Ch 76: After My Mother Returned to the Rich Family

“Jiang Yuxing, system user—looks like you and I have something to talk about.”

Even after they sat down in the study, Jiang Yuxing still hadn’t recovered from the shock.

He had never expected that on his first day at the Liang household, someone would directly point out his identity as a system user.

And that person—

Had even invited him to the study with a calm expression and a trace of gentle amusement in her eyes.

Jiang Yuxing’s thin lips moved, trying to form a question, though he didn’t even know what to ask. His thumb kept rubbing the black wristband on his wrist.

After a while, seeing that Ruan Cha still didn’t speak, he finally couldn’t help but ask,

“You… also have a system?”

Ruan Cha had just opened her mouth when she froze mid-breath.

Wait a second—

She suddenly remembered what Jiang Yuxing had said earlier about someone named “A-Yan.”

Ruan Cha abruptly looked up, her gaze locking on Jiang Yuxing, carefully studying his features, searching for even the slightest resemblance to someone she was thinking of.

Jiang Yuxing had a pair of narrow fox-like eyes, his features were sharp, and when not smiling, his whole aura felt cold and distant. His temperament was completely different from Yu Zhiyan’s.

Except—

They were both extremely pale.

Still, saying they looked completely different wouldn’t be right either. If you ignored their eyes and focused on their nose bridges and lips, there was… a slight similarity.

Ruan Cha’s suspicion was now half-confirmed.

Jiang Yuxing had been in the entertainment industry for 7–8 years, and was good at hiding his emotions, not caring much about how others saw him.

But right now, under Ruan Cha’s direct scrutiny, there was an odd sense of embarrassment growing inside him.

Since she’d already said it to his face, it was likely that Ruan Cha had seen through his purpose for coming to the Liang family.

She didn’t answer his question about the system.

Instead, she kept repeating in her head: Keep your expression in check!

Just like Fu Chen said: when negotiating, never let your opponent see through your emotions.

Better to say less and appear deep than say more and make a mistake.

Jiang Yuxing, having just been refused by Yu Zheng when he asked to see A-Yan, and then caught off guard by Ruan Cha’s words, found himself completely off balance.

He let out a light sigh, lowered his gaze to the wristband, and said softly,

“Whether you have a system or not has nothing to do with me. You know why I’m here now. So—are you going to tell someone? Even if you do, they probably won’t believe you.”

“You’re wrong. First, if I really do tell someone, there are at least two people in this house who’ll believe me.”

Ruan Cha paused, then continued, staring at him,

“Second, I don’t plan on telling anyone. You brought your system here, sure—but you won’t be able to take it back out.”

She didn’t care about the sudden flicker of alarm in Jiang Yuxing’s eyes.

Instead, she tilted her head slightly and asked,

“Did Yu Zhiyan tell you anything about me?”

As soon as she asked, she caught the subtle flicker in his eyes.

She changed the subject.

“Right, he has a genetic defect—you’ve heard of that, haven’t you?”

With that single sentence, Jiang Yuxing’s expression turned serious, and he straightened his posture.

“So when you said you wanted to talk—there’s something specific you want to discuss?”

“There is.”

Ruan Cha answered without hesitation.

She repeated the line she’d practiced in her head dozens of times—her voice steady and deliberate:

“First, we talk about Yu Zheng. Then we talk about Yu Zhiyan. And finally… we talk about the possibility of you and me working together.”

Then she pointed up at the ceiling.

“Of course, you don’t have to worry about Yu Zheng listening in. And you don’t have to worry about your system reporting anything—its level’s too low to interfere with a system it used to be attached to. Don’t you think?”

At that, a flash of understanding crossed Jiang Yuxing’s face.

Ruan Cha was telling him—she had the system that was lost after Ren Qingqing failed.

She was intimidating him, while also offering him a lifeline.

After all—

The system currently bound to him had no access to a system store, but the one Ren Qingqing used to have did.

Jiang Yuxing lowered his eyes.

As long as there was a chance…

If what Ruan Cha said was true, and she really held that system, then if he just completed a few more tasks, he might actually be able to buy the special medicine from the store.

—

The next morning.

The Liang family woke up to a lively New Year’s atmosphere.

As soon as Liang Cunjin walked out of his room, he saw Jiang Yuxing, who yesterday had seemed closed off in his own world, now looking refreshed and clear-headed.

Jiang Yuxing greeted him calmly, no longer carrying the guilt from before.

“Morning, Cunjin.”

