Ch 97: After My Mother Returned to the Rich Family

The Next Day.

After finishing her short leave from school, Ruan Cha returned to Second High early Wednesday morning.

She had barely stepped into the Class 1 classroom when she was suddenly swept into a giant bear hug from Lin Yushu—

the kind of impact that felt like a mini cannonball hitting you.

Ruan Cha clutched her waist with one hand and staggered backward, the other hand grabbing the doorframe to steady herself. “Lin Yushu—”

Before she could finish, someone gently pushed her forward through her backpack from behind, helping her stand up straight.

A clear and pleasant voice came from above her head: “Careful. I’ve got you.”

Ruan Cha: “…”

No need to look. She could tell just from the voice—it was Fu Chen.

Lin Yushu squeezed Ruan Cha tightly again. Even though days had passed, the lingering fear was still strong. Her eyes were red. “Ruan Cha, I’m so, so glad you’re okay!”

Ruan Cha helplessly patted her back, then looked around at the concerned classmates quietly watching them. She smiled.

“Didn’t we have a video call on Monday morning?”

Before classes started that Monday, their homeroom teacher had arranged a video call so Ruan Cha could say hi and reassure everyone she was okay.

The whole class had wanted to see her with their own eyes.

It had to be said—there were some students in school with bad behavior.

Take Zheng Wei, for example, who’d been called in by police to assist with the investigation.

His cooperation with Yu Zheng and attempted harm to Ruan Cha had long been the talk of Second High.

No one expected that after failing to slander her on the forums, he’d actually collude with outsiders to harm a fellow student.

Zheng Wei’s outcome wasn’t good—facing both legal charges and school punishment.

But people like him were rare. Most students at Second High were kind and warmhearted.

Lin Yushu finally let go of Ruan Cha and rubbed her own face hard. “It’s not the same. Seeing you in a video and seeing you in person are totally different. Now that we see you’re okay, we can really breathe easy.”

Then she turned around and called out to the class, “Quick, bring what we prepared!”

The next moment, Ruan Cha saw Lin Yushu holding a willow twig and gently swatting her with it in a symbolic gesture, chanting:

“Brush away the bad luck, sweep all the bad vibes!”

Ruan Cha blinked, then laughed again. “Thanks, everyone. I really am okay.”

In this second timeline, she was truly lucky. She had a reunited family and sweet, caring classmates.

As for Yu Zheng—he would soon get what he deserved.

Fu Chen had been standing quietly behind her. When he heard her gentle reply, a subtle smile tugged at his lips.

It seemed the two days of rest at home had done her good.

Before he could think further, Ruan Cha turned around and looked at him.

Holding the willow twig she’d taken from Lin Yushu, she lightly tapped Fu Chen’s arm three times.

In a low voice, she said, “You went to Jinjiang Garden that day too. Let me help you brush off the bad luck.”

To Ruan Cha, the apartment Yu Zheng had stayed in was basically a nest of misfortune.

The Liang family had been cleansing their home for the past two days. Fu Chen didn’t live with them, so this was her way of helping.

Fu Chen looked down at his arm. “Thank you.”

“Actually, I should be the one thanking you.” Ruan Cha moved aside so Fu Chen could enter the classroom.

“You were the one who narrowed down the GPS search for Jinjiang Garden. And when I stayed home for two days, you kept me company every night. Thank you.”

Fu Chen shook his head, mouthing the words: No need to thank me.

From their first night chatting on WeChat, Fu Chen could tell—Ruan Cha wasn’t too afraid. She was calm, mentally steady.

To be honest, it had been he who was scared. Chatting with her had been his only way to reassure himself that she was safe and sound.

“Cha Cha.”

“Hmm?” Ruan Cha had just been about to return to her seat. She looked up at him. “What is it?”

Fu Chen met her clear apricot eyes and smiled gently.

Then he took out a golden meal card from his pocket—the one he’d picked up near the back gate. “You dropped this at the back gate last time. I picked it up but forgot to return it when we were at the Liang house.”

Ruan Cha saw the words Couples Set Menu printed in big letters on the card, and her face flushed again.

She really wanted to ask Tang Ruobing why she even gave her a couples meal card in the first place!

“Thanks for picking it up.” She hurriedly took the card from Fu Chen and scurried back to her seat—so awkward, so embarrassing!

Lin Yushu, who had been sneakily watching the two of them, leaned toward her the moment she sat down.

Then, just as she tilted her head, her eyes caught the writing on the card in Ruan Cha’s hand.

Her eyes widened in disbelief, and she nearly gasped. But since they were still in class, she quickly covered her mouth and whispered:

“Cha Cha, did Fu Chen just invite you to a couples meal?!”

Ahhh!!

Was Fu Chen confessing to Ruan Cha?!

