The CEO’s Substitute Wife Is A Genius
Chapter 140: Lost a Vest

Chapter 140: Chapter 140: Lost a Vest

Jiang Man rolled her eyes speechlessly.

One second, she was admiring the man’s faintly visible pecs, and the next, he stopped abruptly?

She furrowed her brow, biting her lip, her cheeks puffing out.

"Actually, I’m not sure if I have feelings for you."

After a pause, she continued, "Having spent these days with you, I do think you’re quite nice, very caring, and your cooking really suits my taste."

"Not sure, huh? How about here, do you want to touch?" Lu Xingzhou coaxed gently, grabbing her hand and placing it on his chest.

Through the fabric, she could clearly feel the muscles underneath, very firm, better to the touch than imagined.

"Tsk." Jiang Man lifted her eyelids, clearly intrigued.

Not waiting for Lu Xingzhou to coax her further, she bolted upright with a kip-up, using both hands to caress the man’s pecs.

"Actually, it’s not a no, we’re both adults," Jiang Man bit the corner of her mouth.

Lu Xingzhou suddenly leaned over, his hands bracing next to Jiang Man’s arms, his gaze intensely invasive, "Then let me ask you, do you want to with me?"

He paused, deliberately stressing the last word, "Do?"

"Fuck!" Jiang Man couldn’t take it anymore, "At your age, I didn’t expect you to be so eager? Never mind!"

...

An hour later, Jiang Man was exhausted, lying on the pillow with a thin layer of sweat on her back, her jet-black hair damp and clinging to her face and neck.

She was breathing heavily, feeling as though she had been run over by a car, her whole body aching.

The man beside her propped his head with one hand, leisurely admiring his conquest.

His long fingers hooked a few strands of hair that stuck to her cheek, tucking them behind her ear.

His smile grew wider, unable to hide the elation in his heart.

From the corner of his eye, the sight of a fresh red stain on the sheet caught him off guard— he hadn’t expected Jiang Man, a heartthrob, to be a virgin!

"Tired? Shall I carry you to the bath?"

Lu Xingzhou leaned close to Jiang Man, whispering in her ear.

Jiang Man felt his breath had a kind of magic, touching her body, making her tense up completely.

"Lu Xingzhou, you’re really something!"

She turned her head to look at him, her eyes carrying a trace of reproach.

Lu Xingzhou’s smile rippled, like a captivating flower, "Of course, I am. Satisfied?"

"!!!", Jiang Man was going crazy, unable to withstand his teasing. She pushed her body up, grabbed the thin quilt, wrapped it around herself, and marched barefoot toward the bathroom.

Lu Xingzhou felt a chill, smiled slightly, stood up, and slowly picked up the clothes on the floor, taking his time to dress.

He pulled open the drawer of the bedside table, fetched a cigarette and lighter.

Facing the floor-to-ceiling window, he lit the lighter, watching the bluish flame reflect on the glass and also casting his half-stern face.

He smiled freely, took a satisfied drag of the cigarette, then slowly exhaled, watching the smoke swirl.

...

Jiang Man entered the bathroom, her first instinct was to look in the mirror.

When she saw her own reflection marred with patches of blue and purple, she frowned.

Images of the heated moments from before immediately surfaced in her mind, making her feel shy.

She turned on the tap and splashed water on her face, trying to wash away the flush on her cheeks.

But under the alternating hot and cold water, her cheeks turned even redder instead of cooling down.

Jiang Man felt irritated, she was annoyed by this uncontrollable feeling.

After half an hour in the bathroom, she washed herself several times, leaving her smelling fragrant.

Dressed in a clean robe, she came out only to find no one in the bedroom.

Only one floor lamp was on in the bedroom, its warm light making the room very cozy.

She climbed into bed and out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a memo paper, held down by a man’s watch, on the nightstand.

Picking up the memo, she saw it was in Lu Xingzhou’s handwriting, which was very attractive and in perfect regular script.

——Rest well, I’ll sleep in the guest room.

After reading the message, Jiang Man let out a long sigh.

She flopped down on the pillow, closed her eyes, but found herself tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.

Finally, having no other option, she fished out her phone and called Wu Yingfan.

Wu Yingfan had set Jiang Man as a VIP on his phone, so even though it was on silent at night, it would still ring for texts and calls from her.

"Hello...?" The voice on the other end of the line was thick with sleepiness, sounding groggy.

Jiang Man, leaning on the headboard, spoke with a look of indifference, "I slept with Lu Xingzhou."

Her voice was light and breezy.

"Mhm." Wu Yingfan, still not fully awake, responded instinctively.

A moment of silence followed, and Jiang Man did not speak again.

Then, as if it had just dawned on him, Wu Yingfan suddenly opened his eyes wide, "What the fuck!"

