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

Su Li patted his back, cautiously looking around to see if anyone was watching.

"There, there. Don’t blame yourself."

Wu Sheng took a deep breath and let Su Li go, then took her hand.

"Let’s go. We’re getting Wu Xia."

’How dare they bully Wu Xia? Do they think the Wu Family is a pushover?!’

A murderous glint flashed in Wu Sheng’s eyes. His face darkened, making him look like a Hell Messenger.

"We never should have let them leave just now!"

"Don’t worry, they’ll be back," Su Li said calmly. "Wu Xia has lost weight, but they haven’t had it easy either. Didn’t you notice? They’ve lost weight, too. They must have been tormented this entire time."

’They’re terrified Wu Xia will reveal their biggest secret. They must not have had a moment’s peace, day or night. How could they?’

When they brought Wu Xia home, everyone’s heart ached for her. They ached terribly.

Wu Xia was cradled in her Little Aunt’s arms. After holding it in for so many days, she finally had an outlet and burst into tears, clinging to her aunt.

That night, everyone was too overwhelmed by the truth of the situation to discuss what to do next. They simply went to rest.

It wasn’t until the next day that they began to discuss their next steps.

Wu Xia had been hesitant before, debating whether or not to get a divorce. After all, divorce at a time like this was no laughing matter.

Marriage was supposed to be for life. Whether your husband was a gambler, a drunk, or a wife-beater, you were expected to endure it if you could.

That’s how it was for most women, not to mention she already had that kind of reputation.

It hadn’t been easy for her to get married in the first place, and she wasn’t young anymore... ’If I divorce him, this is probably it for the rest of my life...’

While Wu Xia hesitated, her Little Aunt and the others were adamant. They wouldn’t even consider letting Wu Xia go back. No matter what, she wasn’t going back to that place to suffer.

Looking at her Little Aunt, her aunt-in-law, her cousin, and her cousin’s wife, Wu Xia suddenly lost all desire to return to the Zou Family. Everything there was too oppressive; it was terrifying just to think about.

The unanimous decision was to get a divorce. It was over.

As for the Zou mother and son, with this kind of leverage over them, the Wu Family wasn’t afraid of them turning hostile. When the time came, the Zou Family would likely have it far worse than Wu Xia.

They spent the whole morning discussing and finalizing their plan. But that afternoon, the Zou Family came to their door. They began threatening Wu Xia with thinly veiled comments about how someone like her should just be obedient. Otherwise, they’d divorce her, and her life would be over.

Little Aunt was so furious she nearly had a stroke. "You have the nerve to say that! You’re not even a real man, yet you married a young woman! Are you heartless?!"

The Zou mother and son’s greatest fear had been exposed. Enraged, their first instinct was to clamp their hands over the family’s mouths. Mrs. Zou shrieked and lunged forward to tear at Little Aunt.

They were practically feral with rage, possessed by an incredible strength. If Wu Sheng hadn’t been there, Little Aunt Wu Qihua would have likely been hurt. Thankfully, Wu Sheng was there.

No matter how crazed they were, they were no match for Wu Sheng.

The mother and son were quickly subdued. But just as they were brought under control, Wu Dong arrived.

When Wu Dong heard what happened, his first reaction was to want to chop up the Zou mother and son. His arrival nearly led to bloodshed.

However, Wu Dong’s murderous demeanor was enough to finally make the Zou mother and son calm down—or rather, become terrified.

Without another word, the two of them dropped to their knees, begging the Wu Family for forgiveness and pleading with them to keep their secret.

"...As long as our families can keep this secret, my son and I will work like dogs for you! We’ll treat Wu Xia well for the rest of our lives! We won’t just stop hitting her, we won’t even lay a finger on her."

In short, they were promising to put Wu Xia on a pedestal.

No matter what they said, the Wu Family was determined to go through with the divorce. But Zou Liping refused. If he got divorced, where would he find another wife, especially now that his secret was out?

The negotiations fell apart.

That evening, Wu Sheng received the report he had urgently commissioned on the Zou mother and son.

