Ch 36: After My Mother Returned to the Rich Family

Ruan Cha, who had left earlier, hadn’t noticed the tension between Yu Zhiyan and Ren Qingqing. By the next morning, after a good night’s sleep, she had put the previous day’s incidents behind her.

At school, Ruan Cha immersed herself in diligent study, determined to secure the top spot in the midterm exams and leave no openings for the system to exploit.

As for Yu Zhiyan’s friendly overtures, her near-PTSD toward anything “Yu”-related left her with no choice but to respond with polite smiles, maintaining only the level of interaction expected between classmates.

It wasn’t until Friday afternoon, during a break in the school sports meet, that Ruan Cha, on her way back from buying water at the campus convenience store, witnessed Ren Qingqing cornered by several girls in an isolated spot. It hit her then that the current timeline had truly diverged from the events in the book.

“You think you’re good enough for Xu Shen? Always clinging to him every day after school—don’t you have any shame?”

“Ugly looks aside, aren’t you also at the bottom of Class 2? By the end of the midterms, you’ll be shipped off to the parallel class!”

“Leeching off the Xu family like a shameless parasite—it’s disgusting!”

Ren Qingqing stood in the middle, her arms crossed protectively over herself, her shoulders hunched. Her lips were bitten to the point of bleeding, her damp hair clinging to her face, as if someone had poured water over her.

In the book, when students discovered that Ren Qingqing and Xu Shen lived under the same roof, their only reaction had been a sigh of admiration: What a perfect match—beauty and brains, a match made in heaven.

The two of them—one handsome, the other beautiful, both excelling academically—had been figures everyone looked up to. Even when Ren Qingqing faced trouble, Xu Shen or one of her admirers had always resolved it.

The Ren Qingqing in the book had never been in such a sorry state.

Instead, it had been the “Ruan Cha” everyone remembered as perpetually ugly and stupid who had faced bullying, insults, and isolation.

But now, Ren Qingqing hadn’t grown prettier or smarter. In fact, she had regressed, and people naturally disdained her for tainting the “prince” in their hearts. Seeing that Ren Qingqing didn’t know her place, they felt it was their duty to help her “face reality.”

“Ren Qingqing, you—”

Knock, knock, knock.

A crisp knocking sound interrupted the leader’s words. The group turned around to see Ruan Cha standing calmly behind them, holding a bottle of mineral water.

Her fair skin gleamed under the sunlight, almost reflective, and the contrast between her delicate fingers and the mossy, weathered wall was striking.

Ren Qingqing’s gaze locked onto Ruan Cha’s face, a flash of jealousy in her eyes. At the same time, however, she let out a breath of relief. With Ruan Cha stepping in, she had a chance to escape.

The leading girl, who was quite pretty herself, sneered when she saw Ruan Cha. She took a few steps forward, closing the distance between them until they were less than an arm’s length apart. “Ruan Cha, I’m not looking for trouble with you, so don’t stick your nose where it doesn’t belong.”

Xu Shen’s interest in Ruan Cha wasn’t exactly a secret at Second High. The girl hadn’t cared initially, thinking Lin Ling would keep everyone else away from Xu Shen. But Lin Ling’s inaction had left a vacuum, and now someone else had even moved into Xu Shen’s house.

Ruan Cha looked at the unfamiliar girl in front of her, her lips pressing together slightly. Just as she was about to speak, someone else interrupted.

“What are you all doing?!”

Tang Ruobing, who had hesitated for a moment when she first saw Ruan Cha, still spoke up. She quickly ran over and stood shoulder to shoulder with Ruan Cha, glaring coldly at the group of girls. “The school rules explicitly prohibit bullying. Did you all forget?”

The girls exchanged glances and frowned. Tang Ruobing was part of the student council, which oversaw campus discipline. They generally avoided clashing head-on with student council members.

The girls hesitated, but Tang Ruobing was just as nervous. Despite her short hair and tomboyish appearance, she wasn’t good at fighting and was already regretting rushing in alone.

Not one to lose her composure, Tang Ruobing straightened her back, exuding an air of confidence. “Ruan Cha is practically Fu Chen’s sister, and she has the Liang family behind her. You all—”

“Liang family? Maybe you can scare others with that, but me? Not a chance.”

The leading girl rolled her eyes at Tang Ruobing. Her family’s business was on par with the Liang family’s, and neither feared the other.

Honestly, she didn’t like Tang Ruobing either. Always joking and chatting with the boys, acting overly familiar, calling them “brother” without maintaining any proper boundaries. She obviously had her sights set on Fu Chen but still pretended to dislike anyone confessing to Ji Feiyang—a total hypocrite.

