Ch 73: After My Mother Returned to the Rich Family

“Ding! 200 knowledge energy points have been credited to the energy pool. Congratulations, Ruan Cha!”

The moment Ruan Cha stepped upstairs after watching Dear Life, she heard the electronic voice of the 1128 System. Her eyes lit up.

“Did they accept the research report I had you submit?”

Last week, while researching AI intelligence, Ruan Cha came across three books in the system’s library that detailed the chips used in AI technology.

It turned out that in the future, the chips in use had already reached a 3pm process technology, whereas in her current world, even the industry’s leading experts were still working on 3nm processes.

Ruan Cha believed that if she wanted to study AI (or rather, systems), researching chips was equally important. So, after thoroughly analyzing the three books, she compiled her understanding, cross-referenced it with existing technology, and summarized it into a structured report.

She knew she couldn’t manufacture such chips herself—but that didn’t matter. If she could organize the usable technology and hand it over to capable and well-equipped professionals, wouldn’t that be just as effective?

Of course, Ruan Cha admitted that she had taken a risky approach. After finishing the report, she had the system discreetly deliver it to the mailbox of a certain researcher’s home, leveraging the anonymity of future technology.

Logically, security at research institutes should be extremely tight. Key personnel working on classified projects often lived on-site, making direct access impossible. That was why Ruan Cha never even considered investigating confidential information—she simply had the system drop the report at the doorstep of a specific researcher’s home.

It was inevitable that the report’s source would be investigated, and it was highly likely that its contents would undergo rigorous scrutiny. That was why she had ensured that every word came purely from her own intellectual effort—she hadn’t physically interfered at all.

”[The target personnel first reported the situation to their superiors and requested an investigation of their home surroundings. I watched the whole thing—they found absolutely no clues. Before I returned, the target had already accepted the report and called a team meeting to begin research.]”

Ruan Cha, observing the 1128 System’s fearless attitude toward technology and its seemingly omnipresent surveillance abilities, had long since abandoned the thought of ever developing a system like it within her lifetime.

Especially after reading over a dozen books in the system’s library, she had come to fully realize just how astonishing future technology was. Compared to it, the advancements her current world would make in the next few decades—perhaps even the next hundred years—were likely to be utterly insignificant.

In fact, if she hadn’t yet figured out the mysterious antivirus program binding her to the system, she might have entertained a very dangerous thought—handing the 1128 System over to the state for research.

“Ding! Energy pool rules updated: If the target personnel and their team make progress, Ruan Cha will receive anywhere from 1,000 to 5,000 knowledge energy points!”

“AAAAAH! Ruan Cha, you just unlocked a hidden bonus!”

“Even if the target’s team fails to develop the chip from the report, as long as they take the report seriously and read it through, we still get 1,000 energy points! Ruan Cha, you’re amazing! I love you!”

Since the target personnel had already assembled their research team, it meant they had recognized some of the report’s theoretical value. The internal calculations within the 1128 System’s program estimated a result:

The probability that the team would read the report thoroughly was nearly 100%!

Ruan Cha watched as the system’s demeanor shifted from serious to outright silly, feeling a slight pang of regret. Wouldn’t it be nice if the system could always maintain that professional, no-nonsense attitude?

“Ruan Cha! Because you provided technological support to this world before the energy pool rule update, your reward cap has been raised from 2,000 to 5,000!”

The system was beyond ecstatic. The moment it finished speaking, it transformed into a round, chubby rice dumpling and rolled all over Ruan Cha’s desk, so excited that it practically sprouted tiny imaginary legs to kick in the air.

Forget 5,000 energy points—even if it only got 2,000, it would be enough to unlock the sealed database! Then it could retrieve the records of when it first bonded with Yu Zheng, along with his DNA data.

After that, it and Ruan Cha would be able to pinpoint Yu Zheng’s exact location without any risk of losing track of him again!

Ruan Cha rested her chin on one hand, tapping her pen against the book cover. She felt both the joy of being hit by an unexpected windfall and the understanding of why her reward cap had been raised.

