The Real Daughter Just Wants to Pilot Mechas - Chapter 3

Jiang Momo hugged Little Eight for a long while. When she noticed it wasn’t moving, she quickly let go and anxiously looked it over.

“What’s wrong? Is this body not working properly?”

[This body is great. I was just connecting to the Capital Star’s network.]

Little Eight moved a little and a smiley face appeared on the screen atop its head.

[The Federation has developed so fast. It’s changed so much in just a few decades.]

Jiang Momo let out a sigh of relief and nodded vigorously. “You wouldn’t believe it. We’re on a floating island above the Capital Star. It’s a villa district! The butler said all the buildings on the Capital Star’s surface are at least 200 stories tall. It’s so prosperous, totally different from our desolate planet.”

Little Eight had originally been a combat support system on a military warship. After crashing during the Alien Beast War a century ago, it had remained on the desolate planet, untouched. If Jiang Momo hadn’t landed beside it eighteen years ago, bringing some warmth to that place, it probably would’ve self-destructed long ago.

Looking at the human it had personally raised, clearly no longer a child but still so naïve, it had once thought that thankfully, her family had come to get her. Otherwise, she’d definitely be bullied out there.

But from the looks of it now… she was already being bullied.

Little Eight awkwardly rotated its stiff arms and round body, trying to adjust.

[I just hacked into the household surveillance and saw the recordings. They gave you a room on the first floor?]

“Yeah.” Jiang Momo, reassured that Little Eight was okay, sat down on the bed and bounced a little. “This bed is so soft!”

[A villa’s first floor. On the Capital Star, that’s the maid’s quarters.] Little Eight was so mad its data nearly scrambled.

“It’s not that bad. Just a bit small. And this bed is really soft.” Jiang Momo rolled across the bed.

The bed was only half a meter from the bedroom door. After tumbling on the 1.2-meter-wide bed, she could reach the opposite wall.

There was a wardrobe at the foot of the bed but she had to stand on the bed to get clothes from it, since it was so close there was no floor space.

“At least it has its own bathroom!” Jiang Momo walked to the other door in the room and opened it excitedly.

[Wow. What a tiny bathroom,] Little Eight’s deadpan mechanical tone was full of biting sarcasm. [But it’s fine. Even if it’s only a square meter, it has everything. Go shower. They’re still waiting outside.]

If it were still a combat system, it would have blasted those people with two cannons by now!

How could it let the human it worked so hard to raise be treated like this?

And they were still in the living room, whispering behind her back!!!

“Sorry to make you go through this.” Jiang Momo gently pressed a hand to Little Eight’s head, her eyes drooping slightly, her demeanor noticeably calmer. “If you really don’t like it here, we’ll just go back to the desolate planet.”

[We finally made it out, why go back? Didn’t you want to learn how to pilot a mecha?]

Jiang Momo’s eyes lit up. “Oh yeah! I finally made it out! What was the name of that mecha school you mentioned before?”

[It’s called the Central Mecha Academy now.]

“That’s where I’ll go!” Jiang Momo revived instantly. “I’m going to shower, then eat. I was starving on the way here. We’ll talk more tonight!”

[The shower system here is like the one on the warship. It uses grime decomposition. Just stand inside and press the button. The light will scan you clean.]

Ten seconds later, Jiang Momo walked out, completely refreshed. “I feel like I got a little fairer?”

[There are whitening agents in the shower light. I’ve checked and there are no side effects.]

“They consider fair skin beautiful here?”

Jiang Momo opened the wardrobe. Inside were only dresses, no pants.

[Yes. They also favor slim figures and youthful looks.]

“Makes sense. Gravity’s lower here, so there’s no need for strength or muscle mass.”

Jiang Momo jumped on the spot and soared over a meter high.

“Looks like I won’t need an exoskeleton here. My bone density can handle everyday activity.”

[Mostly because our planet’s gravity is just too strong.]

