The CEO’s Substitute Wife Is A Genius
Chapter 253: Knowing Their Relationship, Lu Xingzhou is Blackmailed

Chapter 253: Chapter 253: Knowing Their Relationship, Lu Xingzhou is Blackmailed

The next day.

Jiang Man was awakened by an unfamiliar male voice.

She and Lu Xingzhou had enjoyed night fishing the evening before.

She caught more fish than he did, and the variety was richer.

Lu Xingzhou ordered someone to bring all of her catch back to the hotel, instructing the kitchen to prepare a full fish feast for her today.

She got up, washed up, and changed into a simple POLO shirt and shorts.

When Jiang Man opened the door, she immediately noticed the people sitting in the living room.

Aside from Lu Xingzhou, there was another man with a big beard.

The man’s skin was very dark, and he had profound facial features, a typical Southeast Asian appearance.

He spoke in Thai-accented English.

Upon hearing the door open, he naturally glanced at Jiang Man.

He then looked at Lu Xingzhou with a sly smile, "So this must be the lover Mr. Lu doesn’t want to expose?"

"You’re mistaken, it’s not that I don’t want to expose her, but that she doesn’t want to," Lu Xingzhou’s gaze was intense, his expression very solemn, "Let me correct that too, it’s not lover, we are partners."

"Lover and partner are no different." The big-bearded man stated indifferently and suddenly stood up, "Since Mr. Lu’s delicate wife is awake, I won’t disturb your sweet time together anymore."

With that, he left without a farewell, striding away.

As she opened the door to the presidential suite, Jiang Man inadvertently glanced at the entrance.

Two tall, burly mercenaries stood guard at the door, armed and dangerous, clearly up to no good.

"What’s the situation?" Any normal girl would have been too frightened to speak by this scene.

Yet Jiang Man remained calm, her expression undisturbed.

Lu Xingzhou smiled subtly, "Negotiating a business deal."

"Negotiating a business deal?" Jiang Man raised her eyebrows skeptically, then curled the corners of her mouth, "With so many guns on the bodyguard, it seems your business is not easy to negotiate?"

"Madam, you might not be aware, but that man just now, Parna, is a mining owner from the south. I’m not sure where he got his information, but he knows your relationship with the BOSS and is using it to blackmail ... "

"Zhao Huai, got an itchy tongue? Why the loose talk?" Lu Xingzhou interrupted just in time, his face stern.

Zhao Huai immediately bowed his head, but his eyes struggled to look up.

When facing Jiang Man, he blinked repeatedly.

As if sending a plea for help.

Jiang Man received the message and sat down next to Lu Xingzhou.

She crossed her legs and said to Zhao Huai, "I’m hungry, go prepare breakfast."

"Yes, Madam." Zhao Huai took the command and left the room.

Actually, breakfast could simply be ordered through room service, and the butler would personally bring it on a cart.

Zhao Huai knew Jiang Man intentionally wanted to send him away, so he was quite perceptive.

When only the couple was left in the room, Jiang Man turned to the man beside her, relaxed and composed, "What exactly is going on?"

"Lu’s Group and Parna Minerals have always had business dealings, but he somehow found out about our relationship through some channel, using it to blackmail and inflate the price."

"How much did it increase to?" Jiang Man asked, her tone mild.

"$30,000 US per ton," Lu Xingzhou explained, assuming his wife was merely concerned about his work, not realizing she understood the intricacies involved.

In recent years, the price of tin had soared, rising from $15,000 US per ton to $30,000 US on the international market.

Parna was not exactly inflating prices unreasonably; it was the trend globally.

But Lu’s Group and Parna had maintained their long-term cooperation, keeping their contracted price stable over the years regardless of global increases.

He was not unwilling to accept a reasonable price increase, but he could not accept using his relationship with Jiang Man as a bargaining chip.

"How many years have you been working together?" Jiang Man continued to inquire.

"Over seven years," Lu Xingzhou replied, somewhat frustrated.

