Ending Up with the Female Lead’s Mom - Chapter 3

It seemed, maybe, perhaps… like she was cursing.

But Su Ming was truly just stating a fact.

She spread her hands helplessly. “See? I told you and you didn’t believe me. I’m really just here to look for your mom.”

“Su Ming, you better not act up. Don’t let a single word out that shouldn’t be said.” After the young and impulsive Gu Shiyue issued this stern warning, she headed for the restroom with a cold face.

Su Ming shrugged indifferently. The original host had indeed been using the threat of “tattling” to blackmail the female lead. The newly 18-year-old Lead was desperate to escape her mother’s control, wanting to date and be independent, yet she didn’t dare to rebel.

Su Ming looked at her wrist. The female lead really didn’t know how to “pity the fragrant grass and cherish the jade” (be gentle with a beauty). The original host had been pampered since childhood and had delicate skin; it hurt like hell just now.

Seeing Su Ming huddled with Gu Shiyue again, Su Yao was extremely displeased. She had already slipped into the crowd to laugh and chat with the other handsome men and beautiful women.

Gu Zhanci seemed to sense something. She raised her eyes to scan the area where the two had been pulling at each other. The two youngsters seemed to have had a spat—one looked displeased while the other looked unbothered—before they parted ways.

Then, she saw Su Ming walking toward her, silently following by her side.

Despite being a girl the same age as her daughter, Gu Zhanci couldn’t truly treat her like a daughter. Thinking about the girl’s motive for approaching her made her feel even more uneasy.

“Why do you keep following me?” Gu Zhanci asked, puzzled.

Since Su Ming liked Gu Shiyue, why was she constantly tailing her instead? It was normal to come here if she liked her daughter, but following the mother around once she arrived was very strange.

Gu Zhanci rarely felt this sense of confusion.

Su Ming stuck to the same script: “I’m trying to please my future mother-in-law to ease the relationship in advance.”

Gu Zhanci: “…”

Su Ming analyzed the situation: “Since ancient times, so many couples have been forced apart because of bad mother-in-law relations. Take Jiao Zhongqing and Liu Lanzhi, for example—their relationship was so bad they ended up as a tragic folk song. It’s been proven that before you start dating, the most important thing is to please the future mother-in-law.”

She delivered this pile of twisted logic with complete conviction.

Gu Zhanci looked at her with interest. She never thought she’d be discussing mother-in-law dynamics with a teenage girl. Several times she wanted to say, “But you won’t be living with a mother-in-law,” but she felt saying that would be inappropriate and make her look weird.

She said, “Isn’t that putting the cart before the horse? Weren’t you just ‘chatting’ with her?”

Su Ming’s eyelashes drooped, and she quickly conjured a pitiable expression. Her beautiful peach blossom eyes seemed to wilt as she bit her lip. “It wasn’t a chat. It was a one-sided interrogation.”

She looked incredibly pathetic.

Su Ming was very beautiful—an extroverted kind of beauty. She looked good in both light and heavy makeup; her features held a hint of bewitching charm that, when paired with her white dress, made her look like a daisy bud about to bloom.

Unfortunately, Gu Zhanci, like Gu Shiyue, didn’t know how to “pity the fragrance.” She didn’t understand the convoluted thoughts of a young girl and simply waited for her to continue.

“You can surely tell I like her, but she doesn’t like me. I have to take the ‘curved route.’ After all, she listens to you the most, right?” Su Ming spoke so convincingly she almost believed it herself. Just by standing there, Gu Zhanci inspired a sense of “profanity”—a desire to take her apart piece by piece.

As the most mysterious and “abstinent” (cold/stoic) character in the book, Su Ming was naturally curious and couldn’t control her urge to explore.

Footsteps sounded as Gu Shiyue returned from the restroom. She shot a look full of warning at Su Ming before saying to Gu Zhanci, “Mother, I have a few friends over there…”

Gu Zhanci nodded slightly. “Go ahead.”

As Gu Shiyue walked toward the crowd, Su Ming looked over. These boys and girls heading into their senior year of high school exuded a mix of rebellion and greenness.