He practically sat up with a jolt, "What’s going on? Aren’t you two in a marriage of convenience with the marriage set for just one year?"

"Mmm-hmm, that’s right." Jiang Man raised her eyebrows; her mind was in turmoil, and she just wanted someone to talk to.

"Tonight, I don’t know what got into him, he suddenly changed his mind, tore up the agreement, saying he wants to be real husband and wife with me."

"And then?" Wu Yingfan was all ears, eagerly anticipating the gossip.

"Then he started making a fuss, talking all sorts of nonsense to me, and I couldn’t resist the temptation, so I took the initiative."

"What???" Wu Yingfan screamed in shock.

Taking the initiative with a man was indeed like Jiang Man’s style.

But not being able to resist a man’s seduction? That didn’t sound much like her.

"Huh? Wait, so, Nan Juefeng confessed his love to you during the day, and then Lu Xingzhou flirted with you at night. Did he know something?"

Jiang Man wasn’t interested in why Lu Xingzhou flirted with her. She interrupted, "When Nan Juefeng confessed to me, I felt heartbroken, but when Lu Xingzhou confessed, I really wanted to pounce on him. What do you think that means?"

"Oh sister! You’re done for! You’ve fallen in love!" Wu Yingfan exclaimed excitely, totally thrilled, "That proves you don’t actually like Nan Juefeng; you like Lu Xingzhou!"

"Really?" Jiang Man asked doubtfully.

"The bystander sees the truth of the game, elder sis. You’ve developed feelings for my brother-in-law. I think you guys should just make it real, he’s well-matched for you anyway," he proposed.

"We’ll see, I’ll think about it." Having said that, Jiang Man hung up the phone with a snap.

Wu Yingfan, listening to the ’beep beep beep’ from his phone, started pacing up and down like a monkey.

After pondering for a moment, he dialed Lu Xingzhou’s number.

Lu Xingzhou had just come out from a shower, wrapped in a bath towel.

He answered the phone and raised an eyebrow, "What’s up?"

"Brother-in-law, you’re amazing! You’ve actually got Jiang Man? Tsk tsk tsk, she’s been romantically clueless and solo for 20 years, share some tips, man. How did you successfully win her over?"

Lu Xingzhou was surprised at why Wu Yingfan would suddenly make this call.

He speculated that Jiang Man must have told him, as they were close friends who shared everything.

"No comment," Lu Xingzhou said solemnly. "If you want specifics, ask your elder sis."

With that, he hung up the phone.

"Hey?" Wu Yingfan felt frustrated, glaring at his phone which had just been disconnected.

His brother-in-law was rather aloof, wasn’t he?

Listening to the situation, it didn’t seem like what Jiang Man had described. Where was the loud and flirty man?

Had something gone wrong in between?

...

The next day.

Wen Rui and the others asked for leave, as they were invited to Huayin.

The announcement of Huayin’s new song teaser garnered vast attention, even alarming the Beiying Academy.

The principal personally approved Wen Rui’s leave request, telling her to prioritize the new song release, and that she could skip the military training.

Mao Lili and Zhang Ziqi shamelessly pleaded with Wen Rui, finally securing leave approvals under the guise of being Wen Rui’s manager and assistant, respectively, from the principal.

Early in the morning, Huayin sent a luxury car to pick them up. The scene at the dormitory entrance was packed with people, and it took the car more than ten minutes to cover the few hundred meters from the dorm to the gate.

They had never witnessed such a spectacle before.

"Oh my God, this feels so awesome, I feel like I’ve become a female celebrity!" Mao Lili sat in the van, looking out at the swarming students through the window.

Zhang Ziqi was also thrilled, but mixed with her excitement was a tinge of sourness.

She deeply regretted stealing Manman’s discarded drafts. Would she be as acclaimed as Wen Rui now if she hadn’t?

Wen Rui sat quietly on the couch, savoring the joy of success.

She was someone with great resolve, never arrogant in victory or discouraged in defeat.

Even with one foot already in the doorway of the entertainment industry, she remained as stable as Mount Tai, secretly delighted but not overly showy.

"What’s going on? Why is the dormitory so lively so early in the morning?"

Wen Jingya woke up to the cheers down below.

Tang Xueying and Yu Qing were leaning over the balcony railing, craning their necks to see below.

From their vantage point, they had a clear view of how Wen Rui and her group got into the luxury car and departed.

"I heard Huayin sent a car for Wen Rui."

"Haha, she’s not even a star yet, and she’s already putting on such airs?"

Tang Xueying was a bit sour, even very envious.

"I suspect Jiang Man pulled strings using her connection with Lu Zhan. Yaya, you were too slow and she got ahead of you!"

Wen Jingya frowned.

She had contacted Lu Zhan a few days ago, expressing her band’s desire to collaborate with him.

However, Lu Zhan dismissed her, claiming he was just an artist and had no authority over band matters.

