Ch 66: After My Mother Returned to the Rich Family

#Ruan Cha, the Little Princess#

#Ruan Cha’s Birthday#

On the night Dear Life premiered, two trending topics shot up the hot search list, buzzing with excitement from netizens. Of course, the fact that these terms made it to the top of real-time trends was also partly due to the show’s production team investing in promotions.

Originally, the production team believed that with Liang Cunjin on board, the show’s popularity was guaranteed. However, they hadn’t expected Ruan Cha’s performance and the ensuing buzz to rival Liang Cunjin’s from the very start. As a result, Dear Life kept climbing in popularity.

In the latest episode, a segment featuring birthday gifts was released. Seeing Ruan Cha surrounded by layer upon layer of rare and limited-edition presents, netizens were genuinely envious!

Ruan Cha!

She was practically a little princess cherished by industry giants!

If it were just about wealth, netizens wouldn’t have reacted so strongly. Just like now—some people accused Liang Cunjin of flaunting wealth alongside Ruan Cha—but the majority of netizens only saw how various masters showered her with exclusive affection.

The esteemed conductor, Teacher Yang.

The pioneering artist, Master Bai.

The globally recognized fashion icon, Master Crystal.

Each of these masters had a dedicated following within their respective fields. Although their fanbases weren’t as large as those of mainstream celebrities, their admirers saw them as guiding stars in their careers.

Now, watching their idols dote on Ruan Cha, fans were already filled with envy. But what really shook them was realizing—her idol wasn’t just their idol alone! Ruan Cha was surrounded by an entire circle of elite mentors!

They didn’t just feel jealous; they also felt indignant on behalf of their idols.

Idols, please look down at the devoted little fans who adore you! QAQ

As envy spread, people naturally started dissecting why exactly Ruan Cha was so favored. They analyzed everything—from her personality to her appearance—and after going through all the details, they fell into a brief silence.

She came from wealth but wasn’t arrogant or reckless. Instead, she was polite, upright, and loyal. In school, she didn’t waste time on frivolous activities—she even ranked first in the entire grade during midterms, jumping straight from the struggling Class 10 to the elite advanced class.

Of course, some former classmates from her old school came forward with stories—how she once scored single-digit grades on tests, frequently got called in for teacher meetings, and so on.

Originally, these classmates wanted to paint Ruan Cha as an unmotivated slacker, unworthy of netizens’ admiration. But as people compared these past incidents with her current achievements at No. 2 High School, they all reached a unanimous conclusion:

Ruan Cha.

A true genius who had been overlooked!

Ruan Cha: “…”

If her old high school homeroom teacher, who used to call her in for talks every other day, saw what these people were saying now, they’d probably want to strangle her.

On Weibo, the titles “Divine Little Sister” and “Genius Little Sister” appeared more frequently than ever. As Ruan Cha scrolled through netizens’ predictions about which university she would attend and whether she could match the achievements of the legendary figures who doted on her, she suddenly felt a deep chill in her heart.

She already had Yu Zheng blocking her path ahead. She had her family keeping her in check. And now, behind her, netizens were pushing her forward with their expectations?

Out of nowhere, Ruan Cha had a terrifying illusion—like she was being surrounded by a horde of little creatures called “hard work.”

While Weibo was buzzing, Ruan Cha’s WeChat was just as lively. In the group chats for both Class 1 and Class 10, several classmates were engaged in heated discussions. After marveling at the rarity of her birthday gifts, they started dragging in Weibo comment threads.

And then—it spiraled out of control.

Not only did her classmates defend Ruan Cha against accusations of flaunting wealth, but they also went as far as to draft a Supervision Schedule for her.

Their single, unwavering goal:

They must ensure that Ruan Cha stays at the top of the grade, never slipping! No way would they let those skeptical netizens have the last laugh!

Especially in Class 10, under the guidance (more like coercion) of Xie Chang’an and Huang Jiajia, more than half of the students were ready to lead by example—using their dedication and hard work in studying to constantly inspire Ruan Cha!

