Chapter 5 Ignored

Seeing Leticia and Lucas fuming with anger, Billy gave Samantha a thumbs-up, clearly impressed. Samantha simply raised an eyebrow, her expression saying, Piece of cake.

For her, it wasn't just a joke-watching Leticia suffer actually made her feel satisfied. She even ate an extra helping rice that night.

After dinner, Billy volunteered to wash the dishes, leaving Samantha with nothing to do.

The next day, they were up early as usual, heading to work, joking around with the older women. Time flew by, and before they knew it, a week had passed since Samantha and the others arrived.

Leticia and her group had reluctantly started to adapt to the laborious routine. Though they were still exhausted and struggling to keep up, they were doing slightly better than when they first started.

But one major issue loomed over them-they hadn't received any letters from home. That lingering silence was starting to make them anxious.

"The mayor's son is back in town to visit his folks. His mother is bound to stir up some trouble again," Samantha overheard Jennifer and Mildred gossiping one morning.

It was surprising. The two had been at each other's throats just days ago, yet now they were already back to chatting like nothing had happened.

"Well, they do have a good son," Jennifer scoffed, though it was obvious she was jealous.

"I heard he's back to meet a potential fiancée. I wonder who the lucky girl is... Oh, speaking of matchmaking, Jennifer, how's James doing with his?" Mildred asked, sneaking a glance at Samantha, who was lazily fanning herself with a straw hat.

There was something strange about this girl. Despite working under the sun every day, instead of tanning, she actually seemed to be getting even fairer.

Samantha subtly perked up her ears.

Since that day when James stormed off after Jennifer scolded him, he hadn't returned-despite them relocating to different work sites multiple times.

"It's going well. The agreement will be finalized in a few days," Jennifer said with a satisfied grin, secretly relieved.

She definitely didn't want her son marrying some city girl-especially not one like Samantha, who, despite her absurd strength, didn't take her work seriously and spent most of her time goofing around.

"That's good. Our local girls are more down-to-earth. What's the use of being pretty if you don't even know how to live properly?" Mildred added pointedly, throwing another glance at Samantha.

The implication was clear.

Samantha immediately dropped her hoe, planted her hands on her hips, and squared her shoulders. "Mildred, what did you just say? Say it again!"

Mildred huffed. "What? I'm just stating the truth. You might be strong, but you don't do real work. You just laze around all day-"

"How I work is none of your business," Samantha shot back, her tone sharp. "I earn six work points a day-more than most people around here-and that's enough to support myself. So why do you care?"

She crossed her arms. "Besides, my family doesn't have a bunch of mouths to feed, and no one's sitting around waiting to be taken care of."

Her words were bold and unwavering.

Mildred's face turned red with fury. "Who the hell are you calling a freeloader? Are you saying my son is useless? You little troublemaker-if you keep running that mouth, I'll shut it for you!"

She rolled up her sleeves and lunged at Samantha.

Everyone knew the truth-Mildred's three daughters worked their fingers to the bone in the fields while her son lounged around all day, yet she still treated him like a king.

The irony was almost laughable.

"Oh, you think you can scare me? Come at me then!" Samantha sneered, rolling up her own sleeves, ready for a fight.

But before they could throw hands, an older woman suddenly rushed over, her face filled with excitement.

"Hey! There's already a commotion over there! Two volunteers fell into the river!"

Samantha froze. What?! Since when did drowning count as entertainment?

Jennifer and Mildred, however, were even more excited than before. Without a second thought, they dropped their hoes and hurried toward the riverbank.

It wasn't far from the fields, so they arrived within minutes, only to find a large crowd already gathered.

"They pulled one of them to shore!" someone shouted. "Oh no, she's not breathing!"

The playful atmosphere instantly vanished. A fight was one thing, but someone dying? That was serious.

Most of the spectators hesitated, instinctively stepping back, not wanting to get involved.

Samantha turned to Henry, whose face was pale. "What happened?"

Naomi, standing beside him, looked grim. "What happened? Your beloved sister pushed someone into the water!"

"Naomi!" Henry frowned. "If you hadn't been fighting with Leticia, she wouldn't have bumped into Natasha and knocked her in!"

Despite disliking Leticia, Henry wasn't about to lie. The real instigator of this mess was Naomi.

"That's a damn lie!" Naomi shot back.

Henry didn't budge. "You know the truth. And I'm not the only one who saw it."

Naomi clenched her jaw, unable to argue.

Meanwhile, Samantha's gaze shifted to the figure standing near the water-a man in his early twenties, clad in a military uniform.

He had close-cropped hair, tanned skin, a solid build, and strikingly sharp features.

"Who's that?" she asked.

"That's Bryan," Henry murmured. "He's the one who saved Leticia and Natasha. Carried one under each arm."

Samantha blinked. Damn.

"Oh my God, Bryan! You saved them?" Jennifer exclaimed, slapping her thigh in excitement.

Bryan simply nodded, his face unreadable, as he continued performing CPR on Natasha.

Meanwhile, Leticia, who had already regained consciousness, was trembling like a delicate flower in the wind-her face deathly pale.

Samantha narrowed her eyes. Leticia knew how to swim. How the hell did she almost drown? Did she do it on purpose?

Before she could dwell on it, Mildred smirked and spoke loudly, "Oh dear, Bryan, you've been touching Natasha all over. You've ruined her reputation?"

Her words sent ripples through the crowd.

"She's right! Natasha was touched!"

"What about Leticia? What if Bryan groped her underwater too?"

"This could be a scandal! He might get accused of harassment!"

"The mayor's family is in big trouble!"

Just as the murmurs threatened to spiral out of control, a furious voice cut through the noise.

"Shut your damn mouths!"

The crowd instantly fell silent as a woman stormed forward.

Secretary Leah stood with her fists on her hips, eyes burning with fury. The mayor and the town head stood beside her, both looking grim.

"My son was saving lives, you ignorant fools! What the hell do you know? Always spreading garbage rumors-shut up!"

Before anyone could say another word, Natasha suddenly gasped, coughing up water.

She blinked, looking dazed. At first, there was confusion in her gaze-but then something shifted.

Samantha's brow lifted slightly.

Before today, Natasha had always been sweet, innocent-almost naive. People took advantage of her kindness all the time. But now, as she lay there coughing...

That look in her eyes was anything but innocent.

Mildred saw the opportunity and pounced.

"Natasha, thank goodness you're awake! Just now, Bryan was-" she gasped dramatically. "-feeling you up!"

Samantha exhaled slowly, watching as chaos erupted again.

Here we go.