The CEO’s Substitute Wife Is A Genius
Chapter 112: The Instructor is Actually Lu Xingzhou?

Chapter 112: Chapter 112: The Instructor is Actually Lu Xingzhou?

Afraid Jiang Man would refuse, the other party quickly added, "It’s on the way, My lecture is arranged for nine o’clock tomorrow morning."

"Okay then," Jiang Man couldn’t be bothered with idle talk, nor did she think too much about it, she treated Nan Juefeng like an older brother from next door just like when she was a child.

She didn’t consider herself a married woman and thought her marriage with Lu Xingzhou was just a formality, so accepting breakfast from the boy next door was no big deal.

...

The next day.

Jiang Man was woken by the clattering noise in the dormitory.

She opened her eyes and saw that all three girls under the bunk bed had woken up, with a small lamp on.

Mao Lili was applying sunscreen to her face.

Zhang Ziqi followed suit, smearing it on her body as well.

Wen Rui, on the other hand, was hugging an Oxford dictionary, continuing to memorize words.

Hearing Jiang Man stir, Zhang Ziqi immediately looked up, "Sister Man, good morning."

Jiang Man glanced at the time on her phone, it was only half-past seven, she turned over and continued to sleep.

She used to live in a single room while attending Harvard University, and this was her first experience with communal living.

She wanted to keep sleeping, but the loudspeakers outside started on time at seven-thirty, blaring military songs that were headache-inducing.

Jiang Man sat up abruptly with annoyance clearly on her face.

Seeing this, Zhang Ziqi quickly brought her a washbasin, which contained a toothbrush, toothpaste, and a cup for rinsing, topped with a pink towel.

"Sister Man, there’s no line for washing up right now, you should go now. By eight o’clock, it will be jam-packed."

They had all experienced it yesterday; not just washing up, even using the toilet required queuing.

Jiang Man got off the bed, took off her pajama top and bottoms, and changed into camouflage clothing.

She left the dormitory and arrived at the washstands, which were almost full.

She had to wait a while before she could start washing up.

The sound of military songs, various teeth brushing noises, and the chatter of girls in the hallway.

Accompanied by the autumn breeze, it gave Jiang Man a fresh feeling.

This communal living had its merits after all.

"Room 402, Jiang Man, your takeout is here, come down and get it."

Someone shouted loudly in the hallway.

"Coming, coming!" Zhang Ziqi immediately responded, "I’ll go get it!"

Her voice was loud enough to carry tens of meters.

By the time Jiang Man finished washing up and returned to the dorm, she saw a pile of breakfast on her desk.

Chinese, Western, and even Japanese-style, the variety was rich and dazzled the eyes.

There was also a heart-shaped box with a sticky note on it:

——For Jiang Man’s enjoyment only, others do not touch.

With such a warning, naturally, no one else dared to touch it.

"Go ahead and eat, it’s going to get cold."

Jiang Man said.

Zhang Ziqi giggled and took a box of sushi platter.

Wen Rui took some hot soy milk and a bun with fried dough sticks.

Mao Lili took two sandwiches and some milk.

"Sister Man, this is just for you from brother-in-law, open it and see what it is?" Zhang Ziqi, eating her sushi, asked curiously.

Jiang Man opened the heart-shaped box, and inside were meticulously arranged crepes.

The freshly green crepes were neatly stacked, topped with half a slice of lemon and some kiwi fruit dices.

Jiang Man forked a piece into her mouth and found it delicious.

"Jiang Man, Room 402, Jiang Man, there’s more stuff for you downstairs!"

A girl shouted from outside the door.

Students who didn’t want to go to the cafeteria in the morning would order takeout, and those on the same floor would kindly come up to let them know.

"More?" Zhang Ziqi was surprised.

Jiang Man frowned.

Could it be that both Lu Xingzhou and Nan Juefeng sent breakfast?

A few minutes later, Mao Lili ran an errand and brought up the new breakfast.

This time’s offerings were different; there were tofu pudding, osmanthus cake, and sesame balls.

When Jiang Man saw these three items, memories long sealed away were unlocked.

She remembered that, when she was hospitalized as a child, her favorite thing to eat was the savory tofu pudding, which contained dried shrimp, preserved egg bits, and radish cubes—the flavor was unforgettable after just one taste.

Glancing at the packaging bag, it read "Grandma Yang’s Tofu Delight."

Despite the passage of time, she hadn’t forgotten; the tofu pudding she loved to eat as a child was from this very place.

Since returning to her home country, she had actually forgotten to seek out the flavors of her childhood.

Jiang Man picked up a spoon, took one portion of the tofu pudding, scooped a spoonful into her mouth, and her eyes suddenly shined.

It was the taste of her childhood!

"Wow? It’s actually savory tofu pudding; back where I’m from, we eat the sweet kind." Mao Lili was clearly interested in the tofu pudding, and took a bowl for herself.

