The ratings are going up for Challenge Me and rose even higher overtaking other shows in the same time slot when a huge online fan war online broke out. The person under the username Applesauce who is a fan of Maya and the biggest hater of Sena swept the internet by presenting gossip on her page with such flourish. 

The person had been following her progress from the beginning and can be considered Sena's most dedicated stalker/hater digging her family history down to her ancestors. A pity the person's sources were too weak; they could only resort to ugly rumours.

But even so, the person still garnered about ten thousand fans following her page. 

It all started in a small thread at the forum called TattlerGirls Daily.

Applesauce: [Anyone else intrigued about Sena Erde? There was a gossip I heard from a common friend that Sena Erde cut ties with her father and is involved with people who are on the shady side of the business. There is evidence pointing that she hangs out with an illegal casino owner, sugar babies and drug addicts. Her background is not as clean as you think!]

The internet boiled over. 

Anon1: [Yes! I watched her ads and videos before and felt a little suspicious. Didn't Sena position herself as some sort of an heiress? However, until now we could still not find evidence of who she truly is aside from being the daughter of the former executive of a huge real estate company. She did say it herself, her mother 'was' the president of Angharad but does that mean they are rich?]  

Anon3: [I doubted it as well. I mean, we have several wealthy families well-known to the public but we haven't heard of any Erde here. It's insane that a real estate agent can live in one of the most prominent addresses in the country. Her father couldn't even afford it for all his wealth.]

Anon4: [That's true! I also have insider news that Sena did not accept any support from her father Mr Luz because of pride. The real-estate company she was working with is founded by her friends so where does she get that much money? People are gushing over how good she is and they have forgotten how she gained notoriety by riding on her sister's coattails. I think all of this is just for publicity.]

Applesauce added more juicy bits to the rising fire: [She lives in a fancy place but some evidence showing her real life wasn't quite alike. No one knew where and who she was over a year ago and she just suddenly popped in. See the photos below.]

There was Sena lining up in a grocery store holding a plastic of leeks and some vegetables. She wore a cartoon shirt, brown beach shorts and flip flops. Another was when she and April were waiting for a corndog in a food truck. The third was when she and April again were eating crepes from a roadside dessert shop sitting on cheap plastic chairs and tables.

All of this so-called evidence was taken when they were out hunting for food and doing groceries during rest days and holidays but the photos became solid proof in the eyes of the netizens.

[No wonder she was strangely good with the house chores. If she's born with a silver spoon there is no way she would be able to endure. I think she's an escort or a sugar baby of some rich guy.]

[Disgusting. She should get out of the show and don’t contaminate the other contestant.] 

[Didn't the handsome guy during the interview say that he is Sena's secretary?]

[Wake up, maybe the sky mansion wasn't even hers. What if that guy is only acting along with her.]

[I see, it seems a bit clear to me now.]

Passersby who didn't know anything about Sena were easily influenced by the rumour. They cracked their fingers and speedily jumped into their keyboards to type in their two cents and by doing so Challenge Me received a lot of attention. The organizers couldn't be happier with this much rise in their viewers. During this period, they can take a passive stance either by explaining or not their contestants' identity. This added mystery will only keep the viewer's interest at its peak. 

The term fake was splattered all over her window but the rise of her audience was steadily going up. But it didn’t take long before the malicious thread was stumped when the former young miss of the Banks family now Mrs Linda Tang suddenly issued a fierce statement. 

LindaTang with a smug emoticon: [As one of the co-founders of Diamond Realtor I testify that Sena Erde has the same amount of share and authority as I. She won multiple contracts by herself and is currently the highest-selling agent of our brokerage. Her commission alone is ten times higher than the measly support allowance she gets from the court. How dare you dare ask where she gets the money?!] 

RamsyMuller: [On behalf of the Muller clan and our generation’s circle of friends I assure you that we know Sena Erde as she grew up with the rest of us.] 

TangChang’an: [As Sena’s hapless contestant prank victim, I also second that.]

YilmazAdin: [Since everyone is talking, I’ll also take this moment to correct a few misunderstandings about Ms Erde. Just because her father cannot afford the price of the sky mansion does not mean that she cannot. As Ms Erde’s secretary, all I can say is she was not born with a silver spoon--- it’s a DIAMOND spoon!]