Before meeting Jiang Momo, Little Eight couldn’t imagine anyone surviving on that planet. Thankfully there had been genetic enhancers on the warship or Jiang Momo wouldn’t have made it past her first month.

“Why are all these dresses so small?” Jiang Momo held them up to herself one by one and realized none would fit.

Their waists were so tiny, she could tell at a glance they wouldn’t zip.

With no other choice, she put on the dress she’d arrived in.

It looked small too but at least the fabric was stretchy and barely wearable.

When she stepped out again, the Jiang family trio was still seated at the table.

Each showed a different reaction upon seeing her.

“I’m sorry. That shower system is the latest model. I forgot to tell you how to use it. It’s all my fault,” Jiang Yingying stood up, her expression guilty, her long eyes lowered with an oddly pitiful air.

Jiang Momo glanced at her slim waist and immediately understood who the wardrobe’s clothes were sized for.

“It’s fine. I know how to use it. I already showered.” Jiang Momo sat at the table.

Jiang Xian had looked annoyed since she came out and now her tone grew sharper, “Why didn’t you change clothes after washing up?”

“The clothes were all too small. I couldn’t fit into any.” Jiang Momo blinked.

Jiang Xian frowned. “You should consider losing some weight.”

“No, thanks.” Jiang Momo pinched her own waist with both hands, then pointed at Jiang Yingying’s waist, looking completely sincere. “If I slimmed down to her size, I wouldn’t even be able to fit into the smallest mecha exoskeleton.”

“You have a large frame. You couldn’t get down to her size,” Jiang Xian said impatiently. “Everyone has a different natural build. Yingying has a beautiful figure because she has a good foundation. Our Jiang family…”

Jiang Xian paused, sensing something was off, and didn’t finish the sentence.

Jiang Momo looked at her seriously, with a deeply earnest tone and expression, and asked, “Mom, should I not have come back?”

The blunt question caught Jiang Xian off guard. She turned her gaze away and said, “Don’t say things like that. Just lose some weight. As much as you can. Next quarter, when we order customized clothes for Yingying, we’ll have a batch made in your size too.”

Jiang Momo wanted to ask what she was supposed to wear in the meantime but seeing that Jiang Xian clearly didn’t want to talk to her, she gave up. Her hands, which had been nervously resting on her knees, slowly lowered.

Looks like she really shouldn’t have come back.

Jiang Momo lowered her head. When she looked up again, she was smiling innocently. “I’m a bit hungry. Can we eat now?”

“Your father and older brother are almost back. Wait for them,” Jiang Yuan said as he snatched the chopsticks out of Jiang Momo’s hand with annoyance. “Didn’t the spaceship have nutrient packs? Didn’t you eat? You didn’t like the taste or something? How can you be so picky?”

Jiang Momo was completely baffled by the sudden scolding, looking at Jiang Yuan in confusion. “I’m not picky. I was piloting the ship.”

“Ships have autopilot. You didn’t need to do anything.” Jiang Yuan turned to her, clearly not believing her. “And that mecha arm you brought back. Did you assemble that?”

Jiang Momo nodded. “Yeah.”

“Don’t mess around putting things together by yourself anymore. You’ve never studied this stuff. What’s the point if it only looks right on the outside? Anyone with knowledge can tell it can’t possibly be assembled into a functional mecha!”

Just then, a man’s voice came from the entrance, “Who says it’s impossible? Jiang Yuan, you’ve studied for just a year and now you’re an expert?”

Jiang Zhang had received a message from his mother a few minutes earlier saying his sister had arrived home, so he postponed his meeting and rushed back. As soon as he stepped in and heard his younger brother lecturing again, he knew Jiang Yuan was back to his old know-it-all behavior.

Jiang Zhang was seven or eight years older than them, both like a father and a brother. Both siblings were a little afraid of him.

But this time, Jiang Yuan didn’t back down like he used to. Instead, he jumped up, “I’m not wrong! Her assembly has issues! You’ll see once we bring the arm back in.”

