After Becoming the Family Head, I Got an Unofficial Fiancée (GL) - Chapter 9
Jiang Man walked into her classroom, carrying her schoolbag. Before summer vacation, the soon-to-be high school seniors, like her, had already spent half a month getting used to things. This meant they had a shorter break than students in other grades, but they’d already met up with each other again.
Since school had just started after the break, many students hadn’t fully adjusted yet. Even though it was already past eight o’clock, groups of students were still chatting, some were napping, and a bunch of boys were gathered around playing mobile games. The classroom was bustling with the noise of kids talking.
Jiang Man’s seat was by the window. She walked over, took out her textbooks, and casually placed her schoolbag in the drawer.
The classroom was messy on the first day of school. Jiang Man looked down to check her summer homework, making sure she hadn’t missed anything. Just as she was confirming everything was done, a few people walked into the noisy classroom.
The girl in the lead wore a blue-and-white school uniform, with her jacket casually tied around her waist. She was only wearing pants and a T-shirt, and as soon as she walked in, she started shouting, “It’s so hot, why isn’t the air conditioner on?”
A few boys sitting in the back heard her and responded, “It’s the first day back to school and you want the air conditioner on? You Qian, are you that spoiled?”
Zhang You Qian walked into the classroom, glanced at Jiang Man, and couldn’t help but say, “I’m just asking to turn on the air conditioner, but Miss Jiang here arrived at school in a Maybach.”
When Jiang Man heard her name, she looked up in surprise at the girl.
“A Maybach? Who’s that rich to be driving a Maybach and still attending this lousy school?”
“Jiang Man is also from a rich family. It’s normal for her to show up in a luxury car.”
“I wish I could ride in a Maybach. A Mercedes-Benz would work too.”
Jiang Man listened to the chatter in the classroom and couldn’t help but speak up, “Stop making stuff up.”
“It’s not making stuff up.” Zhang You Qian walked up to Jiang Man and looked down at her, saying, “I saw the car parked right behind yours. My dad wouldn’t mistake it. The car you were in costs at least five million. You could even buy a house near the school with that.”
Jiang Man looked at her and explained, “That wasn’t my family’s car…”
“If it wasn’t your family’s car, why did you ride in it?” Zhang You Qian snorted. “If you’re going to sit in it, own it. No one’s going to steal your car, why are you so scared?”
Before Jiang Man could figure out how to explain, the homeroom teacher walked in with textbooks. She looked at the noisy classroom, slammed her hand on the desk, and frowned, saying, “Didn’t you hear the bell? Stop playing mobile games in the back! Zhang You Qian, don’t you have a seat? Why are you standing?”
Zhang You Qian shrugged and returned to her seat.
Teacher Yang scanned the now quieter classroom, stood at the front, and sternly said, “Starting today, you’re officially high school seniors. No more acting like freshmen or sophomores. Get your heads together and focus on your studies. Don’t let the whole summer’s worth of knowledge slip away. You have just over 300 days until the college entrance exam.”
The students were used to Teacher Yang’s speeches. Some slouched on their desks, some copied homework, quietly doing their own things under their breath.
“Class representatives, collect the summer homework,” Teacher Yang instructed. “Today, the entire senior class will have a test, so put away your textbooks. We’ll hand out the test papers shortly.”
A collective groan filled the room. Those who hadn’t finished their homework were the loudest, crying out, “A test on the first day back?! Doesn’t the school have a conscience?!”
Teacher Yang sneered. “Crying won’t help. The test starts at 9:00. If you’ve got the energy to complain, you’d better use it to review your notes. If you do poorly, your parents will be called.”
Call our parents?!
Jiang Man’s heart skipped a beat. Her hand, holding the pen, trembled slightly. She had to do well on this test—she couldn’t have her parents called in!
She couldn’t afford to mess this up!!
Meanwhile, Gu Weiyan had already returned to the office. At her position, she didn’t really need to come in every day. Aside from important matters, there was no real need for her to be present.
But her reputation as a workaholic wasn’t just for show. Gu Weiyan’s longest work streak was over 30 hours straight, eating and sleeping in the office, working until 5 a.m. before briefly napping on her desk and getting back to work.
She had her own system of discipline. Once she set a task, she wouldn’t rest until it was completed. As a result, she was often the last to leave the office.
Assistant Chen had been with Gu Weiyan for a long time. He mostly worked late to assist her, running errands, bringing her tea, organizing files, and making sure she had the best experience with the fastest service possible.
Early this morning, Assistant Chen cleaned the office, made a steaming cup of coffee for Gu Weiyan, and even placed the coffee cup exactly where she liked it.
He sat at his desk, waiting for her to arrive. But today, something was a bit off.
Gu Weiyan was late.
The president of Guo Rui Group, the workaholic Gu Weiyan, was actually late?!
Assistant Chen was stunned. After repeatedly calling to confirm that Gu Weiyan was stuck in traffic, he finally hung up the phone, letting his mind go blank. Without Gu Weiyan, he had no work to do.
