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

Wa Wa Lian scrambled up and beat a hasty retreat.

Wu Sheng silently rose to his feet, his body rigid as a board. He didn’t dare look at Su Li.

By now, even Su Li would have understood what Wa Wa Lian was getting at. ’He wants me to take responsibility for this!’

Su Li chose her words carefully. ”Artificial respiration is a standard life-saving procedure. You can accept that, can’t you, Mr. Wu?”

She smiled, testing the waters. ”You’re a man. I don’t need to take responsibility, right?”

’If I’d done this to some innocent young maiden, she might demand I take responsibility, but a grown man shouldn’t need that, right?’

Wu Sheng couldn’t take it anymore.

He spun around to face Su Li, stepping closer and speaking in a husky voice. ”If anyone’s taking responsibility, it’ll be me.”

He took another step forward, his gaze fixed on Su Li. ”I know what artificial respiration is. And like you said, I’m a grown man.”

His gaze suddenly dropped to Su Li’s ruby-red lips, and a strange glint appeared in his eyes. His entire demeanor shifted, becoming arrogant, domineering, and aloof.

”So, Su Li, if anyone took advantage of the situation, it was me.”

If anyone was going to be responsible, it would be him.

Wu Sheng had never known a woman like Su Li existed in this world.

He watched the astonishment on Su Li’s face with satisfaction. The corner of his mouth quirked into a wild, self-assured smile as he slowly and meaningfully added two words.

”Very sweet.”

’What was very sweet?’

’Her breath? Her lips...?’

Su Li’s composure finally shattered. She stared at Wu Sheng in disbelief.

But all she saw was a flash of Wu Sheng’s bright red ears as he swaggered away.

Staring at Wu Sheng’s retreating back, Su Li felt as if she must have been hearing things.

’Is this still the same terrifyingly competent, exceptionally poised, yet taciturn boss?’

It was as if Wu Sheng had eyes in the back of his head. Without turning, he called out, ”Are you going to keep up or what?”

’So I was caught off guard by the artificial respiration and lost the upper hand for a moment. So what?’

’Sure, he’d gotten flustered and couldn’t stop himself from blushing, but he was Wu Sheng. A man.’

’And how could a man lose the upper hand in a situation like this?’

’So, even if his ears felt like they were about to burn off, he could still even the score.’

’Men... we’re all natural-born rogues. It just depends on whether that talent has been tapped.’

”You...” Staring at Wu Sheng’s back, Su Li was utterly speechless.

The two words Wu Sheng had spoken, ”Very sweet,” seemed to echo in her ears. Su Li couldn’t resist raising a hand to wipe her mouth, her face slowly turning crimson.

She’d had no intention of teasing him, but now it seemed she was the one who had been teased!

With his back still to her, Wu Sheng pressed his lips together. His eyes glittered with a brilliant light—the telltale sign that something had suddenly piqued his interest.

Wu Sheng was a very complex person.

He was born brilliant, with extraordinary skills. Things that normal people could never achieve, no matter how hard they tried, he accomplished with ease.

Young, brilliant at his job, with a limitless future ahead of him. Anyone else would have been fired up to climb even higher, but he just remained his usual self.

He was lazy and nonchalant, yet he always completed his assignments more brilliantly than anyone else. It put his superiors in a bind. They couldn’t hate him, because so many things couldn’t be done without him. They tried to like him, but with his attitude, that never lasted long.

Hate him? They couldn’t, since so many tasks were impossible without him. Try to love him? His attitude made that impossible, or at least, it never lasted.

Aside from highly challenging work, very little in this world could pique Wu Sheng’s interest.

Everything up until this point—the cattle, Su Li, the ambush—he’d approached it all with a certain nonchalance, just going through the motions and thinking about things as his role required.

He appeared flawless, but in truth... his heart just wasn’t in it.

Until now.

It was as if a dormant soul deep within him had been awakened. The light, the vitality—it all came rushing back into his eyes.