Previously, this project had been handled by a department manager in the company, and although negotiations had their ups and downs, they usually ended with both parties satisfied.

He had not expected that taking a personal interest in negotiating this deal himself would lead to being exploited.

"Tin ore..." Jiang Man furrowed her brows.

She did know some channels in this area.

The Wu family had a partner whose family was in the ore business, and they just happened to be in Thailand.

In previous business dealings, it was this uncle who had traveled to the US to find Wu Yingfan’s dad.

"How much tin ore does the Lu family need each year?"

"Hm?" Lu Xingzhou raised his eyebrows in surprise, feeling that Jiang Man’s question was overly detailed.

"I didn’t mean to interfere with your business." Jiang Man’s face remained calm, her expression untroubled, "Since the other party is blackmailing you because of our relationship, I should take some responsibility, after all, it was my idea to have a secret marriage, which has brought you trouble."

"It’s not really a trouble, if he doesn’t want to discuss this deal, there are plenty of others willing to negotiate with the Lu family. Moreover, I, Lu Xingzhou, am not a pushover; he can’t easily manipulate me." When Lu Xingzhou spoke, a rare trace of fierceness flashed in his eyes.

Jiang Man knew he had means, otherwise he wouldn’t have taken control of the Lu empire at such a young age and managed it so well.

"If it can be settled peacefully, then let’s not resort to violence. I’ll help you with the tin ore matter."

Lu Xingzhou did not immediately express his stance but looked at Jiang Man with an intense gaze.

He was surprised that Jiang Man had such connections?

Man Lisite...

He now began to suspect that the Lisite family was not simple at all!

Why did Jiang Man conceal her Lisite family identity?

How many more identities of hers did he not know about?

"Do you have connections?" Lu Xingzhou asked uncertainly.

"Yes, don’t worry." Jiang Man was composed, touching her stomach, "I’m hungry."

"I’ll have Zhao Huai bring up breakfast." Lu Xingzhou immediately pulled out his phone to make a call.

He temporarily set aside the matter of the tin ore, but he was determined to thoroughly investigate who had leaked his relationship with Jiang Man.

Early in the morning, the doors of Mi Duo, Zhou Ying, and Xu Chengzhou were knocked by several black-suited bodyguards.

As soon as the doors opened, the bodyguards charged in, intimidating them considerably with threats and bribes.

"We didn’t leak anything, I swear, may thunder strike me dead if I lie."

"Yes, yes, speaking out does us no good either, it would just offend Mr. Lu."

"We didn’t say anything, you should check others."

The bodyguards took the three’s recorded statements to Lu Xingzhou.

Lu Xingzhou crossed his legs, leaning back on the sofa, silent throughout, his expression cold and sharp.

"It wasn’t these three who leaked the information." Jiang Man, having eaten her fill, wiped her mouth with a napkin.

"These three can’t get along with Parna, they have no connection whatsoever."

Lu Xingzhou agreed with her.

The only explanation was—he had been targeted by Parna’s people as soon as he arrived in Bangkok.

His yacht trip with Jiang Man last night must have been known to Parna’s people early on.

In war and in business, deception is never too much.

It was his mistake, underestimating his enemy, thinking that visiting Jiang Man was the main agenda, and the business talks were just incidental.

Jiang Man took a sip of lemon water, pulling out her phone to call Wu Yingfan.

"Fanzi, do you have contacts in Thailand for selling tin ore?"

"Selling tin ore?" On the phone, Wu Yingfan’s voice was muffled.

"Named Kunka."

"Him?" Wu Yingfan’s voice suddenly brightened, "Aren’t you there for a variety show? How did you get involved with tin ore?"

"Your brother-in-law is facing some trouble in his business."

"Oh~" Wu Yingfan’s tone turned enthusiastic, very proactive, "Leave it to me, Man sister, I’ll set up a meeting for you with Kunka."

Before hanging up, he was extremely excited, "If it’s a success, could you treat me by taking me to go gem gambling?"