Jiang Man sat down to eat and glanced at Zhang Ziqi, "Can you check which of the neighbors you’re familiar with and share the rest with them?"

"Sure!" Zhang Ziqi was happy to run this kind of errand.

Jiang Man ate her breakfast leisurely; they still had half an hour’s time.

Ding.

While she was eating, her phone rang, indicating a new message.

It was from Nan Juefeng: Did you get to eat? Does it taste like your childhood?

Jiang Man smiled knowingly, feeling an inexplicable sense of emotion in her heart.

Her childhood, in fact, was not so good.

Abandoned at birth, rejected by the welfare home, then fed by various people at the hospital for three years under the care of doctors and nurses, she managed to survive.

Her foster father had adopted her when she was three years old.

She only remembered spending most of her childhood being treated in hospitals.

Later, when her foster father decided to develop his career overseas, and also because they found a very skilled cardiologist abroad, she took a cruise ship for the first time at the age of ten, crossing the ocean with her foster father to go abroad.

The concept of a "taste of home" always felt foreign to her, even vague.

But every time she ate Grandma Yang’s tofu pudding, for some reason, she instinctively felt it had the familiar taste of an ordinary grandmother’s cooking, and she liked that taste.

——Thank you, it is the taste of my childhood, very delicious.

She typed on her phone, hesitated for a moment, and then sent another message:

——Shall we go visit the hospital together some day?

The reply came almost instantly: Happy to accompany you.

After reading the message, Jiang Man smiled knowingly, feeling a warm sensation in her heart.

Most people around her were unaware of her past; Nan Juefeng was the only one with shared memories with her.

She wasn’t opposed to revisiting her childhood memories, in fact, she even wanted to revisit them.

"Sister Man, all the breakfast has been delivered, and they all asked me to thank you."

Zhang Ziqi, after being busy for a dozen minutes, came back and said with a smile.

Jiang Man looked at her much more favorably.

She found that first impressions were important, but no one is perfect, and impressions can change over time with interaction.

The four girls were very intimate; other rooms, being new to school, were not yet familiar, either going to the field alone or in small groups of two or three people.

A group of four was quite uncommon.

They arrived at the location where they trained yesterday. This time, without the squad leader organizing and keeping records, everyone took their positions for standing at attention very conscientiously.

"Today we’re going to learn shooting. I heard that members of the Wolf Warriors team are coming, a total of 18 members."

"Wow! So excited!"

"Don’t get all lovesick; we’re going to suffer later. Guns are not so easy to learn."

"Actually, I’m afraid... can we not learn to shoot..."

Upon hearing that they were going to learn to shoot, Jiang Man immediately became interested.

Her foster father didn’t like her getting involved with violent things, and even in gun-tolerant America, he wouldn’t let her touch them.

Therefore, she could only occasionally go with Wu Yingfan to the shooting range to learn.

But she felt she couldn’t learn anything profound there; most people who went to the range were beginners.

The truly formidable experts are still hidden within the military.

"Here they come, here they come, the instructor is coming!"

While everyone was discussing their superiors, a perceptive student spotted their handsome instructor, Liu, striding towards them.

Instructor Liu didn’t rush to take them to the shooting practice camp, but instead first drilled them in standing at attention for half an hour and then had them run two laps. It was only when everyone was completely exhausted that he led them towards the main event of the day.

Under the blazing sun, a group of students panted heavily, their backs drenched in sweat.

Stepping into the training camp, they saw several special forces soldiers dressed in camouflage, wearing level three helmets, and black face masks standing in a neat row.

Some female students instantly developed a crush upon seeing this group of special forces.

The feeling of being masked is great!

You can let your imagination run wild by just looking at their figures and not their faces.

"So cool!" a girl whispered.

Instructor Liu had everyone stand at attention and rest while the special forces demonstrated the entire process of holding and firing a gun.

Three special forces soldiers stepped forward with precise and uniform movements, standing sideways with earmuffs and protective goggles on.

Bang bang bang—

The three gunshots sounded almost simultaneously.

Upon hearing the crisp sound tearing through the sky, the girls trembled in surprise, with the more timid ones already starting to shake.

"First row, step forward five paces, you will demonstrate for everyone first," Instructor Liu said loudly.

Jiang Man, Wen Rui, Zhang Ziqi, and Mao Lili happened to be standing in the first row.

Zhang Ziqi glanced at the three upright and handsome special forces soldiers and was reluctant to step forward.

Mao Lili was also hesitant, as if her feet were weighted down with lead.

"Are there any brave students willing to volunteer for the demonstration?" Instructor Liu asked.

Several male students were eager to try, standing in the back rows, raising their hands high.

Instructor Liu spotted them immediately, and just as he was about to pick four boys to come forward, he noticed two girls from the first row stepping forward.

