The CEO's Substitute Wife Is A Genius-Chapter 434: No, Zhou’er and Manman Cannot Get a Divorce!

Chapter 434: Chapter 434: No, Zhou’er and Manman Cannot Get a Divorce!

"What exactly is going on? Be clearer!" Lu Xuemei was so anxious she became somewhat irritable.

Jiang Man was still in a weak and delicate state, her cheeks flushed from drinking, and her voice very soft, "Specifically, I’m not clear either, Jingya said that she stayed at Rong Mansion for a few days before, and found a marriage contract. It stated that my brother and sister-in-law are in a contractual marriage with a term of only one year, and they’ll divorce as soon as the term is up."

"Brother and sister-in-law might not be as affectionate as they seem on the surface. Maybe sister-in-law needs this marriage as a cover, after all, as the distinguished Mrs. Lu, she wouldn’t likely be a member of a research institute. The identity of Mrs. Lu is very deceiving, hiding her Dr. M identity well, and she admitted herself that she returned to the country at the invitation of the research institute, and right after coming back, she had a whirlwind wedding with Xingzhou. Xingzhou misunderstood because of the similar pronunciation of her name to mine. But for her, I heard her intended spouse was a 60-year-old man, while Xingzhou is young and handsome, he definitely wouldn’t make a mistake, unless..."

Jiang Man didn’t finish her last sentence.

Picking up where she left off, Lu Xuemei muttered, "Unless Manman did it on purpose..."

"Right, if sister-in-law did it on purpose, then this accidental flash marriage with Xingzhou is very understandable."

"Right now, I don’t care whether Manman did it on purpose or not." Lu Xuemei anxiously grabbed Jiang Man’s hand, "Manman is the kind of good daughter-in-law you can hardly find even with a lantern, the Lu Family is extremely fortunate to have found her by the blessings of our ancestors, she absolutely cannot divorce Zhou’er!"

"Yes, I hope brother and sister-in-law will have a lasting and happy marriage, but the strongest competitor has always been eyeing covetously. And he has known sister-in-law since childhood, Mom, think about it, a devoted man has been looking for you for more than ten years, wouldn’t you be moved?"

"I would certainly be moved." Lu Xuemei was very touched.

She was herself a person of deep affection, like Nan Juefeng, one who could search tirelessly for many years for love.

"But being moved doesn’t necessarily mean anything." She thought of Li Jin.

Li Jin had been indifferent to her waiting for twenty years.

"So Manman may not necessarily feel the same, after all, he’s the one who raised her."

"He?" Jiang Man blinked, looking at the melancholy and emptiness in Lu Xuemei’s eyes, somewhat speechless.

Why is my adoptive mother so fixated on romance, always thinking of that Li Jin?

"Right, sister-in-law might be indifferent to Nan Juefeng, but what if on the off chance she isn’t?" Jiang Man continued to coax gently.

All this talking was meant to suggest to Lu Xuemei that her persistence with Nan Juefeng was all for the sake of her brother and sister-in-law’s marriage.

If she ties up sister-in-law’s devoted suitor, then naturally sister-in-law won’t be lured away by the devoted suitor.

Lu Xuemei, at this moment, couldn’t muster the energy to understand Jiang Man’s ’well-meaning intentions.’

She was desperate to resolve the matter of the marriage contract.

...

Late at night, the dinner party ended.

The Lu Family escorted the people from the research institute to the hotel entrance and watched as they got into their cars and left.

Lu Yingxue didn’t leave; although she should have returned to the institute, the success of the brain instrument project earned her a few days off as special approval from the institute.

After watching the research institute people leave, Nan Juefeng’s car, driven by Yaya, pulled up in front of him.

"Mr. Nan, I won’t see you out," the elderly lady waved warmly.

Nan Juefeng nodded and strode briskly into the car.

Right after he left, the old lady turned to Jiang Man and asked sternly, "What did you mean by those words at the dinner table just now? Manman, sometimes you have to pay attention to the occasion!"

"Mom, it’s late; let’s go home first, we can talk about it when we get back." Lu Xuemei intercepted the old lady, calling for her to get into the car.

The old lady, being led by her and obscured from view, was quite helpless and could only turn to look at Jiang Man, "Manman, we’ll be heading back then."

"Grandma, get some rest early," Jiang Man nodded.

Lu Xingzhou also spoke up, "Us young people have another round to go; you all go ahead."

Jiang Man wasn’t sure if she was included in this next round.

Hu Hao stepped forward, tugging at her, "Together?"

