Chapter 427: The Big Meal Is Here

Chapter 427: Chapter 427: The Big Meal Is Here

Hearing the result, Jude Underwood’s face turned ashen. An air of dejection hung about him.

From the moment he saw the Donovan siblings rush out to protect that little girl without a second thought, he knew he had lost.

The Donovan siblings could afford to ignore the powerful figures behind Riley Coleman, even daring his parents to come and make trouble for them, but Jude Underwood couldn’t.

He didn’t dare lay a finger on Riley Coleman, let alone offend the Coleman Family behind him. This outcome was entirely expected.

He was just resentful—resentful about being saddled with such a huge problem, and even more resentful that his long-laid plans had fallen apart at the last minute.

But what could his resentment change? Everything was already set in stone. He had no choice but to accept it and begrudgingly try to placate Riley Coleman.

This unexpected incident had already caused a significant delay for the production team. To avoid disrupting the rest of the filming schedule, they had Jude Underwood stay behind to pacify Riley Coleman while the others went on to complete their tasks. He could catch up whenever he managed to calm the boy down.

Jude Underwood was seething internally. ’I was already the least famous person in this group, and now I’m stuck with this little terror. For the next few days, I’ll either be placating this kid or on my way to placate him.’

’To avoid offending the investors, the production team will probably try to minimize the footage of this brat’s meltdowns. That means my screen time will likely get cut along with it.’

However, considering the brat was the son of a major sponsor, Jude Underwood ultimately didn’t dare take his anger out on the child.

The location the production team chose for the first episode was a remote mountain village nestled against a bamboo forest.

The village was much like many other small mountain villages today. Most of the able-bodied adults had left to find work elsewhere, leaving behind mainly the elderly, the infirm, and children.

The first task for Arabella Donovan and the others was to find the houses arranged for them by the production team on a first-come, first-served basis. They also had to figure out lunch for themselves.

"It’s already this late, and they’re making us find our own lunch? Isn’t that just forcing us to freeload off the villagers? This production team is as cruel as ever." Faye Collins, the only singer among the regular celebrity parents, couldn’t help but mutter a complaint as she held her hungry daughter.

"If you know they’re cruel, don’t waste your breath complaining. The priority right now is to find a place to eat. We adults can skip a meal, but the kids can’t handle being hungry," Serena Taylor said, a hint of weary bitterness in her expression as she held her drowsy son.

The calmest of the group was, by far, Arabella Donovan. After handing Chloe Coleman to her second brother, she pulled something out of her backpack... a Compass.

Hector Donovan was baffled. "Why are you carrying one of those around?"

"This is a treasure." Arabella shot her brother a look, her face a mask of exasperation that screamed, ’You really don’t know a good thing when you see it.’

"You can use it as a compass in the wild to get your bearings, and it can also calculate positions. You could say it’s an all-in-one wilderness survival tool—an essential for home and travel. I knew we’d be running around in the mountains for this show, so I brought it just in case."

Hearing this, Hector Donovan stared at the Compass in Arabella’s hand for a long time but couldn’t make heads or tails of it.

"So, why are you taking this thing out now...?"

"I’m going to divine where we can get a meal."

"...You can divine that? So, have you figured anything out?"

The moment Hector Donovan finished speaking, the Compass in Arabella’s hand spun with a SWISH and pointed in a specific direction.

"Found it. Follow me."

"You found it already? Isn’t that a little too fast?"

Arabella didn’t want to deal with him. "Let’s go, Zora. Big sister will take you to a big house with yummy food."

"Okay!" Having been held by Arabella earlier, the little one seemed to have imprinted on her. She immediately struggled to get out of Hector Donovan’s arms, and the moment her feet touched the ground, she started trotting after Arabella.

Amused and resigned, Hector Donovan had no choice but to accept his fate and run after his two little masters.

Milton Lambert and the others couldn’t help but laugh at the scene. "What do you all think? Will the Donovan kid and his sister... actually succeed?" 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

Faye Collins and the others weren’t very familiar with Hector Donovan, and afraid of misspeaking, they just gave a noncommittal answer. "Probably. Best Actor Donovan’s sister seems pretty confident."

"It’s good for young people to have drive. The result doesn’t matter as much as the journey. As long as they’re having fun, the trip won’t be a waste."

Milton Lambert: "..." ’Nice save. Nothing but platitudes.’

"Should we make a bet?"

"A bet?"

"Let’s bet on whether they can find a house and get a meal before we do."

Faye Collins was a little hesitant. "Is that really a good idea?"

"One word: In or out?"

"In!"

Meanwhile, Hector Donovan and his group were completely unaware of what was happening behind them. Arabella led the other two, one big and one small, on a light jog to the bank of a small river.

Worried the child might slip and fall into the water, Hector Donovan quickly caught up and scooped her up.

"This is the ’grand feast’ you were taking us to? Are we headed to the Dragon Palace or The Veilflow? Let me be clear, no matter how hungry I get, I am not drinking water for a meal."

Arabella shot him a withering look. "If you don’t talk, no one will think you’re a mute."

With that, she turned to look at several middle-aged and older women washing clothes by the riverbank. Her eyes lit up when she spotted an anxious-looking woman in the crowd who seemed to be in a hurry.

"Our grand feast has arrived!"

"Wha—" Before Hector Donovan could even finish his question, he saw his sister dash off like the wind. When he looked again, Arabella was already standing in front of a slightly plump older woman, trying to cozy up to her.

"Excuse me, miss. I see you look flustered, with a cold sweat on your brow. It seems you’ve encountered some unsolvable problem. Might I have the honor of helping you resolve your difficulties?"

The woman froze. Seeing that it was a pretty young girl blocking her path, she wasn’t offended. In fact, she was a little flustered by Arabella calling her "miss."

"’Miss’? Goodness, child, why are you calling me that? At my age, I’m probably older than your mother."

"Really?" Arabella’s eyes widened in feigned surprise. "I can’t tell at all! I’d say you’re thirty or forty at most—forty-one, tops. They say a man is in his prime at forty, but you’re a perfect example of a woman blossoming at forty-one. There’s nothing wrong with me calling you ’miss’ at all."

"Oh, you sweet-talker, what nonsense are you spouting? Forty-one? I’m almost sixty! Around here, women who marry early are grandmothers by my age. And you’re calling me ’miss’... it’s embarrassing to even hear."

Hector Donovan walked over, holding the child. He glanced at his sister, who looked perfectly composed and sincere, and then at the older woman, who had been sweet-talked into a state of blissful confusion, clearly lost in the flattery. He fell silent.

’How did I never realize this girl was such a smooth talker?!’