Class 10’s homeroom teacher, Liao Lan, saw the class messages and was so happy she couldn’t stop smiling. She even privately messaged Ruan Cha on WeChat, praising her for being amazing—saying that she had somehow managed to ignite a passionate love for studying in the entire class!

Ruan Cha scrolled through the messages, let out a wail, and collapsed onto her desk. Her fair little face was filled with distress. “I just said I’d work harder this morning, and by evening, I already have a whole squad of supervisors?”

Now that Class 10 was determined to study, if she failed to meet expectations, she would truly be letting them down.

Hearing Ruan Cha’s complaint, the system—looking like a soft, glutinous rice dumpling—rolled out and comforted her:

【Ruan Cha, you don’t have to worry. With your intelligence, there’s no way you’ll disappoint the netizens. In fact, you might even exceed their expectations.】

When the system first arrived, it thought this world’s technology was incredibly outdated. Ancient humans had much shorter lifespans than the genetically enhanced Star Era humans, and their intelligence levels were far lower as well.

But ever since it started working (more like sticking to) Ruan Cha, studying alongside her at school and experiencing life in the Liang household, the system unknowingly encountered something incredibly rare in the Star Era. When it searched its data, it found a term: human warmth.

A kind of emotion that even a system made of pure data could find comforting. A feeling nearly nonexistent in the Star Era. No matter how much the AI of that time mimicked humans, they could never truly develop human warmth.

Looking at the round, chubby, snow-white system, Ruan Cha felt her previous biases ease—just a little. After all, the system knew how to give compliments. “1128, thanks for your faith in me.”

【This conclusion is derived from a comparison of data. The accuracy of my statement is 100%.】

Ruan Cha ignored the data analysis and poked the system. “I checked last night—there are already 452 energy points in the energy pool. If I were to use them against Yu Zheng, how far could I get?”

For the past half month, she had maintained a pace of reading and reviewing two to three books per day, absorbing all the knowledge from both sophomore and junior years. Combined with the remaining energy she had saved before, she had accumulated a total of 472 energy points—enough to be considered a small reserve.

【You’d probably be discovered before you could even launch an attack. QAQ】

Ruan Cha: “…”

Useless. Absolutely useless. Might as well bury it.

【To deal with Yu Zheng, you’d need at least 1000+ energy points. Although my database is currently locked and I can’t access it, I managed to sneak a look last time. Based on what I saw, I believe his mental domain was likely enhanced by my system’s optimization. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to continuously suppress Virus X.】

“1128, your planet developed a genius system—are you sure it actually produces good people? Virus X is already dangerous in our world.”

If just one Virus X was this threatening, what if there were more? Wouldn’t their planet be in complete chaos?

After speaking, Ruan Cha didn’t expect the system to answer. Instead, she asked, “By the way, what’s Ren Qingqing’s situation now?”

In the past half-month, Starlight Trainee had aired two more live episodes. The next round—the elimination from Top 20 to Top 12—was scheduled for a live broadcast at 11 a.m. the day after tomorrow.

Ever since the QQ candy incident, Ruan Cha hadn’t paid much attention to Ren Qingqing. She simply instructed the system to keep an eye on her.

Whenever Ren Qingqing tried to steal another contestant’s skills, the system would spend 3 energy points to apply a rebound effect on her. However, if Ren Qingqing behaved herself, Ruan Cha would let her be—after all, energy points were precious. She couldn’t waste them all on making Ren Qingqing embarrass herself; she needed to save enough for a one-hit kill.

【Ren Qingqing didn’t steal any skills during her third competition. She barely scraped by on the danger line but later revived herself in a comeback round. However, in the fourth competition, she stole another trainee’s skill for catching camera cues—resulting in her spending the entire performance with her back to the camera, never once showing her face.】

Ruan Cha’s hand, which was tapping the table, paused. She looked puzzled. “She didn’t even show her face, and she still wasn’t eliminated in the fourth round?”

