The Villain Mom Awakens — Going Viral by Parenting on a Reality Show-Chapter 83: Return to Veridia

"Why are there only two chili peppers in your basket?" Chelsea Raines held up Jared Woods’s empty basket in disbelief.

"I..." Jared Woods burped. "I was hungry, so..."

"Don’t they provide meals here?"

"I got hungry again after I ate."

"So you ate our entire dinner? You even dared to eat raw vegetables?" Chelsea Raines was starting to panic. "I wonder if you’ll get a stomachache..."

"The lady gave me... potatoes..."

"Potatoes?!" Chelsea Raines nearly fainted in fright. Raw potatoes are toxic. She grabbed Jared Woods’s arm, about to drag him to the hospital.

"No, wait, they were tomatoes. The red ones are tomatoes."

"What was it, exactly?" Chelsea Raines knew Jared Woods’s memory was unreliable, so she quickly turned to ask the cameraman next to them.

"Jared ate tomatoes." 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Only then did Chelsea Raines let out a sigh of relief. She poked Jared Woods’s forehead with her finger. "Are you trying to worry me to death? I’m out there working hard all day to earn our travel money, and you’re doing this on purpose to make me worry? Look at that terrible memory of yours. You can’t even remember what you ate. How are you going to run a company in the future?!"

"I didn’t forget, I just don’t recognize them..." Jared Woods pouted.

Simon Sawyer kept looking around, appearing as if he wanted to say something but was holding back.

Naomi Kenway walked over and patted his head. "Simon, are you looking for your mom? She’s outside busy chartering a bus. She’ll be back in a little while."

"Oh..." Simon Sawyer replied. "I’m not worried about her. She’s often busy outside."

Naomi Kenway paused for a moment, but Simon Sawyer had already returned to the sofa and sat down again.

Since they were waiting for information about the chartered bus from Ruby Preston, none of the guests left for home right away.

Forty minutes later, Ruby Preston walked in, looking travel-worn and a bit tired, but there was a hint of joy in her expression. "I’ve already arranged for the vehicle. We’ll gather at the village entrance at nine tomorrow morning to leave. What do you all think?"

The other guests all nodded in agreement.

*

They would be returning to Veridia tomorrow, so Naomi Kenway went back and packed her luggage.

The next day, Naomi Kenway woke up early. Since they had plenty of ingredients, she made a sumptuous breakfast.

After they finished eating, Naomi Kenway led Ian Shaw out the door.

Ian Shaw glanced back several times at the small bamboo house, seeming very reluctant to leave. Naomi Kenway knew Ian was a sentimental child. She turned to the cameraman and asked, "Could you take a picture of us?"

After getting an affirmative reply, Naomi Kenway held Ian Shaw and posed for a photo with the small bamboo house in the background.

"Ian, once the photo is developed, let’s hang it in the bedroom, okay? And the earthen house from the last trip, Mom will find a way to get a photo of that too. These are all precious memories from our travels and are worth commemorating."

Ian Shaw nodded.

"Mom knows you’ll miss the beautiful sights of the past, and that’s normal. But our journey won’t stop here, because there will definitely be even more beautiful scenery waiting for us along the way!"

The bus Ruby Preston chartered could hold many people. The driver took them directly from the entrance of Lyrish Village to Veridia.

Through the window, Naomi Kenway saw that quite a few villagers were still waving goodbye to them.

Naomi Kenway and Ian waved back. "Goodbye!"

After a three-hour drive, it was already noon when they arrived in Veridia. After saying goodbye to the other guests, the surrounding follow-cams also disappeared.

Walking through the bustling station, Naomi Kenway quickly found the driver who had come to pick them up.

*

At eight o’clock that night, Ethan Shaw returned to the manor. He wearily pressed the space between his eyebrows and casually took off his suit jacket.

He heard a burst of cheerful laughter before he even stepped into the living room.

"Ian, look at this rabbit! The little rabbit is wearing a flower crown on its head!"

"So pretty! Mom, Ian wants to wear a flower crown too!"

"How about Mom weaves one for you tomorrow? The prettiest one ever, okay?"

"Okay! Mom is the best mom in the world!!"

...

Ethan Shaw’s steps faltered. He stood in the entryway, quietly watching the mother and son sitting side-by-side on the rug not far away.

They seemed to be reading a book. Naomi Kenway had her arm affectionately around Ian, and she suddenly bent down and kissed his cheek.

"Sir, you’re back."

Ethan Shaw withdrew his gaze, changed his shoes, and walked inside.

"Dad!" Ian Shaw stood up and came running over on his little legs.

A smile touched Ethan Shaw’s lips. He wrapped his free arm around Ian Shaw. "Why aren’t you in bed yet? It’s so late."

"Ian was looking at a picture book with Mom. We’re going to bed soon."

Naomi Kenway stood up as well. "You’re back?"

They were truly a husband and wife who were far too distant with each other.

Ethan Shaw nodded.

"You haven’t eaten yet, have you? I’ll have the maid bring something over in a bit."

Ethan Shaw said, "Alright."

Naomi Kenway walked over and took Ian’s hand. "It’s getting late. I should take Ian to bed."

Ian Shaw said, "Dad, Mom’s cooking is really delicious!"

Naomi Kenway took Ian Shaw upstairs, while Ethan Shaw took a few steps forward and picked up the children’s picture book from the rug. On it were several little rabbits wearing flower crowns of different colors.

*

After coaxing Ian Shaw to sleep as usual, Naomi Kenway came downstairs to get the picture book. Ian loved the illustrations in it.

She looked around but didn’t see it, letting out a curious "Huh?"

"Are you looking for this?" Ethan Shaw’s voice came over. His long fingers were holding the picture book.

Naomi Kenway walked over. "Yes, Ian really likes this one. I didn’t know you were interested in picture books, though."

"Just taking a look." Ethan Shaw picked up his spoon and took a sip of fish soup. His eyes flickered, and he looked up to ask, "Naomi, did you make this food?"

"No, I didn’t know you hadn’t had dinner, so I only made dinner for Ian and myself. What you’re eating now was made by Auntie Warren. Couldn’t you tell?"

Ethan Shaw’s hand, holding the spoon, froze. His expression changed slightly. He lowered his head, took a sip of soup, and said nothing.

’How strange. Why does he just ignore people all of a sudden?’

Naomi Kenway couldn’t figure out what Ethan Shaw was thinking, nor could she be bothered to guess. Holding the children’s picture book, she said, "You take your time eating. I’m going upstairs to bed."

Ethan Shaw gave a slow nod.

*

After her shower, Naomi Kenway put on a face mask. Bored, she idly scrolled through Weibo. She enjoyed reading gossip. Some of it was true, some false, but it was all spun in interesting ways, and some of it could even be described as wildly imaginative.

After logging into her account, Naomi Kenway discovered her private messages were full. Everyone was asking her the same question: who was her powerful backer?

"What the hell..." Naomi Kenway had a sharp feeling that something she didn’t know about must have happened during the secluded filming period.

After piecing together the information from her private messages, Naomi Kenway got the gist of what had happened. Apparently, while she was on the show, rumors had spread that her family had fallen on hard times and that she had joined the parenting show to pay off her husband’s massive debts...

It sounded utterly pathetic.