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

Tang Yuanxiao sat in his car, watching as a white sedan roared past him.

The car was moving so fast that the person in the driver’s seat was just a blur; he couldn’t get a clear look at all.

Tang Yuanxiao slammed on the brakes. Just as he was about to turn around and give chase, he saw Wu Sheng on a motorcycle, hot on its tail.

The motorcycle was going so fast it seemed about to take flight, its speed terrifying to behold.

Gritting his teeth, Tang Yuanxiao wrenched the steering wheel.

With a screech of tires, the car spun around in a one-eighty without a moment’s hesitation.

Tang Yuanxiao was about to stomp on the gas and follow them, but a glance in his rearview mirror made him freeze.

His car, having only gone a few dozen meters, screeched to a halt once more.

Ahead, the white sedan and Wu Sheng’s motorcycle had already vanished from sight.

Wu Sheng chased the white sedan relentlessly, staying right on its tail. After weaving through street after street, he finally caught up to it when the car had to swerve to avoid a pedestrian.

The motorcycle was going too fast to stop normally. Wu Sheng slammed on the brakes and was instantly thrown a great distance.

He hit the ground rolling. Ignoring the pain, Wu Sheng scrambled up and lunged for the white sedan, wrenching open the driver’s door.

”Where’s Su Li—”

Wu Sheng’s words died in his throat when he saw the person in the driver’s seat.

Staring at the face before him, Wu Sheng’s pupils constricted, and the color drained from his face.

”You... How can it be you...”

The person in the driver’s seat grabbed Wu Sheng’s hand. ”Wu Sheng, was that you chasing me? I was wondering who it was. You scared me to death.”

He looked Wu Sheng up and down. ”What’s wrong? How’d you hurt your hand? You should get to a hospital.”

”How is it you...” Wu Sheng recoiled. ”What are you doing here...”

”What’s the matter? Did something happen?”

Wu Sheng violently shook off his hand and lunged into the car, frantically checking the front and back seats. There was no one.

Wu Sheng then went to the back and threw open the trunk.

It was completely empty.

He spun around and grabbed the man, who had followed him, by the collar. ”Where is Su Li? What did you do with her?”

”Su Li? Who’s that?”

Wu Sheng stared at the man’s innocent face, his own eyes bloodshot, unable to utter a single word.

”Wu Sheng, did something happen? Is this Su Li person my future sister-in-law or something...?”

He didn’t get to finish his sentence. Wu Sheng’s fist flew out, striking him square in the face.

”Don’t let me find out you have anything to do with this, or else...”

His eyes blazing red, Wu Sheng fought back the overwhelming urge to kill. He righted his fallen motorcycle and sped off.

Thinking back to the spot where he’d first seen the car, only one thought consumed Wu Sheng’s mind: ’I hope I’m not too late.’

The man Wu Sheng had punched staggered back against the car. He slowly straightened up, raising a hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth.

He stared at the blood on his fingers, then spat a vicious, blood-streaked mouthful onto the ground. Gazing in the direction Wu Sheng had gone, he broke into a savage grin.

’It’s too late, Wu Sheng. No matter how fast you are, you won’t make it in time.’

’She’s already ruined... It’s too late for you to save her now...’

Wu Sheng raced back to where he’d first spotted the white sedan. Following the tracks, he arrived at a bridge underpass to find the ground covered in bloodstains.

The underpass had turned into a scene of carnage. Several homeless men were lying on the ground, half-dead. Not a single one was unscathed.

In the midst of the homeless men, Wu Sheng’s eyes caught a familiar splash of color.

It was a piece of cloth.

The same color as the dress Su Li had been wearing today.

The very dress Wu Sheng had saved up to buy for her...

Seeing that cloth, seeing the bloodstains on it, the tightly wound string in Wu Sheng’s mind finally snapped.

By the time the police reached the underpass, it had become a veritable slaughterhouse.

With Wu Sheng’s skills, a few homeless men were nothing. Even a hundred of them would have been no match for him.

If the police hadn’t arrived when they did and desperately restrained him, the homeless men wouldn’t just be severely injured; they would be dead.

The moment they saw the police, the homeless men who were still breathing were overjoyed. They all started talking at once, trying to explain what had happened.

The first man who came had been terrifying enough, but they never expected a second, even more frightening one to show up.

Three men, each more terrifying than the last.

”It wasn’t us! We didn’t grab her! Someone else brought her here...”

”We didn’t do anything! We were about to go to sleep when some guy just threw her in here.”

”That’s right, we’re innocent! We didn’t touch her! She was beaten up by that other guy, the one who dumped her here.”

”We’re innocent! Before we could even do anything, another man came and rescued her, and he beat the hell out of us...”

One after another, they all spoke over each other, but in less than a minute, the sequence of events became clear.

The person who had saved her was Tang Yuanxiao.

He had been about to chase after the white sedan as well, but he took another look at the spot, then at the bridge underpass behind it, and decided to stop, just in case.

He turned the car around again, stopping where the white sedan had briefly paused.

The moment Tang Yuanxiao got out of his car, he heard strange sounds coming from the underpass below.

Following the noise, Tang Yuanxiao made his way down into the underpass. What he saw made his eyes burn with fury.

Tang Yuanxiao’s memory of what happened next was a blur of rage. He wasn’t thinking; he just wanted to tear the men in front of him to pieces.

If it weren’t for the sight of Su Li lying there, covered in wounds, which allowed him to cling to a last shred of sanity, Tang Yuanxiao would have slaughtered the homeless men long before Wu Sheng even arrived.

Tang Yuanxiao knelt before Su Li. Seeing her stiff body and dilated pupils, he was overcome with heart-wrenching grief.

”Su Li, don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid, I’m here to save you. I’m late, I’m so sorry, I’m late...”

Tang Yuanxiao pulled the gag from Su Li’s mouth and gently tapped her face. ”Su Li, wake up. Su Li, you have to breathe...”

He patted her cheek more firmly. Su Li’s eyes finally flickered. Upon seeing Tang Yuanxiao, her rigid body went slack, and she fainted.

Tang Yuanxiao let out a huge sigh of relief. With trembling hands, he pulled down the tattered, blood-stained, and filthy remnants of her dress to cover her legs.

Then he took off his own jacket and draped it over her upper body.

He saw the bite marks on her neck, the blood covering her head and face, and her limp arms hanging at her sides...

Pain, sharp as a knife, twisted in Tang Yuanxiao’s gut. He could barely breathe.

”How did this happen to you... Su Li... How can I possibly let you go now...”

His eyes burning red, Tang Yuanxiao wanted to pick her up, but he could hardly bring himself to touch her.

’He had come to see if she had accepted Wu Sheng’s marriage proposal. The thought was agonizing, but he’d told himself that if she said yes, if she could be happy with Wu Sheng, he would give her up, no matter how much it hurt...’

’With his mother and his family situation being what it was... compared to Wu Sheng, he fell far, far too short...’

’But was this happiness?’

Looking at Su Li now, Tang Yuanxiao could no longer convince himself to let her go.