Ch 82: After My Mother Returned to the Rich Family

Inside a certain villa, four lab-coated researchers cautiously glanced around the newly set-up lab. The earlier panic from nearly being caught by the police was now replaced by excitement and joy.

They all knew what they were doing was illegal. But with the funding Yu Zheng provided—not to mention the top-tier environment—if their team became the first to develop a breakthrough drug, they would become globally renowned in the medical world.

However, there was now a huge problem: after injecting Yu Zhiyan with a new drug that caused intense side effects, their boss had just abandoned him in the lab to fend for himself.

A tall, thin researcher wearing rimless glasses tentatively asked, “Boss, about the team’s research—”

“Continue.” Yu Zheng, though irritated, remained eerily calm. His gaze swept over the four of them coldly. “For the foreseeable future, stay inside the lab and behave. Got it?”

The four quickly nodded in alarm. “Got it.”

They were already in this together. If they bailed now, not only would they bear the legal responsibility alone, but all their previous work would go to waste—and they’d probably never have another shot at success again.

After they left, Yu Zheng adjusted the gold-rimmed glasses on his nose. He was silent for a moment, then dialed a new number. “That guy I had you train—send him to Westshore for now. Tell him to wait for further orders.”

After a few more instructions, he hung up and looked at the empty room around him. The cold gloom in his eyes surged again. Even if Jiang Yuxing couldn’t shake the B-mission right now, Yu Zheng couldn’t afford to put all his eggs in one basket.

If nothing happened to the Liang family, he wouldn’t be able to make a move on Ruan Cha for a while. But time was ticking.

——

At the Liang house.

Ruan Cha was absorbed in a copy of Neurology Case Analysis she had found at the library. She was halfway through when her parents dragged her from her room to the one next door.

“Mom, Dad, are you trying to have a secret chat?”

Ruan Zhengfei and Wei Jiao had identical mysterious smiles. They had her sit on the bed first, then each pulled out several document envelopes from the cabinet. With a dramatic slap, they laid the envelopes in front of her.

Ruan Zhengfei said proudly, “Cha Cha, these are three companies your dad personally acquired for you!”

Wei Jiao added, “And these are two vineyards your mom bought just for you!”

When she finished, Ruan Zhengfei quickly tacked on, very aware of his survival instincts, “And one of those companies was originally acquired by your mom!”

“Fei Fei, what are you doing—” Wei Jiao paused, then grabbed one of the envelopes from his pile and dragged it over to hers. “Why are you being honest now?”

Ruan Zhengfei & Ruan Cha: …

Why? Because it makes you happy.

Ruan Cha started opening the envelopes, quickly feeling overwhelmed. When it came to business, she knew even less than her parents—who, to their credit, had at least studied up for quite a while.

After a few pages, her head was spinning. She looked up and asked, “Are you guys seriously not planning on managing all this?”

Ruan Zhengfei waved it off. “We’ve got professional managers. We just handle the big-picture stuff. Just like the family’s agricultural bases—doesn’t Uncle David run those perfectly well?”

At the mention of Uncle David, Ruan Cha opened her mouth but didn’t say anything.

After returning from Jintao Base, she had done some digging online about all the aunties and uncles she had grown up thinking were just normal townspeople.

Uncle David had looked like a washed-up guy when he came to the town, but he had been a TV host abroad for two years—with perfect broadcast diction—and had even started a company.

It was only after bankruptcy that he ended up in their little town by accident.

And somehow, he became the base’s director.

She hadn’t thought much of it before. But after finding out the truth, all she could think was: Grandpa is seriously incredible.

If he hadn’t gotten involved, none of those aunties and uncles would’ve ended up in their town, their cabbage probably wouldn’t have sold so well, and her parents wouldn’t have been able to live such laid-back, salted-fish lives.

The peaceful life they’d had for so many years wasn’t just thanks to her parents, but also thanks to her grandfather.

Ruan Zhengfei ruffled Ruan Cha’s hair, speaking in a heartfelt tone, “Cha Cha, right now we’ve got businesses, vineyards, and maybe even our own wine brand someday. As for your studies—learn if you want, and if you don’t, then don’t. Being happy is what matters most.”

Wei Jiao, sitting beside them, eagerly nodded in agreement.

