Ch 3: After My Mother Returned to the Rich Family

“Ruan Cha, you don’t look well. Are you feeling unwell?” The woman speaking was of average height, with a plump figure and a kind, sincere look in her eyes. “Should I take you to the infirmary first?”

Ruan Cha tilted her head slightly and offered a faint smile. “I’m fine, I just stayed up late last night. Thank you, teacher.”

She sighed quietly in her heart.

There was no way she could explain the events from the book to her parents, let alone anyone else.

After being schemed against by Ren Qingqing at the school gate earlier, she had fleetingly considered stopping Ren Qingqing from studying altogether. But as soon as the thought crossed her mind, an unknown force jabbed her mind with sharp pain.

Inside, the facilities at Second High were just as impressive. Each floor was equipped with reading corners, piano nooks, and the classrooms were spacious and bright. During the break between the first and second classes, Ruan Cha, carrying her new textbooks and still not in uniform, drew occasional glances from others.

In the second year of high school, Classes 1 and 2 were considered the honors classes. Only the top 20 students could get into Class 1, while Class 2 consisted of students ranked 20th to 40th, along with a few “connections” students.

The original “Ruan Cha” and Ren Qingqing had both been placed in Class 2 as “connections,” but their outcomes had been vastly different.

Now—

Ruan Cha raised her eyes and saw her new classroom, Class 10—a class known for its average grades across the board.

“Next class is English? Did anyone do the English homework? Lemme copy it, hurry up.”
“Just borrow Meng Yu’s—he’s the English class rep.”
“Damn it, this idiot’s AFK! Ugh, crap!”

Ruan Cha noticed a blond-haired boy sitting in the back, blatantly playing a mobile game, while the homeroom teacher appeared entirely unfazed. She pressed her lips together slightly. The vibe at Second High was really laid back.

This was practically her dream class for a slacker.

The front door of the classroom swung open, and the noise quieted slightly. Students who had been playing around all turned to look at the ponytailed Ruan Cha.

“Whoa! Am I seeing things?”
“Lan-jie, did you bring us some school beauty?”

The back two rows were filled with students lying on their desks, sleeping. Others were switching seats, some standing, some sitting. But when they saw Ruan Cha, all their eyes lit up as they took her in.

The homeroom teacher, Liao Lan, greeted her warmly. “This is our transfer student. Let’s all help each other out from now on. Ruan Cha, come to the front and introduce yourself.”

“Hello, everyone. I’m Ruan Cha.” Her voice was calm and clear, slightly at odds with her delicate appearance. Without wasting time explaining her name, she simply walked to the blackboard and wrote down her name, Ruan Cha, in elegant strokes.

Her writing was fluid and graceful, the strokes effortless yet exquisite.

Liao Lan had intended to have her say a bit more, to help the class get to know her better, but remembering that Ruan Cha hadn’t been feeling well earlier, she let it go. Pointing to an empty seat in the second row, she said, “You can sit there for now. After every exam, the seating chart gets reshuffled.”

In the parallel classes at Second High, each class had only thirty students, arranged in five rows and six columns, one student per seat. Ruan Cha nodded, carrying her brand-new textbooks as she sat down in the seat the homeroom teacher had indicated.

Occasionally, glances landed on her, and after she sat, she noticed the girl in the seat diagonally in front of her who had yet to avert her gaze.

The girl had slightly wavy black hair cascading down her back, a face with meticulously applied makeup, and a school uniform altered to accentuate her slender waist. Her features bore a five or six-point resemblance to Liang Qianling’s, but her eyes were filled with blatant hostility.

Song Mengyu.

Her cousin by blood.

“Next period is English. Make some effort, everyone, and don’t let Teacher Chen corner anyone in the office by midterms.”

“Lan-jie, we’ll strive not to have the lowest average score by midterms!”

“Second-to-last is the goal. Third-to-last is a breeze!”

“Alright, alright, stop joking. Just aim for second-to-last; forget about third-to-last,” Liao Lan said with a smile. She glanced at Ruan Cha again and saw her organizing her textbooks. Despite the calmness of the scene, her unease persisted.

As a teacher, she genuinely wished Ruan Cha hadn’t been placed in Class Ten.