Jiang Man bit her lip and shook her head.

They needed to invite her; it was a matter of face.

But her true desire was not to go.

Without Nan Juefeng there, it just seemed dull.

"I won’t go, I drank a bit too much and have a headache."

"Alright then, head back and get some rest early," Hu Hao said, somewhat disappointed.

After the old lady, Lu Xuemei, and Jiang Man had left, Lu Yingxue marched up to Hu Hao and patted him on the shoulder, "Hey, you wouldn’t happen to have a thing for my little aunt, would you?"

Hu Hao, bold in love and hate, having indulged in extravagances in Hongcheng, had never met a girl who could refuse him.

Confident because of this, he did not hide it, "Yeah, it was love at first sight; I found her quite unique."

"Fourth Brother, you need to be careful, she has someone in mind," Jiang Man said flatly, not placing too much importance on romantic affairs.

After all, everyone was an adult here, free to love whomever they chose.

"I know, it’s President Nan who just left, right? Manman’s eyes turned all gooey when she looked at him."

"And you’re still eyeing her?" Hu Xianyun couldn’t help saying, his voice sounding very cold.

Hu Hao pouted: "I didn’t say I’d definitely pursue her. I just have a good impression of her, so I try to find opportunities to interact. If she really has no feelings for me, then I won’t pester her relentlessly."

He had his pride.

He was the little overlord of Harbor City, never lacking for women.

Jiang Man quite approved of this view on love – if you like someone, strive for them, and if it doesn’t work out, then retreat.

To dare to love and hate, and to remain suave even if unsuccessful. That was the concept of love she admired and also her own approach.

"Would you like some mung bean juice or stewed food? How about we grab some late-night snacks?" Lu Xingzhou slung his arm around Jiang Man’s slim waist.

"What? I thought we were heading to a club for the second round! I’ve heard the chicks up North are really hot," Hu Hao raised his eyebrows, teasing.

Before Lu Xingzhou could respond, Jiang Man clutched her chest, feeling a wave of nausea surging up from her stomach.

She hadn’t eaten much at the dinner party earlier, just some fruit and cakes.

For some reason, the mere mention of stew made her feel sick, even though she hadn’t eaten any yet.

"Sister, what’s going on with you? This dry heaving of yours is making us scared to even try it," Hu Hao thought her reaction was because she didn’t like the stew.

After all, the stew often included offal, which many people couldn’t stomach.

But it was a specialty of the North, and as Southerners, they naturally wanted to give it a try.

"I’m fine," Jiang Man waved her hand dismissively, looking up at Hu Hao: "Are you eating or not? Stop waffling about like an old woman."

"Eat, of course, we’ll eat!" Hu Hao’s competitive spirit was immediately kindled.

"You’re not allowed to throw up later. You have to eat it all," Jiang Man said with a smile, her eyes mischievously twinkling.

Hu Xianyun patted Hu Hao on the shoulder, suggesting that he was on his own.

...

Meanwhile, in a car far from the Lu Family’s old house,

Lu Xuemei had informed the Old Madam about the marriage agreement.

Upon hearing this, the Old Madam nearly jumped up and hit her head.

"Mother, please, calm down. I’ve already called Auntie Zhang. If she finds the agreement, she’ll take a picture and send it to us."

The Old Madam had eyes and ears everywhere, from Zhao Huai, the corporate executive assistant, to Auntie Zhang, a maid at Rong Mansion.

Lu Xingzhou had always known these people were his grandmother’s contacts, and he used them out of habit.

They were all very dedicated to him.

He knew that his grandmother positioned these people around him in order to better understand his comings and goings.

A few minutes later, Lu Xuemei’s phone rang.

She picked it up and immediately became excited: "It’s Auntie Zhang. She sent a photo!"

Jiang Man considerately turned on the car’s reading light.

Lu Xuemei enlarged the image to look at it and when she saw the key content of the agreement, she was completely stunned.

"How is it?" The Old Madam had poor eyesight with age, especially at night, making reading nearly impossible.

"Mother, it’s true. Zhou’er and Manman actually had an agreement, and they’ve been pretending to be a loving couple in front of us all this time. Their displays of affection were all an act."

"What???" The Old Madam was incredibly shocked.

How could this be?

Manman was to be the Lu Family’s daughter-in-law; she couldn’t leave.

There were only a little over four months left in their year-long agreement.

"No, we must think of something!"

The Lu corporation’s crisis was almost resolved, but a new crisis was looming...