And regarding the photos taken outside, Apple posted a follow-up. It’s clear that Sena was wearing simple street clothes but she is driving a matte black Aston Martin One-77. He also added a video during the Royal Gem Exhibit where she threw a hundred thousand dollars for a cutesy keychain without flinching. 

Can an escort afford it? Not even when their sponsors are ultra-wealthy. Who would squander this much money on a fling? In short, it’s impossible to be a sugar baby but she could be someone’s sugar mommy instead! 

 

Meanwhile, the subject of the gossip had no idea what's going on, everyone became busy when the show went back on air that evening. 

The cast had ample rest and faced the camera with renewed enthusiasm. The second part of the challenge is to require them to live the daily lives of a peasant. As a bonus, they can use the wages they collected from doing jobs outside the town. However, they have to budget the money and survive using only the items brought from it. 

With no outside help, how are they going to stretch the budget they earned for two days? Having no money is a terrifying idea and the squeamish cast are about to experience the harshness of it. 

"The stress is giving me stomach cramps," TK muttered, squatting helplessly on the side. "Since I'm near Sena and Nancy's home, can I mooch off some of your food?" 

Nancy immediately jumped, "Whoa you have such a thick face. Do your parents know?"

"How about we group ourselves again?" Arthur suggested. He already has a group in mind, he was not sure if the others would agree. 

Surprisingly, it was Luan who rarely talked who first came forward. "I'm fine with it. Ms Emma said we can either work alone or form a group."  

Maya was startled; she couldn't hold her expression for a moment. She was planning to form another team with Luan knowing how her positive performance affected the audience. She, on the other hand, urgently needs to revise her image and Luan's influence is indispensable. Maya looked around frantically looking for another way out when her eyes fell on Arthur Min. 

But Arthur unexpectedly extended a hand to Nancy, "I have paired up with TK on the first challenge, how about joining me this time?"

Nancy nodded crisply and glanced briefly at Sena. "Let's form a team."

"I will be performing alone." Sena decided. 

Nancy's happy face fell. "But why?"

This is when a malicious voice chimed in, "If she wants to do it alone, why stop her? Some people had the audacity to join the program thinking they are too good while pretending to know everything. Don't complain and ask for help later." 

Yuni smugly crossed her hands to her chest and laughed.

"Some people rely on their washed-up image in showbiz and still think they are famous." TK retorted, bluntly alluding to Yuni as a washed-up child star. 

She was once a household name as the lovable chubby girl in an award-winning drama film and starred in a famous hotdog commercial. Yuni knew her fame when she was little had long been buried under several child stars who had worked in far better projects and kept their career going until today. Being reminded of the dying embers of her hay day poked her sensitive point.  

"Are you picking on me?" Yuni frowned.

"Why?" TK snorted. "You can freely nitpick on others but others can't pick on you?" 

Yuni choked in anger and screeched, "At least I had a career, what about her?" 

Sena shrugged, "I was at school listening to my teachers so I can someday have a career."

The audience who heard her come back laughed so hard their jaws hurt. 

[Lord this girl, although I'm not sure why she has many haters, I find her adorable.] 

Sena already knows she is going to get eliminated so it's better to play to her heart's content during this period. The challenge will ask them to buy provisions for two days and Maya will have help behind the camera. She cannot control whether she cheats or not but that does not mean she will let it slip.

TK and Luan formed a team, while the rest made a four-person team saying it will be much easier to move that way. Sena went back to the Eddings home to start preparing, she checked the kitchen to see what was missing. Aside from spices and condiments, all other supplies in the cupboards are missing. The money she and Nancy earned is worth two days of wages which is a hundred and fifty coins plus a tip of fifty from the houses they cleaned. Two hundred is enough for a person to eat and live for several days. The problem is that the cast has no idea how to save money and they were given a list of things to buy.

Sena looked at the paper. There are ingredients for coarse bread, the typical peasant food, then there are eggs, meat, and vegetables. 

"Have you decided?" Arthur moved closer to her. 

She nodded. "I'll only get half." 

"We also agreed on the same."

When everyone was choosing their supplies they had a problem with the amount because it was not specified as to how many they should get. Maya's team pooled their money and bought enough for four to eat which is quite a lot. 