Most students in Class Ten were the children of wealthy or influential families. Some were well-mannered and understood propriety, while others had been poorly disciplined, their arrogance and temper notorious throughout the school. They were even on the student council’s “special attention” list.

Liao Lan’s concern quickly materialized. The moment she left, Ruan Cha’s desk was immediately slapped by someone.

The girl had straight bangs, an expression of mockery, and hands casually stuffed into her pockets. With a cold, dismissive gaze, she asked, “Hey, you look unfamiliar. Which high school did you go to before this? What industry is your family in?”

Lin Ling, though not officially a school beauty, was considered one of the best-looking students in Class Ten. She also consistently held the top academic rank in the class. Upon seeing Ruan Cha’s appearance and noticing the enthusiasm from the boys in class, Lin Ling couldn’t help but feel annoyed.

When her eyes landed on the knitted dress Ruan Cha was wearing, made of a simple, unbranded material, Lin Ling immediately came to a conclusion. It didn’t look designer or handcrafted, so this must be some scholarship-winning poor student with good grades.

For the first time, Ruan Cha encountered someone inquiring about her family background, and she found the experience oddly amusing. “I went to Sixth High in town. Hmm, industry? Does owning a mountain count?”

Lin Ling: “…”

Song Mengyu noticed that Ruan Cha had willingly admitted her humble background and quickly added fuel to the fire with a gentle tone, “Everyone, stop laughing. My cousin just returned to the family. She used to live in a small town. Although my aunt and uncle didn’t have steady jobs there, they are genuinely good people.”

Upon hearing Song Mengyu’s words, the curiosity of the classmates turned into disdain. Some openly laughed, while others, though disapproving of the ridicule, chose to remain indifferent and distant since they had no connection to Ruan Cha.

The story of the Liang family’s switched daughters had already caused a stir in their social circle. Thanks to Liang Qianling’s deliberate spreading of the story, most people were aware of the true daughter’s background: raised in a remote town, with poor parents—an idle father and a mediocre-student daughter.

Initially, everyone had imagined Ruan Cha and her family to be sunburnt and rough-skinned, resembling stereotypical farmers from a TV drama. However, seeing Ruan Cha in person left the previously gossiping classmates feeling embarrassed.

The young girl was fair-skinned, with dewy, radiant skin. Sitting there, she seemed like a delicate fairy exuding an air of grace. Her demeanor was calm and unbothered, devoid of any signs of timidity.

Ruan Cha silently assessed the situation. Although Song Mengyu’s tone was annoying, the content of her words wasn’t false. Her parents were genuinely kind people, and their work—farming and renting out property—didn’t fit the societal notion of a proper job. So, she chose not to refute.

Lin Ling, who initially felt threatened by Ruan Cha’s beauty, relaxed upon hearing her background. A country bumpkin from a small town couldn’t possibly compare to her. Still, she felt compelled to issue a warning. “Hey, I’m warning you—”

Ding!
Please maintain perfect accuracy in the vocabulary test during the next class to complete the task. Upon completion, 1 beauty point and 1 intelligence point will be deducted from your associated target and awarded to you.

Ruan Cha’s face immediately darkened as she snapped sharply, “Shut up!”

Damn system, I’ll drag you down with me!

Lin Ling, unaccustomed to being interrupted so rudely in public, was momentarily stunned. The next second, her face twisted with anger as she shouted, “Ruan Cha, who do you think you’re telling to shut up?!”

“Did you not hear the bell?!” The English teacher glared sternly at both Lin Ling and Ruan Cha. “Lin Ling, get back to your seat!”

The once arrogant Lin Ling paled at the teacher’s reprimand. Without another word, she obediently returned to her seat.

It was clear that the teachers assigned to Class Ten were anything but lenient. Dealing with a group of rebellious kids required a firm hand.

The English teacher swept a glance over the class. “We’ll start with a vocabulary test. Put your English textbooks away—no sneaky flipping!”

---

Meanwhile, in Class Two.

Ren Qingqing, having just received her system task, glanced at the English teacher announcing a vocabulary test. Her face lit up with a triumphant smile.

English was her strongest subject. She never scored below 130 in tests.

This task was practically a free reward!