Chapter 34
Eugene took a bite of the fish and almost gagged. Compared to Elizabeth's cooking, Brenda's was just awful. But to save face, he forced it down.
"It's alright," he said, though he couldn't bring himself to actually praise it.
Brenda, seeing their reactions, sighed in relief. "If you like it, have more," she encouraged. She took a piece herself and immediately froze. Why was the fish so fishy? She had followed the tutorial she learned before! But on the live stream, she couldn't spit it out. So, she gave most of the fish to her brother Kevin, knowing that no matter how bad it tasted, Kevin would eat it all. She also gave some to Lisa and Eugene, keeping the rest for herself.
Kevin looked at the bowl full of fish and felt an indescribable bitterness. But what could he do? He had to finish it. At that moment, he missed Elizabeth terribly.
Lisa didn't want to eat it, but since Brenda kept emphasizing that she made it for her, she had no choice but to accept it. On the live stream, she quickly ate the fish while holding her breath and then continued eating bread. Eugene did the same, pretending to enjoy the taste. If there hadn't been a comparison with the other group, it wouldn't have been so obvious. But now, everyone could see that Eugene was struggling.
[He's truly an actor; even if it's bad, he can make it look delicious.]
[If Brenda hadn't given him so much, I doubt he would have eaten more than three pieces.]
[This shows how much Eugene dotes on Brenda.]
[Their relationship must be special. Brenda really has a way of making Kevin and Eugene revolve around her.]
[The worst off is Kevin. Eating such a big bowl, who knows if he'll have diarrhea again tonight.]
[If he doesn't finish the big bowl, how can he express his affection for Brenda?]
Seeing these comments, Eugene's female fans were not pleased. This time, they didn't defend him. They also wanted to know what kind of relationship Eugene had with Brenda. Kevin's fans were also unhappy. They could see that Kevin was struggling. He had already had diarrhea all day and now had to suffer this; they felt heartbroken. For the first time, they thought Brenda was inconsiderate.
On the other side, Elizabeth and her group called the village chief and went to the home of Terry, who could perform puppet shows. Terry was a man in his sixties, living with his grandson. His son and daughter-in-law had both died in an accident.
Hearing Elizabeth's request, Terry was delighted. He readily agreed and brought out his cherished puppets for Elizabeth and the others to see. After some discussion, they decided to perform a traditional puppet show.
Terry had a set of four puppets but needed to make additional characters. Elizabeth and her group decided to help out daily and let the audience see how the puppets were made.
This meant a lot to Terry, and he was very happy. He shared many stories about the history of puppet shows with Elizabeth and her group, who listened patiently and occasionally asked questions. It wasn't until after eight in the evening that they returned to the courtyard.
As soon as they got back, they heard Kevin vomiting. This time, it wasn't just diarrhea; he was also throwing up. Elizabeth couldn't help but remark, "He really does dote on Brenda." She thought Kevin deserved it.
Raymond added, "Indeed, Kevin's love runs deep. I reminded him in the kitchen this evening, but he didn't appreciate it."
Nancy said felt a hint of schadenfreude, though she sighed outwardly and remarked, "Kevin really is pitiful."
Kevin's fans in the live stream felt heartbroken for him. They also began to harbor unprecedented resentment towards Brenda. Of course, some also criticized Elizabeth. Kevin had previously asked her to help find medicine, and she had refused. Now, Kevin's fans were also angry at her.
However, Elizabeth's fans quickly defended her. Elizabeth didn't owe Kevin anything, so why should she follow his orders? Besides, if anyone was to blame, shouldn't it be Kevin himself? Knowing he had a sensitive stomach, he still insisted on eating Brenda's food. Wasn't he asking for it?
When the time came, the live stream ended. Many people left comments below, concerned about Kevin's health.
At the Clark family home, Paul was on a business trip, and Betty, along with her other four sons, had been watching the live stream. Betty was worried about Kevin's health. "Kevin has always had a weak stomach. With this vomiting and diarrhea, and being in a remote village, who knows if anything might happen?"
She then looked disappointed. "Elizabeth is so heartless. This time she said she wouldn't care for Kevin, and she really didn't."
Normally, when Kevin was sick, Elizabeth would take the initiative to care for him. This time, even though Kevin had shown weakness and asked Elizabeth to help find medicine, she had coldly refused.
Since Elizabeth had resolutely left home, Betty had found it hard to adjust. When Elizabeth was home, she would care about Betty's high blood pressure, making sure she measured it and took her medication daily. When Betty felt unwell, Elizabeth would make healthy food for her and give her special massages to help her sleep comfortably at night. Recently, with Elizabeth gone, no one cared for her in the same way, and her sleep quality had deteriorated. She hadn't thought much of it before, as Elizabeth was her biological daughter, and it was only natural for her to be good to her mother and family. But now, it was hard to accept that the considerate Elizabeth was so cold towards Kevin.
Betty thought, ‘Is she really considering cutting ties with us?’ This was even harder for her to accept.
Loren frowned. "She must still be angry at Kevin. Kevin should know better; if his stomach is weak, he shouldn't eat. Elizabeth is also being unreasonable. They're siblings, yet she deliberately makes things awkward on the show. Isn't this just making a spectacle of us?"
Richard, looking displeased, said, "Exactly, Elizabeth is becoming more and more outrageous. I had already set up a kind persona for Brenda, and she should have shone brightly. But because Elizabeth insisted on joining this show, it created a stark contrast, and Brenda's reputation has suffered in the past two days."
He had originally planned to use the contrast between Brenda and Elizabeth to prove that Brenda, who grew up in their family, was indeed much better than Elizabeth, who grew up outside. He also wanted to make it clear to Elizabeth that without his support and help as her agent, she wouldn't last long in the entertainment industry. But things had turned out the opposite. If this continued, it would be detrimental to Brenda. He had already hired online commenters to control the narrative, but today, because of Kevin's health, some of Kevin's fans were also dissatisfied with Brenda. He also noticed that quite a few viewers were distorting the relationship between Kevin and Brenda, which gave him a headache.
Betty sighed, "We need to find a way to fix this. Elizabeth's behavior is making things difficult for everyone."
Loren nodded. "We need to have a serious talk with her. This can't go on."
Richard agreed. "I'll see what I can do to manage the situation online, but we need to address this family issue head-on. Otherwise, it's just going to get worse."
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
