After Becoming the Family Head, I Got an Unofficial Fiancée (GL) - Chapter 20
It was Thursday, and the school bell rang at 5:30 PM, signaling the end of the school day and telling the students it was time to go home.
Teacher Yang closed her lesson materials and said to the class, “By now, everyone has mostly gotten used to the life of being a senior in high school. Starting next month, all senior classes will begin evening self-study sessions. Make sure to let your parents know—there will be three sessions, and we’ll finish at 10:30 PM, so they’ll have an idea of your schedule.”
After she finished speaking, the students in the class groaned in protest.
But it was senior year, so they were mentally prepared. After Teacher Yang left the classroom, the students slowly began packing up to go home.
“Next month, we’re starting evening self-study?” Zhang Youqian, while packing her bag, said unhappily, “That means I won’t be able to go out at night anymore. This is so annoying.”
Her friend, who was close to her, laughed and said, “You’re still going out every day? It’s already senior year!”
“Of course,” Zhang Youqian smiled. “My brother just opened a bar, so I go there every day to support him.”
“Every day? You’re so lucky! The bar must be so fun, right?”
“It’s just okay,” Zhang Youqian said casually.
As she was speaking proudly, she noticed Jiang Man walking past her, so she stopped her.
“Jiang Man, I haven’t seen your rich cousin with the Maybach and Ferrari pick you up lately,” Zhang Youqian said, sticking her foot in front of Jiang Man to block her path. “Are you seriously making her let you take the bus every day?”
Jiang Man lowered her gaze and quietly said, “Please move your foot.”
Zhang Youqian deliberately shouted, “What did you say? I didn’t hear you! I heard that you’ve moved back to the Jiang family recently. What’s going on? Did your rich cousin stop liking you?”
Her voice was loud, and though it was after school hours, there were still a few students around, all of whom turned their attention to Jiang Man.
Jiang Man knew Zhang Youqian was just trying to provoke her, but she couldn’t think of anything to say in response.
It had been half a week since that day, and she had heard that Gu Weiyan was still in a coma. It was all her fault.
That day, after Aunt Jiang had taken her home, she had scolded her for a long time. Jiang Man didn’t argue. She just kept her head down and cried.
“Do you realize you almost killed Gu Weiyan?”
“If anything happened to her, even if the entire Jiang family paid for it, we wouldn’t be able to make up for it!”
“The Gu family only agreed to the marriage for your grandfather’s sake, and now, after only knowing her for a month, you’ve caused this mess. If you’d been together longer, who knows what might happen!”
Aunt Jiang’s harsh words echoed in Jiang Man’s ears, along with Uncle Jiang’s disapproving glares. Even though she had returned to a place she’d lived in for four or five years, it made Jiang Man feel uneasy.
Seeing that Jiang Man was ignoring her, Zhang Youqian’s temper flared. She stood up, grabbed Jiang Man’s school uniform, and snapped, “Don’t think you can act tough just because your cousin is rich. What do you think you are? You’re just a child with no parents. Who do you think you’re fooling?”
A few classmates, who had been watching the scene unfold, immediately rushed over to break them apart.
“Okay, okay, Youqian, why are you arguing with a mute?”
“Yeah, we’re all classmates. Don’t actually fight.”
Zhang Youqian, being pulled away by the others, reluctantly let go of Jiang Man’s jacket. She huffed and grabbed her bag, stomping out of the classroom. Jiang Man stood there, head down, staring at her shoes, unsure of what she was thinking.
After a long while, Jiang Man managed to pull herself together. She put her bag on her back and walked out of the classroom.
Not far from the school gate was the bus stop. It would take three stops to get to the Jiang family’s house. Jiang Man watched as the bus she needed to take drove away. She stood there for a few seconds, then decided to walk back.
Walking from the school to the Jiang family’s house took only about half an hour. Sometimes, when she couldn’t get on the bus, Jiang Man would walk back, so she was very familiar with the route.
She walked along the green lane that she and Gu Weiyan had once walked together. Jiang Man looked up at the yellowing phoenix trees. The weather forecast said that in the next couple of days, a cold front would hit. By then, the yellow leaves would probably all fall.
Then, they would be trampled underfoot by pedestrians until they became muddy and wrinkled, eventually swept into the trash with a broom.
Jiang Man’s thoughts wandered aimlessly. She actually wanted to think about Gu Weiyan—whether she had woken up by now, whether she would forgive her, or if she would ever want to talk to her again.
She missed Gu Weiyan so much, but she also knew she shouldn’t be thinking about her.
So, Jiang Man had to find other things to think about to distract herself.
Just as she was walking home, she suddenly heard a sharp, high-pitched sound—”Meow!”
Following the sound, she saw a small orange kitten crouching in the grass, meowing repeatedly. As soon as it saw her, it trotted over and rubbed against her feet, looking up at her—”Meow!”
It was a little kitten.
Jiang Man crouched down and looked at the kitten. It was probably only a month or two old, small enough that it could fit in the palm of her hand, and covered in dirt. It looked like one of those stray kittens born in an alley.
The kitten wasn’t afraid of people. It meowed and clung to Jiang Man, which made her heart ache.
