The Heiress’ Return & Revenge

Chapter 9 Isn’t She Afraid Of Backlash?
Aaron fetched Jodie’s shoes and even helped her put them on. As expected, their fans who were watching the live stream
exclaimed excitedly at Aaron’s caring gesture and praised them for being wonderful siblings. Even the fans of the other guests
and casual viewers thought that Aaron and Jodie had a remarkably close relationship. They wished they had a brother like Aaron
who doted on his sister, especially those who argued and fought with their own siblings every day. They flooded the live chat with
comments expressing their desire for such a loving brother. After Jodie finished changing her shoes, they continued walking
uphill.
Since it was inconvenient to change clothes, Jodie had no choice but to let her dress drag on the ground. Aaron even
volunteered to hold up her dress as they walked. While this might be normal at a party or an awards ceremony, it looked out of
place on the narrow and steep mountain path. Leyla, wearing flat leather shoes, also found it difficult to walk on the mountain
path in a long dress. She had to keep holding it up with her hands, which made her appear awkward. Many people wanted to
criticize Jodie and Leyla for their choice of attire despite knowing they were filming a reality show in the countryside. By
comparison, Simone and Keira were dressed appropriately for walking and performing labor. After walking for half an hour, Leyla
coquettishly declared that she couldn’t go on and needed a break. In reality, Jodie couldn’t walk any longer either. Despite
changing her shoes, her dress still hindered her. Moreover, having been pampered by the Gray Family for so many years, she
had never walked on such a difficult mountain path for such a long time. However, she knew she couldn’t show her exhaustion,
as it might affect her popularity with the show’s viewers. She gritted her teeth and persevered, especially when she saw Simone
effortlessly walking. Hearing Leyla ask for a break, she felt relieved. Indeed, Leyla’s appearance and fragility at that moment
caused many viewers to have a less favorable opinion of her. Jonah allowed everyone to rest for over ten minutes. After another
half hour of walking, the village finally came into view.
They continued walking until the crew stopped at the entrance to a small farmhouse. Simone had been practicing martial arts
almost every day since she was little to stay in shape. As a result, she didn’t feel tired after over an hour of trekking. Apart from
her, only Zac, who regularly worked out and even practiced kickboxing, looked relaxed. Everyone else, including Keira, who had
been in good shape at the beginning, was almost ready to collapse from exhaustion. During the last half hour, Keira even
needed Simone’s support. Jodie felt like her legs were about to give up at any moment. If she were at home or the episode
wasn’t being live-streamed, she would have burst into tears of frustration in front of Aaron. At that moment, she leaned against
him, wearing an expression that said, “I’m tired, but I’ll keep going.” Feeling sorry for her, Aaron put his arm around her shoulders
to support her. “Jo, you must be tired, aren’t you? I’ll massage your feet when we get inside.” Jodie glanced at Simone, who was
standing nearby, and replied sweetly, “Okay! Thank you so much, Aaron! Simone must be upset and jealous after hearing what

Aaron said. It would be even better if she says something thoughtless later.” He patted her head with his free hand and replied,
“Thanks for what? You’re my sister, after all.” However, he suddenly remembered that his other sister was there too.
He couldn’t help but shift his gaze towards Simone somewhat sheepishly, but she wasn’t looking at him at all. Instead, she was
talking to Keira. For some reason, he breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time, he also felt a little disappointed. If Simone
hadn’t fallen out with his family, she would probably have taken the initiative to ask if his feet hurt. Then, he couldn’t help but
wonder if it was because they were being live-streamed that Simone acted so indifferent towards him. “The live stream will be
paused after we get inside and take a break. After that, she’ll probably come to me on her own and massage my legs with
special techniques.” He was still contemplating whether he should reluctantly forgive her if she came to make up with him or give
her the cold shoulder and make her understand the consequences of her actions. Just then, Jonah pushed open the gate to the
farmhouse and smiled, gesturing for the eight guests to enter. “This farmhouse has been specially arranged for all of you by our
production team. Although it may not compare to the two best brick-and-tile houses in the village, the conditions here are among
the top five in the village.” This time, with a movie star and two A-list celebrities among the guests, they didn’t want to provide
them with the worst accommodations. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief at his words. As long as the production team didn’t
provide them with the worst accommodations, they were satisfied.
“Well, if it ranks among the top five in the village, it should be pretty decent.” Consequently, everyone entered the farmhouse with
a sense of anticipation. As soon as they entered, they saw a courtyard with a vegetable patch and several adobe houses. The
doors to these houses were wide open. Jonah explained with a smile, “The central area is the living room and dining area, while
the room in the corner is the kitchen and utility room. The four rooms on both sides are specifically for all of you. The layout of
each room is the same. You guys can go in and take a look.” Hearing him say that, the guests walked into the nearest room, only
to be surprised. The room was relatively clean and not small in size, but it only had two single beds, two wooden chairs, and
nothing else. Aaron looked at Jonah and asked, “Why are there only beds and chairs inside?” Jonah replied, “What else do you
expect?” Aaron argued, “What about wardrobes and desks? Where do we hang our clothes and put our belongings?” He disliked
the simplicity and shabbiness of the place, especially the adobe walls. Jonah spread his hands and replied, “That’s your problem
now. We can only provide you with these. If you want things like wardrobes and desks, you have to get them yourselves.” Aaron
was left speechless; suddenly, he regretted participating in this terrible variety show. He cleared his throat and argued, “The four
of us men don’t mind staying in such a basic environment, but isn’t it a bit too harsh for the four ladies?” Before Jonah could
respond, Zac rolled his eyes and said, “Since when can you speak on behalf of us three male guests and make decisions for the
other four female guests?” He emphasized, “Don’t speak for me.” What do you mean by saying we don’t mind?
I definitely mind, okay? Even though he was in the entertainment industry, he was unwilling to compromise himself and control
his temper, especially towards Aaron, whom he loathed. Aaron was momentarily at a loss for a reply. “I just didn’t want the
female guests to feel so uncomfortable.” Jodie looked at Zac apologetically and said, “My brother is just considering our well-

being. He doesn’t mean anything else.” Then, she quickly added, “But if the male guests can stay here, we can too.” By saying
this, she seemed to be defending Aaron, but in reality, she was highlighting that she was not pretending and was willing to
comply with the production team’s arrangements. She had learned from her research that on reality shows, the easiest way to
endear oneself to the viewers and gain fans was to be able to endure hardship without complaining. Despite her inner disgust for
the room and her reluctance to stay there for three weeks, she would endure it for the sake of fame and popularity and to
establish herself as superior to Simone. Just then, Simone suddenly spoke up, saying, “Please don’t speak for me either.” In the
upcoming episodes, she had no intention of being friendly with Aaron, Jodie, or Leon, so she was ready to make her attitude
clear right from the beginning.
Besides, if she acted indifferent and distant towards the three of them, viewers watching the show might become curious about
the reasons behind it. They might even wonder if there were any real-life grudges between them, leading some people to dig
deeper in search of possible scoops. Furthermore, if she pretended to get along with them on the show, not only would she feel
disgusted, but when her true identity and those things eventually came to light, viewers might criticize her for being a loser. If I
don’t play devil’s advocate, how will Sc*mbag No. 5 come forward to protect his fake sister and target me, his real sister? Jonah
and the other guests were stunned by her words. They couldn’t believe she spoke as bluntly as Zac did. Isn’t she afraid of
backlash?