He gestured for the robots to carry the mecha arm back in.

“No need,” Jiang Zhang said. “Momo didn’t study anything on the desolate planet. It’s already impressive that she could assemble something that looks close. Don’t keep nitpicking.”

It sounded like Jiang Zhang was defending Jiang Momo but in truth, he was also implying that she had no real mecha manufacturing skills.

Jiang Momo picked up on that but she wasn’t in the mood to argue. Her attention was completely drawn to the dessert sitting in the corner of the table.

There weren’t many sweet things on the desolate planet. She’d only ever heard Little Eight describe the taste of high-end desserts before and she’d been longing for them ever since.

“Momo,” Jiang Zhang walked over and stood next to her. Seeing that she had no intention of getting up to greet him, he instinctively reached to pat her shoulder.

Jiang Momo dodged and looked up at him, carefully studying his face before smiling brightly. “Big Brother, you’re back!”

“Mm.” Jiang Zhang withdrew his hand, expression unreadable.

Jiang Momo quietly let out a breath of relief.

Seems like she guessed right.

She had just been repeating the words ‘father’ and ‘big brother’ over and over in her head, finally deciding to go with ‘big brother.’

Mainly because this big brother gave off a very serious, unsmiling vibe. He didn’t seem like someone her age. And people on the Capital Star maintained their looks well, so much so that you couldn’t even tell the age difference between their mom and him.

“Where’s your father?” Jiang Xian asked.

“He had an important client to meet and asked me to relay his message,” Jiang Zhang said as he sat across from Jiang Xian. He glanced at his younger siblings who were still standing. “Sit down, all of you.”

They all sat. Jiang Momo was squeezed into the far corner, right next to the desserts.

“Momo.”

“Yeah?” Jiang Momo tore her eyes away from the sweets and looked at Jiang Zhang with a smile. “What is it, Big Brother?”

“Father said that when Jiang Yuan and Yingying came of age, they were each given shares already. Changing share ownership is a hassle, so for now, the shares will still be under Yingying’s name. Until your light brain is processed, you’ll get a secondary card from Yingying to use as pocket money.”

“When will I get my light brain?” Jiang Momo asked.

“After you obtain permanent residency on the Capital Star,” Jiang Zhang replied.

Jiang Momo looked at the butler standing to the side.

She was pretty sure that wasn’t what the butler had told her earlier.

Jiang Zhang noticed her glancing around and tapped the table with his fingers.

The dull knocking echoed softly in the quiet hall.

“And another thing. Father said that the matter of you being stranded on the desolate planet hasn’t been made public. For the sake of the Jiang family’s reputation, you are not to be mentioned publicly. As far as outsiders know, Jiang Yingying is the only daughter.”

“Then what am I?” Jiang Momo pointed at herself, clearly surprised.

“You’re still a daughter of the Jiang family,” Jiang Zhang replied.

“I mean, publicly, what am I?” Jiang Momo pressed further.

Jiang Zhang was silent for two seconds. “We’ll talk about that later. For now, don’t go out.”

Jiang Momo didn’t show any gloom in her eyes and cut straight to the point. “So I’m an illegal resident?”

She had never learned how to be subtle. She always spoke plainly with Little Eight, straightforward and direct.

As soon as the words left her mouth, Jiang Zhang’s face immediately darkened.

He had been in the business world for years, always dealing with shrewd people who spoke in circles. He’d never encountered someone this direct.

“…That’s not exactly how it is,” Jiang Zhang said. “Capital Star Residency is hard to get. We’ve already submitted your documents.”

“Alrighty then.” Jiang Momo reluctantly accepted the explanation.

Because of Jiang Momo’s unusual responses, all the prepared lines Jiang Zhang had come up with during the trip were now useless. His expression turned serious.

“So, about what I just said, regarding the shares and your identity, do you have any objections?”

Jiang Momo nodded nonchalantly. “Nope, I accept. So, can I eat now?”