Ch 60: After My Mother Returned to the Rich Family

In the afternoon, the entire sophomore year of Second High School was in the greenhouse picking strawberries. At the same time, they learned how to weed, identify plant varieties, and measure soil moisture.

Each group of five students was tasked with recording relevant data and planting strawberries for their team. Since David, the base’s director, had mentioned earlier that once the strawberries grew, they would be sent to the school for everyone to enjoy, every group put in their best effort, working tirelessly without complaints.

Ruan Cha looked at the freshly covered soil, tilting her head in confusion. “Can they really grow? It’s winter, the season for eating strawberries, not planting them.”

Hearing this, Fu Chen organized the remaining materials and replied gently, “It’s just for the experience. Even if they don’t grow, the base will probably send strawberries to the school when the time comes.”

Fu Chen’s guess was spot on. David had indeed planned that if none of the strawberries grew, he’d have the base’s own strawberries delivered to the school. After all, this was Cha Cha’s first visit to the optimized base. Not only did everything have to be enjoyable from start to finish, but even the post-visit experience had to be perfect.

Ruan Cha didn’t dwell on the strawberries anymore. Instead, she thought back to how deftly Fu Chen had planted them earlier and asked curiously, “Fu Chen, have you planted strawberries or other crops before?”

The Ruan family owned several mountains, and Ruan Cha had occasionally joined the adults for fun, helping to plant cabbage. Compared to her classmates, she had some experience, but seeing how skilled Fu Chen was, she fell silent. She had to admit, her farming skills didn’t match his.

Fu Chen paused slightly in his movements, his eyelashes lowering briefly. “I plant something with my dad every year. Over time, I naturally picked up some basics.”

When Fu Chen was very young, Liang Yue had passed away. Since Liang Yue had loved roses in her lifetime, Fu Chen’s father started a tradition of planting a few rose bushes with Fu Chen on her birthday each year. After ten years, the garden was now filled with a sprawling rose bush.

Unaware of the details about Fu Chen’s family, Ruan Cha simply nodded at his response and didn’t ask further.

After finishing the strawberry picking, the students were taught baking and various cooking techniques. Half of the dishes served at dinner were prepared by the students themselves.

Perhaps the self-made food was particularly delicious, or maybe the base’s vegetables were just that fresh and flavorful, but even Ruan Cha found herself eating half a bowl more rice than usual. As for some of the boys, their portions tripled.

After dinner, the teachers didn’t assign any additional tasks. Instead, one teacher led three classes and paired the students two to a dorm room.

“Wow, the Jintao Base dorms are amazing! Two people per room!”

“And they’re so spacious—almost half again as large as our school dorms.”

“There are green plants on the balcony, and you can see the stars spread out across the sky. Oh my god, I want to stay here for a few more days.”

Listening to everyone’s remarks, Ruan Cha couldn’t help but smile proudly. After all, she had played a small part in Jintao Base’s development—like the origin of its name, for example.

In the same class and close friends, Ruan Cha and Xu Nan were naturally assigned to the same dorm.

When they arrived at their dorm room, Xu Nan noticed the plush toys on their beds and the figures displayed on the shelves. She was just about to ask Ruan Cha why their dorm seemed different from the others, but before the words left her mouth, she remembered something Ruan Cha had said earlier.

Oh, right.

The Jintao Base belonged to Ruan Cha’s family, so it was only natural for the base to treat their little boss differently from other guests.

Their dorm room had a private bathroom and a balcony. After both Ruan Cha and Xu Nan took turns showering, they bundled up their clothes and tossed them into the rolling washing machine on the balcony.

Xu Nan had initially planned to watch the second live episode of Starry Trainee. While she didn’t have a favorite contestant, she was a devoted fan of judge Liang Cunjin, and as a die-hard supporter, she watched everything he was involved in.

However, as she sat in the dorm clutching a Pikachu plushie and was about to unlock her phone, she saw Ruan Cha pull out a Chinese literature textbook for the first semester of senior year and begin studying seriously.

