Ch 74: After My Mother Returned to the Rich Family

With a new junior joining the family, he was inevitably surrounded by the elders, taking some of the attention off Liang Cunhuai, who gladly scooted over to free half of the couch.

When the two sat side by side, the contrast was clear—Jiang Yuxing was half a head shorter than Liang Cunhuai, but his skin was noticeably paler. Against the solid black wrist guards he wore, his complexion looked almost unnaturally white.

Unlike most younger guests, Jiang Yuxing showed no discomfort or impatience under the elders’ inquiries. On the contrary, he seemed to enjoy it.

On the other side, Liang Cunjin was peeling a few macadamia nuts and handing them to Ruan Cha, grumbling in a jealous whisper.

“Cha Cha, please stop staring so intently. Would it kill you to spare your super-handsome Second Brother a glance?”

“I get that the internet calls Jiang Yuxing a ‘walking anime character,’ but my looks aren’t any worse than his! Why are you staring at him so much? Are you actually that shallow?”

Ruan Cha, feeling complicated, reluctantly withdrew her gaze. She glanced at an oblivious Liang Cunjin, pondered for a moment, and decided to answer his previous question first.

“Second Brother, even if I were superficial, my first pick would be Fu Chen.”

As she spoke, she popped a macadamia nut into her mouth, chewed, and swallowed before continuing,

“Among the people I know, my dad is the most handsome. Fu Chen comes in second. As for you and Big Brother, well, thanks to family bias, I’ll award you two an honorary third place trophy.”

Liang Cunjin: “…???”

Thanks, I guess???

“If you don’t think Jiang Yuxing is handsome, then why are you staring at him?”

Without answering immediately, Ruan Cha shoved the remaining macadamia nuts back into Liang Cunjin’s hands, shook her head, and sighed.

“I’m observing a person who might have gone astray.”

Just as she finished speaking, something cool was pressed into her palm. Looking down, she saw that it was a thick red envelope.

Liang Cunjin, now in a much better mood, pinched her cheek with a bright smile.

“You were hinting that Big Brother gave you a red envelope, but I didn’t, right? Well, I had one ready for you too.”

So she wasn’t staring at Jiang Yuxing—she had been looking at their Big Brother.

Of course, he knew the Ruan family wasn’t lacking money, but a New Year’s red envelope wasn’t just about the cash—it was a gesture of blessing.

Ruan Cha: “???”

She stared at the red envelope in her hands, then mentally replayed the number of red envelopes she had received that morning. After a moment of hesitation, she reached into her coat pocket and pulled out the ‘50-yuan grand prize’ she had grabbed from the property office earlier.

Before Liang Cunjin could ask, he watched as Ruan Cha, with great solemnity and apparent reluctance (?), carefully pulled out a 10-yuan bill and stuffed it into his hand.

Then, she patted him on the shoulder.

“Second Brother, take this—it’ll bring you luck.”

Having said that, she proceeded to distribute 10-yuan bills to Old Master Liang, her parents, and Tang Hua and her husband—all under the noble excuse of sharing good fortune.

However, by the time she went through the entire family, she realized, somewhat awkwardly, that when it came to Liang Cunhuai and Jiang Yuxing, she had only one 10-yuan bill left.

After a brief hesitation, she gave the last 10-yuan bill to Liang Cunhuai, then turned to Jiang Yuxing with a serious expression.

“Brother Jiang, have my Second Brother give you 5 yuan in change later.”

A person who blurred the line between friend and foe absolutely could not be allowed to share in her blessings!

Liang Cunjin & Jiang Yuxing: “…”

Once Ruan Cha settled back into her seat, she called out to 1128 in her mind.

From her previous observations, she had a strong hunch—either Jiang Yuxing was hiding it really well, or he truly couldn’t see the small, coin-sized white virtual panel hovering in front of him.

[Ruan Cha, the system Jiang Yuxing is bound to is likely the second missing component of Virus X.]

Taking a sip of tea as cover, Ruan Cha glanced at the pixelated virtual panel above Jiang Yuxing’s head and asked,

“1128, is there a way for me to see the text on his panel clearly? Let’s call it ‘Virus Y’ for now.”

