Ch 69: After My Mother Returned to the Rich Family

After chatting for a while in the living room, Elder Liang was startled when he heard that Ruan Zhengfei had gone to the police station to file a report. He quickly had the butler call an old friend to keep an eye on things. After hanging up, he glanced at the time and said, “It’s getting late. You two should go upstairs and rest instead of waiting around down here.”

Originally, Elder Liang had wanted to celebrate Ruan Cha’s first-place ranking, but with the situation regarding Grandpa Ruan, he decided not to bring it up.

Seeing that Elder Liang was about to have the long-necked vase put away, Ruan Cha quickly reached out to stop him, pressing her lips together in a sweet smile as she playfully pleaded, “Grandpa, I think the long-necked vase is really pretty. I want to keep it in my room for a few nights—I promise I won’t break it! Is that okay?”

She had her system and was already on high alert—until she figured out the truth, she couldn’t let Grandpa handle it. After all, she still couldn’t understand why, in the book, a man as physically strong as her grandpa had ended up bedridden and sickly.

Elder Liang agreed without hesitation, his face full of joy. “Sure, take it. If you like it, you can keep it. I have a few shelves full of antiques—there are two whole rows of porcelain pieces. When I have time, I’ll take you to see them. If you find any you like, feel free to take them.”

“Thank you, Grandpa!”

Wei Jiao glanced at the long-necked vase, then at Ruan Cha’s beaming smile, feeling rather puzzled.

Doesn’t our house back in the town have plenty of vases? I’ve never seen Cha Cha take an interest in them before.

That night, Ruan Cha had the housekeeper move both the long-necked vase and the pair of jade bangles into her room. Fortunately, Elder Liang and Wei Jiao were the type to spoil their children unconditionally—since Ruan Cha liked them, they didn’t ask any further questions.

The moment she closed the door, Ruan Cha pressed a hand against her chest, feeling a sense of oppression.

Now that she was alone in a sealed room with the long-necked vase and jade bangles, the stifling discomfort in her chest only intensified.

Her gaze darkened as she stared at the items on the table.

Maybe… she should just shatter them first?

Yet, as soon as she had the thought, she hesitated—not because she was worried about wasting them (after all, Liang Qianling’s guilty expression was proof enough that something was off), but because if these items were truly linked to mysticism, would breaking them really render them useless?

After running through a few possible solutions in her mind, Ruan Cha shook her head. She took out her phone and carefully took photos of the two boxes from multiple angles, making sure to capture every detail.

After the photos, she also recorded a short video lasting a few dozen seconds.

In terms of mysticism, the only person she knew who might help was Grandpa Shen.

She decided to tell him about it first and ask him to check when he had time.

Just as she finished recording and was about to send the message, the white virtual panel in front of her suddenly flashed with a new line of text.

[Congratulations, Student Ruan Cha, for achieving first place in the final exam! Total score: 747 points. Knowledge energy gained: 747 points!]

Ruan Cha had previously asked the system about this and had been told that as long as she scored over 700 points in either the midterm or final exams, she could convert her total score into knowledge energy points—regardless of whether she placed first in the grade or not.

So, when she saw the notification, she wasn’t surprised.

However, it did spark a new question in her mind.

Straightening her expression, she asked, “1128, if I skip to senior year, I’ll miss both the second semester of sophomore year and the first semester of senior year. Doesn’t that mean I’ll lose four exam opportunities to gain knowledge energy? By rough calculation, I’ll be losing a total of 3,000 energy points.”

System 1128: 【…】

To be fair, can you really guarantee that you’d score full marks in all four exams?

Ruan Cha remained completely unfazed, her expression serious as if she were genuinely discussing a major loss with the system.

【If Student Ruan Cha successfully scores over 700 points and advances to senior year, the energy pool will receive a fourfold energy bonus.】

As soon as the system gave this response, it was just as excited as she was—

After all, it desperately wished for the energy pool to be filled to the brim so it could finally have plenty of energy reserves!

A line of text quickly faded away, and then a [chubby dumpling · cheering.gif] appeared on the virtual panel, drawn as if with chalk. It clapped wildly, looking both silly and clueless.

Ruan Cha nodded in satisfaction. Not bad. Skipping a grade would immediately grant her four times the energy points, which meant her preparation time to deal with Yu Zheng would be drastically reduced—an absolute win!

While she was tempted, her gaze landed on the simple doodle on the panel. She remained expressionless.

“1128, get out here. Don’t corrupt Xiao Sha.”

Xiao Sha → The antivirus program.

Having spent over ten years struggling to name things, Ruan Cha felt she had already done her best.

