Ch 72: After My Mother Returned to the Rich Family

Ruan Zhengfei looked at his oblivious daughter and scratched his head in frustration. Did Cha Cha even understand the implications of giving cufflinks to another boy?

That brat from the Fu family was obviously interested in Cha Cha—who knew if he was secretly planning to steal their little piglet away to the Fu household?

Although Ruan Zhengfei had dated early himself, he was extremely hypocritical when it came to his own daughter. He absolutely did not want Ruan Cha getting into a relationship too soon. Naturally, he was highly alert when it came to Fu Chen, who had already shown interest.

Unaware of Ruan Zhengfei’s inner turmoil, the family cheerfully finished exchanging gifts. By the end, even Liang Cunjin sighed deeply.

“Our gifts don’t even compare to Cha Cha’s.”

Cha Cha had made hers by hand, while they had simply bought theirs.

Holding his cup, Liang Cunjin started wondering how he could subtly show off at his next film shoot—how could he make it clear that what he held wasn’t just a cup, but a testament to his deep sibling bond?

Meanwhile, Ruan Cha was happily packing away her received gifts into the box that had originally held her ceramic cups. Hearing Liang Cunjin’s comment, she frowned slightly and disagreed.

“Everyone’s gifts are more refined than mine! Besides, gifts are about sincerity. As long as the thought is there, even a ginkgo leaf as a bookmark would be meaningful.”

The Liang family members couldn’t help but smile. Their Cha Cha had a way of speaking that warmed hearts.

After organizing the gifts, Ruan Cha noticed Liang Cunjin heading upstairs and quickly called out, pointing at the dark camera with a mischievous grin.

“Second Brother, the thing you promised last time—”

The production team of Dear Life had just moved in their equipment that morning. Since the family’s gifts weren’t particularly expensive—mostly symbolic wishes and blessings—they didn’t mind if the footage aired. No one was worried about accusations of flaunting wealth affecting Ruan Cha.

As Liang Cunjin’s memory caught up, his expression stiffened.

Tang Hua, ever the parent who enjoyed putting her son on the spot, smiled and added, “I remember, Cunjin! Didn’t you promise to dance Three Little Bears and the Seaweed Dance? I’ll play the piano for you.”

Wei Jiao, who still hadn’t forgotten how netizens had hounded her daughter into learning, eagerly clapped her hands.

“Let’s welcome our one and only crossover artist, Liang Cunjin, performing Three Little Bears and the Seaweed Dance!”

Liang Cunjin: ”…Fine. I did mess up last time.”

He then pointed upstairs and winked at Ruan Cha.

“Second Brother prepared a full performance outfit. How about ten minutes for a quick change?”

Ruan Cha, surprised at how prepared he was, instinctively nodded.

“Please, go ahead.”

Three days later, the 28th of the last lunar month.

At 8 PM, Dear Life’s final season aired, breaking records for viewership ratings and taking the top spot on the online variety show charts.

The number of live comments also surged to an all-time high.

At the start of the episode, viewers were amazed by the Liang family’s tradition of exchanging New Year gifts. Many couldn’t help but feel envious—especially after seeing the adorable, handcrafted ceramic cups Ruan Cha had made.

“The chibi-style drawings on the cups are too cute! I bet there’s nothing Cha Cha can’t do!”

“The sibling interactions are everything! Cha Cha is always encouraging others. Being her friend must be amazing.”

“Wait… the cufflinks Cha Cha mentioned—are they for Fu Chen? The same childhood friend who fed her tiles in the first episode’s mahjong scene?”

“Oh my god, sis, you just found the most important detail!”

“Aaaaaah, childhood sweethearts are the sweetest!”

“No! Mom says no dating! Cha Cha is still underage!”

Meanwhile, sitting side by side on the couch, Liang Cunjin and Ruan Cha were watching the episode on a tablet. The moment they saw these comments, Liang Cunjin’s heart skipped a beat. He snuck a glance at Ruan Cha, only to see her frowning too, making his emotions even more turbulent.

