Ending Up with the Female Lead’s Mom - Chapter 12

Those words sounded incredibly awkward, no matter how one heard them.

Gu Zhanci’s expression remained unchanged; she didn’t feel like there was anything wrong with what she’d said.

In her previous life, although Su Ming had been so busy in the hospital that she sometimes didn’t even have time for a sip of water, she was very well-versed in ACG subculture. Terms like “Top” and “Bottom” or “0” and “1” were practically daily vocabulary to her.

She lay there obediently, looking at Gu Zhanci with eager eyes.

Gu Zhanci felt strange under her gaze. After a moment of thought, she asked, “Do you want me to have Gu Shiyue come see you?”

Yesterday, in her spare time, Gu Zhanci had searched Su Ming’s name on the Hongyan No. 7 High School forum and discovered that Su Ming’s crush on Gu Shiyue was essentially known by the entire school.

Su Ming was shocked. “Weren’t you the one who doesn’t let her date? If you let her come see me, aren’t you afraid I’ll actually end up with her? Or are you saying you really do want to be my future mother-in-law?”

Gu Zhanci spoke the honest truth: “She won’t like you, so it has no impact on my arrangements. But if she comes to see you, you’ll be happy.”

“Do you care that much about whether I’m happy or not?” Su Ming asked, feeling somewhat flattered.

Gu Zhanci replied, “Not really. It’s just concern for a junior. After all, you got sick at my house.”

“Sigh. Then never mind. I prefer spending time with my mother-in-law.”

“Your parents love you very much. If you have something on your mind, you can talk to them more. There’s no need to pin your hopes on a so-called future mother-in-law,” Gu Zhanci reminded her.

She always got the feeling that Su Ming was the type of person who looked for a mother-in-law she liked first and then looked for the girlfriend. She wondered if this was just a delusion; after all, she had been wrong once before when she thought Su Ming was targeting her, only to find out she really was Gu Shiyue’s simp.

Gu Zhanci guessed that Su Ming was probably too deeply influenced by the toxic mother-in-law tropes in TV dramas.

Su Ming said seriously, “There’s a generation gap between me and my parents.”

Gu Zhanci: “…”

“What about your sister?”

Su Yao was roughly the same age as her, and Su Ming seemed to enjoy chatting with her; talking to Su Yao should be about the same.

Su Ming said, “My sister… she’ll say anything that comes to mind. Sometimes she feels a bit unreliable.”

Gu Zhanci: “…” She felt that deeply. Su Yao was indeed often unreliable.

Su Ming continued, “Besides, they’re family. There are some topics you just can’t discuss with family. But a future mother-in-law is different. If you’re going to pursue excitement, you have to go all the way. Other families’ mother-in-law relations are full of schemes and infighting, but ours will be ‘kind mother and filial daughter-in-law.’ How exciting is that?”

Gu Zhanci: “…”

Seeing Su Ming acting improper again, Gu Zhanci was certain she had recovered. There wasn’t a trace of illness left on her.

She wanted to leave immediately, but Su Ming still had an IV in her hand and no one was looking after her. If Su Ming accidentally fell asleep, the blood might flow back into the tube once the bag was empty.

“Go to sleep. I’ll keep an eye on the IV for you.”

Su Ming wasn’t very sleepy yet. “I’ve been sleeping all these days. Let’s chat. I’m starting school in a few days and I’m a bit nervous.”

“Have your sister drop you off, even if she is unreliable.” Gu Zhanci thought of Su Yao, which reminded her of Ning Ming back at the house. “But don’t be afraid. Just follow the procedures.”

“Mm. Is university really that great?” Su Ming’s original host was attending the local medical college, and her parents worked at the affiliated hospital. Her college life had been nothing but memorization, and any free time was spent being dragged by her father to observe surgeries.

Gu Zhanci assumed it was just a freshman’s anticipation and anxiety about the future. She recalled her own distant university days.

“It’s pretty good. Some people waste away, while others build themselves up. You’re studying Interior Design—can you draw?”

Su Ming nodded. “I can.” She had been the best at anatomy drawing.

Gu Zhanci said, “Then it will be much easier for you.”

Gu Zhanci shared a few more pointers with her. Her voice was pleasant, and Su Ming actually fell asleep while listening.

Gu Zhanci sat by the bed and sent a message telling Su Yao to hurry back. Her original plan was just to check in on Su Ming briefly, not spend so much time. Su Yao replied: “What a coincidence, I just ran into your stepmother again.”

Su Yao was out wandering somewhere and sent a photo. It was only a shot from behind, but the woman was recognizable at a glance.

Gu Zhanci: “…”

Su Yao continued: “Gu Zhanci, are you sure your dad is really ‘incapable’? This is such a waste of talent. To put it bluntly, I’m starting to hope something happens to your dad.”

Gu Zhanci’s lip twitched. “I’ll take that as a blessing.” She hoped so, too.

Su Yao: “…”

Since Su Yao was taking her time, Gu Zhanci had to stay with Su Ming. Su Ming was very quiet while lying there, but she seemed to be sleeping fitfully; her brow was furrowed, and sweat began to bead on her temples.

