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

”The book he was reading is still on the table.”

Su Li followed his gaze and saw the book Little Tang Mo had been reading. Next to it was a fairytale book that obviously belonged to Little Tongtong.

Staring at the open book, Su Li leaned weakly against the table to steady her trembling legs.

Even now, she couldn’t believe it. She couldn’t accept the fact that something had happened to Little Tang Mo and he was gone.

She just couldn’t believe it.

”Maybe they just got held up somewhere, or... or maybe they went straight home.”

Su Li comforted herself, sitting down in the chair Little Tang Mo had used before turning to Bai Shan.

”Bai Shan, you should go home now. Your people are waiting for you outside.”

After Bai Shan came inside, some color had returned to his face, but he was still pale.

Hearing Su Li’s words, he bit his lip, clearly reluctant to leave.

”Thank you so much for today, Bai Shan, but your family must be worried about you. You should hurry home.”

Su Li also thanked the elderly administrator, then, refusing to give up, she searched the reading room and all the other places they might have gone.

She searched the entire library, but there was no sign of them.

Carrying Little Tang Mo’s schoolbag, she came out to find the sky had already darkened. Su Li searched the area around the library again.

”Little Mo, Little Mo...”

Nothing. He was nowhere. Su Li still couldn’t find Little Tang Mo.

After searching everywhere with no luck, and with the time approaching 8:00 PM, Su Li considered the possibility that Little Tang Mo might have gone home. She took a deep breath, got in her car, and drove back.

The entire way home, she kept her eyes on the streets, hoping Little Tang Mo would suddenly appear before her.

With an unspeakable weight on her heart, Su Li finally arrived home.

The house was empty. No one was there.

Little Tang Mo... hadn’t come back.

The house... was the last straw. Seeing it empty, Su Li’s strength finally gave out, and she collapsed to her knees.

”Little Mo...” The fear in Su Li’s heart was completely uncontrollable.

Little Tang Mo wouldn’t just disappear with Little Tongtong for no reason. Not unless something had happened—unless he couldn’t come back.

’What could have happened?’

Su Li’s first thought was human traffickers.

Because of what happened in her past life, it was the only thing she could think of.

Su Li bit her lip hard, digging her nails into her own skin to force herself to stay lucid.

The pain snapped Su Li back to her senses. She got up and began to think calmly about what to do next.

’Little Tongtong is missing too. The first thing to do is go to Little Tongtong’s house. Maybe Little Tang Mo is there with her...’

’The chances are low, but I have to go no matter what.’

’I have to tell Little Tongtong’s parents...’

Just as Su Li was thinking about getting up, there was a knock on the door.

”Su Li, it’s Tongtong’s mother. Are Tongtong and Little Mo back yet?”

Speak of the devil.

Hearing the voice outside, Su Li closed her eyes for a moment before turning to open the door.

She wouldn’t have to go looking for her. Tongtong’s mother had already come over, which confirmed the children hadn’t gone to Tongtong’s house either.

Su Li opened the door and pulled Tongtong’s mother inside.

”Tongtong’s mother, I need you to stay calm and listen to what I’m about to say.”

Su Li held her by the shoulders. ”Little Mo and Tongtong are missing...”

Su Li briefly explained the situation, and upon hearing it, Tongtong’s mother collapsed to the floor.

”How could they... How could they be missing? What do we do now?”

What else could they do?

All they could do was search.

Su Li half-carried, half-dragged Tongtong’s mother to the sofa, then went to her room to make a phone call.

The first person she thought to call was Wu Sheng.

But Wu Sheng... he was still in that closed-door selection process. It wasn’t supposed to end until tomorrow.

Su Li started dialing his number, then realized, hung up, and called Wu Qihua instead.

”Hello.”

”Auntie, Little Mo is missing...”

Wu Qihua doted on Little Tang Mo, so she had to be told no matter what. Besides, Wu Qihua’s connections and influence in the Imperial City were far beyond anything Su Li possessed.

At that moment, Su Li couldn’t think of anything else. All she wanted was to find Little Tang Mo.

Whether Little Tang Mo had really run into human traffickers, kidnappers, or some other incident, the sooner they reacted and started searching, the better.

The longer they waited, the more dangerous it would become. This was... still within the golden window, right?

Wu Qihua understood this as well. She immediately said, ”I’ll find someone to help right away and figure out a way to contact Wu Sheng and get him out of there.”

”Okay,” Su Li nodded and hung up.

After calling Wu Qihua, the second person Su Li called was Mr. Zhang.

Reporting a missing child to the police was the most basic step. Although they had only been missing for a short time, Su Li couldn’t wait.

It was a good thing she had an acquaintance like Mr. Zhang.

As soon as Mr. Zhang heard what Su Li said, he didn’t waste any words and immediately told her he would come find her as fast as he could.

Su Li hung up, paused for a moment, then finally scrolled through her contacts, found Tang Yuanxiao’s number, and dialed it.

She had to tell Tang Yuanxiao that Little Tang Mo was missing.

The abilities Tang Yuanxiao had shown before gave Su Li a sliver of hope that he might be able to find Little Tang Mo.

After getting through and asking for Tang Yuanxiao, Su Li waited for about five minutes before someone on the other end responded.

”Hello, this is Tang Yuanxiao.”

”Tang Yuanxiao, this is Su Li. Little Mo is missing.”

The words coming through the phone left Tang Yuanxiao completely stunned.

”Missing?”

Tang Yuanxiao’s heart dropped as he instantly recalled the dream he’d had last night.

”Yes, missing. He disappeared over three hours ago...”

Su Li quickly explained the general situation. Tang Yuanxiao’s mind went blank for a second as he struggled to force himself to stay calm.

”What do you suspect?” he asked directly.

Su Li didn’t answer. Her first reaction was always human traffickers.

She had thought that the period when Little Tang Mo was rendered mute by Mrs. Tang’s abuse had allowed him to escape the traffickers’ clutches.

But now, she had a terrible feeling, a terrible intuition, and it was all pointing toward human traffickers.

When Su Li didn’t answer, Tang Yuanxiao’s mind became a chaotic blank, filled with the nightmare he’d had the night before.

In the nightmare, Little Tang Mo had been abducted by human traffickers. And the slightly strange version of himself in the dream had searched for many, many years without ever finding him.

Remembering the despair from his dream, Tang Yuanxiao felt a chill run through his body.

”I’m coming to you. Wait for me.”

After hanging up, Tang Yuanxiao immediately rushed out the door.

After calls were made to Wu Qihua, Tang Yuanxiao, and Mr. Zhang, Wu Sheng also received the news and rushed back in the middle of the night.

This was destined to be a sleepless night.

Night fell, but the Imperial City stirred to life as an all-out search began.

Su Li recalled the last time Little Tang Mo was abducted. She didn’t know if he had been taken by the same group, but she remembered that last time, it hadn’t been long after his abduction that he was almost spirited away, nearly beyond rescue.

In the end, Su Li’s intuition led her to the train station.

Su Li’s hunch was right, but this time, she was a step too late. She wasn’t able to rescue Little Tang Mo in time as she had before.

By the time she reached the train station, the train carrying Little Tang Mo was already far away.

When Little Tang Mo awoke to a feeling that was both strange and somewhat familiar, he heard the CHUGGA-CHUGGA of a train.

An unfamiliar embrace, an unfamiliar place. Little Tang Mo didn’t rush to open his eyes.

”...The siblings always go to bed early. Look at that, they’re already asleep before it’s even their bedtime.”

A soft, gentle female voice spoke as a hand gently stroked Little Tang Mo’s head.