Ch 106 (Extra 6): After My Mother Returned to the Rich Family

[Softening Up CP (2)]

Golden sunlight poured from the early autumn sky, shining bright over the September landscape.

On the scenic campus of Jing University, fresh-faced students could be seen arriving with their suitcases, one after another. Some came alone, others were accompanied by their parents. Most wore expressions of eager anticipation for campus life and the future ahead.

Ruan Cha’s family had already been in the capital for five or six days. After a day of resting at their apartment, her parents took her around the city for a couple of days of fun, before all three of them—without having to discuss it—naturally returned to their respective work.

Ever since moving from the small town to Nanshi, Ruan Cha had thrown herself into her studies, while her parents threw themselves into building their business empire. Though their habit of sleeping in remained unchanged, none of them could be called couch potatoes anymore.

Now, if you really asked them to sit at home and do absolutely nothing, they’d feel uncomfortable. Naturally, they needed something to keep busy with.

After arriving in Jing City, Ruan Cha, accompanied by 1128, investigated the local online gaming market and even scoped out future office locations for her company, Three Whale.

As for Ruan Zhengfei and Wei Jiao, they already had companies, vineyards, and more than a dozen properties in Jing City alone—if they wanted to stay busy, they had plenty of ways to do it.

In a flash, only two days remained before the freshman check-in deadline.

At the main gate of Jing University, their driver pulled the car to a stop.

“Cha Cha, are you really going back to the dorm on your own? Want your mom and me to come with you?” Sitting in the front seat, Ruan Zhengfei turned to glance at Ruan Cha in the back, who was about to get out. “Your suitcase looks heavy.”

Though they had an apartment in Jing City, Ruan Cha wasn’t opposed to communal living. On the contrary, she wanted to experience dorm life. So, her parents had helped her move her luggage into the dorm ahead of time.

Jing University’s dorms were spacious—four-person rooms with beds on top and desks below, plus private bathrooms attached to the balcony.

After settling her things, Ruan Cha had returned home when she found no roommates had arrived yet.

Last night, however, she saw in the freshman group chat that two of her roommates had shown up, so she quickly packed a suitcase of snacks and fruit and returned to campus.

“No need, you two go have fun. It’s just snacks and fruit—it’s not heavy,” Ruan Cha said as she hugged Wei Jiao in the back seat, kissing her mom on the cheek with a smile before pointing out the window. “Besides, I already messaged Fu Chen on WeChat. He said he’d come pick me up. Should be here in seven or eight minutes.”

Compared to Ruan Cha, Fu Chen had also been busy since arriving in Jing City, handling business for the Fu family’s local branch and only just completing his freshman check-in yesterday.

Seeing Ruan Cha sneak glances out the window again and again, Ruan Zhengfei felt a twinge of jealousy. “Didn’t you say you wanted to meet your roommates? Looks to me like you’re just looking for Fu Chen.”

“Dad, don’t be ridiculous.” Ruan Cha waved at Wei Jiao and hopped out of the car, then looked toward the rolled-down window where Ruan Zhengfei sat. “If I miss Fu Chen, I can just invite him home. Why would I need to come all the way to campus?”

She grinned cheekily. “And if I did invite Fu Chen over, would you kick him out?”

Ruan Zhengfei: “……”

No, he wouldn’t.

Fu Chen had a flawless track record, and after the events with Yu Zheng, all the support he gave to the Liang family made it impossible for Ruan Zhengfei to say anything bad about him.

In fact, throughout the summer, Fu Chen had practically lived at the Liang household.

Every morning, he came to pick up Ruan Cha. Every evening, he brought her home. Every time he visited, he greeted Ruan Cha’s parents like a future son-in-law.

Whether they were talking business or real estate—or even just Ruan Zhengfei’s days as a self-proclaimed couch potato growing vegetables and fishing—Fu Chen could carry the conversation. He even asked to hear more about the old days.

Because those stories all involved the three of them as a family—Fu Chen wanted to know what Ruan Cha was like when she was little.

Ruan Zhengfei had tried all summer to find fault with him… and ended up spilling all of Ruan Cha’s childhood stories instead.

“You little rascal,” Ruan Zhengfei huffed playfully. “The sun’s out—open your umbrella, don’t get burned. This is your first time in a dorm. If anyone bullies you, don’t put up with it, got it?”

Ruan Cha nodded and popped open her umbrella. “Got it. And I’ve never put up with anyone bullying me—who could possibly bully me anyway? Don’t worry, Dad. You two head home. And tonight, remember to treat yourselves to a romantic couple’s dinner.”

Then she leaned down to look through the car window at Wei Jiao. “Mom, I’m heading in. Let’s video chat, okay? And call me if anything comes up.”

“Alright, take care of yourself. If you’ve got time this weekend, bring A-Chen home for dinner. We haven’t had a meal together, all four of us, since arriving in Jing City.”

Unlike the awkward Ruan Zhengfei, Wei Jiao had long since accepted Fu Chen. To her, he was family already.

Hearing that, Ruan Cha gave her a thumbs-up.