The rejected system slowly reappeared, rolling out of the white virtual panel in its usual glutinous rice ball form. First, a small part of its round head peeked out, then it sluggishly rolled onto the desk with a soft, squishy bounce.

Yet, Ruan Cha felt no pity for this round and seemingly adorable system. She remained completely rational.

“Have you reassembled everything Virus X took?”

【I-I have.】

After answering, the system carefully glanced at Ruan Cha.

Considering that they were now stuck together like two grasshoppers on a string, it decided to spill everything while it still had the chance.

【But Virus X isn’t complete! It was dismantled by someone!】

Ruan Cha’s expression immediately darkened. “Explain.”

【On our planet, 70% of jobs are done by AI. Some planets are even fully AI-operated.】

【The mad scientist who implanted the virus wanted to observe how AI—designed to loyally serve humans—would react when influenced by negative emotions.】

【Virus X was the first and most basic virus ever created. It contained two simple frameworks within its code—one for observing a host’s moral inclinations based on their personal circumstances, and one for observing a host’s moral inclinations in the face of wealth and status.】

After hearing this, Ruan Cha quickly pieced things together.

Ren Qingqing’s ability to excel as a top student and an actress, to steal other people’s appearance, intelligence, and skills—all of it had been focused on self-improvement.

So, when the system said it wasn’t complete, it was likely that Virus X’s second framework—the one related to wealth and status—had been removed.

Sure enough, the system’s next words confirmed her hypothesis.

【After completely purging Virus X’s programs, I discovered that the second framework had been dismantled and taken away.】

When the system first bound to Ren Qingqing, it had been suppressed by Virus X, preventing it from checking its core files. It wasn’t until it had successfully attacked and deleted Virus X that it noticed something was wrong.

【Student Ruan Cha, I’m completely sure that when I first arrived in this dimension, the virus was intact. From the looks of it, the dismantling must have happened while I was offline.】

Ruan Cha had already considered this possibility, but her thoughts ran a step deeper than the system’s.

“You originally bound to Yu Zheng as your first host in this world. Because your database is currently locked, you don’t know why you were disconnected from him.”

“My guess? You were forcibly shut down by Yu Zheng during that process.”

“Yu Zheng already had a strong background in AI research. You even optimized his mental domain. It wouldn’t be surprising if he managed to crash your system.”

“He forced you into a shutdown, then extracted the two frameworks from Virus X before establishing a connection between himself and the Virus X that later bound to Ren Qingqing—allowing him to monitor her movements.”

As she spoke, Ruan Cha realized that the tangled mess in front of her was slowly unraveling.

Of course, there were still things Ruan Cha couldn’t figure out.

First, did Yu Zheng directly order Virus X to choose Ren Qingqing? Based on his previous actions, if he were selecting a host for Virus X, he should have chosen Yu Zhiyan instead. Yu Zhiyan was far more intelligent than Ren Qingqing, and if he became a host, the system’s genetic optimization could have cured his illness.

Second, where did the second framework of the virus go? Was it, like Virus X, bound to another host to harm others? Or was it still in Yu Zheng’s hands?

And lastly—

Leaning back in her chair, Ruan Cha narrowed her eyes.

What exactly was Yu Zheng’s goal in targeting not just her, but also the Ruan and Liang families?

Was it simply an antisocial personality, an inability to stand seeing them succeed?

It couldn’t be that simple.

From dismantling Virus X to controlling Ren Qingqing, and even to plotting against Liang Qianling years ago, everything Yu Zheng did was calculated and deliberate.

He wasn’t acting out of mere madness.

But what did her family have that was worth his schemes?

In the novel, about a year after “Ruan Cha” moved into the Liang family, their company suffered a series of crises within just two months. From engineering accidents to employee suicides, it was too coincidental for Yu Zheng to not be involved.

Now that Ren Qingqing and Virus X had both failed, was there a chance that Yu Zheng would target the Liang family’s company ahead of schedule?

The system, hearing Ruan Cha’s suspicions, hesitantly rolled forward, feeling guilty as it made another confession.

【Student Ruan Cha, it’s not just the second framework that’s missing—the control panel is also gone.】

【The control panel is what allows direct control over Virus X. Originally, I thought Virus X had hidden it in its core zone. But if your theory is correct, then Yu Zheng may have taken it.】

Ruan Cha glanced at the system, then asked the most pressing question on her mind.

“Can the control panel control you?”

【I-It could, a little… but after I connected with your antivirus program, I completely broke away from Virus X’s influence. So now, I’m no longer under the control panel’s authority.】

Thinking about it, the system found this rather strange.

