After Becoming the Family Head, I Got an Unofficial Fiancée (GL) - Chapter 14
Jiang Man nervously looked at Gu Weiyan, and it took her a few seconds to remember that Gu Weiyan was only acting for her uncle and aunt.
But the two of them were so close, their bodies pressed together, that Jiang Man’s heart raced, and she couldn’t help but feel anxious. She nervously clenched the corner of her clothes, not daring to speak. Fortunately, Jiang Man’s aunt only noticed their intimate posture and didn’t pay attention to Jiang Man’s expression. Soon, she invited them into the house.
As they entered the living room, both Jiang Man and Gu Weiyan realized there were a few people standing inside. These were members of the Jiang family, invited by her aunt.
“Our Jiang family is a bit big, and we didn’t bring everyone along last time. Today, we just wanted to introduce you all to each other,” Jiang Man’s aunt said to Gu Weiyan with a smile. “I hope you don’t mind.”
Gu Weiyan smiled gracefully. “Of course not. I’m happy to meet everyone.”
Upon hearing this, Jiang Man’s aunt finally relaxed and began introducing the people in the room. Her older cousin, Jiang Mu Yang, who had moved out, was also there. He stepped forward to greet Gu Weiyan.
Jiang Mu Yang was the eldest son of the Jiang family and the only child of Jiang Man’s uncle. He was about the same age as Gu Weiyan, but he was already a father of a three-year-old child. He enthusiastically chatted with Gu Weiyan and discussed topics Jiang Man couldn’t quite follow.
The three-year-old nephew occasionally came back to visit, and when he saw Jiang Man entering with a stranger, he quietly grabbed an Ultraman toy and ran to Jiang Man’s side. He poked her thigh with the toy.
Jiang Man was wearing thick denim pants, so when he poked her, she just glanced down at her nephew and the toy in his hand.
“Auntie!” The little boy raised the toy and said, “Ultraman is going to fight the monster, Auntie!”
The Jiang family couldn’t help but laugh when they heard this. Jiang Man’s aunt walked over, picked up the child, and said, “Baby, we have guests today. We’ll play with Auntie later, okay?”
The little boy pouted. “Why can’t I fight monsters when there are guests?”
Jiang Man didn’t say anything as she watched the child. To avoid causing trouble, she instinctively moved closer to Gu Weiyan, avoiding the group of people.
Although Gu Weiyan had been talking to Jiang Mu Yang, her gaze never left Jiang Man. She had noticed the little boy poking Jiang Man with his toy and saw how Jiang Man instinctively moved toward her when the child caused trouble. Gu Weiyan couldn’t help but feel pleased.
Looking at Jiang Man, she leaned down and asked softly, “What’s wrong?”
Jiang Man looked up at her. She wasn’t sure why, but even though she had been living with the Jiang family for more than ten years, when faced with an uncomfortable situation, the first person she thought of was Gu Weiyan.
Why was that…?
Jiang Man looked at Gu Weiyan, nervously fiddling with the corner of her clothes. “Nothing…”
Gu Weiyan could tell from her expression that Jiang Man was reluctant to speak up, so she gently reached out and took her hand. Leaning in close, she whispered in her ear, “If you’re feeling uncomfortable, we can leave.”
Jiang Man’s face turned red when Gu Weiyan spoke so closely to her. She nervously glanced at Gu Weiyan, unable to say a word.
Jiang Mu Yang, noticing their intimate behavior, couldn’t help but tease, “Xiao Man, what are you two whispering about? You look so close!”
Gu Weiyan, holding Jiang Man, smiled and said, “Xiao Man’s mad at me. She says I’ve been chatting with your brother the whole time and haven’t spent enough time with her.”
Jiang Mu Yang laughed awkwardly, stood up, and said to Gu Weiyan, “I’ll go get something. You two chat for a while.”
Once he left, Gu Weiyan released Jiang Man’s hand.
Jiang Man felt a sudden emptiness in her hand and looked up at her with confusion. She didn’t understand why Gu Weiyan had let go.
“You came here to see your family, right?” Gu Weiyan said. “Why don’t you talk to your aunt and sisters-in-law?”
Jiang Man shook her head and softly said, “I don’t want to.”
Her aunt and sisters-in-law didn’t like her, and every time her nephew came over, he was rude to her. But they always just watched. Jiang Man was soft-spoken, but it still made her uncomfortable. She had mentioned it to her aunt once, and all she got was, “The child is just playing. Why are you making a fuss?” Since then, Jiang Man never brought it up again. When her nephew came over, she just avoided him.
If she couldn’t deal with it, could she at least avoid it?
But these were Jiang Man’s own experiences. She didn’t want to tell Gu Weiyan, and she didn’t want to cause any trouble for her.
Gu Weiyan saw her reaction and glanced at the little boy, who was running around the house with his Ultraman toy, making airplane sounds. She couldn’t help but smile.
As expected, Gu Weiyan really didn’t like children.
Lunch was served at the Jiang family’s house. The housekeeper had made a large spread to entertain Gu Weiyan. Jiang Mu Yang sat next to Gu Weiyan, while Jiang Man quietly sat beside her.
When Gu Weiyan noticed that Jiang Mu Yang was toasting her, she smiled and said, “Brother, I drove here. If I drink too much, I won’t be able to drive home.”
Jiang Man’s aunt chuckled and said, “What do you mean, ‘go home’? This is your home. Xiao Man’s old room is all cleaned up. You can stay here tonight.”
Before Gu Weiyan could respond, Jiang Man, sitting beside her, widened her eyes. She looked at her aunt, hesitated, and nervously glanced at Gu Weiyan before lowering her head.