After chatting at the gate for a few minutes, Ruan Cha, under the joint insistence of Ruan Zhengfei and Wei Jiao, had no choice but to watch them drive away from a distance. Alone, she opened her umbrella and headed toward campus.

Jing University covered a vast area, and its landscaping was exquisite. The overall layout felt like stepping into a grand imperial garden—pavilions, towers, and buildings steeped in classical charm stood all around.

Rock gardens, lakes, ancient trees, and tall towers—there was a scenic view with every step, making it hard to take it all in.

Opposite the artificial lake, a tree-lined avenue shaded by towering ancient trees stretched out. At night, it was common to see students and teachers jogging along it as part of their nighttime campus run.

During the week before the start of the semester, dozens of booths were set up along the avenue, organized by colleges and regional student associations. Even a few mobile service providers sent employees to help new students get SIM cards.

When Ruan Cha had come by a few days earlier to drop off her luggage, she and her family had used a side entrance to get to the girls’ dorms and hadn’t seen any of the orientation setup. So when she suddenly saw a long row of booths, her face lit up with visible surprise.

Since she had to wait for Fu Chen anyway, she slowed her pace and stood under her umbrella, glancing around leisurely to see if she could spot the booth for her home province.

At Second High School, around 30% of the seniors went abroad for university—like her older cousin Liang Cung Huai, who went to Cambridge and later completed his PhD overseas before returning to China.

The other 70% stayed in the country. With her college entrance exam score of 745, Ruan Cha not only ranked first in the city but also first in the entire province. Carrying the rare double-top title, she got into Jing University.

That year, six students from her school were admitted to Jing University, and the yearly number typically ranged from four to eight. Including students from the entire Nan’an Province, their regional association was actually quite large.

Most importantly, Nan’an was a wealthy and tightly knit region. Alumni who had graduated often remained active in the association, contributing time and money, so their booth wasn’t just well-manned—it was well-funded.

After looking around for half a circle, Ruan Cha spotted a particularly large booth with a Nan’an Province banner hanging above it. In front of it, a boy with a backpack was surrounded by enthusiastic upperclassmen.

Since she had attended a farewell dinner with other new Jing University students from Nanshi before coming to the capital, Ruan Cha immediately recognized the boy—he was from Nanshi First High, and in the same graduating class as her.

The moment Ruan Cha appeared on the avenue, the upperclassmen staffing the booths lit up.

They’d been standing out in the blazing sun all morning. Who wouldn’t be thrilled to see a pretty girl walking their way?

Not just the guys—even the girls found her refreshing.

Under the sunlight, Ruan Cha wore a light avocado-green blouse with black skinny jeans. The outfit highlighted her figure while giving off a clean, breezy vibe.

She had delicate, fresh features and porcelain skin. Just standing there, she looked like a little fairy.

At that moment, all the upperclassmen had the same thought:

A freshman junior!

Step aside—I’ll take this one!

But before any of them could make a move, one person beat them to it—a tall guy in a white shirt walked straight up to Ruan Cha and naturally took the suitcase from her hand.

Ruan Cha noticed the fine sheen of sweat on Fu Chen’s forehead and pulled out a tissue to help wipe it off. “Fu Chen, did you run over from the dorms?”

Originally, she hadn’t told Fu Chen she was coming—she wanted to surprise him. But on the way, they started chatting on WeChat, and Fu Chen, pretending to ask casually, had tricked her into spilling the truth.

By the time he confirmed she was on campus, his car was nearly at the school gate. Afraid she’d be waiting too long, he sprinted over from the dorms instead.

“The sun’s too strong—I didn’t want you to get burned.” Fu Chen bent slightly at the waist so she wouldn’t have to stretch to wipe his forehead. After speaking, he looked straight into her bright eyes and smiled again, his usually crisp voice softening, “And I didn’t want to be late and miss the chance to stop anyone else from hitting on you.”

Back in Second High, Fu Chen had already become very aware of the situation—he needed to stay alert around anyone eyeing his girlfriend.

Just thinking about that pile of love letters Ruan Cha received on their last day of school after the college entrance exam gave him a headache.

“You and your excuses.” After she wiped him down, Ruan Cha tossed the tissue in a bin and reached for Fu Chen’s empty hand, gripping it tightly. She didn’t look away, but the tips of her ears turned a soft red. She coughed lightly and said, “Then I better hold your hand too. You might get hit on before I do.”

Fu Chen looked down at their joined hands, then slowly stretched his fingers out to interlock with hers. As he laced them together, he gave a deadpan reason, “Interlocking fingers—more secure. With so many people around, we won’t get separated.”

Ruan Cha: “……”

Ever since they got together, Fu Chen’s carefully maintained persona… well, forget it. He never had one to begin with.

After the two walked off, the upperclassmen—who had been about to approach—looked at one another and all sighed as they trudged back to their booth.

Obviously, the pretty freshman already had a boyfriend.

And worst of all—

Her boyfriend was really handsome too.

A gorgeous couple. An absolutely perfect match.