Seeing the two about to argue, Ruan Cha sighed in exasperation and knocked on the wall again, her face full of helplessness. “I’ve been telling you, the school rules clearly prohibit bullying. If you’re going to bully someone, at least pick a more discreet spot, okay?”

She glanced around, raising an eyebrow. “Standing here where everyone can see you—are you just waiting for Xu Shen to show up and defend Ren Qingqing?”

Everyone: “???”

Hearing Ruan Cha’s words, the leading girl’s expression became complicated. She had initially debated giving Ruan Cha a piece of her mind too. After all, a few harsh words wouldn’t escalate into anything serious between her family and the Liangs.

But what was Ruan Cha even saying now? Was she helping them? Warning them?

Ren Qingqing, who thought she was about to be saved, stared at Ruan Cha in shock. She couldn’t believe Ruan Cha would encourage others to continue bullying her! How cruel!

Regardless of what Ren Qingqing thought, the girls who had been bullying her took Ruan Cha’s words seriously. They began contemplating moving to a more secluded spot to continue “helping” Ren Qingqing “see reality.”

---

Even as Ruan Cha pulled Tang Ruobing away, the latter hadn’t fully processed what had just happened. She glanced at Ruan Cha, tentatively asking, “Ruan Cha, did you say that to get us out of there and then plan to report them to the teacher?”

Tang Ruobing couldn’t believe that Ruan Cha wouldn’t just refuse to help but would actually pour fuel on the fire.

“Reporting them or not is your business, nothing to do with me.” Ruan Cha replied indifferently. Honestly, she thought she’d already been kind enough not to kick Ren Qingqing a few times herself. Bullying was wrong, and Ruan Cha didn’t approve of it in principle, but when the victim was Ren Qingqing, she just couldn’t bring herself to repay evil with kindness.

“Besides—”

Ruan Cha extended her free hand, slowly curling it into a fist. Her knuckles cracked audibly as she tilted her head, her expression soft and soothing. “If it came to a fight, who’d win is anyone’s guess.”

Tang Ruobing: “…”

Charging in earlier now made her feel like a complete fool.

As Ruan Cha was about to leave, Tang Ruobing called her back, intending to assert her relationship with Fu Chen and convince Ruan Cha to stay away from him. But when her gaze met Ruan Cha’s clear almond eyes, she hesitated. After a moment of internal conflict, she finally asked, “Ruan Cha, what do you think of Fu Chen?”

Ruan Cha’s eyes widened.

Here it came!

The classic plotline from so many novels—where the female lead interacts with the male lead’s future sister-in-law to get her approval.

Ruan Cha quickly straightened her expression to appear particularly sincere. Regardless of whether Fu Chen liked Tang Ruobing or not, she couldn’t tarnish his reputation. She had to paint him as a perfect, shining figure.

“He’s amazing, truly amazing. Handsome, academically brilliant, gentle, and patient. Most importantly, he can motivate lazy people to study!”

Ruan Cha effortlessly listed several of Fu Chen’s positive traits while observing Tang Ruobing’s expression, wondering if she should add anything more.

Studious?

Tang Ruobing, looking at Ruan Cha’s serious demeanor, found herself momentarily speechless. Judging by her words, the boundaries between Ruan Cha and Fu Chen were so clearly drawn that there wasn’t a hint of ambiguity.

Normally, wouldn’t someone blush when talking about the person they liked?

The two stood there, looking at each other, and the atmosphere suddenly became awkward.

Ruan Cha: “???”

Did I say something wrong?

It wasn’t until after Ruan Cha had left that Tang Ruobing suddenly remembered the still-bullied Ren Qingqing. She quickly rushed off to find a teacher, hoping that Ren Qingqing was okay.

Meanwhile, Ruan Cha leisurely carried two bottles of water, heading back to the track to cheer for Huang Jiajia, who was about to compete in the 800-meter finals. But just as she rounded the pavilion, she found herself blocked by an unusually pale Yu Zhiyan.

“…”

Ruan Cha glanced up at the height of the pavilion roof, silently calculating—about two meters. Then, after a moment of hesitation, she jumped back half a step, her face full of caution as she stared at Yu Zhiyan. “Were you planning to jump down and fake an injury to frame me?”

If such a frail and pale person fainted in front of her, how could she possibly explain herself!

Without waiting for a response, Ruan Cha decisively took another two steps back, ensuring a safe distance where Yu Zhiyan couldn’t even touch the hem of her clothes.

Yu Zhiyan: ?

He looked at Ruan Cha’s expression, which screamed, “You’re devious and scheming,” and was momentarily speechless. Honestly, he had to admit that Ruan Cha’s personality, logic, and actions were completely different from what he had imagined before coming to Second High.

