Ch 88: After My Mother Returned to the Rich Family

The back gate of Second High School opened onto a student street, and beyond that street were two old alleyways followed by a crossroads and an overpass.

Students who were picked up by private cars usually got into them at the parking lot across the overpass.

Since Second High didn’t enforce strict lunch break gate controls, even with a wide variety of delicious food in the cafeteria, students still got tired of it quickly. That meant the businesses along student street also thrived.

It was lunchtime and the area was bustling. Three girls, arms linked, walked into the inner part of the student street to buy fruit tea. One of them pointed at a bookstore up ahead. There was a small wooden sign on the door reading “Temporarily Closed,” and she commented in surprise, “The nail salon that used to be here just closed, then someone reopened it as a bookstore, but now it’s closed again after just a day?”

“They didn’t say closed for good, just temporarily. Maybe they’re tidying up inside.”

The first girl shook her head. “You weren’t here a few days ago. Last Friday, it had the same sign up. Looks like they never planned to open.”

The three girls joked and laughed, not paying it much mind. Inside the bookstore they were talking about, at a window-side seat, sat two people. Because of the special glass, those inside could see out, but those outside couldn’t see in.

Ruan Zhengfei glanced at the three girls walking away and didn’t find it strange—over the past few days, no fewer than seven or eight passersby had pointed at the window and made similar comments.

He placed a cup of warm milk on the table. “Jiao Jiao, freshly boiled milk. Want anything for lunch? I can make it.”

Wei Jiao was reading a book about anti-surveillance tactics and handling dangerous situations. “Make some dragon whisker noodles. Didn’t we buy lamb slices? Add some greens.”

“Feifei, your idea was genius.” She took a sip of the milk and closed her book. “We took over this bookstore, and not only can we rest and read during the day, we can also keep watch over Cha Cha. If anything happens, we’ll notice right away.”

That’s right—Ruan Zhengfei had rented the nail salon on student street with a clear view of Second High’s back gate, and had it renovated into a bookstore.

Inside, there were four bookshelves filled with books, a simple kitchen, and a rest area. When they weren’t busy with other things, Ruan Zhengfei and Wei Jiao would come here to study. If they got tired, they could nap in the lounge.

Truthfully, they weren’t all that tired—it was basically just moving their routine from the Liang house to the bookstore. But the atmosphere of the place constantly encouraged them to study diligently, so they wouldn’t fall behind their daughter.

As for the GPS in Ruan Cha’s hair clip, they had told her about that part, but they hid the real reason. They only said Grandpa Ruan felt Nan City was big and chaotic and worried she might get kidnapped or worse.

Ruan Zhengfei stroked his chin, deep in thought. “Jiao Jiao, there’s something I’ve wanted to say for a while. Even if we spot something happening to Cha Cha in time, what can we actually do? First thing, call the police. Second… do you think we could rescue her from Yu Zheng, or would we just get taken along with her?”

“Feifei, you’ve always been great at fighting. Didn’t you teach Cha Cha how to defend herself?” As someone who’d grown up with him, Wei Jiao had an especially thick filter for her childhood sweetheart.

She patted his arm. “I believe in you. No matter how many people Yu Zheng sends, you’d beat them all up handsomely! Just like when we were kids at the orphanage and you knocked that bully flat when he messed with me!”

Ruan Zhengfei: “…”

——

Senior Year, Class One.

Ruan Cha and Fu Chen, having skipped a grade, had already become well-known across the senior class thanks to their 740+ scores.

In recent years, very few had skipped grades, and those who scored over 700 on the placement exam were all certified geniuses.

Of course, some students believed Ruan Cha and Fu Chen’s scores were only that high because the placement exam focused on basic knowledge. In a full senior-year test, they’d be lucky to make it into the top twenty.

Never mind whether Ruan Cha’s foundation was solid—just take Fu Chen. He was still serving as both the student council president and head of the English club. Juggling all that and still keeping top grades in senior year? Incredibly tough.

But reality proved that some people, if they could hit 740+ once, could do it again and again.

Some people, if they were ranked number one in Year Two, would likely still be ranked number one in Year Three.

