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

”Is Little Mo unhappy because you were afraid we would fight?” Su Li asked gently, stroking Little Tang Mo’s head.

Little Tang Mo nodded, then shook his head again.

”Hm?” Su Li prompted silently.

Little Tang Mo looked at Su Li, then slowly lowered his head to look at her stomach. His small hand reached out tentatively, as if he wanted to touch it.

”Mommy, do you really have a baby in your tummy?”

The smile on Su Li’s face froze. She shook her head firmly. ”...No.”

”But Grandma said...” Little Tang Mo was unconvinced.

”Grandma was just joking with you, Little Mo,” Su Li cut in, ruffling his cheek.

”Really?” Little Tang Mo’s eyes lit up.

”Mhm, really,” Su Li nodded.

Little Tang Mo smiled, but his expression faltered again. He hesitated before asking cautiously.

”Mommy, if you have a little brother or sister, does that mean you won’t want me anymore?”

Su Li’s expression turned stern. ”Who told you that?”

’Little Tang Mo was perfectly fine before. He comes back from playing in the village and asks this weird question. Someone must have said this to him.’

Little Tang Mo lowered his head. ”Mommy, just tell me first... will you still want me?”

”Never,” Su Li said, hugging Little Tang Mo. ”Little Mo, who said that to you?”

’The name Qin Shanshan immediately popped into Su Li’s head.’

”They all said it,” Little Tang Mo said, glancing cautiously at Su Li.

”They all said that once Mommy has a little brother or sister, you won’t be nice to me anymore... Mommy, can we just not have a little brother or sister, please?”

Su Li’s expression grew darker the more she listened.

”Little Mo, they’re all talking nonsense. Don’t listen to them. Tell me who said that to you, and I’ll go settle the score with them!”

’That’s just despicable! To say something like that to such a young child... I can’t stand it.’

Su Li looked so stern, her expression so grim, that Little Tang Mo’s mouth instantly crumpled as if he were about to cry. But then he remembered what Su Li had said and desperately held it in.

”Mommy, don’t be angry. It’s all my fault. I’m not a good boy...”

Tears welled up in Little Tang Mo’s eyes. ”Mommy, I like little brothers and sisters... I won’t ever say that again.”

Su Li let out a deep sigh and picked Little Tang Mo up.

”Alright, Little Mo, don’t you worry. I won’t go settle the score with them.”

She patted Little Tang Mo’s back, listening to him sob, her heart growing heavy.

’The root cause of Little Tang Mo’s behavior was his insecurity.’

’His insecurity was why he was so guarded, why he felt everything was his fault, and why he was so afraid that Su Li would abandon him if she had another child.’

Feeling helpless and frustrated, Su Li gave Little Tang Mo a piggyback ride, walking in circles around the courtyard while quietly telling him a story.

She told it with great animation, changing her voice for each character. Little Tang Mo was captivated and slowly stopped crying.

Tang Yuanxiao returned, carrying the fish he had caught, just in time to see and hear this very scene.

As the sun set, it bathed Su Li and Little Tang Mo in a golden glow. The scene was so warm, so beautiful...

It was as if the sight of Su Li’s face, resolute as she demanded a divorce, had been nothing but a nightmare.

Carrying two fish, Tang Yuanxiao simply stood there in a daze, watching the two of them. He didn’t know how long he remained there, not until Mrs. Tang returned from herding the cattle.

That evening, Tang Yuanxiao took charge of the kitchen and cooked a large, fragrant pot of fish that looked as good as it tasted. Mrs. Tang was grinning from ear to ear, so happy during the meal that she nearly shed tears of joy.

Little Tang Mo was still too young to eat fish with bones, so they had to be picked out for him. The wait made him practically drool with anticipation.

Seeing his eager little face, Su Li couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

For a while, the Tang Family home was filled with cheerful laughter.

After dinner, Mrs. Tang urged them to wash up and go to bed, doing her best to advance her plan for Tang Yuanxiao and Su Li to make a baby.

Tang Yuanxiao’s face flushed, then paled, then flushed again. Just as he was about to say something, an uninvited guest arrived: Qin Shanshan.

