The CEO’s Substitute Wife Is A Genius
Chapter 273: She’s Max Level, Why Did You Provoke Her? (Two in One)

Chapter 273: Chapter 273: She’s Max Level, Why Did You Provoke Her? (Two in One)

"Oh, him." Jiang Man responded nonchalantly, showing a hint of disdain when Xu Chengzhou was mentioned.

"Brothers, what’s really going on here?" Jiang Rou, having finished ordering, looked at Hu Hao like a curious baby.

Hu Hao thought about the family, and that it was only a matter of time before they had to let the sisters know about the family matters.

He glanced at Hu Ming, clenched his fist, and coughed twice into it.

"You may not know, the lady just now, named Chen Anna, is the daughter of the Chen family in Harbor City. She’s engaged to my brother, and they have already fianced..."

"What?" Jiang Rou gasped, her eyes almost popping out: "Then..."

She pointed at the woman nearby, then blinked and looked toward Hu Ming.

"She keeps a young gigolo in the entertainment industry. Tell me, how could my brother marry such a woman?"

"Just because women are expected to be obedient and virtuous, men can mess around?" Jiang Man took the menu, and frowned when she saw it was all in English.

"Jiang Rou, what on earth did you order?"

Jiang Rou raised an eyebrow, somewhat displeased, "It’s the older brother who’s treating, right? It’s not you paying, so what are you worried about?"

Jiang Man: "..."

She wasn’t worried about the money, but because Jiang Rou had ordered a dozen things, none of which were actual dishes.

She ordered herself a plate of fried rice and a pot of old duck soup.

She casually pushed the tablet across to Hu Ming sitting opposite her.

Hu Ming was rendered speechless by Jiang Man’s retort and scratched his brow.

As he bowed his head to order, he couldn’t help but laugh: "Who ordered this masterpiece?"

He suddenly looked up at Jiang Man.

Worried he might hurt Jiang Man’s pride, he pretended to ’cough’ a few times.

"I’ve finished ordering."

He passed the tablet to Hu Hao.

During the next round of ordering, everyone tacitly paused upon viewing the menu, some holding back laughter, others pretending nothing was amiss.

Jiang Rou sipped her lemon water, innocently and cheerfully: "Sis, what you said isn’t right. Men need to work on their careers. When they flirt and drink outside, it’s just playing the part temporarily, unlike women."

"Oh?" Jiang Man clicked her tongue: "Then I hope your husband plays his part outside every day in the future."

Jiang Rou: "..."

"Oh my dear sister, why do you elbow outwards, taking the side of outsiders?" Hu Ming felt somewhat aggrieved.

Jiang Man’s expression remained stoic: "Right is right, and kinship doesn’t alter that."

"Okay." Hu Ming bit his lip and said no more.

In fact, he knew his actions weren’t commendable, but no one ever confronted him about this face-to-face.

It seemed like an unspoken rule that men could behave that way, but women couldn’t.

Within fifteen minutes, the dishes were served one after another.

When everyone had food in front of them, only Jiang Rou’s spot remained empty.

"Excuse me, where’s my order?" Jiang Rou asked the waiter beside her.

The waiter understood, bowed respectfully, and said, "Please wait a moment, it’s coming soon."

She clapped her hands and soon someone approached their table.

Some carried violins, others guitars, and still others accordions and saxophones...

When they started playing behind Jiang Rou, everyone burst into laughter.

"I thought it was Manman who ordered those bizarre items?"

"What’s the situation? Is this the level of a top domestic university, can’t recognize an English menu?"

"’Instruments play’ shouldn’t be that hard to understand, right?"

"Pfft, hahaha, I’m going to die laughing, she ordered over a dozen songs! One of them is even a birthday song!"

The brothers couldn’t help but chime in, one after another.

Jiang Rou, hearing these words, was mortified beyond words.

When she saw the all-English menu, her vision went black.

It felt like they recognized her, but she didn’t recognize them.

Abiding by the principle that the dishes with the most words must be the most expensive, she ordered every item that had the longest words in its name.

Who would have thought, they weren’t dishes at all!

Suddenly, her face turned bright red, and she even felt a bit of furious embarrassment.

Jiang Man had noticed this issue when she was ordering, right?

But she said nothing!

Not only did she keep quiet, but her brothers also kept their mouths shut?

Were they deliberately making her look foolish and waiting to laugh at her?

No, that’s not right!

The brothers mentioned earlier that they thought it was Jiang Man who ordered, they probably wanted to see Jiang Man be the laughing stock.

Therefore, ultimately, the problem lay with Jiang Man!

Sly girl, purposely keeping quiet to make her look ridiculous!

"I’m not hungry! I especially ordered music to liven things up for the brothers!" Jiang Rou said with an embarrassed smile, trying to save face.

Jiang Man didn’t bother to expose her, just minded her own business eating fried rice.

However, Hu Ming and Hu Hao, the two brothers, were being annoyingly mischievous.

