From Broken Family to Life Winner: A Reborn Mother's Journey

”A healthy appetite is a good thing. Are you full?” Mrs. Tang was the most delighted of all and asked without delay.

”I’m full,” Tang Yuanxiao replied quickly.

”Good. We didn’t have much time today, but I’ll make you something special tomorrow. We have an old hen that hasn’t been laying very well, so tomorrow’s a perfect day to slaughter it for a meal.” Mrs. Tang’s face was beaming.

”Please don’t, Mom. I eat very well at the factory.”

”How good could it possibly be? Is it better than a home-cooked meal?” Mrs. Tang retorted.

”That food I mailed you for the New Year—you got it all before the holiday, right? Was it enough?”

”I got it all. I even shared some with my coworkers. They loved it,” Tang Yuanxiao said with a nod.

”That’s good, that’s good. I’m glad you liked it. I’ll pack you some more to take back with you.”

Mrs. Tang, her face wreathed in smiles, started clearing the table and washing dishes with Su Li.

Tang Yuanxiao offered to help but was stopped by Mrs. Tang.

”Don’t you move. A man like you should just sit and relax. Su Li and I can handle this.”

Su Li secretly pouted.

Tang Yuanxiao didn’t see Su Li’s expression, but he genuinely wanted to help. Coming from a rural background, he didn’t subscribe to the notion that a gentleman should stay out of the kitchen. He had done his fair share of cooking and washing dishes as a child.

His mother worked hard around the house day in and day out. Now that he was finally home, he just wanted her to rest, but there was no way Mrs. Tang would let him lift a finger.

”You just get some rest. Go talk with Momo. You two haven’t seen each other all year; you’ve become strangers. Talk with him more. Once he warms up to you, he’ll naturally start calling you ’Dad’.”

Tang Yuanxiao finally relented. He sat across from Little Tang Mo, flashing a stiff, placating smile as he tentatively reached out to pat the boy’s head.

Little Tang Mo stiffened but didn’t move, his eyes curiously fixed on the clothes and hat Tang Yuanxiao wore.

Tang Yuanxiao’s gaze fell on the knitted hat on Little Tang Mo’s head. It had two long ears, making the boy look even fairer and cuter. He could have passed for a little girl.

”That’s a nice hat.”

Tang Yuanxiao knew Su Li had knitted the hat, and he had finally found an opening for conversation.

”Yep, Mommy knitted it. My sweater, too. Mommy bought me lots of clothes and lots of sweaters.”

The mention of the sweater and his mother finally got Little Tang Mo talking, and he chattered on happily.

His expression and tone made it perfectly clear how much he adored Su Li.

The smile on Tang Yuanxiao’s face, stiff from disuse, gradually softened at the sound of his son’s innocent chatter.

”Such a good boy.” He patted Little Tang Mo’s head again.

As father and son chatted, Mrs. Tang and Su Li busied themselves with cleaning up. Hearing Little Tang Mo’s excited voice, a smile played on Su Li’s lips. For a moment, the Tang Family looked the very picture of domestic bliss.

Only Su Li knew this bliss was merely a beautiful illusion, as fleeting as the moon’s reflection in water or a flower in a mirror, ready to shatter at the slightest touch.

Tang Yuanxiao only came home once a year, so Mrs. Tang had an endless stream of things to say and questions to ask. By the light of the kerosene lamp, she sat beside her son and began asking a million questions.

Little Tang Mo pulled Su Li over to sit with him. He leaned into her arms, watching Tang Yuanxiao without so much as a blink.

Su Li had no choice but to wait patiently for them to finish their conversation.

Mrs. Tang, once she got started, was unstoppable. She only realized how long she’d been talking when Little Tang Mo had already fallen asleep.

”Oh, look at me. Once I get going, I can’t stop. It’s so late; you all should be in bed.”

Mrs. Tang looked from Tang Yuanxiao to Su Li. ”Go wash up and head to bed.”

As she spoke, she shot a glance at Su Li and then gave Tang Yuanxiao a pointed look, her meaning obvious.

They hadn’t gotten to spend any real time together when they married last year. They absolutely had to this time! Mrs. Tang could almost see a little grandson, just as cute as Little Tang Mo, waving to her.

