Ending Up with the Female Lead’s Mom - Chapter 15

“The meeting is adjourned. Everyone, continue pushing the work forward.”

The secretary held the itinerary: “President Gu, next up…”

Gu Zhanci glanced at her wristwatch and said, “I have something to attend to next. Just carry on with the work according to the original plan.”

By the time the meeting ended, it was past ten in the morning, and the sun was blazing outside.

This was Gu Zhanci’s first time visiting A University. As she sat in the car and stepped on the gas, she had a momentary hesitation: What exactly am I doing? Or rather, why do I feel like I must go?

With this time, she could be negotiating work, drinking with Lu Lu to relieve boredom, or even going home to catch up on sleep.

Yet, here she was, actually going to watch Su Ming’s military training performance.

Gu Zhanci took out her phone. At seven that morning, Su Ming had sent her a location pin for the military review at the East Garden Track and Field. She had also sent a special reminder: “Sister, once you reach the school, contact my sister. She’ll save a seat for you.”

Gu Zhanci reached the A University stadium without a hitch. It was nearly eleven, and the field was a sea of people. Students in uniform occupied the entire ground. On the main podium sat a row of school leaders, while the bleachers were packed with upperclassmen and spectators from both inside and outside the campus.

Gu Zhanci looked around. The massive crowd made it hard to find a place to stand. She messaged Su Yao.

“Where are you?”

Su Yao replied instantly with a photo of the empty bleachers taken earlier, with two seats clearly marked. Following the photo, Gu Zhanci quickly found Su Yao’s location. Gu Zhanci suddenly felt she was dressed too formally; as she entered, quite a few students made way for her, likely assuming she was a visiting official.

Seeing her in business attire, Su Yao laughed. “Great Leader Gu, why did you come dressed like that? People who don’t know better would think the school board is here for an inspection.”

Gu Zhanci kept a stiff face. “No time to change.”

She saw a clean tissue spread over the seat and sat down, only to realize the chair was scorching hot from the sun. Gu Zhanci bolted upright immediately.

Su Yao took it all in and covered her mouth, giggling. She kindly used a wet wipe to clean and cool down the seat.

“Pardon me for inconveniencing your prestigious backside.”

Gu Zhanci: “…”

Everyone on the field was dressed in blue camouflage. From Gu Zhanci’s perspective, it was a dark, indistinguishable mass of people. Finding Su Ming in that crowd seemed impossible.

She asked, “Where are they?”

Su Yao was fully equipped, holding up a camera. “The next square formation is the Architecture Department. My sister is coming out now.”

Gu Zhanci thought, Thankfully, I made it in time. She heard the broadcast mention the Architecture Department, and then watched Su Yao lift the camera, clicking the shutter repeatedly. “Here they are! They’re here! Do you see her?”

“Where?” For the first time, Gu Zhanci felt blind. To her, everyone looked exactly the same.

Su Yao said excitedly, “The flagbearer leading at the very front is my sister! President Gu, did you lose your memory?”

Only then did Gu Zhanci spot Su Ming. Her position was good—she could see the people on the track clearly without it feeling too distant. It was likely a spot Su Ming had chosen specifically for her.

Knowing where Su Ming was, Gu Zhanci finally found a focus. In her blue camouflage, Su Ming’s posture looked upright and vigorous. The entire formation followed behind her with synchronized steps, their momentum as grand as a rainbow.

Su Yao was still snapping photos. Even the school’s official photographers likely weren’t this dedicated. After the formation passed, the judges on the podium began selecting the best-performing group.

By now, the sun was at its peak.

Su Yao put down her camera and asked, “Umbrella?”

Gu Zhanci didn’t want to get tanned. “Yes.”

The two squeezed under a single umbrella. Gu Zhanci had never imagined she would be huddling under one with Su Yao. Furthermore, she felt Su Yao had an ulterior motive—and she was right.