After being kicked out by Su Li earlier in the day, she had been a nervous wreck. Several times, she had been tempted to grab a ladder to peek and eavesdrop on the Tang Family, but she didn’t dare, afraid Tang Yuanxiao would notice.

She wanted to brazenly show up again but was afraid Su Li would just kick her out. She spent the entire afternoon in torment, finally breathing a sigh of relief only when she heard Mrs. Tang return.

’Now that Mrs. Tang is back, Su Li and Tang Yuanxiao will have to keep their distance!’

Her relief lasted less than two minutes before she heard cheerful laughter coming from the Tang Family’s home, and she was on edge all over again.

’That vixen, all she does is laugh and giggle... It’s infuriating!’

Qin Shanshan was seething. In the end, she couldn’t resist getting all dressed up and heading over.

She changed her clothes over and over, combed her hair again and again. By the time she finished her primping, Mrs. Tang was already telling the others to ’wash up and go to bed’.

Mrs. Tang and the others were quite surprised to see her arrive at such a late hour.

”Shanshan, dear, is something the matter?” Mrs. Tang asked as soon as Qin Shanshan entered.

”Aunt Tang, Brother Tang Yuan, Momo... Su Li,” Qin Shanshan said by way of greeting, thinking to herself, ’Good thing I came prepared.’

She shot Tang Yuanxiao a flirtatious glance, her eyes full of meaning, and replied, ”Yes, there’s a little something.”

Tang Yuanxiao frowned as he took in her tone, her outfit, and her gestures.

Su Li, on the other hand, was about to burst out laughing.

Qin Shanshan was wearing a bright red top, the kind meant for summer, with the hem tucked into her pants. On her feet were a pair of brand-new yellow rubber-soled shoes, worn over a pair of startlingly bright green socks.

But even more eye-catching than her ’fashionable’ attire was her face.

Her two braids were normal enough, but her cheeks were rouged a startling red, her curvy, ’willow-leaf’ eyebrows were drawn on with charcoal, and her lips were a crimson that could only have come from biting down on red paper...

Su Li let out a snort of laughter.

”Qin Shanshan, what are you trying to do, ascend to the heavens?”

’She has a perfectly good face, but she just had to go and make it look like a monkey’s backside!’

The mockery in Su Li’s voice was so obvious even a fool could hear it.

Tang Yuanxiao coughed, lowered his head, and refused to look at them. Mrs. Tang was also taken aback by Qin Shanshan’s makeup, but she didn’t think it looked bad.

”Su Li,” she said, shooting her a look that told her not to be so mocking.

’After all, Qin Shanshan is a guest in our home. We can’t treat her like this.’

”Shanshan, don’t pay any mind to Su Li. Come, have a seat,” Mrs. Tang said, ushering Qin Shanshan in.

She had always been fond of Qin Shanshan. Though she’d been annoyed with her recently, she had watched the girl grow up. Besides, she had been in such a good mood the last couple of days that she’d already forgotten that minor unpleasantness.

Qin Shanshan shot Su Li a hateful glare and reluctantly sat down.

’She’s only mocking me because she’s jealous,’ Qin Shanshan thought. ’Jealous that I know how to dress up and afraid I’ll snatch Brother Tang Yuan away...’

With that in mind, Qin Shanshan shot Su Li a contemptuous look, placed the item she was carrying on the table, and beamed a ’flower-like’ smile at Tang Yuanxiao.

”Brother Tang Yuan, these are the pastries my Aunt Flo brought for my family...”

The moment he heard ”Aunt Flo,” Tang Yuanxiao did a spit-take.

Su Li couldn’t hold back a snort of laughter either.

Qin Shanshan looked at them, completely baffled. ”What’s wrong? My Aunt Flo really did bring these...”

”AHEM... Caihua, that’s enough,” Tang Yuanxiao cut her off, his face bright red. He simply couldn’t face the name ’Aunt Flo’.

Seeing Qin Shanshan’s utterly baffled expression, Tang Yuanxiao glanced at Su Li and couldn’t help but rub his forehead in exasperation.

’It’s all Su Li’s fault,’ he thought. ’She’s the one who made my mind go there whenever I hear that name.’

’It’s a perfectly normal name for a relative, but now I can’t hear it without thinking...’

Tang Yuanxiao felt both helpless and amused.