Ch 38: After My Mother Returned to the Rich Family

“A slip of the hand.”

Fu Chen stared blankly at the four words in the WeChat chat box, his expression frozen.

For the first time in his life, he’d “crashed” spectacularly, and not just anywhere—it was right in front of the person involved. Not to sound immodest, but this was precision-level failure.

He glanced at his phone, where six or seven freshly saved [Ruan Cha Meme Collection] images from the student council’s group chat stared back at him. Looking back at the paused WeChat reply, his face stiffened further.

But it really was a slip of the hand!

“A slip of the hand”—who would believe that?

Since the broadcast of Dear Life, the tenth-grade class had gone wild. With meme masters like Xie Changan and Huang Jiajia leading the charge, their class chat was flooded with a meme war. Before the memes could spread schoolwide, gossip king Ji Feiyang joined the fun, creating his own exclusive meme collection, which quickly became a hit in the student council’s private chat group.

As for the witty captions on the memes? Those were all Fu Chen’s spontaneous creations.

Finally, the frozen chat box came to life with a reply.

[Ruan Cha]: Alrighty then, [As a fairy, I won’t argue with you.jpg].

The meme’s expression was unmistakably Ruan Cha’s—her face puffed up with a smug yet endearing look as she helped Liang Cunjin manage unruly teammates during the show. A touch of filters had elevated her to true fairy status.

Before Fu Chen could relax, another message popped up.

Fu Chen read the content and couldn’t suppress a laugh, his voice reverberating through the quiet study, carrying an infectious joy.

[Ruan Cha]: That meme you just sent—I don’t have it. Can you share it with me?

Within seconds, a new meme appeared in their chat.

[Fu Chen]: [Fairy by Nature, Slacker at Heart.jpg].

Ruan Cha swiftly accepted the meme, a satisfied grin spreading across her fair face. She was genuinely proud of how calmly she was now using her own memes to communicate with Fu Chen.

Moreover—

As she studied the meme caption, her bright eyes glimmered with admiration. Whoever created this truly understood her. Wasn’t her dream to be a lazy fairy radiating celestial vibes?

---

Liang Cunjin’s participation in Dear Life had been a calculated move to introduce the Ruan family to the public. He wanted to make it clear that the Liang family saw the Ruan trio as their own, respecting them for their decades of life in the small town. The subtle message: Think twice before speaking about them in the future.

But the reception far exceeded his expectations.

Ruan Cha, Father Ruan, and Mother Ruan had skyrocketed in popularity, becoming beloved for their charm, straightforwardness, and their ability to produce “couple content.” Their spots on trending lists were no less prominent than Liang Cunjin’s.

The night of the premiere, Liang Cunjin’s manager Can, called to insist that Liang Cunjin bring the Ruan trio to every future recording—even if Liang Cunjin himself didn’t show up.

Equal parts amused and exasperated, Liang Cunjin hung up, mentally grumbling about the unexpected stars of his show.

---

By Tuesday morning, at the breakfast table, Liang Cunjin was scrolling through Weibo with one hand while dramatically reciting fan-written love stories about the Ruan family with the other.

Father Ruan’s and Mother Ruan’s faces turned bright red, their embarrassment evident.

Father Ruan and Mother Ruan: Even the thickest skin can’t withstand fans’ overly imaginative shipping stories—so embarrassing!

Compared to her parents, Ruan Cha appeared much calmer. Someone who often called herself a “little fairy” wasn’t particularly fazed by being complimented as cute—it was just standard procedure.

The only thing that made her slightly uneasy was… her memes, which had spread from her class to the entire school.

On Monday, while walking on campus, she’d occasionally run into girls from senior classes. Before she could react, she’d find herself pulled into fragrant hugs.

It was truly a mix of happiness and distress.

Happiness from hugging so many beautiful senior sisters, but distress from—

Ruan Cha propped her face with one hand, lamenting how there was only one of her, making it impossible to hug them all at once. Not hugging anyone felt like a loss. Alas, being a fair and impartial “king of the sea” was too hard.

↑ The worries of a hopeless narcissist.

“Cha Cha, let me ask you something on behalf of your countless fans.”

Liang Cunjin, under the piercing gaze of the family, scrolled through the highest-liked comment on his Weibo post and asked seriously, “Do you have any plans to become an actress in the future?”

If she really wanted to, it was fine. After all, with him in the industry, he could guarantee she wouldn’t face even a speck of unclean interference.

Ruan Cha swallowed a spoonful of porridge, gazing at Liang Cunjin with sincere eyes as she delivered the excuse she’d nearly convinced herself of. “No acting for me. I love studying. I’m crazy for studying. I’m wild for studying. I’d bang my head on the wall for studying biubiubiu.”

Becoming an actress, working tirelessly like her second brother? That was a disgrace to the art of slacking.

Upon hearing this, the Liang family elders nodded with pride, while Father Ruan and Mother Ruan shook off their earlier embarrassment, their expressions turning grave.

In their eyes, their daughter saying she loved studying was as unbelievable as claiming she loved working for a living. A family of three slackers—who didn’t know each other’s true nature?

