The CEO’s Substitute Wife Is A Genius
Chapter 195: Congratulations on Joining the Ranks of Married Women

Chapter 195: Chapter 195: Congratulations on Joining the Ranks of Married Women

When Ming Ran appeared, everyone’s eyes widened.

Had she not left after the banquet? Or had she come back later?

"Ranran, sit," the matriarch beckoned hurriedly upon seeing her.

Ming Ran looked around, wanting to sit next to Lu Zhendong.

Lu Zhan was very perceptive and moved himself and his chair to the side.

The servant quickly added another chair.

Ming Ran sat down obediently.

Everyone glanced over at the two with unnatural expressions, belatedly realizing.

What happened between them last night must have been intense, and those marks were made by Ming Ran.

Now, the Lu Family was divided into three factions.

One faction supported Lu Zhendong and Ming Ran being together, represented by the old lady.

Another was neutral, with Lu Xingzhou, Jiang Man, and Lu Zhan as representatives.

The last faction consisted of Meng Lian and Lu Yaobang.

Since they couldn’t marry into the Lu Xingzhou family, they still hoped their foster daughter would marry Lu Zhendong.

After all, they would feel completely at ease only when she became a bride of the Lu Family.

Then, any child born would still carry the Lu Family’s bloodline.

If they took her in as a foster daughter, once she married and left, it was like pouring water away, and she would ultimately become an outsider.

"So this is how the Ming Family educates their daughter? Sneaking into a man’s home in the middle of the night?" Meng Lian couldn’t help but criticize.

Ming Ran awkwardly tugged at the corner of her mouth, "My family has good education, it’s my personal issue, I’m disobedient. Auntie, feel free to scold me, but let’s not bring my family into this."

"You..." Meng Lian flushed with anger from being retorted, "Scolding you is scolding you! Zhendong gave you his whole heart, and you didn’t know how to cherish it, trampling on it. Now that you’re tired of playing around, and you realize no other man is as good to you as Zhendong, you want to come back? Where in the world do you get such a good deal?"

"A Lian, eat your food, keep your mouth shut!" The matriarch was very displeased with what she heard.

Meng Lian pouted her lips.

She quit talking, but Lu Yaobang took over, "Mom, A Lian isn’t wrong. There are plenty of good girls out there. If we find a bride for Zhendong, shouldn’t we at least look for someone cleaner?"

He emphasized the words ’a bit cleaner’.

Hearing these words, Ming Ran’s face turned deathly pale instantly.

She turned her head to look towards Lu Zhendong, casting a plea for help with her eyes.

But the man simply ate his meal coldly, as if it had nothing to do with him.

Her heart ached sharply, almost bringing her to tears.

"What era is this? Still using such language to objectify women?" The matriarch, seeing the poor atmosphere, immediately reprimanded her son, "The younger generation should be free to love. As elders, we should accumulate some virtue. Don’t meddle, and don’t criticize!"

Lu Yaobang, unconvinced, rolled his eyes but said no more.

The atmosphere that had been harmonious became awkward with the arrival of Ming Ran.

"Eat quickly, and then get lost," Lu Zhendong said coldly at last.

His tone wasn’t loud, but it was laden with strong disdain.

Ming Ran could hear the disgust in his voice.

It was okay for anyone else to curse or insult her, but not him.

Her emotional defenses crumbled instantly.

Ming Ran gave a bitter smile as she stood up from her seat, her tears falling uncontrollably.

"I’m leaving! I’ll leave right now!"

As she turned and wiped her tears, a sense of grievance overwhelmed her.

"Ranran..." the old lady wanted to retain her.

Ming Ran fled in panic, stumbling and almost falling when she was tripped by the threshold on her way out of the courtyard.

Watching her retreating figure, everyone had different thoughts in their minds.

Jiang Man continued to eat her breakfast unperturbed, chewing thoughtfully.

Matters of the heart are the most bothersome, unable to be cut cleanly or sorted out easily.

She hated dealing with other people’s romantic affairs the most.

She would care about JOJO and Song Xiao because one was her best friend, and the other was her sworn brother.

As for Ming Ran, they had little in common, practically strangers, so naturally, she remained aloof.

