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

81 Have You Never Suspected Me?

“You don’t look well,” said Li Yanchen. “Are you alright? If not, I will go ask for some medicine.” Lin Wan looked pale and Li Yanchen didn’t know what to do.

“Have you never suspected me?” asked Lin Wan. She could not hide it anymore and she wanted to know if Li Yanchen would believe her. “Have you ever wondered why I am so different from the person you knew?”

Li Yanchen had noticed the change in Lin Wan. She had become more energetic and talkative. In the past, she had been bright and happy and had turned solemn. He did feel that her behavior was so in contrast to how she used to be. But elder Lin had told him that Lin Wan didn’t have any psychological problems in the past. She was a dynamic girl. She was warm toward others and passionate about the things she liked. He had only seen her so solemn and cold. People suspected she had a split personality.

He had promised to give her a sense of security. When he heard that his three sons had dragged Lin Wan to the show, he rushed here.

!!

Over the past few days, noticing the change in Lin Wan, Li Yanchen had assumed that she had finally accepted him and his sons. He even thought that perhaps she had developed feelings for him which led to the change.

“Wanwan, everyone has two sides to them. If you’re willing to tell me your true thoughts, I’m willing to listen. I want to say that not only will I understand, but I will also support you no matter what.” Li Yanchen tidied up her messy hair and tied it into a ponytail.

“Thank you.” Lin Wan’s lips trembled. She buried her head into his embrace. ‘Did the original owner of the body realize that there was still a ray of light in her dark world? And that ray of light was Li Yanchen.’

Even though the marriage was just a mutual agreement with their own terms, his concerns and worries couldn’t be faked.

“Ms. Lin, please eat…”

Li Zexin had run to the bedroom and saw his father and her hugging.

“I a-am sorry for interrupting,” he stammered.

He had come looking for both of them when his father had taken too long to return. Li Zexin had assumed Lin Wan was still very angry so he had wanted to help his father out. When he saw them hugging, he raised his hands that held the chopsticks up to his eyes.

“Dad, I’m back!” Li Zekai bumped into his brother while he was searching for his father. “Brother! Why are you walking with your eyes closed? You almost poked me with your chopsticks!”

Lin Wan made up an excuse and pushed Li Yanchen awkwardly away. “Walk properly! You might have bumped into something if I hadn’t stopped you from stumbling!”

Li Yanchen was at a loss for words.

“Dad, can we eat now? I’m so hungry.” Li Zekai hadn’t seen them hugging.

“Dinner’s ready, come out and eat.” Li Yanchen blushed.

In the kitchen, Li Zexin moved closer to Li Zexuan. “Brother. Mr. Li’s iron tree is blooming.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” asked Li Zexuan.

“Have you ever seen him coax people? Just now, when I walked in on them,he was coaxing Ms. Lin. He had her in his arms in a hug! I am feeling shy now.” Li Zexin covered his face.

“What? Really? I want to go and take a look.” Li Zexuan put down his chopsticks. He was curious and couldn’t believe what he heard. Before he could take a step, he saw two people approaching the table. They deliberately kept a distance between them as though they were trying to avoid each other.

“Dad,” said Li Zexuan, pretending to not know anything. “Are we eating in the courtyard?”

“Yes, help me take the vegetables out.” Li Yanchen nodded.

[It’s out, it’s out! Wow, there’s fish at Xuanxuan’s house today. Is this boiled in water?]

[Everyone promised to be polite because today is the last day!]

[Last day to clock in]

[Lin Wan’s cover song was liked by so many people. It’s on the hot search!]

[Help! Many people are asking Lin Wan and Xuanxuan to release an album together.]

Because of Lin Wan, Li Zexuan’s fan base had increased by 200,000 people in just half a day.

Li Zexuan’s manager saw the hot search and called him at mealtime. “Xuan, everyone is very supportive of you and your stepmother’s duet. Why didn’t you tell us about the talent you had in your family?”

Li Zexuan: ” Vivi, I didn’t know that Ms. Lin could sing. We’ll talk about it tomorrow when we get back. I’ll eat first.”

Li Yanchen did not know how to cook properly. He only tried out the simple recipes he found on the internet. He had borrowed the fish from Wheatley’s house and picked the vegetables from the yard in the village.

The biggest improvement in his cooking was that the dish was neither bland nor salty. It tasted just right.

Lin Wan sat opposite Li Yanchen in silence, as though nothing had happened in the bedroom.

Li Zexin deliberately tried to make small talk. “Father, you can ask Assistant Qin to pick me up from my house and drop me to school. You don’t have to do it.”

“Same with me. I can take the car and drive myself,” said Li Zexuan.

“Daddy, then can you send me off? The school bus leaves at eight in the morning.” Li Zekai had no idea that his two brothers were trying to give their father and their stepmother some space for them to be together without anyone bothering them.

“I can send you off!” said Li Zexuan, hurriedly. “Mr. Li is going on a business trip the day after tomorrow. We should let him rest tomorrow at home.”

“I can also send you off.” Li Zexin gave his brother a look.

Li Yanchen was speechless. He wondered what his sons were up to. Li Zexuan was threatening him that he would make Lin Wan’s life miserable in his summer break and now he was siding with her? ‘Did watching the sunrise give him some feelings of compassion?’

“Oh, okay. When will daddy be back?” Even though Li Zekai didn’t know what his brothers were plotting, he still agreed.

“At most, a few days.” This was the first time Li Yanchen had answered them about the duration of his business trip.

[Are you guys already planning for tomorrow?]

[They are so sensible. They are going to go to school by themselves.]

[Are they deliberately trying to give Li Yanchen and Lin Wan some space? What is happening? Lin Wan’s performance in the show was so bad until the talent show! Was it all scripted?]

[I also suspect that it may be true. Many variety shows script everything and deliberately make the guests look bad so they get criticized. It attracts traffic.]

[Then we’ve wronged her!]

[We were only speaking our mind. It is the Festival Group that has wronged her by misleading us!]

It was rare to see the Li family members so harmonious, and the netizens began to doubt the Festival Group.

Lin Wan was busy stuffing food into her mouth. She could tell that her stepsons were trying to give her and Li Yanchen some space. It seemed like they did not know the truth about the contract marriage.

After lunch, Li Zexin took the initiative to wash the dishes. Lin Wan went into her room to rest and make sense of her emotions. Li Yanchen sat in the courtyard. From where he sat, he could see Lin Wan through the window.

She was on her phone the entire time. He could not see her expressions because the lighting wasn’t very bright. But he could sense that she was fidgety.

‘Is she on her period?’ Li Yanchen wondered. He thought that was why she had looked so pale that time. He decided to go to Wheatley’s house to get some brown sugar.

At Anan’s place, Song Jing wanted to confirm about the class reunion with Lin Wan one more time. She took her laptop and headed to the Li family house.

...

Lin Wan heard Song Jing call her from the courtyard, so she walked out of the room unwillingly.

“Lin Wan, I wanted to discuss the class reunion with you. We plan to post the photos of the gathering on the school’s Tieba. By the way, the class monitor has already contacted the teachers. Teacher Feng and teacher Huang will be coming. Teacher Feng really liked you back then.” Song Jing said.