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

159 One Button Is Missing

Nannan initially believed that the image she had diligently constructed would crumble. She did not expect that most of the fans would choose to believe her.

She felt conflicted.

She returned to the camera. “Maybe I didn’t express it clearly enough and Wheatley misunderstood me. The five families are all very good with each other. But I do apologize for not being clear. I will be more careful with my words in the future.”

[Nannan has replied. Everyone can be at ease now.]

[Nannan, we will always support you!]

[So, what if you’re close to sister Hanzhi? Everyone deserves a friend.]

“Thank you, everyone.” Nannan bowed deeply in front of the camera.

In Qingzhou, Du Xing had managed to get Ji Hanzhi’s number with great difficulty, but she didn’t receive a reply even though she had sent a lot of messages to her. Could she have guessed wrong? Maybe Ji Hanzhi had really moved on from Li Yanchen.

It was one thing for her brother-in-law to ignore her, but how could he completely forget about her sister, his ex-wife?

He and Lin Wan were so intimate in front of the camera. His sister would be so sad if she were to see this from heaven.

Ji Hanzhi was the only woman who had a scandal with her brother-in-law after her sister’s death. They could at least make Lin Wan uncomfortable if they cooperated, even if they couldn’t get Lin Wan to leave. She would have a chance as long as Lin Wan and her brother-in-law had at least some form of misunderstandings.

Du Xing sent another message:

[My sister was very outstanding when she was alive. Lin Wan isn’t good enough for my brother-in-law, and she isn’t a qualified stepmother. My sister was most worried about her three children. They are my nephews, so I can’t trust Lin Wan to take care of them. You’re the most beautiful mother, and only you are good enough for my brother-in-law.]

In order to prove that this wasn’t a scam, Du Xing attached a photo of her brother-in-law and her sister with the message.

Ji Hanzhi never replied to any private messages. She was afraid that someone with ulterior motives was trying to trick her to get information. She was a public figure, after all. Any inappropriate message or comment would be blown out of proportion, so she had to be careful. She ignored the messages.

Du Xing waited for half an hour but still didn’t get a reply. She threw her phone to the side. It was normal for Ji Hanzhi to not reply to messages that came from an unidentified number. She had to think of another way.

Du Xing found a photo of her with her sister in a photo album. She wanted to send the photo to Ji Hanzhi. But she realized that she still couldn’t prove that she was Du Zheng’s sister unless she appeared in front of Ji Hanzhi with the photo in her hands.

Du Xing packed her luggage and prepared to fly to Lan Village.

Ji Hanzhi wondered if the unknown number would call her. But when the call didn’t come, she was convinced that it had been a trick to trap her. Perhaps when she had refused to give in, the scammer might have decided to stop.

At the peak of Lan Mountain, Li Yanchen and Lin Wan did not see the sunrise. However, in the room, the two of them were basking in the golden sunlight.

The alarm rang at half past eight in the morning.

When Li Yanchen turned over to turn off the alarm, he felt his entire body ache. He propped his head on an arm and gazed at Lin Wan. Her small body was buried in the soft blanket.

They had almost persevered until sunrise.

In the middle of the night, Li Yanchen had pulled her close to him. When the sun was about to rise, Lin Wan could no longer keep her eyes open and she leaned on his shoulders and fell asleep.

He looked at her fondly for a while then got out of bed quietly.

On the balcony of the living room, Li Zexuan and Li Zexin were playing chess. Li Zexai was sitting in a chair with a book titled “The Study of Mi Xiaochuan”.

When Li Yanchen approached, three pairs of eyes turned to him.

“You’re all up?”

“Dad, it’s almost nine. We already finished breakfast, but brother wouldn’t let me wake you up.” Li Zekai jumped down from the chair with his book. “There’s glutinous corn today. Has Auntie woken up?”

“Lin Wan has a live broadcast in the afternoon. She was nervous about messing it up and she went to sleep only at dawn,” Li Yanchen blurted out.

Li Zekai believed him. “Then let Auntie Lin sleep a little longer. I will go to the dining room to get the corn.”

“Uncle Xiao came looking for you,” said Li Zexin. “You should go and meet him?”

“Yes. I will go now.” Li Yanchen washed up and went to the Xiao family suite.

Xiao Tianlin was working out on the balcony. Seeing that Li Yanchen had turned off the music, he wiped his sweat and approached him.

“Brother Li, the weather is good today. There was a sea of clouds at sunrise. I wanted to tell you to look outside since the layer of glass on the window doesn’t show you the way it looks from outside, but the children said you might be sleeping.” Xiao Tianlin and Xia Mo had woken up at four in the morning to watch the sunrise.

“Just that?”

“Xia Mo found Baili Xiang on the mountain. Aren’t they live streaming in the afternoon? She wanted to ask Lin Wan if she wanted to pick some to decorate the cake. She went to pick it herself in case they needed it later.” Xiao Tianlin changed his clothes. “If you have the time, let’s go out for a walk. The mountain air feels fresh.”

Li Yanchen hesitated for a moment. “I haven’t had my breakfast yet. Also, Lin Wan isn’t up.”

Xiao Tianlin understood what he meant. “Oh!” He leaned over to Li Yanchen and whispered, “I think one of your buttons is missing. Also, is that a birthmark?”

Li Yanchen lowered his head and realized that his collar was indeed a little too wide. The “birthmark” was the place where Lin Wan had nibbled on yesterday. He hadn’t noticed that a button had gone missing.

Li Yanchen looked embarrassed.

“I will call you after lunch then, brother Li,” said Xiao Tianlin with a smile.

Li Yanchen hadn’t carried many clothes. They were staying in the homestay for just one night and then returning in the afternoon, so he had thought the clothes he carried would have been enough. After taking a bath yesterday, he had changed into clean clothes and hung the dirty ones on the clothes rack. When he had pulled at the clean clothes, he must have misplaced the button.

Li Yanchen, after returning to his room, searched for the missing button. Lin Wan opened her eyes at the sound.

“What are you looking for?” she asked softly.

“I’ve woken you up,” Li Yanchen raised his head guiltily. “I am trying to find the top button. It’s missing. Without that, the mark you left behind is visible to all.” He pointed at his neck.

Lin Wan could vaguely see the red mark below his neck. She jumped up from bed, picked up the blanket and shook it in the hopes that a button would fall out.

Lin Wan sighed. “I can’t find it.”

She walked barefoot to the clothes rack and held a used shirt in her hands. “It’s better to wear dirty clothes than for that to be seen by everybody.”

“Xiao Tianlin saw it. He was the one who told me that a button was missing.”

“You still need to change!” said Lin Wan. “We can’t let Xuanxuan and the others see it!” She knew that Li Yanchen would be disgusted by the used shirt because it reeked of sweat.

Even though the air conditioner was on the entire time, Li Yanchen was sweating profusely.

After struggling for a moment, Li Yanchen forced himself to change into the dirty pink shirt. He did not even dare to take a breath, afraid that he might puke from the smell of sweat. He didn’t even go to have his breakfast.

At ten in the morning, Xiao Tianlin arrived at the Li family’s suite again. Seeing that Li Yanchen had already changed back into the clothes he had worn yesterday, Xiao Tinalin tried not to laugh.

...

“Do you have any perfume?” Li Yanchen’s murderous gaze focused on him.

“No, I don’t.” Xiao Tianlin raised an eyebrow. “You aren’t afraid of foreplay. Why are you so afraid of a little strawberry?”

Li Yanchen took long strides. “Brother Xiao! I am afraid we can’t be friends anymore.”