When Gu Weiyan arrived downstairs, it was already past nine. She glanced at the time, her brows furrowing. On the way back from dropping Jiang Man off, she got caught in the morning rush hour. The road to the office was completely jammed. A trip that would normally take half an hour ended up taking nearly an hour due to the traffic.
Sending the child to school was such a hassle. Maybe tomorrow, if she left ten minutes earlier, it wouldn’t be so bad.
At noon, Ke Yinan called Gu Weiyan. His voice was sluggish, clearly still in bed.
“Are you going out to the bar tonight, baby?” Ke Yinan asked, stretching over the phone.
Gu Weiyan finished signing some documents and handed them to Assistant Chen before responding to the person on the phone, “Just woke up?”
“Yeah, I was out until 4 or 5 a.m., just got up,” Ke Yinan yawned and continued, “Everyone’s been asking why you haven’t come out recently. It’s Xiaoba’s birthday today, and we’re celebrating at the bar. You should come.”
“I’m not going today,” Gu Weiyan replied, “I have other plans tonight.”
“What plans?” Ke Yinan asked.
“Don’t ask,” she answered, “And stop partying all the time, don’t you care about your health?”
“It’s about relaxing, you know. I need to live it up while I’m young,” Ke Yinan said. “In a couple of years, we won’t be able to stay out that late. I need to take advantage of my youth and have fun.”
“Do whatever you want, as long as it makes you happy,” Gu Weiyan said. “By the way, is your gallery still open? I have a client whose birthday is coming up. He likes oil paintings, so he wants to pick one from your gallery as a gift.”
“It’s open. Come by whenever, I’ll help you pick one,” Ke Yinan said. “But I need to get out of bed now. Let me know when you’re coming, so I don’t sleep through it.”
“Okay, I’ll call you before I come,” Gu Weiyan replied. “Now, get up already.”
After hanging up, Gu Weiyan checked the time—it was already 12:30. She figured Jiang Man must have already eaten lunch.
She thought about calling to ask if that would be weird, since they had agreed not to interfere with each other’s lives. Jiang Man’s school life was her own business after all.
But then again, she’d be picking her up in the afternoon, so she could casually ask then.
With that in mind, Gu Weiyan called Assistant Chen, who was still eating his lunch, and asked him to rearrange her schedule. She needed to leave the office by 4:30 p.m.
Assistant Chen, his face drooping as he chewed on his wrap, quickly got to work.
By 4 p.m., Gu Weiyan had finished her work. With nothing else to do, she slapped the desk, ready to leave.
The people in the secretarial office were shocked. They watched as Gu Weiyan “left early,” their heads popping up from their desks as they quietly began to gossip about where she was going.
“Has the president been acting weird lately?” Assistant Chen whispered to a colleague. “She was late today and left early again. Do you think something’s going on at home?”
One of the secretaries nodded and added, “I think something’s up at home, but it doesn’t seem like something bad.”
“What do you mean?”
“Think about it. When has Gu always been so eager to go home? Her behavior is definitely unusual. I suspect our boss might have a partner!”
Assistant Chen’s eyes lit up, and he leaned in to whisper, “Doesn’t she like girls? So, does that mean we’ve got a new ‘lady boss’?”
“I think so. She even asked me to buy new furniture for the house. There’s definitely someone new at home.”
“Furniture? What kind of furniture?”
“A desk, a bookshelf, and a chair. But…” The group paused to think. “But why would the ‘lady boss’ need that?”
“Could it be that our boss’s partner is an artisan or something?” they whispered, intrigued.
Gu Weiyan left the office at 4 p.m. and arrived at the school gates before 5 p.m.
Chengbei High School had many students, and even more parents coming to pick them up. By 5 p.m., the area outside the school was already crowded.
Gu Weiyan, worried that she’d get stuck inside the gates again like in the morning, told the driver, Old Xu, to stop a street away. They would walk over to the gate after picking up Jiang Man.
Street vendors were setting up their stalls, and right next to her was a stall selling candied chestnuts. Gu Weiyan, feeling bored while waiting, bought a bag to pass the time.
While eating, she took a few work calls. Before she knew it, it was 5:30 p.m. She heard the school bell ring, signaling the end of classes, and the security guards stationed outside started keeping order. Only then did she call Jiang Man.
The phone picked up quickly, and Gu Weiyan, chewing on chestnuts, said, “I’m waiting for you at the gate. Come out when you’re ready.”
“Okay,” Jiang Man responded. “I’ll be out in a minute.”
After hanging up, Gu Weiyan continued to peel chestnuts. This time, she didn’t eat them but put them in the bag, planning to eat them later when Jiang Man came out.
At that moment, a sea of students wearing school uniforms poured out of the school. Gu Weiyan looked at the crowd, trying to find Jiang Man among them. But before she could spot her, a girl, also wearing a Chengbei High School uniform, who was standing next to her buying chestnuts, caught her attention.
The girl, possibly feeling hot, had tied her jacket around her waist. She spoke first, “You were the one who dropped Jiang Man off at school this morning, right? I saw you both get out of the car.”