Chapter 1

Forced To Do Business

The morning sun filtered through the large floor-to-ceiling glass windows and cast a ray of light on the ground. It was another day full of possibilities.

In the luxurious villa, Lin Wan sat on the balcony of her master bedroom. A hot pot of tea steamed on the small, round porcelain table and a medium-sized thermos cup was filled with goji berries.

Lin Wan shielded her forehead against the morning sun and took a sip from the thermos. She looked at the goji berries in the thermos quietly and continued to daydream.

Lin Wan was never careless regarding her health. Although she was only in her twenties, she felt like she was already in her fifties. Her colleagues used to tease her for being such a Cinderella when she drank her goji berry juice. Her gloomy face brightened at the thought.

She had been here for almost three days now. She had finally been able to sort things out after a sleepless night.

She, Lin Wan, had transmigrated into a novel that she had just finished reading on a night that no one cared about.

She had even become a stepmother to three children. The description of the stepmother had been very scarce in the novel. Considering that the author had not spent much time describing her character made her think that she wasn’t an important enough character. She felt that the character was practically invisible in her own home.

When she recalled that she hadn’t even got to have a wedding in the real world, Lin Wan pinched her thigh in frustration trying to convince herself that this wasn’t real.

The sting of the pinch and the red, sore mark told her that this was not a dream.

As she lamented the unfairness of her fate, Lin Wan still had to thank the heavens. She now had a husband and three sons, all of a sudden.

One was a menace who constantly skipped school.

One was rotten in the core but appeared to be a noble gentleman.

And one appeared to be innocent, but was incredibly cunning

As for her husband, Li Yanchen, he was depicted as a young and promising business elite in the book. He was in his thirties. He also was every bit cold and emotionless.

He had married the original owner of this body after remaining single for seven years. However, the day after their wedding, Li Yanchen had left on a business trip to Rong City. He hadn’t said anything more and had not returned since that fateful day.

The businessmen that Lin Wan had met in the past were either stout or balding. Just thinking about them made her lose her appetite. She wondered if Li Yanchen was also the same. If that was the case, then it would be better if she never met him.

Lin Wan felt that her days were a little too bland and boring. But the vibrant morning and the goji berries energized her.

She flipped through the contact list, trying to find someone to chat with. However, it seemed she, or at least the original owner, didn’t have many friends.

‘This is so strange. A beautiful and young woman doesn’t have close friends she could contact?’

It was fine with Lin Wan. Typing was quite tiring, anyway.

Lin Wan changed her posture a few times. She felt that the marble-paved balcony floor was too hard even though it was covered with a velvet carpet. It made her back ache.

She got up, took her thermos with her, and laid down on her big, soft bed. Lin Wan stretched her back comfortably. She wanted to enjoy the life of a rich person in this huge villa, alone.

On any morning, she would have been arguing with the pancake stall owner for being stingy. But here she was, lying down on her soft bed and thinking about how to pass the time. Those were her only worries. Lin Wan felt that being a rich lady sure did have its perks.

She decided to watch a movie and turned the TV on. A movie was about to begin. Just then, she heard a knock at her door.

“Auntie. Auntie, are you done packing? We are about to leave,” said a child’s anxious voice.

Lin Wan lowered the volume. It sounded like the youngest of the three brothers, Li Zekai. She had been here for three days, and she hadn’t met him yet. He said it was time to leave…

‘Where are they going? Wasn’t the original owner of this body a little invisible to everyone?’ Lin Wan was confused. She wondered why Li Zekai had sought her out suddenly.

“Auntie…” Li Zekai called again. Lin Wan slowly opened the door to her room.

The little boy wore light blue sportswear and carried a school bag. His hair was slightly curly, and he was about 1.3 meters tall. He was in first grade, but he was tall for his age. His eyes curved into crescents when he smiled, and he usually looked friendly.

Li Zekai ‘s dark eyes stared at the woman who was still wearing her pajamas. He grimaced in disgust. “I knew you’d forget about it,” he said. “We all are gathering at the park at ten this morning. My brothers are already there. Please hurry up. I will give you 20 minutes.” He turned and proceeded downstairs after saying that.

His older brother, Li Zexuan, was already at the top of the class in his first year of high school. He was the arrogant one. Even if Lin Wan did not know the whole story, she knew that it was a big deal especially if Li Zexuan was involved.

“The whole family is busy, and she’s the only one enjoying herself,” Li Zekai muttered as he reached the living room on the first floor. His father had told him to seek Assistant Qin if he needed anything and not to trouble Auntie Lin. But he didn’t listen.

…

While she was changing her clothes, Lin Wan flipped through the memo. On 10th of June, the variety show ‘We Are Also Very Ordinary’ would be shot on the top of the city Radio Station and broadcasted live in Lan Village. ‘Wasn’t it the most basic thing to mention the time, place, and characters clearly? Such a title with no rhyme or reason whatsoever…’

Lin Wan did a quick check. This was a family reality show set in the 1990s. The participants were all famous celebrities or social elites. The title wanted to show the audience that even the high and mighty live an ordinary daily life. Therefore, there was nothing to be envious of the elites. They, too, had a mouth, a pair of and a pair of legs. They all had to eat, drink, and sh*t. While conveying this to the common audience, the show also allowed the celebrities and elites to ‘stop’ their work and truly experience the joy of being with their children the whole day.

The biggest highlight of this variety show was that the children had to sign up first and then persuade their parents to participate. Most of these children were well-off but lacked the attention and affection of their family. The Festival Group hoped that the children would convince their parents to participate. If the schedule did not allow it, at least one parent present would be enough. Before Lin Wan could read the full things, Assistant Qin called.

“Madam, I’ll be waiting for you outside. Please pack more clothes. We will be there for seven days. The reserve funds have been transferred to your Alipay account. Also, keep this from President Li. We’ll talk about it when you arrive at Lan Village.” Assistant Qin’s instructions sounded more like an order. He did not care about her at all.

‘Young masters!’ Lin Wan’s eyes widened. She was going to face her three stepsons. Just thinking about it made her anxious.

She decided to politely refuse the proposal. “Assistant Qin, I have only just entered the Li family. It’s not very appropriate for me to participate in a family program. Li Zexuan is a celebrity. If someone with an ulterior motive were to make an issue out of this, who knows how negatively this will be viewed! In any case, they need only one parent to participate. Let Li Yanchen attend instead of me.”

“President Li said that he would try his best to attend. But he only just arrived in country H. He has a meeting tonight. I don’t think he will be back anytime soon. He probably just said it to brush off the young master. It’s young master Zexuan’s first time participating in a live family show, so we can’t let him arrive with only his brothers and no adults. President Li has always been busy with work. Even though the young masters are satisfied with their material needs, they lack love, especially the warmth of a real family.” Assistant Qin was ready to play the sympathy card.