It was only after integrating with the antivirus program that it realized—

The antivirus program was a perfect match for it, almost as if it had been designed specifically to meet its needs.

Because of this, when the system first bound to Ren Qingqing, every mission notification it issued had also been heard by Ruan Cha.

The system: …

It didn’t know whether to be grateful or defeated.

It should feel grateful—after all, thanks to the antivirus program, Ruan Cha hadn’t been harmed by Ren Qingqing or Virus X.

And it felt less guilty because of that.

But at the same time, as a system meant to create academic elites, its pride had been utterly shattered by this perfect antivirus program.

Ruan Cha tapped her fingers on the table, deep in thought, comparing the novel’s events with her current situation.

“If Yu Zheng has the control panel, then his first step was using Ren Qingqing against me. But now that she’s out of the picture, I’d say it won’t be long before a new enemy—one using the second framework—appears.”

【Student Ruan Cha… do you trust me now, knowing that I can’t be controlled?】

Ruan Cha looked at the system like it was an idiot and answered naturally.

“Nope. But even if you were controlled, so what? It’s not like you’re bound to me.”

【……】

A heart full of sincerity had been wasted on the wrong person.

After gathering valuable information from the system, Ruan Cha sent the recorded video to Grandpa Shen via WeChat.

She first explained the situation in text, then sent a voice message repeating the details.

Not long after, Grandpa Shen replied quickly.

He told her that he was currently in Beijing, helping an old friend with something, and that he’d be back in about a week.

Immediately after, he sent a detailed Five Elements placement diagram, instructing Ruan Cha to place the two boxes at the marked red spots on the diagram.

It was said that if the jade bangles and the long-necked vase carried any unclean energy, placing them at the red spots would allow the Five Elements cycle to seal them off for a full month, preventing them from harming their surroundings.

Staring at the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams diagram, Ruan Cha felt for the first time that the world she lived in was not very scientific.

After comparing the diagram with the layout of her room, she found a corner that matched the conditions for the red spot and placed the items accordingly.

Then, she turned back to the system.

“1128, I remember you saying that the store has a rebound shield? Can it reflect non-scientific harm as well, or is it only for physical damage?”

【By Star Era 1748, scientific ghost-hunting had already become mainstream. The rebound shield doesn’t just deflect physical attacks, it can also counteract all negative effects related to non-scientific or mystical forces—which you ancient humans have firmly believed in for generations.】

Ruan Cha had asked this question on a whim, but the system’s response was unexpectedly shocking.

“You come from a high-tech world—shouldn’t you not believe in mysticism? And is scientific ghost-hunting really reliable? If your store has items related to mysticism, why didn’t Yu Zheng use them before?”

【Whether Yu Zheng used them or not, I currently don’t know. I need to accumulate more energy points to unlock the database.】

【The mysticism in my world isn’t the same as yours. Fortune-telling and divination never existed, but when mystical effects occur, magnetic field anomalies always follow. The rebound shield works by counteracting those magnetic changes—】

The rest of the explanation went completely over Ruan Cha’s head.

A flood of scientific jargon was stacked together, full of complicated terms that she couldn’t understand at all.

To summarize: they were using science to study mysticism.

Glancing at her energy pool, which now had 947 points (including the 747 points from the exam), Ruan Cha gave up on figuring out whether this was scientific or not and got straight to the point.

“How much energy does one rebound shield cost? Is there enough stock for eight?”

That would cover her family of three, plus five people from the Liang family, even if her eldest cousin wasn’t home yet.

【……】

【The store has three levels of rebound shields: Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced. A Basic Rebound Shield can deflect 70% of negative effects and costs 10 points (1,000 knowledge energy).】

Ruan Cha: “……”

System 1128: 【……】

The system shivered, already resigned to its fate.

【Student Ruan Cha, the store’s prices have always been high. 10 points is already the cheapest discount option…】

But instead of being angry, Ruan Cha calmly patted the two boxes she had just placed.

“The energy in the energy pool is still enough. Use a rebound effect on the jade bangles and the long-necked vase—just like how we handled Ren Qingqing before.”

A full rebound shield cost 1,000 points per person.

But applying a simple rebound effect on an object only cost 10 energy points per rebound.

Much cheaper.

Ruan Cha couldn’t help but feel relieved that her energy pool wasn’t at 1,000 yet. Otherwise, she might not have thought to change strategies.

The rebound shields were so expensive for two reasons:

First, because they were permanent.

Second, because the people being protected wouldn’t always know when or where they’d be harmed, so the shield had to reflect all attacks indiscriminately, ensuring that the wearer was never caught off guard.

