Ch 33: After My Mother Returned to the Rich Family

Xu Family Villa.

“Ah—!”

Ren Qingqing wanted to scream hysterically, but knowing she was staying at Xu Shen’s house, she had to suppress the sound midway, choking it back into her throat. The room was already in disarray, with items smashed and scattered everywhere, and torn-up draft papers littering the floor.

Staring at the practice questions on the desk that she simply couldn’t solve, Ren Qingqing buried her head deep in her arms, tears welling up as she sobbed painfully.

Losing just 2 points of intelligence, and she could no longer solve the problems?

Previously, on a 150-point math test, she had scored a respectable 138 while practicing on her own. But now, her score had plummeted to a pitiful 97—barely mid-tier in her grade!

Ren Qingqing slowly lifted her head, her eyes dark and bleak. Scoring only 97 on math meant that after the midterm exams, she would face the ridicule of her classmates, not just in Class 2 but across the entire grade. She’d be forced out of Class 2’s elite section and relegated to an ordinary parallel class.

She had initially felt relieved that she hadn’t lost beauty points again and wouldn’t have to endure others’ strange looks. But now, she didn’t know whether to feel grateful or despairing.

Staring at the countless red X marks on her paper, Ren Qingqing’s expression carried an uncharacteristic weariness for someone her age.

If she were removed from the elite class, completely overshadowed by Ruan Cha, Xu Shen would no longer have a reason to convince his parents to let her stay at Second High. The Xu family wouldn’t allow her to continue living in their home.

Her future would likely mirror Lin Ling’s—forced to marry some disgusting man addicted to indulgence and debauchery. Just the thought of it made her nauseous.

“System, I have 11 points left, don’t I?”

[Correct, Host. You currently have 11 points remaining. Due to the failure of your previous task, 1 point has already been deducted. If you choose Task A now, the system will deduct 10 points, leaving you with 1 point.]

After hearing the system’s response, Ren Qingqing fell silent, reflecting on her previous tasks.

If only she hadn’t been so complacent, hadn’t assumed she’d win the next time. If she hadn’t chosen Task B back then, would things be different now—

No.

Given the circumstances at the time, the quickest and easiest way to defeat Ruan Cha during her second year was to choose Task B.

Ren Qingqing glanced at her reflection in the mirror. Ruan Cha was so beautiful—her radiant almond-shaped eyes, cherry-red lips. In a crowd, she could draw attention instantly. Even Ren Qingqing herself couldn’t help but envy her looks.

Suppressing her emotions, Ren Qingqing, now struggling with her diminished intelligence, forced herself to concentrate harder. “Are the difficulties of Task A and Task B the same? The rules haven’t changed?”

[The difficulty is the same. Completing 10 Task A assignments will earn the host 1 point of either beauty or intelligence.]

Midway through the explanation, a red light flickered briefly within the system’s programming before returning to normal.

[After calculation, it will take the host 1-2 months to complete 10 Task A assignments. However, there is one additional note.]

Initially hesitating about abandoning Task B—after all, it was clear even to her that Ruan Cha seemed to counter her in every way—Ren Qingqing frowned at the mention of an additional note, feeling a vague sense of foreboding. “Additional note?”

[The host’s initial greatest wish was to enhance her appearance. Currently, the host’s appearance rating is 80 (with 5 points deducted). Through Task A, the system will optimize the host’s genes to achieve the desired enhancement. According to calculations, the host’s appearance can be improved to 100 points.]

“Ruan Cha’s face—”

[The associated target’s appearance is rated at 120 points. The host can enhance her current facial features to align with the target’s most optimal features by utilizing the beauty points derived from the target. Calculations indicate that the host’s appearance can be optimized to 125 points, surpassing the associated target’s current appearance.]

After finishing, the previously flickering red light in the system flashed again briefly.

[As the first host this system has encountered in this century, the system is providing a special benefit. If the host achieves a top 20 ranking in the midterm exams, the host will gain the right to replace the associated target at a 50% discount. The cost will be reduced to 5 points, leaving the host with 6 remaining points.]

“Why didn’t you say this before?!” Ren Qingqing felt an overwhelming rage after hearing everything, furious that the system had hidden such a benefit from her. “If I could’ve replaced the target earlier, would I have lost my beauty points and intelligence points because of Ruan Cha?!”

[Ding! First, the host did not lose beauty points and intelligence points due to harm from the associated target. All deductions were part of the system’s built-in penalties and strictly followed the rules.]

[Second, apologies. The system’s responses are pre-programmed and require the host to meet certain conditions to trigger them. The host’s deeper obsession with the associated target’s appearance caused emotional fluctuations, which in turn triggered the benefit condition.]

[Finally, the host must make a decision between the two tasks as soon as possible.]

Listening to the system’s meticulous explanation, Ren Qingqing suppressed her frustration and tried to clear her groggy mind. “Is there a time limit?”

[The host may decide anytime before the midterm exams.]

Ren Qingqing clenched the pen in her hand, staring intently at the mistakes on her test paper. Her voice turned cold. “I understand.”

---

The next day.

Ruan Cha woke up from the “nightmare” at 4 a.m., then sat at her desk studying until 6:30. As the orange glow of the sunrise broke free from the horizon, she washed up and left her room, sporting a pair of dark circles under her eyes.

As soon as she stepped out, she was met once again by the black surveillance camera. Tilting her head, she greeted it casually before stifling a yawn and heading downstairs.

Song Mengyu had already returned home. At the long dining table, everyone except Tang Hua, who was abroad, was present. Ruan Cha’s tired demeanor stood out conspicuously among the lively group.

