Hearing the military vehicle, Lu Xingzhou naturally assumed it was here for him.
He stood up, straightened his suit, and strode towards the outside.
Indeed, just as he stepped out of the villa, he could see a military green jeep from afar.
In front of the jeep stood a middle-aged man in casual clothes with a slicked-back haircut, radiating an air of staunch righteousness.
"What do you want with me?" Lu Xingzhou cut straight to the point.
As the CEO of the Lu Corporation, he worked closely with the state.
The new energy equipment their company produced was by now widely used in the military field.
Major Xia had heard of Lu Xingzhou.
Lu Xingzhou was young and promising, becoming a notable figure both domestically and globally at a young age.
He was surprised, how could Miss Lisite's residence have the CEO Lu popping up?
What exactly was the relationship between the two that they were living under the same roof?
Major Xia wasn't one for gossip; he had a clear purpose, and today he was here to pick up Miss Lisite.
So he simply nodded slightly to Lu Xingzhou and said indifferently, "We are not here for Mr. Lu."
On hearing this, Lu Xingzhou frowned.
The butler was also puzzled, thinking if they were not looking for Mr. Lu, why had they parked their vehicle at Mr. Lu's doorstep?
Just as Lu Xingzhou was about to turn away awkwardly, Major Xia's eyes lit up, and he bowed deeply.
He was just about to speak when he was interrupted by a look from Jiang Man.
She didn't want to attract too much attention at the moment.
If she were too conspicuous, her true identity would be revealed, and her foster father would soon learn of her whereabouts.
Her foster father had always despised her birth parents and was even less keen on her searching for them.
Naturally, she wanted to keep it a secret from her foster father and not to disappoint him.
"Ahem, ahem, you've arrived, huh, just to do some cleaning and yet you troubled yourselves to come pick me up in person," Jiang Man responded quickly, speaking out loud.
Upon hearing the word 'cleaning,' Major Xia was taken aback.
But being a seasoned military man, he was clever and responded swiftly, "The matter involves national secrets; even if it's just cleaning, it must remain confidential."
"Is that the job you mentioned?" Lu Xingzhou was surprised.
He had assumed that Jiang Man could only get a job as a factory worker, screwing bolts; he didn't expect her to be doing cleaning in the army.
Given the level of secrecy, he guessed it was probably not a regular military district but something like a secret base.
He found it surprising that Jiang Man had some skills, able to take up cleaning in the military department—a feat not just anyone could achieve.
"Mr. Lu, I'll be leaving first," Jiang Man said, her expression serene.
Without thinking, Major Xia opened the car door for Jiang Man.
As Jiang Man got into the vehicle and watched the military cars leave in an orderly manner, Lu Xingzhou's frown deepened.
"Is the military now so intense about hiring cleaners? They need someone as young as the young lady?" the butler muttered to himself.
Lu Xingzhou pondered for a moment before he figured it out.
Jiang Man had a simple background, and although she had no official household registration since childhood, her social relationships were easy to trace and singular.
The military hired cleaners who naturally had to undergo a political review, needing individuals with simple and solitary social relationships.
That's why Jiang Man met the criteria.
It was just as well—him being in the military made him feel more at ease, infinitely better than going to some factory.
...
Meanwhile, inside the jeep.
Major Xia looked at the girl with a cold demeanor, unsmiling and full of attitude.
He smiled awkwardly and said, "Had we known that Miss Lisite would be inconvenienced, we should have disguised ourselves to pick you up. You are an important person in the institute, and we fear neglecting you."
Jiang Man was completely unconcerned and said indifferently, "My surname is Jiang now. You can just call me Jiang Man. The institute should have all my information on file—Lu Xingzhou is my husband, and we've been married for two days."
She didn't bother with superfluous words.
Xia Shichang nodded respectfully, indicating that he understood.
"I can't stay at the institute for long periods. How about this—I stay for ten days a month? Wouldn't that be okay?" Jiang Man stated her request.
Xia Shichang didn't even have to think about it, "Everything is up to Miss Jiang. It's an honor for us to have Miss Jiang help out at our institute. How could we dare to demand too much?"
"By the way," Jiang Man recalled something, "Could you issue me a salary certificate for a monthly income of one hundred thousand?"
Upon hearing this, Xia Shichang became serious instantly, "Miss Jiang is a specially-appointed academician of our institute. A monthly income of one hundred thousand is not enough. The state provides a special annual subsidy of two million for living expenses, in addition to fifty million for research funding each year!"
"I don't want the money, I'm not short of it," Jiang Man said coldly, with a hint of irritation in her eyes.
Xia Shichang opened his mouth but was intimidated by her unapproachable demeanor.
After a while, he nodded, "We'll do as Miss Jiang says."
Being the foster daughter of America's richest man, she truly wasn't short of money.
But he didn't understand why Miss Jiang didn't want the salary but asked for the salary certificate of one hundred thousand. What for?
Jiang Man spent two days at the research institute, mainly studying cruise micro-missiles with timing lock capabilities.
These missiles required extremely high precision, being able to target and launch at any specified target thousands of kilometers away; the target could be as small and precise as an ant!
Once such a heaven-defying missile was developed, it would deter the whole world.
After calculating, Jiang Man figured that if she spent two to three days a week at the research institute, they could develop the missile within a year's time.
...
Two days later.
Jiang Man's subordinate transferred the 880,000 as per schedule into Jiang Yueping's account.
Having received the money, Jiang Family's parents' former ugly look on their face changed.
Hu Fangqin even made a phone call, asking Jiang Man to come home, saying she would cook a table full of delicious dishes.
Jiang Man thought it over, the agreement to sever relations was ready, so she might as well visit the Jiang Family and get her biological parents to sign it.
This time Xia Shichang sent Jiang Man in casual attire, using an unassuming Ford Mustang.
As the car drove into the community, Jiang Rou, watering the plants on the balcony, saw everything clearly.
When she saw Jiang Man exit the car, followed by a middle-aged man, she was startled and hurriedly shouted into the house, "Dad, mom, come quick! Sister has brought our brother-in-law home!"
At the words 'brother-in-law', the parents put down what they were doing and rushed to the balcony, craning their necks.
They lived on the fifth floor, which wasn't too high, so they could roughly make out the faces of the people downstairs.
"He looks pretty old, maybe around fifty? Isn't that almost no different from Grandpa Yang?" Jiang Rou pursed her lips, her tone laced with a hint of complaint.
The implication being, the choice of marriage partner was almost equally poor, unable to understand why Jiang Man would go to such lengths and even deliberately mistake the marriage partner!
"To put it bluntly, it's just dissatisfaction with the parents' arrangement, intentionally opposing the parents!" Jiang Yueping took over his daughter's line, saying irritably.
Hu Fangqin, ever the peacemaker, replied, "Let it go, it's all in the past. Now hasn't Rourou found a good match?"
"Rourou, I heard that Young Master Zhao plans to buy you a villa in Rong Mansion as your wedding house?"
"Yes," Jiang Rou lowered her head, her cheeks tinting a shade of red, shyly.
"A house there costs at least a hundred million, doesn't it? Rourou, you truly are our good daughter, so accomplished!"
"Not at all, sister is also your good daughter!" Jiang Rou deliberately spoke in double entendres.
Jiang Yueping snorted in dislike, "She can't compare to you. She's only fit to marry an old man. She'll probably never live in a mansion like Rong Mansion in her lifetime!"
Jiang Rou kept her head low and said nothing, but her heart was brimming with joy.
The conversation between the three continued when suddenly, the doorbell rang.
It rang urgently, as if urging on life or death…