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

51 The Price of Pork Has Dropped. You’re Starting to Be Cheeky Too

“Big brother, big brother!” Li Zekai ran over to them, pulling the small suitcase with him. The wheels clattered on the stony ground.

“Jiejie, slow down. I can’t keep up.” The chubby boy was panting.

The ball landed in Xiao Yi’s hands. Hearing the commotion, he stopped and turned to see Tutu and Li Zekai hurrying towards them. The camera followed closely behind.

“The camera is on you. Be careful what you say,” warned Xiao Yi.

Li Zexuan and Li Zexin looked at each other and smiled. Then, they turned around and tidied their hair.

[Xuanxuan is tidying his hair. Our Xuanxuan is back.]

[You can’t lose the burden of being an idol at any time. That’s right.]

[Did you guys notice that Xuanxuan and his little brother are smiling? They’re completely different from the first day.]

[Xuanxuan said that he doesn’t like to make friends because it’s tiring to deal with a new relationship.]

[Isn’t he friends with Xiao Yi now?]

[Who knows how Xuanxuan defines friendship? As long as he’s happy, it’s fine. Xuanxuan is too introverted, he is not like his younger brothers.]

[Don’t you guys think that Xuanxuan’s hostility isn’t as strong anymore?]

[Everyone’s changing except for Lin Wan.]

[Why are you mentioning her again? Focus on watching the children.]

Tutu unzipped the box, and more than a dozen bags of dried fish spilled out.

“Stinky dried fish?” Li Zexin covered his nose.

“Brother, although it doesn’t smell good, it’s very tasty. I’ve tried it,” Tutu said, licking his fingers.

“Brother Xiao Yi, brother Xuanxuan, come and get a pack too.” Tutu was obviously giving away delicious food. He even sounded like a salesman trying to convince people that the dried fish was delicious.

Li Zekai also tore a piece of dried fish from the packaging and stuffed it into his mouth. “It’s really good.”

Soon, the boys sat down with their backs to the camera and ate the dried fish with great relish.

“Was your father on a business trip to Lian City?” Xiao Yi immediately recognized the taste of dried fish.

“Brother, how did you know? My father said that the sea in Lian City is very blue, even bluer than the sky in Lan Village. I want to go with him next time and eat fresh fish.” Tutu’s eyes were filled with anticipation.

Xiao Yi would eat this every year after the holidays. His roommate Xanger was from Lian city, so whenever he returned home during the holidays, he would always bring some dried fish to share with his roommates.

“Xanger really likes to eat this, too,” said Xiao Yi.

“Who is Xanger?” Tutu asked, raising his chin.

“My roommate. This thing is really delicious like you said and it relieves stress. Thank you, little brother Tutu.”

Li Zexin was in a daze. He finally understood why Xiao Yi’s insults were so familiar to him. If the Xanger that he mentioned was the one he had heard about, then Xiao Yi was the Wind God, Captain of the XX Dream Battle Team, abbreviated as XX Xiao. Li Zexin’s mouth chewed on the fish, but he couldn’t even focus on the taste.

“I still have to go to Wheatley and Anan’s house. Brother, you guys can continue playing. Jiejie, can you come with me?” Tutu wasn’t interested in playing basketball. He only wanted to drag Li Zekai along to share the good food.

“Alright,” Li Zekai got up and patted the dust off his pants.

Tutu held the fish packet in one hand and dragged the box with the other.

Li Zexin walked around Li Zexuan and sat beside Xiao Yi. “Your beating is even more mushy than the pig trotters my grandma made.”

Li Zexuan was speechless.

“The price of pork has dropped. You’re starting to be cheeky too.” Such words were common in games.

Li Zexin placed his dried fish everywhere. He touched his head for a while, then touched his clothes, and then wanted to smear it on Xiao Yi’s shoulder.

[I can’t hear what they’re saying.]

[Li Zexin seems to be panicking. What’s wrong?]

[The little ones are chatting, what could have happened? Everyone, don’t act rashly.]

“Li Zexin, what are you doing? Is the dried fish poisonous?” Looking at his brother’s unusual reaction, Li Zexuan spat out the snacks. Xiao Yi was hesitant with his snacks as well.

“Well, Xiao Yi, let’s talk.” Li Zexin’s sounded awkward, not at all like his usual rebellious self.

“Brother, you stay here and stabilize the live broadcast. I have something to ask Xiao Yi.” Many of the gamers didn’t want to be recognized in real life so Li Zexian didn’t want to out Xiao Yi’s identity in front of the camera.

Xiao Yi was very confused. He was used to Li zexin being his usual self, carefree and straightforward, but today he acted strange. He looked a little shy and a little nervous.

[When did Li Zexin and Xiao Yi become such good friends?]

[What’s the matter? Why is he acting so sneaky and leaving Xuanxuan alone on the court?]

[Xuanxuan is really obedient. You can’t shamelessly follow him to take a look.]

[Our Xuanxuan doesn’t care what others say.]

[But I’m curious. What kind of whispers can’t be heard by our distinguished VIPs?]

Li Zexuan was curious too. However, knowing his brother, he was just trying to come up with more mischief. Maybe he was going to cause trouble for Lin Wan and he needed Xiao Yi’s cooperation. He just let it be. He didn’t like Lin Wan, but he had never thought about hurting her.

He put down the dried fish, picked up the basketball, and threw it at the basket a few times.

On the other side, where the camera couldn’t reach, Li Zexin’s face turned red. Xiao Yi instinctively took a few steps back. If he didn’t know better, he would have assumed Li Zexin had a crush on him.

“Li Zexin, I have to tell you that I only like girls.”

“What?!” Li Zexin’s eyes widened.

“Although there is nothing wrong with it, I don’t feel the same way about boys,” said Xiao Yi. “So, don’t say anything stupid to make things awkward between us.”

Li Zexin snorted. “What the hell are you on about? I am not interested in men either. And even if I was, you aren’t my type.”

Xiao Yi heaved a sigh of relief. He didn’t have anything against gays. Although he didn’t know what to do if a guy proposed to him. He wondered why Li Zexin looked so flustered and shy if he wasn’t interested in him in that way.

...

“I’m here to apologize to you. I’m sorry for my bad attitude these past two days. I’m a good person, even if I say nasty things sometimes.” Li Zexin drew a circle on the ground with his toes. From the first time he played basketball to the time he tore his name card, he had never given in to Xiao Yi.

He was Xiao Yi’s fan! He didn’t know if it was too late for an apology but hoped Xiao Yi wouldn’t think of him badly.

Xiao Yi was even more wary after Li Zexin’s sudden apology. ‘What’s going on?’ he wondered. ‘Was there something in that dried fish?’

Xiao Yi waved his hand. “There’s nothing to apologize for. It’s just the way you are. I just remembered that I need to clock in for my homework. The deadline is today at night. If I am late, my teacher will criticize me in the group chat. See you later.” He made up an excuse to leave.

Li Zexin followed closely behind. “Wait! I still have something to say.”