The Useless Stepmom Brings Her Kids to Reality TV Shows to Photograph Them

113 Bloom

Li Yanchen almost choked on his food. Things had heated up in the balcony upstairs. They thought they could share an intimate moment, but the children had interrupted them.

“No. Xinxin is too noisy when he’s sleeping.”

“I am not noisy. Sleep in my room,” offered Li Zexuan.

“I absolutely refuse. You sleep so late. I have to sleep early so I can get up tomorrow for the office.”

“Daddy, then sleep with me. I sleep at nine sharp and I am not noisy too,” said Li Zekai.

“God, no. I really have a headache and can’t listen to your stories today.”

The three children were speechless. Lin Wan tried her best to not laugh.

“Lin Wan, what do you think?” In the end, Li Yanchen looked at Lin Wan expectantly.

“I think the children have some good suggestions.”

Li Yanchen was baffled. He thought it through. He decided to sleep in his youngest son’s room. Li Zekai usually fell asleep at nine and it was very hard to wake him after that. He could sneak into Lin Wan’s room in the middle of the night.

Li Yanchen finally smiled.

Many people crouched out of sight near The Sweetheart Inn. They waited. But even when the shop closed and people left for their homes, no one appeared in pink clothes and pink lipstick.

“Maybe she left.”

“Yes. Maybe. Xiao Huan must have known that we would spy on her so she might have changed her clothes and left.”

“Let’s go. Let’s not come here again. It’s obvious Xiao Huan doesn’t want to be found.”

Xia Mo had already left. They gathered that if Xiao Huan was here and if the Sweet Little Circle was still broadcasting, Xia Mo wouldn’t have left so early.

“Is it possible that Xiao Huan is still in the store? They might have planned this. They pretend to close the shop and after we leave, Xia Mo will go back to get Xiao Huan.”

“Even if that is the case, it should be Xiao Huan’s choice. We shouldn’t force her to reveal herself like this. Let’s not push it and go back, everyone.”

“I also feel that we were too impulsive today. What if Sweet Little Circle stops broadcasting because of this?”

“Let’s go back, let’s go back!”

The crowd gradually dispersed, and the shop returned to silence.

At the Royal Water Bay Villa, Li Zexuan and Li Zexin played chess in the study after dinner. Li Zekai pulled Li Yanchen along to watch cartoons with him. Meanwhile Lin Wan went to her room early.

Seeing that Lin Wan was no longer around, Li Yanchen was bored to watch cartoons with his son. He kept looking at the second floor every few seconds.

At the highlight of the cartoon, Li Zekai explained the plot to his father with joy. Seeing his father so absentminded, he said, “Daddy, you never informed us when you left for business trips. We never said anything. We didn’t even get angry with you. You can’t be angry with Ms. Lin for not telling you about her secret.”

Li Zekai noticed that his father and Lin Wan barely spoke during dinner. He assumed that they had indeed quarreled and were not on good terms. He insisted on watching cartoons so he could stop his father from going upstairs and arguing with Lin Wan again.

Li Yanchen did not know whether to laugh or cry. “I swear we weren’t arguing. Do I look like someone who would quarrel? I am going to go to sleep after this episode.”

Li Zekai grabbed his father’s hand. “It’s not even eight yet. I will wash up and get ready at eight to sleep.”

Li Yanchen sighed and leaned back on the sofa.

In the master bedroom on the second floor, Lin Wan looked at her messages. Most of them were apologies.

[Xiao Huan. We are very sorry. We weren’t very rational today. Have you gone home already?]

[Sister, please don’t stop broadcasting! Weare very sorry. We promise we will never disturb you again. We like your dessert, no matter who you are.]

[We want to apologize to Xia Mo for being so intrusive too!]

[Xiao Huan, we can still visit and buy dessert from The Sweetheart Inn, right? We won’t ask about you.]

[I’m sorry, sister, we didn’t listen to you. In the live broadcast room, you said that you just wanted to make desserts quietly and didn’t want your life to be disturbed. We were too impulsive.]

[Xiao Huan, in case someone doesn’t listen and visits the shop again. Please take a change of clothes so no one can recognize you.]

…

Lin Wan knew that the fans had come to The Sweetheart Inn to expose her. But she had not expected them to apologize to her.

She made an announcement: [I won’t stop broadcasting. Thank you for giving me private space. When the time is right, I will show my face. The location of the live stream will be changed. Please don’t go to The Sweetheart In to bother anyone. You can still buy desserts there if you want.]

She was worried that Li Yanchen and others would find out about her live broadcast, so she did it at The Sweetheart Inn, but now that they knew about it, she wanted to just do the live stream at home.

When the fans saw the notice, they expressed their understanding.

At nine, after finally coaxing his son to sleep, Li Yanchen crept into the master bedroom and locked the door.

Lin Wan was watching a drama when she saw him sneak in. “What are you doing here?”

“Jiejie is asleep. His bed is too small. It’s more comfortable here. I promise I won’t try anything. I won’t even move.” He lay down next to Lin Wan on the bed.

She subconsciously moved to the side. “I am thinking I should continue with the live broadcast from home starting tomorrow.”

Li Yanchen nodded. “That sounds good. It’s safe at home.”

She had wanted to ask his opinion. She hadn’t expected him to agree so easily.

“Do you need me to hire someone for you? Or should I ask Xia Mo to come over?” Li Yanchen asked.

“No. I will ask her myself. If she can’t come, I can do it alone too. The reason I wanted to keep it anonymous was because I was scared I would attract negative attention. I thought they might criticize you, too,” explained Lin Wan. “I like making desserts and learning about new recipes. I am happy doing what I like. I don’t need to show my face for it.”

Li Yanchen turned around and stroked her chin. “Mrs. Li, are you trying to convince me?”

Lin Wan blinked. “Yes, I think. Thank you for today. I should thank Xuanxuan and the others, too. I know how to repay favors. If you or the children want to eat cake, you can tell me. I can make it any time. You can have your fill.”

“Wanwan…” Li Yanchen’s hand rose to her cheeks. He caressed her face gently. “Don’t talk about repaying favors anymore. You have nothing to repay. I don’t need you to do anything you don’t want. Just be my wife. The real Mrs. Li. That’s enough for me.”

The man’s eyes were filled with affection, and Lin Wan’s heart beat faster.

“I didn’t finish what I was doing on the balcony, Wanwan,” he reminded her.

Lin Wan broke free from his eyes and turned to the other side in embarrassment. She picked up her thermos and took a few gulps of the goji berry tea.

...

Li Yanchen chuckled. After finishing her tea, Lin Wan turned to him awkwardly.

“Can’t we just talk… a little, instead?” she stammered.

“Sure,” he said. “What do you want to talk about?”

“When are you going on your business trip?”

Li Yanchen turned to his side, his hand ruffling her hair. “You want me to go on a business trip?”

“Yes,” Lin Wan said vaguely.

Li Yanchen smiled. “Day after tomorrow. But I will be back soon.”

“Oh.” Lin Wan closed her eyes.

The goji berry tea felt like it was floating in her stomach. The room felt strange.

In this world, Lin Wan could finally feel her heart racing.

...