Chapter 3: Bulma's Mother

As Bulma had said, her home was not far from where the motorcycle had broken down. After walking for about half an hour, John finally accompanied Bulma to her house.

The massive domed building before them was far more impressive in real life than it had seemed on TV.

John's awe-struck expression as he gazed at her home brought Bulma immense satisfaction.

As a token of gratitude, Bulma invited John to her house for dinner, as it was already evening. She wanted to treat him to a sumptuous meal.

However, John hesitated. It seemed inappropriate to have dinner at someone's home on their first meeting.

"Bulma, there's no need for dinner. Besides, I don't know your family, and it might be awkward to eat together," John said.

Bulma, upon hearing John's words, suddenly remembered her eccentric mother. She agreed that it might be awkward to have John meet her family, especially her mother, who might do something unpredictable.

So, she quickly changed the subject, "You're right. How about this? When I'm free on the weekend, I'll take you out for a nice meal. Eating at home is too informal."

John, thinking that Bulma might have misunderstood him as being dissatisfied with home-cooked meals, quickly shook his head, "No, no, Bulma, I didn't mean that your home-cooked meals are ordinary. I came here without any notice, and it's impolite of me."

Upon hearing John's words, Bulma realized that he had misunderstood her. Just as she was about to explain, a car pulled up beside them. Bulma's mother stepped out, followed by a butler carrying numerous shopping bags, clearly returning from a shopping spree.

When Bulma's mother saw Bulma and a boy standing at the entrance, her eyes lit up, and she approached them with a beaming smile.

Bulma, seeing her mother, immediately covered her face with her hands and thought, "Oh no!"

Bulma's mother hadn't even reached them, but her voice carried over, "Ah, you must be Bulma's boyfriend. That's great! Your father and I have always been worried about her. With such a bad temper, we wondered if she'd ever find a husband."

"Now that I see you, young man, I'm relieved."

"Hello, Auntie. I'm John Doe, Bulma's friend, not her boyfriend," John said, feeling his scalp tingle as he recalled Bulma's mother's behavior from the Dragon Ball storyline.

Bulma, upon hearing her mother badmouthing her temper in front of John, became upset and argued, "Who has a bad temper? I have a good temper. And when it comes to boyfriends, I'll find someone super handsome, so jealous you'll be, hmph!"

Bulma's mother, undeterred by her daughter's complaints, continued talking to John, "You see, this is what I mean by a bad temper. What's a bad temper?"

John was embarrassed and didn't know how to respond.

Bulma's mother went on, "John, since my daughter doesn't appreciate you, how about you date me instead? I've been wanting to try this new restaurant, and tomorrow seems like a good day for it."

Upon hearing Bulma's mother's suggestion, John broke into a cold sweat. He quickly turned to Bulma and said, "Bulma, I'll take my leave now. I'll catch up with you another time."

Then, addressing Bulma's mother, he said, "Goodbye, Auntie!" and promptly took off running.

Bulma's mother continued to smile and said, "John, we'll go on a date next time."

Hearing her mother's words, John ran even faster, disappearing down the street in an instant.

Bulma said to her mother, "You've scared away another one of my friends."

Bulma's mother maintained her smile and said to Bulma, "You need to learn to judge people's intentions. I was just testing this young man for you."

"John is not bad. Although he looks ordinary and seems a bit cunning, I can tell he's not a bad person. He's someone you can date. Give him a chance."

It turned out that Bulma's mother had been putting on an act to test Bulma's friends.

As the daughter of the Capsule Corporation chairman, Bulma had always attracted people with ulterior motives. So, her mother would pretend to be eccentric to test Bulma's friends.

Of course, Bulma's mother was naturally eccentric, so her act wasn't too far from her usual behavior. It was just more exaggerated than how she behaved with her family.

Bulma scoffed, "You're overthinking it. Aside from being a bit wealthy, there's nothing about me that would attract scammers. Even if someone took some of our money, what's the big deal? Our family's wealth could last hundreds, even thousands of generations."

Bulma's mother was a bit taken aback and sighed inwardly, "My foolish daughter, if it were just about money, I wouldn't mind. But I worry about someone who might try to take your heart as well!"

That evening, at Bulma's home, the family of three sat at the table, enjoying a sumptuous dinner prepared by the kitchen robot.

Bulma, knowing that her father was the chairman of Capsule Corporation and that many people tried to curry favor with him, wondered if he had heard the legend of the Dragon Balls. So, she asked, "Dad, have you heard of the Dragon Balls?"

Dr. Briefs, a bespectacled middle-aged man who always wore a white lab coat and had a disheveled appearance, replied, "Dragon Balls? I have heard of them. Someone told me that if you gather all seven Dragon Balls, you can summon the Dragon God and make a wish. The Dragon God can grant any wish."

"Hmph, that's all nonsense. I'm a scientist, and I wouldn't fall for such a trick," Dr. Briefs scoffed.

Hearing her father's disbelief in the legend of the Dragon Balls, Bulma felt disheartened. It seemed like getting her father's help would be difficult.

As Bulma pondered how to find the Dragon Balls, Dr. Briefs suddenly said, "Oh, that reminds me. That person who tried to trick me into believing in the Dragon Balls gave me a glass ball with two stars inside, claiming it was a Dragon Ball. I chased him away..."

"What? You have a Dragon Ball!" Bulma interrupted her father, standing up in excitement.