Initially, Yu Zhiyan had assumed that someone capable of repeatedly thwarting Ren Qingqing—who had a system—must be deeply scheming and highly strategic.

To his dismay, after observing her for a few days, he realized that Ruan Cha was nothing more than a straightforward and unusually naïve high school student. She had relied solely on diligent studying to reduce Ren Qingqing to her current state.

“What would I gain from framing you?” Yu Zhiyan spread his hands, his amber-colored cat-like eyes half-closed with what seemed like sleepiness. “I’m just curious—why are you so wary of me? I have eyes, you know. Every time you see me, it’s like you’ve seen some sort of monster.”

Ruan Cha: … If you’re really connected to Yu Zheng, aren’t you just as terrifying as a monster?

After reflecting on the events from the book, Ruan Cha had already asked her father to contact one of the major variables—her grandfather.

Truth be told, ever since Ruan Cha was born, she had never met her grandfather—not even seen a photograph of him.

Everything Ruan Cha knew about her grandfather came from her father, who described him as a stubborn old man who rarely followed conventional rules and seemed perpetually busy with mysterious affairs.

Yet every year on her birthday, her grandfather would send her gifts—odd and unique—that had now filled two whole boxes.

Unfortunately, her father hadn’t been able to reach him, as the phone number they had was out of service. This left Ruan Cha with no choice but to remain wary of anyone possibly linked to the opposing faction from her past life.

The two stared at each other, neither willing to break eye contact, as if doing so would signify defeat. After three to five minutes, Yu Zhiyan was the first to give in, covering his mouth as he burst into a violent coughing fit. His chest shook, and his pale complexion flushed red.

Ruan Cha hesitated for a moment before handing him the other bottle of water she had tucked under her arm.

These days, people are terrifying—if they’re not jumping off pavilions to fake an injury, they’re coughing right in your face.

Yu Zhiyan stared blankly at the bottle, seemingly surprised. Seeing that Ruan Cha was about to retract her offer, he grabbed the water, twisted the cap off, and took a few gulps. Then he waved the now two-thirds-full bottle in front of her. “I’ve already drunk it. You can’t take it back now.”

Ruan Cha: “…”

How childish can you be?

When she didn’t respond, Yu Zhiyan pressed his pale lips together. His voice, hoarse from coughing, sounded like sandpaper scraping. “Ruan Cha, believe it or not, I have no intention of harming you.”

To Ruan Cha, his statement revealed more than it concealed. He might not plan to harm her personally, but knowing the situation and choosing to stand by wasn’t much better.

“Wolves don’t announce their plans before eating sheep. I think it’s always good to stay cautious.”

Yu Zhiyan chuckled, suppressing the itch in his throat that made him want to cough again. “But Big Bad Wolf never really ate Pleasant Goat, right? It’s just scare tactics.”

Ruan Cha smiled faintly. “So, you admit you’re playing the wolf?”

Yu Zhiyan: “…”

You’re not just innocent—you’re naturally sharp.

No matter how straightforward she was, Ruan Cha wasn’t easily fooled by someone randomly trying to get close. Growing up in her small town, the uncles and aunties loved playing “role-playing games” with her, pretending to be swindlers to teach her not to trust easily.

Though Ruan Cha was naturally simple-hearted, years of guidance had sharpened her judgment of people. She’d listen to Yu Zhiyan’s words but reserve belief.

Besides, Ruan Cha privately felt it wasn’t a bad thing to have Yu Zhiyan stay in Class 10. If he were connected to Yu Zheng, she might learn something useful about her future adversary.

Seeing that Ruan Cha only smiled and said nothing further, Yu Zhiyan fell silent for a moment. His cat-like eyes opened slightly as he spoke words he once would’ve found laughable.

“Ruan Cha, if you trust me, keep up your diligent studying. Don’t slack off—not even a bit. If you have a shot at being the top of the grade, go for it with everything you’ve got.”

Ruan Cha found the latter part of his words credible and helpful. Before leaving, she nodded lightly and said, “Thank you.”

After she disappeared from sight, Yu Zhiyan could no longer hold himself up. One hand braced against the pavilion column while the other covered his mouth as he coughed violently. His cheeks were flushed red, and the bottle of water he’d been holding was now crushed out of shape from his tight grip.

Hearing the faint coughing behind her, Ruan Cha scratched her head in frustration. Right now, the only thing she could do was study. Other than that, she had no idea how to deal with Ren Qingqing and the system.

Buzz—

Her phone vibrated. She pulled it out, and her frustration vanished instantly, leaving her grinning.

[Fu Chen]: Future classmate, please check this out. [Midterm Review Materials.docx]

Ruan Cha: …

Didn’t I already say? Fu Chen is the ultimate motivator for lazy people to study.