Ch 107 (Extra 7): After My Mother Returned to the Rich Family

[Softening Up CP (3)]

As one of the nation’s most prestigious universities, Jing University had always been known for its intense academic atmosphere. But even in the most studious of places, there was never a shortage of gossip—especially when it involved the campus beauty and the campus heartthrob dating.

Ruan Cha and Fu Chen had only been enrolled for three months, and yet every student on campus already knew their faces.

Ruan Cha, as the freshman representative, had delivered the entrance speech on behalf of the entire new class. Beautiful, poised, and radiant with confidence on stage—she was simply unforgettable.

And on top of that, her college entrance exam score was stunning: 745 points!

Even with regional differences in exam difficulty—some provinces used local tests, others the national paper—no one could claim her score was only thanks to an easy test. Not when it was that high.

Within the first three months, professors and lecturers frequently used her assignments as model examples in other classes.

Later, someone compiled clips from her military training, her speech, and various student activities into a short video and posted it on a campus board on Weibo.

At first, people simply admired her as yet another beautiful and brilliant Jing University student. But then someone recognized her—she looked exactly like the girl who had appeared on the hit variety show Dear Life last year.

Netizens: ???

Liang Cung Jin! Your sister got into Jing University and you didn’t even post about it to celebrate?!

As for Fu Chen, his popularity came from something entirely different: his stunning performance in a few advanced holographic technology courses.

Not only did he shock his classmates, but he drew the attention of an entire team of professors. Soon after, he was granted special privileges: he no longer had to attend class—just pass the exams.

Of course, some classmates were skeptical at first. After all, getting into Jing University meant they were all brilliant. But after listening to Fu Chen give a lecture on holographic technology, every single one of them fell silent.

They couldn’t compare. Really, they couldn’t.

While the rest of the industry was still fumbling for direction, Fu Chen had already found his—and was more than halfway through building it. The contrast was like watching a college student go up against a kindergartener.

And in this case, they were the kindergartners.

【Ruan Cha, the number of users who’ve unlocked the Library now stands at 125. Among them, 62 have mastered knowledge spanning the next 20 years, 15 the next 30 years, and 6 have mastered 50 years of future knowledge.】

Ruan Cha was sitting in an evening lecture. Apart from the required credits, Jing University students also had to complete over 80 elective credits throughout their four years. Among the many options, the course she was currently attending—Detective Conan and the Chemistry of Mysteries—had caught her eye at first glance.

She also signed up for courses like Gemstone Appreciation and The Art of Tea Tasting. She didn’t skip a single one.

Five days a week, with both core and elective courses, she left the dorm early in the morning and didn’t return until nine or ten at night.

As for her remaining free time during the week and on weekends, most of it went to Fu Chen and her parents. The rest she shared with her roommates.

And honestly, Ruan Cha felt incredibly lucky. Even though her roommates all had different personalities, they were genuinely good people.

On the first night after moving in, the four of them went out for hotpot. That meal instantly broke the ice, and over the next three months, despite a few small clashes here and there, their friendship grew stronger and brought more joy than trouble.

Maybe it helped that all four of them were studying psychology, which made them naturally more empathetic and good at perspective-taking—so they were better at understanding each other.

With her chin propped up on one hand, Ruan Cha stared at the aesthetically pleasing projection on the screen. But her mind was wandering.

“Where’s Fu Chen?”

【He’s been granted access to a set of exclusive books on holographic VR game development. Current mastery level:】 The system paused. 【80%.】

After saying that, the system went quiet.

No wonder the Fu Chen from her previous life had been able to design an antivirus program based on her—his gift for information technology was simply unmatched.

The system could always assess a person’s potential in a given field. When it had first seen Yan Ruocan, it had instantly recognized his exceptional talent for pharmacology.

But with Fu Chen and Ruan Cha, it couldn’t draw a limit. Some people simply didn’t have a ceiling—always pushing forward, always breaking boundaries.

Hearing that Fu Chen had already reached 80% mastery filled Ruan Cha with joy. In their previous life, Fu Chen had only launched his VR game after graduating from university. But now, she believed that with the current pace, Fu Enterprises could release the game as early as sophomore year.

With Fu Chen’s technical support, Planet Manager’s Handbook would also be transformed from a mobile game into a full VR game before graduation.

And once that happened—once players were fully immersed in a rich, emotional, deeply engaging VR world—the number of users who wanted to unlock the Library would surge dramatically.

As Ruan Cha was lost in thought, she suddenly realized—her workload had just quietly increased again.

【Ruan Cha, are you worried about the Library’s content updates?】 The system picked up on her expression and guessed part of her thoughts. After a moment, it explained softly, 【Even though I can’t collect energy from users reading Library materials, the Library itself gains knowledge energy. Right now, the user base is too small, but once it reaches 1,000 users, the Library will level up.】

“Level up?”