“Cha Cha, y-you’re already reviewing senior year material?”

It wasn’t unusual for the Class One overachievers to preview material, but most of them only managed to review the next semester’s sophomore curriculum. Nobody had the time to dive into senior year textbooks.

Xu Nan glanced at the book in Ruan Cha’s hands, then at the phone in her own. A sudden pang of guilt struck her.

Ruan Cha, just starting to read, noticed Xu Nan’s reaction. She tilted her head to observe her friend, her smile growing. It was a relief to see that Xu Nan hadn’t been affected by Ren Qingqing. It seemed System 1128 was right—any connection between Ren Qingqing and Xu Nan had been severed.

“I’m planning to join senior year next semester.”

The sooner she graduated, the sooner she could become a carefree couch potato. Hahaha!

She added, “Plus, reading gives me power.” Once her energy pool was full, she wouldn’t have to worry about any tricks from Ren Qingqing or Yu Zheng.

Xu Nan bit her lip, put her phone back on the bed, and pulled out a chemistry competition workbook she hadn’t touched in a while.

If someone as brilliant as Cha Cha thought there was always more to learn, how could she let herself slack off just because she was good at chemistry? That was so wrong.

And—

Once Cha Cha moved to senior year, their chances to see each other would decrease. She needed to work harder. Maybe she could skip a grade too.

On the other side of the room, Ruan Cha had just finished memorizing a piece of classical Chinese when she received a text from Grandpa Shen. As expected, he had managed to dig up some information about Yu Zheng.

After reading the content in the link attached to the text, Ruan Cha frowned. The records showed that Yu Zheng’s high school grades were comparable to Fu Chen’s, with near-perfect scores in the sciences and numerous awards, especially in robotics and information technology.

She had already suspected Yu Zheng had talent in computing—without it, he couldn’t have connected his mental domain to Virus X. If Yu Zheng had followed a smooth path, he would likely have become a renowned researcher by now.

However, everything changed during his first year of university. Yu Zheng, who had been focused on scientific research, suddenly began studying medical and metaphysical materials. Looking at the partial book list Grandpa Shen had found from that time, Ruan Cha was baffled.

As a staunch believer in science, even if he didn’t resist metaphysics, shouldn’t he at least avoid embracing it?

Her previous attempts to search for Yu Zheng or Yu Fan online had yielded nothing, which she now realized was due to Yu Zheng’s expertise. He had worked meticulously to erase all traces of his presence online. Grandpa Shen, however, had used other means to uncover some clues.

Now, as she reviewed the information Grandpa Shen had provided, Ruan Cha felt her brain shutting down. Why all the scheming and calculations? Couldn’t he just state what he wanted? It was exhausting.

“1128.”

[System is here, Classmate Ruan Cha. What are your instructions?]

Ruan Cha’s face remained expressionless. “Use a bit of energy to check on Ren Qingqing. I remember there’s a live competition tonight. If she behaves herself and doesn’t steal from others, you can just play the background music. If she doesn’t and starts stealing, reflect it back again.”

[…Classmate Ruan Cha, I think we should conserve our resources. After all, Yu Zheng is far more dangerous than Ren Qingqing.]

Unmoved, Ruan Cha replied, “You should take some time to study human psychology online. Some people get unhappy and enjoy spending money. When I’m unhappy, I want to waste energy points.”

Her peaceful life had been disrupted without reason, and she couldn’t even figure out Yu Zheng’s motives. Initially, she thought she was fighting against advanced technology and only needed to study artificial intelligence to dismantle the system from within. But now, metaphysics was in the mix?

If Yu Zheng believed in metaphysics, didn’t he also believe in karma?

The System, seeing that Ruan Cha was serious and not joking, reluctantly scraped together one energy point from the pool. With much reluctance, it followed the existing connection to Ren Qingqing and Virus X again.

Sob sob sob! At this rate, when will we ever save up 1,000 energy points to eliminate this self-destructive Virus X? Qaq.