"It makes me relieved to see we are not going to starve ourselves," Gan said jokingly. 

With enough funds, Sena bought the ingredients for bread first, then six eggs, and a pound of chicken wings. She decided to buy the rest for the next day because there is no refrigerator to keep them fresh. The vegetables did not have to be bought either since there are plenty in the backyard so she saved a lot of coins. 

Yuni elbowed Maya and giggled meaningfully. She thought Sena had problems dividing her expenses. 

[Why didn't Sena Erde buy the rest on the list?]

[Maybe she's out of budget LOL and here I was starting to like her performance…]

[This round is not for her I guess.]

[Fools, with that much perishable ingredients, where would you suppose the cast should keep them? In the director's locker?] 

[Have you all forgotten that there was no electricity in ancient times? People could only buy fresh from the local market or cook the food altogether to avoid spoilage.]

[But the temperature is low in the mountains.] 

[That is still not enough to preserve them for 24hrs. Chances are, they will be stale the next morning.]

That morning, the actor playing village chief came as their guide for this challenge. First is bread making, they were given instructions on how to mix the ingredients. The stone oven in the bakery had to be lit by them. Using bundled twigs, the men preheated the oven while the others flipped the dough. 

Yuni smiled and whispered something to Maya. "They are only going to check if the bread is cooked properly right?"

Maya nodded. According to their source, the judges didn't have to taste it for themselves so they can try and cut corners by removing sugar and milk. Sugar is expensive and they didn't have time to find milk. As long as it looks cooked on the outside or even if it doesn't taste good they would still be scored higher. 

Nancy did the share for Arthur, Luan also made another for TK. Maya's team has more hands so they made four portions while scrimping on other ingredients and naturally, their team finished first. Sena concentrated on her work and made two big doughs for herself. The movements were jerky and inexperienced but everybody eventually formed their bread. After letting it sit for a while, it was then ready to be baked. Sena marked her bread earning the ire of other cast thinking she was being too sensitive.

"Did you think people would steal your food?" Yuni snickered. "We're not even sure if it's going to be baked or burnt."

"Haven't you heard? It's common practice to mark one's bread in the community oven even in the olden days to avoid disputes." Sena answered dryly. She not only smoothly called her ignorant but also added trivia to the audience. 

[How to tell someone they are dumb without saying they are dumb?] A jolly netizen commented. 

[Pffft~ I was already in hysterical laughter when TK called her a washed-up child star. I did not expect she would receive another blow from Sena as well.]

[Savage!]

While the oven was covered and baking, the cast decided to go around the village for a stroll and eventually came to the stables. The program director wanted the cast to share their experiences. It was the first time all nine of them gathered after the long tasks. It was supposed to be an amicable exchange but the wind changed somehow as the contestants broke into a heated argument. 

Gan had been eyeing Sena since the beginning of the show and made a move to approach her. All of them came from the same social circle so he assumed it would be easier to get under her skin, unfortunately, he overestimated himself. 

With a carrot on hand, Sena came near a brown horse. 

"Sena, don't go near the horses," Nancy said worriedly. 

"It's fine, I'll only check it a little bit. There won't be a problem since I'll be going alone but if more than two come, they might get agitated so just stay here." 

"O-Okay," Nancy nodded. 

But Yuni snorted, "Why does she pretend she knew about horses? If something happens the whole program will be delayed." 

"I think Sena knows what she's doing." Nancy retorted.

Slowly, Sena let the animal familiarize itself with her before touching gently. Knowing that it didn't reject her, she then patted its head before giving the treat. In the corner of her eyes, she saw Gan. 

"Stay right there," she warned. 

Gan grinned widely, looked over his shoulders to invite the girls to come. "You can't hog all the fun. Everyone, you want to see the other horses too right?" 

"Can we?" Yuni gushed out. 

Gan continued to move. "There's no problem let's--" the horse near him suddenly stomped its hooves frightening him silly that he fell on back making an embarrassing posture. 

"Oh my God, oh my God!!" Yuni did not dare move. Thankfully the angry horse was inside or else Gan would have been injured. 

"Go back!" Sena said emphatically. "There's too many of us."

