111 Be My Real Wife
Li Yanchen switched back to handset mode and gestured for Secretary Han to leave the room.
âYes, I am at the office. Whatâs up?â
âPlease go and pick up Ms. Lin right now!â said Li Zexuan. He explained the whole situation.
Li Yanchen was still in shock. It was a lot of information for him to process.
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âDad! Say something!â
âI will give Xiao Tianlin a call and ask if he has the number of any of the staff there. They can tell Lin Wan to look at her phone.
Iâll give Xiao Tianlin a call and ask if he has the number of an employee in the store. Iâll remind Lin Wan to look at her phone,â said Li Yanchen. âI will figure out a way to get her.â
Li Yanchen was still stumped. âSince when did Lin Wan have this skill?â Elder Lin had never told him about any of it. Perhaps even he hadnât known.
He called Xiao Tinalin and briefly explained the situation to him. Xiao Tianlin did not seem to be shocked.
âThereâs an emergency exit in the shop which is connected to the neighborhood gate. I will call a staff member and let Xia Mo know about this. I will send you the location of the underground parking,â said Xiao Tianlin, calmly. âDonât get out of the car when you reach.â
Li Yanchen waited for Xiao Tianlinâs reply, anxiously. It was only when Xiao Tianlin called and told him to go that he felt at ease. He used a different car and sent a photo of it to Lin Wan so she could recognize it later. âXia Mo will show you the emergency exit. I am taking a different car, so people wonât recognize us. Itâs a white BMW. Donât get it wrong.â
After logging off, Lin Wan and Xia Mo collapsed on the sofa.
âThis canât be hidden anymore?â Lin Wan sighed.
âThe hot search has already exploded. Fortunately, they only saw my face.â Xia Mo tried to comfort her. âItâs alright. Why donât you stop the love stream for a few days?â
âItâs alright. I can bring a change of clothes from tomorrow.â Lin Wan looked at the emergency exit. âIs that way safe?â She knew Li Yanchen was already waiting for her.
âYes. Thatâs the staff entrance. I already informed the Security Office. Other than Li Yanchen, nobody will be able to enter without an employee pass. However, you guys be careful just in case.â
Lin Wan wiped off her lipstick and exited through the staff entrance. She reached the underground parking where Li Yanchen was already waiting.
He took off his sunglasses. âCome to the front. I want to talk to you,â he said as he opened the door to the back seats.
Lin Wan obediently sat at the front passenger seat, clutching at her bag. âI didnât mean to hide it from youâ¦â
He patted her on the head. âThatâs alright. You like making desserts?â
âYes. I am just alright at it. Do you want to ask why I was doing it anonymously?â said Lin Wan. âI didnât want anyone to know.â
âXuanxuan figured it out, but we will help you keep it a secret,â he said. âWanwan, you can always trust me. I promise I wonât betray your trust. In the future, you can tell me anything.â
âI just⦠you are so busy every day. You work so hard. I didnât want to add to your troubles,â said Lin Wan. âAlthough I must thank you for informing me today. I wouldnât have known if you hadnât made Xiao Tianlin inform the staff.â
He hesitated for a moment. âDo you feel that Xuanxuan and the rest are a burden? It was Xuanxuan who called me first and told me about it, Wanwan. He was insistent that I get to you right at that instant. He told me to protect you.â
Putting aside what happened in Lan Village in the beginning, her three stepsons had done well after that. They didnât feel like a burden to her. Assistant Qin was in charge of them. Recently, they had started hanging out a lot near her. They were obviously annoying, but they never were a burden on her. They were okay.
âNo, they arenât a burden. I like them being around,â Lin Wan blurted out
With Lin Wanâs words, Li Yanchenâs courage grew. He reached out and held her hand. âLin Wan, be my real wife.â
âWhat?â Lin Wan had not expected Li Yanchen to confess to her so suddenly, least of all in such a situation.
She was at a loss for words. She grabbed the seatbelt with her free hand. âI⦠uh⦠Xia Mo said to turn left from the parking lot and to take the Green Willow Road. There are fewer people along that way.â
âYou still havenât answered me.â
âPlease letâs go home first. We need to leave this place.â Lin Wanâs mind was a mess.
âAlright,â he said. Li Yanchen started the car.
At the Royal Water Bay Villa, Li Zexin was worried about his brother. He had never seen his elder brother this flustered before. âWhatâs wrong?â he asked.
âThat cake⦠Ms. Lin made it herself.â Li Zexuan emphasized every word.
Li Zexinâs book fell from his hand. But he calmed himself. It wasnât so unusual for Lin Wan to bake a cake. She had been working at a dessert shop for a while now. âSo?â
Li Zexuan realized that his brother didnât get the point. He showed him the headlines. âYou donât understand. See? Ms. Lin is Xiao Huan. The anonymous dessert chef who has been live streaming on the Sweet Little Circle channel.â
âMs. Lin?!â Li Zexin said in disbelief. âShe hid it all this time?â
âYes. Even father didnât know,â said Li Zexuan. âIt is no wonder her fruit tea was so good.â
âSo, Ms. Lin is like Xiao Yi. She doesnât look like much on the surface but is actually a Big Shot? Oh God! Is Ms. Lin that awesome?!â exclaimed Li Zexin.
âWhoâs the Big Shot?â Li Zekai, who was playing with magnetic films, walked to them.
The three brothers discussed the situation.
When Lin Wan and Li Yanchen arrived home, they were sitting cross-legged on the carpet in the living room. When the door opened, they looked over at the same time.
Lin Wan walked in first, followed by Li Yanchen.
âSo, you are a Big Boss!â The three of them shouted at the same time.
Lin Wanâs face turned red. âWhat Big Boss? Knowing these things isnât such a big deal in my world!â
Li Zexin walked to her. âI understand now. It makes sense why Auntie Xia wanted you to join the second episode. She knew you were a dessert chef!â He was worried now. âBut now you work with her. She doesnât need you to join the second episode! And if I canât get you to attend and if I canât make it to the top ten, I will never get to join Xiao Yiâs XX Dream Battle Team! Please Ms. Lin! Please help me out.â
Li Zexuan also came to a sudden realization. After scrolling through the hot search, he followed the Sweet Little Circle channel. It wasnât very difficult to see that the channel was led by Xia Mo and Lin Wan now. This meant that Lin Wan knew more about desserts than Xia Mo. Lin Wan hadnât been working for Xia Mo, she had been guiding her instead!
âDonât tell anyone. Otherwiseâ¦â Lin Wan made a throat-slitting gesture.
âWe promise!â swore the three children.
âI have something to discuss with Lin Wan. Weâll go up first. The three of you stay down here. No one is allowed to come up. I will come down once we are done talking.â Li Yanchen couldnât wait to talk to Lin Wan about the agreement.
Li Zexin assumed that his father was going to reprimand Lin Wan for keeping this secret. âDad, you are not allowed to scold Ms. Lin.â
Li Yanchen smiled. âHow could I dare? We are just going to talk.â
Li Zekai nodded.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Li Zexuan was still worried. âIf no one comes down in half an hour, we will come up.â
...
Lin Wan was touched seeing her stepsons trying to protect her. âItâs alright. Mr. Li is a gentleman. All of you stay down here, alright?â She had many things to say to Li Yanchen as well.
After Lin Wan and Li Yanchen went upstairs, Li Zekai organized a small patrol team. Every five minutes, he would send someone to the door to check on the situation. If they heard some commotion, they decided to barge in. If everything was quiet and nothing was amiss, they would come downstairs again.