This child…
Gu Weiyan couldn’t resist the constant persuasion from everyone in the room to drink, so she had two glasses. After finishing, she stretched out her hand and grabbed her little nephew, who had been hiding behind his chair, trying to be sneaky.
Once the little boy was pulled in front of Gu Weiyan, still holding a sharp toy in his hand, he froze in fear when he saw her looking at him. He was too scared to say a word.
“Brother, this is your son, right?” Gu Weiyan said, holding the boy in her arms. She looked at Jiang Mu-yang and added, “He’s quite handsome. Is he in kindergarten now?”
The little boy glanced at his father, then, remembering that he was at his own house, spoke up confidently, “Yes, I’m in the kindergarten’s junior class!”
Gu Weiyan smiled and picked up a glass of wine, offering it to him. “Have you ever had alcohol before?”
The boy’s mother immediately looked over, ready to say something, but Jiang Mu’s mother quickly stopped her, signaling her not to speak.
The little boy looked at the small glass of white liquor and shook his head.
Gu Weiyan asked, “How many times did you poke your aunt earlier?”
The little boy proudly answered, “Twice!”
“Good,” Gu Weiyan smiled at him. “Then how about you take two sips of wine?”
Jiang Mu-yang looked at her, his face turning awkward. “Weiyan, kids can’t drink alcohol. It could cause alcohol poisoning.”
“He hasn’t even drunk anything, and you’re all already panicking?” Gu Weiyan glanced at Jiang Mu-yang, her green eyes darkening. “But when he poked Xiao Man twice, none of you cared?”
“Well, well… that’s just kids being mischievous,” Jiang Mu’s mother awkwardly laughed. “Weiyan, don’t argue with a child.”
“You can’t say it like that,” Gu Weiyan said, looking at the boy in her arms. She spoke clearly, “You can tell a lot about a child by the age of one, and by three, you can tell what kind of person they’ll become. If they’re already bullying others now, it’ll be hard to change that behavior when they grow up.”
The whole table fell silent, watching as Gu Weiyan pushed the glass of wine toward the boy.
The little boy opened his eyes wide, looked at the glass, then hesitated before reaching for it. Holding the small cup, he asked in a clear voice, “Sister, is this alcohol? Can I drink it?”
“Go ahead,” Gu Weiyan smiled at him.
No one dared to stop her, and everyone watched anxiously as the little boy took a sip.
The little boy smacked his lips and said, “Sister, this is soda water! I’ve had this before.”
Gu Weiyan laughed. “Soda water tastes better than alcohol, doesn’t it?”
The little boy nodded and then, turning to look at his father, who was now looking furious, he raised the glass and said, “Daddy, drink some too!”
“Stop this nonsense!” Jiang Mu-yang snapped, his face dark with anger. He rushed over, picked up the boy from Gu Weiyan, and roughly shoved him onto the floor. “Adults are eating. Who told you to run around? Do you have no manners?!”
Sitting on the floor, the little boy, confused and startled, burst into tears.
Jiang Mu-yang, now fuming, shouted, “Stop crying! You’re not having lunch today. Someone take him away!”
From her seat, Jiang Man quietly called out to Gu Weiyan, “Gu Weiyan…”
Gu Weiyan glanced at Jiang Man, then gently offered her a peeled shrimp, smiling warmly, “Try this shrimp, it’s really sweet.”
Jiang Man looked nervously at the others, then hesitantly glanced back at Gu Weiyan twice before finally opening her mouth and eating the shrimp that Gu Weiyan had offered.
The soft, sweet shrimp was delicious. Jiang Man looked at Gu Weiyan, who was carefully peeling more shrimp, and, for some reason, felt deeply grateful that Gu Weiyan had stepped in and saved her from the awkward situation.
The children’s fuss was soon forgotten, and the adults went back to eating and drinking peacefully, as though nothing had happened.
After the meal, Jiang Man found a chance to speak to her aunt and mentioned that the school was holding a parent-teacher meeting soon.
“Xiao Man,” Jiang Mu’s mother looked at her and said, “You’re already Gu Weiyan’s fiancée. There’s no need to involve us in things like this. Also, your father and I have something to deal with on Monday. You should just let Gu Weiyan handle it and go to the school with her.”
Jiang Man nervously looked at her aunt. “B-but I didn’t do very well on my last test. I’m afraid it’ll upset Gu Weiyan…”
Jiang Mu’s mother smiled, her eyes softening as she patted Jiang Man’s hand. “Xiao Man, can’t you see how much Gu Weiyan cares about you?”
Jiang Man looked at her in confusion.
“Anyway, when you marry Gu Weiyan, remember to support the Jiang family, especially your brother,” Jiang Mu’s mother continued, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. “After all, we’ve raised you for four or five years. We’ve been good to you.”
Jiang Man looked at her, not quite understanding, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that the Jiang family’s attitude toward her seemed a little different now.
Because she couldn’t drive after drinking and the Jiang family kept insisting, Gu Weiyan agreed to stay at the Jiang house that night, and she would sleep in Jiang Man’s old room.
Nervously, Jiang Man led Gu Weiyan into the room and said, “M-my room is really small, it might be uncomfortable to stay here.”
Gu Weiyan looked around, and indeed, Jiang Man’s room was tiny—smaller than half of the guest room in Gu Weiyan’s house. The room was cramped, almost like a pigeon cage.
“It’s fine,” Gu Weiyan sat on the bed, testing how soft it was. She smiled at Jiang Man. “So, who’s going to take a shower first?”