Now their family was just like her classmates’ families! Cha Cha didn’t have to feel out of place among her peers anymore!

Ruan Cha scratched her head and, for the first time, said from the bottom of her heart, “Dad, Mom, I really want to study. I hope to absorb as much knowledge as I possibly can.”

Before her parents could even react with surprise, she added, “I already spoke to my teacher about skipping a grade. The exam is scheduled for the thirteenth day of the new year. If I get a high enough score, the homeroom teacher should talk to us soon about the details.”

At first, Ruan Cha wanted to skip a grade just to graduate earlier. Later, it was because she wanted four times the knowledge energy. But now, she genuinely wanted to study.

Ruan Zhengfei & Wei Jiao: “……”

They felt like they were always a step behind.

Ruan Zhengfei, a little confused, plopped down cross-legged on the carpet and looked up at Ruan Cha. “Cha Cha, tell Dad the truth—you really want to study? You actually love studying? Are you sure no one’s bullying you at school?”

Right after asking, he sifted through a few documents, pulled one out, and handed it to her. “Don’t you usually love mobile games? Dad acquired a mobile game company. Their last game was a little match-three puzzle one. Whatever game you want, I’ll have them develop it. If anything’s bothering you, don’t bottle it up—just tell us.”

In Ruan Zhengfei’s eyes, he and Wei Jiao worked hard to improve themselves because they didn’t want Cha Cha to be bullied at school or feel left out. But their salted-fish daughter, who’d been laid-back for over a decade, suddenly got so motivated the moment she transferred to No. 2 High? There had to be a reason.

It wasn’t like they were totally clueless about social expectations. They didn’t see renting property or growing cabbage as something others admired. Among parents, it was all about companies, stocks, wine, and jewelry. Since they weren’t short on money, their daughter had to have everything others had too.

Ruan Cha did have something on her mind, but she couldn’t tell her parents. After all, she couldn’t say a single word about what had happened in the previous timeline.

Seeing her fall silent, Wei Jiao asked quickly, “Cha Cha, are you really happy at No. 2 High? If not, we can transfer you back to the town high school. I remember on your first day, you said you wanted to go back, didn’t you?”

“I’m happy—super happy,” Ruan Cha got down from the bed and hugged both her parents. “The teachers and classmates are really nice. I’m surrounded by study gods every day in Class One, and after a while, I suddenly realized—studying is actually super fun!”

“Mom, Dad, you two studied stocks and vineyard management to prepare for those acquisitions. Didn’t you feel fulfilled after learning all that?”

Ruan Zhengfei & Wei Jiao: …

Maybe just a tiny bit more fulfilling than sleeping in?

But seeing the bright sparkle in their daughter’s eyes, they both nodded decisively. “Fulfilled!” Fulfilled by at least a tiny bit!

Ruan Cha saw them nod and was overjoyed. In the future, not only could Fu Chen help supervise her studies, but her parents could too!

“Dad, you bought a mobile game company?”

Ruan Zhengfei nodded. “A small company. They had two games on the market. Last October, they ran into some funding issues. Your Uncle Ye Zhi and I looked into it and thought it was worth acquiring.”

Ruan Cha’s eyes lit up again as she looked at him eagerly. “Dad, can I pitch an idea for a new game? I’ve got a super amazing one!”

Ever since she got access to the library, Ruan Cha had been thinking about how to apply what she learned—maybe something like chip research? But putting aside submitting reports, even the way she had to sneakily release each batch already looked suspicious. One or two times was fine, but it wasn’t sustainable.

Until one day—

Ruan Cha came across a promo clip for a mobile game online, and out of nowhere, inspiration struck. Before she could even start planning, her dad had already bought a mobile game company!

Seeing his daughter still interested in games, Ruan Zhengfei was relieved and quickly agreed, “Of course you can! Don’t you have your skip-grade assessment on the thirteenth? You focus on reviewing for now. Once the test’s done, I’ll take you to the company, and you can pitch your idea directly to the planning team.”

As he spoke, Ruan Zhengfei patted his chest confidently. “Go wild with your imagination—if there’s not enough money, Dad will invest; if there’s not enough people, Dad will hire them!”

“Dad, I love you so much!”

“Ahem.”

Wei Jiao cleared her throat from the side.

Ruan Cha and Ruan Zhengfei turned in unison and chorused, “Mom/Wife, I love you so much!”

Hearing both her husband and daughter profess their love, Wei Jiao was delighted and a bit embarrassed. She gave them both a pat. “Alright, alright, so mushy!”

Passing by in the hallway, Liang Cunhuai: “…”

Did I just get hit by a wave of PDA?

Over the next seven days, Ruan Cha wrote another report, this time on neurodegenerative diseases, but didn’t rush to give it to Yan Ruocan.

Unlike the previous chip report—which involved ideas with leaps in logic she couldn’t clearly explain without the system’s help—this one she could fully support with her own understanding.

She hoped that when the time came, she could personally discuss it with her future cousin-in-law. It would also help prepare for the eventual release of the library-inspired mobile game.

After submitting the report, there were only four or five days left before the skip-grade assessment on the thirteenth. Ruan Cha stopped reading new books to earn knowledge energy and instead focused entirely on reviewing material from first to third year of high school.

When the rest of the Liang family heard from her parents that she was planning to skip a grade into senior year, they were all shocked.

The next day, the household menu was adjusted again for maximum brain nourishment, and all guests were relocated to the main residence’s side wing. The entire family made sure to keep quiet, afraid of disturbing Ruan Cha’s studies.

Back when Liang Cunhuai and Liang Cunjin were preparing for their college entrance exams, the household hadn’t even been this tense—after all, if they failed, it was just a bit of embarrassment for some boys. But Cha Cha? She was irreplaceable.

Liang Cunhuai & Liang Cunjin: …

When they get married and have sons, will they just be the neglected ones at home?

The night before the assessment, Ruan Cha was organizing her exam supplies when a call from Huang Jiajia came in. As soon as she picked up, she heard Jiajia’s furious voice:

“Cha Cha! Some bastard posted on the forum about you planning to skip a grade! What the hell? The tone of the post is just oozing with ‘she’s gonna fail and be humiliated.’ It’s disgusting!”

When the seven of them had gone to the fireworks festival, Ruan Cha and Fu Chen had mentioned wanting to skip a grade. And it wasn’t just the two of them—Xu Nan wanted to try as well.

The other four all agreed to keep it quiet. After all, if they didn’t pass, it’d look like they bit off more than they could chew. If they passed, great—if not, they’d just pretend it never happened.

Huang Jiajia never expected that while scrolling the forum like usual, she’d find someone openly mocking Ruan Cha—targeting her specifically out of the three people taking the assessment. What was their motive?

Just after she finished ranting, Jiajia froze, nearly slamming her head into the floor. “Cha Cha, I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have told you—it’s tomorrow! The thirteenth!”

If her words caused Ruan Cha to be upset and mess up the assessment, she’d never forgive herself.

She stared at her own angry replies under the post, her eyes turning red with guilt. She should’ve just cursed the poster silently—why did she have to tell Ruan Cha?

For the first time in her life, Huang Jiajia hated her own hot temper and blunt personality.

But Ruan Cha just smiled gently and reassured her, “It’s not your fault. I usually browse the forum before bed anyway. You telling me early actually gave me time to prepare myself mentally.”

“But… but tomorrow you—”

Hearing that, Ruan Cha unhurriedly packed her schoolbag. “It’s fine. It just slightly affected my mood. Originally I could’ve scored a perfect 750, but now I’ll just have to settle for a 740.”

Huang Jiajia: “…”

Top student, thank you for your very unique way of comforting others.

After chatting for a few more minutes, Ruan Cha hung up. Before she could even check the forum post, a friend request popped up on QQ from a throwaway account. The note said only one thing: Go check the forum.

Looking at the one-star new account, Ruan Cha curved her lips in amusement and casually reported it. The other party wouldn’t suffer much, but she found it entertaining.

She opened the forum and, sure enough, saw the thread had been boosted to the hot topics list on the homepage.

[818 Let’s talk about someone who’s clearly lost it after getting first place twice, now they think they can skip to senior year.]

OP: Was packing up in the dorms and accidentally overheard two teachers talking—someone wants to skip straight to senior year after just one semester in No. 2 High. All I can say is, bold move!

1F: Only one semester in high school? OP, are you low-key targeting Ruan Cha?

5F: For real? Ruan Cha’s only been here one semester and wants to skip to senior year? The next semester is already second-round review. Is she planning to fall from honors to a regular class?

OP: She’s gotten cocky. People online call her a “top student” and now she believes it. Her family donates three buildings and she thinks the school will go easy on her? Please.

OP: Just because you have money doesn’t mean you’re all that!

23F: Whether she skips or not, I don’t care. But OP’s posts give off strong rich-kid resentment vibes. And if you hate the rich that much, how’d you even get into No. 2 High?

Ruan Cha scrolled further down. It was clear that more than half of the replies didn’t believe she could actually skip to senior year. Honestly, she understood. No. 2 High’s curriculum was different from most schools.

In most of Nanshi’s top high schools, students finish the entire three-year curriculum by the end of the first semester of their second year. The second semester is the start of first-round review, and all of third year is focused on reviewing for the college entrance exam.

No. 2 High, though, claimed to offer a more international education—but in practice, the “international” part was limited to things like school festivals, clubs, and MUN. Academically, it leaned more traditional, with 90% of the teachers lecturing in Mandarin.

Because of this, unless students came from elite educational backgrounds, many struggled—especially with English. If that weren’t the case, Class 10 wouldn’t have been so shocked at her test scores when she transferred in.

The school’s vibrant extracurricular activities slowed academic progress, so students in their second semester of sophomore year had to learn both the second semester of sophomore material and all of junior year’s first semester content.

Then, in junior year’s first semester, they’d have to finish the rest of the curriculum and begin first-round review. The final semester of senior year was dedicated to second- and third-round review.

Compared to other schools, for a No. 2 High student to jump straight to senior year after only the first semester of sophomore year was insanely difficult.

Because that meant the student would have to self-study all the materials for the rest of sophomore year and the entirety of junior year—in just one semester.

OP: Y’all saying I’m bitter about the rich—save it. I just can’t stand Ruan Cha! What, she thinks playing the top student persona makes her a god? She’s embarrassing the whole school!

189F: If you’re not jealous, then if Ruan Cha does skip a grade, why don’t you donate a building too?

190F: Hahaha clearly OP’s family has no buildings to donate and is just bitter. I don’t get it—whether she passes or not, what’s it got to do with you? Why post this in the middle of the night?

OP: Don’t say it’s none of my business! She’s setting a bad example for younger students—making them think they can breeze through one semester and skip ahead like it’s easy!

256F: OP, stop ignoring the thread. You made this post for no reason—if Ruan Cha actually passes the exam, aren’t you going to do something to make up for it?

Ruan Cha was idly scrolling through the replies when the system returned.

【Classmate Ruan Cha, I traced the IP address and found the original poster. [Image]】

Ruan Cha had barely glanced at the photo before quickly covering her eyes. “1128! Can’t you slap a beauty filter on this? My eyes are burning.”

In the picture pulled by the system, every acne scar on Zheng Wei’s face was crystal clear—and he happened to be grinning in a sleazy way, probably while reading the forum discussion.

Ruan Cha hadn’t expected to run into Zheng Wei again, especially not like this. So it all stemmed from that time he wasn’t allowed to eat the Three-Salted Fish cabbage and decided to hold a grudge?

【Apologies, Classmate Ruan Cha. The filter was already on. He didn’t use the student account assigned by the school, and he connected to the dormitory’s public Wi-Fi. The forum moderators in your dimension will have a hard time tracing him.】

Hearing the words “campus Wi-Fi,” Ruan Cha wasn’t surprised. The second- and third-year students of No. 2 High didn’t start school until the fifteenth of the new year, but the dorms opened on the twelfth. A few students who boarded on campus or did part-time jobs had already returned to tidy up.

Ruan Cha rested her chin on her palm. “Looks like he knows what he’s doing. Even posting trash talk comes with a new account and public Wi-Fi.”

At the time the system located Zheng Wei, he was lounging in the dorm, feeling quite smug. Ever since Ruan Cha and Fu Chen had publicly put him in his place, his classmates had taken to calling him a reincarnated lemon—jealous to his core.

