Ch 37: After My Mother Returned to the Rich Family

Before the midterm exams at Second High, the first episode of Dear Life aired promptly at 8:00 PM on Saturday. Thanks to the last-minute addition of the popular actor Liang Cunjin, the show’s buzz kept climbing, even hitting the top of real-time trending topics before it began.

For days, Ruan Cha had been holed up in her room whenever she was home. But under the watchful eyes of her family, she finally came downstairs, holding a fruit platter. She obediently sat to the right of Grandpa Liang, joining everyone in watching Dear Life.

The Liang family’s four members and the Ruan family’s three made up a cozy group of seven, all gathered around the TV, watching the commercials before the show began.

Ruan Cha noticed how calm and composed Liang Cunjin seemed, which puzzled her. She tugged on his sleeve and asked, “Second Brother, when you used to watch your TV dramas or movies with the family, didn’t you feel awkward?”

Before Liang Cunjin could answer, his mother, Aunt Tang Hua, had already started poking fun at her son. “Your second brother? He doesn’t even know how to spell awkward. I remember when he first started acting. He called us in a frenzy, begging us to watch his debut show. But we sat through almost the entire series and didn’t see him anywhere.”

Grandpa Liang chuckled at the memory. “Then your eldest cousin, with his sharp eyes, pointed at the lead character performing a sword dance and said, ‘There he is, isn’t that Cunjin?’ Turns out he was the stunt double for the male lead.”

Their reminiscing drew laughter from the Ruan family. After laughing, Ruan Cha pulled out her tablet and logged into Lemon TV. “Sure, the TV’s connected to the internet, but it doesn’t show comments. Watching a variety show or a drama is only fun with the comment feed.”

When Liang Cunjin leaned over to peek at the tablet, Ruan Cha held it away and looked at him seriously. “Second Brother, based on my years of watching online shows, the comments will have fans and haters in equal measure. You—”

“It’s fine,” Liang Cunjin said dismissively, waving his hand and positioning the tablet half on his lap and half on hers. With his signature playful smile, he added, “Back when I first started, I had your Brother Can read me all the hate comments. After a while, my heart grew strong enough to take it. Now, I just treat it as entertainment.”

Ye Can, Liang Cunjin’s manager who had left his original agency to start a studio with him, was someone Ruan Cha had met a few days earlier. Tall, slender, and very refined, Ye Can had been prepared for the hardships of starting from scratch, only to find himself managing a carefree rich kid’s career.

Seeing Liang Cunjin’s indifferent expression, Ruan Cha reluctantly believed his claims about his strong heart. Quietly, she turned on the comment feed. The two leaned in to watch, occasionally switching between the TV and the tablet.

As the guest with the biggest fanbase, Liang Cunjin was featured first, and the comments initially matched his expectations. His fans and haters were evenly split, though the haters were quickly overwhelmed by his loyal supporters.

But within five minutes, Liang Cunjin noticed something odd. The comments were overwhelmingly focused on Ruan Cha, her dad, and her mom.

When the show highlighted Ruan Cha enthusiastically praising Liang Cunjin’s zero kills and zero assists in a game as a “divine move,” the viewers couldn’t contain themselves, flooding the feed with adoration.

“Ahhhh, Liang Cunjin’s gameplay! As a three-year fan, even I can’t spin it into praise. But his sister makes it sound so genuine! Her eyes are practically sparkling!”

• “So adorable! The cutest rainbow praise generator in the world!”

When viewers saw Ruan Cha innocently asking Song Mengyu, “Who’s dissing domestic products? Isn’t the yuan great?” the comment section erupted into laughter.

• “The yuan is amazing, amazing! Oh my, her confused expression is explosively cute!”
• “You all noticed the yuan, but I saw a certain childhood friend feeding her tiles in mahjong. Oh no, I’m guilty—I’m shipping them!”
• “No one’s talking about the moisturizing cream? I saw a post on Zhihu claiming it caused breakouts!”

The comment about the moisturizing cream quickly got drowned out by others, but Liang Cunjin noticed it. After reading a few more, he immediately pulled out his phone and contacted a well-connected friend to investigate the backstory.

After hanging up, Liang Cunjin’s gaze turned cold. He thought he might have figured out why his second aunt insisted on having Song Mengyu join the show.

He turned to look at Ruan Cha, who was intently watching the variety show, head lowered and unaware. If she hadn’t had the habit of watching comments, he probably wouldn’t have caught on so quickly.

If Song Mengyu was aware of the moisturizing cream’s potential to cause breakouts and still encouraged Ruan Cha to use it… Liang Cunjin didn’t dare let his thoughts go further. Even though he’d seen plenty of schemes in the entertainment industry, he couldn’t bring himself to suspect his family with malicious intent.

Ruan Cha had noticed the comment about breakouts and silently clicked her tongue. Her mom was right—girls’ skin is precious, and anything used on the face must be guaranteed safe.

Further down, the comments shifted focus from Ruan Cha to her parents, Ruan Zhengfei and Wei Jiao.

• “Damn, too smooth. Chasing your wife all the way to the orphanage? Iconic!”
• “Ahhh, their love story is so sweet! I’m full on this dog food! Someone publish their love story memoir—I’ll buy a hundred copies!”
• “Dad, Mom, I want to be your son-in-law!”
• “Hahaha, who said Liang Cunjin doesn’t care about his family? Watch the show—can you act that out? If it’s acting, then his sister should debut as the center!”
• “Collecting rent since childhood—I’m so jealous. Just lying at home and making money must be amazing!”

Liang Cunjin glanced at the endless stream of comments and then at the lovey-dovey interaction between Ruan Zhengfei and Wei Jiao across the room. He pressed his lips together and covered his stomach, feeling a bit overwhelmed.

