The CEO's Substitute Wife Is A Genius-Chapter 409: Fake Rich Girl? But the Real Favorite!

Chapter 409: Chapter 409: Fake Rich Girl? But the Real Favorite!

In the luxurious meeting room of the hotel, the Hu family members gathered together.

Guanghua, Zonghua, Yaozu, and Zuhua each took a seat on a different sofa.

Their wives were seated opposite them.

Six young masters were present, some sitting, some standing.

Chen Anna was absent, accompanying Hu Fangqin to rest in her room.

When Jiang Man and Lu Xingzhou walked in, the quiet room stirred slightly.

The reactions of the six brothers varied, and the four uncles were somewhat tense.

A moment of awkwardness ensued; the Hu family wanted to be close to Jiang Man, but felt that at this moment, they didn’t deserve to.

Still, it was Hu Ming and Hu Hao who broke the ice, stepping forward to greet her with smiling faces, "Sister, brother-in-law."

"Still calling her sister..." Hu Qinglin muttered under his breath.

They all feared Jiang Man would reject them.

"Uncles, Xingzhou mentioned you had something to discuss with me?"

Jiang Man, sensing the awkwardness, took the initiative to start the conversation.

Hu Guanghua straightened his voice and nodded, "Manman, actually, there’s been something we’ve been keeping from you."

As he finished speaking, the other three uncles visibly tensed.

Everyone fell into a tacit silence.

"What?" Jiang Man raised an eyebrow, smiling yet not smiling, her voice crisp and tinged with curiosity.

"Actually... we’ve known for a long time that you’re not a child of the Hu family..."

With these words, the room fell silent.

Jiang Man lifted her eyes in astonishment, noting that only the four uncles seemed composed while everyone else, like her, was stunned, even dumbfounded.

"When I first found you, I really thought you were my niece. Everyone says a niece follows her uncle’s looks, and you do resemble me somewhat."

Hu Guanghua smiled bitterly, "Perhaps it was my eagerness to find that child that made me so hastily recognize you."

"It wasn’t until I returned to Hong City and told my brothers about it that we decided to do a DNA test to be certain."

"That last time you came to Hong City and saved your grandfather, while you weren’t paying attention, your third uncle took the glass you had drunk from."

At this point, Hu Guanghua’s narration faltered, overcome with sorrow.

"God knows how much it hurt us when the results came back showing you had no DNA lineage link to the Hu family?"

"But at the time, your grandfather had just been revived by you, and the whole family was basking in joy. Later, after discussing it among us four brothers, we decided to keep this secret."

"So you knew back then," Jiang Man quirked her lips, her facial expression undisturbed—a far cry from her initial discomfort—as she accepted the truth with equanimity.

"Did you ever think of looking for the real seventh child?"

Her question struck at the heart of the matter.

Hu Zonghua picked up the thread, "We did search. I used all my connections, and unfortunately, the child Fangqin gave birth to indeed had congenital heart disease, and the child didn’t survive long after being born, passing away shortly thereafter."

"Dead?" Jiang Man’s voice broke.

She had survived congenital heart disease, yet the Hu family’s seventh child had perished early.

"Manman, we didn’t hide the truth from you just because the real seventh child had died," Hu Yaozu continued, "but because we truly liked you so much, we couldn’t bear to lose you, that’s why we kept up the lie."

"We were too selfish," Hu Zuhua stood up.

The four uncles bowed in unison, a silent act of contrition.

Seeing this, the wives and the six young masters were at a loss for what to do.

"Sister, please don’t leave, okay? We’ve come to think of you as our real sister after spending this time together!"

"Without you, Anna and I would never have gotten together."

"Without you, grandfather wouldn’t have recovered, and we brothers wouldn’t be united as we are today."

Hu Xianyun remained silent, without Manman, his mission wouldn’t have been completed so quickly, he’d probably still be searching for Dr. M tirelessly.