“Morning, Yuxing.”

Liang Cunjin gave a mechanical wave, then watched as Jiang Yuxing walked toward the dining room like he’d lived here for years.

He scratched his head in confusion and muttered,

“Seriously? Is a call with your girlfriend really that effective?”

When Jiang Yuxing walked into the dining room, Ruan Cha was already having breakfast. At the Liang household, unless there were special circumstances, everyone usually ate on their own schedule.

At this hour, aside from Ruan Dad and Ruan Mom still upstairs, everyone else had either finished eating or, like Ruan Cha, was still at the table.

Their eyes met briefly in midair, then calmly looked away.

The virtual panel above Jiang Yuxing’s head was still there, labeled with Virus Y, but unlike yesterday, Task B was gone, replaced by Task A.

A task that didn’t involve harming others—one he could complete with his own effort to gain points.

Truth be told, Ruan Cha hadn’t expected their talk yesterday to actually result in cooperation.

After seeing with his own eyes that she had a system mall, Jiang Yuxing immediately agreed to fully open his mental domain.

It was a dangerous move. One mistake while opening one’s mental field to a stranger could easily result in brain death.

But Jiang Yuxing hadn’t hesitated for a second.

He didn’t know Yu Zheng’s exact location, but at the very least, they’d managed to keep Virus Y’s bug under wraps, preventing Yu Zheng from discovering the error for now.

As for Yu Zhiyan—

Was Yu Zheng really treating him, like Jiang Yuxing had said?

Given all the things she’d learned about Yu Zheng so far, Ruan Cha couldn’t believe someone that extreme was doing all this for a simple drug project.

Before she could dwell further, the butler’s voice came from outside:

“Master, Mr. Fu and Fu Chen have arrived for New Year’s greetings.”

Ever since Liang Yue had passed away, Father Fu only came to visit the Liang family once a year—on the first day of the new year—with Fu Chen.

As for the rest of the relatives and business guests, they usually came after the third day.

Ruan Cha finished her porridge, wiped her mouth with a napkin, and quickly headed out—

Last night, she’d asked Fu Chen a whole series of questions under a different pretense, and he’d taught her a few negotiation tricks on the spot—

she’d used every one of them in her conversation with Jiang Yuxing!

She had to thank Fu Chen!

After Fu Chen greeted Grandpa Liang and the others, his gaze began casually drifting around, clearly looking for someone.

The moment Ruan Cha stepped out from the dining room, he spotted her, and his brows lifted with a soft smile.

“Cha Cha, happy Spring Festival.”

“Happy Spring Festival, Fu Chen.”

Ruan Cha beamed brightly, stepping forward. She also greeted Father Fu before lowering her voice to whisper to Fu Chen:

“Your tips last night worked—I totally bluffed someone into backing off.”

As she spoke, she glanced over Fu Chen’s white crewneck sweater and camel overcoat—

and only just realized this was the first time she’d seen him not wearing their school uniform.

Fu Chen noticed that Ruan Cha didn’t comment on how he’d addressed her, which made him both happy and a little regretful.

He smiled gently.

“As long as it worked. If anything comes up in the future, feel free to ask me again.”

“Ok.”

Last time Fu Chen had come to the Liang house, Ruan Cha wasn’t there. He’d only chatted briefly with Ruan Dad and Ruan Mom about company shares—but clearly, the two had shown no interest.

Around noon, Ruan Dad and Ruan Mom, who had been studying in their room all morning, finally came downstairs—

And the first thing Ruan Zhengfei saw was Fu Chen chatting happily with Ruan Cha.

Ruan Zhengfei: ???!!!

What’s this punk doing here?!

He stomped down the stairs and stared at Fu Chen, his head already starting to ache.

Seriously, Fu Chen’s gaze—it was the kind of look he himself had been scolded for back in the welfare institute.

It was that kind of—

“Anyone paying attention can immediately tell what you’re thinking” kind of look.

Too bad all the older folks were busy chatting.

Liang Cunjin, Liang Cunhuai, and Jiang Yuxing were huddled together playing co-op games,

so no one else noticed!

Ruan Zhengfei turned back, looking toward Wei Jiao for help, dragging out his words,

“Jiao Jiao——”

“I saw, I saw.”

Wei Jiao had already followed his gaze earlier and noticed Fu Chen.

“Actually, Fu Chen is pretty good-looking. Don’t forget what our daughter said before—she only has one standard for her future other half: he has to be good-looking.”