Seeing the System obediently head off, Ruan Cha thought for a moment, closed her book, and pulled out her phone. She searched for the live broadcast of Starry Trainee on Qingning TV.

Unlike pre-recorded shows, Starry Trainee had kept its promise of livestreaming the entire competition.

The livestream had been running for a while already. The first half had just ended, and they were currently in a ten-minute intermission before the second half.

As Ruan Cha was about to enlarge the video window, a new WeChat message from Liang Cunjin, who was currently live on air, popped up.

[Second Brother: I heard from a trainee that she knows your classmate. Should I hold back during the judging?]

Liang Cunjin was a dual-threat artist with impressive careers in both acting and music. As an actor, he had won the Best Actor award, and as a singer, his album sales had topped the charts in the same year.

In the industry, Liang Cunjin was known for being meticulous and serious—and for his sharp tongue. He figured that if the trainee happened to know his little sister, it might not be good to be too harsh.

[Cha Cha: Ren Qingqing?]

After asking, Ruan Cha frowned at Liang Cunjin’s reply.

There was no denying Ren Qingqing’s resourcefulness. She had schemed against her at school, dropped out to become a trainee, and now wanted to use her connection to influence Liang Cunjin into giving her preferential treatment?

[Cha Cha: I don’t know her, don’t care about her, and don’t associate with her. Brother, please stay true to your rigorous, serious, and sharp-tongued self. Be fair and impartial—I’m watching the livestream, you know~]

After replying, Ruan Cha didn’t even have time to call Xu Nan over before she saw Xu Nan approaching with a cup of warm water and a small chair. Looking up at her, Xu Nan’s eyes sparkled brightly, her usual shyness completely gone. “Cha Cha, before we study, let’s watch the livestream together!”

Ruan Cha: “…”

A true fan’s professional dedication?

The second episode of Starry Trainee had two competition segments. The first was a singing and dancing showdown in groups of six, while the second featured a solo dance performance from each group’s dance representative.

As Ruan Cha and Xu Nan watched, the solo segment of the livestream had just begun.

Before Ren Qingqing confidently stepped on stage as her group’s representative, Ruan Cha’s sharp eyes caught sight of one of her groupmates with reddened eyes.

The camera quickly shifted back to the stage, focusing on Ren Qingqing’s confident expression.

Ruan Cha froze. Did Ren Qingqing… steal something again?

On the livestream, Ren Qingqing appeared in a cropped tank top and shorts. As the music was about to start, she bowed to the judges, then lifted her gaze with a sharp and self-assured expression.

The next moment.

Under the gaze of the live audience, the judges, and countless viewers, Ren Qingqing, brimming with tension and excitement at the prospect of completing her task, raised her head high like a proud black swan—and performed a dramatic… backwards fall straight onto her backside.

Bang!

Everyone present, including Ruan Cha and Xu Nan, couldn’t help but reflexively touch their own bottoms at the resounding and utterly piercing thud.

Ren Qingqing had just delivered a classic rendition of a full-on butt crash.

At the exact moment her bottom made intimate contact with the stage, the confidence on Ren Qingqing’s face evaporated completely. The anxiety she had felt after hearing her own screechy dolphin sound just two days ago rushed back to her in full force.

Yet, faced with the audience’s stares and the mocking anticipation of the other trainees, Ren Qingqing clenched her fists and silently encouraged herself.

It’s just a bad flip—no need to panic!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

However, just as she composed herself, adjusted her mindset, and lifted her head again, determined to perfectly display her unique dance moves—

Her second opening move… flowed smoothly, fluidly, into a rhythmic triple butt crash—thud, thud, thud—right on beat!

Three perfect, consecutive falls.

The entire audience was dumbfounded. Someone whispered in disbelief, “What the hell…?”

Is Ren Qingqing’s butt made of popping candy or what? Your ability to crash and burn is truly unmatched. No one else could even attempt to copy it!

It wasn’t just the live audience who were stunned. The online viewers watching the livestream were equally floored.

For a moment, the comment section froze into complete silence. Then, finally, one comment shattered the stillness:

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