The system went eerily silent for a few seconds, then shuffled back slightly and cautiously peeked at Ruan Cha before answering slowly:

【She was supposed to be eliminated. Your brother even gave her the lowest possible score. But… Ren Qingqing spent most of her newly earned audience popularity points to make Virus X manipulate the audience votes—】

It had to be said, despite embarrassing herself in three out of four performances, Ren Qingqing’s enhanced beauty was holding its ground.

Among the trainees, her looks were among the very best. Even though she repeatedly made a fool of herself, she still managed to attract a wave of face-value fans. Some fans were so blinded by her appearance that they confidently declared:

“Our Qingqing was born to be a variety show comedian!”

But reality proved otherwise.

Inside the trainee dormitory, not only did Ren Qingqing fail to display the wit and humor expected of a comedian, but she also exposed a slew of personality flaws.

Over the course of half a month, 95% of her fans were only there for her looks. As for her personality? Forget it. Looking too deeply into her character would only lead to mass unfollowing and backlash.

Because of this particular fan attribute, something strange happened online after the fourth competition—even though Ren Qingqing’s face remained as stunning as ever, more than half of her fans suddenly unfollowed her and turned against her!

People were confused.

Ren Qingqing, however, understood perfectly well—she had used up their popularity points, so naturally, they no longer liked her.

The system hesitated before adding the final piece of information:

【Additionally, Virus X also modified the judges’ impression of Ren Qingqing’s performance.】

Upon hearing this, Ruan Cha’s expression changed instantly. She narrowed her eyes and sharply examined the system.

“Virus X doesn’t just make others ignore a host’s sudden change in intelligence or appearance—it can also alter their impression of a performance?”

Thinking deeper, if criminals could use Virus X to modify how others perceived their actions, wouldn’t the world fall into complete chaos?

After asking, Ruan Cha had the illusion that she might have been hallucinating. Otherwise, how could she see guilt on the face of a system that looked like a round, glutinous rice ball?

The system stammered:

【O-our dimension is a bit unique… As a result, Virus X does have the ability to modify how others perceive the host, from appearance to behavior. However, the cost is significant. Every time Virus X makes such a correction, it falls into a weakened state for a year or more—during which it cannot modify impressions related to the host’s actions.】

Ruan Cha had a strong feeling that System 1128 was hiding something from her. It was highly likely that it had come to her world with a specific purpose in mind. However, since the system wasn’t being upfront, Ruan Cha chose to pretend she hadn’t noticed and casually asked, “My second brother’s impression wasn’t altered?”

In the novel, in her past life, Liang Cunjin had also believed that “Ruan Cha” was always a bit slow and dim-witted. Logically speaking, Virus X should have modified his impression of her as well.

【By the time the modification occurred, your brother had already given his score. Looking at his original marks, he trusted his intuition over his memory.】

Ruan Cha was momentarily speechless.

Her second brother was truly stubborn and self-assured.

The next moment, she had already made up her mind. “Can the energy points in the current energy pool completely attack and eliminate Virus X?”

【Yes! Virus X is currently very weak and doesn’t have enough fan admiration points to replenish itself. If I use 400 energy points, combined with an antivirus program, I can completely and cleanly eliminate Virus X!】

Hearing System 1128’s confirmation, Ruan Cha let out a breath of relief. The persistent threat of Virus X could finally be dealt with!

“Alright, 1128, take the energy points now and destroy—”

Before Ruan Cha could even finish her sentence, the system—usually in the form of a glutinous rice ball—suddenly transformed into a stream of data and rushed into a shrunken white panel about the size of a palm.

At the same time, the panel lit up with flashing words:

[Antivirus in progress, antivirus in progress, antivirus in progress!]

Ruan Cha frowned. Had Virus X made a move?

Fortunately, unlike the first time, System 1128 wasn’t as useless as before. Back then, it had taken an entire afternoon to complete a purge. But this time, in less than five minutes, a stream of data burst out from the white panel and reformed into the familiar glutinous rice ball on the table.

