The Villain Mom Awakens — Going Viral by Parenting on a Reality Show-Chapter 69: Dimensional Reduction Strike

[She can make knife-cut noodles and wrap dumplings. With skills like that, Naomi Kenway is no kitchen disaster, is she?]

[The dumplings Naomi Kenway makes are gorgeous. I’ve been making them for over a decade and mine aren’t half as good. It’s honestly a little embarrassing.]

[People were saying Naomi Kenway was just using Lindsay Woods to clean up her own image, but seeing her now, I’m starting to think that threat was real. She must have been acting like a fool on purpose because of the pressure from Lindsay Woods. Naomi has really been through a lot.]

[I’m not buying it. Naomi Kenway’s change is too sudden. It’s definitely all an act!]

...

The task was to make thirty dumplings. Naomi Kenway’s hands flew, and in no time, she had already finished twenty. ’My son loves unique things,’ she thought. Seeing that the other contestants were lagging behind, Naomi made a few more dumplings in the shape of flowers. They were both intricate and beautiful.

Renee Jennings kept an eye on Naomi Kenway’s station as she worked. Seeing Naomi’s dumplings piling up in neat rows at an astonishing speed, Renee grew frantic, and her own hands began to move faster.

The cameraman’s voice came from the side. "Mr. Jennings, broken dumplings won’t count toward your total."

In her haste, Renee Jennings had overstuffed a dumpling. The wrapper wouldn’t seal, and it had become a messy lump of dough and filling.

Renee Jennings gave an embarrassed smile. "My apologies, I got a little carried away."

’When I messed up digging for potatoes, the netizens blasted me for wasting the villagers’ hard work. If I ruin these dumplings, I’ll probably be labeled as someone who wastes food, too.’

’Losing the competition is one thing, but earning a bad reputation would be terrible.’

Renee Jennings’s hands slowed.

A noise came from nearby, and Chelsea Raines scrambled onto the platform, looking disheveled.

Ruby Preston was puzzled. "What took you so long? I thought you had the best paddle."

Chelsea Raines rubbed her nose. "I... I lost control of my direction and ended up turning back around. It took everything I had to get up here."

Ruby Preston barely suppressed a laugh. "You have the worst luck. Come on, start making dumplings."

Chelsea Raines walked over listlessly. Just rowing the boat had already drained all her energy.

She made her way to the only empty spot left, situated between Naomi Kenway and Renee Jennings. Chelsea subconsciously glanced at Naomi’s station and was so shocked her jaw nearly dropped.

’How has Naomi Kenway made so many dumplings?!’

’If Naomi had been the one to fall in, I’d be in the lead right now, wouldn’t I?’ Chelsea fumed silently.

Suddenly, Chelsea Raines noticed something. She immediately protested, "Does what Naomi Kenway made even count as a dumpling? It’s a flower! That’s against the rules!"

The director came over to inspect them and made a fair ruling. "They count. Naomi Kenway didn’t cut any corners, and the dumplings are made beautifully."

Chelsea Raines huffed.

Naomi Kenway spared her a glance, her words pointed. "Instead of finding fault in others, you should look at yourself first. People like you are both laughable and pathetic."

"Me, pathetic?" Chelsea Raines didn’t get the hint. "What’s so pathetic about me? I live in a mansion and drive a supercar."

Realizing Chelsea was a bit dense, Naomi Kenway simply turned away and ignored her.

As she finished her last dumpling, Naomi Kenway called out, "I’m done!"

Renee Jennings looked over at Naomi Kenway with a conflicted expression. She had been so focused on her own work that she hadn’t been paying attention. Not only had Naomi finished first, but she had even shaped her dumplings like flowers.

’What was that? Some kind of next-level takedown? Was she trying to humiliate me on purpose?!’

The other contestants all looked over at Naomi Kenway.

Margaret Jennings praised her effusively. "You made these from dough wrappers? That’s incredible."

Ruby Preston also nodded earnestly, a misshapen dumpling she’d tried to form several times sitting in her hands. She’d spent so many years busy on film sets that she rarely had time to be home with her children. She had long since grown rusty at tasks like making dumplings.

[Even with all those rowing mishaps, she still took first place. Naomi Kenway is a total beast!!]

[She was so close! Rachel only had two or three left. What a shame.]

[Director Ruby Preston is having such a hard time with the dumplings. You can tell she doesn’t want to waste ingredients; she’s been trying to fix that one dumpling over and over.]

[Congrats, Nina! You can finally take baby Annie to live in the big house!]

...

Naomi Kenway glanced around, then took the initiative. "Hazel Preston, let me teach you how to make them."

Ruby Preston was overjoyed. But just as she was about to happily accept, someone else rained on her parade.

"No way! Naomi Kenway, that’s against the rules!" Chelsea Raines was so focused on antagonizing Naomi that she forgot she was also offending Ruby Preston.

Ruby Preston, already annoyed, said, "If it’s just verbal instruction, that should be fine, right? What do you all think?"

As Ruby Preston’s gaze swept over her, Renee Jennings quickly agreed, "Yes."

’After all, Ruby Preston was the biggest star on the show. Offending her wouldn’t do me any good.’

"But... even verbal instruction is..." Seeing Chelsea Raines about to speak again, Renee Jennings quickly poked her in the side.

Meeting Ruby Preston’s furious gaze, Chelsea Raines finally got the message and mumbled, "Whatever you say, Hazel Preston."

"What do you mean, ’whatever I say’? This is an objective fact, not my personal opinion." Ruby Preston turned to the director beside her. "If Nicole gives me a few pointers, that doesn’t count as breaking the rules, does it?"

"As long as it’s only verbal instruction, it doesn’t count."

Ruby Preston looked at Chelsea Raines. "See? It’s not against the rules. It’s not just me making things up."

Chelsea Raines lowered her head, looking wronged, and muttered almost inaudibly, "I was just making a casual comment, why is everyone being so serious..."

"What was that?"

"N-nothing..."

A look of pity crossed Renee Jennings’s face. ’Right now, Ruby Preston seems just as aggressive as Naomi Kenway,’ she thought. But her rational side told her not to stick up for Chelsea Raines. It wouldn’t be good to get dragged into it herself.

With the matter settled, Ruby Preston smiled at Naomi Kenway. "Sorry to trouble you, Nicole. I’m a slow learner, so please bear with me."

"It’s no problem. I’ll walk you through it from the very first step."

Ten minutes later, all the contestants had completed the dumpling-making task. The final rankings, from first to last, were: Naomi Kenway, Renee Jennings, Margaret Jennings, Chelsea Raines, and Ruby Preston.

Naomi Kenway immediately looked toward Ruby Preston, who just smiled nonchalantly. "It’s fine. You just taught me how to make dumplings, so from that perspective, I’ve already gained a lot. It’s my own fault for being so clumsy and slow."

"No, you’re just a little out of practice, Hazel Preston. You’ll definitely get better if you do it more often."

Ruby Preston nodded. "Okay."

After finishing the task, all the contestants had to row their boats back to shore. With the pressure off, the others rowed at a leisurely pace. But Naomi Kenway still rowed quickly; she didn’t want to keep her son waiting too long.

"Mommy! Mommy!" The moment he saw Naomi Kenway’s figure, Ian Shaw dashed toward her.