The system-applied rebound skill was cheaper because it only lasted for a week. It was also cheaper because it required prior knowledge of the negative effects being used.

For example, Ren Qingqing stole skills from others and used them on stage, so when the rebound effect activated, the punishment was redirected back to her.

If the jade bangles and the long-necked vase did carry negative effects, once activated, the rebound would either bounce back onto them or onto Liang Qianling.

After explaining, Ruan Cha suddenly realized something and asked, “I’m sealing them off using the Five Elements placement—can the rebound effect still work? If it can, will it bounce back onto the objects themselves or onto Liang Qianling?”

【……】

【It can rebound, and it will go back to Liang Qianling.】

Hearing this, Ruan Cha nodded in satisfaction.

“As long as it goes back to Liang Qianling, that’s fine. I’d like to see what kind of effects she was trying to send my way.”

Thinking about the pendant Liang Qianling had, Ruan Cha asked another question.

“If the jade bangles and the long-necked vase really do carry mystical negative effects, but Liang Qianling didn’t know about it beforehand, then the rebound—”

【If it’s exactly as you say, then once the rebound is applied, the negative effect will no longer activate, but it will trap the magnetic field, preventing it from affecting anyone else.】

【The only people who can be affected by a rebound attack are those who knew about the negative effects of the items they handled. For example, Ren Qingqing was fully aware that when she stole her teammate’s skills, the original owner would be unable to use that skill for twice the normal cooldown time.】

The system had already analyzed the objects—there was nothing unusual on the long-necked vase, but the jade bangles contained something that altered magnetic fields, affecting the wearer’s family relationships.

On the system’s home planet, these kinds of items were rarely used anymore—they were too low-level to escape AI detection.

Ruan Cha thoughtfully nodded.

“Apply the rebound.”

The system diligently added the rebound effect to both the jade bangles and the long-necked vase. Then, it turned around and saw Ruan Cha pulling out a copy of The Master Algorithm and burying herself in studying.

At that moment, the system felt completely defeated.

If every host was as calculating as Ruan Cha, the store would have gone out of business long ago.

No—wait.

Ruan Cha wasn’t even interested in being its host in the first place.

Damn. Even more defeated.

——

The next morning, while the family was having breakfast, Ruan Cha received news that wasn’t exactly good, but not exactly bad either.

Her grandfather, whom she had never met before, called her father in the middle of the night after hearing about the missing person report.

Though the phone signal was poor and the voice on the other end kept cutting in and out, Ruan Zhengfei still recognized it immediately—

The voice belonged to Grandpa Ruan.

Ruan Zhengfei rubbed Ruan Cha’s head and said, “Your grandfather said he’s busy with something very important and can’t return to Nanshi for now. He told us not to worry.”

“Did he say how long it would take to finish his business?”

Hearing this, Ruan Zhengfei shook his head and placed a soup dumpling on Ruan Cha’s plate.

“He said it’ll take him three to five months, so he won’t be back anytime soon. But there’s no need to worry—your grandfather is very experienced, and his health is excellent. Last night, when he yelled at the police station, his voice was so loud the entire precinct could hear him.”

Ruan Cha: “……”

Grandfather carefully prepared gifts for her every year, yet he never appeared in family video calls, only accepting phone calls as a means of contact. It was hard not to find him mysterious.

Ruan Cha had originally only speculated that her mysterious grandfather might be able to help in some way. Now that he claimed to be too busy to return, she wasn’t too disappointed, but she still reminded Ruan Zhengfei:

“Dad, keep a close eye on Grandpa. Don’t miss any calls or messages.”

A grandfather who never appeared in the novel had now suddenly entered her reality, yet she couldn’t meet him. It all felt a little unreal.

Though they had never met, and she didn’t know much about his personality, she still remembered how, when she was a child, crying loudly and throwing tantrums, even her parents were helpless—yet Grandpa, over the phone, patiently coaxed her.

One moment, he was mimicking animal sounds, the next, telling jokes.

She had never forgotten those moments.

Grandpa Liang turned to Ruan Zhengfei.

“Zhengfei, when your father has time, let’s have a meal together as a family. I’d like to thank him in person.”

Over time, Grandpa Liang had come to a realization—

If his in-law hadn’t chosen to donate to the orphanage, Zhengfei and Jiaojiao might never have met.

If they had never married, Jiaojiao might not be as happy as she is today.

In the end, both Grandpa Ruan and Zhengfei were his benefactors.

At the very least, their existence lessened the guilt he felt when facing Jiaojiao again.

