyal ally. "Knife-cut noodles aren't something just anyone can make well. If I remember correctly, Naomi, you've barely ever set foot in a kitchen, have you? You'll just end up making something disgusting and embarrassing yourself tonight. In my opinion, you should just switch with Renee. She's giving you an easy way out."