As soon as System 1128 reappeared, it immediately started complaining in a rapid-fire voice:

【Ruan Cha! Just now, Ren Qingqing actually tried to use Virus X to poison you! Luckily, we had enough energy points! The energy pool issued a timely alarm!】

Ruan Cha glanced at the energy pool usage—411 energy points remaining—and finally relaxed a little. “What exactly happened? Explain it clearly.”

【Ren Qingqing was recognized by Virus X as having completed a minor mission after advancing twice. As a result, she unlocked the System Shop. Just now, Virus X purchased the cheapest special-effect drug available—it causes long-term inability to focus and even damages overall health.】

With just a few sentences, Ruan Cha immediately understood—this so-called special-effect drug was nothing more than a slow-acting poison.

And considering when Ren Qingqing had Virus X deliver the poison, the intention was obvious—she was trying to ruin Ruan Cha’s final exams the day after tomorrow.

If Ruan Cha couldn’t concentrate, she would undoubtedly perform terribly in the finals and drop out of Class 1.

She had just recently gained attention from netizens, and her grades and intelligence were being hyped up. But if, within just a single week, she dropped out of Class 1 with embarrassingly low scores, the consequences would be disastrous.

The critics would continue mocking her.

The netizens who had defended her would likely feel disappointed and betrayed.

They might even believe that Ruan Cha had become distracted by luxury gifts, no longer valuing her studies. Or worse, they might suspect that all the praise about her academic excellence was nothing more than a fabricated marketing stunt by Liang Cunjin.

Ruan Cha guessed that Ren Qingqing had lost hope in Starlight Trainee’s final mission—so she wanted to drag Ruan Cha down with her.

With only two rounds of competition left, Virus X could no longer manipulate data for Ren Qingqing, and her fan admiration points had nearly dropped to zero due to massive fan withdrawals.

During the third round, she hadn’t stolen anyone’s skills and had nearly been eliminated. Now, with competition getting fiercer, Ren Qingqing was undoubtedly panicking.

If she failed, all the credit points she had borrowed before would have to be repaid in full.

No points meant no beauty.

It wouldn’t be surprising if Ren Qingqing had originally wanted to buy a more potent poison, but with no credit and no fan admiration points, she could only afford the cheapest item in the shop.

【Ruan Cha, just wait. I’m going to eliminate Virus X right now, so it can never threaten you again!】

System 1128 had already made up its mind. It needed to prove its usefulness from time to time, just in case Ruan Cha, after finishing all the books in the library, got the idea of destroying it again.

“No need for that yet.”

After saying this, Ruan Cha reached into her bag and pulled out a practice book, preparing to review key points for the final exam in two days. Her expression carried a hint of indifference.

“I’ve changed my mind. There’s no rush.”

【No rush?】

System 1128 didn’t get a response from Ruan Cha, nor could it figure out why. Wouldn’t it be better to just eliminate the virus immediately? If it’s not urgent, then… how long are they supposed to wait?

—

Time flew by, and on the third day, No. 2 High School’s final exams arrived.

Ruan Cha, carrying her schoolbag, walked up to the third floor and headed toward Class 1. As she tilted her head up to look at the classroom sign, she felt an inexplicable sense of emotion.

Ever since transferring to No. 2 High, from monthly exams to midterms to finals, this was finally the first time she was taking an exam in her own class.

She had truly flipped her status and become the protagonist of her own story!

Just then, Yu Zhiyan walked in and immediately spotted Ruan Cha standing there in a daze, staring at the class sign.

He let out two light coughs before chuckling hoarsely, “Ruan Cha, are you trying to become a statue this early in the morning?”

“I’m experiencing the pride of being the main character.”

After saying this, Ruan Cha turned her head toward Yu Zhiyan, her gaze lingering for a moment on his thin, pale face.

Ever since returning from sick leave, Yu Zhiyan had noticeably lost weight. His condition seemed to have worsened, and according to System 1128’s scan, his body contained various drug residues, most of which were harmful and ineffective for his illness—highly similar to unregistered experimental drugs still in the research phase.

After thinking for a moment, Ruan Cha asked, “Yu Zhiyan, you don’t look well. I know a highly respected medical expert—would you like me to ask him to take a look at you?”

