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

This meeting went surprisingly smoothly.

So smoothly that Su Li felt a little dazed.

Maybe it was because only his closest friends had come, but Wu Sheng had only brought four of them.

And their four names gave Su Li the strange feeling that they were fake.

Because, as luck would have it, their last names were Zhao, Qian, Sun, and Li—the first four surnames in the *Hundred Family Surnames*.

After Wu Sheng introduced the four of them, Su Li suspected for a moment that they were playing a joke on her.

”Zhao, Qian, Sun, Li... you’re not joking with me, are you?”

Their surnames made Su Li forget all her nervousness, leaving only suspicion.

The four men, who happened to be standing in the order of Zhao, Qian, Sun, and Li, finally looked satisfied when they saw Su Li’s reaction.

”Ah, what an honor to make our sister-in-law suspicious.”

Zhao Haiyang was particularly pleased with the effect. ”We’re really not lying to you. We never even noticed when we were growing up together. We just happened to discover this pattern later on.”

”There you go with ’sister-in-law’ again. I’ve never called you my older brother.”

Wu Sheng pointed at Zhao Haiyang and introduced him to Su Li. ”We all grew up together and even started our first jobs together. This is Ocean.”

Wu Sheng then continued the introductions. ”Qian Shengli. His nickname is Duoduo, so most of the time we just call him Qian Duoduo.”

Hearing the name Qian Duoduo, Su Li let out a snort of laughter. It was a name a lot of people used in later generations.

”Can you not bring up my nickname? My given name, Shengli, is so much better. Did you have to introduce me with my nickname?”

Qian Shengli was thoroughly exasperated. ”Sister-in-law, just pretend you didn’t hear what Wu Sheng just said!”

Su Li tried to hold it in but couldn’t. ”I can’t do that. I can’t just un-hear it.”

An image of the ”I can’t do it!” meme flashed through Su Li’s mind as she desperately tried to suppress her laughter. ’Compared to a grand name like Shengli, the nickname Qian Duoduo is much more to my liking. It’s so much more memorable!’

Qian Shengli: ”...”

Seeing Qian Shengli’s expression, Wu Sheng and the others roared with merciless laughter. ”Duoduo, isn’t that a great name? Why don’t you want us to use it?”

Seeing that Qian Shengli was about to die of anger, Wu Sheng stifled his laughter, put on a serious face, and continued the introductions.

”Duoduo is brilliant at math and science. He’s a researcher. But since all he does all day is tinker with things, his physical stamina is the worst out of all of us.”

”What do you mean I’m the worst? Isn’t there still Li Chong? Look at him, with his glasses and his scholarly appearance!”

Qian Shengli retorted indignantly, pointing at the fair-skinned, bespectacled Li Chong, who was standing last.

Li Chong pushed up his glasses and replied in a flat tone, ”I make up for my lack of physical strength with brainpower. Unlike you.”

”Li Chong, you’re calling me dumb again!” Utterly frustrated, Qian Shengli charged over to settle the score with Li Chong.

Everyone was used to this. Wu Sheng leaned in and explained to Su Li in a low voice, ”This Li Chong is the quietly mischievous type. When we were kids, he was the one who came up with most of the ideas for getting into trouble.”

And the other half of the bad ideas... came from him.

”You... are all quite the characters.”

Wu Sheng pulled Qian Shengli back and introduced Li Chong to Su Li. ”Li Chong. He’s in tech. When he gets absorbed in a project, he won’t sleep for days. We had a hard time digging him out to come today.”

”Hello, Sister-in-law.” Li Chong pushed the glasses up on his nose and greeted Su Li.

”And then there’s Sun Feitian. Just from his name, you can guess his ambition. He changed it himself later because he’s a pilot.”

Sun Feitian was burly with a simple, honest face. He looked like an earnest man at first glance.

”Hello, Sister-in-law! When we have a chance later, come over for a meal. Next time we can have a family get-together. We’ll bring our wives and kids, and you can bring your child, too...”

Sun Feitian greeted Su Li with a lot of warmth.

However, his words were quickly cut off by Zhao Haiyang loudly clearing his throat.

Zhao Haiyang often used this method to give Sun Feitian a hint, and as soon as Sun Feitian heard it, he immediately shut his mouth.

But even though he fell silent, he had already said what needed to be said, and Su Li had heard it all.

’So... they actually know that I’m divorced and have Little Tang Mo.’

”Sister-in-law, have a seat, quick.” Zhao Haiyang spoke up, warmly inviting Su Li to sit down.

Su Li’s gaze swept over them as she sat down with a smile.

”Have some hot tea first. It’s very cold outside.” Qian Shengli poured water for Su Li and Wu Sheng.

”Thank you.” Su Li took the cup.

By now, Su Li was certain that the four of them knew about her situation. When Sun Feitian had mentioned bringing her child, none of them had looked surprised or acted strangely.

’If they know, and they’re still acting like this, does that mean they’ve accepted me?’

Su Li took a sip of water, her inquisitive gaze instinctively turning to Wu Sheng.

’Something felt a little strange.’

Wu Sheng was also looking at Su Li. She hadn’t said a word, but he seemed to know what she was asking. He gave her a nearly imperceptible nod, giving her an affirmative answer.

When Su Li saw Wu Sheng nod, she couldn’t help but freeze for a moment.

’So, they really accepted me this easily?’

’Could meeting Wu Sheng’s friends be like meeting Wu Qihua last time? Terribly nerve-wracking beforehand, but nothing to really worry about in the end?’

As Su Li was thinking this, she heard Qian Shengli speak up.

”Wu Sheng, go order a few more dishes. We don’t know what our sister-in-law likes to eat.”

Wu Sheng nodded. ”Okay.”

”There’s no need to order more just for me. As long as there’s enough to eat, it’s fine,” Su Li said quickly.

”Sister-in-law, we guys grew up together. We’ve been friends for years. From now on, we’re all family. You don’t have to be so polite.”

Zhao Haiyang said to Su Li, ”Even though we’ve spent more time apart than together these past few years and don’t see each other often, our bond hasn’t changed. You’ll see once you get to know us.”

”That’s right. Back then, the few of us, besides Little Eight...” Qian Shengli chimed in, but he trailed off, his enthusiastic tone suddenly gone.

Back then, because Wu Sheng brought him along, Ge Ba had also hung out with them. It was a pity what happened later...

Qian Shengli had mentioned Ge Ba out of habit. Realizing his mistake, he immediately fell silent. The faces of Wu Sheng and the others darkened for a split second before they casually changed the subject.

The food was served, and they began to eat. The chef at this restaurant was skilled; all the dishes tasted great.

Halfway through the meal, Su Li accidentally knocked her chopsticks onto the floor. Stopping Wu Sheng, who was about to get up, she stood up to ask a waiter for a new pair.

Just as Su Li was about to turn back, she unexpectedly saw Tang Yuanxiao.

Tang Yuanxiao was walking up to the second floor with several men in formal suits, following a waiter who was leading the way.

”Su Li?” Su Li saw Tang Yuanxiao, and Tang Yuanxiao saw her, calling out her name instantly.

”Tang Yuanxiao, you’re here for a meal?” Su Li hadn’t expected to run into him.

Before Tang Yuanxiao could say anything, the man walking beside him let out a sound of surprise.

”Su Li? Hey, Yuanxiao, is this your wife?” The man had a dark complexion, monolids, and sharp features, his face full of curiosity.

The moment he spoke, the others with him looked at Su Li curiously, just as Wu Sheng, who was coming out from behind a screen, came face to face with them.