Chapter 29: Chapter 29: Renee Jennings in Last Place

Naomi Kenway slowly raised her head, somewhat surprised by the result. She had just clearly heard Renee Jennings bragging about her own performance.

Renee Jennings clenched her fists. As the tour guide was about to announce second place, she cut in, “Wait, has there been some kind of mistake?”

“Yeah!” Chelsea Raines chimed in to support her. “Rachel dug up that entire patch of potatoes! How could the winner possibly be Naomi…” Her tone paused, then she said decisively, “I know what happened. Did Naomi throw her money around again?! This show is rigged!!”

The tour guide noticed the director’s darkening expression nearby and hurriedly said, “You can’t say things like that!”

“You’ve already done it, so why can’t we talk about it?”

Chelsea Raines snorted coldly. “You only care about money, not the results. I doubt the viewers in the livestream will accept this either! Rachel is my good friend. I can’t just stand by and watch her be wronged like this!”

Renee Jennings nodded. With Chelsea Raines around, she didn’t even have to speak for herself.

Ruby Preston stepped forward. “Perhaps there’s been some misunderstanding.”

“What misunderstanding could there be? This is blatant bullying against Rachel! I can’t just let this slide!”

Chelsea Raines was on a full-blown offensive, not giving anyone a chance to explain.

“Ms. Raines, Ms. Raines!” The tour guide put a hand to his forehead, exasperated. “I haven’t finished explaining.”

Renee Jennings grabbed Chelsea Raines’s arm and coaxed gently, “Chelsea, I know you’re just looking out for me, but let’s hear the production team’s explanation first. I’m sure this is all a misunderstanding. Or maybe the results were tallied incorrectly!”

Renee Jennings then turned her gaze back to the tour guide. “Please, go on.”

Although she said that, Renee Jennings knew the chances of the production team making a mistake were almost zero. ’Something unexpected must have happened. Could it be true, just as Chelsea said? Did Naomi really throw money at the production team and threaten them?’

Renee Jennings bit her lower lip, resentment flashing in her eyes. ’If that’s really what happened, I have to get Christina Lynch involved. Otherwise, won’t I just be letting Naomi walk all over me?’

The tour guide gave Renee Jennings a complicated look. “The statistical results are absolutely correct. The final score is an average of the scores given by several villagers. Renee Jennings did indeed complete the most work among the guests, but the damage rate of the potatoes was very high… Whereas Naomi Kenway’s completion rate and the condition of her potatoes were both excellent, which is why she is in first place.”

Hearing this, the other guests understood the situation.

Chelsea Raines reined in her aggressive attitude. She glanced discreetly at Renee Jennings and tried to salvage the situation, “I remember Mona helped Rachel dig potatoes too. It’s normal for a child to be a little careless!”

Suddenly being slandered, Nathan Lynch instinctively wanted to defend himself. But when he turned and saw the unfriendly look on Renee Jennings’s face, he ultimately kept his mouth shut. A sense of being wronged quickly filled his chest. ’Why does it always have to be me who’s at fault…’

Renee Jennings’s expression shifted several times before she said awkwardly, “It wasn’t Mona who dug them. It was me, I was careless.”

If there weren’t any cameras, it would have been one thing. But countless viewers were watching the livestream while they were digging potatoes. Trying to push the blame onto Nathan Lynch now would just seem foolish.

A chill ran through Renee Jennings. She finally remembered that when the villagers first came to instruct them, they had specifically warned everyone to dig carefully, as damaging the potatoes’ appearance would affect their price. Spurred on by Naomi Kenway, she had become so anxious and focused only on finishing the task that she had completely forgotten such an important detail…

She was filled with regret, but it was too late. Renee Jennings didn’t even have to think to know how long she would be criticized by those meddlesome netizens online.

“It’s all my fault, all my fault!” Renee Jennings clasped her hands together, looking at the tour guide with a sincere gaze. “I don’t suppose the owner of that field is still here? I want to apologize to him personally. I’ll compensate him for the loss to his field.”

“The villagers have all left,” the tour guide said reassuringly. “Don’t worry, the production team has already paid the relevant fees.”

Renee Jennings seemed to let out a sigh of relief. “This time it really was my fault…” She then turned to Naomi Kenway and congratulated her, “Naomi, congratulations on getting first place!”

Naomi Kenway withdrew her gaze from her, not bothering to bicker.

[How is Naomi first place again!]

[Renee Jennings is too much! I used to admire her, but her reckless digging completely destroyed the villagers’ hard work! They spent months planting, watering, and fertilizing, and she just comes along and ruins it all!]

[It was Rachel’s first time digging potatoes. Who doesn’t make mistakes their first time? Everyone should be more understanding.]

[Isn’t that a bit of an overreaction? The show paid for it, didn’t they? The villagers themselves aren’t worked up, so why are you? That’s hilarious!]

[Is everyone above this comment a crazy Renee Jennings fan? So it’s okay to trample on other people’s hard work just to achieve your own goals? That’s so selfish! ’First time digging potatoes’ is no excuse. Why didn’t any of the other guests make that mistake? Why was it just Renee Jennings who ruined the potatoes?]

[Didn’t Rachel apologize? She feels bad about it, so everyone should just drop it.]

…

Afterwards, the tour guide announced the rankings for the remaining guests: Ruby Preston in second, Margaret Jennings in third, Chelsea Raines in fourth, and Renee Jennings in last place.

When she learned she was in last place, Renee Jennings’s expression turned utterly sour.

Although Ruby Preston didn’t particularly like some of Renee Jennings’s actions, she couldn’t help but feel a bit of pity seeing that the mother and son would have to take a donkey cart back. “Can’t they take a different vehicle? This donkey cart… It’ll take them days and nights to get home, won’t it?”

“These were the rules set before the task began,” the tour guide said, shaking his head. “I’m sorry, but they can’t be changed.”

Ruby Preston sighed.

“It’s alright,” Renee Jennings said. “Thank you, Hazel Preston. We might be a little late, but as long as we get home, it’s fine.”

Chelsea Raines felt sorry for Renee Jennings, but at the same time, she was relieved that she wasn’t the one who had to ride the donkey cart. If Renee Jennings hadn’t been in last place, she would have been the one to suffer.

“Mama…” Nathan Lynch tugged on Renee Jennings’s sleeve. His face was flushed, but his lips were pale.

Renee Jennings looked down at him. “What’s wrong, Mona?”

“Mama, I don’t feel well. My head’s a little dizzy…”

“Are you thirsty?” Renee Jennings crouched down and gave him a sip of water.

Naomi Kenway was standing nearby. “Mona might have heatstroke. You should take him to see a doctor.”

“You think so?” Renee Jennings reached out and touched Nathan Lynch’s cheek. “Is it a little warm? How about Mama takes you to rest in the shade for a bit?”

“You’d better have a doctor look at him,” Naomi Kenway emphasized again.

Renee Jennings paused. “You’re overthinking it, Naomi. I know my own son’s constitution.”

No matter what she said, Renee Jennings wouldn’t listen, and she was just being labeled a busybody. Naomi Kenway had no choice but to turn away.

Chelsea Raines laughed. “Can’t even take care of your own kid, and you’re trying to mind other people’s business. You’re hilarious! A kid gets a little hot and you have to find a doctor? Being coddled like that…”

Before she could finish her sentence, Nathan Lynch swayed and collapsed.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep