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

The issue of domestic violence was already very serious.

It would be ideal if a situation like this could garner public attention, catch the eye of the authorities, and lead to corresponding policies.

This was their duty as journalists.

The editor-in-chief mulled it over and decided they should continue to report on the matter daily.

With that, the editor-in-chief asked for Su Li to be sent to him the moment she returned.

Su Li had the same idea. Even if the editor-in-chief hadn’t sent for her, she had planned to go see him anyway.

Seeing her name in the newspaper that morning, coupled with Little Tang Mo’s adorable reaction, made Su Li truly happy.

She was happy it was published and hoped it would garner enough attention to start slowly changing the situation.

But as happy as she was, she still had classes to attend. After finally managing to calm down an excited Little Tang Mo, getting him ready, and dropping him off at school, Su Li rushed to her own university classes.

Her classmates acted normally during the first period.

However, after the first period ended, the teacher called Su Li over for a chat. By the time she returned, her classmates had read that day’s Imperial Capital Daily, and the way they looked at her had completely changed.

It was a topic on everyone’s mind. The news that Su Li’s article had been published in the Imperial Capital Daily spread like wildfire through the entire class... and then the entire department.

Getting published was the highest honor for them, the very goal they were all working toward.

Her classmates had always kept an eye on Su Li due to her outstanding performance. But when she hadn’t made any moves, they assumed she was just as stuck as they were.

Before seeing the paper, they had been lamenting, ’It’s not that easy.’

But in the blink of an eye, Su Li had made a stunning debut.

Everyone else was eagerly awaiting the campus newspaper, which wouldn’t even be printed until noon, just for the pride of seeing their names in black and white. Yet Su Li, without a word, had already gotten her name in the Imperial Capital Daily.

For a moment, they were overcome with a complex mix of envy, jealousy, and bitterness.

When Su Li returned, she immediately became the center of attention. The intensity and complexity of their gazes left her momentarily stunned.

”Su Li, you pulled off something huge without a word! That’s so unfair! We had no idea!”

Chang E pounced on her as soon as she saw her, lodging a complaint, and only then did Su Li understand what was going on.

”I didn’t expect they’d accept it outright, let alone publish it so quickly,” Su Li said, rubbing her nose.

During the next class, the students were far less attentive. Their eyes kept drifting toward Su Li, and they couldn’t concentrate at all, their minds in turmoil.

From the podium, the professor saw everything clearly. Feeling both helpless and amused, they taught for half the period before closing their lesson plan.

”Alright, the rest of the period is for self-study. Even if I keep lecturing, none of you are in the mood to listen seriously.”

The students finally snapped out of it, looking a little embarrassed.

The professor didn’t seem to mind. They smiled at Su Li. ”Seeing Su Li’s name in the paper must have gotten your hearts racing, right? If you’re envious, then you know you have to work harder.”

The professor took the opportunity to give Su Li a thumbs-up. ”Excellent work, Su Li. Don’t get arrogant or impatient now. Keep up the hard work.”

Su Li quickly stood and nodded. ”Yes, Professor.”

”Alright, you can sit down,” the professor said with a wave of their hand.

Under the gleaming eyes of her classmates, Su Li finally made it through to the end of class.

Just then, the campus newspaper finished printing and was distributed.

Her classmates all rushed to read it. Su Li glanced at a copy and, to no one’s surprise, saw her article there as well.

Worried about Sister Yu at the hospital, Su Li didn’t linger. She skipped lunch and rushed over.

It wasn’t until she arrived at the hospital that she learned what had happened earlier.

Su Li felt both angry and relieved. Whatever had happened, it was clear the situation at the hospital had already attracted some attention. Her article hadn’t just disappeared without a trace.

As long as it drew attention, all her hard work would be worth it.

Su Li asked for a detailed account of what happened, interviewing doctors, nurses, and the director of the Women’s Federation. Then, she hurried to the police station to interview the officers who had been dispatched to the scene.

After taking care of all that, Su Li rushed back to the newspaper office.

When Su Li got back to the office, she learned that quite a few people had already called to ask about the incident. The senior reporters, whatever their private thoughts, all offered a few words of praise when they saw her and told her to keep up the good work.

Su Li responded to each of them before going to find the editor-in-chief.

She had already been planning to see him, so the fact that he was looking for her was even better.

”The article has generated a lot of buzz. Many people are asking about what happens next, so I want you to write a follow-up piece.”

The editor-in-chief’s words made Su Li’s eyes light up. She nodded without hesitation. ”Okay.”

”Alright, get to it. Bring me the draft when you’re done.”

Su Li eagerly agreed. The editor-in-chief looked at her, thinking about how young she still was. He had just started to offer her a few pointers when the staff member in charge of taking calls and feedback knocked on the door.

”Come in.”

”Editor.” The staff member glanced at Su Li. ”Sir, there’s a woman on the phone who wants to speak with Su Li. She’s asking if we can help her.”

The editor-in-chief was surprised. ”Help her?”

”Yes. She’s also a victim of domestic violence. She said her husband keeps her locked in the house and beat her severely just for exchanging a few words with a neighbor...” the staff member summarized. ”She saw Su Li’s article in the paper and asked if we could help her.”

She sighed as she spoke, her voice heavy.

Beaten so badly by her husband, terrified with nowhere to turn, she could only resort to calling a newspaper office for help...

The editor-in-chief considered this for a moment. ”Go on, Su Li. Take the call. And it would be best... if you went to interview her.”

’They had never focused on this issue before. Su Li’s article was accepted only because it was so shocking. And now, just after it was published, someone was already calling for help.’

’So, this domestic violence issue... it’s a much bigger problem than they’d thought.’

’This follow-up report had to be done.’

Hearing the editor-in-chief’s approval, Su Li nodded immediately.

”Okay, I’ll go right now.”

”When you go for the interview, find someone to go with you...” The editor-in-chief paused. ”First, go take the call. I’ll make the arrangements.”

’He couldn’t let a young woman like Su Li go to an interview like this alone.’

The editor-in-chief thought it over and finally selected another reporter.

When the article first got popular, before Su Li had even returned, other reporters at the office had already asked for permission to take over the follow-up story.

That was a common practice. Su Li was only an intern, so it would have been perfectly normal for her to be left out of the follow-up. But the editor-in-chief had refused.

The reporter he chose this time was a male journalist who was straightforward and didn’t have any ulterior motives.

Su Li took the call and, after much effort, managed to persuade the woman on the other end. She got the address and hurried over.

They were almost unable to get inside. In the end, they had to call the police to gain entry. Inside, they found the woman who had called for help—she was nothing but skin and bones, trembling uncontrollably.

That day, Su Li hadn’t had time for lunch and almost missed dinner as well.

She felt dejected and had no appetite, but at eight o’clock, she forced down some congee for her stomach’s sake.

The next day, in the same spot in the Imperial Capital Daily, Su Li’s follow-up report was published.

After the buzz from the previous day’s article, combined with this new report, the issue finally began to receive serious attention.