There were only two possible reasons for that frown:

1. She had a secret crush on Fu Chen, and now it had been exposed.

2. She had no romantic feelings for Fu Chen at all and hated the speculation.

“Cha Cha, you and Fu Chen—”

Before he could finish, Ruan Cha snatched the tablet, quickly typing out a comment in the live chat:

“Cha Cha is focused on her studies and has absolutely no interest in dating.”

After posting it, she turned to Liang Cunjin and muttered,

“Brother, no wonder you said online rumors can’t be trusted. My friendship with Fu Chen is as pure as can be, but netizens somehow imagined all this.”

She sighed, adding with concern, “Besides, Fu Chen just agreed that we’d supervise each other’s studies. If he sees these comments and worries about misunderstandings, what if he stops helping me?”

Among all the people she knew, Fu Chen was the best at keeping her accountable for her studies. Losing him would be a major setback!

And yet—

Ruan Cha couldn’t quite explain why, but reading the netizens’ speculation left her feeling just the tiniest bit… guilty.

Maybe it was that guilt that made her instinctively post her real thoughts under a fake identity.

Liang Cunjin pointed at the screen, looking utterly exasperated.

“I’m guessing if Fu Chen actually watches this, he won’t misunderstand anymore.”

Ruan Cha tilted her head, confused.

Liang Cunjin reached out, pressing her head down so she could see the comment she had just posted. Holding back his laughter, he explained,

“The show’s producers wanted us to interact with the audience for the finale. Since my account is verified, it’s literally glowing with ‘Liang Cunjin’ in gold. And now, thanks to you, my account just posted—‘Cha Cha is focused on her studies and has absolutely no interest in dating.’ What do you think Fu Chen will think when he sees this?”

Liang Cunjin: “Cha Cha is focused on her studies and has absolutely no interest in dating.”

“Hahahaha, her own brother just shut down the rumors!”

“Confirmed: Liang Cunjin and Cha Cha are definitely watching the show together. I bet Cha Cha typed that herself.”

“Oh no, suddenly feeling bad for the childhood friend…”

Ruan Cha: “…qaq”

Ruan Cha’s inexplicable sense of guilt seemed to deepen.

Fortunately, netizens didn’t dwell too long on the comment from “Liang Cunjin” before their attention was completely stolen by the next scene—a plush bear wrapped in a seaweed skirt suddenly appeared on screen.

Because of the different editing order, viewers hadn’t seen the Liang family’s earlier discussion about the Seaweed Dance. So, right after the heartwarming gift exchange, an adorably chubby bear wiggling its butt unexpectedly popped into the frame.

The next second, an energetic yet absurdly catchy piano version of the Seaweed Dance theme blasted through the speakers, instantly invading everyone’s ears.

Before the audience could react, the goofy bear suddenly struck an exaggerated, flirtatious pose and launched into a full-blown performance!

As it danced, it enthusiastically sang along, “Like a seaweed, seaweed, seaweed, swaying with the waves—”

The first half of the episode had been all warmth and family love, yet no one had anticipated such a drastic shift in tone. Out of nowhere, a dance that had once been wildly popular had now been revived—not just by a person, but by a bear!

The Seaweed Dance was already inherently amusing, but now, combined with this hilariously silly bear, the comedic effect was doubled.

As netizens laughed until their stomachs hurt, they were also left with one pressing question:

Who was dancing???!!!

“What are they even doing? Is this a comedy talent show? HAHAHAHAHA! Are they trying to make me laugh myself to death so they can inherit my debt?!”

“As a dedicated fan of Jinjin, I just have to say… sisters, doesn’t that voice sound a lot like Liang Cunjin?!”

“F*! Sis, you’re a warrior! I wanted to say it too—it totally sounds like my husband!! QAQ”**

“Excuse me? Which delusional fan is slandering Jinjin? You think he can be this ridiculous? Are you sleep-deprived???”