Wu Sheng came alive, his entire presence transformed. Hearing that Su Li hadn’t followed, he suddenly turned his head.

”Aren’t you going to chase after your cattle?”

”I am,” Su Li replied, hurrying to catch up. Looking at Wu Sheng’s perfectly straight face, she felt a sense of the surreal.

”Oh.” A flicker of regret crossed Wu Sheng’s eyes.

’If she hadn’t caught up, he would’ve gone back to help. He could carry her in his arms, or on his back. He was good at both.’

With that thought, Wu Sheng glanced at her feet. ”Do your feet hurt?”

”They’re fine.” Seeing Wu Sheng acting as if nothing had happened, Su Li didn’t know what else to say.

The ”promising” ox that had kicked Wu Sheng hadn’t run far. It was hiding in the nearby woods, munching on grass.

Well, they had been running all day. They’d had enough.

Wa Wa Lian warily herded them out, right toward the spot where their captured colleagues were waiting.

Seeing more people up ahead, the oxen obediently stopped where they were and resumed grazing.

Everyone stared at the two large, yellow oxen, their expressions growing even more priceless.

At this point, they had no idea what to make of this whole confrontation.

This was supposed to be a proper, serious training exercise. But the Red Team had a young woman with them. And just as they were processing that, two yellow oxen showed up.

And from the looks of it, they were the exact kind of oxen used for plowing fields on a farm!

Everyone exchanged glances for a moment before finally calming down.

Wa Wa Lian paid them no mind, turning to report to the approaching Wu Sheng. ”Boss, the cattle are rounded up.”

”Okay. I’ll take Su Li home. You guys watch over them. Rest here for the night. Someone will come to pick them up tomorrow.”

Wu Sheng said with a nod.

Taking Su Li home—fifteen minutes ago, that would have definitely been Wa Wa Lian’s job. But now? It wasn’t his turn anymore.

Wa Wa Lian’s first reaction was to say, ”Boss, I can take her. You should...”

He trailed off before he could tell Wu Sheng to rest, his brain catching up and telling him to shut up.

Unaware that his boss had already evened the score, he was still in awe of Su Li’s power. The look he gave her was complicated, to say the least.

Glancing at the sky, Wa Wa Lian suddenly asked tentatively, ”Su Li, it’s getting late. Why don’t you just head back tomorrow?”

’Got to create an opportunity for the boss!’

Wu Sheng shot Wa Wa Lian a look. ”What nonsense are you talking about?”

Su Li shook her head as well. ”No, I have to go back tonight. Little... My family will worry.”

If she didn’t go back, what would happen to Little Tang Mo?

The previous night, Little Tang Mo had slept with her. Everything was fine at first, but in the middle of the night, Su Li was startled awake by his panicked voice.

Even in his sleep, Little Tang Mo was terrified that Su Li would leave, crying out, ”Momma, don’t go...”

Su Li had to hold him and comfort him for a long time before Little Tang Mo finally stopped crying and fell back asleep.

Little Tang Mo was asleep, but Su Li couldn’t fall back asleep afterward.

For Little Tang Mo to be startled from his sleep like that was a sign of extreme insecurity.

His behavior for the rest of the night confirmed Su Li’s suspicions.

Little Tang Mo slept fitfully. He could only sleep soundly when Su Li held him, allowing him to be near her scent.

If Su Li so much as turned her back to him, his brow would furrow in his sleep.

Little Tang Mo was waiting for her so anxiously at home. How could she possibly stay the night and go back the next day?

Hearing Su Li’s words, Wa Wa Lian realized his blunder.

He scratched his head. ”My mistake.”

’Right,’ he thought. ’How could a young woman dare to spend the night in a place full of men!’

”Well then, Boss, you two be careful on the road.” Wa Wa Lian eyed the oxen with lingering fear. ”Are these things going to bolt again?”