“Does Ning Ming work at this university too?”

Since they were in public surrounded by students, Su Yao didn’t use the term “Stepmother,” but specifically used her name.

Gu Zhanci recalled Lu Lu’s words and gave Su Yao a meaningful look. Su Yao’s focus on her stepmother was indeed excessively high and abnormal. She said, “Yes. She teaches Advanced Mathematics.”

Su Yao made a pained face. “I hated Advanced Math most when I was in college.”

A boy sitting in the row in front suddenly turned around, flashing a row of white teeth. “Hello, Big Sisters! I can teach you Advanced Math. I’m from the Math Department. I have eight-pack abs, and every single one follows a Gaussian function.”

Su Yao barked, “Piss off, brat! You dare flirt with me?”

Gu Zhanci: “…”

Once the best formation was selected, the leaders gave another speech summarizing the significance of the military training. By the time the crowd began to disperse, another hour had passed.

Gu Zhanci hadn’t taken out her phone to play or chatted with Su Yao the whole time; she had just spent the hour counting heads on the field.

“My butt hurts from sitting. Finally over.”

Su Yao stood up and shook her legs. Gu Zhanci stood up expressionlessly and said, “Truly, a hardship for your prestigious backside.”

Su Yao: “…”

The two left the stands and waited for Su Ming at the agreed spot.

Su Ming spotted the figures of Gu Zhanci and Su Yao from a distance. She said goodbye to her three roommates and ran straight toward them.

“Sis! Sister!”

Hating the heat, she had taken off her cap. Her smooth hair was tied in a high ponytail, with a few stray strands dampened by sweat clinging to her forehead. She looked bursting with energy.

Su Yao immediately deployed the full kit: the neck fan and wet wipes.

Su Ming took the fan and let Su Yao wipe the sweat from her temples. She said to Gu Zhanci, “I saw you the moment you arrived.”

Only then did Gu Zhanci realize Su Ming wasn’t tanned at all. The photo she sent yesterday had obviously been edited with a filter. At the time, Gu Zhanci had felt it was a pity for a fair-skinned girl to be turned into a “coal ball.”

She asked, “What is your visual acuity?”

Su Ming was puzzled. “5.3 in the left eye, 5.1 in the right. Why?”

Those were her old stats, and this body’s eyesight wasn’t bad either. When Gu Zhanci appeared in the stands, she really had seen her. She had thought Gu Zhanci wouldn’t come today, but it turned out she was just “fashionably late.”

Gu Zhanci said, “Nothing. Just asking.”

Su Ming: “…”

Su Yao walked a circle around Su Ming. “Baby, you look so handsome in this uniform.”

Su Ming covered her face. “Don’t call me that. It’s so cheesy.”

Gu Zhanci also praised her: “This outfit does look very spirited.”

Su Ming had long legs and great proportions; the uniform fit her perfectly. She was also the flagbearer at the front—the face of the department.

Su Ming instinctively stood taller, chest out and stomach in. After half a month of training, everything had become a conditioned reflex. Su Yao said, “Stand together, I’ll take a photo of you two.”

Su Ming pulled Gu Zhanci to stand on the grass, which had been trodden into dirt after half a month of drills.

They stood side-by-side. Su Ming was a bit shorter, her head reaching just to the level of Gu Zhanci’s eyes. Gu Zhanci, in her business suit, looked particularly serious and proper.

Su Yao said, “President Gu, please smile.”

Gu Zhanci: “…” She cooperated with a faint, polite smile.

Su Yao continued, “Do you have a grudge against my sister? Please, get a little closer.”

Gu Zhanci: “…” I think the one who has a grudge against me is you.

She moved closer to Su Ming. The girl didn’t smell like sweat; instead, there was a faint, pleasant fragrance.

Su Yao finally snapped a satisfactory photo. “I’ll send it to you later.”

Gu Zhanci: “No need.”