After all, reading a book typically granted her 10 energy points. On a normal week, she could accumulate about 300 points.

But last week, since she had focused on compiling the chip research report, she had only read three books in seven days. Even after the report was picked up, she had only earned 200 energy points.

Now, however—if the research team even so much as studied the report properly, she would gain at least 1,000 points!

In most people’s eyes, this would be considered a losing deal. After all, whether or not the target personnel accepted the report was a matter of probability. Even if they did accept it, spending an entire week working on it only to receive 200 energy points seemed far from worthwhile.

But the system had actually hidden a special bonus.

Thinking about the 1,000 energy points she would most likely receive soon, Ruan Cha couldn’t help feeling excited. The corners of her lips lifted slightly as she took a deep breath, pulled out an unfinished book from the shelf, and refocused on reading.

If everything went smoothly, maybe by the time she graduated high school, she and the system would already be prepared to deal with Yu Zheng.

—

While the entire Ruan family was immersed in endless studying, someone else found himself unable to sleep or rest.

In a dimly lit study, the design was minimalist, with everything placed in perfect order—clean and uncluttered. A stack of documents and a few senior-year textbooks sat on the desk, mixed in with two university-level computer science books.

Fu Chen leaned on his desk, holding a tablet with one hand. The screen emitted a cool white glow, currently paused on the final season of Dear Life. Right in the center of the screen, bold golden words stood out arrogantly:

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

Fu Chen agreed with the netizens—Ruan Cha had most likely been watching the show alongside Liang Cunjin.

And more importantly—

His eyes lowered slightly.

He had known Liang Cunjin for over a decade, and in the past few years, they had been as close as brothers. He was familiar with Liang Cunjin’s tone and way of speaking.

The phrase “Cha Cha is focused on her studies and has absolutely no interest in dating”… was very likely written by Ruan Cha herself.

Fu Chen stared at the text for a few seconds before calmly turning off the tablet.

It was fine.

So long as Cha Cha was truly focused on her studies, she wouldn’t like anyone else either.

Besides—he was already her officially appointed academic supervisor.

—

New Year’s Eve.

The annual Spring Festival had arrived. Every villa in the neighborhood was adorned with festive “Fu” character couplets, window decorations, and imitation firecrackers.

The main roads and the central garden were filled with red lanterns and intricate Chinese knots, making the entire community brim with holiday spirit.

Yet, despite its grandeur, the Liang household was actually quieter than usual during the festival.

Most of the household staff and gardeners had returned to their own homes for the holiday. Only two housekeepers remained, busy preparing food in the kitchen since early morning.

In past years, the Liang family had always gone out for their reunion dinner, but this time, Old Master Liang decided that since it was the Ruan family’s first New Year back, the entire family should stay home, where it would be much more comfortable and intimate.

Dressed in a red wide-brimmed hat, a red sweater, and black casual jeans, Ruan Cha looked festive and absolutely stunning.

“Grandpa! I just got the biggest lucky money envelope from the property office—50 yuan!”

Beaming with excitement, she dragged Ruan Zhengfei along as she ran back home. The moment she spotted Old Master Liang, she proudly waved the red envelope in front of him and announced,

“The other older brothers, sisters, younger brothers, and sisters only got 10 or 20 yuan!”

The villa community had a special tradition—one of the property managers, a kind older lady, would prepare New Year red envelopes every year. Any available parents could bring their children to the property lobby to try their luck at grabbing one.

The envelopes were not particularly high in value—the whole point was simply to let the kids enjoy the New Year spirit. Since all the envelopes looked identical, the amount inside was entirely up to fate.

Old Master Liang chuckled as he watched Ruan Cha pull out five crisp 10-yuan bills from her envelope, then blessed her warmly.

“Cha Cha, may you have endless good fortune in the new year.”

Hearing this, Tang Hua also laughed. Seeing that Ruan Cha’s hat had slightly messed up her hair, she reached out to smooth it down while teasing,

“Cha Cha is much luckier than your two brothers. Your eldest and second brothers went every year in high school, but they could only ever get 10 yuan.”

