"Who is my dad?" Four short words that carried a massive amount of information. Combined with Gu Qianran's excellent acting, the way she pretended to be strong yet fragile was almost pitiful to watch. Her frail body stood in stark contrast to Gu Qianran's mother, Gu Lian's, broad, imposing frame. Whispers spread immediately through the crowd. Gu Lian's face turned red, then pale, then red again. What was her daughter doing today? She was just venting her bad mood on her, and now this worthless girl dared…
She abandoned all composure, yanked Gu Qianran into the house, and raised her hand to slap her: "Worthless girl, don't you know family shame should not be aired? How am I supposed to save face?"
Gu Qianran caught Gu Lian's hand. Gu Lian struggled fiercely, but Gu Qianran did not let go. The hand poised to strike hovered awkwardly in the air. Gu Qianran looked at her mother's aged face and asked with disdain: "You care about face only?" Why was this old hag so double-standard? All those years putting on a performance outside were for whose benefit?
Gu Lian froze. Such rebellious words had never come from her daughter's mouth! Her daughter had been under her control since birth. What on earth was happening today? She scolded Gu Qianran with fake authority: "Gu Qianran, you are being rebellious! I am your mother! Everything I have done is for your good! You worthless girl, why aren't you a boy! You've studied your books into your dog brain? Why don't you just stop studying and marry into a rich family! I gave birth to you, raised you with great effort, and this is how you repay me?"
Heh. There were too many ridiculous points, and Gu Qianran had no energy to comment. She just stood there, watching the shrew yell, enjoying the spectacle while waiting for the crowd's reaction to ferment. Then, seizing the opportunity, she pushed the door and ran out: "Wuwuwu, Mom, you want me to drop out and work? Does studying not matter? And you hit me! This is domestic violence!"
The crowd erupted instantly. Domestic violence and gender bias were always hot topics. On top of that, Gu Qianran's beauty made people instinctively feel sympathetic. A burly man with a beard stepped in front of Gu Qianran and pointed at Gu Lian's nose: "Gu Lian, do you still have any shame? Your own daughter and you do not cherish her? Xiao Qian Ran, if you get bullied, come to me. I will take care of it for you!"
Gu Lian hesitated. Surrounded by disapproving eyes, she reluctantly apologized to Gu Qianran. She was nearly furious—apologizing to her own daughter was unthinkable—but if she didn't, her path to wealth and influence would be blocked. She still pointed at the man to reclaim Gu Qianran.
On the surface, Gu Qianran cried heartbreakingly, but behind the scenes, she argued with the system. [Host, are you a water dispenser? Tears just come out whenever you feel like it. This is already ruining the plot, and you won't meet the male lead!]
Obviously, Gu Qianran thought, I am deliberately avoiding the male lead. "That is not allowed? The plot can roughly follow, that is enough. Look at this old woman—I could take ten of her. If it were not for plot development, who do you think would be crying now?"
System: [...Gu Lian's ally behind her is the Li family, a business giant. If you do not maintain good relations with her, how will you contact the Li family?]
This host was tricky, multi-talented, full of nonsense, and a white-cut-black type. The system sensed a serious problem.
"Li family? Li Junyao??" Gu Qianran was shocked. The author's story was sloppy enough, now trying to involve incest? In the original, the female supporting character had already slept with the scumbag male lead…
The system seemed to read her mind: [Actually, Gu Lian's child died long ago. The original female supporting character was just a substitute. She infiltrated the Li family by manipulating things in the hospital. As for the rest, the plot is probably auto-completed by this world. After all, if the book is turned into a real world, the text becomes living people.]
Gu Qianran laughed in disbelief. What was this? Losing the biological mother due to carelessness? She watched Gu Lian press her face to the window, eyes cold. She, the biggest bug in this world, thought that this money-obsessed scum deserved a life of poverty, never rising again.
She got up, dusted herself off, and walked toward the door. The uncle outside looked worried, as if she were about to face a dangerous beast instead of returning home. She smiled at him: "Uncle, it's fine. She wouldn't dare do anything to me." For these simple neighbors, Gu Qianran still held goodwill.
Closing the door behind her, the terror on her face vanished instantly, replaced by a calm, icy precision. Old shrew, you are not even my mother, yet you dare to teach me a lesson? Your choice.
She saw Gu Lian attempt to rush her, almost laughing at the absurdity. Gu Qianran grabbed a stick used for drying clothes, advanced toward Gu Lian, and said while walking: "Gu Lian, I don't know why you are venting on me today, but think carefully. If you dare to touch me, there will be consequences. I may not use the stick, but your hand that tried to hit me is fair game." Speaking this, she felt a sense of relief, as if the original resentment had been vented.
Gu Lian did not expect her daughter to strike the wrong chord today. She seemed like a completely different person, prepared to fight, and hesitated, just yelling nonsense.
Gu Qianran remained calm. To deal with Gu Lian, fear was sufficient. Her threat had clearly worked.
This so-called human only knew how to use blood-related morality to manipulate. Hah, moral blackmail. In her past life, she could destroy ten of these idiots at once.
Blood ties are necessary for motherly love, but not a tool to control your children. Especially when Gu Qianran and Gu Lian weren't even biologically related. If parents failed their duty or treated children as investments…
Truth never sides with scum.
Gu Qianran sneered at Gu Lian: "Gu Lian, you are not the only one who cares about face. I care too. Who gave you the right to boss me around? Did you fulfill your responsibility as a mother? Using me as a punching bag? Are you sick?" She jabbed the stick at Gu Lian.
One word in her mind: satisfying. Finally, she had vented for the original self!
"From now on, stop thinking of scolding or hitting me. Use that tiny brain to figure out how to be a mother!" She then threw another bomb: "Besides, you are not my real mother. I warn you, do not set me up. Competing in intelligence and courage with a daughter you've raised for years—is that fun? If you dare retaliate, see you at the police station. We can also check my lineage. If you want to stay out of trouble, do your job as a mother. When I am grown, maybe I will support you out of mercy." She really wanted to go straight to the police, but that would deviate from the plot. According to plot progression, this was advantageous, so she didn't care if this fake mother fussed for a few days.
"You… how do you know!" Gu Lian panicked. This was her main leverage. Without Gu Qianran, she had nothing.
"Are you a chameleon? Four colors in five minutes? How I know is none of your business. I won't interfere with your little schemes, just don't mess with me."
Gu Lian collapsed to the ground. Gu Qianran's killing aura was sharp, completely crushing her. This rebellious daughter was out of her control. Fortunately, she didn't oppose marrying into a rich family. Gu Lian's eyes darkened, calculating.
Gu Qianran walked back to her room, feeling refreshed. She had handled this big toxin called Gu Lian. Indeed, the fiercest trash talk was the most satisfying.
"See, system, I said the plot would continue." Gu Qianran found a comfortable position on her bed. "But if I don't execute the tasks, what can you do?"
The system was silent for three seconds, then replied in a piercing voice: [I cannot destroy the host at will, but I can materialize and traverse the world. Do not test my limits, or you will suffer unimaginably.]
Gu Qianran was silent for three seconds, then laughed. "So the deletion task in the first mission was a lie?" The system had nothing to say, probably agreeing. Gu Qianran laughed harder. "You can't even kill me, yet you want me to suffer? In this world, the only one close to me is that little girl, and she is the female lead. So this system is just a little brother who can transform and argue."
Thinking of the cute little girl, Gu Qianran's mood brightened. Yes, this world had become real, and its people lived and breathed. Such a cute, beautiful little girl…
Gu Qianran dozed off, unusually free from nightmares. Indeed, spending time with this little girl seemed to chase away the darkness.