Even after Ruan Cha left for school, Father Ruan and Mother Ruan sat at the table, food untouched.

Seeing this, Grandpa Liang thought something serious had happened and asked, “You two in trouble?”

Father Ruan: “Cha Cha said she loves studying.”

Mother Ruan: “The amount of suffering she must have endured…”

Everyone else: …

Is there really a direct correlation here???

---

After arriving at school by private car, Ruan Cha didn’t head to Class 10. Instead, she slung her backpack over her shoulder, grabbed her notebook for key points, and walked up to the third floor. For the first time in her life, she entered Class 1’s classroom.

The seating for the midterms had been arranged based on the monthly exam rankings, with the top 20 students assigned to the first testing hall.

After spotting her name on the blackboard seating chart, Ruan Cha scanned the classroom. Amid the unfamiliar faces, she recognized a few people—Fu Chen, Xie Sui, Ji Feiyang, Xu Nan, and Tang Ruobing.

The thought of being in Class 1, away from Ren Qingqing and Xu Shen, made her face light up with a radiant smile, bright and sunny like a little sunbeam.

Sitting in the first row, Tang Ruobing noticed Ruan Cha’s cheerful expression. She wanted to say something but turned her head awkwardly instead.

So Ruan Cha really was that simple, even to the point of being a little naive.

Anyone with eyes could tell from Dear Life that Song Mengyu’s “kind gesture” of giving her poor-quality moisturizer was full of malicious intent. And yet Ruan Cha had genuinely believed Song Mengyu wanted to make amends.

Still, naïve as she was, at least she knew better than to use just anything on her face. Otherwise, she might have been showing up at school today with a face full of redness and swelling.

Tang Ruobing froze as she finished her thoughts. Had she gone mad? Instead of remaining vigilant against Ruan Cha, she was now worried about her getting tricked by Song Mengyu?

“…”

But still, that pretentious “innocent flower” was just hard to stomach.

#WhenATomboyTakesOnAnInnocentFlower

Sitting in the back row, Ji Feiyang noticed how cheerful Ruan Cha looked and couldn’t help but laugh. He called out, “Ruan Cha, you seem way too excited about the midterm exams. Smiling like that—what’s the deal?”

“Of course, I’m excited! I can’t wait to bask in the glory of the test papers,” Ruan Cha replied with enthusiasm. Then, after waving to a few familiar faces, she headed straight to Xu Nan’s desk. “Nan Nan, are you free next week? I’d like to borrow the lab.”

Upon seeing Ruan Cha approach, Xu Nan quickly stuffed the pen in her hand back into its case, her face flushing red. “I’m free, I’m free! If you don’t understand anything, just ask me directly.”

Ruan Cha: …

If her eyes weren’t deceiving her, wasn’t that pen Xu Nan had just put away one of the limited-edition ones her brother had personally designed as a gift for fans? A true collector’s item, only owned by the most dedicated first-generation supporters.

Looking at the blush spreading from Xu Nan’s ears to her neck, Ruan Cha instinctively felt she’d uncovered a big secret.

“Okay, thanks, Nan Nan.”

Ruan Cha smiled warmly as she spoke, pretending not to have noticed the pen. Whoever Xu Nan liked was her personal business. If Xu Nan wanted to talk, she’d listen. If not, she wouldn’t pry.

Xu Nan, seeing that Ruan Cha hadn’t noticed anything, relaxed slightly and shook her head subtly. “It’s nothing.”

---

The midterm schedule was slightly different, with no combined science test—just individual exams for physics, chemistry, and biology. Day one had Chinese in the morning, English and chemistry in the afternoon. Day two covered math in the morning, with physics and biology in the afternoon. The entire Grade 11 would finish the exams over two days.

With no Ren Qingqing in the first exam hall, Ruan Cha felt completely at ease. Compared to the monthly exams, she’d spent another month reviewing and solidifying her knowledge, so when faced with the Chinese test paper, she found herself brimming with ideas. Her essay, a comprehensive explanation, was written in one go.

When only half an hour remained, Ruan Cha had already finished her paper. What surprised her, however, was that out of all 20 students in Class 1, not a single one had submitted their exam early!

Ruan Cha glanced at Xie Sui, who was sitting in front of her. Known for his nickname “Sleepy head,” he wasn’t just awake during the exam but had actually finished his paper and was carefully checking his answers.

Ruan Cha: “…”

Having finished checking her paper and initially planning to hand it in early, Ruan Cha found herself completely out of sync with the atmosphere.

In Class 1, the students held such deep respect for exam room discipline that Ruan Cha decided against standing out. Instead of being the lone outlier, she stayed seated and diligently rechecked her answers until the bell rang. She then handed her paper to the designated classmate collecting them for each row.

After packing up her materials, Xu Nan hesitated briefly before summoning a small burst of courage to approach. “Cha Cha, are you waiting for someone after this?”

“No, I’m heading straight to the cafeteria,” Ruan Cha replied. Then she paused, considering Xu Nan’s shy demeanor, and added with a hint of awkwardness, “Nan Nan, would you mind if I joined you for lunch? Eating alone is kind of boring.”