“You said you’d go back to studying after your part aired, didn’t you?” Liang Cunjin knocked on Ruan Cha’s head, reminding her that she had originally been upstairs reviewing for midterms.

Ruan Cha shook her head and handed out fruit—one plate to Grandpa Liang and one to Liang Cunjin. “Since I started watching, I need to see it through. Even though I don’t know the other guests, I should respect them and finish the show.”

As she spoke, her phone buzzed incessantly. Unlocking it, she saw that her class group chat had exploded. Xie Changan had spammed a bunch of screenshots of Ruan Cha from Dear Life. Not only that, but he had also made custom reaction stickers.

[“Isn’t the yuan great?” .gif]
[“Cute pose.” .gif]
[“You’re amazing!” .gif]
[“MVP of the day!” .gif]

…

Ruan Cha stared at the endless stream of reaction stickers Xie Changan had created. Glancing at the chat, she saw her classmates using her stickers in a meme war. Her expression went blank.

Too, too embarrassing!!!

Liang Cunjin burst out laughing as soon as he saw the chat. “Hahaha, your classmates are amazing, Cha Cha! Send me those reaction stickers—I need to save them.”

Before Ruan Cha could protest, he swiftly grabbed her phone, saved all the reaction stickers, and forwarded them to himself one by one. “That classmate of yours, Xie Changan, is a genius! The screenshots are not only adorable but perfectly captioned.”

As he spoke, his sharp eyes caught a flurry of new reaction stickers from a classmate named Huang Jiajia, seemingly trying to one-up Xie Changan in a competition for the best memes.

Elbowing Ruan Cha, Liang Cunjin grinned mischievously. “Sis, I didn’t realize you were not only popular with the guys but also with the girls!”

“Ow!”

“You little brat! Watch your mouth!”

Grandpa Liang, sitting on Ruan Cha’s left, slapped Liang Cunjin on the back with a heavy hand. “What nonsense are you spouting? Cha Cha isn’t even seventeen yet. Do you think she’s like you, dating in middle school and high school and accomplishing nothing serious?”

“Ow, ow, ow! Grandpa, stop! I give up!” Liang Cunjin pleaded, unable to escape. His grandfather was not only growing sturdier with age but had also become remarkably swift at doling out smacks.

Ruan Cha watched her second brother being chased around the living room and laughed so hard her stomach hurt. Her parents, along with Liang Cunjin’s own parents, couldn’t stop laughing either.

Tang Hua, ever the troublemaker, even grabbed a throw pillow to block her son’s escape. “Serves you right, you cheeky brat!”

“Ahhh! Have mercy! I was wrong! I’m guilty!”

Ruan Zhengfei, enjoying the spectacle, couldn’t resist chiming in, “Hahaha, Dad, our Cha Cha is still young! We can’t let Cunjin corrupt her!”

Hearing this, Liang Cunjin snapped back indignantly, “Uncle, you’re the last person who should say that, considering you camped out at the orphanage chasing after my aunt since you were a kid!”

Grandpa Liang nodded in agreement mid-slap. “Exactly, you’re the least qualified!”

Ruan Zhengfei: “…” Alright then.

Ruan Cha looked at the joyful chaos unfolding before her—a lively, harmonious family scene—and felt an overwhelming sense of contentment.

Although the life described in the book from her past life had been dark, the one she was living now was full of light. This moment, with her family, was real.

By the time the show ended, it was already 10 p.m. Carrying a cup of fruit tea, Ruan Cha shuffled upstairs in her slippers to continue studying. Her parents, still laughing, couldn’t help but glance up the stairs, their usual carefree smiles tinged with worry.

They could see it—since last week, their daughter had something on her mind.

Unaware of her parents’ concern, Ruan Cha, buoyed by her family’s playful teasing, felt lighthearted and full of energy. Once in her room, she dived into her studies with renewed focus. With only three days until midterms, there was no time to waste. The last monthly exam, where Ren Qingqing scored high in math within just twenty minutes, had been a wake-up call for her.

[Buzz—]

Ruan Cha glanced at her buzzing phone, assuming it was another round of memes from Huang Jiajia and Xie Changan. Although slightly embarrassed, she couldn’t deny the curiosity and excitement bubbling inside her.

It was the first time in her life that she had become the star of a meme collection!

Opening WeChat, she saw the class group chat still engaged in their meme battle. Amid the chaos, a new message popped up from Fu Chen.

[Fu Chen]: The solution you sent for that math problem yesterday is indeed simpler and clearer than my original method. Plus, it avoids the trap in the second question.
[Image.jpg]

After reading Fu Chen’s explanation annotated on the image, Ruan Cha chuckled and confidently replied, “Not to brag, but I think I have a good shot at taking first place this midterm.”

She had been timing herself with mock exams and practice books for days, gradually improving from 140+ to 145+, and even achieving full marks on some tests.

Ruan Cha felt optimistic about securing full marks in math and science subjects for the midterms. The only uncertainty lay in the bonus questions, which could determine whether she scored 150 or a perfect 160 in math.

[Fu Chen]: A great goal. I’ll be ready to take second place.

Ruan Cha, amused, was just about to ask Fu Chen if he’d contributed to the views of Dear Life, when an animated meme popped up in the chat window, only to be quickly retracted.

Ruan Cha: “…”

[Ruan Cha]: If I’m not mistaken, the meme star you just sent was… surname Ruan, given name Cha?

[Fu Chen]: A slip of the hand.

Ruan Cha: “???”

The issue isn’t your slip of the hand! The issue is, why on earth are you saving my memes in the first place?!