To be honest, she wasn’t too scared of encountering another system holder.

Back when 1128 used just 400 knowledge energy points to attack Ren Qingqing’s Virus X until it crashed, it had been a decisive victory. Now, her energy reserves had multiple sets of 400 energy points ready to go.

[One moment.]

1128 didn’t hesitate. It pulled out 1,000 knowledge energy points from the energy pool and first ran a preliminary scan on Virus Y’s firewall.

[Ruan Cha, Jiang Yuxing has likely completed a few tasks, which has strengthened Virus Y’s defenses. Unlike Virus X, which was bound to Ren Qingqing, Virus Y has a significantly tighter security system. A direct attack would require 800 energy points instead of 400.]

[To simply view the text on his panel, it would take approximately 200 energy points.]

Since she earned knowledge energy daily, Ruan Cha was more than confident. With several thousand points in reserve, she didn’t even hesitate.

“1128, use it. Let’s check the text first—whether we attack or not can wait.”

[Got it!]

The system responded cheerfully, and after three to five minutes, the previously blurred-out virtual panel over Jiang Yuxing’s head slowly came into focus.

[Host must complete Main Task A to switch to Main Task B within 4 hours.]

[Main Task B: For every sub-task completed, modify one commercial project related to the target (Liang Zongqi). Reward: 2 points per task (1,000 points required to reopen the system store) + financial benefits.]

Upon reading the text, Ruan Cha’s gaze darkened.

She turned back to Jiang Yuxing, who was smiling politely at the elders, his expression respectful.

Yet, inwardly, her heart turned cold.

Had he been targeting her eldest uncle from the very beginning?

Suddenly, all the uncertainties she had about the book’s storyline made sense.

In the novel, the Liang family faced crises—construction accidents, employees committing suicide.

Didn’t this mean that Jiang Yuxing had been influencing her uncle’s business projects, leading to errors in execution?

A failed project would inevitably lead to an investigation, but due to technological limitations, no one would ever detect Virus Y. As a result, innocent employees were framed as scapegoats.

No one could have anticipated that meticulously verified data could be silently altered by an advanced system.

But something still didn’t add up.

Ruan Cha frowned. Main Tasks A and B were typically a choice for the system host.

Back when she had seen Ren Qingqing’s system panel, it had explicitly given an option.

Yet, judging by Virus Y’s phrasing, it seemed to be forcibly pushing Jiang Yuxing toward Task B.

While 1128 wasn’t as skilled at scheming, in its opinion, viruses should simply be eliminated. Especially when it was stronger than them.

The soft, childlike voice of the system sounded eager, almost impatient.

[Ruan Cha, should I use 800 knowledge energy points to attack Virus Y until it crashes?]

Ruan Cha didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she leaned over and tugged on Liang Cunjin’s sleeve.

“Brother, how long have you known Jiang-ge?”

Since hearing Ruan Cha’s ranking of attractiveness, Liang Cunjin had completely stopped being jealous of Jiang Yuxing. He thought for a moment before answering.

“Three or four years. He became famous earlier than me. Back then, we were in the same drama—he played the male lead, and I was the third male lead. Later, we often played basketball together on set and discussed scripts, so we naturally became close.”

After saying that, he casually added,

“He’s planning to retire from acting in two or three years. He’ll probably shift his focus entirely to business investments.”

Ruan Cha fell silent for a moment.

Had Jiang Yuxing been laying the groundwork years in advance? But since he had known Second Brother for so long, visiting the Liang family last year or even the year before wouldn’t have been out of place. Why wait until this year?

And if he had been steadily working on Task A, why was Virus Y now forcing him to switch to Task B?

Taking another sip of tea, a suspicion surfaced in Ruan Cha’s mind.

Perhaps, after Yu Zheng realized Ren Qingqing was unreliable, he used his own control panel to manipulate Virus Y, intending to direct Jiang Yuxing against the Liang family?

“1128, set up an advanced deflection barrier on him. Make sure Virus Y doesn’t detect it—it should prevent him from suddenly linking to my uncle. Once you’re done, come back. We’ll decide later if we need to attack.”

