Ch 78: After My Mother Returned to the Rich Family

While Ruan Cha and her group of seven were enjoying the dazzling fireworks from their yacht, far away in a suburban lab, Yu Zhiyan stood by the window, having just taken his medication. He leaned against the glass, head tilted up, his expression unreadable as he gazed toward the sky lit with bursts of color.

Under his slightly rolled-up sleeves, a thin, pale arm was visible, with faint blue veins beneath the skin and several injection marks that hadn’t fully faded.

“You’re longing for the noise and liveliness outside again?”

A cold voice came from the doorway, laced with the faintest trace of mockery.

Yu Zheng had just stepped out of the lab. Still wearing his white coat, he adjusted the gold-rimmed glasses on his nose and chuckled lightly, “One craves the bustle, the other is a natural recluse.”

At the words, Yu Zhiyan lowered his eyes slightly. One hand pressed against the injection marks on his arm. His voice, worn from chronic coughing, was so hoarse it sounded like sandpaper, “After these two projects… can you keep the promise you made, and stop using the system to control him?”

Yu Zheng didn’t mind that Yu Zhiyan didn’t look at him. “Of course. I may be ruthless, but I keep my word.”

Besides—

He had just received a message from the virus system: Jiang Yuxing had already successfully linked to Liang Zongqi. Even without direct control, he was now entangled with the system for good.

Jiang Yuxing had voluntarily bonded with the system in the beginning. As long as Yu Zhiyan was alive, he wouldn’t be able to give it up—he needed the points to exchange for the special medicine in the system shop.

Now that Ren Qingqing was ruined and her system shop deactivated, as long as Yu Zheng hinted that taking down the Liang family would guarantee continued treatment for Yu Zhiyan, Jiang Yuxing would have no choice but to complete task B.

Humans always had their own selfish desires.

Yu Zheng glanced at his younger brother’s back, and couldn’t help shaking his head with a sigh—brotherly affection, huh? No wonder he picked the two of them out from the welfare center back then.

Both brothers thought they were sacrificing for each other. It was laughable.

Yu Zhiyan had no idea about Yu Zheng’s calculations. All he thought about was surviving two more projects so that his older brother could regain his freedom.

To him, Jiang Yuxing had agreed to be adopted along with them all those years ago purely because he was worried about him. Who would’ve thought their situation would end up worse than it was in the orphanage?

Though, at least back then, his brother could work on things he liked, and even if they couldn’t meet, he could catch a glimpse of him on TV.

Yu Zheng, satisfied with the progress of his plan against the Liang family, felt a bit better, but his tone toward Yu Zhiyan was still as biting as ever:

“In the next two weeks, cooperate with the medical team and get your body in shape. I don’t want to hear that your physical condition has delayed any project again. Understood?”

Yu Zhiyan had long gotten used to his tone. His gaze was lifeless as he rasped, “Understood.”

Two more projects. Just six months. He could make it through.

But… he probably wouldn’t get to hear his brother say “Happy New Year.”

——

After watching the fireworks and goofing around for a bit, Ruan Cha and her friends hadn’t realized it was already past midnight. Their families had all sent cars to pick them up.

Right before getting into their cars, Ruan Cha took out a stack of red envelopes she’d prepared in advance, and with a flourish, fanned them out:

“Quick, everyone draw one! The amounts are different—it all depends on your luck!”

Back in high school, her class hadn’t done WeChat red envelopes; they preferred folding real red paper ones by hand. After joining the Liang family, Ruan Cha had collected a bunch from home and the property office. Feeling like her own luck was overflowing, she wanted to share it with her friends.

Ji Feiyang rubbed his hands together.

“I’m Red-Handed King when it comes to loot drops—I always get the boss’s best loot. Guaranteed I’ll pull the biggest one.”

He reached out confidently, but just as he was about to open it, Ruan Cha stopped him.

“No peeking now! Open it when you get home. And no telling anyone your amount—otherwise the luck will slip away.”

Hearing that, Fu Chen’s eyes flickered slightly, and a moment later, a knowing smile flashed across his face.

Under Ruan Cha’s serious gaze, Ji Feiyang obediently tucked the envelope into his pocket.

She was top of the grade, the cabbage heiress of Three Slacker Fish, and the young boss of the Gold Peach Base—her blessing was not to be taken lightly.

By the looks of it, the Ruan family had more wealth and influence than his own… gulp.

After Ji Feiyang took the lead, the others followed suit. Fu Chen didn’t pick right away—he waited until there was just one envelope left, then quietly took it from Ruan Cha’s hand. At the same time, he slipped something small into her palm.

Ruan Cha gave him a questioning look. Fu Chen smiled, “Let’s swap blessings.”

A person’s luck was limited. What if they drained all of Ruan Cha’s luck? That wouldn’t do.

This was the first time Ruan Cha had heard of swapping blessings. She was just about to open her palm and see what he’d given her, when Fu Chen gently tapped the back of her hand with the corner of his red envelope.

His clear voice carried a soft laugh, “Check it on the way home—otherwise your luck might escape.”

Ruan Cha: “……”

One way or another… it always circled back to her own words.

Since it was late, everyone got in their cars and left. As soon as they were seated, impatient folks like Huang Jiajia, Ji Feiyang, and Xie Chang’an opened their envelopes.

Inside were six ten-yuan bills and six one-yuan bills, along with a Post-it note:

“Wow! You actually got the biggest red envelope! You’re amazing!”

Huang Jiajia kissed her envelope.

“Yay! I got the biggest one! Cha Cha, I love you!”

Just like her, Ji Feiyang and Xie Chang’an were too much of a goof to suspect anything. They happily believed they were the luckiest ones.