TK saw what happened, he clicked his tongue and came forward to appease the horse. He pulled the rein and patted it slowly. Sena checked the other horse as well. With the two of them helping, the animals settled down soon and they returned outside the stables. 

"Some people can't even listen to basic instruction." TK threw Gan a meaningful glance.

"These are not a pet cat or a dog you can ogle and rub if you like, horses are very sensitive animals. They don't like it when you're too eager and just barge in droves." 

Gan rubbed the back of his nape awkwardly. 

"You shouldn't have come inside in the first place," Maya said, frowning at Sena indicating it was her fault. "Everyone followed because you took the initiative to go there. That was very thoughtless and we almost got one of us injured."

"Maya is right, don't act all on your own." Yuni echoed indignantly, plunking her hands on her hips. Her chest was still thudding from the scare. "You're putting us in trouble."

Her fans instantly attacked seeing her righteous attitude.

[I think Sena is looking for attention. She probably thinks she can gain more fame here. Get out!]

[She's dragging everyone along with her when she has no experience with horses.]

[Thank goodness Prince TK was there.]

[Were you guys blind? You can fan a person however you like but you don't have to throw your common sense in the water. Sena warned them and for your information, TK was talking about Gan. He was the one at fault.] 

Sena barely paid attention to these two but when she did, she only glanced at them. "If you warn someone and they ignore it, is their stubbornness still your fault?"

The two weren't able to answer for a long time. 

Nancy sighed, "Sena already said not to follow her. Did any of you listen?" 

"The village head said we are free to visit all the places, besides there is no rule saying that we cannot enter the stables…" Gan defended himself but his words directly contradicted Maya's claim. 

"You're right," TK replied blandly. "But we also have to be careful when moving around. Who knew another incident like this would happen again. At least this time you had a warning." 

Unfortunately, that wasn't the only trouble caused by the overeager Gan. It came clear to everyone that he was making efforts to approach Sena at every turn and he wasn't even being subtle about it. 

When the baking was finished, the village head came to see their bread. One by one he checked if they were made right by knocking on the bottom part. Sena knocked on her two bread and heard the satisfying hollow sound. 

"What? Your bread is made of air?" Yuni laughed. "It's even burnt at the bottom."

"Ms Erde's bread is cooked just right and it's alright if it's a little burnt below since they are mostly fed to pigs." The village head said with a smile. 

Yuni shut her mouth and quietly fumed. Everyone in this show seems to favour the little bitch that whatever she says just gets ignored.

They were asked to put their bread in the basket and head next to the waterfall, everyone joked that the village head might be inviting them for a picnic but soon found out they were wrong. They were brought there to cook the next menu. During this moment when the village head was talking, he finally revealed the real reason for the bread baking. It turns out that the respective family they were staying at will be out to another town to work and they will be left alone in the house to fend for themselves. Everyone had a trace of panic after hearing Ms Emma’s words.  

"The bread you baked along with the food you are going to cook today is going to serve as your meal." 

Maya's team looked at each other in horror not because none of them knows how to cook but because they realized that they were going to eat the hard unpalatable bread they baked. 

Karma came too soon. 

And during the cooking event, the netizens finally witnessed how the spoiled kids transformed all ordinary foods into hell's cuisines. From the start of lightning the fire and preparing their dishes, everything was already going downhill.

Maya cried in pain when a small drop of oil from the fried chicken jumped to her wrist. The men in her team saw that she was shedding tears so pitifully that they volunteered to take over and let the ladies sit. The result was food that is either burnt or raw. 

"How about we just cook eggs instead?" Maya suggested awkwardly. 

Gan grinned widely and agreed to make it. With a big hand, he cracked four eggs and added a bit of shell in them. Maya was instantly disgusted but she kept her expression in check. After pouring the mix, the egg was splashed all over the pan making a much bigger mess. The fire was too strong and it easily browned but it does not seem to affect Gan. 

While cooking he not only initiated a topic but also pulled everyone in by asking a lot of things from hobbies to their ideal types. The questions were very personal but Gan knows how to manipulate conversation making it appear light and funny by deliberately changing his tone. In short, he has a sleek swindler-like personality common to playboys. Eron Shi sang the same song as him trying to coax and hook the girls to answer. 

