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

125 Wanwan, This Is My Secret

After the stream ended, she did not head out immediately. Instead, she sat in the streaming room for half an hour. Having done this for two months, she had tried every single way she could think of to get back to her original world, but to no avail.

She realized that after she had a real relationship with Li Yanchen, she seemed to have forgotten a lot of things about her original world. For example, when she thought of Yang Ruoxi, she could only remember the things that had happened a year before she transmigrated. However, she could vividly remember everything that had happened in this world every day.

At one point, Lin Wan wondered if she could only find her way back to her world if she left the Li family. She had already planned to get a divorce.

Although she could not bear to part with Li Yanchen, the thought of her leaving without a word to him and disappearing in thin air made her feel bitter. It would be better to say her goodbyes while she was still here. However, that night, Lin Wan’s determination started to waver again.

Li Zexin and the others waited downstairs for a long time, but Lin Wan didn’t come down. So, they stuck a heart-shaped post-it on Lin Wan’s bedroom door with the words:

“Ms. Lin, we’re going to bed. You should rest early after you log off. Good night.”

After struggling for a long time, Lin Wan came out of the broadcasting room and was about to go to the bedroom to wash her face when she saw the post-it note on the door.

Lin Wan stood by the railing on the second floor and looked down. There was only one night light glowing in the living room on the first floor. Her stepsons had all returned to their rooms.

She tore off the post-it note and put it in the only bag she had brought from her original world. She thought that if she went back one day, she could take these with her as a memento.

At half past eleven at night, Li Yanchen arrived home.

He tiptoed to the second floor afraid that he would wake his sons and disrupt his alone time with Lin Wan.

The door to the Master Bedroom on the second floor was left open. Lin Wan was wearing her pajamas and leaning on the sofa. She watched a transmigration drama with rapt attention. Seeing that Lin Wan was still awake, Li Yanchen smiled and pushed the door open. “Honey, I’m back.”

A magnetic voice sounded above Lin Wan’s head. ‘Honey?’ For a moment, she was speechless. It was only after a while that she realized he was referring to her.

Li Yanchen leaned over and rested his chin gently on Lin Wan’s head. “On the way back, I realized that there are many stars today. Do you want to go upstairs and take a look?”

Lin Wan knew that there was an Observation Deck on the third floor of the villa. The floor-to-ceiling glass windows were surrounded by purple curtains, and the ceiling had electric blinds so that when they were opened, they could see the stars in the sky. When she was familiarizing herself with the environment, she had been to the third floor a few times, but she had never seen the starry night from the Observation Deck. Li Yanchen had never mentioned it before. At first, she thought that it might be Li Yanchen and his ex-wife’s private space that he didn’t want to share with anyone.

Lin Wan was even more surprised.

“I’ve never seen the stars up there either.” Just like Lin Wan, Li Yanchen had visited all the rooms after moving into the Royal Water Bay Villa, except for the Observation Deck. When he was studying abroad, he had heard his brother say that he would definitely build a viewing deck for Du Zheng once he had the money. He could listen to the wind in spring, watch the rain in summer, watch the leaves in autumn, and watch the snow in winter.

“Ah?”

“Wanwan, do you want to know my secret? Let’s go to the Observation Deck.”

Li Yanchen held Lin Wan’s hand and led her up to the third floor.

The sound-controlled curtains and blinds above their heads opened up. Li Yanchen hugged Lin Wan.

“Do you want to visit the city where I often go on business trips?”

“Ah?” Lin Wan couldn’t think of anything else to say.

“I know you’re very surprised and have many questions.” Li Yanchen turned to Lin Wan. He held her shoulders with both hands. His eyes were dark and solemn.

“This Observation deck wasn’t used before?” asked Lin Wan. Yang Rouxi had said that one should never dig up their partner’s past. She didn’t want to ask about his past if he didn’t want to tell her.

No matter how curious she was, she had never asked Li Yanchen and his ex-wife. If they really had a beautiful past, Lin Wan was afraid that she would feel inadequate.

“It must have been used but not by me,” said Li Yanchen. He pursed his lips. Lin Wan could see the conflict on his face.

“Did she want a starry sky Observation Deck when she was alive? You could only fulfill her wish after her death?” Lin Wan hesitated. “Was that your life-long regret?”

“No, Wanwan. Do you remember what I told you the day Du Xing came? You’re the only woman by my side.”

“I promise I won’t be jealous of someone who has already passed away,” said Lin Wan. “I am just curious. On the contrary, I feel regretful. Before she left, were you as willful as I am now?”

“She was my sister-in-law.” Li Yanchen took a deep breath and revealed the secret that he had kept hidden for a long time. Other than himself and Du Zheng, who had already passed away, no one else knew about this.

“What?” Lin Wan touched his forehead to check his temperature. He didn’t have a fever, but he was making no sense at all.

“Li Yanchen, did anything happen during your business trip this time around?” Lin Wan asked.

“Seven years ago, my brother was in an accident in country H. We were twins, and we lived abroad since we were young. After my brother graduated, he married Du Zheng and returned to Yun City to start a business. I still stayed in country H. Your father was Chenxin’s Assistant. They were returning from the city when the cruise ship met with an accident. I found them at the docks that day. When we were about to arrive, we saw Du Minqiang, Du Xing’s father on the shore. He was laughing. He noticed someone in the docks and ran away.” Li Yanchen had witnessed the accident as well. However, in the end, he and Lin Wan’s father only managed to save the three children.

Lin Wan’s jaw dropped when she heard this. She gathered her thoughts and realized that the person standing in front of her was not the real Li Yanchen. He was not the father to the three children. He was the twin brother.

“What’s your name?” Lin Wan felt fidgety. For so many years, he had used his brother’s identity to raise his brother’s children. He had never been himself.

‘Isn’t he just like me? Pretending to be someone he is not…”

“Li Yanchen,” he said. “That is my own name. My brother is Li Yanshi. After the accident, my brother went into a coma. The doctor said that he might never get better. Chenxin was unstable at that time. My sister-in-law suspected that the shipwreck had not been an accident. She thought someone had planned it. She begged me to act as my brother and take care of the company and her children.”

“My name is the only thing I kept for myself. It was revealed to the public that your father and I passed away instead. I changed my identity. We were twins and grew up abroad. I had never been to Yun City before. No one knew the difference. We looked exactly the same and our personalities were similar, too.” Li Yanchen chuckled sadly. “I would have been a famous lawyer by now if things hadn’t gone this way.” Li Yanchen had never imagined that he would reveal his secret to anyone.