One of them was Jiang Man, and the other was Wen Rui.

"You, you, and, you, let’s have the five of you go first."

Instructor Liu was somewhat surprised and called three more boys.

Seeing that Jiang Man and Wen Rui dared to try first, the other girls looked at each other in admiration.

"They’re so brave!"

"The shooting course isn’t mandatory, right? I heard we could just observe."

"I’ll just observe then, I’m scared."

Amid the murmurs of the students, Jiang Man had already donned gloves, protective goggles, and earmuffs.

She picked up the handgun, stood on the yellow line, and studied how to load it.

She assumed a proper shooting stance, aiming to shoot from the side.

At that moment, a special forces soldier came up behind her and suddenly grabbed her wrist.

Although he didn’t speak, the woody scent emanating from his body felt familiar.

She slightly turned her head and saw a pair of deep eyes belonging to a man staring intently at her.

Through the earmuffs, she couldn’t hear his faint voice.

Jiang Man could only try to figure out what he was saying by reading his lips.

"Don’t get distracted."

Jiang Man’s eyes widened as she froze in place.

"Lu Xingzhou?"

Why was it him?

She was so shocked that her pupils dilated, and she almost forgot what she was doing.

It was only when her waist was pinched and the man drew closer, standing behind her and guiding her hand holding the gun, that she snapped back to reality.

He took the earmuffs off her ears and hung them around her neck.

"Student, do you need the instructor to demonstrate for you again?"

"What are you doing?" Jiang Man glared at him.

Lu Xingzhou’s handsome face was concealed by the mask, so his expression was not visible, but the teasing in his eyes could be seen through his gaze.

"Listen carefully, and don’t get distracted."

"..."

Jiang Man rolled her eyes at him speechlessly.

But Lu Xingzhou was dead serious, earnestly teaching her shooting knowledge.

"Stand with your legs slightly less than shoulder-width apart, feet parallel with toes pointing out a bit. Toes should be aligned or the left foot slightly ahead."

"Keep your legs naturally straight, with your calves leaning slightly forward to stretch the Achilles tendon, and your weight on the balls of your feet. Tuck your abdomen slightly, and thrust your hips forward."

...

Lu Xingzhou started with the most basic stance, explaining in detail and teaching with patience.

The other instructors were different; they would teach once and then let the students practice.

Bang—

Bang Bang—

Wen Rui missed the target completely.

The three male students did slightly better, but they were all outside the seventh ring.

All eyes were on Jiang Man, as well as on her patient instructor.

"Hmm, not bad. You got it after one lesson, Jiang Manman, you’re amazing!"

"???" Jiang Manman, what’s happening?

Jiang Man wondered if her bargain husband had lost his mind?

However, Lu Xingzhou remained utterly serious, and he wasn’t completely close to her.

But for some reason, Jiang Man felt as if there was a magnetic pull between them, an invisible force drawing them closer.

"Did you remember all the theoretical knowledge?"

The man’s voice was low and magnetic. His face was so close that Jiang Man could clearly see the distinct lashes of his eyes.

The subtle scent of wood emanating from him was refreshing.

Jiang Man didn’t know if it was because of the blazing sun, but her ears felt rather hot.

"I remembered." She opened her mouth, her eyes involuntarily darting around.

Lu Xingzhou gently took her elbow, "Don’t get distracted, come on, put on the headphones and try to fire a shot."

After speaking, he stood behind her and pulled the headphones up from around her neck.

Jiang Man saw their shadows on the ground, his tall and majestic figure overshadowing her small one, making her seem very petite.

Her shadow blended into his, creating an indescribable air of ambiguity.

She felt somewhat thirsty and swallowed to moisten her throat.

She closed her eyes to focus.

With her right eye closed, she aimed at the target with her left.

Almost instantly, she squeezed the trigger with speed, accuracy, and ferocity.

The recoil of the pistol naturally caused her elbow to jerk upward.

She remembered Lu Xingzhou’s earlier instruction, not to tense up at that moment, to let things take their natural course, allowing the inertia to pass, and her hand would naturally return to its original position.

Bang—

This shot landed directly in the center of the red heart.

There was a collective gasp from the classmates behind her.

"Wow! Sister Man is so awesome! A bull’s-eye on the first shot?"

"It’s not just the bull’s-eye, but the very center of it!"

"So impressive! Has she practiced this before?"

"We don’t usually get our hands on guns, so how could she have practiced?"

"I think it’s the master’s good teaching. The other instructors didn’t teach so meticulously!"

"Of course, the master is important, but the disciple has to be smart too."

"Truly! Jiang Man is indeed impressive! I’m thoroughly convinced!"

Among the onlooking students, quite a few boys were silently amazed.

Some even developed a secret crush on Jiang Man after her spectacular performance...