After Becoming the Family Head, I Got an Unofficial Fiancée (GL) - Chapter 15
Gu Weiyan soaked in the bathtub, feeling the hot water pressing against her skin.
It was comfortable and made her feel at ease.
The bathroom in the Jiang family’s house wasn’t very big, but it was very clean, which was important for someone like Gu Weiyan, who had a mild obsession with cleanliness. After soaking for about 20 minutes, she got out of the tub, dried her hair with a clean towel, and walked toward Jiang Man’s room.
Creek—
As she pushed open the door, Gu Weiyan saw Jiang Man, dressed in a pink floral pajama set, curled up in the corner of the bed. When she saw Gu Weiyan enter, she instinctively hugged a small teddy bear tightly.
“You, you’re done with your shower?” Jiang Man looked at her with a mix of fear and shyness, speaking in a quiet voice, “I don’t have a new pajama for you. This is the biggest size I have.”
Gu Weiyan didn’t mind. She casually sat down by the bed, and Jiang Man, startled, shrank back into the corner, clutching her teddy bear tightly.
The teddy bear wasn’t very big—it fit snugly in Jiang Man’s arms—but it looked a bit old, with clear signs of wear and cleaning. It seemed like something she had had for a long time.
Gu Weiyan and Jiang Man each sat in a corner. Gu Weiyan continued drying her hair and asked, “You’re so afraid of sleeping with me?”
Jiang Man cautiously glanced at her, silently admitting it.
Gu Weiyan found it both amusing and helpless. She stopped what she was doing and said, “This bear looks really old.”
Jiang Man hugged the bear and said, “Yeah, I got it when I turned twelve. My parents gave it to me as a birthday present.”
She looked down at the bear, her voice soft. “Two months later, they passed away. This was the last gift they gave me…”
Gu Weiyan saw the redness around her eyes and couldn’t help but comfort her. “Don’t be too sad. If your parents were still around, they probably wouldn’t want to see you this upset.”
Jiang Man nodded and, after a moment of thought, looked up. Her pale eyes met Gu Weiyan’s, and she whispered, “Can I sleep with it tonight?”
Gu Weiyan had already noticed that Jiang Man used to sleep while hugging something. She had caught glimpses of her holding the edge of the blanket tightly during past nights. Now, she finally understood why.
“Of course,” Gu Weiyan replied, glancing at the teddy bear. “Since it was a gift from your parents, why didn’t you bring it when you came to my house?”
Jiang Man bit her lip, feeling a bit embarrassed. “Because I didn’t know how long I’d be staying at your place. I was afraid that if you kicked me out, I might lose it…”
Gu Weiyan shook her head helplessly. “Do I look like the type to kick people out?”
Jiang Man looked at Gu Weiyan, clutching the teddy bear, curling up even more. She didn’t dare to respond.
“Alright.” Gu Weiyan felt a bit hurt, so she changed the topic. “It’s getting late. Let’s get some rest. You still have school tomorrow.”
“Um…”
Jiang Man looked at Gu Weiyan as she lifted the blanket, sitting up straight and quickly asking, “Are we, um, sleeping together tonight?”
“Of course,” Gu Weiyan answered.
“But, but I only have one blanket…”
“Then we’ll just share the blanket.”
Jiang Man’s face instantly turned bright red. She buried half her face in the teddy bear and awkwardly said, “N-no… I can’t…”
Gu Weiyan found Jiang Man’s flushed face adorable. She moved closer to her and asked, “Why not? Aren’t we… an engaged couple?”
Jiang Man could already smell the scent on Gu Weiyan—the familiar scent of her shampoo, something she used every day. The realization made her head spin. Gu Weiyan was now sitting on her bed, wearing her clothes, and smelling like her shampoo.
The awareness made Jiang Man feel dizzy, and she didn’t even realize how close Gu Weiyan had gotten until she was nearly pressed up against her. She could feel her breath, and her own breathing became shallow and difficult.
“Jiang Man,” Gu Weiyan whispered, her lips hovering just a centimeter away from hers. “If you keep looking at me like this, I can’t guarantee you’ll still be able to go to school tomorrow.”
School?!
Gu Weiyan’s words immediately reminded Jiang Man of something. She quickly retreated, hugging her teddy bear tightly and scrambling to the other side of the bed, her whole body turning red like a boiled shrimp. Nervously, she stammered, “T-tomorrow, the school is having a parent-teacher meeting. Gu Weiyan, can you go in place of my aunt?”
What?
Gu Weiyan’s expression darkened. The great mood they had just shared seemed to vanish in an instant. Normally, she would have pinned this little girl on the bed and stripped off her pajamas, maybe teasing her to tears, but now… a parent-teacher meeting??!!
“What parent-teacher meeting?” Gu Weiyan asked, her face serious as she looked at Jiang Man. “Did they call you a parent?”