On March 16, the results of the first major senior mock exam were posted. Three big red reports were put up on the bulletin board, and for the first time in a while, the rankings of the top five students had clearly shifted—all dropping down the list.

Ruan Cha: 743, ranked first in the year.

Fu Chen: 743, tied for first.

In just a month, the two of them had completely shaken up the rankings in the senior class.

Two students breaking 740 in a single mock exam not only put their Class One homeroom teacher in the spotlight, it also made the Year Two Class Ten and Class One teachers beam with pride.

Between classes, students kept hearing the same line from all three teachers—

“My student, Ruan Cha…”

The students: “…”

You guys splitting her into thirds?

“Math 150, science 300…” Lin Yushu stared at the score sheet handed out by the teacher, swallowing hard. “Chinese 145, English 148… Cha Cha, back when we first discussed your and Fu Chen’s scores, most of the class figured your placement test scores were just inflated by lenient Year Two teachers…”

But this was your first real senior-year test—and you just casually snagged the highest score in the entire grade! 743!!!

Last year’s top provincial scorers in the national college entrance exam only got up to 736!

Lin Yushu beamed brightly. She could already imagine the day this year’s exam scores were released, when Second High would become famous across the province—no, the whole country—for producing not just one, but two 740+ students!

Honestly, if the college entrance exam weren’t in June, Ruan Cha could probably take it tomorrow and still ace it.

Looking at her and Fu Chen’s identical scores of 743, Ruan Cha pursed her lips and answered Lin Yushu seriously, “You’re right, the Year Two teachers were more lenient. The senior teachers grade a lot harder.”

She flipped open her English and Chinese papers, pointing to her essay. “I think my writing’s gotten better since the Year Two finals, but the teacher was really strict—docked me four points on the composition and one on reading comprehension.”

In reading, she had actually hit all the main points, but she hadn’t fully expanded on the third, so she lost a point. Ruan Cha thought it was fair. She realized she’d gotten lazy again—time to crush that laziness in the cradle.

Seeing how seriously Ruan Cha was dissecting her own score, Lin Yushu was speechless. She slammed the papers shut and huffed, “If you keep showing off, I’m going to bug you about biology every day!”

“Ask away, I won’t mind.” Ruan Cha grinned. Truthfully, she still didn’t understand how she lost four points on that composition. Guess the senior teachers were just really harsh.

(Senior teacher: No, it’s the Year Two teachers who spoiled you. We’re just letting you taste the cold, hard truth of the college entrance exam.)

Even with four points deducted, Ruan Cha was thrilled. A mock exam score of 743 meant 743 more energy points in the bank! Now she and system 1128 were only 3,000 points away from being able to attack Yu Zheng! Ruan Cha could already see victory waving at her in the distance!

Lin Yushu saw the cheerful smile on Ruan Cha’s face as she answered and didn’t think she was brushing her off. After all, even before the scores were released, all their subject teachers had already gone over the mock exam papers in class.

And no matter which question the teacher asked about, both Ruan Cha and Fu Chen could quickly and clearly explain their solutions. At the time, the students already had a feeling their scores would be good.

But still, a 743 was proof enough—they had seriously underestimated the power of a true study god.

As one of those gods, Ruan Cha’s desk was surrounded by a rotating crowd of six or seven classmates between every class. No matter who came, or how many times they asked, Ruan Cha always gave patient and thorough explanations, never dismissive.

In just a few days, she had completely blended into the atmosphere of Class One. During PE, when the girls played games or went to the convenience store for snacks, they’d casually ask if Ruan Cha wanted to join.

A classmate who was helpful in studying and had such a sweet personality—who wouldn’t like her?

——

After evening self-study, on the way to the back gate, Ruan Cha sighed for the nth time, “Fu Chen, turns out doing well in school really does make people popular.”

Ruan Cha used to think that back in Class Ten, she had good friends because she was fun—playing around during equestrian class, during the art festival, always part of group activities. Plus, Huang Jiajia and Xie Chang’an were both naturally friendly and had put in a lot of effort early on.

As for when she transferred to Class One in Year Two, she figured it was because she already knew people like Ji Feiyang. As the resident information dealer, Ji Feiyang had connections with everyone in class and helped pave the way for her socially.

But now, after skipping to Class One of Year Three, she only knew Fu Chen. Even though Lin Yushu helped with introductions on the first day, most people were just being polite—those conversations didn’t last long.

It wasn’t until after the first mock exam, when she began interacting with classmates over study topics, that Ruan Cha was surprised to find her popularity had skyrocketed. People came to chat during breaks, invited her to the convenience store during PE—turns out being good at school really did make you well-liked.

Hearing this, Fu Chen could only feel helpless—he had already seen firsthand how popular Ruan Cha had become.

Class One of Year Three placed a lot of value on academic performance. Compared to background or appearance, students there cared more about someone’s ability to study and emotional intelligence.

And Ruan Cha, with her strong academics, clear explanations, and patient nature, naturally drew people in. In fact, between classes, her desk was always crowded with both boys and girls, so much so that Fu Chen could barely get a word in. He had to cherish their brief time walking home together.

But while helpless, Fu Chen also couldn’t help but feel genuinely happy.

He could see that Ruan Cha was truly enjoying the studying in Class One—not like before, when sometimes it felt like she was forcing herself for some goal.

Fu Chen had never really figured out where his urge to keep Ruan Cha studying came from. It seemed like it had been there from the first time they met—strange, but not unpleasant. From helping with review materials to checking in regularly, he had to admit, the reason they grew close so quickly was probably because of that constant motivation.

Now, seeing that Ruan Cha had truly fallen in love with learning filled him with joy and satisfaction.

As they walked over the overpass, Fu Chen saw the Liang family car parked in the lot and turned to ask casually, “Cha Cha, do you have a dream university?”

His plan had originally been to go to Qingda so he could manage the Fu family’s Beijing division while preparing to launch their VR game.

But if Ruan Cha’s goal school wasn’t in the same city, he figured he could move the project elsewhere.

Ruan Cha went quiet for a moment.

Now that she’d decided to become a psychologist, she had researched top universities, and Jingda ranked number one in psychology.

After a pause, she said softly, “Probably Nanda. My parents are too clingy.”

She thought back to that morning, when her parents had been acting strangely. Not long ago, they’d said that once she started college, they’d go off and enjoy their own lives. But something must have happened—they now seemed terrified at the thought of the three of them being separated.

If that’s the case, then she’d just stay in Nanshi.

Nanda.

Fu Chen felt a wave of relief. Compared to other schools, Nanda was genuinely great—and both their families were based in Nanshi.

But wait—

Something hit him, and his relief evaporated.

Ruan Cha’s family wasn’t actually from Nanshi. The only reason they were there was because of the Liang family. The Ruan family’s real hometown was a small town—Jincheng—something Ruan Cha had mentioned once during an English radio show.

A city so far away, you had to fly for over two hours to get from there to Nanshi.

“Cha Cha, will you go back to that town—”

“Ruan Cha.”

But before he could finish the question, someone suddenly called her name.

Fu Chen looked up and saw a man in a baseball cap.

The man’s head was lowered, making his face hard to see, but a few dyed blue strands of hair peeked through his dark locks. A few seconds later, the man looked up.

Jiang Yuxing.

Fu Chen remembered him from the background checks—there were a couple of pages about him. Yu Zhiyan’s biological older brother, once adopted by Yu Zheng.

Jiang Yuxing looked at Ruan Cha and gave a faint smirk. “I messaged you this afternoon but didn’t get a reply. Do you have time to talk?”

“Oh, my phone died, sorry.” Ruan Cha glanced at him. “Is it something urgent?”

In the entertainment industry, both Jiang Yuxing and Liang Cunjin had huge fan bases. For Jiang Yuxing to avoid reporters and come all the way to Second High to block her at the gate, it must be important.

Jiang Yuxing shook his head, then looked at Fu Chen, who was standing calmly at the side, and sighed inwardly. These kids nowadays—so composed, more mature than most adults.

He turned back to Ruan Cha. “Not that urgent. Could we talk in private?”

Fu Chen hadn’t planned on prying into the relationship between Ruan Cha and the Yu brothers, but he still couldn’t fully trust someone who’d once been involved with Yu Zheng.

He kept his voice level, but made sure everyone could hear. “Cha Cha, your family’s car is just up ahead. Why don’t you talk in the car? Less likely to be seen by outsiders.”

Then he added casually, “After all… Mr. Jiang, as a celebrity and public figure, if you get photographed out here, it could be quite the hassle for her.”

Jiang Yuxing: “…”

Classmate, are you throwing shade at me?

Ruan Cha’s eyes widened slightly at the reminder. “Oh right, Jiang-ge, you’re not even wearing a mask! Quick, let’s talk in the car, and when we’re done, you should get back to work. If you get caught by reporters and it spreads online, it’ll be a huge mess.”

Thanks to “Dear Life,” Ruan Cha now dreaded seeing herself on trending searches. Being mobbed by “hardworking” little gremlins in the comments was enough to give anyone nightmares.

Jiang Yuxing opened his mouth, wanting to say he did have a mask—he just didn’t wear it so he wouldn’t scare her. But after hesitating, he decided not to say anything. He was sure if he did, that kid would immediately follow up with something else.

Fu Chen watched Jiang Yuxing silently follow Ruan Cha into the Liang family’s car. He glanced around, saw no reporters, then got into his own car.

Before the driver could ask, Fu Chen said first, “Don’t drive yet. Wait.”

He had to personally see Jiang Yuxing get out of the car before he could feel at ease going home.

On the other side, seeing that Ruan Cha and her friend had something to discuss, the Liang family’s driver tactfully got out of the car to give them some privacy.

Ruan Cha looked at Jiang Yuxing, who had already taken off his baseball cap. “Brother Jiang, what did you want to talk about?”

The last time they met outside Yu Zhiyan’s hospital room, Jiang Yuxing had already thanked her. She hadn’t expected there would be any further connection between them.

“I’m planning to take Ah Yan out of town for recovery tomorrow. It’s an early flight. When it comes to Yu Zheng, there’s not much more Ah Yan and I can help with… I’m really sorry.” Jiang Yuxing gave a self-deprecating laugh. “It’s been over ten years and I still haven’t figured Yu Zheng out. That’s on me.”

Honestly, maybe he’d been useless from the start. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have failed to protect Ah Yan at the orphanage, wouldn’t have let Yu Zheng manipulate him so completely, and wouldn’t have nearly lost Ah Yan’s life.

After speaking, he pointed to the virtual panel above his head. “If you’re going up against Yu Zheng, points might help you. After all, you can buy things from the system store. I’ve saved up 187 points over the years—take them, use them. Even a little bit might help.”

Ruan Cha had thought of a few possibilities but hadn’t expected Jiang Yuxing to come just to give her his points.

Back when Yu Zheng gave him Virus Y, it was simply a test to see if he could control Jiang Yuxing via the control panel—practice for manipulating Virus X hosts later.

But the day she and Jiang Yuxing worked together, his spiritual domain had opened, and Virus Y got eliminated by the 1128 system, making Jiang Yuxing’s system a subordinate to hers. Their points could now be shared.

“Yu Zhiyan—”

“I talked to him.” At the mention of his brother, Jiang Yuxing’s face showed deep remorse, and he gave a small smile. “Ah Yan said if it weren’t for you, he might’ve died.”

【Student Ruan Cha, in the system store, 1 point = 1 energy unit. But we only acquire knowledge energy, which can only be obtained through knowledge-based tasks. Jiang Yuxing’s points are only usable in the store—they can’t be converted to energy.】

Ruan Cha glanced at Jiang Yuxing and replied mentally to the system, “1128, did you forget the discount you got by selling off the rest of your life to work as customer service?”

1128 System: 【……!!!】

The entire store is currently 0.01 of the original price!

That means Jiang Yuxing’s 187 points were equivalent to 18,700 points in purchasing power!

Ruan Cha ignored the system and asked Jiang Yuxing again, “You’re really okay giving me all your points? You saved them for years.”