1128 felt it was a pity not to immediately eliminate Virus Y, but it obediently followed her orders. It spent 100 knowledge energy points to install the deflection barrier and then returned to the antivirus program.

Meanwhile, Jiang Yuxing was deep in conversation with Liang Zongqi, humbly absorbing business insights. He remained completely unaware that a system had just tampered with his bindings.

However, whenever his gaze lingered on his virtual panel, a flicker of struggle and… disgust passed through his eyes.

—

9 PM.

The family gathered around the long dining table, enjoying a delicious reunion dinner.

Even Old Master Liang, who rarely drank, had Liang Zongqi pour him a cup of wine.

Thinking back, it had been years since the house had been this lively—for the first time in a long while, he felt genuinely warm inside.

While they ate, the Spring Festival Gala played on the living room TV, sending bursts of cheerful music and lively comedy sketches into the dining room.

Ruan Zhengfei picked up a plump dumpling with his chopsticks, examining its shape before giving Ruan Cha a thumbs-up.

“Cha Cha, your dumpling-making skills have improved since last year. They look beautiful and authentic.”

Since Ruan Cha had been interested in learning, the housekeeper had taught her while preparing the dumplings. Tang Hua, finding it amusing, had also joined in and made a few herself.

Hearing her father’s compliment, Ruan Cha looked at her mother, who was lightly coughing, and couldn’t help but laugh.

“Dad, I actually learned how to make dumplings from Mom last year. You said back then that mine looked exactly like hers—like a pair of twins.”

“Ruan Zhengfei! If you don’t want dumplings, go drink dumpling soup in the kitchen!”

Ruan Zhengfei: “…”

Damn his loose tongue!

Knowing when to yield, he immediately surrendered.

“Wife, I was wrong. Cha Cha’s dumplings this year have no soul. They can’t compare to last year’s—they had a special energy.”

The rest of the family burst into laughter.

No matter what, the third son and his wife always managed to brighten the atmosphere.

Seated quietly at the table, Jiang Yuxing paused mid-bite, glancing up at the Ruan family trio before lowering his eyes again.

—

New Year’s Eve—Midnight Approaching.

As the elders retired to bed, only the younger family members remained in the living room, watching the Spring Festival Gala and waiting for the countdown.

Of course, everyone was also glued to their phones, endlessly scrolling.

From the couch, Liang Cunjin suddenly called out,

“Do any of you have an extra ‘Dedication Blessing’ card? I need one. I have two accounts.”

Despite being well-off, some people still enjoyed the thrill of playing into commercial lucky draw schemes—it was all part of the New Year fun.

Ruan Cha raised her hand.

“I have three. You can have one.”

Then, she turned to Liang Cunhuai and Jiang Yuxing.

“Are you two collecting the ‘Five Blessings’? I have an extra set.”

Liang Cunhuai lifted his phone.

“Your future cousin-in-law already collected mine.”

The three others: “…”

Shut up already!

Since Liang Cunhuai didn’t need it, Ruan Cha turned to Jiang Yuxing.

“Jiang-ge, do you want one? I have all five.”

Jiang Yuxing seemed surprised that she was offering it to him. After a brief pause, he shook his head.

“I don’t really play. Thanks—”

Before he could finish, Ruan Cha cut in.

“It’s for good fortune. You only get one chance a year! I didn’t give you a red envelope earlier, so take the Five Blessings instead.”

After spending the whole day observing him, Ruan Cha could tell—despite his cold demeanor, he was actually quite solitary.

He didn’t talk much, only answering when spoken to—especially when it came to elders.

Honestly, if it weren’t for Second Brother’s outgoing personality, he and Jiang Yuxing might never have become friends.

At first, Jiang Yuxing had been about to refuse. But the moment he heard “for good fortune”, the words somehow died on his lips.

A second later, he nodded.

“Thank you. I’ll add you as a friend.”

After exchanging contacts, Ruan Cha was satisfied.

“1128, do you think we can convert him to our side?”

[???]

[I thought you were just mesmerized by his face.]

Ruan Cha: “…”

Am I really that shallow?!

—

Author’s Note:

“Being a looks enthusiast isn’t shallow—it’s just following your heart.”