Gu Zhanci said, “She does listen to me, but I don’t allow her to date. Sorry, you’re looking at the wrong person. It seems you won’t have the chance to become Liu Lanzhi—nor is there a need.”

She was slightly taller than Su Ming. For the first time, Su Ming felt an invisible pressure emanating from Gu Zhanci.

“Liu Lanzhi had a hard life. I certainly won’t be her.” The girl’s smile was bright, like brilliant peach blossoms blooming again.

Gu Zhanci didn’t deign to discuss her reasons for forbidding Gu Shiyue from dating with a girl. At that moment, a new guest arrived—a man in a sharp suit with rugged stubble, exuding male hormones.

Though the two were discussing “mother-in-law” issues, to outsiders, it just looked like they were chatting.

Ji Li straightened his suit. His assistant whispered, “Boss Ji, are those two the hosts today? If those looks were in the entertainment industry, they’d debut on face value alone.”

Ji Li said, “The young one is too green. I like the mature one.”

The assistant muttered softly, “Didn’t know you had that taste. Gu Zhanci doesn’t look old though. Thirty? Forty? She doesn’t look like either.”

“I don’t know. She’s always looked like this. Ever since she took over the Gu Corporation, she’s always dressed like that—mature and ‘abstinent.’ It really makes one’s heart itch.”

Ji Li was clearly very interested in Gu Zhanci. He considered himself a walking hormone dispenser.

Su Ming usually liked looking at men’s magazines, but she was extreme: she either liked clean-cut young men or muscular hunks. Ji Li was neither; he just felt greasy.

However, she had a deep impression of this Ji Li. After all, he was the man who almost became the female lead’s stepfather.

“President Gu, you’re becoming more charming by the day.”

The exact same words that sounded like an admiring compliment from Su Yao sounded frivolous and oily coming from this man. It was as if that “charm” already belonged to him.

Gu Zhanci said, “You flatter me, President Ji.”

“It’s President Gu’s daughter’s 18th birthday, yet we still don’t know President Gu’s age.” Ji Li’s question was rude. There was still an old man in the Gu family, but Gu Zhanci had always given off the impression of a lone mother raising her child.

Gu Zhanci had handled these situations with ease for years. Just as she was about to speak, the girl beside her interjected: “A woman’s age is a secret. How can you just ask like that?”

She looked charmingly cute; her words held a sense of “innocent boldess,” like a naive little girl defending her elder.

Ji Li seemed to notice Su Ming for the first time. “This must be the Little President Gu. Happy birthday. Uncle brought you a gift. Xiao Li, bring the gift over.”

Su Ming waited until the gift was right in front of her before saying, “Sorry, I’m not the Little President Gu.”

Ji Li was embarrassed. “Then you are…”

Su Ming smiled. “Sorry, it’s not convenient to say.”

By saying that, the relationship between them suddenly became “ambiguous” (too private to speak of). Gu Zhanci remained as steady as a bell, quietly watching the show.

Su Ming was a youngster, so she could speak without inhibitions. Ji Li couldn’t exactly make things difficult for a kid.

“It was indeed my presumption. I’ll penalize myself with three drinks later.”

After Ji Li took his seat, Su Ming—unsurprisingly—received an appreciative look from Gu Zhanci. She asked, “Are all these people like this? So eager to become my future father-in-law?”

Gu Zhanci: “…”

She had never seen someone so shameless. To speak of something that didn’t even have a shadow of reality as if it were a proven fact…

Gu Zhanci said, “That is not something you should worry about.”

“Big Sister must have many pursuers, right? Men, women, young, and old?” Su Ming asked.

When Gu Zhanci chatted with Lu Lu, she could end a conversation in one sentence. But when chatting with this girl, she always found herself following the conversation along. She nodded as an admission; over the years, her pursuers indeed included men, women, young, and old.

This was a testament to her charm—unquestionable, and no need to hide it.

Then, Gu Zhanci’s tone shifted. She looked at Su Ming with sharp, piercing eyes. “Why do I feel like you have another motive? Do you really like my daughter?”

Why did she feel like she was actually the “dish on the table” being craved?

It must be an illusion.