The Real Daughter Just Wants to Pilot Mechas - Chapter 63

“Momo, we know you’ve been wronged but you shouldn’t say things that hurt your mother’s feelings. How could you not be my child?” Jiang Xian’s beautiful face appeared in front of Jiang Momo, her eyes slightly red like she was the one who had been wronged.

“Our family only rose in recent years. Though we’re the richest in name, our foundation isn’t stable. Maybe you think we treated you poorly in terms of money but we really do love you.”

Jiang Momo looked at the reporters’ eyes lighting up with gossip and the cameras zooming in. She couldn’t help but laugh.

“What’s this supposed to mean? I already said I have no connection to you.”

“Now, now, don’t say things out of anger. Forging a household registration is a crime.” Jiang Xian pulled a red-topped document from her bag. “This is the notice the Federation government gave us at the time to bring you back. We’ve kept it all along and it has your photo on it.”

Jiang Momo glanced at the photo, her expression going blank for a second.

What was she even doing back then? Why did she look so disheveled?

Jiang Xian wore a confident smile. “You’re still young and probably don’t understand what an independent household registration means, that’s why you’d come up with such a poor excuse.”

Normally, household registration wouldn’t change, especially if the family didn’t know. Unless someone granted her noble status—

Wait, noble status?!

Jiang Xian’s expression changed instantly, her eyes shifting from gentle to scrutinizing. “Momo, is there something you haven’t told us?”

Jiang Momo glanced at the live broadcast camera.

If it weren’t live, she would’ve thrown her new noble ID in their faces. But in a live broadcast, flaunting it so blatantly would cause trouble.

Ge Qing, who had just been squeezed out by reporters, finally managed to squeeze back in and stood beside Jiang Momo. He turned to the reporters. “There must be some misunderstanding here. Everyone, please disperse.”

The reporters looked around, but no one moving. One reporter at the front raised his hand.

“Can we ask a few questions before we go?”

Ge Qing looked at Jiang Momo.

Jiang Momo nodded. “Go ahead.”

“Mrs. Jiang, it’s said that Jiang Momo was brought back from the desolate planet about a month ago. Why did you only come to acknowledge her after she became popular? What were you so busy with before? We even saw you at an art exhibition the day before the school recruitment exam,” the reporter asked, thrusting the microphone toward Jiang Xian.

Jiang Xian hadn’t expected the reporters she invited to turn on her. She froze for a moment and then looked at Jiang Momo. “We wanted to give her a grand and formal reunion ceremony.”

“And you think this little office with just the three of you qualifies as grand and formal?” the reporter asked, glancing at his light brain.

Once their media livestream picked up Jiang Momo, viewership skyrocketed. Most of the viewers now were her fans. As a reporter, he knew exactly who to speak for.

“The format isn’t the point. We just wanted to announce to the whole world that Momo is our precious daughter, not just within our circles,” Jiang Xian said smoothly, making it up as she went.

Jiang Momo looked at her, an almost admiring look appearing on her face.

No wonder they’re the richest family. The way they can lie through their teeth without blinking is amazing!

A reporter in the back caught that look and quickly shoved a mic toward her. “We just saw you looking at Mrs. Jiang with admiration. Does that mean you still want your parents’ approval?”

Jiang Momo shook her head. “You misunderstood. I was just admiring their ability to ignore facts and still sound so justified.”

“Momo, it’s our fault for not announcing it earlier but please believe we had our reasons,” Jiang Xian said sincerely, standing tall and pulling out a small card. “There’s ten million in here. Think of it as a token of our sincerity.”

Jiang Momo was tempted for a moment but didn’t take it. “No need, Mrs. Jiang.”

She could tell it was the same supplementary card Jiang Yingying had given her before. So whose money was it really?

“Don’t feel pressured, it’s just a small gesture,” Jiang Xian insisted, still acting the part of the good mother.

Jiang Momo started, “This supplementary card—”

Glancing at Ge Qing who had pulled out his intercom, clearly ready to call security, Jiang Xian interrupted her, “Momo, we’ve said enough apologies. There’s just one last thing to say, we’ll be waiting at home for you to come back.”

They’d also hired some online trolls to stir up sentiment. As long as they directed public opinion early, it would be hard to reverse later. That was the lesson they’d learned from years in business.

Public pressure would push Jiang Momo back to them.

Jiang Xian thought it was a solid plan. What she didn’t know was that thanks to Peng Ji’s surprise apology in the early morning, the online sentiment toward Jiang Momo was at an all-time high. So once the live stream aired, one keyword immediately shot to the top of the trending list.

[Why Is the Whole World Apologizing to Jiang Momo?]

Because of the trending topic, their livestream’s popularity skyrocketed. But the direction it took ran completely counter to their expectations. It didn’t just veer off course, it also galloped wildly in the opposite direction. In fact, all their singing and dancing ended up singlehandedly tanking the stock price of their own company.

By the time Jiang Momo found out, it was already nighttime.

But at that moment, after seeing off the Jiang family, she collapsed into her seat with her face full of worry.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have agreed to their request without asking you first.” Ge Qing walked over to Jiang Momo and handed her a cup of warm water.

He had clearly seen just now that those so-called family members had no warmth in their eyes when looking at Jiang Momo. The way their eyes darted made it obvious they only saw her in terms of profit.

Jiang Momo shook her head. “Professor Ge, it’s fine. I’ve never told you about my situation anyway. Next time something like this comes up, just check with me first.”

