Their Punching Bag Became The Storm novel Chapter 41

Chapter 41 Whitney Being Herself

“Do you

think I’m that unreasonable?” Whitney’s crimson lips curved into a smirk as she shot Ryan a sidelong glance.

Her bright smile burned like a spark in Ryan’s chest.

His gaze got more intense, and one of his brows arched slightly beneath the messy fall of his hair.

“I know you don’t like people barging into your business without asking,” he said. ” Because you always handle everything perfectly fine on your own.”

Whitney froze for a second when she met his gaze.

His eyes were so clear, but underneath that cool exterior, there was something she couldn’t quite put her finger on.

Her heart clenched, and then it started racing before she could stop it.

He could tell she was holding back. He knew she didn’t want to let him get any closer.

When Ryan came back earlier, Whitney had taken a look at Chase and Emily.

She saw Chase’s face turned dark with anger, while Emily’s cheeks were flushed with

shame and frustration.

After she listened to the recording Ryan sent over, she could picture exactly how he had gone after them until they had nothing left to say.

That wasn’t the kind of thing someone in his position would normally waste time on.

It was completely out of character for him.

He was nothing like the rumors said, and nothing like the man she remembered from her previous life either.

Now, he seemed like a completely different person to her.

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‘Is this the butterfly effect from all the changes I’ve made?‘ she wondered.

She quickly looked away, feeling like she was running from something. Then she

turned toward the five people talking loudly in front of the cameras.

“Let’s go over there,” she said to Ryan, trying to change the subject. “Otherwise, they’re going to start asking all kinds of questions.”

As soon as she finished, she took off walking fast.

Ryan kept up with her effortlessly, teasing, “Ask what?”

“They’re going to ask why we went to the bathroom together and took so long,”

Whitney replied without thinking.

Ryan let out a low, warm laugh that rolled off his tongue like music.

Chapter 41 Whitney Being Herself

Whitney’s face suddenly felt warm for no reason, so she stopped talking and walked faster.

Behind her, Ryan’s smile grew wider.

The chat was buzzing with all kinds of guesses about what had happened.

[Seriously, Ryan is so attractive when he stood up for Whitney.]

[I don’t know why, but whenever Ryan and Whitney show up in the same frame, something about it feels sweet.]

[Look at those two standing next to each other. They’re both so ridiculously good- looking that I can’t look away.]

[Wait, what’s the deal with Chase, Emily, and Whitney anyway? Why do they keep going after her like that? This isn’t the first time. Chase clearly has some serious issues with Whitney.]

[Honestly, Emily’s probably the one pulling the strings behind all of this and using Chase to go after Whitney.]

[Someone, give us the whole story about what’s going on between the three of them.]

The super observant viewers were determined not to miss a single thing in the livestream.

When Whitney and Chase showed up on camera, they were tucked away in a small corner, but people still noticed them right away.

No one could hear what they were saying, but from their expressions and their body language, they could tell that the two of them were having a pretty intense argument. The live chat was full of people speculating about what was happening.

Then, a few comments suddenly took over the screen.

[I’m trained in lip–reading. The video quality isn’t great and Chase is moving around a lot, so his face keeps getting blocked, but here are a few lines I managed to catch. Take it with a grain of salt.

[One, Chase said he knew Whitney before the show and that she’s not who she appears to be on camera.

[Two, Emily already apologized to Whitney and said she wanted to get along, but Whitney kept cursing them out, throwing all kinds of nasty insults their way.

[After that, Chase and Ryan got too close to each other and the camera couldn’t see Chase’s face anymore, so that’s all I got.]

Those comments made the whole livestream go quiet for a few seconds. Then the chat exploded with reactions.

People started questioning whether that lip–reading comment was real or just

Chapter 41 Whitney Being Herself

someone messing around.

The person who left those comments replied that they were only doing the translation and couldn’t guarantee it was accurate.

That only made everyone more uncertain about what to believe.

Still, most viewers leaned toward believing it. No matter how they looked at it, Chase, Emily, and Whitney clearly knew each other, and there was definitely more to their relationship than they let on.

[If that’s true, then Whitney’s kind of out of line. If they already knew each other before the show, shouldn’t they be supporting each other instead of always fighting?]

[Everyone’s saying Whitney acts completely different on the show than she does in real life, which means her whole persona is fake. You’re all falling for an act.]

Some viewers called Whitney rude and aggressive because she kept going after both Chase and Emily, even after Emily had already apologized and tried to make peace.

Others disagreed, pointing out that Chase and Emily were always the ones picking on Whitney even after she made it clear she didn’t like them.

They argued that no normal person would keep bothering someone who wanted nothing to do with them.

A few also questioned why Whitney had to accept Emily’s apology simply because Emily decided to give one.

Chase and Emily’s fans, along with some casual viewers, thought Whitney was constantly picking fights on camera and making everything a huge mess.

They found her hard to deal with and tiring to watch.

But Whitney’s fans and another group of viewers didn’t see anything wrong with her

behavior.

They didn’t think she had to smile and play nice with people she didn’t like because cameras were rolling, especially since the show was supposed to be about being real. So as far as they were concerned, Whitney being herself wasn’t a problem at all.

The live chat turned into a complete battlefield, but Darian couldn’t have been happier as he watched the numbers climb higher and higher.

This was exactly what he wanted.

Being real was the whole point of the show in his eyes, and he didn’t care about everyone playing nice for the cameras anyway.

All the fighting and drama were what brought in the views and kept people talking, and he was ready for more of it.

Chapter 41 Whitney Being Herself

When Whitney and Ryan got back, Henry immediately started teasing them in a flirty, Knowing tone. “So, what were you two sneaking off to do?”

Whitney quickly changed the subject. “The next challenge is about to start. Are you guys ready?”

“Whitney, you’re changing the subject so fast. You wouldn’t happen to feel guilty about something, would you?” Henry said, clearly loving every second of this.

Nora’s jaw dropped as she stared at Whitney’s face. “Hey, Whitney, you’re blushing.”

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Chapter 42 A New Round of Tasks