He hadn’t suspected the Zou Family had any hidden secrets before, so the initial investigation hadn’t been very thorough. This new investigation revealed their true situation.

The Zou Family had always told everyone it was just a widow and her young son, implying that Father Zou had passed away.

But in reality, Father Zou was still alive; he had just abandoned them.

When Zou Liping was born as a "monster who was neither male nor female," Father Zou was so traumatized that he wanted to get rid of the baby by drowning it. But Mrs. Zou couldn’t bear to do it. In the end, Mrs. Zou had no choice but to leave and raise Zou Liping on her own.

"It really takes all kinds to make a world..." Wu Sheng sighed after reading the file.

Before Su Li told him, Wu Sheng had never even heard of intersex conditions. It wasn’t something you heard about in daily life.

Ninety percent of children born with intersex conditions didn’t survive. Most were "disposed of" by their parents. After all, most parents felt they couldn’t raise such a "monster who was neither male nor female."

A small number were abandoned, and an even smaller number, like Zou Liping, were raised by their parents, but always in secret. The average person would never know.

Mrs. Zou’s choice was a perfect example of a mother’s profound love. But the pressure of Zou Liping’s existence probably weighed heavily on her, causing her personality to slowly change over time.

And as for Zou Liping, he had known he was different since he was a small child. His nature became somewhat paranoid and twisted, which led to the domestic abuse against Wu Xia.

According to their way of thinking, Wu Xia just needed to be beaten. Once she was beaten into submission, she’d be obedient...

With the Wu Family demanding a divorce and the Zou Family refusing—to the point where Wu Sheng was preparing to have someone file a lawsuit—Su Li didn’t visit the Wu residence for two days.

When Su Li didn’t show up, Wu Xia felt like something was missing and was a little disappointed. She never expected that when Su Li finally came to the Wu residence again, she would bring them a surprise.

For the Wu Family, it was a surprise. For the Zou mother and son, it was a bolt from the blue.

Su Li was the one who first told Wu Xia to get a divorce, and now Su Li was the one to overturn that suggestion.

"Not getting a divorce is fine, too. We don’t want a divorce either. She’d have to bear the stigma of being a divorcée, and then it would be a second marriage. That sounds so unpleasant."

When Su Li arrived, the Zou mother and son were squabbling with the family again. Su Li cut right in, and surprisingly, she didn’t seem to be disagreeing with them.

The Zou mother and son froze for a second, overjoyed. Just as they were about to speak, they heard Su Li continue.

"We’re not getting a divorce. We’re getting the marriage annulled."

Marriage annulled.

The moment those two words, "marriage annulled," were spoken, it wasn’t just the Zou Family who was stunned—even Wu Sheng and the others were a bit dazed.

"Marriage annulled?" Wu Sheng processed the literal meaning of the words, his eyes narrowing dangerously as he looked at Su Li in disbelief.

Su Li looked at Wu Sheng and nodded slowly. "It’s exactly what it sounds like."

She took a deep breath and explained, "I’ve spent the last two days looking into the relevant laws. Given Wu Xia’s situation, she can absolutely sue to have the marriage declared invalid."

’So this is why Su Li was too busy to come to the Wu residence for the past two days?’

"When you said you were busy, you were busy with this?"

Su Li nodded. "Mhm. They don’t want a divorce, and when I thought about it, I felt it was unfair to our Wu Xia. She’s the one who has suffered so much, so why should she be the one to bear the stigma of divorce and a second marriage?"

"It’s not worth it at all."

She had been divorced. She knew the bitterness of it firsthand.

Although she was strong-willed and could pretend not to care, it still affected her.

Weren’t those people who said she wasn’t good enough for Wu Sheng saying it just because she was divorced? And she still remembered that "used goods" comment Qu An had made before.

How could she possibly forget something so ugly?

Even though she and Tang Yuanxiao had been completely platonic, not even sharing a bed, she was still considered "used goods" just because she had been married to him...

She didn’t want Wu Xia to have to hear those words, too—or even more excessive, uglier words.

Why should she?... Why should Wu Xia have to suffer through that?