Wei Jiao clearly remembered:

Back then, Cha Cha had said—if the guy’s handsome, even if they fight, just looking at that beautiful face makes the anger fade away.

Of course, Ruan Cha had no clue what love was at the time.

She’d just been watching her parents’ daily PDA and blurted it out on a whim.

Ruan Zhengfei retracted his gaze, muttering,

“She later added a few more requirements. Gotta be good at housework, know how to cook, plus be good-looking. She said she’d pay the living expenses monthly as long as he helps her live a proper slacker life.”

Ruan Zhengfei & Wei Jiao: “…”

And to be honest—

That Fu kid doesn’t really look like someone who’d marry into the family, does he?

As the two most involved parties, Ruan Cha and Fu Chen were completely unaware of Ruan Dad and Mom’s overactive imaginations. The two of them spent the morning chatting, had lunch together, and in the afternoon, holed up in the study to study.

When evening came and it was time to go out, Ruan Cha sent a message in the [Fireworks Squad] WeChat group, and the group set out one after another.

There were seven people total in the Fireworks Squad. Ruan Cha arrived early with a small red flag in hand, standing at the meeting point and waving it every now and then so that Huang Jiajia and the others would see her right away when they arrived.

Fu Chen originally wanted to wave the flag for her, but seeing how much fun she was having, he didn’t say anything. Instead, he found a spot with wind and positioned himself to block it for her.

While they waited, a delivery guy showed up with two bags of milk tea, glanced at Fu Chen, and jogged over.

“Sir, your milk tea order.”

Fu Chen took the bags. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Enjoy your drinks!”

After the delivery guy left, Ruan Cha blinked in surprise as Fu Chen pulled out a cup, inserted a straw smoothly, and held it up in front of her.

She froze for a second, looked up into his questioning gaze, then belatedly reached out and took it.

The warmth of the drink spread from her palm through her body—even the cold breeze around her felt warm all of a sudden.

“Thank you… I didn’t even think to prepare milk tea for everyone.”

Fu Chen chuckled. “The team leader only needs to manage the big picture. Let the vice-captain handle the details.”

Besides, he had only bought a few extra cups while placing the order.

Ruan Cha, who’d just been feeling a little guilty for not thinking ahead, was instantly convinced by his answer.

She nodded seriously, took a few sips of milk tea, then thought of something.

“Oh, Fu Chen, do you have time to give the delivery guy a five-star review? My family used to sell cabbage, and we loved it when customers left five stars.”

Fu Chen hadn’t even considered the review, but since she mentioned it, he pulled out his phone and left one.

Just as he stuck a straw in his own drink and looked up, Huang Jiajia came sprinting over.

“Ahhhhhh! Cha Cha, I missed you so much!”

She pounced on Ruan Cha in a full-force hug, nearly shaking the milk tea out of her hands.

Ruan Cha quickly spread her arms to avoid spilling on Jiajia’s clothes.

“Mmm mmm mmm! I missed you too!”

Fu Chen quietly looked away, not daring to compare—after all, they were besties.

“Cha Cha, I heard before coming that your Second Aunt—yeah, Liang Qianling—is collecting evidence to sue Song Yun for negligent injury. She’s causing a huge scene at the Song house.”

Huang Jiajia took a milk tea from the bag, took a few sips, and gossiped away. She’d never liked Liang Qianling—wasn’t she the one who started spreading nasty rumors about Cha Cha’s family in their social circle?

Clearly, evil people always get their retribution.

Then she remembered something her parents said last night.

“Oh yeah, my folks were saying they still think Liang Qianling must’ve been the one switched at birth. She really doesn’t look like a Liang family member.”

But Liang Qianling was born three years earlier, so there’s no way she could’ve been the one switched.

Ruan Cha nodded in agreement.

“Right? When I came back from the hospital, I even asked my mom about it in the car.”

Fu Chen, mid-sip: ???

He choked on his milk tea, his throat suddenly itchy, and had to turn his head away.

“Cough, cough, cough, cough—!”

Hearing the sound, Ruan Cha panicked. She dug into her bag and handed him a tissue.

“Fu Chen, are you okay?”

He waved it off while accepting the tissue, signaling that he was fine.

After a moment, the coughing subsided, but now he stared at his milk tea, completely losing interest in drinking it.

If Aunt Wei Jiao really had been the one who switched babies with Liang Qianling…

Then wouldn’t that make him and Ruan Cha siblings?!

—That was terrifying.