Chapter 440 - 440: Li Yanchen Is Afraid
The hairpin looked like it had been used before.
Preserved Egg reached out to hand it over to Lin Wan. Everyone fell silent.
Indeed, it wasn’t something that was bought for Lin Wan, and it didn’t look valuable. However, handing it over just like that was strange.
Accepting a used hairpin might feel uncomfortable to many.
Preserved Egg recounted the story behind the hairpin for everyone.
“Are you sure it’s not the stuff of a legend?” asked Big Mouth in mock intrigue. Li Zekai craned his neck to look. “Are there many stories related to it?” “Don’t join in.” Li Zexin tugged at his younger brother’s clothes.
He felt that Preserved Egg’s gift was quite moving. He also felt that there was nothing wrong with giving used items in good faith if they could be used. He had thought about giving his used things to his friends too.
Chubby Jiang said jokingly, “Even so, used items are disgusting.”
Unexpectedly, Lin Wan accepted the hairpin. “Thank you. Please thank your cousin for me. I’ll treasure it.”
Preserved Egg let out a sigh of relief. “You are very kind.”
Preserved Egg felt as though his appetite had returned. He ate a large bowl of rice.
After the children returned to school, Auntie Huang cleared the table, and Li Zekai picked up a book to read stories to Lin Wan.
She glanced at the cover of the book. It read: “The Cat Warrior.”
Li Zekai spread the book open and started reading aloud. Lin Wan realized that this book had no phonetic annotations, yet Li Zekai had almost read all the characters correctly.
“Do you know all these characters?” Lin Wan asked.
“Yep, they’re pretty simple.”
Lin Wan felt that she should pay more attention to the children’s studies.
“Are you a top student?” she asked.
“Not really… We don’t have exams, but we have unit exercises. I often get full marks in Math and English, but I’m a bit weak in Chinese.”
“That’s very impressive,” Lin Wan said.
“Why does everyone sound so happy? What are you all talking about?” Li Yanchen pushed the door open and entered.
“Daddy!” Li Zekai put his book down and ran to his father.
Li Yanchen patted his son’s head. “Was Auntie Lin telling you a story again?
“No, I’m reading a story to Auntie Lin. Auntie Lin asked me if I’m a top student, and I said I’m not. But I often get full marks in Math and English. Daddy, am I being too modest?”
Li Yanchen hadn’t known about his son’s performance in school. He was surprised that his youngest son was actually doing so great in two subjects.
“This is worth celebrating! You are doing so well. But don’t let that get to your head and keep trying harder. You’re only in second grade now. There’s still more than a decade of schooling ahead.”
“Got it! Have you had dinner? There’s food in the kitchen. I’ll continue reading stories to Auntie Lin.” The young boy looked somewhat crestfallen.
“I am a bit hungry. I’ll grab something myself. After you’re done, send Auntie
Lin back to me. I need to discuss something with her.”
“Okay,” Li Zekai said.
After Auntie Huang heated the food for Li Yanchen, he sat alone at the dining table. He really wanted Lin Wan to sit beside him, but she seemed to be really enjoying story time with Li Zekai, so he was hesitant to interrupt.
He tried to eat quickly. After dinner, he would get to spend time with Lin Wan.
However, when he put down his chopsticks and looked up, he saw Lin Wan earnestly questioning the kid. So, he retreated to his room alone. The clock struck eight times. “Let’s stop here for today.”
“Okay,” said Li Zekai.
After Li Yanchen changed into his pajamas, he glanced at the stairs several times to see if Lin Wan was coming up. His wife and son were engrossed in storytelling, so he didn’t want to interrupt.
He had thought that, after dinner, it would be their time together. However, it was taking a long time. When Lin Wan finally returned to the room, Li Yanchen was watching TV with his chin propped up on his hand.
Li Yanchen didn’t hear the sound of the door opening. He was completely focused on the TV screen. He was engrossed in a criminal investigation drama that included some gruesome scenes.
He pulled at the blanket beside him and covered his head with it.
“Mr. Li, why are you watching such shows if they make you scared?” asked Lin Wan in amusement.
‘It seems even the formidable Mr. Li has things he is afraid of.’
Li Yanchen’s head popped out from the blanket, and he said righteously, “I’m just cold, not scared. What is there to be scared of, anyway?
“Ah!” Lin Wan nodded. There was a creepy sound coming from the TV screen, and Li Yanchen instinctively covered his eyes.
Lin Wan sat at the edge of the bed. “Hm… So… You’re not scared. You’re just cold.”
Li Yanchen grabbed Lin Wan and gently pinned her down.
He looked at her from above, and one of his hands untied his belt.
The TV played creepy background music, yet Li Yanchen was unaware.
An hour later, Lin Wan leaned against the headboard and watched the criminal investigation drama together with Li Yanchen.
During the scary scene, Li Yanchen’s hand instinctively gripped Lin Wan’s. After what had happened when she had teased him, Lin Wan dared not tease him again.
After an episode, Lin Wan turned off the TV. “I’m scared. I don’t want to watch anymore. You said you wanted to discuss something with me?”
“Oh, right. I want to ask about the recent matter. Did Mrs. Zhou look for you again?”
“She did. Her husband brought up the divorce. Well, I think the two of them are still negotiating. She’s a sorry person. If she asks for me again, should I meet her?”
“Come up with an excuse. Mr. Zhou’s reputation isn’t great, and this divorce could be a bad thing. People in the industry know he has a lot of illicit income, but they don’t have evidence. A downfall is inevitable sooner or later. Don’t mention this to Mrs. Zhou.” After returning to the company, Li Yanchen looked up some information on Mr. Zhou because the name sounded familiar. He found out that he did know him, after all.
“Really? Does that mean Mrs. Zhou actually benefited from this disaster? Is the information reliable?”
“It’s reliable, so don’t advise them on whether to divorce or not.”
“I know. It’s a matter between the couple, of course. They should make the decision themselves. I wouldn’t have gone back to Royal Water Bay today if Mrs. Zhou hadn’t asked me. In my previous world, I was always dragged around by Yang Ruoxi to complain about men. It was already exhausting. In this world, I thought joining the Madam’s Circle might contain some business opportunities, but who knew that it would be the same?”
The Madam’s Circle had become a place to complain about everything lately.
The wives had their share of problems. However, they were idle at home. So, some of them made rumors and blew it up to wild fancies. There was so much gossip. Lin Wan suspected that sometimes their families had problems because someone was constantly inciting trouble in the group.
So, most of the time, she ignored the messages unless she was tagged by name.
“Find an excuse to leave the group. It’s not that I’m against you making friends, but honestly, they have too many things going on. I’m afraid that you might get dragged down.” Li Yanchen looked worried.
The scene in the afternoon had rattled him..