Currently, the Library could open access to books containing 20 years of future scientific knowledge for players as long as Ruan Cha had seen the content—even if she hadn’t studied or memorized it. But after a level-up…

The system quickly gave her the answer.

【After the first upgrade, the Library will unlock books covering the next 40 years of technological advancements. After the second upgrade, it will unlock 60 years—but that’ll require 100,000 users. For the third upgrade… the user base must reach 10 million.】

Then 1128 added, 【Of course, to prevent suspicion in this timeline, I’ll conduct a thorough review of all books and subtly adjust the knowledge points, so they serve more as inspiration than direct revelation.】

【Now that the Dreamweave Cards are used up and my integration with the antivirus program is complete, all internal systems and firewalls are at peak performance. My Library management is better than ever, so you can rest assured, Ruan Cha.】

Honestly, even the system found it miraculous. They came from parallel timelines, and yet their paths had intertwined, allowing them to help each other make both timelines better.

After digesting all this, Ruan Cha’s eyes lit up with joy. “Thank you, 1128.” With the system’s help, it was only a matter of time before the Library’s content spread widely.

【It’s what I should be doing. No need to thank me (shy)】

A smile appeared on Ruan Cha’s face. “1128, about that backup I mentioned earlier—I want you to store a full copy of the VR game in your internal database. Even if Planet Manager’s Handbook loses all its players someday, the knowledge current players gain should still count as a legacy.”

【Okay! I’ll do it right away!】

She was so absorbed in chatting with the system, she didn’t notice that someone had quietly taken the empty seat beside her halfway through the lecture—

Until a peach-flavored candy was gently placed in front of her.

Ruan Cha blinked and turned her head in surprise—only to find herself face-to-face with Fu Chen’s smiling eyes.

He was wearing the exact same couple’s puffer jacket as her. When he saw she’d finally noticed him, he held a finger to his lips in a silent “shh” gesture, then pulled out a notebook.

—My girlfriend looks so cute when she’s focused on class—

Ruan Cha nearly laughed out loud. Just in time, she remembered they were in class, and only let out a stifled chuckle. Luckily, the lecture was playing a video, so her voice was drowned out by the audio.

Seeing her laugh, Fu Chen paused for a moment, then wrote a second line.

—Wanna kiss you.—

Ruan Cha pretended not to see that and scribbled a reply across the top of the notebook:
“Class ends in thirty minutes. Please focus for now, Fu Chen.”

Three months had flown by since their enrollment. Now it was December 31st, and she and Fu Chen had planned to spend New Year’s Eve together at Starlight Park.

They were supposed to meet in front of the lecture hall, but Fu Chen had finished his work early, remembered she had a night class, and decided to come join her instead.

They were in different departments, with different curricula. Fu Chen had wanted to take the same electives as Ruan Cha, but unlike her, he hadn’t been chosen by the system for the popular ones. Only one had matched, the rest had booted him out.

Left with no choice, Fu Chen memorized her schedule and joined her whenever he was free.

Honestly, Ruan Cha hadn’t expected the electives she picked to be so brutally selective—to welcome her and reject Fu Chen so firmly.

She couldn’t sneak into his bigger core lectures because of her packed schedule, so instead, she gave up some of her library study time to spend with him.

As a result, their “dates” were affectionately dubbed by classmates as “Double Accompaniment”: sit in on each other’s classes by day, study together in the library by night.

Fu Chen didn’t actually plan to do anything bold in class. After seeing her reply, he obediently closed the notebook and turned his attention back to the front, trying to look like a serious student.

Only he knew what was really swirling in his mind.

“Here.”

Something lightly touched his lips. Fu Chen looked down to see a pink candy pinched between Ruan Cha’s fingers. From the corner of his eye, he spotted the empty wrapper of the one he’d given her earlier, now lying on the table.

“Fu Chen, hurry,” she whispered nervously, afraid the professor might notice. Just as she finished speaking, she froze—because before she could react, Fu Chen had already taken the candy right from her fingers.

She withdrew her hand, gently pressing her lips together. There was still a trace of warmth on her fingertips.

Just now—

Had he kissed her fingers before taking the candy?

With the peach-flavored candy in his mouth, sweetness bloomed on his tongue. His thoughts drifted back to the night at the KTV, to her drunken murmur: “The peach isn’t sweet…”

And to that light kiss she’d planted on his cheek.

His heart turned to mush, like cotton candy melting into syrup.

He opened the notebook again, added one more line beneath “Wanna kiss you,” and slid it over for her to read.

—I kissed you.—

Ruan Cha: “……”

You’re really out here testing my limits.

Ignoring him completely, she turned her head back to the blackboard, feigning intense focus. But Fu Chen could tell—she was hiding a smile.

He stifled his own grin, picked up the empty candy wrapper, smoothed it out, and tucked it into his notebook.

Maybe the candy wasn’t sweet.

But—

His Cha Cha definitely was.