Hearing this, Yu Zhiyan’s amber cat-like eyes flickered slightly. He raised his eyelids to meet Ruan Cha’s gaze, opened his mouth as if to speak, but then fell silent again.

After a brief pause, he curved his eyes into a slight smile, the warmth in his gaze appearing for the first time.

“Thank you, but there’s no need. If there were a cure, my father wouldn’t have spent over ten years searching with no progress.”

Speaking of which, his father had been particularly irritable lately. It seemed highly likely that Ren Qingqing was completely useless now.

Since Yu Zhiyan refused, Ruan Cha simply smiled without pressing further. She turned and walked into the classroom, heading directly to the seat labeled with her name.

Initially, after reviewing System 1128’s scan report, Ruan Cha had suspected that Yu Zhiyan might have been used as a test subject by Yu Zheng.

After all, Yu Zhiyan wasn’t in critical condition—there was no logical reason to inject him with so many experimental drugs.

But judging from Yu Zhiyan’s demeanor, he didn’t seem like someone who had been forced.

【Ruan Cha, if Yu Zheng really is using Yu Zhiyan for drug experiments, would you—】

Ruan Cha placed her schoolbag down and casually answered, “I’d report him to the police.”

To be honest, she didn’t think the likelihood of Yu Zhiyan willingly being a test subject was high.

Who would be dumb enough to let someone experiment on them for over ten years?

Besides, if Yu Zheng really were using Yu Zhiyan for drug trials, would he be bold enough to let him attend school like a normal student?

Wouldn’t Yu Zheng be afraid that Yu Zhiyan might suddenly turn against him and report everything himself?

After finishing her sentence, Ruan Cha glanced at System 1128 again and asked with confusion, “Isn’t your world a lawful society? Is human experimentation actually legal there?”

【Some planets in our dimension suffer from extreme radiation, leaving only a few areas with safe living conditions. To secure a stable life for their families and obtain free anti-radiation shields, some people agree to become test subjects for research institutes.】

Ruan Cha’s hand, holding the answer sheet marker, paused slightly.

It seemed that in System 1128’s highly advanced world, life was actually incredibly difficult.

So their focus on training talents—was it in the hopes of producing a genius who could solve the radiation crisis?

As Ruan Cha lowered her eyes in thought, a can of Wangzai Milk suddenly appeared on her desk.

The bright red can, with its oversized smiling face, stared straight at her.

Stared… straight at her?

“…”

How the hell did I even learn Chinese?

Seeing Ruan Cha merely lift her head to look at him without saying a word, Fu Chen let out a quiet laugh.

“I went to the convenience store just now to buy an eraser. When I saw Wangzai Milk, I remembered your post last night about craving it after studying, so I picked one up for you.”

After saying that, he hesitated for a second, his tone carrying a bit of uncertainty.

“…Unless you got some sleep and don’t feel like drinking it anymore?”

“Of course I still want it.”

Afraid of misunderstanding, Ruan Cha answered without hesitation.

The only reason she hadn’t responded earlier was because, for a fleeting moment when she looked up, she saw Fu Chen bathed in a layer of soft sunlight—and suddenly found herself momentarily dazed.

For the first time, she genuinely thought Fu Chen was incredibly good-looking.

That kind of good-looking—the kind that one could stare at all day without getting tired.

“If you want to drink it, you’ll have to wait until after the morning exam. Let it sit on your desk and ‘prosper’ you.”

Hearing that, Ruan Cha let out a soft laugh and waved her hand.

“Got it, you’re afraid I’ll drink it now and end up needing to take a bathroom break in the middle of the test.”

And of course, a bathroom break meant one thing—personal business.

Fu Chen saw how completely unbothered Ruan Cha was when talking about such things and suddenly felt a little conflicted.

Did she… see him as just a brother? Or even… a sister?

Seated in the back row, Ji Feiyang watched the two of them casually chatting away. He leaned over, tapping on Xu Nan’s desk.

Seeing Xu Nan turn around, Ji Feiyang immediately covered his mouth and whispered conspiratorially:

“Xu Nan, from now on, during lunch, you better stick with me or Sleepy Bao.”

