The Useless Stepmom Brings Her Kids to Reality TV Shows to Photograph Them - Chapter 83

83 A Bowl of Ginger and Brown Sugar Tea

In the kitchen, Li Yanchen poured out an entire bag of brown sugar into half a pot of water.

To get the water to boil fast, he added a lot of firewood to the stove. It produced a lot of smoke. He coughed and removed a few firewood because it was blocking the fire and causing all the smoke to thicken.

The water in the pot finally boiled. The aroma of the ginger and brown sugar quickly attracted Li Zexin and the others to the kitchen.

The three children walked to the stove at the same time and looked at the steaming pot.

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“Dad, what are you cooking? Why does it smell like ginger everywhere?” Li Zekai didn’t like ginger and was very sensitive to the smell.

“Boiled ginger? Father, are you hungry again? Is ginger delicious?” Li Zexin held a piece of paper in his hand.

“Ginger and brown sugar tea… Are you catching a cold? Is that why you are making it?” Li Zexuan often had to rush to work at night when it was cold. To warm his stomach, his manager would always prepare ginger and brown sugar tea for him. His manager always said that it could ward off the cold.

His two younger brothers looked at Li Yanchen in unison.

Li Yanchen ushered his sons out of the kitchen. “It’s alright. It’s hot here. Get out of here.”

Li Yanchen filled a bowl with ginger and brown sugar tea and went to Lin Wan’s room. He knocked on the door. He was not even this nervous when he was dealing with a business contract valued at millions.

Even as the president of Chenxin group, he cared for her, especially during her periods. He knew that periods were very painful for women. It had only been a few days and he couldn’t spend every day with her. He sighed. At this rate, he was going to fall for her.

Lin Wan opened the door and saw Li Yanchen with a bowl of ginger and brown sugar tea. Her eyes widened. “What’s this?”

“I only knew about this from my last girlfriend. I prepared ginger and brown sugar tea for you. It can dispel cold and relieve pain. This is my first time making it, so I am not sure how much ginger and brown sugar I should have used.” Li Yanchen was afraid that Lin Wan would think that he had already used this trick on other women, so he decided to explain.

“Girlfriend?” Lin Wan looked even more shocked. She quickly realized that Li Yanchen thought she was on her periods and suffering from cramps.

She recalled the same bowl of ginger and brown sugar tea in a different world…

“I just made it, so it is still very hot. Let it cool a little before you drink it. I’ve been boiling it for twenty minutes. Your stomach won’t hurt after drinking it.” Li Yanchen, a business tycoon and a man in his thirties, was suddenly like a young boy in love trying to care for his girlfriend without knowing how.

Lin Wan’s face turned red all the way to her ears. This wasn’t mentioned in the novel. Lin Wan didn’t know how but the main character in the novel had changed drastically.

“I am not…,” Lin Wan was about to tell him that she wasn’t on her periods but seeing him put an effort for her, she decided to thank him instead. “Thank you.”

“I’ll get the bowl later. You can rest after you’re done drinking it.” Li Yanchen secretly heaved a sigh of relief.

Lin Wan sat back on the sofa and stared at the bowl of ginger and brown sugar tea. She felt numb.

Li Zexin, who had been chased out of the courtyard, mimicked Lin Wan. He was sleeping on a recliner with a sun hat on his face. He was thinking about his father’s abnormal behavior in recent days. Li Zexuan was sitting beside his brother with his chin in his hands. Li Zekai leaned against the wall.

[Why are the kids so quiet all of a sudden?]

[Xuanxuan and his younger brothers perfectly replicated Li Yanchen and Lin Wan. One is sitting down with a serious look, while the other is lying down in the sun.]

[You don’t say. They even look the same.]

[Kids, if you have something on your mind, just spill it.]

[It’s the last day today. I think they can’t bear to leave. The friendship between the children is very deep.]

[Everyone, quiet down. Give the little ones some time to cope.]

“Brother, are you saying that Mr. Li is possessed?” Li Zexin finally couldn’t help himself, so he asked.