“Are you hungry?” Jiang Man gently stroked its little head, looking around. She spotted a supermarket nearby. She remembered it was a fairly large store, and it sold cat food.
She looked back down at the kitten and said, “I’m going to get you some cat food. Stay here and don’t run off, okay?”
The kitten responded with a short, “Meow-meow.”
Jiang Man quickly ran to the supermarket and bought a small bag of cat food. Since it wasn’t a specialty pet store, they didn’t have kitten food, so she grabbed a pack of what seemed like decent cat food. She hurried back out, worried that the kitten might leave if she wasn’t there.
When Jiang Man returned to the patch of grass, she saw the kitten still sitting in the same spot. As soon as it saw her, it ran over, meowing loudly, rubbing against her ankles, asking for food.
She poured some cat food for the kitten, feeding it one piece at a time. After eating about a dozen pieces, the kitten seemed full. It stretched out its tiny, pink tongue and started licking Jiang Man’s fingers.
The rough, scratchy sensation on her fingertips didn’t bother Jiang Man, and she let the kitten continue licking.
“Do you live around here?” Jiang Man crouched down, talking to the kitten. “I used to take the bus. If you live here, I can bring you food every day, how about that?”
The kitten, of course, didn’t understand, but after finishing licking her fingers, it started licking itself, doing it in a precise, almost practiced manner. It looked so serious, like it had done this a hundred times before.
Jiang Man found a small plastic bowl and filled it with water, placing it in a more sheltered spot in the grass. She noticed some worn-out clothes nearby, probably the kitten’s family’s home.
Deciding she would walk an extra stop from now on, Jiang Man stood up and left.
When she returned to the Jiang family home, she immediately sensed a heavy atmosphere in the house. The maid was hiding in the kitchen, and only Uncle Jiang and Aunt Jiang were sitting in the living room. Despite the TV still playing, Jiang Man couldn’t shake the feeling of unease.
She stood by the door, unsure of what was happening, but she obediently changed her shoes and entered the living room to greet her aunt and uncle.
“I’m home.”
Aunt Jiang glanced at her, crossing her arms and coldly said, “Gu Weiyan woke up today.”
Jiang Man froze, clutching the hem of her clothes, and quietly asked, “Is she… is she okay now?”
“Of course she’s not okay!” Aunt Jiang’s anger flared up at the question. She glared at Jiang Man and said, “Do you have any idea what a big mistake you made? Gu Weiyan almost ended up in the ICU. If she hadn’t pulled through, the Gu family wouldn’t let us off the hook!”
“I’m sorry…”
Jiang Man lowered her head. She had apologized so many times before, but besides saying “sorry,” she honestly didn’t know what else to say.
“Does saying sorry help?” Aunt Jiang snapped, her anger rising. “You’re still going to school like everything’s fine! Do you know that the Gu family is in chaos because of what happened to Gu Weiyan?”
“Your brother’s business deal with the Gu family has been delayed. My father has called me more than ten times in the last three days. I’ve had to send people to watch over Gu Weiyan’s hospital room every day, just hoping she wakes up.” Aunt Jiang continued, her voice filled with frustration. “Do you have any idea how much stress we’ve been under because of your mistake?”
Jiang Man muttered another apology, “I’m sorry…”
“Sorry, sorry, that’s all you say! What else can you say other than that!” Aunt Jiang stood up angrily and pointed at Jiang Man. “How are you so useless? Why didn’t your parents take you away with them back then!”
Her words hit Jiang Man like a cold wave, and she flinched. Uncle Jiang frowned, turning to his sharp-tongued wife and said, “Alright, there’s no use in yelling. Let’s figure out what to do next.”
“Let Jiang Man go apologize to the Gu family,” Aunt Jiang said coldly. “She made the mistake, so she should be the one to take responsibility. We’re not her parents, we don’t need to be the ones to worry about it.”
Jiang Man lifted her head and looked at her aunt and uncle. Gripping her clothes, she asked, “Can I… can I see Gu Weiyan? I want to apologize to her.”
“You want to see her?” Aunt Jiang scoffed. “I want to see her too, but the Gu family won’t even let us in. How are you going to see her?”
“I can call her,” Jiang Man said nervously. “Aunt, can you give me your phone? I’ll call Gu Weiyan, at least… at least I can apologize to her over the phone.”
Before Aunt Jiang could respond, Uncle Jiang, who had been sitting quietly, spoke up, “Let’s hold off on that for now. We still don’t know what the Gu family thinks. If you call Gu Weiyan, it could easily offend someone.”
“That’s right,” Aunt Jiang agreed. “Let’s have the old man make the call first, to gauge the Gu family’s stance. After all, we’ve met and were preparing for an engagement. Even if the marriage is called off, it won’t be too bad. We can still work things out.”
An engagement cancellation?
Jiang Man stood frozen, her mind blank, unable to move or think clearly.
Gu Weiyan… would she really call off the engagement because of this?
Jiang Man could still hear her aunt and uncle discussing something, but she couldn’t focus on their words. Her mind was consumed with just one thought.
Would Gu Weiyan really call off the engagement?