Except for Xie Sui, who had once again fallen asleep and hadn’t opened his yet, Fu Chen and Xu Nan both saw through Ruan Cha’s little scheme. But neither said anything—they quietly stored their 66-yuan “luck” with care.

Back in her own car, Ruan Cha finally got to look at what Fu Chen had slipped her.

It was a stone in a rich cock’s comb red, carved into the shape of a traditional Chinese “tuán jǐn” knot, a design often seen in Chinese knotting arts.

“Ah… jadeite.”

Ruan Cha’s voice drew out slightly.

After the surprise gift segment on Dear Life, she’d gone online and studied up on jadeite—turns out, Uncle Ye’s shelves were filled with all kinds of the stuff.

Ruan Cha gazed at the jade knot resting quietly in her palm, eyes filled with a trace of fondness. Not only was the carving exquisitely crafted, but the jade was clear, lustrous, and gave off a soothing aura.

“A jade for a sixty-six yuan red envelope…” She murmured to herself, gently swinging the red jade knot by its string in front of her eyes. “I know it’s about the thought, not the value—but let’s be honest, I clearly got the better end of the luck exchange.”

After all, she’d received Fu Chen’s one and only jade knot, while he’d only gotten a one-in-six red envelope from her.

Ruan Cha tucked the jade knot back into her bag. No—if she looked at it any longer, she’d feel too guilty.

But after a few moments, she found herself peeking at the bag again, and after some hesitation, quietly took the knot out and tied it onto the chain of her shoulder bag.

Just for tonight—just to admire it a little.

Ruan Cha thought the family would already be asleep by the time she got home. But just as she stepped out of the car, she unexpectedly ran into Grandpa Liang walking out from the greenhouse.

Seeing him, Ruan Cha immediately jogged over with her bag, studying his face for any signs of fatigue. Seeing his complexion still rosy, she let out a quiet sigh of relief. “Grandpa, it’s past midnight. Couldn’t sleep?”

Grandpa Liang seemed surprised to see her too, but quickly masked it with a gentle smile. “Not insomnia. I was just thinking about your grandmother and came out to take a walk.”

When he was young, he’d once liked someone else. But after marrying, he and his wife lived together in mutual respect. Over time, though, his gaze inevitably began to settle on her instead.

Unfortunately, fate never gave him the chance to make amends. Now all he could do was grow old alone.

Snapping out of his thoughts, he walked with Ruan Cha back toward the house, speaking softly along the way. “Did you have fun tonight? Did you take a lot of photos?”

Ruan Cha opened her photo album and pulled up a few pictures. “One of my classmates brought a DSLR, but we won’t get those photos until later. We did take a few with our phones. Grandpa, the fireworks were really beautiful. In the beginning, they even had shapes like lanterns and stars, all colorful and bright.”

Grandpa Liang followed her finger as she pointed at the screen. But instead of looking at the fireworks, his eyes landed first on the group of people in the photo.

To Ruan Cha’s left was a girl who looked a little shy in front of the camera but still smiled and made a hand sign. He recognized that hand sign—it was one fans used to support his second grandson. He remembered learning it from TV and practicing for half an hour.

To the right, a boy and girl were play-fighting; one boy grinned brightly while another was fast asleep.

And further back—

Grandpa Liang fell briefly silent. He noticed Fu Chen wasn’t looking at the camera—his gaze was slightly lowered, resting squarely on Ruan Cha.

“…”

Was he imagining things?

Sensing her grandfather staring at the photo a little too long, Ruan Cha swiped to the next one. “After the fireworks, there were still a few snack stands and game booths open. We picked a few to try out, and we took pictures of everyone playing.”

But Grandpa Liang wasn’t really listening anymore. His thoughts were spinning.

Could it be… his grandson had feelings for Cha Cha?

His stomach began to ache.

Back when the truth about the baby switch came out, Wei Jiao and Liang Yue returned to their rightful places, and Wei Jiao’s legal documents were updated. Technically, all ties between the Liang and Fu families had been severed.

There were no longer any familial ties between Fu Chen and Ruan Cha.

But in Grandpa Liang’s heart, after watching Fu Chen grow up for over a decade, he still thought of him as a grandson.

Now, suddenly realizing this possibility—

His mind couldn’t keep up.

By the time the two finished chatting, they’d already returned to the villa. Only a soft, amber light glowed in the grand hall. But when Ruan Cha looked up toward the third floor, she could still see the faint light coming from upstairs.

It seemed she and her grandfather weren’t the only ones still awake.

Grandpa Liang rubbed his temples and glanced at Ruan Cha, who clearly had no idea what was going through his mind. He opened his mouth but hesitated—affairs between young people shouldn’t be meddled with.

After a long pause, he finally said in a gentle voice, “Cha Cha, you go on up. Grandpa’s going to sit a little longer.”

Ruan Cha studied his expression again, still unable to find anything wrong, but feeling a little uneasy. “Grandpa, how about I keep you company a bit longer?”

“No, no, go on up.” He waved her off while nudging her forward. “Your mom and dad are probably still up too.”

Ruan Cha nodded. “Then I’ll go up first. Grandpa, don’t stay up too late.”

“Alright.”

Just as he answered, his eyes caught something glinting from her bag. Hanging off her shoulder strap was a red jade knot.

He didn’t snap out of it even as she walked upstairs.

He remembered—when Liang Yue had just given birth to Fu Chen, she’d originally wanted a matching red jade “double-knot of unity” crafted, intending to give it to her future daughter-in-law as a token of welcome.

But later, fearing Fu Chen might end up in a high school romance like she and her husband had, she changed the design to a tuán jǐn knot instead.

Grandpa Liang’s hand, resting on his cane, trembled ever so slightly.

He was suddenly hit with a strong urge—

To go beat his grandson.