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

Wu Qihua was born to be a terrible cook. Her food was absolutely atrocious. Wu Sheng grew up on her culinary disasters and genuinely believed he was a good cook, even bragging about it constantly. But as it turned out...

Su Li’s cooking, on the other hand, was what real food tasted like. Mother and son hadn’t eaten a meal this delicious in years.

A nostalgic look filled Wu Qihua’s eyes. She felt as if she were eating her own mother’s wonderful cooking again.

’Yes, this is it. This is the flavor.’

The food from restaurants, no matter how hyped up, was good, but it just didn’t have *this* flavor.

The mother and son felt like crying as they ate. Of all the dishes on the table, only the one Wu Sheng had stir-fried at the beginning was left untouched. Everything else was wiped clean, and their bellies were stuffed.

After the meal, the way they looked at Su Li was completely different.

Wu Sheng’s expression was one of pleasant surprise, a ’Wow, I hit the jackpot, hahaha!’ kind of feeling.

Wu Qihua perfectly embodied the transformation of a foodie, completely won over by Su Li’s meal.

They insisted Su Li sit on the sofa and wouldn’t let her help with the dishes. As the mother and son took the plates to the kitchen, Wu Qihua eagerly asked Wu Sheng, ”When can you marry Su Li?”

Wu Sheng immediately grew wary at his mother’s tone. ”What’s wrong?”

’Why does she sound even more anxious about this than I am?’

”What could be wrong? I’m just concerned about you, aren’t I?” Wu Qihua said with righteous conviction.

Of course, that wasn’t what she was really thinking. Her actual thoughts were:

’What else could it be? Of course I want her to marry into the family as soon as possible, so I can eat her cooking once a week!’

Thanks to Su Li’s cooking, the meeting was a resounding success, exceeding all expectations.

As dusk fell, Su Li said goodbye to Wu Qihua, and Wu Sheng drove her home.

Once they left the Wu Family’s home, Su Li let out a slow breath in the cold wind, the reality of the day finally sinking in.

”Were you nervous?” Wu Sheng asked, watching her from the side.

”How could I not be?” Su Li said with a laugh. ”Your mother is a really interesting person.”

Wu Sheng rubbed his nose. ”Yeah.”

’Interesting, sure, but sometimes she’s infuriating. No one knows that better than me.’

”Su Li, your cooking is amazing,” Wu Sheng said, rubbing his stuffed belly. ”I ate too much. I feel like I’m full up to my throat.”

Speaking of which, Su Li glanced back toward the house. ”Will your mother be okay?”

The mother and son really had eaten a lot. Su Li had been on pins and needles watching them at the dinner table!

She had barely managed to stop herself from telling them to stop eating.

On any other day, Su Li would have already put a stop to Wu Sheng’s binge.

”She’ll be fine. She’ll just go to bed a little later tonight because she’s so full.”

Wu Sheng led Su Li to the car. ”It’s been a long time since we’ve had such a delicious home-cooked meal.”

Wu Sheng told her about how Wu Qihua couldn’t cook and how he had taken over the cooking duties starting in the third grade.

Su Li couldn’t stop laughing.

After she finished, she couldn’t help but ask, ”Why don’t you guys just hire a good cook?”

Given the Wu Family’s financial situation, they could easily afford one.

Wu Sheng looked at Su Li and replied, ”We did. We hired one before.”

Looking at Wu Sheng’s expression, Su Li had a feeling there was a story behind it.

What Wu Sheng said next confirmed her suspicion.

”The cook did some things... and my mom hasn’t dared to hire anyone since.”

Wu Sheng pulled the car over to the side of the road and looked out at a nearby park. ”There are people making ice lanterns over there. Let’s get out and take a walk.”

In the park, there were indeed quite a few ice lanterns—some homemade, and others being sold by vendors at stalls.

Wu Sheng and Su Li walked around the park, and it was then that Wu Sheng began to tell her the rest of his story.

He had to tell Su Li these things so she would understand everything clearly.

He hadn’t said anything before because he wanted her to meet his mother first.

”You must have been curious why that woman, Ye Xilan, suddenly showed up claiming to be my mother and saying I was the son of some director.”

Wu Sheng let out a slow breath. ”Although I didn’t acknowledge it, the director Ye Xilan was talking about... he is, in fact, my biological father.”

Su Li was stunned.

”But don’t worry, I’m not an illegitimate son,” Wu Sheng added with a small laugh, trying to lighten the mood.

Wu Sheng continued the story in a calm voice.

It was a simple, yet somewhat melodramatic tale.

”Wu Qihua came from a merchant family. She later went abroad to study. While studying overseas, she met and fell in love with my father, Li Xian, and they promised their lives to each other.”

”At the time, Li Xian was only abroad for half a year before he had to return to the country. He wanted to marry Wu Qihua immediately, but she still had to finish her studies.”

”After Li Xian returned, Wu Qihua discovered she was pregnant. She ended her studies early and went back to the country to find him.”

”But when she arrived, she found out that Li Xian was about to get engaged and married. At the time, Wu Qihua didn’t know that Li Xian was against it and that it was all arranged by his parents. She was a proud woman, so instead of confronting Li Xian, she left quietly.”

”She left the Imperial City. On a train, by a twist of fate, she met a man also named Wu, whose name was Wu Zhuangshi. His name meant ’strong and sturdy,’ but in reality, he was anything but. He was terminally ill and had come to the Imperial City seeking treatment, but had to return home to await his death because he couldn’t afford it.”

”Wu Qihua was not short on money, and seeing their suffering, she paid for his hospitalization. At first, Wu Qihua didn’t have any particular plan. It was only later, when Wu Zhuangshi’s mother saw her morning sickness and realized she was pregnant, that she asked about her situation.”

”In the end, it was partly out of gratitude for Wu Qihua’s kindness, and partly to help her...”

”...that Wu Zhuangshi and Wu Qihua registered their marriage, with his mother’s blessing and as her witness.”

”When I was born, I legally became Wu Zhuangshi’s child.”

”Wu Zhuangshi’s family were ordinary, simple, and honest farmers. Full of gratitude, they treated me as their own flesh and blood.”

”With Wu Qihua’s financial help, Wu Zhuangshi managed to live for another two years. He finally succumbed to his illness and passed away when I was one year old.”

”Wu Qihua was heartbroken. Although she and Wu Zhuangshi weren’t a real couple, after spending two years together, they had become as close as siblings.”

”And just like that, Wu Qihua became a widow.”

”She is an independent, cheerful, and strong woman. She was never short on money to begin with, and she eventually established herself using her own talent, knowledge, and abilities.”

”When I was three, Wu Qihua’s mother fell gravely ill, so she brought me back to the Imperial City.”

”By this time, Li Xian was already married.”

”Back then, he had refused to get married. He only loved Wu Qihua. To make his parents give up on the idea, he went abroad again to look for her.”

”Unfortunately, by that time, Wu Qihua had already returned to the country and disappeared. He searched for two years but couldn’t find her.”

”In the end, his elderly mother threatened to kill herself, leaving him with no choice. He gave up and married Ye Xilan, the woman his family had chosen for him.”

”After they married, Ye Xilan quickly became pregnant. Unfortunately, she later had a miscarriage that was his fault, which damaged her body and left her unable to conceive again. How could Ye Xilan accept such a reality? Although Li Xian promised he would never divorce her, she still felt insecure.”

”Three years passed like this. When I was six, Wu Qihua and Li Xian met again by chance.”

”I look like Wu Qihua, but I also resemble Li Xian. One look at my age, and there was nothing left to guess.”

”But by then, it was all in vain. It was too late.”