Hu Hao picked up the tablet and deliberately asked her, "What is this?" pointing to a dish.

Jiang Rou glanced at the word and felt her scalp tingle.

She genuinely didn’t recognize it!

Back in school, her English was very poor, and she often failed her exams.

By the time she got to university, she didn’t touch English at all, apart from good, mother... and some basic words, she couldn’t recognize anything slightly more complex.

"What about this one?" Hu Hao was relentless, switching to another line.

Jiang Rou furrowed her brows deeply, biting her lip, almost breaking the skin.

"Manman, what is this?" Hu Hao then showed the menu to Jiang Man.

Jiang Man was speechless.

Did they think she was illiterate?

Well, she got into the Northern Film Academy through backdoor connections, so they thought she was ignorant, which seemed reasonable.

"Sake, Japanese rice wine."

"And what about this?" Hu Hao continued asking.

"Baked Snails in French style, French-style baked snails," Jiang Man not only spoke with a perfect American accent but also translated effortlessly.

"Brother, are you still playing? Do you need me to read the whole menu for you?"

She raised her eyebrows, her lips curving up with a hint of a teasing smile.

Even though she was smiling, she inexplicably gave off a chill, almost unapproachable aura.

"No need, no need," Hu Hao said with an awkward smile, putting the tablet away.

"Sis, you’re good, huh? Your English pronunciation is so standard?" Hu Ming couldn’t help but praise.

He immediately didn’t forget to tease Jiang Rou, "Jiang Rou, did you actually get your diploma? A university student who doesn’t know level four English?"

"I...." Jiang Rou hung her head low, feeling utterly socially dead.

She had always ridiculed Jiang Man for getting into university through the back door, boasting about how capable she was, interning at Lu Corp, outdoing a bunch of masters and PhD holders.

The bigger her boasts had been before, the more awkward she felt now.

She wished she could find a hole to crawl into and never come out again.

"Alright," Seeing Jiang Rou almost burying her face in her clothes, Hu Qingyu tactfully interrupted.

Then, looking toward Jiang Man beside him, relaxed and composed, "We still don’t know much about our sister’s past, would you care to share with us?"

"Yes, yes, getting to know more about each other could foster better relationships," Hu Hao immediately chimed in.

Jiang Man ate the fried rice voraciously until she was full and wiped her mouth clean with a napkin, "Actually, there’s not much to talk about. After being abandoned, I was adopted by a kind-hearted person, stayed in the country for a few years, and then he took me abroad."

When she heard about going abroad, Jiang Rou’s eyes widened.

What a cunning move! Jiang Man is really secretive!

So, it turns out she had traveled overseas and come back to find her relatives?

She and her adoptive parents always thought Jiang Man had been wandering for twenty years, living off meals from various families!

"So that’s how it is. Then you must be used to eating Western food, right?" Hu Qingyu glanced at the empty plate in front of Jiang Man.

The fried rice was almost finished.

"I don’t really like Western food. I’ve been eating Chinese food with my adoptive father since I was young. My living habits are not much different from yours."

Even including her menstrual periods, people in the West mostly use tampons; it’s hard to find the small bread-like kind we have here.

When she was young, she attended a Chinese school until she went to Harvard, where she truly began to encounter Western influences.

Many things were influenced by her adoptive father; it could also be the influence of the genes in her bones.

In any case, although she had lived in M country for ten years, her lifestyle and habits were still predominantly Chinese.

"If you like Chinese food, I’ll cook for you myself later," Hu Qingyu said with a smile.

That immediately sparked jealousy among several younger brothers.

"Big brother, you’re being biased! I’ve grown up so big, and I’ve never eaten the food you’ve cooked!"

"Can you guys even compare to Manman?" Hu Qingyu dismissed them, "Rough guys, stop acting all spoilt; it’s disgusting."

"..."

The group chatted and laughed, thoroughly enjoying their conversation when,

Suddenly there was a commotion at table number 3 not far away.

Several waitstaff hurried over, bending over and squatting around the table, looking like they were searching for something.

Soon after, Chen Anna got up and walked towards them.

She moved the chair she had just been sitting on and looked around.

"What are you doing?" Hu Ming asked, somewhat annoyed.

"I lost my earring," Chen Anna retorted irritably and walked up to Jiang Man, "Did you take it?"

Jiang Man was baffled.

This Chen Anna, from the first impression, seemed a bit off-kilter.

"If something is lost, you should look to the police, why bother me?" she snapped back bluntly, turning her head and raising her eyes fiercely.

Chen Anna was just as unyielding, relentlessly demanding, "Let me see your bag!"

"I didn’t bring a bag." Jiang Man’s voice was steady, but her attitude was distinctly haughty.

Her cold gaze fixed on Chen Anna, who was treating her like a thief. She smirked, "What? You suspect me?"

She was clearly smiling, yet her expression was chilling, like a predator ready to pounce, as if she could tear her prey apart at any moment.

