"President Shaw, you were looking for me?" Liam Sherman asked. He wore glasses and had a gentle, scholarly air.
Ethan Shaw slowly spun the pen in his hand. He looked up, his deep-set eyes handsome and striking. "Naomi Kenway has been acting rather unusually lately. I don't believe a person can change so drastically in such a short time. Have someone look into it."
His intuition told him Naomi was just using Annie for clout, but her awkward, reserved demeanor that day had made her seem like a completely different person.
Ethan Shaw had been vehemently opposed to Naomi Kenway taking Ian Shaw on the reality show. He didn't want his son to be a prop for building her public image. Moreover, Annie had always been a sensitive child, and Ethan didn't want him tainted by the cesspool of the entertainment industry at such a young age. But Annie really loved being close to Naomi, and who knows what she'd said to coax him into being so adamant about going.
Thinking about it gave Ethan Shaw a headache.
After a brief pause, Liam Sherman replied, "Understood."
He then bowed and walked out of the office.
After Liam Sherman left, Ethan Shaw opened his laptop and searched for information on Naomi Kenway's participation in the reality show. Just as Annie had said, Naomi was taking very attentive care of him.
'But is any of this genuine, or is it all an act?'
Ethan Shaw and Naomi Kenway's marriage had been arranged by their families. For a brief period after the wedding, they treated each other with polite respect. But it wasn't long before Naomi's awful nature revealed itself. She was a vicious person who would secretly beat and berate the staff. She was lazy, selfish, and utterly self-absorbed.
Ethan Shaw found her increasingly unbearable. The birth of Ian Shaw was the only thing holding their crumbling marriage together. But as their son grew, Naomi's temper became more volatile and unpredictable. She neglected the boy, once even forcing him to kneel in the rain as punishment until he developed a high fever. Ethan had tried to file for divorce several times, but Ian's tears always stopped him.
Eventually, Ethan Shaw moved out of the estate. The relationship between him and Naomi Kenway was in name only.
'How could such a terrible person change overnight?'
'And yet…'
Ethan Shaw's gaze fixed on the screen in front of him. The livestream replay was paused on an image of Naomi Kenway covering Ian Shaw's ears as she confronted Chelsea Raines.
He couldn't figure Naomi Kenway out anymore…
*
Three in the morning.
Nathan Lynch was woken by the piercing sound of a saw cutting through wood. He sat up in bed, bleary-eyed, and shuffled into the living room in his slippers. "Mom, it's so noisy..."
The cameras had been turned off for the night, and Renee Jennings's attitude toward Nathan Lynch became much more dismissive. "Be a good boy. It's late, hurry back to sleep."
She said her piece and immediately looked down, continuing to work on the wooden plank. 'Naomi Kenway probably gained a lot of fans from this furniture-making thing,' she mused. After leaving Naomi's rustic cottage, Renee had gone straight to a carpenter to ask for lessons. She hadn't come home until after dark and had been practicing feverishly in her bedroom ever since. For some reason, though, her hands felt clumsy; she just couldn't seem to make a complete stool.
'It looked so simple, so why was it so difficult? Naomi must have really struggled during those few months she was practicing.'
Nathan Lynch rubbed his eyes. "But Mom, it's so noisy. Mona can't sleep..."
"How could you not be able to sleep?" Renee Jennings looked at him, her patience wearing thin. "The big bad wolf snatches away children who stay up late, you know."
"The big bad wolf?!" Nathan Lynch flinched.
"That's right. The big bad wolf loves to eat children who go to bed late. So to protect yourself, Mona should hurry back to the bedroom and sleep. Mom will be back in a little while."
Nathan Lynch looked at the tools in Renee Jennings's hands, hesitated for a long moment, but left anyway.
With the nuisance out of the way, Renee Jennings quickly refocused her energy on making the stool. 'If Naomi Kenway can do it, how can I possibly fail? I've been preparing for so long. I can't let a disgraced celebrity beat me.'
*
The only thing in the rustic cottage was a battered old clock hanging on the wall, which had no alarm function whatsoever. Naomi Kenway had to rely on herself to wake up on time.
Preoccupied with the need to be the first to get breakfast, Naomi Kenway woke up several times during the night. No matter what, she couldn't let her son go hungry.
The clock's hands pointed to four-thirty, and Naomi Kenway climbed out of bed. The clothes she'd brought this time were all simple and practical. She picked out a gray jacket and jeans, then tied up her carefully styled curly hair, looking exceptionally neat and capable.
Before leaving, Naomi Kenway tucked the blanket around her son. Ian Shaw was sleeping soundly, his pale, tender cheeks nestled into the soft pillow.
"Mommy's going out to get breakfast. I'll be right back."
She whispered, knowing Ian Shaw couldn't hear her.
Naomi Kenway opened the door and stepped outside. The sky was just beginning to lighten, and she could faintly hear a rooster crowing.
She asked a nearby staff member, "Is the food distribution spot down this path?"
The cameraman, who also seemed to have just woken up, was surprised to see Naomi Kenway heading out. "Ms. Kenway, you're up so early?"
"The early bird gets the worm."
'Naomi had some idea of what Renee Jennings was like—famously diligent. If she went any later, she definitely wouldn't be able to get any of the good breakfast items.'
Naomi Kenway was known for her laziness, so the fact that she was waking up at four-thirty was enough to make the livestream viewers' jaws drop.
[Is Naomi Kenway still asleep, or am I? It's only 4:45 AM!!]
[Is Naomi Kenway possessed or something? I'm not kidding.]
[The other guests are probably still asleep. Only Naomi Kenway's stream has started! Am I dreaming? How is this possible? This is the Naomi who supposedly wakes up naturally at 11 AM every day!]
[She must be doing it to get the best breakfast for Annie, right? I'm really starting to like Naomi Kenway more and more. Go, Naomi!]
[Ugh, Naomi Kenway is getting really desperate to build up her "good mom" image.]
...
Just as Naomi Kenway had expected, she was the first person to arrive at the east end of the village. A large table was set up next to a utility pole, and the food on it seemed to have been laid out just moments before, still steaming hot.
It had to be said, the breakfast prepared by the production team was meager. For the wheat-based foods, there were only two filled steamed buns; the rest were all plain buns served with pickled vegetables. Naomi Kenway unhesitatingly took both filled buns, then also grabbed an egg and some millet porridge.
If the first people to arrive took too much, those who came later might not get any food. Naomi didn't consider herself that inconsiderate, so after taking enough for two people, she headed back. The thought of her son waiting for her at home made her steps quicken unconsciously.
She remembered that her son loved steamed buns, and today's buns happened to be his favorite kind: shiitake mushroom and pork.
*
Renee Jennings had set an alarm in advance and left at five o'clock sharp. Just as she'd expected, there were no other guests at the food distribution area besides the staff.
'I must be the first one here,' she thought, feeling slightly relieved.
The food on the table was nothing but plain steamed buns with pickled vegetables. Inwardly, Renee Jennings cursed the production team for being so stingy, but she didn't let it show on her face.
After taking enough for herself, she hesitated for a moment, then took another portion.
On her way back, Renee Jennings ran into Margaret Jennings, who was rushing to get there. The two exchanged simple greetings.
Margaret Jennings looked at her quizzically. "Huh, I thought your villa wasn't in this direction."
Renee Jennings gave a faint smile and held up the steamed buns in her hand. "Nina is definitely not up yet. I was afraid little Annie would go hungry, so I'm planning to take these buns over to them."