Jiang Can suddenly stopped cutting meat, biting her lip tightly, a complex expression flashing across her delicate face.
After a long silence, her eyes reddened again, and tears streamed down her face.
"I'm sorry... I've been lying to you all along. I'm not Jiang Yao, I'm Jiang Can. I'm not the Jiang family's heiress, I'm just an illegitimate child who can't be brought into the light of day. I have no money..."
"If you're very angry, I'm willing to make it up to you. How you make it up to me is up to you. I only ask that you don't take your anger out on my mother and Xiaocheng. They didn't know I was marrying you, I..."
"Is it really up to me?" Gu Mang smiled and walked to her side.
"Um?"
His eyes held a smile as he lowered his voice and said, "The compensation I want is very expensive."
Jiang Can was a little timid, but still said firmly, "It's okay, as long as you tell me, I will definitely do it for you."
Gu Mang's heart skipped a beat, and he suddenly wrapped his arms around her slender waist, meeting her bright eyes.
He told her, slowly and deliberately, "I want you to make it up to me for the rest of your life."
Jiang Can paused, somewhat surprised.
"What, is a lifetime too short?" he chuckled. "Then let's live for eternity."
She stared at him blankly for a while, then finally smiled with relief, leaning against him like a little bird and hugging him tightly.
Gu Mang gently patted her head as before, his low, husky voice filled with tenderness, "What I want is you, not some Jiang family heiress. Besides... my background isn't exactly honorable either. If you don't look down on me, I feel like I've struck gold."
"You're my husband, why would I dislike you?"
"Yes," he said, smiling at her. "You're my wife, why would I be angry with you?"
Jiang Can smiled broadly, her two shallow dimples seemingly containing all the beauty in the world.
Gu Mang felt somewhat dejected; it was actually him who had been deceiving them all along.
...
Jiang Can put the meat and vegetables back in the refrigerator, changed into a pretty dress, and went out arm in arm with Gu Mang.
The two arrived at the Emperor Hotel and sat in the same window seat as before.
Jiang Can also ordered lobster fried rice, but this time she ordered a large portion, enough for the two of them.
"Order whatever else you want!" she said with a playful smile. "I got a raise, and with the commissions and bonuses from the previous orders, it's enough to support you!"
Gu Mang gently pinched her nose. "Then I'll be happy to let you take care of me."
"no problem!"
He chuckled and actually added two more dishes and a soup.
But he instructed the waiter that these items were to be packed up and taken away later.
"What's wrong?" Jiang Can looked at him, puzzled. "Is it not enough to eat here? Do you want to go back to eat?"
"This is for your mother." He put down the menu and looked at her quietly.
Jiang Can's heart suddenly skipped a beat.
“She probably hasn’t eaten yet. Let’s eat quickly in a bit, and then take this to her.” He said in a low voice, “She’s my mother too, and I’ll take care of her with you from now on.”
"Husband..." She felt a mix of emotions, her nose tingled, and she didn't know what to say for a moment, so she just smiled slightly at him.
"Thank you for your kindness, but I'll go see my mother by myself in a bit. You should go home early."
Gu Mang's expression darkened. "What's wrong?"
Jiang Can smiled wryly, "My mom... she's afraid of strangers. In fact, sometimes she doesn't even recognize me. If she were to see you unexpectedly, I'm afraid it would upset her."
What exactly is wrong with her?
“It’s a mental illness.” Her voice was very soft. “I’m rarely lucid; most of the time I’m not fully conscious. And because of my poor mental state, multiple organs in my body are failing. At its worst, I almost died.”
"That's why I married you in place of Jiang Yao." She bit her lip. "My dad said that as long as I fulfill the marriage agreement, he will give me a sum of money, enough for my mother's medical expenses."
Gu Mang frowned slightly, his eyes darkening.
When the lobster rice arrived, Jiang Can, as usual, gave him a large portion and carefully peeled the lobster meat, placing it on his plate.
She ate her rice with a small spoon while telling him her story.
"I don't know much about my mother, but I've heard some of the older servants in the Jiang family say that she originally worked as a servant there. One night, my father got drunk, broke into her room, and then..."
Jiang Can paused for a moment, her heart aching as she spoke of her mother's ordeal.
"Then my mother's mental state fluctuated, and she didn't even know she was pregnant. It was the old maids who found out. By then, the fetus was already too big, and induced labor would have been too dangerous, so my mother had no choice but to give birth to me."
"After that, Dad arranged for Mom and me to live in this house." Jiang Can looked at him. "From childhood to adulthood, I remember Dad didn't visit us often. On the contrary, Yang Juan came to the door every day to make a fuss, saying all sorts of nasty things, which made my mother even more upset."
“My mother never argues with anyone; she keeps everything bottled up inside. After keeping it all bottled up for so long, she ended up like this, only able to survive on IV drips and medication.”
Jiang Can sniffed, her expression somber.
Gu Mang grasped her hand, his brow furrowing even deeper.
"What about Xiao Cheng?" he asked, puzzled. "What happened to him?"
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