Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Zhang Mei quickly made up her mind. She needed to find an opportunity to undermine Gu Zi, lest Gu Zi completely overshadow her beloved daughter, Lin Miao.
However, in the blink of an eye, she ran into an acquaintance. Mrs. Chen and her daughter, Gong Xin, were also dining in the restaurant, enjoying the braised meat.
Could it be that Mrs. Chen was still considering Gu Zi as a potential daughter-in-law?
Zhang Mei didn’t have time to ponder. She excused herself from her colleagues and approached Mrs. Chen, “What a coincidence, we meet again in Gu Zi’s restaurant. I just arrived.”
Mrs. Chen and her daughter were enjoying the restaurant’s signature dish when they saw Zhang Mei approaching. Their smiles faded in unison. Mrs. Chen responded politely, “It’s a small town, we’re bound to run into each other. Have you ordered yet?”
Gong Xin pursed her lips, “I don’t think Aunt Zhang is here to eat. In her eyes, only her biological daughter, Lin Miao, matters. She doesn’t care about her adopted daughter, Gu Zi. Poor Gu Zi, already struggling with three children, and now her husband is away. If she’s bullied, she won’t have anyone to stand up for her.”
Mrs. Chen, seeing her daughter’s straightforwardness, twitched her lips and gently reprimanded her, “You’re being disrespectful, child. Don’t interrupt when adults are talking. Don’t take it to heart, Zhang Mei. Gong Xin is just joking. Why don’t you join us before you order?”
Despite her words, Mrs. Chen agreed with her daughter’s sentiments. She had long noticed Zhang Mei’s opportunistic nature. However, Gu Zi’s exceptional qualities had initially overshadowed these minor flaws. Now that Gu Zi was no longer a potential daughter-in-law, these flaws seemed magnified in Mrs. Chen’s eyes, impossible to ignore.
Mrs. Chen understood her daughter’s words were a veiled warning to Zhang Mei, suspecting she was here to take advantage of Gu Zi’s hospitality.
Gu Zi indeed had a tough life, and now that she was back in town, Mrs. Chen was more than willing to help if needed. After all, it was the Gong and Gu families who had wronged Gu Zi regarding the marriage proposal. So, seeing her daughter stand up for Gu Zi, she wouldn’t really blame her.
Zhang Mei had initially intended to gauge Mrs. Chen’s attitude. However, it seemed unnecessary now. Not just Gong Xin, but the entire Gong family seemed to be siding with Gu Zi. She regretted not having arranged for Gu Zi to marry Gong Zhan earlier. She was in no mood to eat; she needed to see Miaomiao immediately to devise a strategy.
Zhang Mei declined politely, saying, “I don’t blame Xinxin. I didn’t come here to eat today. I just wanted to say hello. I have other matters to attend to. Please, enjoy your meal.”
Having said that, Zhang Mei squeezed her way out of the crowd and left the restaurant. Mrs. Chen withdrew her gaze, her eyebrows slightly furrowed. “Seeing this so-called in-law reminds me of your brother. He’s so far away, and we haven’t heard from him recently. It’s quite worrying.”
Upon hearing her mother mention her brother, a hint of longing appeared in Gong Xin’s eyes. Despite their squabbles, the sibling bond between Gong Xin and Gong Zhan was genuine. However, she wasn’t accustomed to expressing her feelings openly.
She reassured her mother nonchalantly, “Oh, he’s a grown man, and he’s in the bustling capital. He’s probably having so much fun that he forgot to write. We can write to him first. It’s not a big deal.”
“Write a letter? To whom?” Gu Zi, who had been busy, finally had some free time. She knew Gong Xin and Mrs. Chen had arrived and came over to greet them.
As she approached, she heard Gong Xin mention writing a letter. After asking, she remembered that according to the original plot, Gong Zhan, the male lead, should be participating in a major military exercise in the capital’s military region and had gone missing due to acting on his own.
Lin Miao, worried about Gong Zhan’s safety, had announced loudly that she was going to the military region to find her husband. Of course, the final outcome was that Gong Zhan was severely injured and rescued, and Lin Miao arrived at the military region to take care of her husband. She received praise from everyone, made the news, and during this time, Lin Miao completely won over Gong Zhan, securing her position as Mrs. Gong in his heart.
However, Lin Miao was currently in jail, so it was impossible for her to replicate the original plot and travel thousands of miles to the military region to take care of her husband. As for Gong Zhan, he was the main male character in the book, so it was unlikely that he would actually be in danger. If he were, the book would have ended by now. Gu Zi was actually more worried about her own husband.
In the original book, her husband was basically a passerby, with very little description. At this stage, he had also gone to the capital’s military region, where he would inevitably run into Gong Zhan.
A few days ago, Gu Zi had called and was told that Su Shen had gone on an urgent mission. Gong Zhan was missing, and Su Shen was on an urgent mission. If the two were related, wouldn’t Su Shen also be in danger?