”Hurry and wash up. Wash up and go to bed.”

The more Mrs. Tang thought about it, the more pleased she became. She went to take the sleeping Little Tang Mo from Su Li’s arms, shooting another meaningful glance at Tang Yuanxiao.

Tang Yuanxiao kept a stony face, pretending he didn’t understand his mother’s look, but his beet-red ears gave him away.

Su Li, who was not, in fact, blind: ”...”

’Damn it!’

’Wash up and go to bed, my ass! I’m the one who’s trying to get a divorce!’

Mrs. Tang left with Little Tang Mo in her arms, leaving Tang Yuanxiao and Su Li alone in the awkward silence.

Su Li nearly ground her teeth to powder. She took a deep breath, about to speak, when Tang Yuanxiao suddenly leaned in close.

Without a second thought, Su Li recoiled, and the stool scraped harshly against the floor beneath her.

”What are you doing?”

Her tone was accusatory and her gaze was guarded, with an undercurrent of unmistakable disgust.

Tang Yuanxiao hadn’t expected such a strong reaction. He froze mid-motion, then slowly straightened up, his eyes locked on hers.

”There’s a bug in your hair.”

He had only been trying to get it off for her.

In the countryside, it wasn’t unusual to find a bug on you. Su Li raised a hand to her hair.

”It’s over here,” Tang Yuanxiao prompted quietly.

After a moment of searching, her fingers found it. It was a ladybug. Su Li looked at it for a second before casually setting it on the floor.

”Are you afraid of me?” Tang Yuanxiao’s low voice sounded beside her.

Su Li tensed for a moment before shaking her head. ”No.”

She wasn’t afraid of Tang Yuanxiao. Her instinctive recoil wasn’t fear; it was the wall between them. It was an unwillingness to be touched by him. It was... revulsion.

She and Tang Yuanxiao already didn’t see eye to eye. The thought that he had been Qin Shanshan’s husband in her past life made her feel even worse, so when he’d leaned in, she had recoiled on pure instinct.

Su Li stared at the ladybug struggling to right itself on the floor, her eyes dark and unreadable.

’Her past life had instilled in her a bone-deep aversion to men, an instinctive revulsion to their touch.’

’It was only thanks to Yu Zhengqing that she hadn’t developed full-blown androphobia or been left with any severe psychological trauma...’

Tang Yuanxiao didn’t press the issue. He just gave Su Li a long, searching look, his thoughts impossible to guess.

After they washed up in silence, Su Li remained seated. She looked at Tang Yuanxiao and said, ”I need to talk to you about something.”

Tang Yuanxiao felt the same. He nodded and was about to sit down when Mrs. Tang’s voice cut in.

”Are you two finished washing up? Why haven’t you gone to bed yet?”

She came in to check on them. ”If you’re done, hurry and get to bed. Don’t waste the kerosene.”

With Tang Yuanxiao being as dense as a block of wood and Su Li being too shy to speak up, Mrs. Tang felt she had to take matters into her own hands. She walked right over, blew out the kerosene lamp, and shooed them into the bedroom.

Su Li was so frustrated she could have spit blood.

’I really don’t want to go into a room with Tang Yuanxiao,’ she thought. ’But knowing Mrs. Tang, while she probably won’t eavesdrop at the door, there’s no way we’ll get to talk in peace if we don’t go inside.’

Su Li really didn’t want Mrs. Tang popping up mid-conversation to start yelling. If her mother-in-law found out she wanted a divorce, she would raise holy hell.

Su Li wanted a quiet divorce, planning to announce it only after it was finalized. After a moment’s hesitation, she gave up the struggle.

”Get a good night’s rest!” Mrs. Tang said, pushing them both into the bedroom. She closed the door for them before leaving, thoroughly satisfied.

Inside the bedroom, Su Li resentfully lit the kerosene lamp. ”There’s a stool. You can sit...” she started to say as she turned back, but the words caught in her throat when she saw what Tang Yuanxiao was doing.

”What are you doing?”

The color drained from Su Li’s face. Her eyes turned sharp as daggers, and her voice was laced with ice.

”Why are you taking off your clothes?”