Did her ship just… become canon?!

Yes, shipping.

There weren’t any official “most beautiful student” votes at Second High, but everyone had their unofficial rankings.

Fu Chen and Xu Shen were both handsome in their own way, but most students still ranked Fu Chen as the school’s top heartthrob.

He was polite, brilliant, and reliable.

Compared to him, Xu Shen was more like the school’s resident bad boy.

As for Ruan Cha—she had only been at Second High for one semester, but her looks and smarts had already placed her squarely in the school goddess category.

With a school goddess and school heartthrob established, it was only natural for everyone to start matching them up.

On the school’s anonymous forum, a bored student had once started a thread called #YourPerfectCP, asking people to vote for their dream couples.

In the second week after Ruan Cha and Fu Chen transferred into Class One, Lin Yushu had proudly submitted #RuanChaFuChen as her ideal ship.

She expected tons of support.

After all, they were in the same class and same club, walked home together, studied together on weekends—

a textbook VIP-level school romance!

To her disappointment, only a few classmates agreed.

Most argued against the ship using a single reason: “On Ruan Cha’s first day, Fu Chen himself said in Class 10 that he sees her as a little sister!”

Crushed, Lin Yushu scrolled down—only to find dozens of people supporting the RuanChaXuShen ship instead.

She couldn’t understand! These people clearly didn’t have brothers at home! No point of comparison!

Ruan Cha was already embarrassed, and her face grew hotter under Lin Yushu’s questioning. She quickly stashed the card and tried to clarify, “No, no, Fu Chen didn’t invite me. Tang Ruobing gave me that card. I dropped it at the back gate, and he picked it up. He was just returning it.”

Lin Yushu looked serious. “Then why did your face go red just now?”

“It was embarrassing!” Ruan Cha replied without hesitation.

Then, Lin Yushu couldn’t resist a follow-up, “If it had been Xu Shen who found it and returned it to you, would you have blushed?”

Ruan Cha: “…”

If it were Xu Shen… she’d still feel awkward, sure.

But blush? No way.

Last time Xu Shen blocked her and confessed, she had just been awkward. Not blushing.

Wait—

Wasn’t the more important question… why did she blush with Fu Chen?

As she stuffed books into her desk, she found herself puzzled.

Yeah, why? Why blush only with Fu Chen?

“Yushu, is this from the teacher?” Her train of thought was interrupted by a blue card in the desk compartment.

“Oh—right! I forgot to tell you!” Lin Yushu clapped her forehead.

“Our ‘Angels and Kings’ activity has been going on for a month, right? The teacher asked everyone to write down their wish.”

“During our morning exercises, the teacher went around and placed the King’s wish cards into each corresponding Angel’s desk cubby,” Lin Yushu explained.

This was a yearly tradition for Third Years at Second High, so the homeroom teachers were all familiar with the process.

After she finished speaking, Lin Yushu suddenly remembered—Ruan Cha’s King was Fu Chen. A tiny bit of curiosity rose in her heart… but then she thought better of it. Everyone’s wishes were private, after all, so she didn’t ask.

After hearing the explanation, Ruan Cha pursed her lips and opened the card.

The handwriting was different from before. Last time, it was the homeroom teacher who’d written on behalf of the King.

But this time, it was clearly Fu Chen’s own writing.

“I hope someone will go with me this weekend to Qimangxing to try their boiled cabbage in plain water.”

Ruan Cha: “……”

If she directly asked Fu Chen whether he wanted to go eat at Qimangxing, that would pretty much be admitting she was his Angel.

But… there was a way to ask without giving herself away.

Suddenly, she thought of the golden set meal card she’d just gotten back!

The gold card was part of a Valentine’s Day promo. It was a couple’s set and came with a deadline—only valid for another two weeks.

If she used the excuse that the card was expiring soon and asked Fu Chen to go with her, it wouldn’t count as outing herself, right?

Honestly, up to now, Ruan Cha still felt she had done a great job hiding her identity as his Angel.

After all, every time they studied together on weekends, it was Fu Chen who took the initiative to ask her.

Ruan Cha pulled out the golden card again, suddenly filled with indecision.

Back when they came out of the haunted house, she’d already thought about asking Fu Chen to go.

But then she saw the word “couple” on it—and got too embarrassed.

As for why her face flushed earlier?

Well, it was because when she got the card back, that earlier thought had popped into her mind again.

Now, resting her chin in one hand and spinning the meal card in the other—

Ruan Cha realized something.

She kind of…

wanted to ask Fu Chen to eat a couple’s set meal together.

Hmm.

Which was basically, more or less, her wanting to… start a school romance with Fu Chen.

Ruan Cha: “……”

Ruan Cha: “???”

…

Sandy: Just a reminder that the chapters are unedited 🥲