Ding.

As breakfast was nearly finished, Jiang Man’s phone rang.

She pulled her phone partly out of her pocket, glanced at the notification.

Seeing a message from JOJO, she fully took out the phone.

JOJO: Sister, Song Xiao and I have officially got our marriage certificate!

Jiang Man raised her eyebrows.

Since JOJO was a foreigner, tying the knot was a bit more troublesome with more paperwork involved, so it wasn’t until today that they successfully obtained their certificate.

Jiang Man typed with one hand: Congratulations on joining the ranks of the married women.

JOJO: Of course, we share fortune and face difficulties together.

Jiang Man: No, you’re luckier than I am.

JOJO: Hmph! I hope you’ll join the group of pregnant women soon to keep me company as a big-bellied woman.

Jiang Man: I kindly decline, haha, someone and I have always taken precautions.

As she sent this message, Jiang Man couldn’t help but sneak a glance at the man next to her.

For some reason, she felt like she was harboring a guilty conscience.

JOJO: Today Song Xiao and I will host a banquet to invite our closest family and friends for a meal. Remember to come over at noon.

Meanwhile, Lu Xingzhou’s phone also rang.

He took it out and saw a message from Song Xiao.

Song Xiao: Brother Xingzhou, I’m ending my bachelor life, come to celebrate at Shangri-La Hotel’s Room 201 at noon. (Crying emoji o(╥﹏╥)o)

Lu Xingzhou: Okay.

"JOJO got in touch with you?" Lu Xingzhou put his phone back into his pocket.

Jiang Man raised her eyebrows: "Song Xiao got in touch with you?"

Lu Xingzhou responded with a smile.

Great, the same matter!

...

After having breakfast, everyone got busy with their own things.

Jiang Man went to her school to attend class.

After military training had ended, they were starting their official classes today.

As for Lu Xingzhou, it was business as usual, managing a plethora of tasks.

The only difference was that Lu Family had decided to sponsor V-night.

Originally, the Lu Family hadn’t planned on this, but since Jiang Man was going to make an appearance at V-night.

To escort and protect his wife, as a husband, he naturally needed to use his financial power to become a financial backer and feel at ease.

"BOSS, here is the list of artists set to perform; the marketing department has already confirmed it, we just need your signature," Zhao Huai brought the information for V-night and placed it in front of Lu Xingzhou.

Lu Xingzhou casually flipped through it and coincidentally turned to a page.

It read:

Intermission, Performance 3: "Swan Lake" by students of the Royal Ballet Academy.

Performers: Jiang Man, Juliette, Piao Suna, Yamashima Rie, Ming Xiang, Charlotte...

Lu Xingzhou didn’t look in detail, just glanced over it rapidly, searching for Wen Rui’s name.

"When are Wen Rui and Lu Zhan performing?" he asked in an indifferent tone.

"Young Master Lu Zhan is a top singer in the music world; he will perform near the end of the top ten hit songs award segment, and will take the stage with Wen Rui," Zhao Huai replied.

Being second to the finale meant that there was an even more impressive person closing the show.

Lu Xingzhou glanced at the list of finale performers.

JOJO.

He nodded in satisfaction.

With JOJO’s fame and status, it was indeed well deserved.

However, what mattered most to him for tonight’s V-night was Jiang Man’s dress design for Wen Rui; it had to make a sensational impact and outshine everyone!

"Let Wen Rui endorse Lu Family’s new car this year. We can insert an advertisement during V-night; let Wen Rui be the model," Lu Xingzhou stated matter-of-factly.

Zhao Huai was in disbelief upon hearing this.

The new Lu Family car was expected to capture a market share of 200 billion yuan. For such a massive project, the board had held several meetings to find an endorser but had not reached a conclusion yet.

The world’s top soccer players, most influential singers, famous F1 racing champions – these were the caliber of influencers the board was considering.

But what had he just heard?

The BOSS had chosen to give the slot to an unknown small fry, Wen Rui?

Anybody could guess that the BOSS was showing favoritism due to his wife’s influence, wanting to promote his wife’s cousin, aiming to make her a star and launch her into the limelight!