Ruan Zhengfei agreed without hesitation.

“Alright, I’ll tell him the next time I call.”

Ruan Cha pressed her lips together, choosing not to say anything.

She knew meeting her grandfather would be almost impossible—after all, even she hadn’t met him yet.

Sitting across the table, Liang Cunjin hesitated before speaking.

“Grandpa, Mom, Dad, Uncle, Aunt, Cha Cha—”

Before he could finish, Grandpa Liang cut him off bluntly.

“If you have something to say, just say it. Do you really need such a long introduction? Aren’t you tired?”

Liang Cunjin was already used to this and simply continued.

“I have a close friend whose parents passed away when he was very young. Last year, we both went to the Spring Festival Gala together, but this year, our schedules are completely free. So I was thinking… maybe I could invite him to stay with us for a few days?”

Otherwise, he’d be alone in his apartment, watching the city lights and New Year fireworks outside his window, with no one to talk to.

Just the thought of it felt lonely.

As head of the family, Grandpa Liang nodded first.

“If he’s willing to come, then invite him. Our house is big enough, and we already have plenty of empty space.”

If the Ruan family hadn’t moved in, Liang Cunjin wouldn’t have asked, and Grandpa Liang wouldn’t have agreed either.

But after half a year of living together, they had all grown much closer, and everyone had a good grasp of each other’s personalities.

Sure enough, after Grandpa Liang spoke, Wei Jiaojiao followed up.

“Cunjin, invite your friend over! The more, the merrier. No one should spend the New Year alone.”

Then, with a blissful smile, she added:

“Luckily, I always had Feifei by my side growing up. Otherwise, I’d be so lonely too.”

The Liang family: “……”

Now they felt both guilty and heartbroken.

The guilt came from letting Wei Jiaojiao live in exile for over forty years, and the frustration came from being force-fed dog food first thing in the morning.

Ruan Cha felt like she had been infected by Huang Jiajia’s gossiping tendencies, so she leaned in and whispered curiously:

“**Second Brother, is your friend a gege or a jiejie?”

“You’re still a kid, haven’t even figured out your own love life, and you’re already asking about mine?” Liang Cunjin reached out and ruffled Ruan Cha’s hair.

Seeing her small, accusing gaze, he felt soft-hearted and finally answered,

“A gege, his name is Jiang Yuxing. You don’t watch much TV, so you probably don’t know him. He just had a historical drama premiere a few days ago.”

After saying that, Liang Cunjin pettily added,

“When you meet him, don’t say he’s more handsome than me.”

But Ruan Cha was completely dazed and didn’t even hear the second half of his sentence.

She absentmindedly nodded in agreement as a name flashed through her mind—

Jiang Yuxing.

In Top-Tier Scholar, Ren Qingqing encountered a mentor in the entertainment industry—Yu Zheng.

But later in the story, she also had a persistent enemy who constantly targeted her.

That enemy’s name was Jiang Yuxing.

Ruan Cha had seen reader discussions about Jiang Yuxing before.

People speculated that since he had no reason to be so ruthless toward Ren Qingqing, he would inevitably fall for her in the end.

But he never did.

In fact, he wanted her dead.

Though he ultimately failed, he still became the most unapologetically ruthless male supporting character in the book.

Ruan Cha wasn’t particularly thrilled about meeting someone who also had a grudge against Ren Qingqing—after all, Ren Qingqing was already locked in a psychiatric hospital.

She was simply curious.

Why had Jiang Yuxing been so hostile toward Ren Qingqing from the very start?

And more importantly—

Did he have any connection to Yu Zheng?

As the family chatted over breakfast, Ruan Cha had just finished eating when she looked up and saw the usually composed butler walking over in a hurry, his expression anxious.

Lowering his voice, he spoke rapidly,

“Master, just now, Mengyu called. She said Qianling and Song Yun got into an argument, and during the struggle, she accidentally fell from the second floor.

She’s currently in the hospital, and according to the doctors, her life isn’t in danger.

But… her spinal injuries are severe, and in the future—”

The once lively atmosphere at the breakfast table fell into silence.

Even Wei Jiaojiao, who had just been teasing moments ago, was momentarily stunned.

No one had expected that after visiting just last night, Liang Qianling would end up in the hospital first thing in the morning.

The butler hadn’t finished his report, but everyone could already guess the rest—

No matter how well she recovered, she would likely never walk again.

Ruan Cha lowered her gaze, feeling no sympathy at all.

If anything, she wanted to say—

Karma sure works fast.

Not only did she fall from the second floor—

She was pushed down by the man she loved the most.