Ian Shaw looked at Carina Sanders's fair hand, but after a moment of hesitation, he still shook his head.
Carina Sanders wasn't angry. "There seems to be a house up ahead. Let's go take a look!"
Margaret Jennings watched her precious daughter standing very close to Ian Shaw. She hesitated, but ultimately decided not to approach them.
'Naomi Kenway was a terrible person, but her son was a poor little thing who shared none of his mother's malice.'
Naomi Kenway watched as Ian Shaw and the others gradually walked away. Seeing their small figures, a smile touched her lips.
'She was glad her son was willing to hang out with his new companions. People need friends at every stage of life, and childhood is no exception. Maybe interacting with friends more would help her son open up.'
Ruby Preston called out to Naomi Kenway, "They're handing out the phones. Let's go."
Naomi Kenway snapped out of her daze and smiled at her. "Okay."
'Ruby Preston was stunned for a moment. She'd never seen someone with such a beautiful smile. In fact, you couldn't find another face like Naomi Kenway's in the entire entertainment industry; she was a natural-born beauty. Before, Ruby would have jumped at the chance to work with a woman this gorgeous, but thinking of all the rumors about Naomi's poor acting and diva behavior, she temporarily shelved the idea.'
Naomi Kenway took her phone from a staff member. In this fast-paced era, she'd only been without her phone for about a day, yet it felt like a lifetime ago.
After turning on her phone, there were no messages other than trending entertainment news notifications. Her agent handled all work-related matters, and her relationship with her family was incredibly strained. For the first time since her awakening, Naomi Kenway felt a pang of loneliness.
However, she didn't let the negative emotion linger for long. She had important things to do.
'She recalled Ian once saying that the knife-shaved noodles Ethan Shaw had taken him to eat were delicious.'
'Should I ask Ethan Shaw for the chef's contact info to get the recipe?'
Thinking of the expectant look in her son's eyes, Naomi Kenway immediately found Ethan Shaw's number and sent him a text. It was almost laughable; they had been married for several years but weren't even friends on WeChat.
She tentatively sent a message: Are you there?
Knowing that such pointless pleasantries might get her blocked by Ethan Shaw, Naomi Kenway got straight to the point:
Ian said the knife-shaved noodles at the restaurant you often take him to are delicious. Could you send me the chef's contact information? I'd like to learn how to make them.
Ethan Shaw seemed busy. It was ten minutes before he replied: You're going to make knife-shaved noodles for Ian?
In reality, Naomi Kenway knew how to cook, and she was even pretty good at it—far from the useless person rumors made her out to be. Before her awakening, she could only follow the plot, showcasing her "incompetence" to serve as a foil for the female lead. Now that her consciousness had awakened, she no longer had to be a culinary disaster.
Afraid Ethan Shaw wouldn't trust her, Naomi Kenway quickly offered a guarantee: I'll be the first one to taste the noodles once they're done. I definitely won't poison Ian! Just give me the chef's contact info!
Naomi Kenway wanted to send a pleading emoji, but SMS didn't have that function. She had to settle for manually typing out the word "please."
While waiting for Ethan Shaw's reply, Naomi Kenway sat on a stone bench in the plaza, not letting the time go to waste. She searched online for videos on how to make knife-shaved noodles and saw that it looked quite intricate.
In fact, Naomi Kenway had taken a two-year cooking course. It was a method she'd come up with to win Ethan Shaw back when he first moved out. Of course, it hadn't worked.
'Naomi Kenway had also come to terms with her situation with Ethan Shaw. Their relationship was already broken, and the end of their marriage seemed inevitable. Naomi had never been one to force matters of the heart. The best-case scenario was that she and Ethan could continue as partners, giving Ian a complete family. But if Ethan grew tired of this life or found someone he loved one day, Naomi wouldn't cling to him. Life after her awakening was precious, and she didn't want to live like a beggar.'
'Naomi Kenway had plenty of savings—enough to support herself and her son for several lifetimes, no problem. There was no need for her to live so humbly.'
The two-year course had taught Naomi Kenway a lot, but she had never tried making knife-shaved noodles. It looked like she would have to learn from scratch.
The sun grew stronger. Naomi Kenway shielded her eyes with her hand, then walked over to a pavilion to sit down. The other guests were also resting there.
There was still no notification sound. Just as Naomi Kenway was thinking Ethan Shaw wouldn't reply, a new message popped up.
It was a string of numbers.
Naomi Kenway realized it was the chef's contact information from Ethan Shaw. She let out a small sigh of relief.
'Aside from the number, there wasn't a single extra word or punctuation mark. Ethan Shaw truly didn't want to waste any time communicating with her.' However, getting the contact information was a good thing, so Naomi Kenway sent a quick "thank you."
Naomi Kenway didn't expect another reply from Ethan Shaw. She immediately went to add the chef on WeChat.
The friend request was accepted almost instantly. Before Naomi Kenway had a chance to say anything, the chef had already sent a message:
Mrs. Shaw? Hello.
President Shaw told me you needed the recipe for knife-shaved noodles. I should mention, the marinade used in it is my own secret recipe.
He followed up with a huge block of text detailing the method for making knife-shaved noodles. The instructions were exceptionally detailed.
After that came a video, one the chef had recorded specifically to demonstrate how to cook the knife-shaved noodles.
Naomi Kenway thanked him sincerely.
The chef on the other end seemed almost overwhelmed by the gesture, saying that if Naomi Kenway had any more questions, she could ask him anytime, and he would tell her everything he knew without reservation.
'After the chat ended, Naomi Kenway felt a bit dazed. So, Ethan Shaw had contacted the chef for her in advance? But his texts had been so cold… She really couldn't figure Ethan Shaw out. In the end, she decided to let the difficult question go.'
From then on, Naomi Kenway threw herself into studying knife-shaved noodles. She was determined to make the noodles her son loved.
The other guests sat resting on a stone bench not far away, their phones beside them. None of them were using their phones to look up information; after all, the dishes they had drawn weren't difficult and didn't require any research.
Margaret Jennings watched Naomi Kenway sitting by herself, researching, and remarked, "I didn't expect Naomi Kenway to be so diligent. I'm already getting restless just sitting here."
Chelsea Raines was still resentful about Naomi Kenway shutting her down earlier. A sneer appeared on her face. "She has to act desperate if she doesn't want to be embarrassed. But knife-shaved noodles aren't your average pasta dish; they're incredibly difficult to make. I was just trying to help her out of the goodness of my heart, and she turned around and chewed me out. I can't wait to see how she's going to save face later!"
The hostility radiating from Chelsea Raines was a bit much. Margaret Jennings inconspicuously scooted a little further away.
A dark glint flashed through Renee Jennings's eyes. 'She felt that Naomi Kenway's current actions were nothing more than a last-ditch effort.'
'Naomi Kenway was a terrible cook, whereas she was the complete opposite. She'd even won first place in her school's cooking competition.'
'This time, she would definitely reclaim the pride she'd lost to Naomi Kenway!'