The Real Daughter Just Wants to Pilot Mechas - Chapter 148

The President’s rejection of the Congress’ proposal was only discussed briefly on the Star Network before it lost traction due to the Congress resubmitting it with a two-thirds majority vote the very next day.

That morning, after her theory class, Jiang Momo was stunned by the news. “Didn’t that just happen last night? How did they act so fast?”

“Of course, it’s because someone’s been fanning the flames,” came a slightly unfamiliar voice from behind her.

Jiang Momo turned to look and still wasn’t quite used to Yan Chang’s appearance after his changes. She blinked and looked him up and down. “Looks like you’ve recovered pretty well.”

“Thanks to you, I’m fully healed now.” Yan Chang smiled as he walked up beside Jiang Momo, his tall frame blocking the glaring sunlight. “Are you free this afternoon?”

Jiang Momo felt he was standing a bit too close and took a half-step back. Her eyes, narrowed from the sun, opened to their normal size as she was about to reply, but then a hand pressed onto her shoulder. She looked up to see E Mingjun standing beside her, watching Yan Chang warily.

Jiang Momo patted the back of his hand. “This is Yan Chang.”

E Mingjun paused, released his hand, and stared Yan Chang up and down for a while. The wariness in his eyes didn’t ease. “What happened to you?”

“Just a little accident.” Yan Chang brushed it off with a smile and then turned to Jiang Momo. “Ge Qing and Shi Qin’s trial is tomorrow.”

Jiang Momo nodded. “I know. Their times are staggered. I’ll attend Professor Ge’s hearing in the morning and Shi Qin’s in the afternoon.”

“I’ll go with you.”

“I’ll go with you.”

Yan Chang and E Mingjun spoke in unison.

“Alright, then let’s all go together.” Jiang Momo accepted their offer and looked up with a cheerful face. “Do you want to grab lunch now? I saw a new barbecue place on the Star Network that looks really good.”

“You two go ahead. I have something else to take care of.” Yan Chang stepped back, glanced at the distance between Jiang Momo and E Mingjun as they stood together, and shrugged. “There’s a family dinner at home, everything’s already prepared. Let’s meet up another time.”

“Okay, let’s meet up another time.” Jiang Momo waved to him, then turned to find E Mingjun still staring at Yan Chang’s back. She waved her hand in front of his eyes. “What are you staring at? Let’s go.”

***

The next day, Jiang Momo and E Mingjun waited outside the academy gate for quite a while, but Yan Chang never showed up. Just before the hearing began, he messaged her to apologize, saying he had something else to attend to and couldn’t accompany her that day, telling her and E Mingjun to go ahead.

Jiang Momo received the message right outside the courtroom. A judicial officer had just asked her to shut down her light brain when she saw it and she quickly replied to say she understood.

Right after the message was sent, Yan Chang’s profile icon turned gray.

Jiang Momo scratched her head in confusion. “Why is Yan Chang so much busier than before?”

Ever since his last treatment, she had only seen him once, which was yesterday. She had no idea what he was up to and his profile was always grayed out.

“What’s wrong?” E Mingjun walked over and asked softly.

“Nothing.” Jiang Momo shut down her light brain and walked into the courtroom with him.

The rest of the day felt surreal to Jiang Momo. It was like a dream and nothing felt real.

Both Ge Qing and Shi Qin were declared not guilty and released on the spot. They even attended Shi Qin’s afternoon hearing with Ge Qing.

After the hearings, Jiang Momo dragged the newly freed Ge Qing and Shi Qin to a restaurant for a meal. On the way back, as they parted ways, she quietly asked E Mingjun, “Isn’t this going a bit too far? I saw a lot of backlash online.”

When Shi Qin and Ge Qing were first detained, public opinion on the Star Network opposed the death penalty and said the law was too harsh. But after they were declared innocent, public opinion flipped entirely. Jiang Momo only skimmed through the heated discussions while they were in the air shuttle headed to the restaurant, but she could tell the outrage might trigger another protest.

Now that Ge Qing and Shi Qin had taken separate air shuttles, she reopened her light brain.

Sure enough, the top trending topics were all about the case but the content wasn’t what she expected.

[The President Interferes with Judicial Rulings, Federation Regresses Over 200 Years!]

[The President Can’t Do Whatever He Wants!]

[Not Guilty Verdict]

[Population Purge Plan, Tyrant Above the Law]

She clicked on the first trending post. Below the succinct caption was an image.

It showed the President clinking glasses and smiling with the current chief justice of the Supreme Court. The timestamp in the bottom right clearly shows it was taken two days before the trial.

The comment section was ablaze and anything that wasn’t already censored was basically an all-out attack. Jiang Momo frowned and exited the post after a quick glance. Looking up at E Mingjun across from her, clearly reading the same Star Network, she voiced her doubts.

E Mingjun nodded. “It was a bit too much. With his usual style, he’d normally do things more discreetly.”

Jiang Momo felt something was off with that comment, but she couldn’t pinpoint it. She tapped into the trending topic labeled [Population Purge Plan].

It was a familiar video with the footage previously seen in the Star Network showing workers at a Jiang family’s factory suddenly collapsing and dying, which had quickly been deleted.

She looked up again at E Mingjun.

He met her gaze for a moment. “What is it?”

“Is the Jiang family really backed by the President?” she asked again.

E Mingjun nodded. “I only realized it after that video got wiped almost instantly.”

Although the President himself never admitted it.

Jiang Momo continued reading the post.

It claimed the President saw the massive population in the Border Star System as a problem and had tried implementing bizarre policies to curb growth. When those failed, he supported the Jiang family in setting up massive factories, which in a short time caused over ten thousand young workers to die and left over a million with irreversible damage to their working ability. The local police had already sealed off Jiang family’s factories and were conducting a full investigation.

Jiang Momo clicked her tongue. “This is what they call wanting both the fish and the bear’s paw.”

If she hadn’t taken the energy core back then, the Jiang family would already be nailed to the wall of shame.

E Mingjun looked thoughtful.

***

That evening, E Mingjun once again entered the President’s office.

The President was pacing furiously and when he saw him come in, he immediately started ranting, “What is with today?! Yeah, I did run into the judge at a hotel and chatted a bit, but the not-guilty verdict wasn’t my idea! What authority do I have to influence that?! Why is every pile of crap being dumped on my head?!”

“So, what about the Population Purge Plan?” E Mingjun asked, guessing from the fact that the President hadn’t mentioned it yet.

The President immediately raised his hand. “Let’s not talk about that right now. That one’s not as bad. But if the people believe I can manipulate the judiciary, that’s a disaster. We need to handle the basic problem first.”

“I don’t think I can help you there. I mean, I can’t exactly bring a squad to attack the Capital Star just to shift public opinion,” E Mingjun said realistically.

To his surprise, that comment actually sparked an idea in the President. He clapped his hands. “Attack the Capital Star?! That’s brilliant!”

E/N: And the title Stupidest Ever Exists goes to……. Mr. President!!!