“I understand.” Ge Qing sat down across from her. After a moment, once he was sure she’d calmed down, he asked, “Your A-grade mecha should be finished soon, right?”

“Yes.” Jiang Momo nodded as she cradled the cup in her hands. She remembered how Shi Qin had once said that Ge Qing thought her progress was too slow.

She stared at Ge Qing, thinking he might be trying to hint at something.

Ge Qing noticed her bright eyes but didn’t understand the look. After a brief silence, he said, “This might not be the best time but I still need to say it. Momo, your professional abilities have already been demonstrated enough for the public to know your level. The same goes for your students.”

“I’ve been too high-profile lately?” Jiang Momo thought for a moment and asked.

“No, it’s that the current level of ability you’ve shown is just right. It’s within the range that won’t trigger restrictions from the authorities. If you dig any deeper, the spread will be limited. That applies to your students as well,” Ge Qing said. “So my advice is to focus on expanding your influence but don’t show anything new that hasn’t been seen yet.”

Jiang Momo blinked.

Ge Qing continued, “You might not find my name in the media nowadays but back in the day, pardon the lack of modesty, I was a household name. I spent three straight months on the front page of the Federation’s media. Back then, reporters followed me around constantly. I was so annoyed, wondering if they didn’t have anything better to do.

“But soon after, the Federation passed the Mecha Classification Confidentiality Act and suddenly, all the media vanished. That’s when I finally had the peace to focus on S-grade mechas. Momo, the Federation now is strange. It doesn’t give people the chance to stand out. So endure it for now. Wait until you’ve got something so amazing that even if they try to shut it down, the discussion can’t be suppressed. Then you make your move.”

Jiang Momo understood.

She needed to hold back and hit them with a single, massive reveal!

“No problem, Professor Ge.” She nodded solemnly.

***

On Monday morning, the first period, as usual, was the Introduction class.

Jiang Momo had expected the classroom to be empty again that day but when she arrived, to her surprise, it was already filled with neatly seated students.

She did a quick count and there were about eighty students there.

The academy had five grades with only the top twenty from each allowed to attend. That meant, aside from the graduating class she was leading who were currently torturing themselves in the Mecha Arena’s material warehouse, everyone who could be there was there. So why hadn’t they shown up last class?

Jiang Momo walked up to a student in the front row and bent slightly. “Why didn’t anyone come to the last class?”

The student looked a little awkward and leaned back slightly before explaining, “We were invited by the military for a field study that day.”

“The First Military District?” Jiang Momo asked.

The student shook his head, eyes shining. “No, it was the Third Military District! We even got to test pilot mechas one by one!”

Test pilot mechas? Why?

Jiang Momo frowned in confusion.

“The Federation does prohibit manufacturers from piloting mechas but the military said they had exemption rights and let each of us try. They even joked that maybe manufacturers were more suited to piloting mechas but in the end, it turned out we weren’t.” The student scratched his head and smiled sheepishly.

“From what we heard, it seems another district brought in a young manufacturer who’s amazing at piloting, so good they could crush seasoned mecha pilots. So they were hoping they’d get lucky too. Aside from the teachers who couldn’t leave class, lots of them went to test pilot too.”

Jiang Momo nodded thoughtfully. “So did anyone succeed in piloting?”

“Of course! I even managed to power it up! But honestly, we manufacturers can’t even lift heavy stuff, much less fight. I got knocked down by a veteran soldier as soon as I moved.” The student laughed cheerfully. “But it was really fun. If there’s another event like that, I definitely want to go again.”

Jiang Momo nodded again, lost in thought.

“Alright, let’s start class.”

***

In the afternoon, Jiang Momo woke from a nap and went to the Mecha Arena’s material warehouse.

It was completely empty.

She glanced at the time.

Still half an hour before class.

“Where is everyone?” Jiang Momo muttered, puzzled, then turned to head toward the manufacturing area.

Before she could get there, a lively wave of voices reached her ears.

“Yes, that material goes there. Lock that clip into place and then secure it.”

“Ports! We have to make sure the ports match exactly. Even one millimeter off won’t work!”

“Send a few more people to the warehouse for materials. Don’t pile everything here!”

Jiang Momo was listening intently when the door whooshed open from inside.

The students who had been excitedly walking out froze mid-step. Then, when they saw who it was, their frozen expressions broke into even bigger smiles as they swarmed to welcome Jiang Momo inside.

“Teacher Momo’s here!”

“Quick, show her our hard work!”

“Teacher, look! Ta-da!”

Everyone stepped aside, revealing a massive mecha frame before Jiang Momo.

“What’s going on? You built a mecha frame over the weekend?!” Jiang Momo was incredulous.

“It was three and a half days.” Shi Qin stepped forward from behind the students and stood beside Jiang Momo. “It looks like we’ll have a complete mecha by the end of the week.”

Their material sourcing had become much easier, saving a lot of time. With each material’s pathways mapped out, testing was streamlined, and post-assembly linkage tests were also minimized. Now the only real uncertainty was whether the fully assembled mecha would activate.

“Amazing!” Jiang Momo exclaimed joyfully.

Once all of them passed the graduation exam, she was going to buy a trending spot online herself!

Jiang Momo (in front of Ge Qing): Hold back, got it.
JiangMomo (behind Ge Qing): Let’s go viral!