Zhang Tiezhu immediately sat back down on the sofa upon hearing this.
He licked his beer belly and stared toward the doorway.
When he saw Jiang Wan enter, his narrow, rat-like eyes, which were usually squinted, actually opened wide.
In the past, he had only stolen glances.
Now, looking so openly, he was nearly mesmerized by Jiang Wan, practically drooling with desire.
Jiang Ting was both disgusted by his appearance and secretly delighted that she had found such a match for Jiang Wan.
She suddenly felt she had excellent taste, finding such a “savior” for Jiang Wan.
Let’s see how she could ever compare to herself again.
One was lecherous.
The other was gloating.
But when they clearly saw the man following Jiang Wan inside, their expressions turned to stunned disbelief.
Everyone in the room recognized Gu Shilan.
Gu Shilan accompanied Jiang Wan inside, scanned the room, and immediately understood the situation, his gaze turning cold.
The air froze for a moment.
“Shilan, what brings you here today?” Jiang Yi reacted quickly, rising to greet him.
Gu Shilan didn’t respond to him. Instead, his intimidating gaze swept coldly over Zhang Tiezhu.
Zhang Tiezhu immediately averted his eyes from Jiang Wan, swallowed nervously, and slumped back on the sofa without a word.
He cursed Meng Fenyu inwardly, thinking that wretched woman had brought trouble upon herself and dragged him down with her.
Jiang Yi, left hanging, felt awkward and called out again, “Shilan.”
Only then did Gu Shilan look at him.
His voice was calm and steady, but his words were shocking: “I’m here with my fiancée to pick up her household register.”
Before Jiang Yi and his wife could respond to Gu Shilan’s words,
Jiang Ting couldn’t hold back and asked, “Who is your fiancée?”
It couldn’t possibly be that cheap girl Jiang Wan, who was pregnant with a bastard child.
She even harbored a faint, unrealistic hope.
Maybe Gu Shilan had taken a liking to her.
A flicker of disgust flashed in Gu Shilan’s eyes, though his expression remained unchanged. He said coolly, “It’s certainly not you.”
Jiang Ting was left speechless: “…”
Having spent years in the business world, Jiang Yi had long mastered the art of wearing a cunning fox-like facade. If he couldn’t grasp the situation now, he would have wasted decades of his life.
The child in Jiang Wan’s belly was clearly Gu Shilan’s.
He cursed Meng Fenyu inwardly for being brainless, making rash suggestions without understanding the situation.
She had actually tried to find a vegetable seller to be the father of the Gu family’s precious child.
Now they had offended Gu Shilan.
Though furious inside, he maintained the image of a caring father, smiling warmly and saying, “Xiao Wan, so you’ve been with Shilan all these days. Why didn’t you call home? Your mother and I were so worried, afraid something might happen to you out there alone.”
Listening to Jiang Yi’s words, Jiang Wan’s face turned as pale as paper, her fingertips digging deeply into her palms.
They were probably just thinking about how to sell her off.
Then she felt her hand enveloped in a warm palm.
“Let go,” Gu Shilan’s gentle voice whispered in her ear.
His voice seemed to have a soothing effect, and Jiang Wan suddenly felt less distressed.
After speaking to Jiang Wan, Gu Shilan glanced calmly at everyone present and said softly, “Mr. Jiang, Wanwan is with me, so you can rest assured. I will never let her face any danger, nor will I let her go hungry or suffer from the cold.”
These words were no different from slapping Jiang Yi directly in the face, essentially stating outright that the Jiang family had treated Jiang Wan poorly.
Jiang Yi, having been directly slapped in the face, felt instantly embarrassed, but he dared not confront Gu Shilan openly. He could only force a smile to ease the awkwardness.
The Gu and Jiang families had connections, but those were from generations past. By their generation, little remained. He knew all too well that Gu Shilan would spare him no face.
“Shilan, it’s been a while. You’ve become quite humorous,” Jiang Yi could only find a way to save face. “Marriage is a serious matter, Shilan. Let’s sit down and discuss it properly. As her father, I need to plan the dowry carefully so Xiao Wan won’t be mistreated.”
“No need,” Gu Shilan showed not a trace of anger on his face. “The doctor said Wanwan was too depleted before and is too weak now, needing quiet rest. We’ll take what we need, and then Wanwan must go home to rest. As for the dowry, there’s no need. I don’t want our marriage to be treated as a transaction. Scheming to sell off a daughter behind the scenes won’t work with me.”
From start to finish, Gu Shilan showed no sign of anger, yet his words left others speechless.
Zhang Tiezhu sat to the side, completely ignored, but that suited him just fine—it spared him from being caught in the crossfire.
He watched the drama unfold while enjoying the spectacle.
As the saying goes, with a stepmother comes a stepfather. How true that was.
Jiang Yi appeared gentle and refined, yet he turned out to be someone whose brain couldn’t control his baser instincts—utterly inhumane, even abusing his own daughter.
With such a cautionary example, Zhang Tiezhu immediately dismissed the idea of finding a stepmother for his child.
Today, Gu Shilan intended to leave Jiang Yi with no face at all.
Though Jiang Yi was dissatisfied, there was nothing he could do about Gu Shilan. He could only swallow his anger.
To say anything more would only invite humiliation, so he awkwardly led the two to retrieve the household register.
Jiang Ting was left speechless and stayed quiet for a while. But upon seeing Gu Shilan’s unwavering protection and care for Jiang Wan, an uncontrollable jealousy surged within her.
Almost without thinking, she blurted out, “Uncle, you’ve been deceived. Jiang Wan is preg—”
“Tingting!” Meng Fenyu sharply cut off Jiang Ting’s foolishness. “We have guests here. What are you shouting for? Is this how I taught you to behave? Elders are speaking—you have no right to interrupt. Be quiet.”
After speaking, she avoided the others’ gazes and glared fiercely at Jiang Ting.
Jiang Ting was startled by her mother’s look. Meng Fenyu had never yelled at her like this before. She didn’t know what had gotten into her mother today or why she was stopping her from exposing Jiang Wan.
Could it be that even her mother was switching sides now that Jiang Wan was marrying into the Gu family? She felt both wronged and resentful.
She couldn’t bear the thought of that wretched girl marrying into a top-tier wealthy family and having Gu Shilan protect her like this.
Why?
But she didn’t dare say anything more. She could only watch helplessly as Jiang Wan was escorted upstairs by Gu Shilan.
Gu Shilan retrieved the household register and went with Jiang Wan to her room to pack the things she wanted to take.
This was the first time Gu Shilan had seen Jiang Wan’s room—a small guest room converted into a bedroom. Within its limited space, there was only a slightly old desk by the window, a bed that looked rather uncomfortable, and a wardrobe.
The layout could be taken in at a glance. One might even mistake it for a servant’s room—hardly fitting for the bedroom of a wealthy family’s daughter.
Gu Shilan took off his suit jacket and handed it to Wen Shi, who had followed him, then asked him to fetch a few cardboard boxes.
“Are you taking all of these?” Gu Shilan rolled up his shirt sleeves to his forearms, ready to get to work.
The Jiang family servants treated Jiang Wan as if she were invisible. She had long grown accustomed to doing everything herself.
“No need, Uncle Gu.” Jiang Wan felt embarrassed to have a big CEO like him help her pack. “I can manage on my own…”
Gu Shilan smiled gently. “Wanwan, you’re pregnant. You shouldn’t be doing these things. Let Uncle Gu handle it.”
With that, he crouched down, opened the cardboard boxes, and began carefully placing the items to be taken away inside, one by one.