The CEO’s Substitute Wife Is A Genius
Chapter 118: The Original Song Was Taken Away

Chapter 118: Chapter 118: The Original Song Was Taken Away

After saying that, Han Shuo kept his head down, bracing for his brother Feng’s rage.

However, more terrifying than rage was silence.

An eerily quiet silence, a soundless oppression.

When he looked up, he saw Nan Juefeng clenching his fist, with his originally refined features wrinkled together.

"They’re married? Han Shuo, do you know what the consequences are for inaccurate investigation?" Nan Juefeng’s voice was soft, he spoke with a smile, but his eyebrows were like knives hanging above, his gaze sharp and murderous.

Han Shuo felt intimidated, but still bravely stepped forward and handed over the document he held in his hand.

"I got this through connections, the registration records from the civil affairs bureau; it can’t be fake. I heard Jiang Man was forced by her parents to get married, don’t know what happened, but somehow she ended up marrying Lu Xingzhou in error. The Lu family matriarch seems to really like Jiang Man, but for some reason, they’ve always maintained a secretive marriage..."

While Han Shuo was speaking, Nan Juefeng seemed as if he hadn’t heard a word, staring blankly at the text on the A4 paper—under the spouse column for Jiang Man, it was clearly written: ’Lu Xingzhou’.

"How is this possible... how could this be..."

Jiang Man was still so young; she was only 20 years old—how could she be married?

He had searched for her for 15 years; had the love he never even confessed died in its infancy?

"Feng, take it easy. The world is full of beautiful people."

Han Shuo put his hand on Nan Juefeng’s shoulder to comfort him.

But he acted as if he heard nothing, gripping the paper so tightly that he crumpled one corner.

Fifteen years of persistence had built an unbreakable high wall, but at this moment, it completely collapsed. It fell apart.

"How could this be?"

He kept repeating these words, as if lost in a trance.

...

Jiang Man had no idea of Nan Juefeng’s feelings for her, nor did she realize how tormented he was at that very moment.

After evening training, she said goodbye to Zhang Ziqi and the others and then went to wait for Lu Xingzhou at the school gate.

Zhao Huai had already parked the car at the designated spot, and Lu Xingzhou had gotten into the car before her, removing his camouflage uniform.

When Jiang Man opened the car door to get in, she detected a faint scent of sweat mixed with a woody perfume.

The perfume was mild, pervading the car, serene and soothing.

She sniffed in surprise. "No smell of smoke?"

She disliked the burned scent of nicotine.

But Lu Xingzhou was a smoker.

"I quit." Lu Xingzhou said, resting against the seat with his eyes closed, his hands slightly clasped on his lap.

It was evident that a day of being a drill instructor had left him tired.

"Quit?" Jiang Man’s tone was teasing, quite surprised.

Quitting smoking and drinking was no easy task; both could be addicting, the kind that seeps into one’s very marrow.

Sudden abstinence could cause a visceral discomfort, even a stress response.

"Suddenly had an epiphany that smoking is bad for health?" Jiang Man continued to tease, her tone thickening.

But Lu Xingzhou didn’t speak, as if he had fallen asleep.

Jiang Man shrugged and sat down beside him.

Zhao Huai watched the two through the rearview mirror and slowly started the car.

His BOSS had been smoking for seven or eight years; quitting was indeed not easy.

Merely because Miss Jiang mentioned ’smoking is harmful to health,’ his BOSS decided to quit—quite miraculous to think about.

...

The car drove slowly down the road. Jiang Man wasn’t sleepy. She took out paper and a pen and continued writing her song.

Country music floated through the car, while outside the window was the hustle and bustle of a vibrant city street.

The car passed through the old street, and when Jiang Man saw the roasted sweet potato stall, inspiration suddenly struck her.

She rapidly scribbled down the lyrics in her notebook, nearly completing the entire song in one breath.

She wasn’t in a hurry to compose the music and planned to find an instrument to help inspire her once she got back.

She took out her phone and sent Wu Yingfan a message.

[The lyrics are done, but I still need to find inspiration for the melody. Bring me a guitar. If you don’t have a guitar, an electronic keyboard will do.]

[Powerful, Jiang Man! That was fast! Okay, I’ll get one for you by tomorrow.]

Wu Yingfan replied almost instantly.

After reading the text message, Jiang Man turned off her phone’s screen and closed her eyes, feeling at ease enough to take a short rest.

...

At this moment, in the girls’ dormitory of the Bei Yin Academy.

Room 402.

Wen Rui returned to the dorm and went to the balcony to memorize vocabulary, while Mao Lili went to freshen up.

Taking advantage of the absence of others, Zhang Ziqi sneakily took the crumpled piece of paper out of her pocket.

The lyrics were finished, and she had only made half of the melody, just completing the chorus, with nothing after that.

She quickly grabbed her pad, opened the piano software inside, and started playing the notes from the crumpled paper.

As each note was pressed, forming a perfect melody, she was astonished!

The tune was very bright, and just listening to the melody gave one the feelings of a first love.

Then she looked at the lyrics, and the imagery immediately came to life.

A student romance, a boy riding a bicycle with a girl on the back, the girl eating cotton candy, tapping the boy’s shoulder.

When the boy turned his head, the girl stole a kiss.

The boy, holding the handlebars, wobbled and almost fell off.

He stopped the bike, wanting to "punish" the mischievous girl, intending to kiss her back, but the girl placed the cotton candy between them.

Both understanding each other without words, they ate the cotton candy together, until their lips met in a kiss during that spicy summer, with the gentle sea breeze blowing and the taste of the sea mingling with the sweet flavor of the cotton candy.

The song was to be called "Cotton Candy." Although simple, it was full of sincerity, and one could feel the song was bursting with sweetness.

"Damn!" Zhang Ziqi couldn’t help but exclaim, playing the melody again and recording it on her pad’s software.

"Huh? Qiqi, are you playing a tune? It sounds so good. What song is this?"

Mao Lili walked in after her shower, holding her washbasin.

Zhang Ziqi, startled by the question, quickly crumpled up the wrinkled piece of paper and shoved it back into her pocket.

"I was just... playing something random."

She didn’t know why she said that.

Since Jiang Man didn’t want these lyrics and melody, it shouldn’t be too overboard for her to take them, right?

After all, the part after the chorus wasn’t finished, so she could just fill it in...

She remembered that Rolling Stone Records was recently scouting for songs, with astonishing payment rates, a minimum of 100,000 for one, reaching up to 3 million at most!

Each year at this time, many music academy students would eagerly give it a try.

She thought that since Jiang Man composed it spontaneously and never played it on an instrument, she probably wouldn’t remember the melody, right?

After all, Jiang Man had discarded these lyrics and melody like trash, so if she made some changes and submitted it, it wouldn’t exactly be plagiarism, would it?

"Random playing? Qiqi, are you that talented?" Mao Lili was incredulous.

Zhang Ziqi forced a smile, "I’ve been learning musical instruments since I was young. Composing original music is not that difficult for me."

"Impressive, impressive! Oh, and Rolling Stone Records is holding a song contest. Why don’t you give it a try? The prize money is substantial!" Mao Lili suggested.

"Really? I’ll think about it," Zhang Ziqi pretended to be thoughtful, but she had already made up her mind, feigning ignorance.

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