Now it seemed likely that Jiang Man had interfered, speaking ill of her to Lu Zhan, which was why he rejected her.

"Such a petty person!" Wen Jingya cursed venomously, daring only to mutter under her breath, unable to take any rash actions.

Her continuing presence at Beiying Academy, in Beicheng, had been secured by her staged suicide attempt.

If she provoked Jiang Man again, she doubted she would survive, even if she died ten times over.

"Definitely a petty person! Yaya, what will we do about Mengyin? I feel if Lu Zhan starts collaborating with Jiang Man first, he won’t bother with us anymore."

"Let’s find someone else then. I’ve already contacted Lin Xi, and he’s interested in collaborating with us."

"Lin Xi? Oh my goodness, a gold medal lyricist!" Tang Xueying’s eyes brightened, thrilled.

"If we really manage to collaborate with him, that would definitely be cooler than working with Lu Zhan!"

"That’s true." Wen Jingya chuckled lightly, very pleased.

"Yaya’s awesome!" Tang Xueying gave a thumbs up.

Wen Jingya, flattered by the praise, smirked slightly: "This year’s Best Song Award, it’s still anyone’s game!"

...

Half an hour later, the trio arrived at Huayin.

Throughout, they were accompanied by staff members and enjoyed the treatment of A-list stars.

"Please have a seat in the lounge for a while. Brother Zhan is currently discussing the new song with JOJO, and it will be over soon."

The staff member spoke respectfully.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Ziqi’s eyes lit up: "JOJO is next door?"

"Yes," the staff member replied with a smile. "What would you like to drink?"

"Orange juice," said Wen Rui.

"Same for me."

"Me too."

"Okay, please wait a moment," replied the staff.

Once the staff had left, Zhang Ziqi couldn’t sit still any longer. "JOJO is in the next room, should we go take a look?"

"Maybe we shouldn’t, we are, after all, in someone else’s company," Mao Lili was a bit hesitant.

"We’re not doing anything wrong, just waiting for JOJO to come out and get an autograph," Zhang Ziqi continued to persuade.

Unable to resist the temptation, Mao Lili agreed, "Alright then."

The two stood up, then thought of something, "Ruirui, can we go?"

Wen Rui also wanted to see JOJO. She was her idol, after all.

"I’ll go with you."

"Ah?" Zhang Ziqi and Mao Lili let out a surprised gasp in unison, not having expected this.

The three of them tiptoed out of the lounge, heading to the door of the conference room next door.

The blinds in the conference room were all open, blocking the entire view.

The three could not see inside and could only wait outside the door.

They could catch snippets of the conversation inside through the door.

In the conference room, JOJO was seated in the main seat, exuding a queen-like presence; no matter her posture, she commanded a powerful aura.

Lu Zhan, despite being a top celebrity in the country, found his aura completely suppressed in front of the queen.

After finally concluding the meeting, JOJO stood up, flicking her golden hair that fell on her chest to the back with a hand.

She extended her hand to shake hands with Lu Zhan.

Lu Zhan, respectful and cautious, shook her hand with both of his.

"JOJO, I’ve always had a question, what’s your relationship with Jiang Man?" he asked.

As soon as he finished speaking, the translator quickly translated it into English for JOJO.

JOJO frowned, "Jiang Man? Who?"

"Jiang Man, you don’t know her?" Lu Zhan was baffled, "Didn’t you come to collaborate with me because she recommended it?"

JOJO shook her head, clearly indicating she did not know Jiang Man at all.

Lu Zhan was shocked, quickly pulled out his phone, and showed her the video of Jiang Man beating up Liu Pei’s bodyguards.

"Her, you don’t recognize her?"

JOJO looked down at the video, her eyes lighting up: "Wildrose, my friend!"

"Wildrose?" Lu Zhan thought he had misheard.

Hearing JOJO’s words, the translator immediately interpreted, "Mr. Lu, the person in your video is my good friend; she’s the one who asked me to help you out."

Upon hearing this, Lu Zhan opened his mouth, suddenly realizing something.

Wu Yingfan had told him before, claiming his aunt was the well-known international lyricist Wildrose!

At the time, he didn’t believe it and even mocked his aunt for bragging.

He opened his mouth, feeling as if he had been slapped in the face.

The interpreter leaned close to JOJO and informed her that Jiang Man was Wildrose.

JOJO gasped in surprise, so Jiang Man was her friend’s Chinese name!

Outside the conference room, Wen Rui and the others heard the conversation inside, exchanging glances, all dumbfounded.

"Ruirui, your cousin, she’s the internationally renowned lyricist Wildrose???"

Wen Rui froze on the spot, utterly bewildered, "I had no idea..."

Damn! My gosh! If Manman is that incredible, why would she even attend our Beiyin Academy? With her credentials, she could be teaching us as a professor!"

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