Jiang Man saw her face turn grim and quickly explained in a soft voice, “The results from the school entrance exam came out, and my grades dropped a lot. Teacher Yang is holding a parent-teacher meeting at 5:30 tomorrow afternoon. I asked my aunt today, and she said since I’m already with you, you can go in her place.”
Gu Weiyan: “…”
What the heck is this “parent-teacher meeting” nonsense?!?
She, the general manager of Gu Rui Group, the youngest and most capable leader of the Gu family, a business mogul with numerous companies and real estate under her name, now had to go to a parent-teacher meeting?!?
Gu Weiyan felt like she had just been slapped awake. The flirtatious tension between her and Jiang Man was completely gone. She crossed her arms and sat on the bed, watching the girl in front of her.
After a while, she couldn’t help but both laugh and frown, “A parent-teacher meeting, huh? Fine, fine, what a ‘parent-teacher meeting.'”
Jiang Man didn’t know what she had said to make her angry, but seeing Gu Weiyan both upset and laughing, she nervously whispered, “Gu, Gu Weiyan, you… you don’t want to go, do you?”
“I want to go. Why wouldn’t I?” Gu Weiyan shot her a cold glance. “I’ve never been to a parent-teacher meeting in my life. This should be interesting.”
Jiang Man didn’t dare say anything else, watching Gu Weiyan toss off the blanket and climb into bed. She nervously asked, “Then… then you’ll definitely come at 5:30, right?”
Gu Weiyan lay back on the bed, like a dead fish, and replied slowly, “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely go.”
Jiang Man didn’t sleep well all night. It was the first time she was sleeping with Gu Weiyan. Though it was in her own bed, she still couldn’t settle down.
Meanwhile, Gu Weiyan kept her back to Jiang Man as she slept, not moving all night. Jiang Man wasn’t sure when she fell asleep, but when she woke up, Gu Weiyan was still sleeping.
Tiptoeing out of the room after getting dressed, Jiang Man saw Aunt Jiang already up, preparing breakfast with the maid. When Aunt Jiang saw her, she asked, “Has Weiyan woken up? We made soup dumplings today; if she wakes up, she can have them while they’re still hot.”
Jiang Man shook her head. “She’s still asleep.”
Aunt Jiang came over and said to Jiang Man, “What were you two doing last night? The light was still on so late. Was it…?”
Jiang Man looked at her, confused. “What do you mean?”
Aunt Jiang thought for a moment and said, “I mean, was it about her liking you?”
“Liking me?” Jiang Man was about to say that Gu Weiyan didn’t like her, but then she remembered they had to keep up the act. She quickly nodded and said, “Yeah, she likes me.”
Aunt Jiang smiled, her eyes squinting with joy. “So, are you two officially together?”
Jiang Man didn’t understand what “officially together” meant, but guessing it was a compliment about how well they were acting, she nodded, “Yeah, we’re together.”
Aunt Jiang was overjoyed and immediately pulled Jiang Man to the table, urging her to eat so she wouldn’t go hungry.
Although Jiang Man didn’t understand why Aunt Jiang was so happy, she obediently sat down and ate. It had been a month since she last had Aunt Jiang’s cooking, and she actually enjoyed the meal.
Jiang family’s home was very close to the school, just three bus stops away, so Jiang Man wasn’t in a hurry to leave. Since they had stayed at the Jiang family’s house, Gu Weiyan had asked someone to bring Jiang Man’s schoolbag and uniform. After breakfast, she could head straight to school.
Before leaving, Jiang Man still felt uneasy. She remembered how Gu Weiyan’s face had darkened when she heard about the parent-teacher meeting last night. She was worried that Gu Weiyan would flake out, so she quietly tiptoed back to her room.
“Gu Weiyan…”
Jiang Man crouched next to the bed and whispered her name, not caring whether she was awake or not. She softly added, “Remember to come to the parent-teacher meeting this afternoon.”
Gu Weiyan didn’t reply. Jiang Man wasn’t sure if she had heard or not. She crouched there until her legs went numb, then stood up, glanced at the time, and quietly left the room.
When the door clicked shut, Gu Weiyan opened her eyes, glanced at the door, and sat up against the headboard, her feelings complicated.
She was 27 years old, still in the prime of youth, and now she was about to attend a parent-teacher meeting?
And even more bizarre, it was for her fiancée.
How weird was this? Why did she, the general manager of Gu Rui Group, need to attend a parent-teacher meeting for a senior high school student?
This just didn’t make sense!
Gu Weiyan felt like she was about to break down. She glanced at the little brown bear resting on the pillow beside her, thought for a moment, and pulled it into her arms. She stared into its eyes and played with it, poking its nose as if it were Jiang Man’s nose.
“It’s just a parent-teacher meeting. It’s not a big deal,” Gu Weiyan said, her hand propped up on her head as she teased the bear. “What do you think, Jiang Man?”