Su Ming said, “It must be hot. Let’s go to the cafeteria; it should be empty now.”

Su Ming overestimated everyone’s eating efficiency. The cafeteria was packed, though people left quickly because they were tired.

Gu Zhanci hadn’t eaten in a cafeteria for a long time. She never expected she would visit a university dining hall specifically, nor did she expect to run into Ning Ming here.

“Zhanci? Why are you here?” The woman’s voice was filled with undisguised surprise and delight.

Gu Zhanci started to get a headache. “…”

She said, “I came to see a ‘little youngster’s’ military review.”

The “little youngster,” Su Ming, was very quick-witted. She gave Ning Ming a sweet greeting: “Hello, Big Sister.”

Gu Zhanci shot her a sideways glance: She calls everyone ‘Sister’.

Su Ming shrugged: What, did you want me to call her ‘Grandma’? Although, by the family tree, I could technically do that for now.

Gu Zhanci: “…”

Su Yao also greeted her: “Teacher Ning, long time no see.”

Faced with two people greeting her at once, Ning Ming was caught off guard. Her cheeks flushed as soon as she saw Su Yao, because Su Yao had once “misunderstood” her as Gu Zhanci’s girlfriend.

Her voice was soft and gentle: “Hello to you both.” Then her gaze fell back on Gu Zhanci. She realized who the “little youngster” Gu Zhanci mentioned was.

Ning Ming’s personality was truly soft, without a hint of aggression. One look at her and you knew she was easy to get along with. Adding her blushing cheeks, Su Ming found it hard to believe this was Gu Zhanci’s stepmother. When the stepmother looked at Gu Zhanci, her eyes sparkled, yet Gu Zhanci remained cold.

It wasn’t hard for Su Ming to guess what kind of melodrama was at play.

Likely sensing she wasn’t particularly welcome by Gu Zhanci, Ning Ming said, “I won’t disturb you. Goodbye, Little Youngster.”

That “Little Youngster” title was actually quite charming.

Su Ming said sweetly, “Goodbye, Sister Ning.”

Su Yao added regretfully, “Goodbye, Teacher Ning.”

Once Ning Ming was out of earshot, Su Yao sighed. “Gu Zhanci, your stepmother is so soft.”

Su Ming agreed; she hadn’t expected a stepmother to be this gentle either.

Gu Zhanci looked at her. “Does that have anything to do with you?”

Su Yao: “No.” If there’s no relation, then I can do whatever I want.

After the meal, Gu Zhanci said, “I’m heading back.”

She thought for a moment, and in her “Leadership” voice, summarized: “Su Ming, your performance today was excellent. I feel this trip was worthwhile.”

Su Ming: “…”

Su Ming: “Thank you, Sister. I’ll walk you out.”

“No need. Go back and change out of that uniform first; the weather is hot,” Gu Zhanci said with rare concern.

Su Ming usually wore camisoles and hot pants; seeing her in a full set of camouflage made Gu Zhanci feel hot just looking at her.

Military training ended just in time for the Mid-Autumn Festival break—a patched-together three-day holiday that slowed down the start of classes once again.

Su Ming spent the holiday lying around at home. Returning to her house felt amazing. The only downside was that Mother Su thought she had become darker and thinner during training, so she spent all day stuffing her with nutrients.

After the break, school officially started. A week later, another long holiday for National Day was approaching. During this week, Gu Zhanci continuously received flowers from Su Ming. This time, they were lilies.

The secretary noted, “This definitely looks like it’s from a girl.” The packaging was all soft pink; it had to be a young girl. Their President Gu’s admirers were truly diverse, spanning all genders and ages.

Gu Zhanci looked at the pile of lilies in silence.

Three minutes earlier:

Su Ming: “Sister, I’ve switched to sending lilies. Surely no one will suspect you of having a girlfriend now? Future mother-in-law.”

Gu Zhanci: “…” She didn’t even HAVE a girlfriend!