“Since mother passed away, he has been so aloof. He should live his own life like everyone else. But… I have never seen him treat someone like this.” Li Zexuan had never empathized with Li Yanchen before. He felt that it was unfair for Li Yanchen to take over his father’s company. Even though, as a child, he had no concept of hundreds of millions in assets, he knew that it must be a lot of money.

‘Since, Mr. Li had taken over our father’s company and gotten everything, shouldn’t he care for the three of us, instead?’ thought Li Zexuan.

“Brother, you’ve changed too.” Li Zexin turned to him. “Tell me. Do you still feel like bullying Ms. Lin just to make sure Mr. Li is present?”

Li Zexuan was quiet for a while. He then got up. “I am going to go pack my bags.” He lowered his head and walked to his room.

In the evening, the dinner was arranged by the Festival Group. Considering that Tutu’s family was leaving soon, the Festival Group had specially set the dinner time at six so that everyone could gather.

Six cameras pointed at the five families.

The director, the cameraman, the artists, and the operations team were all present. Everyone appeared on camera this time.

The Director began to speak. “Thank you to all the fans in the live broadcast room. Because of your support, we have managed to secure second place in the viewership ratings. Thank you also to the five families. Because of your cooperation, we have been able to see and enjoy the most ordinary part of your lives. The next episode has been tentatively scheduled for the first weekend of August. We all look forward to working with you again. Next, we will invite each family to send a representative to speak for them.”

[Does the end of dinner mean the end of this variety show? Will there be other tasks? For example, an all-nighter livestream tonight.]

[Previous poster, look at the announcement. It’s going to end at seven tonight. After dinner, everyone will pack up. I think they will be leaving early in the morning tomorrow.]

[I’m probably suffering from something. I don’t like Lin Wan, but I still want to see Xuanxuan’s family interact.]

[Lin Wan didn’t appear in the livestream today.]

[In the next episode, apart from Tutu’s family, the other family members will remain the same, and we’ll add flying guests.]

[Speaking of flying guests, I can’t wait to watch the next episode.]

[This show will lose its soul without Lin Wan. Someone must be a negative example.]

Lin Wan rarely looked at the live comments, so she was completely unaware of the netizens’ change of attitude towards her.

Both sides of the long table were filled with people. The Li family and the Wheatley’s family occupied the central seats. Lin Wan had wanted to sit at the corner of the long table but was pulled to the middle by Li Yanchen and the three children.

Everyone chatted for a while before the meal. There were three people between Song Jing and Lin Wan. She tried to stretch her neck to speak to Lin Wan, but Lin Wan deliberately looked away.

Xia Mo sat opposite her. “Lin Wan, I’ll go find you after dinner.”

Lin Wan made an ‘OK’ gesture.

[Song Jing is about to climb onto the table. Does she want to talk to Lin Wan that much? Lin Wan seems to be ignoring her.]

[What do you mean “ignoring her”? Can’t you see that Xia Mo is talking to Lin Wan? How can Lin Wan dismiss Xia Mo and turn to Song Jing without appearing rude?]

[Xia Mo is sitting diagonally opposite, it’s more convenient to talk.]

[It’s so noisy. I don’t know what to say at all.]

[The vegetables are here. The vegetables are here. What a big pot!]

The director stood in front of the table and announced the start of the show.

The five families had just taken a few bites when the director suddenly stood up, cleared his throat, and said, “I just received a call from the Lan Shan Shui group. The family endorsement has been confirmed.”

Nannan was the first to put down her chopsticks. She was full of confidence as she waited for the director to announce the chosen family.

Song Jing knew that Wheatley’s family had the best chance of winning the endorsement, but that didn’t mean that there was no hope for them at all. She put down her bowl and chopsticks and waited for the announcement.

The director deliberately kept them in suspense. “This is within expectations. The family who was chosen has performed very well. Most importantly, they conveyed a realistic picture of daily life without fear. They improved a lot along the way…”