Sitting on the same side, Liang Cunjin noticed her exhaustion and, feeling a pang of concern, placed some of her favorite soup dumplings on her plate. “Little sis, are you worried about yesterday’s chemistry test? It’s just a small quiz, don’t stress. Our family’s tutoring teachers are always ready. If you need, they can come over anytime.”

On Liang Cunjin’s recommendation, the Liang family had hired top-tier teachers for every subject, ensuring Ruan Cha could receive the best possible guidance.

“It’s not the chemistry test I’m worried about—it’s just first place, after all.” Ruan Cha nodded sluggishly, sipping her porridge like a soul drifting out of her body. “I’m worried about the midterms. If I don’t take first place in the midterms, who knows what might happen.”

Father and Mother Ruan: “…”

Our daughter is already dreaming about first place??

Grandpa Liang, Liang Zongqi, & Liang Cunjin: “…”

If she doesn’t take first place in chemistry, how should we support her?

After speaking, Ruan Cha glanced at Liang Cunjin with a complicated expression. Before he could ask what was wrong, she had already lowered her head and returned to her porridge.

From Ren Qingqing’s perspective, Ruan Cha had never been able to see the future of the Liang family. However, last night, through the perspective of “Ruan Cha” in the book, she saw Liang Cunjin returning to Nan City and also enrolling in Second High.

In the book, “Ruan Cha” failed to score 160 in the math monthly exam. Since there were no additional evening self-study sessions for the entire second-year grade, Liang Cunjin naturally had no reason to pick her up from Second High, which led to…

A car accident on Bainan Road.

As Ruan Cha drank her porridge, she looked earnestly at Liang Cunjin and repeated the same words she had said last time, “Second Brother, remember to always wear your seatbelt when you’re in the car.”

Liang Cunjin, reminded of the news report he’d seen that evening, couldn’t help but smile wryly when his gaze met Ruan Cha’s bright, almond-shaped eyes. “Alright, Second Brother will remember.”

Seeing that Liang Cunjin agreed, Ruan Cha turned to Liang Grandpa. “Grandpa, you need to take care of yourself too—don’t get angry. Anger harms the body.”

Grandpa Liang laughed heartily. “Got it, got it! Thank you, my dear Cha Cha.”

“And Mom and Dad—” Ruan Cha began but hesitated when she noticed their expectant looks. She found herself at a loss for words. Compared to their lives in the book’s past timeline, her parents were already far more carefree. They had no burdensome stores to worry about. So, she shifted the topic. “You promised me we’d go back to the small town during the holidays. You can’t break that promise.”

Her parents quickly waved their hands. “We won’t, we won’t!”

Watching the smiles on their faces, Ruan Cha felt a pang of bittersweetness and quickly lowered her head to hide the tears welling in her eyes. Yes, her family was fine now—nothing had happened to them.

After breakfast, Ruan Cha slung on her backpack and left the house. Only when she was out of sight did Ruan Zhengfei and Wei Jiao reluctantly look away.

Ruan Zhengfei turned to Wei Jiao, his expression serious. “Jiao Jiao, let me attend the midterm parent-teacher meeting. I need to check how Cha Cha is doing in class.”

His typically carefree daughter, who had coasted through her first year of high school, was suddenly striving for first place. It didn’t make sense—serious studying was believable, but aiming for first place wasn’t in her nature. Something had to be going on.

Wei Jiao nodded solemnly. “Feifei, you must observe closely and report back to me immediately.”

Ruan Zhengfei: “Consider it done.”

---

When Ruan Cha arrived at her classroom, she saw Xie Changan talking animatedly to Huang Jiajia. Noticing her entrance, he waved enthusiastically. “Ruan Cha, big news! I just saw our class’s Sister Lan bring in a campus heartthrob!”

“Campus heartthrob?” Ruan Cha hung her backpack on her chair, pulled out her textbooks and homework, and asked casually, “Tall and handsome?”

Xie Changan raised an eyebrow. “Of course, otherwise how could he be called a heartthrob?”

Huang Jiajia, who had been eavesdropping, immediately chimed in, “Is he as handsome as Fu Chen or Xu Shen? If not Fu Chen, is he at least as good-looking as Sleepyhead?”

Xie Changan frowned. “Old Huang, why are you only asking about Sleepyhead and not me? Look down on me, do you? We’re cousins, you know. Genetically, there’s a 25% chance we look alike.”

Huang Jiajia dismissed him impatiently. “Stop rambling. Just tell me, is he as handsome as them?”

Under the expectant gazes of both Ruan Cha and Huang Jiajia, Xie Changan scratched his head nervously. “He and Sleepyhead are about evenly matched, I guess? But come on, asking a straight guy to compare their looks? That’s cruel.”

Huang Jiajia chuckled. “We’re not the ones to make the comparison. You’re the one hyping him up as a campus heartthrob, making it sound like you’ve got a crush or something.”

Flustered, Xie Changan hugged his arms and protested, “No way! I’m straight! Straight as can be!”

Ruan Cha and Huang Jiajia exchanged knowing smiles, their eyes gleaming with mischief.

At first, Ruan Cha wasn’t particularly interested in the new student’s name or looks. That was until their homeroom teacher, Liao Lan, asked the newcomer to introduce himself at the front of the class.

“Hello, everyone. My name is Yu Zhiyan. I hope we can get along well in the future.”

Ruan Cha’s eyes shot up, locking onto the boy standing on the platform. He wore a khaki shirt paired with black jeans and had a pair of lazy, cat-like eyes that seemed to carry a faint smile.

Yet, Ruan Cha couldn’t tell if that smile held any warmth. All she felt was an internal storm raging within her.

Yu Zheng. Yu Zhiyan.

Could it really be such a coincidence?

Ruan Cha couldn’t say. But she was sure of one thing: in the two times she’d read the book, there had never been a mention of a student named Yu Zhiyan.