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

Why was Wu Sheng dozing off at the door when Su Li returned?

It was because he had something to do last night and hadn’t slept at all.

He was supposed to go home and rest after his shift ended at dawn, but he didn’t go at all.

But when he got Su Li’s call, he was suddenly full of energy.

Before coming to find Su Li, knowing she had no classes that afternoon, Wu Sheng had been hanging out with a group of his colleagues who were already married with children.

He went up to them one by one, making small talk and asking if their wives got along well with their mothers-in-law.

If they didn’t, he’d walk away. If they did, he’d press for more details.

Wu Sheng’s gossiping was strange, but he eventually let slip what he really wanted to ask.

”What should a future daughter-in-law be mindful of when meeting her mother-in-law? What’s the best way to handle it?”

Wu Sheng spent the entire morning beating around the bush, asking these kinds of questions.

Whenever he heard something he thought was useful, he’d jot it down in a small notebook.

He wrote with his left hand, which was a real struggle, leaving his handwriting crooked and clumsy.

Ge Ba had originally come over to urge Wu Sheng to go home and rest, but he ended up noticing his friend’s odd behavior.

”Why are you so curious about all this?”

Wu Sheng glanced at Ge Ba. ”Just am, that’s all.”

”Little Eight, you’re not getting any younger. When are you getting married?”

Ge Ba’s eyes darted around. ”You’re not married either, are you?”

”Don’t compare yourself to me. I can get married whenever I want. You need to get a move on.”

”’Whenever you want?’ So something *is* going on with you?” Ge Ba probed.

Wu Sheng had been acting too strangely lately, and Ge Ba had noticed it for a while now.

He glanced at Wu Sheng’s hand. ”You still haven’t said how you injured this hand.”

”Since when are you such a busybody? Never you mind. It’s all part of the process of winning a wife. You wouldn’t understand. If you want to understand, you’d better find yourself a girl, and fast.”

Wu Sheng patted Ge Ba’s shoulder. ”You rascal. You always have to do everything with me. I hope we can get married together, too.”

Ge Ba’s eyelid twitched.

”Get married together?”

”If you want to, you’d better get a move on! I’m leaving now, so hurry up!”

With a satisfied wave and light steps, Wu Sheng left. Ge Ba watched his retreating figure, thought for a moment, and then followed.

After doing his homework that morning and consulting his experienced, married colleagues, Wu Sheng went to find Su Li in the afternoon.

But as it turned out, Su Li had gone to the factory and didn’t get back for a long time.

However, the long wait and the freezing cold were all worth it once Su Li started washing his hair.

Although Su Li hadn’t said it, Wu Sheng could feel that her feelings toward him had begun to change.

That’s why he finally brought it up.

”Su Li, now that Little Point has accepted me, when can you find some time to come with me to meet my mom?”

”What?”

Seeing the utter astonishment and the flash of panic on Su Li’s face, Wu Sheng made a joke.

”Every bride has to meet the in-laws eventually. Don’t worry.”

Su Li couldn’t help but shoot him a look. ”What are you talking about? Who are you calling an ugly bride?”

’Bride, and all that...’

”Yes, yes, I was wrong. You’re not an ugly bride, you’re a gorgeous bride.”

Wu Sheng was all smiles, being exceptionally agreeable.

Thanks to Wu Sheng’s jokes, Su Li finally calmed down a little.

”Why so suddenly...” ’Why bring this up out of the blue, with no warning at all?’

”It’s not sudden at all. So? Will you think about it?” Wu Sheng asked softly, lowering his head.

Su Li gently pushed the door partly closed behind her, bit her lip, and murmured.

”We... We’re not even...”

’They hadn’t even made their relationship official. How could she go meet his parents?’

’Su Li wanted to say that the order was all wrong. Weren’t they supposed to get together and make things official *before* meeting the parents? Why meet them first?’

Wu Sheng understood all the things Su Li had left unsaid.

He saw the conflict on Su Li’s face and chuckled softly, unable to resist patting her head.

”I’m just trying to make this foolproof. Once you meet my mom and feel at ease, you’ll be able to accept me without any worries, right?”

Wu Sheng, of course, had his reasons for doing this.

Su Li wasn’t like those other young women. She had been married before, had experienced a mother-in-law like Mrs. Tang, and her personality wasn’t the impulsive type. She thought things through carefully, no matter what.

Over this period of time, Wu Sheng had also come to understand Su Li’s outlook on relationships.

Like him, when she dated someone, it was with the goal of getting married. And when marriage is the goal, there are naturally many things to consider and worry about.

So, he was trying to find a way to eliminate those worries one by one.

From Wu Sheng’s perspective, what happened with Mrs. Tang was horrifying to even hear about. Putting himself in Su Li’s shoes, he knew that as she started a new relationship, she would definitely be worried about what her future mother-in-law would be like.

Wu Sheng didn’t want Su Li to be constantly plagued by these worries, so he wanted to take her to meet his mother ahead of time. If Su Li felt at ease after meeting her, then he could propose, right?

That’s right. Wu Sheng was thinking about proposing!

’A girlfriend wasn’t as reliable as a fiancée, after all. Even though Su Li was still in school and couldn’t marry him for the time being, he wouldn’t be able to rest easy until their relationship was settled!’

’Hmm... he was going to get busy soon after the New Year. He really wanted to make Su Li his fiancée before that!’

When Su Li heard the words ”feel at ease,” she suddenly understood Wu Sheng’s good intentions.

Once bitten, twice shy.

After her experience with a mother-in-law like Mrs. Tang, she had, in fact, been worried lately about what Wu Sheng’s family was like. What was his mother like...?

’I can’t believe he saw right through me.’

Combined with what Wu Sheng had said before—”now that Little Point has accepted me”—it all suddenly clicked for Su Li.

He had even taken Little Tang Mo’s feelings into account, waiting until Little Tang Mo accepted him before bringing this up, just so she could meet his mother ahead of time and feel at ease.

’He just wanted her to be able to accept him without any reservations, trying to think of every possible way to resolve any concerns she might have...’

’How could she possibly refuse such a considerate heart?’

Su Li was both touched and flustered, her face flushing bright red, but she gave him a direct answer.

”Okay, I’ll think about it.”

Hearing her answer, Wu Sheng immediately broke into a smile.

”Okay. You think it over. I’ll wait for you.”

”I’m going inside, then,” Su Li said, lowering her head as she listened to his laughter, about to leave.

Wu Sheng quickly stopped her. ”Wait a minute.”

He looked at Su Li’s face and blinked. ”Maybe I should have waited until tomorrow morning to bring this up?”

”Huh?” Su Li was confused.

Wu Sheng sighed. ”I’m afraid you won’t be able to sleep tonight.”

’He could already see it coming!’

Su Li: ”...”

’Now that he’d said that, how was she supposed to sleep!’

’It wasn’t some simple matter; this was about meeting his mother!’

”Just go. Don’t worry about it,” Su Li said, urging Wu Sheng to leave.

’Anyway, no matter when he brought it up, she was bound to lose sleep over it. It made no difference!’

Wu Sheng scratched his head. ”Okay... If you’re really too nervous to sleep, give me a call. I can chat with you.”

Su Li: ”...Just go. Goodbye.”

Su Li opened the door to go in, but was once again pulled back by Wu Sheng.

”You still owe me one thing.”

”What?” Su Li asked, confused.

”Happy New Year,” Wu Sheng said with a smile.

The New Year was just three hours away.

Su Li looked into Wu Sheng’s eyes and slowly said, ”Happy New Year.”