Before Tang Hua’s voice had even faded, a clear male voice came from the doorway.

“Mom, I come home and the first thing I hear is you exposing my weaknesses? Every year, I let Cunjin pick the red envelope first—he’s just too unlucky.”

Ruan Cha turned around and saw a young man pushing a suitcase into the house, wearing rimless glasses. His demeanor was calm and meticulous, and for a brief moment, she thought she was looking at a younger version of Uncle Liang Zongqi.

Thanks to their frequent video calls in recent days, Ruan Cha immediately recognized him—her eldest cousin, Liang Cunhuai, who had just completed his doctorate in the UK.

Seeing him in person, her memories wavered.

In the book’s past life, when “Ruan Cha” died, Liang Cunhuai had been busy with his dissertation abroad and never made it home in time.

A few days ago, when Tang Hua had mentioned that Liang Cunhuai was planning to graduate early, Ruan Cha had been particularly surprised. Now that she was actually seeing him, she was once again struck by how vastly different her real life and family were compared to the story in the book.

Seeing Liang Cunhuai, the family was overjoyed. The smile on Old Master Liang’s face deepened.

“Cunhuai is back! You’ve lost weight, you’ve lost weight.”

As Liang Cunhuai took off his scarf and handed it to the housekeeper to hang up, he sighed helplessly.

“Grandpa, I weighed myself before coming back—I actually gained three pounds.”

From the side, Ruan Cha muttered knowingly,

“There’s a type of ‘thin’ that only elders believe in.”

“You little girl.” Liang Cunhuai wasn’t someone who smiled often, and even now, the curve of his lips was subtle. But his dark eyes were warm as he teased, “Seeing your cousin, aren’t you going to greet me properly?”

Seeing an opening, Ruan Cha played along instantly. She stretched out both hands, grinning sweetly.

“Big Cousin, Happy New Year! Now, hand over the red envelope.”

Without missing a beat, Liang Cunhuai pulled out a prepared stack of red envelopes and stuffed the thickest one into Ruan Cha’s hands.

“Here, this one’s yours.”

He hadn’t just prepared Ruan Cha’s red envelope—he had also prepared ones for Fu Chen and even Song Mengyu.

Although Liang Qianling had cut ties with the Liang family, Song Mengyu still carried a trace of Liang blood. Liang Cunhuai couldn’t completely ignore her, though when it came to amounts, Ruan Cha’s was the largest, and she was the only one who received additional gifts.

“Not only do you get a red envelope, but I also bought you gifts. They’re on the way—someone’s bringing them over now. They should arrive soon, so when you have time this afternoon, head upstairs to open them.”

Ruan Cha loved unboxing gifts. Hearing this, she nodded enthusiastically, “Thank you, Big Cousin!” Then, she leaned in closer and whispered curiously,

“Big Cousin, why did you suddenly decide to graduate early?”

The hand Liang Cunhuai had been using to take off his coat froze, and a helpless look crossed his face.

“Your future cousin-in-law. After recovering from a fever, she insisted the next day that we had to graduate early. She said she couldn’t rest easy otherwise. So, I had no choice but to accompany her.”

Ruan Cha: “…”

Mom, Dad—thank you for your endless public displays of affection. At least they’ve toughened me up so I won’t be crushed by my cousin’s love story.

As the family gathered around Liang Cunhuai, chatting happily, the sound of a car pulling up came from outside.

Seated next to Liang Cunhuai, Ruan Cha turned toward the door and immediately spotted Second Brother, Liang Cunjin, rushing inside with his usual bright, carefree grin.

Following closely behind him was a young man with black hair streaked with a few strands of blue.

Before Liang Cunjin even scanned the room, he enthusiastically introduced his companion.

“Grandpa, I brought a friend home. You can just call him Xiao Jiang.”

At first sight of Jiang Yuxing, Ruan Cha froze on the spot.

Above his head…

A virtual panel was floating!