Sena rolled her eyes inwardly, they never changed. It was the same technique she saw before that had Yuni happily obliged. 

"Girls have it easy," Gan suddenly said in a whining tone while cooking. 

Here it goes, Sena thought. 

"How can you say that?" Luan snorted, displeased. 

"I dated quite a number so I knew quite a few things about women," Gan said confidently. 

TK made a bland reply. "Just because you dated women doesn't mean you know them in general."

Gan ignored TK and turned his sights on Sena who had no interest in talking to him, she was busy slicing her bread loaf. "Why can women play hard to get while asking for plenty of things from us without reciprocating and get away with it so easily?"

Sena with a deadpan face: Are you talking to me? 

"Pffft…" TK bit back his laughter. 

Gan didn't mind being ignored and persisted. He deliberately walked beside her and raised his voice to get her to answer but then when she did answer, he was lost for words. 

"It's a little unfair."

Sena threw him a little bone, "In the first place, why date a person like that and give her things when you know it's going to be a problem eventually?" 

Gan didn't know how to answer that so he opted to play the victim game just so he could keep the conversation going. "I'm not sure, I was nice enough. It's just that most of the ones I dated left a bad mark." 

"That's sad, you've been with many but barely learned a lesson." TK openly shot him a disgusted look.

"Gimme a break man, we're on the same team here."

"I don't remember signing up for anything," TK said putting a wide distance between them. 

Sena wanted to ignore him all throughout the cooking but he kept initiating such a conversation making her upset. 

"You cook well. By the way, two ex-girlfriends of mine are also good in the kitchen. One would cry a lot when she wants me to buy her something expensive. The other back in middle school said she liked me but when my dad cut my allowance she broke up with me." 

This made her sigh like an old lady facing a three-year-old, "The point you wanna tell me is that women are cunning, tricky and will do anything to get what they want is that it?" 

Gan's eyes shone cunningly. Yes, that's it. She's finally willing to converse. He was about to smile in victory when her next reply made his whole body cold. 

"Well, it's true. Women are too aggressive these days asking for a lot of things. Most of you don't even have to work half as hard as us men." He said self-righteously. 

"Are you sure this is the kind of topic you wanna start discussing with someone you barely know?" 

It's quite lame... this style of virtue signalling is so old she was sick of it. She doesn't have the patience to sit and endure it. 

"Let me reverse the situation and put myself in your shoes. Would you find it reasonable if I started the same topic with you?" Sena tapped the wooden spatula a little too hard on the side of the cast iron pan making a dull sound. "Of course not, right? You would think I'm some kind of a loose woman trying to get your attention by using such an unsavoury topic." 

Gan was caught off-guard, he didn't know where to put his eyes for a while. "Hehe, I was just making conversation. I'm sure it's also part of the task. Besides, isn't it normal to share experiences? " 

"The task is to share what we learned. Not to dump your personal problems on me who clearly had no connection to your weal and woe and frankly, I don't care how many women you dated or your history with them. I don't see the connection." Sena said ruthlessly.

Thankfully most guys she knows are not as tactless as this one. 

Maya wanted to insert by salvaging the already broken conversation "Stop that Sena, you don't have to answer strongly and embarrass him. Gan was just trying to make the discussion light seeing that everyone is--"

"Spare me your drama, you're making it sound as if someone flagrantly pointing out that all women are inferior, selfish and manipulative is a good thing." 

"I, I wasn't…" Maya played her trump card again, apologizing to look like she was being bullied but this time the netizens did not buy her act. 

Sena continued. "If you haven't realized what he meant after he put it so plainly then I feel sorry for you."

She wasn't some feminist but Gan went too far with his choice of topic acting all sexist. Sure there are problematic women out there and he had his encounters but does that mean everyone should be judged the same? None of them was even asking for his backstory! 

Gan clenching his fist tried to smile, "It's alright, I understand the weaker sex tend to be blunt and easily lose their tempers with a slight joke as a defence mechanism. Perhaps Sena's the type who hasn't even dated yet because she's too old fashioned and overly cautious." He turned to her. "How about adjusting that sharp tongue of yours? Men liked sweet and friendly girls after all. Right guys?" 

