The Villain Mom Awakens — Going Viral by Parenting on a Reality Show-Chapter 117: Tacit Understanding Challenge (3)

Chapter 117: Chapter 117: Tacit Understanding Challenge (3)

The host was a little surprised. "Nathan, why are you putting the card back?"

Nathan Lynch pursed his lips. His gaze shifted away from Ian Shaw, and he blinked his big eyes, looking somewhat conflicted. "Because I think... I also... don’t like any of them."

Renee Jennings said anxiously, "Nathan, take a close look at the pictures. Doesn’t Mom work on robots with you all the time? How could you not like them?!"

Nathan Lynch froze for a moment before shaking his head. "...I don’t like them."

His words caused an uproar.

[Nathan doesn’t like them? How is that possible? Almost all the everyday photos Renee posts are of Nathan studying for his various classes.]

[Nathan is so diligent and eager to learn, how could he not have a favorite? Was he influenced by Ian? But you don’t need to just follow the crowd on something like this.]

[This is shocking. I thought Nathan would like building robots. After all, a lot of the pictures Renee posts are of him fiddling with them.]

[There’s a difference between studying every day and actually loving to study, right? It’s like how I don’t like school, but I still have to go every day. I just wonder what kind of pressure Nathan is under.]

[This is kind of scary, isn’t it? If the kid doesn’t like it, why force him to keep studying? I’ve been wanting to complain about this for a while. Is it really normal for a kid who’s not even in elementary school yet to study for eight or nine hours every day? When I was Nathan’s age, I was at home playing in the mud.]

[Shouldn’t we stop judging these celebrity kids by ordinary standards? It never hurts to have more skills. Suffer when you’re young, and reap the rewards when you’re older!]

...

"Nathan, are you sure you want to put the card back? If you do, your team won’t get any points for this round," the host asked in a low voice.

Renee Jennings was frantic, repeatedly shooting glances at Nathan Lynch. "Nathan, stop fooling around."

Carina Sanders walked over and leaned close to Nathan Lynch’s ear. "Nathan, I think this is your own choice. You can decide for yourself."

Ignoring Renee Jennings’s pleading eyes, a strange rebelliousness suddenly took hold. Nathan Lynch said, word by word, "I don’t want the card."

With that, he lowered his head, no longer looking at Renee Jennings’s expression.

Chelsea Raines didn’t notice the undercurrent of tension and said with a joking smile, "I didn’t expect Nathan to dislike these either. Actually, Jared doesn’t have many hobbies. Kids... all they want to do is play all day. They’re all like that."

The atmosphere lightened, and the other guests laughed along.

Renee Jennings’s expression, however, soured. Still, she forced a smile. "Yes, they don’t really listen to adults anymore once they get a bit older."

Chelsea Raines found the comment a little odd, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on why.

"Okay, the teams that made a match this round are Team Naomi Kenway, Team Margaret Jennings, and Team Chelsea Raines. One point for each of the three teams!" the host announced loudly.

Hearing that they had finally earned a point, Chelsea Raines couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief.

A new round began. Renee Jennings glanced at the scoreboard behind her. The white lettering showed the total scores from the rounds of competition so far, listed by rank:

Naomi Kenway: 7

Renee Jennings: 5

Margaret Jennings: 4

Ruby Preston: 3

Chelsea Raines: 2

Staring at the two-point gap, Renee Jennings’s heart sank. She knew it would be impossible for her to make a comeback in the final telepathy round.

The images on the partition in front of them were swapped out. This time, it was colors.

The cards showed different color swatches: black, white, yellow, green, and pink.

Ruby Preston frowned. "I know Sean’s favorite color is red, but red isn’t one of the options..." 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Renee Jennings racked her brain trying to recall Nathan Lynch’s favorite color. Suddenly, her eyes lit up.

Most of the clothes she bought for Nathan were white. White was beautiful and elegant, and it was Renee Jennings’s personal favorite. ’Nathan’s never complained they look bad, so he must like it, right?’ she thought.

She hadn’t spent a lot of time with her son, but Naomi Kenway clearly remembered he liked green. Whenever she took him shopping, Ian would always point out things that were that color. His little water bottle and his small backpack were both green.

A smile graced Naomi Kenway’s face as she thought of her son.

"After the past two rounds, I’m sure everyone can guess the rules for this one, right?" the host said. "The parents must choose their child’s favorite color from these five options. This round shouldn’t be too difficult. Please, begin making your choices!"

Once again, Naomi Kenway was the first to step forward, taking the green card.

After Naomi Kenway, Margaret Jennings took the pink one, her steps light and easy.

The other guests had yet to make a move.

[Exactly how busy are these celebrities? They don’t even know their own child’s favorite color?]

[Maybe their kid’s favorite color just isn’t one of the five options, which makes it a little harder to choose.]

[It’s incredible. The most controversial mother-son pair, Naomi Kenway and Ian, are actually having the easiest time in this telepathy challenge. Doesn’t Renee Jennings claim to be such a good mother? Why hasn’t she picked yet? Is it really that hard of a choice?]

[There are so many biological mothers on the show, so why is everyone picking on Renee, who’s a stepmom?]

[But Renee Jennings built her entire brand on being ’better than a biological mom.’ Are people not allowed to hold her to that standard? She acts like she takes such great care of the kid, but in reality, she can’t even pick out his favorite color?]

...

After a moment of careful thought, Renee Jennings chose and took the "white" card.

As if remembering something, Ruby Preston went up and took the "black" card.

Chelsea Raines shuffled forward, her eyes darting back and forth. Her finger hovered over the yellow card, then moved to the green. Suddenly, she clenched her fist and sighed. ’I feel like he likes both of these colors... but which one does he like more...’

In the end, she took the yellow card.

"It looks like everyone has made their choices," the host announced. "Next, let’s reveal the children’s selections."

The young guests came out one by one, each holding a colored card. The first one out was Ian. He ran and leaped into Naomi Kenway’s arms. Naomi laughed and hugged him, and the cards in their hands came together, forming an even more vibrant "green."

"Mommy, we’re so in sync!"

Naomi Kenway smiled, stroking the back of his round little head. "We sure are! Come on, give me a high-five to celebrate!"

The second to emerge was Carina Sanders. The card in her hand was "pink." The little girl let out a delighted laugh and called out sweetly, "Mommy."

Jared Woods came out holding the "yellow" card. The moment he saw the color of the card in Chelsea Raines’s hand, his eyes widened with excitement.

When Ruby Preston saw the color Simon Sawyer was holding, she let out an immediate sigh of relief. ’Thank goodness I got it right this time.’ Even she wasn’t entirely sure why she was so concerned. ’Maybe I just don’t want to see that look of disappointment in his calm eyes again.’

The last to walk out was Nathan Lynch. Renee Jennings’s eyes were glued to him, but her excited expression suddenly fell. The card in Nathan Lynch’s hand was... black!

Her first feeling was the anger of being deceived. She even suspected Nathan Lynch had done it on purpose to embarrass her. ’He never once mentioned he liked black.’