Lonely All These Years

Li Yanchen pulled the bowls of loquats up from the well. He took an empty bowl and sat on the stone bench. He started peeling the loquats.

Li Zexuan wanted no part in it but seeing his father working alone, he was embarrassed to just watch. So, he began peeling the loquats as well.

"What does Ms. Lin Want?" he complained. "She wants us to peel them but won't let us eat them!"

[Xuanxuan is peeling loquats. I thought he didn't like fruits with high sugar content.]

[I think he is just peeling them. He isn't eating them. He just put one in the bowl.]

[This can't be Lin Wan's orders again, can it? She was the one who wanted to pick them.]

[Li Yanchen is also peeling the fruits, and he hasn't even eaten a single one. Is he really peeling them for Lin Wan?]

[Xuan, you don't want to peel it, right? Blink once if you're threatened to do it.]

"Don't talk about her like that. It's just peeling a few loquats. Is it that difficult for you?" said Li Yanchen.

[Did you hear what Li Yanchen just said? It seems that Xuanxuan is not willing to peel loquats.]

[Lin Wan told them to peel them and not eat them. Oh my God!]

"She's really that good!" Li Zexuan didn't understand. They had been married for only half a month. How had she become so dear to his father?

Before the wedding, the children had not even heard about Lin Wan even once. 'Was it a love at first sight bullshit? Or were they secretly in a relationship without us knowing?' These questions were a mystery not only to Li Zexuan but also the rest of the world.

Li Yanchen did not want to continue the conversation. "Why does a child have to meddle in adults' affair?"

[I also want to know. Is Lin Wan that good?]

[Li Yanchen is so protective of her]

[The little ones also think that their daddy treats their stepmothers better, right?]

[Although I've been single for seven years, I don't think he'll treasure a woman so much just because he has one. It's as if he's never seen a woman before.]

"I'll be an adult in six months. I will be eighteen!" said Li Zexuan.

Li Yanchen 's hand, which was holding onto the loquats, paused for a moment. Time had passed so quickly, and his eldest son was about to become an adult. If his wife could see him now, she would be so proud of their eldest child. It felt bittersweet that his son wouldn't be a child anymore but an adult!

"Well, then. You will be an adult soon. So, stop being so childish. Lin Wan is her own person. You guys have your own life. Why meddle?" said Li Yanchen, avoiding his question.

In the accident seven years ago, Lin Wan's father lost his life saving Li Yanchen 's three children. Li Yanchen felt that Lin Wan was now his responsibility.

"Dad, I know you've been lonely all these years and have been misunderstood a lot but aren't you afraid that she might be after your money or even scheming with someone else?" asked Li Zexuan.

Li Yanchen understood what his son was getting at. He glared at Li Zexuan. "This is a live broadcast. Don't talk nonsense."

Li Zexuan lowered his head guiltily.

[I don't understand their conversation.]

[Please explain on the livestream.]

[Xuanxuan is telling his father to be careful because Lin Wan might be after his money. Li Yanchen told his son to stop saying such things about Lin Wan.]

[Is Li Yanchen pretending to be stupid or is he actually that stupid? Even a child can tell that there's something wrong with Lin Wan.]

[Li Yanchen doesn't lack money at all. Maybe he is willing to be duped.]

[But isn't his money and property supposed to be for his children?]

Li Zexuan's family always had something fresh going on. The bullet screen was filled with a lot of worried aunties, including lawyers and judges. In the end, a few lawyers jumped out and said that if it involved property issues, they were willing to fight for the children in the court for free.

The Festival Group was speechless.

'What kind of show was this? Why were they discussing the family's inheritance again?'

...

In Wheatley's house next door, the bullet comments were much more positive.

Wheatley sat between her father and her stepmother. The three of them looked up at the starry sky.

Wheatley's hair was down. Her pajamas were the same as Nannan's. Anyone could see that they were dressed in matching outfits.

[Looking for the link for the pajamas.]

[Nannan has really planned every detail well.]

[They're the only ones who have parent and child pajamas. How heartwarming!]

[Wheatley is counting the stars while Nannan is telling Wheatley where the Polaris is.]

[Wheatley's father is hugging them both. It feels so good to watch.]

[It turns out that Polaris represents loyalty. Thank you for your explanation, Nannan.]

[My daughter is dragging me and her father to watch the stars now.]

[It's the same for my family.]

Wheatley's live broadcast room was filled with positive energy. The staff looked at each other. "Fortunately, this family is quite normal. Otherwise, I'd really suspect that the audience would not be able to believe it."

"The more topics there are to discuss, the more traffic there will be. I feel that Li Zexuan's home is very real. Also, have you guys noticed that there are some changes in the children?"

"Director, mute the livestream in Li Zexuan's house! His fans are starting to report the livestream." The staff were discussing the Li family's children when they were suddenly interrupted by someone from the Operations Department.

"What's the situation?" Everyone turned to the Operations Department.

In the Li family's bedroom, Lin Wan wrapped herself in a blanket. Li Zexin leaned on a pillow and Li Zekai snuggled close to his brother.

"The host went to explore an abandoned village. In the old house, he turned on the flashlight. The window of the house was closed, but the old grandpa's photo above the wardrobe suddenly fell down. He lit an incense in a bowl filled with ash and placed it in the middle of the square table. The host trembled and ran away. Halfway through, he remembered that the ash could be reignited and that it might cause a fire, so he turned back and walked into the house again. He found something red overflowing from the bowl…" narrated Lin Wan.

He listened to Lin Wan's horror stories and didn't want to be outdone. He was, after all, a frequent visitor to internet café and knew a fair share of horror stories.

Lin Wan was wrapped in a blanket and curled up on the side of the bed. Li Zekai looked at them both, trying to outdo each other on who could tell the scariest story. He wanted to run away but he didn't dare to. He was the one who had requested for stories, after all.

"The old lady's face was pale. She drifted by the window with a cold smile on her face. An icy wind blew suddenly and swept away the incense in the bowl in the middle of the table…," Lin Wan improvised.

"Not long after, Jingxiang's bowl was covered in blood. It dripped down the table…"

Li Zekai couldn't take it anymore and started weeping. The live broadcast room was also dead silent for once.

Everyone wanted to type some harsh comment for Lin Wan, but they were too scared. They were covering their ears and were unable to type.

After a while, a few reported it. The director saw the pop-up notification and muted their live broadcast room.

When the audience realized that the livestream had been muted, they started typing negative comments to criticize Lin Wan.