TK was just about tired of his bullshit and replied, "Alas, I don't share your lousy taste." 

Arthur did not answer but shot him a cold gaze.

Sena flicked her hair, unaffected by Gan's provocation. "I don't think you're qualified to give advice yourself. You said you dated a lot and are quite proud of it but if you're my friend and told me that you've met with twelve dozen people, I would naturally assume there is something wrong with you if you're been in so many relationships and still failed." 

When this episode aired on prime time, half of the audience sang hallelujah and half rejoiced at her rebuttals. She did not only burn the obnoxious man, she thoroughly cremated him. Gan's overconfidence is obvious to the viewers, with money, looks and connection he embodied a typical youth with an inflated ego who thinks he has that world in the palm of his hand. 

Tragically, he is also a straight male cancer who thinks that a woman's role is to sit and look pretty and leave all the bigger decisions to men like him. And Maya defending his argument made the image even more disappointing.

When Sena was asked what was her take on these questions frequently thrown at women by the likes of Gan, she said that it's sad. All she did was answer a question thrown at her but she was certain she would appear weird to some. It has gotten to a point that people would just normally ignore these questions when in fact they shouldn't.  

The cooking went monstrously wrong. Most of the bread everyone made looked alright on the outside but the moment they tasted it the tragedy came. Luan and TK's bread were salty because Luan mistook the salt for sugar. Arthur and Nancy's bread was fine but the fried food was burnt to a crisp because they didn't know how to adjust the fire. It could not be eaten. Maya's team has terrible bread but they could not admit it because they will surely lose points so they forced themselves to eat it, the fried food was burnt and the scrambled egg was scorched dark brown with bits of shells. 

Sena knew this would happen so she made enough food for the others to eat. The village head said they are allowed to share food but they have to do one more challenge, straw hat weaving. Maya's team did not dare touch her food because it was equivalent to admitting defeat and adding another task. But the rest of the teams threw their dignity out the window and shared Sena's food. 

TK eyed the plate of scrambled eggs beside Nancy and smiled slyly. 

"You’re doing it wrong." He remarked pointing at the woven straw in her hand. 

Nancy scratched her head and tried to twist the stands together but it broke again. Helpless and impatient, she looked at the annoying guy. 

"I can teach you if you ask me," TK said. "In one condition. Give me your remaining fried egg." 

"No way! Sena made it for me." Nancy is very protective of her food. Once she has something she likes, she would not share it even if the person begged. 

"A plate of fried eggs or losing your task?"

She paused for a moment with a conflicted look on her face. TK and Luan ate very little because most of their food was unpalatable. They might get sick if they ate it but Sena gave them enough share. Nancy mulled over it, if she exchanged this egg, isn’t that giving this annoying man a favour?

But she also needed to finish this weave for the hat so she could eat. Their bread was a little burnt and tough but it can still be eaten, the fried egg was just Sena's favour for her. 

The next moment, she surprised her fans when the stingy lolita suddenly held out her plate towards TK.  

After the exciting and life-threatening lunch, everyone had a short break. 

"Sena, where did you study?" Eron Shi suddenly asked. "I haven't seen you around during inter-school programs." 

People of the wealthy circle have known each other since young and even when they haven't personally met them, they would still have some inkling from word of mouth. There are three prominent colleges in the country standing on top of the hierarchy, College of Preston where Luan and Nancy came, Sparks University where TK and Arthur currently study and lastly, the University of the Orient where the rest like Maya, Yuni, Eron and Gan goes. 

Sena didn't graduate from either of those schools. "I briefly stayed in the Capital City before entering primary school abroad. I returned to the country when I was ten to attend middle school in Edelweiss Academy then went back abroad at sixteen to finish my associate and bachelor's degree."

Everyone's eyes went to her. "You already finished college?"

"I did mention that." Sena nodded. 

"Where?" Yuni jumped in disbelief. 

"Europe." Two years in England, one year in Germany, one year in France and one in Switzerland to be exact.

"Hahaha no wonder you can't be found, you were busy studying." TK joked lightly. "How old are you by the way?" 

"I'm twenty-one this year." 

Silence again.  

They were all the same age group but Sena was already at an entirely different level. Let's just avoid asking her to keep ourselves from getting hurt.