“I bet it’s Liang Cunjin +1. He’s never been as serious on this variety show as he is during official promotions. At this point, I’m convinced his true personality is just a big kid.”

“I don’t care! Jinjin +10086! He’s so adorable, I love him!”

The show didn’t keep fans guessing for long.

Just as the dancing bear finished Seaweed Dance and moved on to Three Little Bears, the screen split into two simultaneous shots.

The left screen, with both audio and video, replayed the conversation where Ruan Cha and the others had urged Liang Cunjin to dance. It even featured the “esteemed contemporary musician” Tang Hua offering to accompany him on the piano. The footage then froze at the exact moment when Liang Cunjin pointed upstairs and mentioned changing outfits.

The right screen, silent but still playing video, continued showing the chubby bear earnestly performing Three Little Bears. Meanwhile, everyone else in the frame was holding their stomachs from laughing too hard. Their joy was unmistakable.

Apparently, Liang Cunjin felt his fans weren’t quite shocked enough, so as he watched his own ridiculous dance routine on the tablet, he logged into his personal account and personally typed out a message:

“I made a mistake and am officially apologizing to my dear Cha Cha! From now on, we must all exercise caution in our words and actions!”

Fans had no idea what mistake their idol had made, but one thing was clear—his public image was on a one-way train to chaos.

Were they surprised?

Absolutely.

But to be honest, they were more delighted than anything.

For a while, the live chat was flooded with laughing emojis and the phrase “exercise caution in words and actions” as fans spammed it in unison. Some even encouraged Ruan Cha to continue punishing Liang Cunjin if she ever got mad again—no mercy allowed!

Liang Cunjin frowned at the screen. “Are these people my haters?”

Ruan Cha mimicked Liang Cunjin’s usual teasing and ruffled his fluffy hair hard. “When love runs deep, it turns into criticism. From now on, I’m your number one anti-fan!”

“Oh, get out of here!” Liang Cunjin retaliated by messing up her hair in return. Then, he pulled out his phone and opened the mobile game they used to play together.

“Cha Cha, come on, let Second Brother carry you.”

Ruan Cha hesitated for a moment before firmly shaking her head. “I want to study. Good night, Second Brother.”

Without giving him a chance to persuade her, she quickly bid goodnight to the rest of the family and shuffled upstairs in her slippers.

Ruan Dad & Ruan Mom: “…”

They had originally planned to relax over the New Year and only resume their business matters after the Lantern Festival.

Watching Ruan Cha’s figure disappear around the staircase, Wei Jiao suddenly felt like the strawberry she had just eaten wasn’t as sweet anymore. She pushed the fruit platter forward and muttered, “Feifei, I think I want to go upstairs and study viticulture and wine storage.”

Ruan Zhengfei nodded. “I think I’ll go check out the stock market.”

The two exchanged a glance and, without hesitation, got up and headed upstairs.

The rest of the family, who had been watching the entire scene unfold, were utterly dumbfounded.

Were these two planning to completely transform themselves from now on?

To be fair, in the past few months of living in the Liang household, Ruan Zhengfei and Wei Jiao had been incredibly laid-back. They often woke up around ten in the morning, spent most of their time playing games or tending to the greenhouse, and barely went out unless absolutely necessary.

Even after mentioning their company acquisition plans and vineyard purchase over dinner, Old Master Liang had kept an eye on them. However, he hadn’t noticed any changes in their daily routine at home.

But now…

He was genuinely shocked.

Tang Hua glanced upstairs and, after some thought, said, “Dad, Zongqi, I have a piece I haven’t practiced enough. I’m going to the music room for a bit. You guys keep watching TV.”

Old Master Liang & Liang Zongqi & Liang Cunjin: “…”

At this point, none of them dared to keep watching TV anymore.

The three exchanged glances for a full minute before simultaneously looking away and standing up.

They all had something to learn.

After all, life is long, and learning never stops!