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

99 A Feeling of Warmth Spread in Her Heart

When the car arrived, Li Zekai got up and rushed toward it.

“Jiejie, slow down.” Aunty Huang followed behind, afraid that Li Zekai would fall.

Xia Mo saw Li Zekai running from the window of the car. “Little rascal is waiting for you.”

“See you tomorrow,” said Lin Wan. “Drive carefully.”

“Auntie!” Li Zekai almost bumped into Lin Wan when he stopped running.

“Hello, Auntie Xia.” Li Zekai waved his little hand at Xia Mo.

“Jiejie.” Xia Mo smiled kindly. “When your brothers return for the holidays, come to my house to play. I will be going now. Bye.”

“Goodbye, Auntie.” Li Zekai stood on his tiptoes and looked into the car.

Lin Wan was shocked by the child’s enthusiasm.

“Auntie, my dad will come back tomorrow. I’ll help you scold him.” The boy stood beside Lin Wan, looking as if he wanted to uphold justice for her.

“Why?” asked Lin Wan, curiously.

“Because he is forcing you to work, that’s why.” Li Zekai pouted. “He has so much money and still he is being stingy with you, isn’t he?”

Lin Wan was tired because of a hectic day. But she laughed listening to her stepson. “You think your father is making me work?”

“Yeah. What else would it be? I called dad but he laughed at me, too. I won’t let him get away with it just by laughing like this, I will definitely scold him tomorrow for you.” Li Zekai was like a mini adult.

Lin Wan laughed but she was also touched by his concern. “He didn’t make me work. I went to work myself. I get bored staying at home all day and doing nothing.” Lin Wan gently flicked a finger at her stepson’s forehead. They had walked to the living room.

“Oh, I’ll wait for you here.”

Lin Wan had wanted to take a shower and rest but Li Zekai seemed to have other plans.

“Just go and sleep. We will talk tomorrow.” Lin Wan pretended to yawn. What would she talk about with a small child at this hour?

“No, Auntie. I will get you a Alpaca Massage Pillow. I have one in my room. I will wait for you here. I have something to give you. It won’t take very long.”

“Oh? Alright, then.” Lin Wan reluctantly agreed.

Li Zekai’s Alpaca Pillow was a gift from his brother. His brother hadn’t wanted to give it to him. It was soft and very comfortable. He ran to his room and got the pillow. He asked Auntie Huang to help him plug it in.

“Grandma Huang, I want to talk to Auntie for a while. I’ll be embarrassed if you’re here.”

She chuckled. “Alright. I am going to go to the laundry room and wash some clothes. I have warmed the milk for you. Drink it before you go to sleep.”

After making sure that Auntie Huang had left, Li Zekai took out the candies he had hidden in his pocket. Fortunately, it hadn’t melted.

Lin Wan patted her hair dry and went downstairs. In the living room, Li Zekai sat on the big sofa.

“Don’t you have a summer camp or something of that sort?” Lin Wan had just asked casually to make some conversation. She hadn’t expected him to become so displeased with the question.

“What if you don’t have a summer camp?” Lin Wan had only asked casually, but she did not expect her stepson to be unhappy.

“Auntie, are you thinking of sending me away again?”

“What? No. I am just trying to ask about your schedule. It’s good to have your holidays planned out, otherwise it will be very boring staying at home all day,” explained Lin Wan.

Li Zekai smiled warmly. “I will make plans after my brothers come back. We used to go out and play together.”

“Auntie, do you have any plans?” he asked her.

Lin Wan thought for a moment. “I haven’t decided yet. So, what did you want to tell me?”

Li Zekai took out a handful of colorful candies and handed it to her. “I wanted to give you this! These sour candies are very delicious. I hid it from everyone in school to bring it for you.”

In her original world, Lin Wan felt that children were very difficult to deal with. She ever wanted children if she ever got married. During the reality show, she had seen what disasters children could inflict and stayed away from them even more. However, her determination wavered. During the last two days, she had imagined how it would be like if these were really her own children.

However, Lin Wan quickly convinced herself that one was bound to feel emotional even with cats, let alone children. This was not maternal love. It was just common human decency.

“Auntie, you can only eat two a day. If you eat too much, you’ll lose your teeth.” Looking at a dazed Lin Wan, Li Zekai instructed her of the dangers of eating too many sweets.

A few pieces of candy fell from between his stepson’s fingers, and when he reached out to pick them up, several more dropped to the floor. In the end, Li Zekai simply wrapped the candy in his clothes. “Auntie, are you afraid of the sourness? It’s called sour candy, but it’s actually very sweet after a while.” He was like a candy salesman promoting his candy.

A feeling of warmth spread in her heart. She took the candy, peeled one, and put it in her mouth. It was strawberry flavored. It was indeed sour but she only felt sweetness in her heart.

She pinched her stepson’s cheek, softly. “Thank you. But I can’t finish it all alone. Eat it with me.”

Li Zekai hesitated. “I ate three of them secretly. Can I still eat one more?”

Lin Wan looked at the dozens of candies. She wondered how he had resisted eating them all.

Lin Wan unwrapped a yellow candy and put it into Li Zekai’s mouth. Suddenly, He wiped the saliva away from the corner of his lips and looked up at Lin Wan happily.

“Now, be a good boy and go to sleep. I will be here tomorrow morning if you want to talk more. I have something else to do now. Let Auntie Huang put you to bed, alright?” Lin Wan put away the candies.

Li Zekai nodded.

When she returned to her bedroom, Lin Wan spread the candies on the bed and took a few photos of them. She wanted to post them on her moments to show off, but when she looked at the few contacts she had, she realized that not many people would even care. She chose to keep the photos for herself.

“Life is tough, but it’s sweet to have you here,” was the catchphrase of her livestream in her original world. The candies reminded her of that. She sent a photo to Li Yanchen with a text. “Li Zekai came back home and brought me a bunch of candies.”

Li Yanchen had sent Lin Wan a message after his meeting in the afternoon, but she did not reply. He guessed that she was busy, so he did not bother her further. He had been waiting for her call. When he got the notification, he opened the message immediately.

“Can I have one?” asked Li Yanchen.

“No. He said these are all for me. None for you.”

“I’m jealous!”

“You’re so stingy.”

“Two people have called me stingy in one day. I will be home tomorrow. Just you wait.” Li Yanchen sent a knife emoji with that message.

“Just get here. Have a safe flight. I am going to listen to some music and go to sleep. Goodnight.” Lin Wan threw the phone on her bed. Her eyes glistened with tears.