Xu Nan: “???”

You think you can compete with Cha Cha?

——

Ruan Cha didn’t hear Ji Feiyang gossiping.

After Fu Chen returned to his seat, she reached out to adjust the position of the Wangzai Milk, making sure its big cartoon eyes were facing the window—not staring at her.

Otherwise, it was kind of unnerving.

Once that was done, she poked System 1128, still in its glutinous rice ball form.

“1128, it’s time to work.”

【What work?】

“The work you skipped two nights ago. Ren Qingqing has a competition at 11 a.m. today, right?”

She tapped the desk lightly.

“Go attack Virus X now. Try to completely wipe it out before Ren Qingqing goes on stage.”

Since Ren Qingqing cared so much about her looks, it was only fair to make her famous for something else in front of the entire audience.

Otherwise, it wouldn’t do justice to her desperate attempt to drag Ruan Cha down with her.

Originally, two days ago, Ruan Cha had planned to have System 1128 immediately attack Virus X.

Back then, even if Ren Qingqing had lost her enhanced beauty, she could have quietly left without publicly humiliating herself.

But now?

Ren Qingqing had the audacity to try poisoning her.

And Ruan Cha wasn’t a saint. She wasn’t going to let it slide.

She had to admit, Starlight Trainee scheduling the competition at 11 a.m. today was unexpectedly helpful.

【On it!】

System 1128 was beyond excited.

It had been suppressed by Virus X for so long due to a lack of energy.

Now, thanks to Ruan Cha’s support, it was finally getting its revenge!

Watching the system disappear, Ruan Cha felt completely at ease.

Virus X had no energy supply left—it was so weak that even its firewall was riddled with holes.

If 1128 still couldn’t win, then maybe she really should just delete it.

——

As expected, by the time the morning exam bell rang, System 1128 returned.

And somehow, despite being just a round rice ball, it managed to strut back with a high-and-mighty, untouchable air.

At the same time, Weibo was in complete chaos.

The trending topics were filled with explosive headlines about Ren Qingqing.

#Ren Qingqing’s Face Collapsed on Stage!#

#Ren Qingqing Used Black Tech to Manipulate Audience Votes!#

#The Ugliest Trainee—Ren Qingqing’s Low IQ Exposed!#

The video clips were brutal.

In the footage, Ren Qingqing was passionately singing, her voice and technique completely average—but at least her face was stunning.

And then, just as she was about to finish her song—

Her face collapsed.

Without warning.

Without any signs.

Right in front of the live audience and millions of netizens, Ren Qingqing’s beauty was utterly obliterated.

Her eyes shrank, her mouth twisted, her skin darkened—even her face shape became horribly asymmetrical.

Left side bigger than the right.

The sudden, bizarre ugliness left everyone stunned.

But that wasn’t even the most shocking part.

Right there, on stage, Ren Qingqing suffered a complete mental breakdown.

She started screaming hysterically, cursing out something called “X”, claiming it was her bound system—that it was the reason she had turned into this monster.

Not only that—she even blurted out that someone else had a system too!

When curious audience members asked her who, they watched in absolute horror as Ren Qingqing suddenly grabbed her own throat—her face twisting in agony, screaming like a wild beast but unable to utter another word.

Not only could she not say it, she couldn’t write it down either.

The entire video showed Ren Qingqing desperately seeking validation, but to everyone else, she looked like a completely deranged lunatic.

Ruan Cha watched the video with cold indifference.

She watched Ren Qingqing struggle, unable to say or write the name of the second system owner.

She watched as Ren Qingqing, eyes bloodshot and hair disheveled, was forcibly strapped onto a psychiatric hospital’s transport vehicle.

After a long silence, Ruan Cha lowered her gaze and let out a faint, bitter laugh.

Ren Qingqing.

The pain and humiliation that the “Ruan Cha” in the novel had suffered…

Had now come back to you—exactly as it was.

We’re even now.

As for the past life?

Whether you went mad or died, it would never be settled.