Chapter 271: Chapter 271: Renee Jennings, Just Apologize

Jared Woods wiped the tears from his face and rejoined the group to play.

[Kids get over things so fast. In a minute, they’re back to being best buds.]

[He really stopped crying. Naomi Kenway is actually pretty good with kids. The most important thing is that the children stopped fighting.]

[You can tell Jared Woods is spoiled rotten. How can he just demand things and expect to get them? Kids like that think they can get whatever they want just by crying. If you just ignore him for a bit, he’ll learn his lesson!]

[Why should Nathan have to give up his toy? Is Jared Woods trying to PUA him at such a young age? What is Renee Jennings even doing? From what Jared Woods said, it sounds like Nathan has given him his toys many times before. Isn’t Renee Jennings supposed to be tough? How can she not even protect her own son’s toys?!]

[Renee Jennings is only focused on being the “good guy.” With that self-righteous, “understanding” act, who knows how many times she’s screwed Nathan over!]

[Sean is so considerate! He’s really taking care of everyone around him. But like Nina said, it’s okay to be a little selfish sometimes. Sean, you’re just a kid too. You need to be spoiled and have a happy childhood.]

[Why should the older brother always have to give in to the younger one?! Does the older brother have to satisfy all the younger one’s unreasonable demands? Good for Naomi Kenway for telling him off!]

[Chelsea Raines really needs to take a good look at herself. She’s raised a kid with total rich-kid syndrome. The way he cries whenever he doesn’t get what he wants is so annoying.]

…

For the rest of the time, Naomi Kenway just watched the children play. Nathan Lynch was in a bad mood because of what had just happened. Jared Woods seemed to realize he had upset Nathan. He moved his lips as if to say something, but after frowning in frustration, he said nothing more.

Suddenly, a noise came from downstairs. Naomi Kenway realized the other guests were probably returning one after another.

The children’s hearing was sharper. Carina Sanders stopped what she was doing and asked, “Mom, are our moms back?”

The words had barely left her mouth when the children pushed the door open and ran out.

Naomi Kenway followed behind them, shouting, “Slow down! Don’t rush down the stairs.”

Indeed, the guests had returned. The kitchen was piled high with ingredients.

Ruby Preston looked around at the others and wondered aloud, “Strange, where’s Renee Jennings?”

Just as she spoke, Renee Jennings walked in, carrying a clear plastic bag filled with various bottles and jars—the seasonings she had gone to ask for.

Unlike ordinary vegetables, seasonings were very difficult to request. Renee Jennings was even mistaken for a beggar at one point. Her mood was far from pleasant after the trip.

Ruby Preston took the bag. “Good haul. Thanks for your hard work.”

Renee Jennings gave a tired smile.

“Mom!” The children ran over, each rushing into their own mother’s arms.

Renee Jennings looked at Nathan Lynch, who was dawdling and unwilling to come over. She cleared her throat twice, walked over to him, and asked with concern, “Nathan, did you miss Mommy while I was away? How did you get along with everyone else? No one… bullied you, right?”

“I was pretty happy when you weren’t here.”

Renee Jennings’s expression immediately stiffened.

Chelsea Raines, who had overheard from the side, teased, “Looks like our Nathan really missed his mom. See, he’s so flustered he can’t even speak properly.”

Given an out, Renee Jennings quickly nodded in agreement, but the look she shot Nathan Lynch was like daggers.

Ruby Preston’s voice called out, gathering all the guests together. “We had a great harvest today. Besides vegetables and rice, some enthusiastic villagers also gave us mutton and beef. Let’s decide on the menu for tonight.”

The group started chattering all at once, making sure to ask for the children’s opinions.

Jared Woods gave the most suggestions, his little mouth rattling off a list of dishes. Ruby Preston chose two of them.

The work for cooking dinner was also divided up. Since the kitchen wasn’t big and only had one stove, everyone unanimously decided that Naomi Kenway would be the head chef. The others would be in charge of chores like adding firewood, and chopping and washing vegetables, so no one was idle.

Renee Jennings gripped the kitchen knife tightly. She used so much force that a chili pepper actually flew two centimeters into the air off the cutting board. Renee Jennings jumped in fright and hastily took a step back. Perhaps it was because the fan in the kitchen was blowing too hard, but Renee Jennings felt like something had gotten into her eye, which was now stinging terribly.

She had just been cutting chili peppers, so she didn’t dare touch her eye directly. She rushed to the faucet to wash her hands, blinking repeatedly.

Naomi Kenway had just tossed the corn into the soup pot when she turned and saw Renee Jennings’s predicament. She deliberately taunted, “Oh, what’s this? The person who won a district cooking championship can’t even chop vegetables properly?”

Renee Jennings was seething. “How can you say that at a time like this? I don’t know what got in my eye, but it really hurts.”

Naomi Kenway nodded. “Should I help you then?”

After a moment of thought, Renee Jennings leaned her face closer. But as soon as Naomi Kenway’s hand touched her eye, she let out a shriek. “What’s on… what’s on your hand?!”

Naomi Kenway glanced at her own clean hands. “There’s nothing here.”

“Then why does my eye suddenly hurt so much?” She abruptly leaned in and sniffed Naomi Kenway’s hand, her face changing instantly. “Why does your hand smell like chili peppers?!”

Naomi Kenway acted as if she had just realized. “Oh,” she said innocently, “I might not have washed my hands properly after touching the chili peppers earlier. I’m so sorry.”

Renee Jennings rubbed her eye hard, which only made the pain more intense. “You’re lying! I don’t believe you! You did it on purpose!”

The others came over when they heard the commotion. Margaret Jennings helped Renee Jennings clean out her eye.

Renee Jennings’s right eye was red and irritated. She said furiously, “Nina, you did it on purpose! You touched my eye right after handling chili peppers.”

“I did wash my hands. I just didn’t expect them to not be completely clean.”

The people around them all started to speak up for Naomi Kenway. Ruby Preston said, “Nicole surely didn’t realize the chili oil would be so hard to wash off. Accidents happen. Let’s not bicker over such a small thing.”

Renee Jennings said, “Naomi Kenway has been cooking for so long. I refuse to believe she doesn’t know chili is hard to wash off. She did it on purpose!”

Naomi Kenway retorted, “You’ve been practicing your cooking for so many years and even won a championship, so how did you still manage to get chili in your eye in the kitchen?”

Renee Jennings was rendered speechless.

“I only came over to help because I saw you were uncomfortable,” Naomi Kenway sighed. “I didn’t expect you to assume the worst of me. If I had known you were so ungrateful, I wouldn’t have helped you in the first place, and I won’t be helping you again.”

Margaret Jennings quickly said, “Everyone, let’s not get upset.” She turned to Renee Jennings. “Renee, this is a misunderstanding. What you just said probably broke Nina’s heart. Let’s not let this hurt our friendship. You should apologize.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep