A Second Life, A New Power novel Chapter 24

When Demi returned, Maria was anxiously waiting at the gate. Seeing Demi carrying two full buckets of water, she hurried over, her brows furrowed in concern.

"Why didn't you listen to me? What if you hurt your back from the heavy load?"

"Did you forget I'm trained in martial arts?" Demi chuckled as she stepped into the courtyard.

"Even so, you still need to be careful!"

…

Maria took charge of washing the vegetables while Demi began chopping them. Since it was already getting late, Maria didn't insist on chopping herself.

Once everything was prepared, Maria realized they had nothing to light the fire with.

"I put the matches in my luggage earlier. I'll go get them," Demi replied as she left the kitchen.

When the firewood was finally lit, Maria sat on a small stool and added logs to the fire. She coughed a little from the smoke while watching Demi cook skillfully.

The stove had two burners. Demi set the pork to simmer on one side while using the other to cook the rest of the dishes.

At times, she turned to remind Maria not to shove all the firewood into the stove at once.

"Do you think the others have matches or lighters?" Maria asked.

After pondering for a moment, Demi nodded and replied, "They might not.

As soon as they finished speaking, they heard voices coming from the courtyard.

"Ms. Demi, Ms. Dane, are you there? Can we trade for a box of matches?"

"I can't step away. Can you take a look?" Demi asked.

Maria headed out to the courtyard, where she found Chad and Nigel, each holding a plate of raw ingredients.

"We ran out of matches. Could we trade some ingredients for a box?" Nigel asked.

"Let me check with Demi. After all, the matches were her prize." Even though Maria knew Demi would probably agree, she wanted to show her respect. Hence, she went back to the kitchen to check with her teammate.

Shortly after, Maria returned with a wide smile. "Demi said you can have the matches for free. There's no need to trade!"

"That's against the rules. Mr. Hahn said we can only trade."

"Yeah," Chad chimed in, equally glum.

"Is that true?" Maria glanced at the cameraman who then nodded.

"Demi is really over the top! She probably thinks she's being authentic, but it's just rude!"

"Thomas is still her senior."

"I heard that Ana is Demi's boss. Maybe she exploited her in the past, and that's why Demi is so cold to them now?"

"Watch your words! Don't spread baseless accusations."

"I can't hold back anymore. I'm just a neutral viewer who became Demi's fan. I would like to ask those haters who bash Demi. Do you even have any proof?"

"Exactly! For those claiming that she's being a fake, where's your evidence?"

"We are Demi's fans, and we have proof. Just now, Demi yanked her own necklace off Ana's neck. How did her necklace end up there in the first place?"

"What's wrong with borrowing a necklace? Haven't you ever borrowed jewelry from a friend?"

"Why didn't Ana return it? Why does Demi need to ask for it back herself?"

The barrage of comments turned into chaos. Given that Thomas was a top star and Ana was hailed as the nation's goddess, their fans vastly outnumbered Demi's. Thus, Demi's fans were fighting a losing battle.

The live chat was soon flooded with Demi's alleged past wrongdoings.