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

45 She Sure Knows How to Run Her Mouth

Xia Mo finally understood the meaning of Shen Man’s words before she had left.

Lin Wan was not a simple person, but she wasn’t that complicated either. She wasn’t like the salted fish that everybody thought she was. She just wasn’t the type of person who tried to get on people’s good side by pretending to be nice. She wasn’t pretentious.

The pot of fruit tea she had made yesterday must have been very delicious. Xia Mo’s eyes were filled with admiration for Lin Wan. When she was Lin Wan’s age, she had only just come into contact with desserts. For the next twelve years, she had to rely on herself. Two days ago, she had even shown off her skills in front of Lin Wan…

Xia Mo had a bold idea. If Napoleon cake was a success this time, she would request Lin Wan to be her mentor.

Lin Wan did not understand what was so difficult about Napoleon cake. She wondered why Xia Mo admired her so much. ‘Were there no other excellent dessert chefs in this world?’

“The one in the oven should be good now. Give this to me.” Lin Wan stared at the piece of Napoleon cake in Xia Mo’s hand.

“Here, take it.” Xia Mo was too embarrassed to give the cake to Lin Wan.

“I have to go back now.” Lin Wan found an excuse to leave because Xia Mo could not stop talking about cakes. She had even brought a notebook to jot down everything Lin Wan said. But Lin Wan had other things to do.

“Let’s meet again next time.” Xia Mo looked at the time and realized that it was almost two in the afternoon.

Not expecting Lin Wan to be gone for so long, Li Yanchen decided to move the chair out of the yard, facing Song Jing’s house.

Li Yanchen caught sight of a woman who was holding a small piece of cake in her hands.

“Li Yanchen, why are you sitting here?” Lin Wan looked around. Other than the fields in the distance, there was no other scenery to admire.

“Better ventilation here. It’s cooler.”

“Oh, this cake is for Li Zexuan. Could you give it to him? I’m going to Song Jing’s house.” Lin Wan did not think too much about it. She put down the cake and walked away.

Li Yanchen stood up. He wanted to ask why she had to go back so fast. She had only just returned. Clearly, this wasn’t a very good idea. This was prying into her private affairs. It was definitely against the terms of the agreement.

“Oh…,” was all he could manage. His tone was laced with disappointment as he lowered his eyes.

Li Yanchen watched as Lin Wan’s figure disappeared at the end of the road. ‘She doesn’t even want to come back. That woman must have no conscience.’

Almost half of Song Jing’s luggage was filled with cosmetics. Most of them were lipsticks in various colors. Song Jing had asked for the director’s permission, and he had said that doing a makeup livestream was no problem, especially if it was with Lin Wan.

Lin Wan had other goals. She wanted to know more about the original owner’s past.

“Lin Wan, you can see and tell me if there is any color you like the most. This year’s most popular is the dragon fruit color. Your skin is fair, so you’ll definitely look good in it. Or this red one. Red is always a classic. We’re not selling lipsticks, but beauty.” Song Jing rambled on. Lin Wan understood why she was so famous for her makeup livestreams. She could really talk.

Lin Wan wished she could take all the lipsticks away.

“You’re a natural beauty and you have a very fair face. You even look good without makeup, but it’ll be boring if we don’t try something new. I’ll give you a European style makeover tonight. It’ll be interesting.” Although Song Jing was jealous of Lin Wan, she had to admit that Lin Wan was indeed beautiful.

Lin Wan did not have any objections.

…

Xia Mo’s Napoleon cake was out of the oven. When she opened the oven door, the fragrance of oil, flour, nuts, and layers of crispy flour assaulted her nose. It was quite a success.

“It’s a success! it’s a success!” Xia Mo yelled in excitement.

Xiao Yi, who was sleeping, heard his mother’s voice. He got up in a daze and stood by the window.

His mother looked at the cake in her hand as if she was admiring a rare treasure.

“You did it!” Xiao Yi knew that his mother studied the recipe for Napoleon cake diligently and secretly. He had pretended to not know about it for her sake.

“Son, come out and have a bite.” Xia Mo was happy.

Xiao Tianlin also walked in. The three of them lifted their spoon.

“Honey, it’s so delicious! It would be even better with a cup of coffee.” Xiao Tianlin had to restrain himself from stuffing the entire cake into his mouth.

Xiao Yi pushed his father’s spoon away. “Dad, you are only allowed to “taste” it, okay? Mum! This is big! You really did it!”

Xia Mo could tell from her husband and son’s reaction that the cake was delicious. She tried it herself. Lin Wan had only added a few drops of oil and showed her how to make the dough, and it was done!

The fragrance was rich and crisp. Xia Mo wondered if the crumbs would fall off after a bite. ‘How did Lin Wan do it?’ The Napoleon cake was so famous in France that if you ate it without breaking it, you would get it for free.

Xia Mo acknowledged Lin Wan as a master in her craft.

Meanwhile, Lin Wan sneezed. She wondered if someone was talking about her. ‘Is it Li Yanchen talking behind my back?’

Song Jing explained the process of the makeup. While doing so, she talked a bit about high school. “Lin Wan, do you remember Wang Lili? She used to secretly do her makeup in high school. Pan Qiang always laughed at her.”

Lin Wan made a mental note about the names. She needed to check up on the people Song Jing mentioned if she wanted to find out about her past.

“It’s just like when I was a child, I secretly wore my mother’s high heels. Every girl has a heart that loves beauty.” Lin Wan’s words hit home.

“Lin Wan, you haven’t contacted anyone for so many years. When we return to Yun City, let’s meet up. Everyone misses you,” Song Jing continued.

‘A class reunion?’ Lin Wan pondered for a while. This was good. It was the easiest way to obtain more information.

“Of course. You can just call me.”

Song Jing’s heart skipped a beat. Lin Wan had agreed so readily.

Seeing Song Jing going silent, Lin Wan thought she had said something wrong. “I don’t have the contact information of any of my classmates other than you, of course. I can’t arrange the meet up even if I wanted to.”

“I understand, I understand. Aren’t we in the group now? I’ll text on the group on that day so everybody can know.” Song Jing’s fingers tightened around the lipstick.

At three in the afternoon, the children woke up from their naps. Anan saw Lin Wan in her house, so she asked her if Li Zexuan was awake.

Lin Wan smiled. She said she did not know but Anan was welcome to go and check.

The girl took her violin and headed to the Li family’s house.

Li Yanchen had fallen asleep on the chair at the gate of the courtyard. Li Zexin saw his father at the entrance. “Dad, are you guarding the door?”

The man shuddered awake and began to tidy his hair and his clothes. “Has the livestream started?” He didn’t want his image to be ruined.

“Not yet. It’s only three. And it’s fortunate there isn’t any movement in the village. It would be dangerous if a car passed by and you were asleep on a chair near the road.”

Li Yanchen heaved a sigh of relief and dragged the chair back into the courtyard.

After more than two hours of sleep, Li Zexuan had recovered, too.