And now that “oh-so-important” Ruan Cha thought she could skip to the third year?

Hilarious.

Zheng Wei’s whole goal in making that post was to make Ruan Cha see it the night before the assessment and mess with her head. He clearly remembered seeing her still struggling with second-year math problems a few days before finals. How could she possibly pass the grade-skip exam?

If she failed, that would already be satisfying. But he wanted her to fail with shame—and the weight of ridicule from the entire school. He had to make sure the backlash crushed her.

Zheng Wei had thought his comment about “setting a bad example for first-years” would win him some support. But unexpectedly, someone kept hammering him with: What if she passes?

“What a joke!”

278F: OP, you still here? If Ruan Cha really skips to third year, are you willing to clean every bathroom in the school for a month?

Zheng Wei sneered and typed out a reply word by word:

OP: A month? I’ll do it for a whole semester! There’s no way Ruan Cha can pass!

Besides—

He glanced at his alt account with pride. It was created solely for trolling. The forum mods couldn’t trace it back to him.

After reading his latest reply, Ruan Cha turned to the system. “1128, check what else he’s posted using this account. Collect it all. Whether it’s useful or not, we’ll see.”

【Okay. I’m on it.】

——

To be fair, Zheng Wei had miscalculated—badly. Instead of getting upset, Ruan Cha slept like a log that night, undisturbed and dreamless.

The next morning, Old Master Liang looked at the boy standing before him, expression complicated. “Fu Chen, you didn’t use to come over this often.”

Honestly, if he had to pick someone for Cha Cha’s future partner, Fu Chen really was more outstanding and pleasant than any other young man in their circle.

Still, no matter how much he liked the boy, the idea of his grandson dating his granddaughter figure gave him mental whiplash.

Facing the sharp glint in the old man’s eyes, Fu Chen straightened his back. “If you’re willing, I can come more often.”

Old Master Liang: “…”

Of course he was willing. He’d watched this kid grow up for over a decade!

The two locked eyes, neither backing down.

A few minutes later, Old Master Liang gave in with a wave of his hand. “Your grandpa doesn’t meddle. If you can convince her parents, it’s fine by me.”

They’d barely returned home, and the girl was already being eyed? Forget Jiao Jiao—just dealing with Zheng Fei’s personality would be enough of a headache.

Fu Chen’s lips curled into a smile. “Thank you, Grandpa Liang.”

When Ruan Cha came downstairs, the atmosphere between the two had already returned to normal. “Fu Chen, sorry for making you wait.”

Fu Chen shook his head. “I just got here too.” He paused, eyes falling on the small planet-shaped hair clip in her ponytail. “Your clip is really pretty.”

“Thanks, my grandpa got it for me as a New Year’s gift.” Ruan Cha’s heart warmed at the compliment, her eyes gleaming with delight.

She wasn’t sure whether she was happy that Fu Chen appreciated her grandfather’s taste—or that he had sincerely complimented her.

Shaking the thought away, she turned to Old Master Liang and waved. “Bye, Grandpa. Let’s play Ludo tonight if I pass the exam!”

Old Master Liang, who had been observing them, laughed when he snapped out of his thoughts. “Looks like our Cha Cha’s feeling confident. Alright, I’ll be waiting. Let’s play a few rounds tonight.”

“Yup!”

Fu Chen couldn’t help smiling at her cheerful expression. As they were getting into the car, he asked, “Cha Cha… did you sleep well last night?”

—He was still worried she’d been affected by the forum post. He’d tried tracing the IP the night before but couldn’t get a fix due to the school’s public Wi-Fi.

He’d thought about asking her then but was afraid of accidentally drawing her attention to the post if she hadn’t seen it yet.

Ruan Cha didn’t catch the meaning behind his question and nodded. “I slept great. Didn’t even dream.”

Then, she pulled out a notebook from her bag and gave it a pat. “Come on, let’s supervise each other before the exam. I’ll quiz you first.”

Fu Chen was speechless as he stared at the notebook, packed with dense notes.

Truthfully…

He had wanted to talk about something else.

But seeing Ruan Cha so focused, he quietly tucked those thoughts away. Reviewing together before the test was good too—it gave her a chance to brush up.

And more importantly—

It meant one more moment of closeness between them.