Xu Nan, hearing Ruan Cha bring it up herself, visibly relaxed. Her hands, which had been nervously fidgeting with her clothes, now eased. She blushed and softly replied, “Of course not. I’m on my own too.”

Ji Feiyang, observing the interaction between Xu Nan and Ruan Cha, looked visibly surprised. In Class 1, both Xu Nan and “Sleepy head” (Xie Sui) were considered exceptional yet distinct individuals. While Xie Sui had extraordinary talent in chemistry and physics competitions, Xu Nan excelled in lab work.

However, one was notoriously sleepy, and the other was so introverted she practically had social anxiety.

Now, to everyone’s astonishment, socially anxious Xu Nan had taken the initiative to speak to Ruan Cha. Truly remarkable.

Fu Chen, who had been about to invite Ruan Cha to join his group for lunch—since the four of them were already acquainted—decided against it upon seeing Xu Nan.

It was obvious how much courage Xu Nan had summoned to strike up the conversation with Ruan Cha. Adding more people to the group would likely overwhelm her, making the meal uncomfortable.

With her naturally warm demeanor, Ruan Cha casually linked arms with Xu Nan and followed the crowd to the cafeteria. “Nan Nan, I’m curious about something. Why didn’t anyone in your exam room hand in their paper early?”

“Some used to.” Xu Nan spoke softly and carefully, occasionally glancing at her arm entwined with Ruan Cha’s, her cheeks flushing as she shyly pressed her lips together. “But after the entire first year, everyone noticed that Fu Chen, who’s always ranked first, never submits his paper early. He meticulously checks until the very end. After a while, people felt embarrassed to hand theirs in before him.”

Everyone in the first exam hall, apart from Ruan Cha, was from Classes 1 or 2. Class 1 dominated the room, filled with competitive students who excelled academically and didn’t want to lose face. Naturally, no one wanted to be outdone by Fu Chen.

If Fu Chen didn’t submit early, anyone who did would essentially have less time to check their answers. Over time, no one in the first exam hall dared to hand in their papers early anymore.

Listening to Xu Nan, Ruan Cha was full of admiration. While she had only ever fantasized about being a lazy fish basking in the comfort of air-conditioned rooms, Fu Chen, as class president and student council president, not only excelled himself but also led the entire class to become diligent learners. Who else could manage that?

As the two chatted happily on their way to the cafeteria, their lively interaction was, in some people’s eyes, utterly grating.

Having submitted her paper early and already finished her meal, Ren Qingqing’s gaze followed Ruan Cha with venom. The thought of the precious points she had spent on practice papers filled her with resentment so overwhelming it was suffocating.

If not for the 2 points of intelligence deducted, Ren Qingqing believed she could have worked diligently for two weeks and earned a spot in the top 20. But now? Even the second class was slipping out of reach.

Out of desperation, she had no choice but to exchange her points with the system for simulation papers in three subjects, leaving her scrambling to cram for the remaining three.

Watching Ruan Cha and Xu Nan disappear from view, Ren Qingqing’s expression turned dark as she muttered to herself, “System, who’s that person with Ruan Cha?”

[Class 1, Xu Nan. Throughout their first year, they achieved a 90% probability of double perfect scores in chemistry and biology and possess strong talent in lab work.]

“Class 1, huh?”

Ren Qingqing whispered to herself. Honestly, she didn’t think she was at fault. Mr. Yu had only given her one year to surpass Ruan Cha.

If she chose A tasks, it would take two months to complete 10 tasks and earn 1 point of intelligence or beauty. In a year, she could only gain six points. But with B tasks, she could complete three in less than half a month.

The jealousy she felt whenever she saw Xu Shen’s gaze lingering on Ruan Cha’s face only fueled her determination. Jealousy grew like wild weeds, consuming her.

Her expression hardened. She was already at the edge of a cliff. After losing two points of intelligence, she might not even be able to complete a single A task. Facing public humiliation? Unacceptable.

She couldn’t return to that hellish home. She wouldn’t be looked down upon again, nor would she surrender her future to a greasy old man.

The title of school beauty, academic star, and even Xu Shen himself—all of it could only belong to her.

Ren Qingqing glanced again toward the cafeteria, her smile taking on a chillingly unnatural hue. “Sorry about this, Xu Nan.”

The system, observing its host, flickered with red light. A stream of data pulsed outward, its destination unknown. The red glow briefly subsided, replaced by faint white light that quickly dissolved back into the depths of the system’s code.

[Host, I can assign tasks in areas where you excel beyond Xu Nan. But are you certain about setting Xu Nan as your new linked target? The difficulty will be only slightly lower than the previous one by one-third.]

Ren Qingqing turned her gaze to the dispersing crowd, her eerie smile gone. “Xu Nan’s looks are almost on par with Ruan Cha’s. Why wouldn’t I link her?”

Her beauty might not currently rival Ruan Cha’s, but that didn’t mean it always would. Why should she, trapped in a filthy, suffocating life, have to watch as Ruan Cha and Xu Nan laughed so freely and learned so easily?

It was unfair—painfully so. Only by dragging them both into the mud could she feel at ease.

As her words fell, the system’s inner code flared red, surging for a brief moment before settling into a deceptive calm.