Chapter 15
The Person in Front Of Him Felt Entirely Different
There were only a few fruit trees in the orchard of Lan Village. It was currently the season for loquats to ripen. In the afternoon, before their guests arrived, Lin Wan and Li Yanchen had discussed going to pick some loquats. Li Yanchen finally felt like Lin Wan was setting some preferences, so he agreed without hesitation.
Lin Wan wanted to make chamomile and loquat tea. The drink was a must in summer heat. She usually used chamomile tea as the base, added the flesh of loquat fruits, and a few slices of lemon for fragrance. It would taste divine.
Of course, she only wanted to make it for herself. In her original world, Lin Wan would always prepare a pot of fruit tea for her daily livestreams. The fruits were all seasonal, and making sweet drinks was something she liked doing.
Li Zexuan and his brothers didn’t really want to go with their father to pick loquats. They were always either worked to the bone or ignored, anyway.
The three of them got together with Lin Guoguo and played hide-and-seek in the orchard.
Just as the four adults reached the fruit trees, Lin Wan worried about climbing the tree with a dress on. She didn’t want anyone to see her from below. Li Yanchen took the basket from her hands.
“You can sit and chat with Mrs Lin,” he said.
Shen Man considered her family to be alright. They interacted with each other, looked out for each other and always were happy. But she realized that the Li family was also okay. Li Yanchen, especially, treated his wife very respectfully.
“Yes. You two can get to know each other. We will pick the fruits,” suggested Lin Tong.
Lin Wan was all too glad. She didn’t want to climb the tree anyway. However, she saw that Li Yanchen didn’t know how to pick the loquats. He picked them and put them in the basket irrespective of whether they were ripe or not.
In the end, Lin Wan climbed up and took out the half-ripe loquats from the basket.
“Pick these kinds. They are yellow, which means they are mostly ripe.” She picked a greenish one from the basket. “This one is green, so it is not ripe at all. If they have green spots, don’t pick them. Also, you shouldn’t pluck them and throw them directly into the basket. Loquats are very delicate and soft, you should place them inside the basket after picking them instead of throwing them in.”
Lin Wan demonstrated to him. “Hold the fruit stem like this,” she said. “Try not to touch the surface of the peel. You should hold it by the stem in this way and then bend it so that it breaks free.”
Li Yanchen was a little dazed. The person in front of him felt like an entirely different person from the one he knew.
She demonstrated the process patiently, like a teacher teaching a beginner.
Although Lin Tong was a chef, he didn’t know much about picking fruits. He could distinguish between ingredients, and flavors and different kinds of dishes. But he did not spend time harvesting and picking the ingredients he used. He nodded as he listened attentively to Lin Wan.
Li Yanchen tried picking one of the fruits according to Lin Wan’s instructions. “Like this?” he asked.
“Yes! You are a quick learner.” Lin Wan smiled at him, then she climbed down from the tree. “I will be cheering for you two from down here.”
Li Yanchen was speechless.
[Li Yanchen seems to be hugging Lin Wan from behind. Oh my God, he’s so shameless!]
[Why did I get the feeling that Li Yanchen was going to lean down and kiss her?]
[There are still children playing under that tree. Can you be more restrained? it’s not appropriate for the children to see.]
[Lin Wan really knows how to pick loquats. I thought she didn’t know anything since she couldn’t even cook! How can she be so professional at picking loquats?]
[Lin Wan’s different from yesterday. Maybe because she has to perform well in front of her husband.]
...
Sitting under the tree, Shen Man tried to start a conversation with Lin Wan. “You’re really a Jack of all trades, aren’t you?”
Lin Wan picked a leaf to cover her face. “I happen to be the jack of no trades, actually.”
Shen Man, as Sales Director of QW’s East China District, was very observant and good at reading people.
“You don’t seem to hate them, so why—”
“I don’t like it either,” Lin Wan said hurriedly while only she knew the face she made under the cover of the leaf.
Shen Man was indeed worthy of the title of Sales Director. She had guessed it somehow.
“Li Yanchen is a very good man.” Shen Man glanced at Lin Wan, who now had her hands behind her head. She wanted to help her before leaving the Festival Group.
“Are you leaving the day after tomorrow? Sister Shen Man, do you mind if I bring my family over to your house for a meal for the next few days?” Lin Wan skillfully changed the topic. “I can bring vegetables and flour. I will leave the task of picking vegetables and washing the dishes to Li Zexuan.”
Shen Man was speechless.
Lin Wan didn’t care much. It did not matter how good a man Li Yanchen was or what her stepsons did with their lives. She needed to fill her stomach for the next few days. After that, she swore she would find a way to her original world.
“Uh… sure,” said Shen Man. She knew that Lin Wan was trying to change the topic, so she did not pester her further.
“Let’s keep in touch. You’re my first friend in Yun city,” said Lin Wan. She realized it sounded very pitiful only after she had already said it. She did not really know the original owner of this body. ‘How lonely had she been?’
Shen Man was stunned. It took her a while to understand that Lin Wan considered her a friend. From the hot searches, she had expected the woman to be very unlikable. However, after getting to know her even a little bit, she realized that Lin Wan wasn’t really as bad as online comments had made her out to be. She had even defended her stepson and picked up a guitar in support.
Fortunately, the camera was focused on the two men on the loquat tree, so no one heard what the women were talking about.
Li Zexuan was peeved. He felt frustrated to be stuck here playing hide-and-seek with little brats. He would be eighteen in a few months!
There was no computer in Lan Village. Li Zexuan felt despair. He could not even indulge in his hobby. Instead, he was stuck here with his brothers, playing silly little games.
Although Lin Guoguo was only ten years old, she was still the most intelligent person there. Li Zexin was puzzled. He wondered why someone as smart as her had suggested such a silly game. Li Zexuan saw his two little brothers happy to play such a game, so he could not refuse them. After all, his little brothers were in an even more pitiful state than him. How long would this happiness last anyway? Once they grew up, they would turn sad and bitter like him.
[When will the camera be on Xuanxuan? I don’t want to see old men picking fruits.]
[You’re calling Li Yanchen an old man?]
[Initially, I wanted to extend my love to Xuanxuan. However, who knew that Li Yanchen would treat Lin Wan so well? Why is Lin Wan so annoying though?]
The staff were always following the live comments. When they saw the request of the netizens, they immediately switched the camera to Li Zexuan and the children. However, the children were moving so much that they didn’t know where to focus.
The staff took the cameras and ran after Li Zexuan. But he was playing hide-and-seek with the other children and focusing the camera on him would give away his location. After being exposed twice, Li Zexuan chased the cameraman away.
[It turns out that he’s playing hide-and-seek. It’s rare for my son to be so relaxed. Let him go.]
[Sisters, I’m going to take an afternoon nap.
[Me too.]
Perhaps it was because Lin Wan wasn’t on camera in the orchard, the comments were much more subdued.
...
In the afternoon, at Tutu’s House, the little tyrant rolled on the ground. “I want to eat ice cream. I want to eat ice cream.”
After the incident at the pond in the morning, Xu Xiaoxiao put her hands on her hips and ignored the boy who was making a scene. However, she thought that her mother-in-law might be in the live broadcast room. ‘If I can’t even win over her precious grandson, how will she ever accept me in the Su family?’
...
So, she crouched down, near Tutu. “Tutu, there’s no ice cream here. There are five days left until the live broadcast ends. I’ll buy you some after we leave the village, okay? I’ll buy your favorite chocolate flavor. A large bowl of it.”