“Yes. All of them. You’re facing greater danger than Ah Yan and I are. And—” Jiang Yuxing hesitated, then said what was in his heart, “That day, if you hadn’t talked to me in the study, the next day I might’ve done exactly what Yu Zheng wanted—target Uncle Liang.”

He could clearly picture the outcome: helping Yu Zheng sabotage Liang’s company, then learning of Ah Yan’s death, falling into grief and guilt, going mad trying to take revenge on Yu Zheng—and in the end, probably meeting a tragic end himself.

Hearing Jiang Yuxing admit he had almost turned on Liang Zongqi, Ruan Cha wasn’t surprised. She pointed to his temple. “Please open your spiritual domain again. I’d like to collect your points—I hope you won’t regret it.”

Jiang Yuxing calmly opened his spiritual domain, completely unafraid that she might harm him. He even had the mood to smile. “Of course not.”

In less than a minute, the 1128 system had absorbed all of Jiang Yuxing’s hard-earned points. Seeing the number in her points tab jump from 0 to 187, the system was momentarily filled with a sense of achievement.

Then, just as it was feeling triumphant, it watched those 187 points instantly drop to 137.

System: ???

Did someone rob the antivirus program??

Ruan Cha handed Jiang Yuxing a bottle of medicine she had just purchased from the store. “Here—thanks for your points. I hope you and Yu Zhiyan both stay well, don’t let bad people fool you again, and don’t lose the kindness in your hearts.”

Inside the small glass bottle was a single white pill. Jiang Yuxing stared at it in a daze, blood seeming to freeze in his veins.

He couldn’t take his eyes off it. Voice hoarse, he tried several times before finally managing, “Ruan Cha, that medicine…”

“It’s a special treatment for Yu Zhiyan’s genetic defect. Consider it a thank-you gift for the points.” Without another word, she shoved the bottle into his hand and smiled. “Take it.”

That kind of medicine would usually cost 5,000 points. But with the current 0.01 discount, it was only 50. Ruan Cha figured she might as well buy it. If she waited for Jiang Yuxing to save up enough points, Yu Zhiyan might’ve reincarnated by then.

Jiang Yuxing clutched the bottle carefully, eyes red, his chest tight with emotion that nearly stole his breath.

The life-saving medicine he’d dreamed of for so long… he had it now? Ah Yan could be saved?

He forced himself to calm down from the overwhelming shock and looked at Ruan Cha with red eyes and a parched throat. “Ruan Cha, thank you. If you ever need anything—Ah Yan and I will—”

“Alright, alright, just take the medicine back to Yu Zhiyan and treat him already. No need for promises.” Ruan Cha waved her hand, clearly not fond of emotional scenes. “My second brother really considers you a friend. Just don’t make him regret it.”

Jiang Yuxing was stunned, then smiled again. “I understand.” With that, he didn’t delay any further. He quickly got out of the car, rushed into his own, and sped off—he wanted to give the medicine to Ah Yan immediately, to see with his own eyes that Ah Yan would get better.

Through the window, Ruan Cha watched his car disappear into the distance, then gave a soft laugh.

Even though in the first timeline Jiang Yuxing may have done things that hurt the Liang family and her second brother, in this second round, he and Yu Zhiyan hadn’t actually harmed anyone. So, her second brother hadn’t misjudged him after all.

Meanwhile, Fu Chen, who had been sitting in his own car the whole time, saw Jiang Yuxing leave, then watched the Liang family’s driver get back in. Only once the car was out of sight did he finally say to his driver, “Let’s go.”

After all the cars—Liang family’s, Jiang Yuxing’s, and Fu family’s—had left, Ruan Zhengfei and Wei Jiao snapped out of their daze in another nearby vehicle.

They’d been sitting in the car, figuring they’d wait for evening self-study to end. Who knew they’d witness such a dramatic scene?

Wei Jiao: “I just saw Jiang Yuxing’s eyes were red when he got out.”

Ruan Zhengfei: “Yeah, really red.”

The two exchanged a look, their expressions complicated.

—Had their Cha Cha already gotten to the point of making a grown man cry? What kind of “bullying” was that?