“Su Ming?”

This scene felt familiar. Gu Zhanci thought she had another high fever and immediately reached out to check her forehead. It was cool, no fever. But Su Ming kept frowning; she was likely having a nightmare.

Gu Zhanci decided to wake her up. “Su Ming…”

Gu Zhanci lightly patted her face several times—each pat feeling full of youthful collagen—until Su Ming jolted awake from her nightmare.

Perhaps because her chat with Gu Zhanci had brought up university, Su Ming had dreamed she was slicing a living person into strips, piece by piece. Although the dream was censored and the meat didn’t look like meat but more like rubber blocks, the experience was harrowing.

She wiped the sweat from her forehead, still feeling the lingering fear.

Gu Zhanci asked, “What’s wrong? Do you feel too hot again?”

Su Ming covered her mouth. “No, just a bit nauseous.”

“Nauseous? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?”

Su Ming pursed her lips and didn’t speak. She couldn’t very well say her medical school trauma was so deep that she dreamed of dissecting a human body. The sight of pale flesh and bloody incisions… Su Ming hadn’t expected that the trauma she had completely overcome in her past life would be this difficult just to think about in this one, let alone haunt her dreams.

Seeing her strange expression and her obvious reluctance to speak, Gu Zhanci asked, “Should I get the doctor? Or have a check-up?”

Hearing this, Su Ming misunderstood. She said, “Relax, I’ve kept myself clean. I haven’t done it with anyone. It’s not morning sickness.”

“…” Gu Zhanci explained, “That’s not what I meant.”

Although that had been her first reaction because they were in a hospital, she had dismissed it immediately. She wouldn’t go so far as to suspect Su Ming of that; she just thought she might have an upset stomach.

Su Ming said, “I want some water.”

Gu Zhanci got her some water and handed it over.

Su Ming felt much better after drinking. “I just had a nightmare. I felt a bit sick when I woke up.”

Gu Zhanci asked casually, “What did you dream about?”

“A woman.” While the dream was still fresh, Su Ming closed her eyes and recalled. “A woman with no clothes on.” Waiting for me to dissect her on the operating table.

Gu Zhanci: “…”

She said expressionlessly, “I’m sorry for disturbing your dream just now.”

Su Ming: “…” She said sincerely, “No, no! If you hadn’t woken me up, I probably wouldn’t have snapped out of it yet.”

Gu Zhanci thought Su Ming was being sarcastic, blaming her for interrupting an erotic dream. Conversations with Su Ming always went off the rails, so Gu Zhanci chose not to discuss it further.

Su Ming didn’t know why Gu Zhanci had suddenly gone silent and given off an aura of refusing to speak.

So Su Ming stopped talking too. The two remained silent until Su Yao returned. Fortunately, the Su parents weren’t with her. Su Ming asked, “Sis, what took you so long?”

“Don’t miss me normally, but now you’re looking for Big Sis everywhere?” Su Yao stuffed an ugly green turtle plushie into Su Ming’s arms—clearly a prize from a claw machine.

“Thank you, President Gu, for looking after my sister. I’ve been troubling you so much lately, I’m quite embarrassed.” Su Yao said it as if she meant it.

Gu Zhanci didn’t waste words with her. “I know you’re curious, but curiosity killed the cat. Don’t disturb her.”

“Relax, relax. I’m just curious, that’s all.” Su Yao felt her character was being questioned; no matter what, she wouldn’t try to steal a woman from an old man.

Gu Zhanci snorted. “I hope so.”

After Gu Zhanci left.

Su Ming asked, “What were you two just talking about?”

Su Yao said mysteriously, “I’ll tell you a secret.”

This was perhaps a common human weakness; Su Ming loved hearing secrets and immediately perked up her ears.

To ensure the news had maximum impact, Su Yao intentionally dragged it out to build a sense of mystery before saying, “Gu Zhanci actually has a stepmother.”

“…” Su Ming remained expressionless.

Not getting the desired reaction, Su Yao repeated, “Did you hear me? Gu Zhanci actually has a stepmother! I knew about it, but I didn’t expect the stepmother to be such a complete opposite of her.”

Su Ming played along: “Is the stepmother very ugly?”

Logically, that shouldn’t be the case; no character in a novel is ugly unless they’re explicitly designed to be.

Su Yao said, “No, her personality is incredibly soft. She looks like someone you really want to bully. Compared to Gu Zhanci’s personality, they are worlds apart. I can hardly believe it.”

Su Ming: “…”

Gu Zhanci wasn’t born from this stepmother; isn’t it normal for them to have different personalities?

Su Ming remembered that Gu Zhanci had a stepmother. However, because the novel focused on the leads—to be precise, Gu Shiyue had a “Step-Grandmother”—the grandmother was just very young, a classic “robbing the cradle” subplot. As for the rest, the original book didn’t describe much.

Su Yao’s desire to spill gossip wasn’t satisfied since Su Ming gave her zero reaction. She said indignantly, “Don’t you find this shocking?”

Su Ming shook her head honestly. “Not really.”

It was just a stepmother, not a “Stepmother Literature” plot.