"My face was also healed by you, Manman," the second wife unconsciously touched her cheek.

"Don’t be like this," the eldest wife’s eyes were already red, "Manman has the freedom to find her biological parents. We’ve kept her trapped in this lie for so long, it’s time to let her go."

"Manman, even if you find your real family, don’t forget us."

""

Hu Ming’s eyes ached with soreness, and his nose turned red.

Among his siblings, his relationship with Jiang Man was the closest.

"What’s going on? Just before today, you were still my smart and capable little sister. How come in just one day, you’re not anymore?"

"Manman," Da Tai composed herself and took out a pearwood box from the side.

Carrying the box over to Jiang Man, the tears she had been holding back finally fell.

"This is the dowry I prepared for my daughter. I was naive and always thought I’d have a daughter, but I ended up with two stinky boys, Qingyu and Qinglin. This dowry, it’s always been with me, never had the chance to be given away."

"Manman, during this time we’ve not only treated you as a niece, but even as our own daughter."

After saying this, Da Tai opened the box, "This was from my own family when I married into the Hu family. They said it has been passed down for nine generations; with you, it reaches the tenth. I hope it can continue to be passed on from generation to generation, unending."

"Auntie," Jiang Man pushed the pearwood box away with her hand, "Such a precious item, I can’t accept it."

"If you don’t accept it, it will end with me here," Da Tai said with a bitter smile. "From the first day you arrived at the Hu family, I made up my mind to pass it on to you. It’s meant to be passed from mother to daughter, not from mother-in-law to daughter-in-law."

Passed from mother to daughter, not from mother-in-law to daughter-in-law.

These words deeply touched Jiang Man.

She had returned to her homeland full of longing to reconnect with her family, only to be coldly received by her ’relatives’.

She hadn’t felt the happiness of being a daughter from Hu Fangqin and Jiang Yueping, but she felt it with her mother’s family.

"Manman, it’s considered a family heirloom of my natal family, and regardless of whether you’re a child of the Hu family or not, I’ve already made up my mind that it’s for you."

"There’s more, I’ve also prepared something!" Er Tai quickly stepped forward too.

"Anna likes gemstones, right? I went to Myanmar myself to pick out a pair of red cherry gemstones, one for Anna, and one for you!"

Er Tai was somewhat anxious, "I don’t have the gemstone on me right now; it’s still in the safety deposit box at home! Your Auntie really isn’t deceiving you."

"Sister, we’ve also prepared a New Year’s gift for you, but this year we were busy with the third brother’s wedding and haven’t had the chance to give it to you," Hu Qinglin also said.

A crowd of people vied with one another as if they were about to undergo a bitter separation from Jiang Man.

Jiang Man chuckled.

At this moment, was it moved, happy, or blessed?

Just like what Lu Xingzhou said, real kinship is not just about blood ties.

Feelings, those intangible things, are not maintained by material objects; they come purely from sensation.

Whether kinship or love, it’s all an instant or eternal feeling.

"What are you all doing?" Jiang Man laughed until her eyes reddened.

She seldom got sentimental like this, but today the whole Hu family had moved her to tears.

"If you don’t mind, I’ll keep being the Hu family’s number seven."

The Hu family members were visibly taken aback.

Then, the living room erupted into noise.

"We don’t mind at all!"

"Ah, sister, I’m so excited I could die!"

"Sister, kisses, hugs, up in the air!"

"Brother-in-law, what are you doing?"

"Now that we’re not related by blood, we should keep our distance in the future."

"Brother-in-law... you, you, you..."

Outside the living room door, Hu Fangqin overheard the noise and couldn’t help but chuckle.

She laughed bitterly, deeply regretting her past.

It was her retribution, after all that’s why her biological daughter had not survived her birth.

Better this way, or else she would have had to suffer for twenty years in the Jiang family.

"Anna, I’m not going inside."

"Auntie?" Chen Anna blinked.

"I’m going to visit my mother’s grave. I miss her..."