"I do suspect you!" Chen Anna exclaimed irritably.

She touched her left ear.

The earring was a gift from Xu Chengzhou.

It was the first time Xu Chengzhou became a major actor, earning over twenty million in fees.

He had spent all his fees to buy these earrings.

These earrings were not just a matter of price; in her heart, they were more like a token of their commitment.

Wherever she went, her other jewelry might change repeatedly, but she always wore these earrings, never taking them off.

"If you didn’t bring a bag, then I need to search you!" Chen Anna pressed on aggressively.

"Chen Anna, don’t be too excessive!" Finally unable to bear it, Hu Ming jumped up, burst in front of her, and grabbed her arm.

Chen Anna, blinded by anger, couldn’t think straight at the moment.

She had preemptively perceived Jiang Man as an imaginary enemy.

"Am I being excessive? What’s wrong with a body search? If she didn’t take it, can’t I just apologize?" Chen Anna shouted loudly.

Hu Qingyu couldn’t sit still anymore; he smacked the dining table forcefully with his hand.

With a loud ’snap’, the plates on the table shook.

The atmosphere was truly overwhelming, scaring Jiang Rou into shrinking back into her seat like a quail, not daring to move.

"Sis, just let her search. The innocent have nothing to hide."

"Search? Sure." Jiang Man raised her eyebrows, "Illegal search, if the act is grave, she could be charged with the crime of illegal search. The crime of illegal search (Criminal Law Article 245) refers to the illegal search of another person’s body or residence. According to our criminal laws, those who conduct illegal searches of bodies or residences can be sentenced to a maximum of three years in prison or detention."

"Are you sick? Why are you lecturing me about the law?" Chen Anna screamed at the top of her lungs.

In stark contrast, Jiang Man was calm and lazy in tone, "If you want to go to prison, I might let you search."

"You..." Chen Anna, infuriated, blurted out, "This is Harbour City! In this place, the Chen Family is the law!"

With that, she raised her hand to tear at Jiang Man’s clothes.

Seeing this, several brothers wanted to step forward to help.

But Jiang Man reacted very quickly, grabbing Chen Anna’s arm.

A ’crack’ was heard, and the bones dislocated.

"Ah—" At the same time Chen Anna screamed, Jiang Man also yanked off the earring from her left ear.

The earring’s hook caught the earlobe along with strings of blood, causing so much pain that Chen Anna nearly fainted.

Jiang Man glanced at the earring hanging with bloody strings and snorted coldly, her eyebrows both cold and sinister. "Empress Eugenie Earrings? A fake?"

"What fake? Give it back to me!" Chen Anna made a move to snatch it back.

But Jiang Man, swift and ruthless, threw it toward Jiang Rou’s water cup.

Splash—

The pink gemstone earring quickly sank to the bottom of the cup.

Seeing this, Chen Anna frantically reached her hand in to retrieve the earring.

But because the mouth of the cup was very small, she simply picked up the cup, pouring the water onto her hand instead.

The earring also fell into her palm.

She held onto it as if reclaiming a beloved possession.

"It’s a fake," Jiang Man’s tone was stern, unflinching. "Go and have it appraised. They will tell you that it’s not a gem but dyed glass."

"Glass? Ridiculous! I’ve been wearing jewelry for so many years, do you think I can’t tell the difference between gemstones and glass? Hand over my other earring!"

"Miss Chen, I suggest you get your arm treated immediately. If you don’t attend to it, it could really dislocate," Jiang Man said, her voice as calm as water but her tone full of threat.

As the two were at a standoff, Chen Anna’s companion ran over, panting.

"Anna, found it! It was on the washbasin in the restroom!"

Chen Anna paused, turning her head to look at her friend’s open palm.

It was indeed her earring!

She reached out joyfully to take it but discovered her right hand could not move at all.

During the confrontation with Jiang Man, that ’crack’ had fractured her hand.

She used her left hand to take it, and immediately tried to walk away.

But she had not taken two steps before a cold, severe voice stopped her.

"Stop there!"

Chen Anna hesitantly turned back, facing Hu Qingyu whose expression was grim. "What do you want?"

"Apologize to Manman!" Hu Qingyu stood up, his tall and imposing figure exuding a sense of oppression.

Chen Anna was already afraid of him; his shout made her panic even more.

"She broke my hand, why should I apologize to her? Not causing her trouble is mercy enough!"

"Apologize!" Hu Qingyu remained unflinching, his tone even firmer.

"Isn’t this making too much of it? She’s just one of your female companions, is it worth opposing me over her?" Chen Anna scoffed.

Just a nobody, who had only recently become famous because of some variety show.

To her, such a woman was no different from a hostess.

"Chen Anna, you probably don’t realize how you will die! Her name is Jiang Man, she’s the daughter of my aunt, my cousin!"

"What?" Chen Anna was utterly shocked, nearly biting her tongue.